With 6 weeks you should see a lot of the country. Start at either CT or Jhb. and catch the Baz Bus that goes in both directions but will take in Kruger

Swaziland, Durban and via that Garden Route down to CT. - You can get on and off as much as you please.

www.bazbus.com

Hi,

4-6 weeks is an amazing length of time - you can see so much and really get to experience the country.

Just as a brief taster ...

For anyone coming to South Africa, Cape Town is a must. With a magnificent mountain as its centre, miles of sandy beaches, a colourful and moving history, and countless bars and restaurants, Cape Town is one of the world's most beautiful cities, capturing the hearts of visitors. Consistently voted amongst the top cities in the world to visit, it is no wonder that Cape Town is one of the highlights of a holiday to South Africa. I would recommend at least a minimum of 4 days here, which also gives you time to relax after your international flight.

The Winelands, about an hours drive from Cape Town, are beautiful regions, especially if you enjoy food and wine! In particular, the small village of Franschhoek, set in a scenic valley, has earned itself the title of ‘Food and Wine Capital of South Africa’, and quite rightly so. The village is home to many award winning restaurants, and many of the surrounding vineyards offer excellent lunches as well as wine tasting.

Also only 120 km from Cape Town, the pretty little town of Hermanus is one of the world's best whale viewing sites. The peak time, when daily sightings are virtually guaranteed, is during September and October so if you are planning on travelling during these months, then definately include a couple of nights in Hermanus as part of your trip. It is also possible to go cage diving with Great White Sharks that prowl the chilly waters of the south coast here, or Cape Aghulas, the southern most tip of Africa, is only a short drive from Hermanus and can easily be visited as a day trip.

Most people also wish to travel along the Garden Route. The Garden Route is renowned for its beautiful coastlines, breathtaking mountains and valleys, tall forests, deep blue lakes and lagoons. It really isn’t hard to see why this particular stretch of coastline is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Africa! There are dozens of things to do along the Garden Route - hiking, watersports, fishing, horse riding, ostrich farms, mountain biking, long beach strolls, golf, boat trips, steam train adventures, shopping for arts and crafts - even bungee jumping from the highest bridge in Africa! Again, I would say 4 days minimum, which gives you time to relax as well as explore the many attractions of the area.

After the Garden Route, you could then spend a couple of nights maybe in Addo, just to give you a flavour for the safari experience ! The malaria-free Addo Elephant National Park is one of the most scenic national parks in South Africa, with rolling green hills covered in thick, lush vegetation, most of it evergreen, so it is attractive at whatever time of year you visit. Today, it is home to around 400 elephants, who roam freely among the 125,000 hectare reserve alongside the rare black rhino, zebra, kudu and red hartebeest, as well as over 400 bird species. Addo has the greatest density of elephant per square kilometre in Africa, and offers some wonderful elephant viewing opportunities.

I would then suggest flying from PE (about an hour from Addo) up to Durban, and exploring KwaZulu-Natal, which is one of the most fascinating and diverse regions of South Africa and is the ancestral home of the Zulu people, and blessed with outstanding scenery and history. Spend a few days at the beach in Durban, before heading off to the Drakensberg, which are simply magnificent. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the mountains are an area of outstanding natural beauty as well as being home to some of the earliest evidence of human habitation.

Then maybe a few nights in the Battlefields ? The Battlefields of KwaZulu-Natal offer an incredible insight into the history of South Africa, and the best way to really appreciate this bloody and fiercely-fought history is to go on one of the mesmerising and theatrical tours of the key areas, which bring to life the incredible stories of events that happened only 100 years ago. No matter how uninterested you think you are in history, these tours will captivate and move you.

Then, start heading towards the Kruger Park, but don't peak too soon ! The Lowveld area around the Kruger Park is beautiful, and the small village of Hazyview is an ideal place to base yourself for a couple of days to explore the surrounding area. The highly promoted 'Panorama Route' is a self-drive route, which takes in many of the scenic sights, which include Blyde River Canyon, Three Rondavels, Gods Window, and a traditional Shaangaan village.

Then ... the holiday highlight .. the safari.

The world-famous private game reserves and safari lodges of the Greater Kruger Park offer possibly the best Big 5 game viewing opportunities to be found anywhere, with lion and leopard tracking a particular speciality. These lodges are either located within one of a handful of concessions in Kruger itself, or in one of the neighbouring private game reserves on the western side of the park. The land is privately owned, so the game viewing vehicles are not restricted to the road network and it is therefore possible for the experienced guides to follow the wildlife through the bush and to get extremely close to the animals. This would involve an additional internal flight to get you here tho.

The Kruger National Park is also the premier self-drive safari destination in South Africa, with an unbeatable variety of wildlife and habitats to explore, an excellent infrastructure of roads and accommodation, and a feeling of huge, wide-open spaces. Self-drive in Kruger is a wonderful experience - the thrill of driving along a road by yourself and coming across a pride of lions basking under a nearby tree, or waiting at a peaceful waterhole and having a sighting all to yourself is hard to beat.

Inside the Park, there is an excellent infrastructure of roads, some of which are tarred, others gravel. Good, clear signposts and maps help to make the driving experience easy and enjoyable. Drivers must remain on the roads at all times, and are NOT allowed to drive off-road or get out of their vehicles, except at designated viewing points.

The National Parks camps in the Park offer simple, clean, air-conditioned rondavals (cabins) with limited self catering and a braai / barbecue. There is a restaurant at each camp as well as a store selling basic provisions - however if you are looking at cooking for yourself we would suggest bringing food in from outside the Park where the choice is wider and the prices lower. Staying at a couple of different camps inside the Park also gives you the opportunity to see more of this magnificent Park.

If you didn’t want to drive every day, you can arrange to take a guided sunset or night drive (at an additional cost) from the camp, which will give you an excellent chance of seeing hyena, genet and many other night animals not normally active during the day.

To end your trip ... what about driving back to Johannesburg, but instead of flying straight home, taking in a short 2 night trip to Victoria Falls. One of the 7 Wonders of the World, the sheer noise of the Falls as they cascade over the edge into the deep gorge is deafening, and the misty clouds of spray, occasionally broken by rainbows, are visible from over 40 km away. Definately go to the Zambia side of the Falls too - so you would need to fly into Livingstone.

Not sure when you are thinking of going, but most places have a 'Low Winter Season' rate which runs from 1 May to the end of September or end October, and the prices do drop quite dramatically - especially in the private safari lodges. Also, the winter months are the dry season in Kruger, which means the bush dries back, making it easier to spot game, plus the animals are more dependent on the waterholes - so game viewing is particularly good around these areas. Coupled with the low rates, this really does make a safari in Kruger very irresistable and incredibly good value at this time of year!

However, in terms of visiting Cape Town and going along the Garden Route, I should point out that winter around these areas is generally the wet season - so although it is not as cold as our winters - the climate in Cape Town is very Mediterranean - you are more likely to have rain, especially during June and July.

With regards to the general cost of accommodation, there are many hotels and guest houses across South Africa that start from around R450 per person per night, and the rate includes breakfast. Alternatively, we do work with several self-catering places, which does help to keep the cost down.

Private safari lodges range in price - anything from R1,400 per person per night to over R5,000 per person per night. The accommodation in the Kruger Park is much more reasonable - it is 'basic' but clean and comfortable, and is on an 'accommodation only' basis - so you do have to pay for all your meals, but the accommodation is cheap - about R500 per night for a chalet sleeping 2 adults. There is also a daily conservation levy payable directly to the Park when you are there, which is currently R132 per person per day.

Hope you are still awake after all this and that this has given you something to work on !