A country much different, from the ones we are used to visit in Europe or even in the USA. Incredibly beautiful nature, amazing natural parks with wild animals, cities full of contrasts and people with a very interesting culture compose an experience of a lifetime!!
Johannesburg
(or “Joannsberg” as locals pronounce)
The most densely populated and rich city in the country, mainly because of the existence of the gold and diamond mines around there. The place, where apartheid was greater than anywhere else, still maintains the contradictions. Expensive cars, malls with luxurious bars, restaurants and stores and houses well protected like fortresses, make wealth obvious, but, at the same time, the latter reveals the feeling of insecurity of its inhabitants!!
Where to stay
The old city center named Sandton, as well as Melrose and Rosebank, are the safest districts to stay at. The malls are more than safe and offer luxurious stores and hotels, fancy bars and very nice restaurants. Inside the Sandton mall lies Mandela Square, where the statue of Nelson Mandela- the first black president of the country- dominates.
What to visit
Without doubt, the top place to visit, is the Apartheid Museum. The way of life, as it was before Nelson Mandela became president in 1994, relives in this place!! You have the chance to travel back in time, and “feel” the differences between the “superior whites” and the “lower class blacks”.
What not to miss
The most important person for South Africa was undoubtedly Nelson Mandela, and still is!! His house, in Soweto, is a place someone should pay a visit. It’s not about the house, it’s nothing more but an ordinary house, but it’s all about the neighborhood!! Before 1994, a white man couldn’t even think to approach it, as it was considered too dangerous.
Extra tips
“Top of Africa”!! The new center of Johannesburg is not actually a place someone should visit. Nevertheless, “Top of Africa” is a secret spot, which, even people who live in Johannesburg for years, don’t know!! This observation deck, at the roof top of Carlton Centre building, with far the best view in town, it’s a well-hidden secret!! The ticket is very cheap but keep in mind that the café is closed and the streets around there are NOT safe.
If you are lucky enough to be at Johannesburg on a Sunday, you should visit one of the many flea markets, which take place in the city. The best is in the parking of the 4th floor, in Rosebank mall. You can shop local souvenirs, handmade wooden items, fresh local (and not only) food, fruit, vegetables, meat, clothes, anything.. There are also cooking-benches, which serve local cuisine and food from all over the world! You should definitely taste some!!
Daytrip to Pretoria
One of the three South African capitals, Pretoria, is only 25-30 minutes drive from Johannesburg. Not much to see or do in the city, apart from the Union Building. The building is not open to public visits, but from this hill you can have a stunning panoramic view of the whole city!!
Driving to (or from) Pretoria, on your way, you can see the Voortrekker Monument. It was built to honor the Dutch who were the first colonists from Europe. They were lived in peace with the native Africans, as they used to be quiet people, family men, farmers and cattlemen. Everything changed when the British came to the area. The Dutch locals were chased and killed, as were the African natives. The monument is a tall building, surrounded by gardens and inside it there are many artifacts of that era to see. But the most impressive exhibit lies at the basement!! It is a cenotaph, on which every year, on 16 December at 12 o’clock, a ray of sunshine shines directly. It is the date of the battle of Blood River that took place in 1838.
Kruger National Park
Africa means nature!! It is the only continent around the world, where some specific wild animals live in!! Kruger took its name after a president of South Africa, who wanted to protect the wildlife. Thus, in 1898, he built wire-fences around an area in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, making the national game reserve reality. The park covers approximately 19.500 square kilometers (3, 5 times larger than Holland) where you can go on a safari, by only watching and photographing all the wild African animals, living free in their natural environment. You may see them chasing and eating each other, sleeping or even mating, if you are lucky!! Birdwatching is also common in this park, because lots of rare birds live there. At the entrance and at the exit be prepared to be searched, you and your car, for carrying weapons and other illegal things! The controls are strict, because the animals must be protected from their greatest enemy, the human!!
Extra Tips
Africa is a continent difficult to travel through, that’s why anything that has to do with tourists, is very expensive!!! So, don’t book any safari at any office. Just rent your own car and do the “self-drive safari”!! It is cheap to rent a car, but try to get used to the idea that the steering wheel is on the right side, English style!!
Stay inside the park for at least 4 nights, at the camps, which are available at about every 80-100 kilometers. Olifants, Satara, Skukuza and Lower Sabie should be some of the camps you could choose to stay. Wake up very early in the morning (the camps’ gates open at sunrise) and drive all day, all over the park, till sunset, when the gates close. Don’t stay outside the camp during night, don’t be late to go back at the camp at sunset, don’t get out of the car (when outside of a camp during daytime) and keep the car’s windows shut during the safari!!!!
The Garden Route
It’s all about a route someone should definitely drive, from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, or reverse. Almost 300 kilometers long, everywhere safe, with many places to visit, facilities to spend the night and plenty of things to do.
The Stops
After Port Elizabeth the first stop should be the Storm River. Nature at its best, hanging bridges, canoe in the rocky seas of the Indian Ocean etc. There are also lodges to spend the night in the national parks. Close to one of the parks you can find, Bloukrans Bridge,in Tsitsikamma, which is one of the world’s highest commercial bridges (216 meters high), where you can try bungee jumping!!
And then something you didn’t even expect to find in South Africa!! A small city, with a small island in a lake (which is poured to the ocean), makes you feel you are somewhere in the central or northern Europe, maybe somewhere in Switzerland. There you can enjoy your coffee, eat or even go shopping. Knysna is the name of this special small city, but be careful, the prices are excessive !!
Afterwards, what comes next is a stop to spend the night at Mossel Bay. A fish village, where you can surf in the ocean, eat fresh fish and other local delights.
The next day, you’ll get the chance to take one of the most impressive photos you will ever take in your life!! L’ Aguilhas is a place, in the southest point of the African continent and at the same time, the exact point where the Indian and the Atlantic Ocean meet.
Gansbaai is the next highlight place to visit. It is famous for the “shark cage diving”!! You wear a diver’s suit, they put you on a boat, and when it gets offshore, you enter a cage. This cage is tied on the one side of the boat and half into the sea water. You are half in the sea and half above the surface. Then here comes the time for you to come face to face with a great white shark or other shark species!!
Speaking of sea life and sharks, who can ever forget the world’s greatest mammals?? Hermanus is your whale stop, right afterwards!! There are prepared spots for visitors, to watch the giant whales, swimming in their natural environment, throwing water from their backs, feeding their babies, etc.
The last, but of course not least stop, before the route ends to Cape Town, should be the world famous Cape of Good Hope!! Cape Point, a big lighthouse on the rocky hill, and the Cape of Good Hope, are places no one should ever miss!! In the past, all the ships, used to consider this point, which is in the most southwest part of the continent, as a sign of good luck for them, in order to continue their far journey to India. That’s how it got its name!!
Cape Town
South Africa’s second largest city and one of its three capitals. The most developing city in the country, which is built at the roots of one of “the new 7 Wonders of Nature”, Table Mountain, and combines literally everything.
Where to Stay
Green Market Square, in the heart of the city is the ideal place. There is a daily flea market selling local goods, wooden handmade souvenirs etc. Around the square, the pavements are full of cafe’s, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops. And guess what! you can go anywhere on foot!
Highlights
Table Mountain is definitely the highlight of the city, one of the most famous natural places in the planet. You can drive to a point and then take a cable car, which rotates around itself, while climbing to the top, at 1084.6 meters high. There is also a hiking path, for fitness lovers. The view from the highest point is just amazing!!! You can see the entire city, at the north side, or far till the south bay, from the other side. Next to Table Mountain is the Signal Hill, a lower hill, onto which you can drive and have, as well, a great view of the city. You can go up there even at night, when the Table Mountain is closed, and watch the different view, because it is closer to the city and its lights are turned on.
Robben Island is the second must-see place!! It’s an island, on which the Africans used to keep the lepers, away from the city at first, and many years later it was used as a prison. Nelson Mandela was kept there as a prisoner for 18 years. You can take the boat from Waterfront (a mall with many shops and restaurants, and even an aquarium) and visit the island, there is a tour inside the prison and around the island. The African penguins are now the ones that welcome you, yet on the island there are still some few inhabitants, whose life is closely connected to Cape Town (schools, hospitals, etc).
Where to go
In general terms, Cape Town is absolutely safe. You can walk by the coastline and enjoy the great sunset, by the Atlantic Ocean, from Green Point, to Camps Bay, passing through Clifton, the most expensive area of the city. In Sea Point and Camps Bay there are some very good restaurants, but they are quite overpriced, because the Camps Bay Beach,- a very beautiful exotic beach with white sand turquoise waters and view to the Table Mountain- is located there.
Extra Tip
South Africa is famous for its local wines. You shouldn’t miss a visit to a winery, and Thursday is the right day to go to Cape Point Winery, at Noordhoek, south of Cape Town center. The place is open to visitors, who can taste wines or eat local and ethnic food, at the cooking-benches. You can even find Greek food!!
Super Extra Tip
Muizenberg is a southern suburb of Cape Town, at about 25 kilometers away from downtown. “What makes a place special is its people”, and this place has an extra meaning to me, that’s why is now referred. My hospitable local South African friends showed me around their city with pleasure!! They took me to surf in the ocean, while a guy, on a hill, was watching with binoculars for sharks!! Great food was served for dinner and of course we had an unforgettable night at “the Stripped Horse” bar (not zebra, it is important).
Short travel to Zambia
From Cape Town, approximately 3 hours by plane (from Johannesburg is less), you can fly to Livingston in Zambia. It is the second most populated city in the country and its former capital. Not much to see or do there, but just next to the city flows the Zambage River. It sets the natural borders between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Victoria Falls are famous around the world and for some people they are part of their bucket list. It is the Devil’s Pool!! You can swim in a small natural pool, right next to the edge of the cliff, where the water falls!! The water is cold, but who cares?? This will be the most breathtaking swim of your life!! The view is amazing and the feeling impossible to be described in words, an unbelievable experience indeed! Use a taxi to move around (because you may get attacked by elephants on the street) and remember not to go out at night!
What an amazing account of your travels! Love it.
Thank you very much Shelley!
?? The Ultimate South Africa bucket list!!