worldtraveler19

yes... I rented from Avis, be sure to do it before you leave the USA...not that expensive, expecially if you can drive a manual transmission... if you drive automatic only, be prepared to pay 2-3 times the price...just like in every other country except the USA...

johan rebel

You can fly to MQP (Nelspruit, also known as Kruger Mpumalanga International), there are several flights every day. From MQP to M[b]a[/]lelane it is about 40 minutes by road. The hotel will undoubtedly be able to organize a transfer.

Private operators (i.e. not South African National Parks, a.k.a. as SANParks) offer half and full day game drives into the KNP, picking up guests from various hotels in the vicinity of the park gates. A full day drive will cost about R800, usually not including lunch.

SANParks offers a host of activities, including morning and afternoon walks, mountain biking, 4x4 trails, night drives, etc. These depart from the restcamps inside the park. However, in the case restcamps situated close to park gates (i.e. Orpen, Crocodile Bridge), participants can in certain cases be picked up at the park gate as well. Prices vary from 80 to 460 Rand, depending on the activity.

March is towards the end of the rainy season, when game viewing is at its most difficult due to high grass, thick vegetation and dispersed wildlife. If possible, allow at least four days for game viewing. Remember that rain could spoil one or more game drives. This particular rainy season has been very dry until just over a week ago, when southern Kruger (Malelane is in the very southwest) experienced a deluge. For example, Lower Sabie got 224 mm of rain in one day!

The rates for private game lodges vary considerably, form just over 1,000 Rand per person per night sharing (e.g. Gomo Gomo in the Timbavati) to 6,800 Rand (e.g. Singita and Singita Lebombo) or more. More money buys your more luxury, but not necessarily better game viewing.

Let me know if you have further questions, I am well familiar with Kruger and the adjacent private game reserves.

johan

CVO 1K 2 Million

A couple of comments:

If you drive the Cape, coming up/down the east side you will likely encounter a bunch of apes panhandling for food. Do NOT open your window to feed/pet/photograph them. They are notorious for all sorts of mayhem including ripping mirrors and antennas off of cars.

Alternative from JNB to CPT is Rovos Rail. Luxury rail travel using restored rail cars.
Expensive but relaxing. Good food and scenery (although some expanses are a bit boring). They even have googles to keep soot out of your face if you are looking out the window. Stops in Kimberly and you can see the huge pit created by the diamond mining operations...

There is also the Blue Train. Also well regarded. Less expensive & luxurious than Rovos Rail but faster too.

Kruger: I've been to the best (Singita) and the budget. Commair flight/tour from JNB to Skukuza when that service was still available. Gamewise there is indeed (as others have said) not much difference in the quality of the game viewing.
My top experience was a pride of lions walking around our open Land Rover with nothing separating us from them except about one yard of air....wow.
No matter what tour you take, if it's an open vehicle, make sure you have a hat, sunscreen (ozone layer is getting thin similar to Australia) and raingear.

If you get the chance there is a a restaurant between Pretoria and Joburg called the Station (as I recall). It is a huge buffet (100+ dishes) of different African dishes....zebra stew, croc fritters, etc.

johan rebel

Sound advice! The lodges normally have raingear on the vehicles, but seldom of good quality. Even some of the most expensive lodges seen to think that a smelly, old and leaky poncho will suffice. Make sure that your raingear includes trousers. A jacket will not do you much good, the water will just run down your back, onto the seat and then soak its way back up via your rear end. On a game drive the other week I had to stand up regularly to drain the lake forming in my crotch. Can it ever pour in summer!(though usually not for all that long, fortunately).

On the subject of weather. The South African lowveld, for a number of reasons, in summer occasionally experiences conditions charactarized by low cloud cover; rain or drizzle off and on; and often strong winds, that settles in and persists for several days, sometimes longer. For some peculiar reason, tourist brochures never mention this.

The most important item to bring is a pair of good binoculars. A pair per person would be even better. Kruger is not a zoo, the animals are not always close to the vehicle.

I would also recommend a small but powerful flashlight. Power failures occur, and although most lodges provide flashlights, they usually try to replace the batteries at the last possible moment.

Purchasing a mammal field guide upon arrival (CNA or Exclusive Books at the airport) is also recommended. Game viewing is more enjoyable if you know what animals to expect, how they look, and a bit about their behavior.

johan

bp888

Two more quick question:

How much time should we allow at JNB to clear customs, collect our bags, get ZAR money at the ATM, scoot over (or is it a hike?) to the domestic terminal for our flight to CPT?

We'll be renting a car in Cape Town. We have the option of having a car the whole time we're there (i.e. pick-up the rental car at CPT on arrival and return on departure) or skip the days of arrival and departure from our car rental period and use taxi and/or hotel car service from/to JNB? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

johan rebel

The answer will depend on when you arrive at JNB. If your arrival coincides with that of a number of other full 747s, waits at immigrations could be lengthy. One way of minimizing this is by making sure that you select the first non-SA Citizen/Resident line next to the counters for SA Citizens. The lines at the latter are usually much shorter, and as soon as they have been cleared officers will usually wave over people waiting in the next line.

Another option is to use the second arrival terminal. If the one is busy, the other is usually is not. This is only a good idea if you are familiar with JNB and know your way around.

My experience with claiming bags is very limited, I haven't checked any to JNB for years. I recall a long wait once, when my bag was the very last on the belt.

There are several ATMs in the arrivals hall, it is unusual to have to wait for one to become available.

The trek to the new domestic terminal is indeed a longish one, allow at least ten minutes. For most of the way you are poorly protected from the elements.If you have a lot of luggage, use a porter. The official ones are dressed in orange, and the rate is 5 Rand per bag.

johan

bp888

Johan, thanks so much for your invaluable suggestions and tips. You sure know South Africa really well.



We're arriving at 0635. Are we going to be safe allowing 2-1/2 hours for all arrival formalities and catch a JNB-CPT flight at 0900? We have total flexibility with the domestic flight. I just want to know how long to allow for. Don't want to cut too close but don't want to wait too long for our onward flight either.

Excellent suggestion.

We'll be sure to use a porter. Hopefully, they'll be around at that early hour. I read in another thread that there are some aggressive touts outside the international terminal on the way to the domestic terminal so a porter would I'm sure be able to shoo them away. But then again, it may be too early for the touts also.

Now, I've got a few more questions:

1. For our JNB-CPT flight, I've looked at BA/Comair, SAA and Kulala and they all seem to be in the same ballpark pricewise. Schedules are also pretty convenient. Don't know their safety records, cabin comfort, inflight service, etc. Since you're an expert, do you have any preference among the domestic airlines?

2. We will be renting a car for moving about in Cape Town and environs. We could start the car rental upon arrival or would we be smarter to take a taxi or hotel car from CPT to our hotel (ArebellaSheraton) on the day of arrival? I ask this question because there are some airports (specially in Asia) where renting a car upon arrival is decidedly not advised because of the rental setup, e.g. long, circuitous hike from terminal to rental car parking lot. Not fun when you just arrived at a strange city with big suitcases to schlep around.

3. Perhaps I could expand on the car rental question and ask it this way: Do we even need a car for moving about in Cape Town? I'm sure we would want to have a car when we visit the cape, the wine country or the garden route. But for doing the usual touristy stuff within the city limits, is a car an added convenience or a nuisance? Again, based on the Asian cities I've visited, having a car is definitely not advised for a tourist -- local driving conditions, language barrier with signs, etc. This is specially true in urban settings like Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, etc. The only time I really needed a rental car was in Bali.

Thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions.

Edited to fix UBB codes.

[This message has been edited by bp888 (edited Feb 14, 2004).]

johan rebel

Yes, you should be safe. Even in the unlikely event that you don't make your flight, it won't be long till the next one. JNB-CPT is the third busiest airline route in the world, if I'm not mistaken. SAA alone operates some 23 flights on weekdays.

There should be plenty.

And inside as well. ACSA (Airports Company of South Africa) have taken measures to protect passengers from touts. Amongst others, they now make regular announcements advising passengers to use only official porters, and how much to pay.

Don't bet on it. I don't think they ever sleep!

I wouldn't decribe myself as an expert in this particular field. The great majority of my domestic flights in South Africa are on SAA's feeder airlines, SA Express and SA Airlink, which are they only airlines that service the smaller destinations I usually fly to. I find these airlines and SAA perfectly satisfactory.

As far as aviation safetly in concerned, South Africa is a first world country, well-regulated and with an excellent record. BA/Comair and Kulula have older fleets, but I have never heard of any safety concerns.

Competition on the JNB-CPT route, already fierce, has increased recently when a new airline, 1Time , joined the fray. Tickets have never been cheaper. See :
Sky Wars Erupt in SA ( http://allafrica.com/stories/200401290564.html )

Never having rented a car in CPT, I'm not the person to answer your questions. Finding your way around large and unfamiliar cities can be a challenge, and CPT is no exception. Driving on the left will take getting used to, and South Africa has an atrocious road saftey record. Over three hundred foreigners are killed on the country's roads every year, not to mention up to 18,000 locals. South African traffic is a much greater threat to tourists than crime. None of this should deter you from renting a car, though. The roads are mostly good to excellent, outside major cities traffic jams are unheard of, fuel is cheap, and driving often the only alternative to poor or nonexistent public transportation.

My pleasure.

johan

travelmad478

I've flown BA/Comair and SAA domestically and both are pretty similar in terms of service, comfort, on-time record, etc. I've had no complaints about these airlines, over many domestic flights.

Yes, a rental car is a very good thing to have in CPT. The city is quite spread out, getting to many sights and neighborhoods is not pedestrian-friendly, and public transportation is usually unavailable/undesirable. As long as you're OK driving on the left side of the road, and can read a map, you won't have a problem driving there. Signage throughout SA is good and the roads are fine. The one slightly tricky part is parking right in downtown Cape Town--not because there are no spots, but because your car might be at risk. But you can easily walk or take cabs from the Arabella Sheraton to do downtown sightseeing. Everywhere else, including the V&A Waterfront, there are plenty of parking lots.

Picking up the car at the airport and then navigating the roads into the city is really quite easy, especially if you have one person driving and the other reading the map. Check on how much the Sheraton will charge you for parking, because you'll want to use the hotel's (guarded) lot.

[This message has been edited by travelmad478 (edited Feb 16, 2004).]

StudentExplorer

BP . . .are you going to be spending any time in Jo'burg? If so, I do have some suggestions for things to do.

bp888

Yes, but not in Jo'burg itself. Our hotel (Sheraton) is in Pretoria. We will spend 3 nights there but only one full day for visiting Jo'burg.

USAFAN

You don't need vaccination for most of SA. However, when you visit Kruger Park vaccination and Malaria prevention is recommended.

YYZC2

I'll be there next week... let's hear it!

SpuddBrother

I've just returned from a two-week trip to S Africa. We spent 2 nights in Jo'burg, flew to East London, and then took several days to drive to Cape Town.

1) Any airline will be adaquate. SAA is probably your best bet though - -they have a lot of frequencies.

2) There's plenty of good restaurants at V&A. We simply took a cab there every night for dinner. From the Sheraton, this will probably cost about $5. There's a movie theater inside the mall at Quay 5.

3) I booked EuropCar, which is a smaller outfit, but had good luck with them (except they require you to purchase their insurance). Get a BMW! It's fun to drive in SA. The car ran about $600 for 10 days, including insurance. There's a EuropCar desk in the Holidy Inn Waterfront. I suggest booking the car in advance.

4) Stay at Caesars or Sun City if you like to gamble. The wildlife park adjacent to Sun City was very interesting. We saw elephant, zebras, a snake, a croc, giraffe, warthogs, tortoise, lots of birds, etc. from our own car for almost nothing! I think it was about $8 per person.

5) Book the Safari in advance. Availability is limited on the "good stuff"

SpuddBrother

You need a car! Plan on spending 1-2 days wandering around on the Cape, 1 day in the winelands, etc. The road to Downtown from the airport is well marked and easy to drive. I was very surprised. Take your time and expect to make a few u-turns and you'll be fine.