South Africa pre trip report

[ali-s]

I don't usually bother with pre trip reports, but I have finalised my itinerary, downloaded a dozen maps, printed out endless lists, spent way too much on ' just incase essentials' on Amazon, and am in danger of starting the packing, which means I need to distract myself, so I'll write about it
We were supposed to be going back to Costa Rica, but this is our last family trip ( yeah, right, we said that about Costa Rica ) and DS18 who will be going off to uni, asked if we could try a different continent.
South Africa has been on my bucket list for over 30 years, ever since I received a postcard of the spring flowers , so I immediately dived into the TripAdvisor forums and began planning. Quickly realising that the spring flowers coincided with the weeks we really needed to be in the UK to prepare for Uni, I rather unenthusiastically drew up a revised plan for a modest two weeks in Cape Town and the garden route. With our love of animals and DS hoping to study zoology, a safari would have been fantastic, but we all know how expensive they are. I flicked through the brochures in a travel agents years ago and confirmed that a safari is something you do either before or after the financial drain aka kids.
Browsing TripAdvisor I couldn't help but notice a sticky thread on ' how to do Kruger' , what do you mean ' how to do Kruger'? Surely you go to the travel agent , empty your bank account into their bank account and in exchange you get a couple of nights in a luxurious resort full of people wearing pith helmets? Apparently not. To my surprise and delight , ordinary people who don't possess a pith helmet can stay inside Kruger park in Sanparks accommodation for less than £30 per person per night. At that point my itinerary went the way of many itineraries before it and morphed into something unrecognisable from my original plans

[ali-s]

So, 14 nights in Cape Town and the garden route has now become 17 nights in Cape Town , Kruger and KwaZulu-Natal.
Sanparks accommodation is available for booking on the first of the month eleven months in advance. Some parks and accommodations are very popular and get snapped up as soon as released, especially during the school holidays . So in a scene reminiscent of Disney when you had to phone for your ADRs on a certain day , 1st of August saw me up at silly o clock, phone in hand, list of numbers at the ready, heart in mouth I began dialling as the clock struck the hour, but the first 12 numbers were already engaged. Working my way down the list for the second time ,the Cape Town office answered and immediately put me in a queue. Now how long do you wait in a queue on an international call? Even using a discount call provider I was aware of the minutes ticking by, eventually at 25 minutes I was cut off! Back to my list and finally , on my sixth attempt , the Durban office answered. I was able to get all but one of my first choices of accommodation and the thrill of hearing a South African accent ( same feeling as phoning Disney) almost made up for the phone bill
Now I had my accommodation in Kruger , but it's 1st August 2016 and we aren't going until July 2017 so I can't book my flights yet. I'm checking prices on a daily basis though, so I know what to expect. I'm thinking we'll fly BA or SA from Heathrow , prices in the region of £1000 ! On 15 th August I can't believe my luck when I happen across Lufthansa from Birmingham for £750 , including one of the internal flights we'll need. A quick discussion on the dibb ' buy them, buy them' and we are booked.
DH rarely shows any interest in our holiday plans, but he did ask if we were going to be anywhere near Adams Calendar, supposedly the oldest stone circle in the world. As luck would have it , it's within driving distance of Kruger, so we are stopping one night in Kaapsehoop ( no, I don't know how to pronounce it either ) so we can see these stones. It's the only bit of the trip I've let him organise, needless to say, it's still not finalised

Our itinerary is now :
BHX - Frankfurt- Cape Town
4 nights Cape Town in 3 bed, 3 bath rental
Cape Town - Nelspruit ( flight)
1 night Kaapsehoop B&B
6 nights in Kruger national park , Sanparks accommodation
1 night in Swaziland , hotel
2 nights Rhino River Lodge
3 nights St Lucia ( town, not island ) rental
Richard's bay - Johannesburg- Frankfurt- BHX

[P&S]

I had lots of relatives live in South Africa in the 70's so will be interested to read this

[Melbatb]

It sounds fabulous! Looking forward to reading all about it!

[OnOurWay]

Really looking forward to reading about your visit to my Homeland. I grew up in Namaqualand where the flowers grow, such a shame you will miss them, but they are a very touch and go business, so probably for the best. Cape Town was my second home. I hope you arrive there in daylight in on a clear day as there is not a more breathtaking sight than walking out of the airport terminal building and looking straight at Table Mountain, say hi for me
I am ashamed to say I have never done Kruger, but St Lucia is beautiful.
What are your plans for Cape Town?

[penguin19]

Sounds excellent. You will have a wonderful time. So jealous I just love it there. Kruger just a wonderful time and Cape Town is my favourite city.

Say hi to the penguins for me!

[ali-s]

Onourway, we arrive 10 am , the one perk of a night flight I have bought tickets for the cablecar online and if the ' table top' is clear we will head straight there after dumping our luggage. I know we have to do it first chance we get as it may be our only chance.
Next morning we are going shark cage diving , again , weather dependent. Kirstenbosch Gardens, a day on hop on hop off bus and a day tour of the Cape Peninsula are our other activities.
A return trip to see the flowers has already been mentally penciled in for next year

[WileyCoyote]

What a fantastic trip you have planned. Would love to visit SA one day. Look forward to hearing about it. Happy Holidays