Traveling around the region was easy enough. We did a combination of flying and driving and never had any problems with either, other than avoiding lots of potholes and getting lost in our first game reserve. But most people spoke English so that helped a lot. One thing to note is that most universal adapters don't work in this area; they use a plug-in with 3 circles in an equilateral triangle. So either we were lucky enough that our hosts had an adapter that worked with ours or we went without.
Almost everyone we interacted with was extremely nice and helpful. We really enjoyed getting to know some of the locals we interacted with while here and learning more about their cultures and lifestyles. It really was an eye-opening experience to learn about some of the local traditions. And of course, driving through some of the poor communities really brings into sharp focus how fortunate and blessed we truly are and how even a little help can go a long way. The kids especially would always tug on my heart when we saw them, although they were always smiling and waving at us. Any time we were able to talk with them they always told us how beautiful we were.
Overview of Our Trip
We flew into Cape Town and spent a week there before renting a car and driving along the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth. We spent one night there before flying to the Kruger area for our first safari. Then we drove ourselves back to Johannesburg via the Panoramic Route. After 1 night in Jo'burg we flew into Maun where we started our 9 day Botswana safari which took us to 4 different camps for 2 nights each and worked our way up to Victoria Falls. We spent two nights there before flying out of Livingstone. Overall just over 3 weeks in 4 countries of the Southern Africa region: 13 nights in South Africa, 8 nights in Botswana, 2 nights in Zimbabwe, and drove through Zambia to the airport.
Cape Town
We stayed near the Long Street area so we checked that our and found a small market where we looked at some of the souvenirs. It's not really a place you can shop in peace though because as soon as someone sees you looking at their stuff they start prompting you to buy something. We also spent an afternoon at Robben Island which was really moving and informative. They have former guards and inmates do the tours so they have personal experience there. We also saw penguins and dolphins on the ferry ride over so that was an unexpected surprise. After returning from the island we grabbed dinner at the Waterfront which is a neat area near the harbour with lots of restuarants. We also spent a day at Table Mountain which was incredibly gorgeous. We opted not to climb up (although I think we probably could've made it) but instead we opted to spend a few hours hiking around at the top. They have a ton of trails up there and never ending gorgeous views so it's worthwhile to take your time. Riding the rotating cable car up and down was also pretty cool with some really great views.
After a couple of days we rented a car and drove down to check out the penguins at Boulder Beach. This was a really fun day and hanging out with the penguins was super cool. It's definitely worth climbing over some boulders to get over to the secret beach area where the penguins are free to move about as they wish. That day since we were down that way we also went to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Both capes had some really great views and the park had lots of cool wildlife. We saw elands (the largest type of antelope), lizards, and wild ostriches!
We also spent a day to drive down to Gansbaii to cage dive with Great White sharks! This was an awesome experience and I'm so glad we did it since this is one of the few places in the world where you can.
We were told while staying in Cape Town that we shouldn't walk around at night. We followed this advice for the most part and never had any trouble. There are lots of people asking for money, even during the day, and they will sometimes walk with you for a ways and that's usually a bit uncomfortable, mostly because I really want to give them money but can't give it to everyone who comes up to us.
Garden Route
We spent a couple of days driving along the Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. We spent the night in George along the way. There is a lot to see along the Garden Route. Our first real stop was to see the Map of Africa which was near George. This was a pretty spot but a little harder to get to so check here for more info. The Knysna Heads viewpoint was incredibly beautiful and a must-see spot if you are in the area. The Lookout Beach was a great place to stop for a break and for some lunch, since there is a great restaurant right on the beach, called The Lookout. We also stopped at the Garden route National Park in Tsitsikamma and did the 1-hr return hike on the Mouth Trail which took us over a couple of suspension bridges and nice views. It cost us about $15 for the two of us to enter the park. Our last stop of the day was at Jeffrey's Bay since we were told some of the best surfing was there.
Driving the Garden Route had mostly good roads but there were times were we had to do some evasive driving to avoid serious potholes.
Honeyguide Mantobeni Safari
We flew from Port Elizabeth to Hoedspruit in order to get to the Mantobeni Reserve (right outside the Kruger National Park) for our first ever safari. We had decided to rent a car from the airport and drive ourselves to our camp but this was a terrible idea. The roads were bad with a ton of potholes and once we got to the reserve we got lost since the GPS location was in the wrong spot. It just made the transfer a whole lot more stressful than it needed to be as most people had their safari guides pick them up from the airport (for an extra fee, of course). We did end up seeing quite a few animals while we were lost, but it also cost us the beginning of our first game drive.
But our 3 night safari at Honeyguide Mantobeni was incredible. We had an amazing time and would highly recommend that camp and that area to anyone. If you're looking for tips for how to pick a camp or reviews of our camps please check here.
Panoramic Route
After our safari we drove ourselves to Johannesburg over two days via the Panoramic Route. We started by going through Abel Erasmuspas, which is a scenic pass through the mountains. Our first stop was at 3 Rondavels View Point and then Lowveld View, which were all terrific spots to take in the gorgeous scenery. Then we stopped at Bourke's Luck Potholes which was a really neat area where the running water has carved really unique formations into the rocks. Then we went to check out some waterfalls: Berlin Falls and Lisbon Falls, which are less than 10 minutes apart. They are both pretty and worth stopping by if you're in the area. We moved on to two other viewpoints called "Wonder View" and "God's window" which honestly weren't that impressive after everything else we had seen that day. It was a bit hazy at that time though so maybe that contributed to it. Then Pinnacle Rock was our last stop for the night. All of these stops were really close to each other so it was easy to hit them all fairly quickly.
We spent the night in Graskop and tried their famous pancakes (we actually went to both pancake places in town). They were both really good and I can't really say which one I preferred. The next day we continued on our way and made our first stop at Mac Mac falls which was really pretty. Much more impressive than our second stop which was Sabie Falls.
Then we really just hit the gas towards Jo'burg via Long Tom Pass. A really good place to stop along the way is at Alzu Petrolport. Right outside the station they had a little game reserve where you could see all kinds of animals: zebras, rhinos, water buffalo, ostriches, emus, all sorts of different antelope. Matt said he could even see them from a window in the men's restroom! There are also several fast food places to eat there so a good place to grab a bite to eat as well.
We only spent one night at an airbnb in Jo'burg and we really didn't do much so I don't have any advice for there.
Botswana Safari
We flew from Jo'burg into Maun which was a smooth flight but border control was a little slow since it's a small airport with not many people working. Our plan for Botswana was to spend 8 nights on safari: 2 nights each in 4 different camps as we worked our way north from Maun towards Vic Falls. We started in Duncan's Camp for two nights, which we weren't particularly fond of. Then we transferred to Khwai Guesthouse near Khwai village. This camp was a bit nicer. Then we flew via chartered flight to Kwara, which we absolutely loved. Then another chartered flight to Chobe Safari Lodge which we were a bit disappointed by. Please check here for lots of details on our safari. Or if you are interested in camp reviews or tips for picking your own safari lodge please check here.
Victoria Falls
We were transferred from Chobe to Victoria Falls via two transfers through border control. We stayed two nights at an airbnb in Mkhosana Township which is a bit further from town than we realized when booking it but it worked out. We did the 30 minute walk into town twice, first for dinner the first night at the Three Monkeys which was recommended to us by our airbnb hostess. Then to go see the famous Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls was absolutely beautiful, and worth the $30/person entrance fee. I've never seen anything like it before. But beware: You will likely get wet from the falls! So be prepared and bring rain gear- umbrellas, ponchos, rain jacket, etc. We didn't take anything and got completely soaked, but luckily it was a nice hot day so it actually felt kinda nice.
We had no security issues in Vic Falls, although they told us not to walk around simply to avoid the wild animals that are active at night. We were the target of lots of people coming up to us though trying to persuade us to buy things from them- old Zimbabwe money, trinkets, taxi rides, stuff like that.
Budget
I spent $5,290 total while in Southern Africa. This doesn't include our international flights since they were bought together. This is per person and in US dollars. There were two of us traveling together most of the time so most things were split equally two ways. The safaris were by far the most expensive thing we've done on this trip. I split the safari prices equally into lodging and activities but they also included food but I didn't split that out. Here is the breakdown:
Flights: $605. These are only our two chartered flights on safari in Botswana. Our other small flights were bought using credit card points and not included.
Ground Transportation: $588. This includes our ground transfers while on safari in Botswana and also both of our rental car expenses, since we drove from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and also Kruger to Jo'burg.
Lodging: $1,910. This includes all of our Airbnb's and also half of our safari expenses.
Activities: $1,907. This includes all of our activities including visiting Table Mountain and shark cage diving, and also half of our safari expenses.
Food: $184. This is small since it doesn't include all of the food we ate on safari, which totals almost 2 weeks.
Miscellaneous: $96. This includes our $30 Zimbabwe visa and $50 Zambia visa.
Summary
The safaris were amazing and Victoria Falls is also a must-see. We're so glad we decided to come to Southern Africa on our world trip as it's very unique and quickly turned into some of our highlights. The people we interacted with were very friendly and interested in sharing stories with us. Before we left we were already talking about the next destinations of our next Southern Africa trip!
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