Planning South Africa trip - suggestions?

[psgirl]

We're planning a trip next July/Aug. to South Africa, 2-3 weeks, 2 adults, 2 kids (15 & 13). Thinking of visiting Cape Town, Johannesburg (1 night), Durban (maybe), a safari/game preserve, and Victoria Falls. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.



Thank you.

[kyshel]

PSGirl--welcome--saw several posts you got into. Have funhere!
Would you like a referral for American TA who lives in SA half year? He's retired but has all the scoop and can work with you for arrangements.
I can toss in a few bits. I got hooked by one of the early contributors here, jashermd--look up his posts, as I think they will assist greatly with odd details.
I've been a few times, and my husband goes often--preference is Cape Town but the safaris are closer to Joburg.
We found Madikwe Reserve to be easy access from Joburg (after one overnite) because of the malaria issues.
I guess it depends on budget, Madikwe has many options from family to excessively sublime spoiled rotten lodges.
The other malaria-free area that's not tough to access from Durban would be Easter Cape. I think the incidence of
malaria in Kwaa Zulu Natal is not high during off season. I have not been to Kruger. We're looking HARD at Mkuze Falls for this Sep-Oct.
You will want to access Vic Falls via JNB (not CPT) Do you have a reason to go to Durban?
13-15 are great ages for the safari experience--and Cape Point is like going to the MOON!! on the way, penguins and more!!
Are you amenable to driving on the left?
Ask away and I'l keep adding. Take care!

[psgirl]

Thanks kyshel. I've been on LL for yrs. but never participated here, but will - there's good info here. My husband is our TA, he enjoys putting our trips together and he does a great job. No reason to go to Durban, if it's not worth it, I'd rather spend time elsewhere. Don't quite know budget yet but we tend to stay at top end places, not necessarily the best of the best, but up there. Driving on left is no problem.

[kyshel]

We liked Madikwe Reserve and we liked Tuningi very much. They have a family place called "Little Tuningi" that has it's own pool where the elephants come to sip the sweet water. The drives were excellent, food, staff and digs were great. We went in their winter and it sure gets frigid end of June. Afternoons were pleasant. It's a small lodge, with a handful of villas.
The other lodge we just visited was Mateya and talk about top of the line EVERYTHING!! Even at LL prices it's very very $$$. That part of SA is semi-arid and dry bush, due to it's proximity to the Kalahari.

We're looking at Mkuze Falls for the wet safari experience and that's Zululand/Eastern Cape. I wasn't dissing Durban (never been) but wondered if you had friends or a destination in mind. I know an engineer who goes there often and he loves the area. Our plan would be to fly into Richard's Bay and get a car, go to Mkuze, return via the battlefields and local area before heading back to Joburg. I'm not too crazy about long drives!

The other places I'm considering are Hunter Hotels--specifically the Marataba Lodge (take a peek at all their properties--WOW) Marataba is tres $$ even with last minute specials but it could be one of the outstanding safari lodges. http://www.hunterhotels.com/maratabasafarico/

If you're headed to Vic Falls check this out:
www.victoriafalls-guide.net
The folks at tripadvisor are really helpful (that link is from a Vic Falls DE)
Dave Patterson, DE for SA can be found thru:
[email protected]
He can book for you if you want to use a local TA (he lives on the southern coast, not far from Cape Town or in Phoenix)
That's a thimbleful of info. Glad you stopped "lurking" and came in from the cold!

[psgirl]

Thank you so much.

[betsyv]

psgirl, you will love South Africa. We went in 2009 and my husband is dying to go back. We went to Joburg for one night, then hit Mateya in Madikwe, then to Cape Town. We loved Mateya and Madikwe Game Preserve. When we went to Cape Town, we stayed at Steenburg Inn and enjoyed the wine country. We also went to Cape of Good Hope and saw the jackass penguins at Borders Beach. Great fun, but make sure you do the Cape of Good Hope first thing in the morning as sea fog can build up and be terrible. One thing you might want to consider is Grootbos in Gaansbai. If your family is a fan of Shark Week on Discovery Channel, the first night was filmed right there. Diving with Great Whites, the marine safari and so many of the things we did there were unique and fabulous. We did a second animal safari at the end at Sabi Sabi. I kind of wish that we saw Victoria Falls but there is always the next time. I haven't heard anything good or bad about Durban. Anyway, you should have a great time!

[kyshel]

psgirl--I just discovered more about the east coast area around Kwaa Zulu and the area to see is apparently St Lucia--just north of Richard's Bay if you're interested in nature of the coastal variety. Several hours north of Durban, it can reached by driving thru the Zulu battlefield areas (Boer/Zulu Wars) . I am fortunate to be meeting a long-time resident this week (who now resides in Joberg) and have started getting some travel tips from his daughter, a FA for Delta. If that holds any interest for you, the estuary and coastal area there might have much more to offer than the Durban beaches.
I second the Vic Falls option--it really isn't that far and there are flights on several airlines form JNB to VFA, Zimbabwe. That's a whole 'nohter research project due to gov issues, currency, weather etc. Good luck.