South Africa & Namibia
Trip Report: African Animal Adventures
The call of Africa. Ah yes. Like all of you, I have seen photos and movies depicting Africa for as long as I can remember. I mean just say Tarzan and an instant image of Africa pops up for those of us old enough to remember. I have also read the histories, the novels and hundreds and hundreds of National Geographic magazine articles over the years. The animals, the jungles, the savannahs, the deserts all seemed so far away and yet so familiar. I wanted to go. Africa. I felt it in Morocco, when we touched the edge of the Sahara. It gets under your skin. And it touches something primordial in us. The hot African sun.
This trip has been a long time in the planning. I did a lot of basic research 7 years ago when I first thought that it might be interesting as a destination. I looked at the typical safari options available for Africa. You go to Kenya for the Rift Valley and the sensational great migration, Tanzania seems ideal for the smaller and more personal experience. And of course Rwanda for the gorillas. I looked at it all and the romance of it was kindled. But as readers of my other trip reports might know by now. the tour group thing just wasn't for me. So I dismissed the idea for a while until i heard about Kruger Park in South Africa. Fodor's forum - my usual Europe info go to - has a weak Africa section but it did lead me to the SanPark forum with lots of info about Kruger. Hosted by the park system of South Africa, the forum was a goldmine of info about how to see wild Africa in a different way. Kruger allows a one on one experience without the guides, the porters and the 'get on the bus' routine. The more I read, the more I liked the idea. You see, you can self drive in Kruger. Yeah, that's right . . . rent any vehicle, bring a camera and drive yourself around amongst the wild animals in this massive park. Sounds kind of cool, right?
And once I was set on South African I started filling in the rest of the blanks. South Africa is obviously not just one big game viewing destination but it offers a host of other places to see and things to do. My long-time employer and his wife (Daniel and Ghislaine) had done a trip there in recent years and I will admit I stole many ideas from them. She kindly shared their itinerary and encouraged me to go. When I saw their itinerary included a trip to Namibia, I was intrigued and the Namib desert became a permanent fixture in my itinerary plans. The mountains of the cape appealed as well offering great wines with a stunning backdrop and the finest dining in SA, so Stellenbosch and Francshhoek were added. And penguins. Are you kidding me? Who doesn't want to see penguins?
So I dedicate this Trip Report to the memory of Ghislaine. We thought of you and laughed with you along the way. Thank you.
From a practical side, it required a lot of logistical planning. I never use an agent so I had to weave the flights, the rental cars and the hotels into an acceptable, doable and safe package that would work for us. I started planning this before we even took our last vacation.
This trip has been a long time in the planning. I did a lot of basic research 7 years ago when I first thought that it might be interesting as a destination. I looked at the typical safari options available for Africa. You go to Kenya for the Rift Valley and the sensational great migration, Tanzania seems ideal for the smaller and more personal experience. And of course Rwanda for the gorillas. I looked at it all and the romance of it was kindled. But as readers of my other trip reports might know by now. the tour group thing just wasn't for me. So I dismissed the idea for a while until i heard about Kruger Park in South Africa. Fodor's forum - my usual Europe info go to - has a weak Africa section but it did lead me to the SanPark forum with lots of info about Kruger. Hosted by the park system of South Africa, the forum was a goldmine of info about how to see wild Africa in a different way. Kruger allows a one on one experience without the guides, the porters and the 'get on the bus' routine. The more I read, the more I liked the idea. You see, you can self drive in Kruger. Yeah, that's right . . . rent any vehicle, bring a camera and drive yourself around amongst the wild animals in this massive park. Sounds kind of cool, right?
And once I was set on South African I started filling in the rest of the blanks. South Africa is obviously not just one big game viewing destination but it offers a host of other places to see and things to do. My long-time employer and his wife (Daniel and Ghislaine) had done a trip there in recent years and I will admit I stole many ideas from them. She kindly shared their itinerary and encouraged me to go. When I saw their itinerary included a trip to Namibia, I was intrigued and the Namib desert became a permanent fixture in my itinerary plans. The mountains of the cape appealed as well offering great wines with a stunning backdrop and the finest dining in SA, so Stellenbosch and Francshhoek were added. And penguins. Are you kidding me? Who doesn't want to see penguins?
So I dedicate this Trip Report to the memory of Ghislaine. We thought of you and laughed with you along the way. Thank you.
From a practical side, it required a lot of logistical planning. I never use an agent so I had to weave the flights, the rental cars and the hotels into an acceptable, doable and safe package that would work for us. I started planning this before we even took our last vacation.
The final itinerary:
Fly Air Canada to Amsterdam – 2 nights
Fly Lufthansa to Frankfurt - connect to overnight flight to Johannesburg - connect to South Africa Air flight to Cape Town
Rental car to Franschhoek – 2 nights
Drive to Stellenbosch - 2 nights
Fly Cape Town to Windhoek, Namibia
Rental truck to lodge near Solitaire - 3 nights
Drive back to Windhoek - 1 night
Fly SA to Johannesburg - connect to short SA flight to Skukuza in Kruger Park
Skukuza Rest Camp - 2 nights
Lower Sabie Rest Camp - 2 nights
Hamilton's Tented Camp (Mluwati Concession) - 2 nights
Fly from Skukuza SA to Johannesburg – 1 night
Fly Kulula to Cape Town - I night
Fly Turkish Air to Istanbul - connection fly Air Canada to Toronto
Yeah, that's a whole lotta flyin' goin' on but the distances were too vast to consider driving. And I didn't want to drop any of our destinations, so fly we did. Every flight worked and every destination lived up to expectations. Read on, and don't worry . . . I'll get to the penguins and much, much more . . .
Fly Air Canada to Amsterdam – 2 nights
Fly Lufthansa to Frankfurt - connect to overnight flight to Johannesburg - connect to South Africa Air flight to Cape Town
Rental car to Franschhoek – 2 nights
Drive to Stellenbosch - 2 nights
Fly Cape Town to Windhoek, Namibia
Rental truck to lodge near Solitaire - 3 nights
Drive back to Windhoek - 1 night
Fly SA to Johannesburg - connect to short SA flight to Skukuza in Kruger Park
Skukuza Rest Camp - 2 nights
Lower Sabie Rest Camp - 2 nights
Hamilton's Tented Camp (Mluwati Concession) - 2 nights
Fly from Skukuza SA to Johannesburg – 1 night
Fly Kulula to Cape Town - I night
Fly Turkish Air to Istanbul - connection fly Air Canada to Toronto
Yeah, that's a whole lotta flyin' goin' on but the distances were too vast to consider driving. And I didn't want to drop any of our destinations, so fly we did. Every flight worked and every destination lived up to expectations. Read on, and don't worry . . . I'll get to the penguins and much, much more . . .
The Prequel
Part One - Wining & Dining
Part Two - The Desert
Part Three - The Park
Part Four - Winding Down