5-week self-drive tour of South Africa

We have, of course, been in touch since our trip, but we didn't want to withhold a complete summary of our journey, our “bucket-list trip,” from you.

On Sunday 16 October 2016, after a night at the nearby Van der Valk hotel, we were at Schiphol Airport at 5:00 AM, ready for the start of our 5-week trip to Africa. The KLM flight to Paris departed at 8:00 AM, and we were immediately very pleased that we had booked Premium Comfort seats. There was an extra thorough security check at Charles de Gaulle, and we only had just over an hour to catch our connecting flight… Several people looked bewildered in a very long queue, but we were allowed to bypass this queue and then also had priority boarding and wonderfully spacious seats.

Arrival in Cape Town was on time and our transfer was neatly waiting to take us quickly to Camps Bay. An excellent place, Campsbay Resort, with all sorts of eateries for breakfast and dinner nearby, as well as a supermarket. An excellent base for what we wanted to do and did do in the Western Cape: Robben Island, Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, and of course Chapman's Peak Drive.

After that, to Kagga Kamma in the Cederberg Mountains, what special energy there! A magnificent place where we would have liked to stay longer. The hike through the mountains with the rock paintings was also fantastic. Unfortunately, the stargazing was cancelled due to the strong wind. The accommodation, those “rock dwellings,” was also amusing, and the service was excellent otherwise.

De Leeuwenhof in Paarl was as our next stop, also great. Dutch owners who made us feel very welcome, we thoroughly enjoyed various delicious wines from this area.

Gansbaai was fantastic! The Crayfish Lodge is highly recommended, the panorama suites offer a fantastic view and the owners do everything to make your stay enjoyable, giving excellent tips, arranging reservations, truly a place to return to.

Mossel Bay is nice to see but we don't need to go back a second time, Linkside was fine for an overnight stay. The weather in St Francis Bay wasn't great and as a result we quickly saw everything there was to see in the area. Sandal Guesthouse, however, was excellent!

After flying from Port Elizabeth to Durban, we stayed overnight in Salt Rock at Petit Provence. Even though it was only for one night, we found it a disappointment in terms of accommodation. The room (Lavender) felt a bit like we were in a cellar. The staff did their best, but when we asked for a restaurant reservation and a taxi, the owner's son brushed us off, saying they didn't do that but that there were phone numbers in the folder in the room. Not exactly hospitable.

Isandlwana Lodge was again very special, even though the atmosphere was different due to sad events earlier that year concerning their “house historian.” The care and excursions were superb, as were the unique rooms. After this, we had a problem with our rental car; thank you again for your help. It all worked out and a large part of the extra costs incurred was reimbursed by Hertz.

De Maqueda Lodge in Marloth Park was wonderful, the care, the delicious food, the safaris, truly a place to return to. We understood from Francois that they might be building a new lodge on the river with rooms whose “decks” overlook the river. That sounds promising!!

Naledi was a huge treat, what luxury and what attention you receive there! They were also very attentive to the two-year-olds during our stay: singing and dancing staff during dinner, cakes with names and gifts in the room. Time went by so quickly here!!

Abangane Lodge in Hazyview has a magnificent location in a fantastic area; close to Kruger, right in the middle of the Panorama Route. Ideal for longer stays. What was nice was that the (new) owners had taken over the lodge from acquaintances of our South African friends. What a coincidence.

The stay in Krugersdorp with our (now) South African friends was fantastic, childhood memories were recalled and we visited several well-known places there. Time went by far too quickly.

To top it all off: Zimbabwe and Botswana! As soon as we arrived in Zimbabwe, it felt like coming home, what a pleasant and friendly people. The drive to Hwange was quite long, but we had a very nice and open conversation with our driver, covering all aspects of daily life in Zimbabwe. The stay at Ivory Khulu Lodge was magnificent, with our own outdoor shower and bath. Delicious breakfast and dinner, and lunch and sundowners on safari; two nights was far too short!

The same can be said for Elephant Camp in Chobe, Botswana. After another very pleasant transfer (there were actually two, as we had to change at the border), the welcome was very friendly and we went on safari almost immediately. What fantastic nature they have there and how much we saw. You lack for nothing there and also here: what friendly and helpful people.

To conclude after a long journey with three transfers from Botswana to Victoria Falls, finally the Gorges Lodge… Wow, what a magnificent place! Two hundred metres above the river on your own terrace, but also the food with the same view and staff who were always at your service.

And then suddenly the five weeks are over and you have to acclimatise again in the Netherlands where the temperature is 35 degrees lower. Thank you again for organising this fantastic trip with us. This was already the fourth time since 2004 that we went to Southern Africa with AfrikaOnline! I think that says something about how satisfied we are!!

Greetings.,
Annamarie and Han A.
Bovensmilde