Travel to South Africa

olddoll

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I am an OLP interested in doing some travelling while still mobile! I am thinking of going to South Africa, taking in the garden route, wine route and possibly a safari.

I would be travelling on my own but would like to be part of a group. However, I don't want to have to pay a single supplement for accommodation. With most organised trips you are charged a single supplement.

Any advice or guidance would be much appreciated.

Best time of year to travel
Suggestions on what to see
Any group or travel agent catering for singles / older.

Many thanks for reading this and for any guidance offered.
 
South Africa is amazing, there is so much to do and such a range of different things to do and see.
We went in October (many years ago) and had lovely weather, perhaps we were lucky, but it was warm enough to enjoy being out doing everything and not too hot to make it uncomfortable. It wasn't quite beach weather if you know what I mean, but was perfect for doing everything.
I would say Dec & Jan, as well as being too hot, would also be too crowded, we found it easy to book things and get into things as it wasn't yet high season.

We based our trip in capetown, so that's where my tuppence starts...

On what to do, I'd have to say first Robben Island, it's something I'll always remember, I felt I had to see it when we were there.

This might sound an odd thing to say or a strange thing to do but it was one of the most memorable parts of our trip - a tour of one of the townships. Now, when it was first suggested to me I thought that's awful, invading people's privacy but actually it's not like that at all, we went on a tour with someone who is from the township, so it's very safe and you get to see the community projects that are going on and to support them where they have say, craft shops or something to provide jobs and training in the community.

The District Six museum was really good, it's in an area where different races had lived together without any problem until the apartheid government bulldozed the whole area, it gives a great account if what life was like before apartheid and then the insanity that followed.

We did a helicopter trip around Cape Town which was amazing, fantastic views, my one and only time in a chopper, a great experience, and we have amazing photos from it.

The food was excellent, eating was a big part of our trip! The steaks and fish are fantastic, in fact everything was lovely, we ate like kings.

We went to Stellenbosch wine region, spent a few days there and really enjoyed it, beautiful wine estates, a lovely way to spend a day going around a few on a wine tour!

Safari is a must, if we had our time again I'd push the boat out on this for two nights in a good one. They are expensive but well worth it. We had a brie (don't think that's the right spelling but a SA version of a barbecue) in a Bure (traditional house - not unlike a crannóg) and the food and atmosphere were fantastic.

Up the Garden Route Mossel Bay was lovely, and Cape Agulhas - oh and Hermanus! The whales were coming in to mate (or calve, I can't remember!) and in Bientang's Cave restaurant in Hermanus they were so close in October, I had binoculars on the table I didn't even need to use we could see them so clearly.


Haven't travelled with a group myself but two family friend who are aged around 70 have done a good few trips abroad with the Irish times travel - I think it's called The Travel Department? Anyway they have always enjoyed it and are repeat customers, they've gone to Argentina & China among other places with them.

Best of luck, it's a great place!
 
South Africa

Reading the above information brings me back again to our most wonderful trip to South Africa.
We spent 6 weeks there a number of years ago, my husband and myself. We did much the same as the above details and found it very safe to drive on the garden route. Driving around the Cape area was even more spectacular. We spent some time in Boulders bay, where we saw the penguins. Also the Cape of good Hope is worth a visit.
Cape Town itself and the beautiful areas around including the botanic Gardens
are beautiful. Dont forget to do Table Mountain.

We spent 3 most magical days of our life in Zimbabwe at a Safari Lodge, sadly no longer there. We also visited Victoria Falls.
Any money you can afford spend at the Safari Lodge, it is worth it. We went animal watching in a jeep with just the driver and ourselves. The opportunity to see the animals in their natural habitat was outstanding. The driver took us into the wild and parked in isolated areas where we waited for the animals to come to us.
The quiet and seeing them in their own environment made you feel you were an intruder, watching them with the opportunity that few people get, without disturbing them was something you will remember for ever.

Now 18 years later I am transported back to hearing the sounds and sights of the most special time of my life. I can hear the Hyienna, in the silence of the night after a kill, with his laugh, and I see the many little pairs of eyes watching in the beam of the battery light, which the Ranger used, to give us a view of the activities.
Visiting the rain forest and the wonderful sounds of the birds still rings in my ears. I have been to rain forests in other places, but there was no comparison.
Do go with a group, forget about the single supplement, that is a fact of life the accommodation providers must get their rate for their rooms and cannot afford to get the price for one person when the room rate is based on the price for 2 people.
The additional which you will pay will be more than made up for in the enjoyment and company of your fellow holiday makers. You will never get the same value for your money again.
I Wish you the most wonderful time. We went in January/February and the weather was wonderful. Do bring a video camera, the sounds are just as memorable as the sights. Wish I was going too.
Browtal
 
WOW. Thank you Hippy1975 and Browtal for your replies which were so comprehensive. A visit to South Africa is something I have wanted to do for a number of years and your replies have been so enthusiastic and informative about the country that I think I have no choice but to go ahead and do something about it.

I have got the impression that October and January/February are good times to travel and I have been in contact with Trailfinders so I will do some more research and hopefully make a decision soon.

Again, thank you so much for taking the trouble to give such comprehensive replies.
 
Hi olddoll, If you are looking for a safari then also check out Tanzania and Botswana.
I've been to Tanzania a few times and it's probably my favourite place I've been to.
Ngorongora Crater is the most spectacular thing I've ever seen (way ahead of the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls). You also get the great migration routes and it's a safe place to be.
I've never been to Botswana but the Okavango Delta is number one on my list of places I want to see.
South Africa is great, and there's lots to see beside the wildlife but there's so much more to Africa.
 
You'd probably find it most comfortable in terms of temperature in either September/October, or March/April. You're looking at about 25 then. Doing the Garden route, I'd suggest September as you're in Spring with all the flowers coming out. It's well worth doing the boat tour out to Featherbed reserve and the Knysna heads. If you have any interest in orchids, take a trip out to Duckitt nurseries in Darling. There are a number of game reserves around the garden route that offer the big 5, so you'd be able to do a safari in that area.

Take a trip out to Oudtshoorn for the Cango caves. Definitely worth seeing. You can also drop in at the crocodile farm while you're there.
 
I did a safari years ago at Madikwe game reserve in Botswana.
http://www.madikwegamereserve.co.za/
It's within easy reach of Jo'burg, is malaria-free and the food was out of this world! We did dawn runs followed by a massive breakfast and late night runs to watch all the eyes in the grass! It was August (their spring) and the mostly bare trees made it easier to spot the wildlife.

For group travel, take a look at Exodus.co.uk
 
I have been to SA a few times, last time being in April 2014, it was wonderful to see the land covered in green, however other times I was there in their winter it was easier to see wildlife. SA is beautiful in green or in the bright dry yellow of winter (mind you black when they burn the land). Prices are very low now after the weakening of the rand , ie, 500g of t-bone for €2.25 at Spar.
I always travel independently, but meet people by staying in places that accommodate backpackers, you don't have to share a room with others , single/double rooms are cheap , and people of all ages avail of these rooms, plus you more than save by sharing the kitchen and braai with other residents. Check out these places at the foot of Drakensberg [broken link removed]
http://www.khotsotrails.co.za/khbackpa.htm
Rooms are from €22 to €33, they organise trips into the mountains in small groups.
I rented a car for €12 /day and paid Hertz €28 for pick-up CPT and drop off JNB , booked via ebookers.
pjq
 
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