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| SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL |
THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY
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Submitted by: Robert Jones - 11
June, 2007
Velserbroek, The Netherlands |
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It has always been a dream of mine to visit South Africa but I had to wait
many years before being able to achieve my ambition. At the age of 55, with the help of a
very good travel agent, I managed to put together what I thought would be a wonderful
journey.
Travelling with my wife and son our journey started in August when we flew from Schiphol
Airport, Amsterdam to OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. Most passengers, including my wife
and son, managed to grab a little sleep on the flight but because of all the excitement I
just could not drop off. At the airport we picked up our hire car and set off for
Pretoria/Tshwane on the way stopping off at the Voortrekker Monument which so impressed us
we stopped for 3 hours just to enjoy that lovely peaceful feeling that we had wherever we
went in South Africa.
That evening we stayed at Isiphiwo Guest House and although we had a little trouble
finding it it was obviously a wonderful choice for our first couple of nights. Isiphiwo is
the Zulu word for "God given" which is a very apt name for this lovely place. We
only had one full day so we used it up by visiting Pretoria in the morning and the
Cullinan gold mine in the afternoon where, as we were the only tourists at that time, we
were given a very personal escorted tour. The late afternoon and evening were spent
soaking up Isiphiwo's lovely relaxed atmosphere.
We then drove eastwards along the N4 and turning off at Belfast we followed the route
through Lydenburg, over the beautiful Long Tom Pass eventually reaching our next stop,
Rissington Inn near Hazyview. This place is, even for South Africa, something special and
although the owner was away we were welcomed with friendship and courtesy.
We spent two full days traversing up and down the Kruger National Park from here -entering
the park at the Phabeni gate. Having seen 4 of the "big five" we were wondering
what we had to do to see a Leopard. We mentioned our little problem
to a park ranger who happened to pass by and he said "if you drive around the next
bend you will see one resting in a tree." We spent over an hour just staring in
wonder at this beautiful animal. We had never seen one in the wild and it was a sight we
will never forget. How I envy those Park Rangers --- what a wonderful job!
One morning while staying at Rissington Inn I realised I had no permit to drive our hire
car into Swaziland ( I had forgotten to ask for one when we picked up our hire car!!!) and
I happened to mention it during breakfast to the Manager who went off to have a word with
the Secretary - within 5 minutes the permit was lying alongside the toast and one small
problem had been overcome.
We also managed to squeeze in a balloon flight down the Sabie valley -an unforgettable
experience on a lovely South African winters morning.
Our last day here was spent travelling the Panorama route and on the way back we spent a
lovely couple of hours at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre. Alas, it was time to
move on and we headed for Swaziland which we entered at Matsomo / Jeppe's Reef border
crossing. Heading for our stopover at The Foresters Arms Hotel we were fascinated by the
beautiful countryside but at the same time rather upset at the sheer scale of the poverty
around us. While there we visited the Mlilwane Game Park which, although lovely and
relaxing, when compared to the parks in South Africa had a rather rundown feeling.
Leaving Swaziland at the Nerston border post we moved on to KwaZulu-Natal and made our way
to the Penny
Farthing Guest House near Dundee. One of the reasons for wanting to visit South Africa was to
see the battlefields and while there we managed to see Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift, Ulundi,
Blood River, Talana and Spion Kop. We were very impressed by them all but Isandlwana is an
unforgettable battlefield - it was quiet when we were there (there were only three other
people
besides us) and I could sit on top of Black's Koppie / Mhlabamkhosi and just imagine what
had happened there on that awful day in 1879. I could have spent much longer in
KwaZulu-Natal but we had to keep to the itinerary so we drove down via Tugela Ferry
to Durban to catch our S.A.A. flight to Port Elizabeth.
Again, picking up our hire car at the airport we made our way to Shamwari Game Reserve.
Here we were treated like Royalty and were given two beautiful rooms at Lobengula Lodge
and for the duration of our stay we had the same ranger who not only took us on
astonishing game drives but also ate his meals with us in order to make sure we didn't
want for anything. This was definitely one of the highlights of our holiday (Our ranger
even took us to within 5-6 yards of a black Rhino) and I have vowed that one day I will go
back to visit Shamwari.
It was while we were there that we were taken to see the rescued big cats at the Born Free
centre -- it was very emotional to listen to the ranger explaining the terrible conditions
that these animals had been rescued from.
Driving westwards along the N2 we spent a lovely couple of hours at Knysna (much too short
but it was all that time would allow) before making our way to Lands End Guest House at
Victoria Bay. What an experience this was -- going to sleep at night to the sound of waves
crashing onto the rocks and eating breakfast on the veranda while watching whales
performing out to sea.
As this was only a stopover we left early the next morning and moved on to our last Guest
House i.e. Klein Akkerdraai Lodge near Stellenbosch. We spent the last three days of our
holiday here -- visiting the lovely wine country. Franschhoek
captivated us and the drive over the Kogmanskloof to Montagu
is a wonderful memory that will last for many years to come.
Cape Town is stunning and everything we had heard it would be -- from Robben
Island, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, the beautiful Cape Peninsula, Table
Mountain of course and much more -- our last few days were kept very busy.
All too soon our holiday was over and we had to deliver our hire car back at the Airport
and catch our return flight to Amsterdam. All in all our holiday was an unbelievable
experience and made us all promise each other that one day (finances allowing of course)
we will again visit this beautiful country of South Africa. |
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Additional info / Related Pages:
Here are a few links to places that are mentioned in Robert's Travel Experience.
KwaZulu
Natal Battlefields
Shamwari
Game Reserve
Kruger
National Park
South
Africa Attractions |
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« South Africa
Tours | South Africa Game
Reserves | South Africa
Attractions » |
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With 20 National Parks
(including two of the world's most famous wildlife reserves, the Kruger Park & Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park) &
numerous private game reserves, your trip to South Africa would be incomplete without
experiencing a South African wildlife safari .... |
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