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| Africa > Feb 26 - Apr 4, 2006  28 slideshows
 1 blog
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Back to Africa Prev: Zanzibar Next: Cape Town |
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Overview:
We spent 5 weeks in South Africa (mostly Cape Town and the Western/Eastern Cape provinces). More info to come soon. Scroll down for the stories, or skip directly to a section: Airport Arrival, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Hermanus, Mossel Bay, Knysna, Graaff-Reinet, Hogsback, Cintsa, Port Alfred, Addo Elephant NP, Jo'burg, Airport Departure, Miscellaneous |
South African Rand (ZAR) ZAR 1 = US$ 0.1624 US$ 1 = ZAR 6.16 check current rates Telephone: +27 Time Zone: GMT+2:00 no daylight savings |
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 Map is copyright Lonely Planet For a more detailed map, see UniMaps.com |
See Lonely Planet's site for more info |
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Satellite Photo:
See this satellite map
with pushpins and then zoom in at least once. |
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Airport Arrival:
Our
Air Tanzania
flight from Zanzibar
to Jo'burg (as Johannesburg is known),
was comfortable enough, with a stop in Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) which was a surprisingly small airport
for such a large city.
At the modern Jo'burg airport, immigration was quick and painless, and our bags arrived swiftly;
we had to pick up our luggage and walk them over to the domestic terminal in order to check-in again for our
South African Airways
flight to Cape Town. South African Airways recently joined the
Star Alliance,
the first African airline to meet their high western-standard safety requirements. It hardly felt like being in Africa anymore, at this airport we could have been standing in North America or Europe. |
Airport codes: ZNZ, DAR, JNB, CPT Tip: there is an "international transfers" desk in the domestic terminal, with a much shorter line |
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We also checked out two mobile phone rental stores at the airport and discovered that Susan's GSM phone
is not unlocked (we should have brought mine, which is) and that to rent just a SIM chip costs virtually
the same as renting a phone (though if you rent a phone, you need additional insurance on it). I discovered later in the trip (in Port Elizabeth) that SIM only rental can be much cheaper: R1 at MTC and R28 at Vodafone (that's a flat charge, not per day!). And we used an ATM to pull out some South African Rand. |
Tip: make sure you have an unlocked GSM phone when travelling |
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Cape Town:
Read about our week in and around Cape Town,
including Robben Island, a Township Tour,
Table Mountain and the Cape Peninsula
(inc. Cape of Good Hope). |
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Stellenbosch:
Read about our time in and around Stellenbosch,
including an all-day winery tour. |
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Hermanus:
Read about our time in and around Hermanus,
including golf and our stay at a luxury spa hotel. |
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Mossel Bay:
Read about our time in and around Mossel Bay,
at the west end of the Garden Route,
including real estate hunting,
a 4 wheel drive ATV safari in the private game reserve Botlierskop,
a day trip inland to the semi-desert Oudtshoorn to see ostrich farms and to pet cheetahs at Cheetahland. |
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Knysna:
Read about our time in and around Knysna,
including a monkey park, surfing lessons and Jan's overnight stay at a private hospital. |
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Graaff-Reinet:
Read about our time in and around Graaff-Reinet,
the jewel of the hot semi-desert Karoo,
including self game drives, the Valley of Desolation and a whacky artist's Owl House. |
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Hogsback:
Read about our time in and around Hogsback,
a small mountain village at 1300m, surrounded by forests with waterfalls.
We stayed in a cliff-side rondavel. |
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Cintsa:
Read about our time in and around Cintsa East on the Wild Coast,
including a beach horse ride, another surfing lesson and a traditional Xhosa dinner. |
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Port Alfred:
Read about our time in and around Port Alfred,
including beaches with dunes, golf, and a visit to the local fresh juice factory. |
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Addo Elephant NP:
Read about our time in and around Addo Elephant NP,
including 3 self game drives and a cute rondavel with a braai overlooking a floodlit water hole.
One of the game drives was incredible with 29 elephants at once
only 15m away at a water hole, interesting elephant dynamics and 3 hyenas in a water hole. |
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Jo'burg:
Read about our time in and around Jo'burg
(as Johannesburg is called by the South Africans),
including a fascinating tour of the Soweto township with historical sites from the struggle for freedom. |
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Airport Departure:
We flew overnight from Jo'burg to London, then to New York's John F. Kennedy airport. |
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Miscellaneous:
Our car rental costs and stats:
Tips:
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