First to JJohanessburg

My wife and I are planning our first trip to Africa. We will fly into
Johanessburg from Victoria Falls and have a week before we leave. Right
now I'm thinking of picking up a rental car and immediately driving
to Pretoria. The next whole day would be spent driving the rim of the
escarpment at Blyde River Canyon. The next days drive to Kruger and
spend 3 nights there. Drive back to a motel near the Johanessburg
Airport. Do a Soweto tour the next day before leaving on a 7:20 PM
flight.

Is this a reasonable plan?
Is this too much time for Kruger? We will already been to Namibia and
the game parks of Botswana.
How long will it take to drive from Kruger to Johanessburg?
Should we spend less time in Kruger and see more of something else?
Unfortunately, we will be there in July and I understand this is school
holiday time. How crowded will Kruger be?
Where should we stay? We don't need/desire luxury.

How soon should we make reservations?

Thanks for any input.
Steve Gerdemann

Hi Steve,

You have set out a great itinerary. For most South Africans 3 nights in
Kruger is ideal, but I have found that many foreigners get a little bored
the first time they come to Kruger, as they don't realise it takes time and
patience to see the animals. They are also thrown by the speed limit (50kms
per hour) and think it's too slow, whereas ideal game viewing speed is
30kph.

You may consider spending 2 nights in the Kruger camps, and a third night at
one of the luxury lodges, where they do everything for you. They are not
all horribly expensive, and certainly make for a great Kruger experience.

It takes about 4 hours to drive from Nelspruit to Johannesburg. From Kruger
depends on just where you exit.

Kruger is more crowded over weekends. And the south is more crowded than
the north. It all depends on just when in July you want to go, but when we
call Kruger crowded, it means there might be 10 cars watching the lions
instead of 5. If you find them. :-)

If you need any assistance with making bookings, I can help you, or if you
need any more advice, you may contact me directly through my web site.

Catherine
==Not nuts, just a little eccentric==
www.africanbush.co.za
African Bush Tours and Safaris
P O Box 232, Rouxville, 9958, South Africa
Tel (+27) 051 663-0170 or Mobile (+27) 082 490-5485


wrote in message
oups.com...
My wife and I are planning our first trip to Africa. We will fly into
Johanessburg from Victoria Falls and have a week before we leave. Right
now I'm thinking of picking up a rental car and immediately driving
to Pretoria. The next whole day would be spent driving the rim of the
escarpment at Blyde River Canyon. The next days drive to Kruger and
spend 3 nights there. Drive back to a motel near the Johanessburg
Airport. Do a Soweto tour the next day before leaving on a 7:20 PM
flight.

Is this a reasonable plan?
Is this too much time for Kruger? We will already been to Namibia and
the game parks of Botswana.
How long will it take to drive from Kruger to Johanessburg?
Should we spend less time in Kruger and see more of something else?
Unfortunately, we will be there in July and I understand this is school
holiday time. How crowded will Kruger be?
Where should we stay? We don't need/desire luxury.

How soon should we make reservations?

Thanks for any input.
Steve Gerdemann

In article .com,
writes
My wife and I are planning our first trip to Africa. We will fly into
Johanessburg from Victoria Falls and have a week before we leave. Right
now I'm thinking of picking up a rental car and immediately driving
to Pretoria. The next whole day would be spent driving the rim of the
escarpment at Blyde River Canyon. The next days drive to Kruger and
spend 3 nights there. Drive back to a motel near the Johanessburg
Airport. Do a Soweto tour the next day before leaving on a 7:20 PM
flight.

Yes, this sounds absolutely right and you may have time in your hands. I
did exactly the same thing in 6 days in reverse order.


Is this a reasonable plan?
Is this too much time for Kruger? We will already been to Namibia and
the game parks of Botswana.

There's never enough time for the Kruger. It depends though on whether
you are viewing animals or just 'driving through'.

You may want to spend one day in Pretoria - there are some interesting
sites there (the Voortrekker monument, the Police Museum where Steve
Biko died, the Union Buildings, Melrose House). The new site in Jo'burg
Cradle of Mankind is very interesting, I hear, and so is the new
apartheid museum.

How long will it take to drive from Kruger to Johanessburg?

About 3-4 hrs the quick route to Nelspruit.

--
JohnM
Author of Brazil: Life, Blood, Soul &
Rainbow Diary: A Journey in the New South Africa
http://www.scroll.demon.co.uk/spaver.htm

How long will it take to drive from Kruger to Johanessburg?

Depends from where you leave the park. Phalaborwa to Jo'burg is about 5,5
hours. Nelspruit to Jo'burg app. 4 hours.


Should we spend less time in Kruger and see more of something else?
Unfortunately, we will be there in July and I understand this is school
holiday time. How crowded will Kruger be?

The southern part of the Kruger is more crowded then the central part. North
of the line Phalaborwa-Letaba the park is nicely remoted. I like Mopani camp
there which is a small and exclusive camp.


Bushregards,

Corné.

www.amukela.com

Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the help.

The museums sound interesting especially the Cradle of mankind. We will
definitely be taking in some of them.

We plan entering Kruger in the middle and spending three nights working
our way up to Punda Maria and then driving back to Jo'burg from
there. We have never been very good about mellowing out and staying put
in one place very long. Besides this should provide more variety. I
hope that isn't too far to drive back to Jo'burg in one day.

We are excited about this trip. It will be the most exotic adventure we
have ever done.

Steve Gerdemann

wrote:

We plan entering Kruger in the middle and spending three nights working
our way up to Punda Maria and then driving back to Jo'burg from
there. We have never been very good about mellowing out and staying put
in one place very long. Besides this should provide more variety. I
hope that isn't too far to drive back to Jo'burg in one day.

Not too far to drive if you have an early start, for sure.
Some people would recommend you not try to spend 3 nights
in 3 different places in Kruger. Why not? Wasted time
packing and moving and registering at each place.

Is this where you plan to make your reservations in Kruger?
http://www.SANParks.org/parks/kruger...ailability.php

Hi Steve:


We plan entering Kruger in the middle and spending three nights working
our way up to Punda Maria and then driving back to Jo'burg from
there.

From Punda Maria to Jo'burg is all right. Think it will take you like 2,5
hours from Punda Maria to Polokwane (Pietersburg). And then about 1,5-2
hours. So you could take your time early in the morning in the park.

We are excited about this trip. It will be the most exotic adventure we
have ever done.

Enjoy every minute of it! Have a super holliday

Bushregards,

Corné.

www.amukela.com