If all goes well, looks like our next big trip will be South Africa. I was getting anxious that I had nothing planned beyond our Galapagos trip (coming up in two weeks!) Feeling actually "lost" without another trip beyond that, so I've thrown myself into planning the next. South Africa is one destination which, for the moment, has currency exchange WAY in our favor---I am actually shocked at how inexpensive this trip is shaping up to be, at least compared to East Africa or even South American destinations (not that its cheap, but for what we can get for the same amount of money.) Even airfare seems to be less then we'd expected, and much less then for East Africa, for some odd reason.
This will be a birding, photography, and mammal trip with a big emphasis on getting the big cats. We'll be hiring a full-time guide/driver, because of the birding aspect (otherwise, it really is possible to do South Africa independently, but there are just sooooo many great birds there we decided its best to have a guide who knows them. Also it frees Alan up from driving; he'd rather be looking out the window for birds and wildlife.)
Hopefully this will come off the ground, if we can find another like-minded couple to join with us! I'm very excited even just thinking about it
I've had many nice trips to South Africa as my wife is from Johannesburg in South Africa. We went on a safari a few years back and that was just amazing...see http://gardkarlsen.com/djuma_vuyatela_safari.htm . Are you also planning on doing Cape Town or Johannesburg?
South Africa seems to be flavor of the season especially because of all the sporting activities and tournaments happening. Along with your interests birding, photography, safari and mammal trip you can also catch up with the world cup if you reschedule your dates
Thanks Gard, of course I now remember your wife is from South Africa, and you've traveled there many times. I will definitely check out your reports. We will most likely stay north, fly in and out of Johannesburg; I'd love to do Cape Town and the West Cape but I think that deserves a trip of its own. Slow Travel and all Also we can fly non-stop from JFK to JNB!
As for the World Cup...no interest in soccer! and to me that seems like a good time to avoid South Africa at all costs--everything will be horribly crowded and the prices will surely jack up at that time.
Yes I'm back, and still recovering from the 20 hour flight home, so this will just be a quick update. The trip was fantastic even though we had quite a bit of rain, some days of solid rain all day which was quite unusual and a bit of a drag for photography. Still, we had good sightings and our last week (which was in Sabi Sand reserve) we had beautiful weather, thankfully, as they use open vehicles there so rain would have been a real problem!
We had leopard sightings daily in Sabi Sand, (sometimes on both the morning and evening game drive!) lions on three days of the trip, and elephant, rhino, giraffe, zebra, impala etc daily. Also some great night sightings such as civet and genet, bushbaby, honey badger... We tallied over 300 bird species! Our guide (Leon Marais) was great and really fun to be with, I can highly recommend him and the company he works with ( Lawson's Birding and Wildlife Tours) It really was an amazing experience and I am already thinking of how/when we could return.
Naturally, I have 6000 photos to go through, and it will take awhile, but I'll post when they are ready for viewing!
I hoping to go to South Africa for the World Cup later this year. Since you have been to South Africa, what do I need in order to go to South Africa. I know I need a passport but do I need a Visa too? Also, do I need to get any shots to go to South Africa? I would really appreciate any info from you or anyone else on this matter.
We just returned from a trip to South Africa in October 2009. It was awesome! It is a beautiful country with very friendly people. We flew from New york into Port Elizabeth and out of Capetown on South African Airways.
If you are from the USA, all you need is a valid passport. Additional immunizations are not necessary although I have been immunized for Hep B and A.
We went on game drives at Shamwari and Sanbona and really enjoyed seeing all the animals up close and roaming free.
We rented a car and drove ourselves mostly along the southern coast from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town with a stay in the Garden District. The roads were very good, if sometimes a little confusing because of all the construction that was going on in October. I think they are redoing all the roads to get ready for the World Cup this year.
Hope you have a great time! Laurie
Posts: 555 | Location: Near Des Moines, Iowa | Registered: 04 February 2003
I traveled to SA in 2005 and we did not need a visa. Depending upon where and when you visit, you may need Malaria tablets but otherwise just have the routine vaccines up to date. As usual, I highly recommend that you discuss your travels with your medical professional.
We visited in September and we were only in the Western Cape. This is part of the Malaria free area of SA. If you are going to Kruger or Eastern portion of SA and during the rainy season, you may want to take Malaria tablets. We were cautious when we visited Etosha in Namibia in September although it was not the rainy season.
