[saion666]

Let’s start with my introduction:


After our Iceland road trip in 2017, we were looking for our next trip(albeit in budget). We zeroed in on Namibia, however the cost as well as visa complications became a deterrent and so when an international flight sale came in for Yatra, we booked tickets to Johannesburg in a jiffy.

BTW, link to the mini travelogue for Iceland: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...nd-66-n-5.html

Tickets were booked in December,2017 for travel dates in July,2018. So the long wait began.
In between, we did lot of bookings/re bookings/cancellations and finally the itinerary was finalized. It had to be self-drive, the cheapest possible cars were booked through Avis(booked Bidvest at first but later Avis gave a better deal, so changed).

Visa was done through VFS, Calcutta. Tickets booked through yatra.com, accommodations were booked through booking.com.

Finally it was the last week of July and we reached Mumbai airport with our two bags, one full of packaged food and the other with clothes and knick knacks only to be told that our Air Seychelles flight to Johannesburg has been cancelled!!

After some hiccups they finally put us on an Ethiopian Airlines flight via Addis Ababa. However that meant that we would reach Johannesburg around 1.5 hrs late from our original schedule and that also meant driving around 350km to Nelspruit on our first day in Africa in the dark!

So we reached Johannesburg, picked up our car from Avis(located in the airport complex itself) , entered GPS co-ordinates and set off for Nelspruit at around 4PM. The car was a Hyundai i10(1.1). It seriously lacked power and was struggling to push on slopes in 4th-5th gear. Took some time to get used to it when everyone was driving above 120Kmph on the highway.
Anyway after some struggle and nervous moments we finally reached our accommodation in Nelspruit at 10PM in the night. It was called Panorama Guest Farm.

Photo is from next day as it was pitch black by then.



Panorama Route:
Woke up early, we followed IST again as we did in Iceland, as it helps to evade crowd.
First stop was Lone creek Falls. We were the first visitors of the day:





Then we visited the three falls Mac Mac, Lisbon and Berlin.







Finally, the highlight of this route,THE BLYDE RIVER CANYON:



On our way back we visited God’s Window and Bourke’s potholes:



Roads were great for most part except for the one that goes to Lone Creek. Had massive potholes.

Since we were more into landscapes and not interested in wildlife we left Nelspruit the next day. For those interested (I guess all), you can use Nelspruit as base for Kruger.

Next day we drove to the town of Harrismith(~500km drive), which we used as base for Golden Gate National park, Thendele(Amphitheatre peak) and Cathedral Peak hikes. They were all within 100 km from Harrismith.

Some photos:









After 4 days we set out early in the morning back to Johannesburg for our flight to Cape Town. Returning the car was easy and we returned it with a full tank and got a clean chit from the inspector.(I probably returned it cleaner than what I got, since I always carry a microfiber cloth with me along with a Jopasu duster and clean the rental car before returning). The 1.1 L engine was trash though.



Cape Town onwards to be continued…..

[saion666]

The Cape Town flight(Kulula Air) was late again and we reached Cape Town airport at around 10PM at night. We were given a Grand i10 (the 1.2L kappa) this time. I felt more at home with this car.

Night driving always made me wary in South Africa(check Youtube videos on SA crimes) and as much as I feared it, there was no escape. Thankfully we reached our hotel safely which was inside a shopping mall and was a 30 min drive from airport.

We spent the next day roaming around Cape Town. Visited Bo-Kaap, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Muizenberg Beach, Camps Bay and the Table mountains.
Photos:













We drove to the vineyards of Stellenbosch the next day. It was a beautiful countryside and felt more European than African. We spent our time at two of the vineyards there. They were postcard picture material. Entry to the vineyards are free.







The next day was spent driving to the Cape of Good Hope visiting the penguins at Boulders beach and an Ostrich farm on the way. The drive was exceptionally scenic with the sea and the mountains on each side. The 1.2L Grand i10 handled the inclines well.











On the last day we returned the car, again tank full and cleaned. No hassles.
Took flight back to Mumbai with a halt at Seychelles. No drama on return journey.

Later on received an invoice for 3L of fuel + service charge for the Johannesburg rental. On sending them the pic of fuel gauge along with odometer reading(thankfully I took it), they refunded the fuel amount.

[Kings_Wit]

Wow, this was awesome. Someone give this guy an award for venturing in the dark in Johannesburg. That place gives me the creeps. (shivers). But at the same time, this is also so beautiful.

The pics are beautiful, especially the one with the penguins. How much did the trip cost you?

I can't believe you have made another great travelogue, and I am still yet to plan my next trip. This has got me all fired up.

[saion666]

Originally Posted by Kings_Wit

The pics are beautiful, especially the one with the penguins. How much did the trip cost you?

Thanks. The total cost was ~1lakh INR for two people.

Originally Posted by Kings_Wit

I can't believe you have made another great travelogue, and I am still yet to plan my next trip. This has got me all fired up.

Would definitely look forward to your next travelogue. Wish I had such patience and literary skills to put up such detailed travelogues as yours.

[hemanth.anand]

Small is beautiful they say...so is your travelogue. It leaves people wanting for more. You have done so much in that 1 week and you've summed it up in 2 posts. "that's not fair" I felt, But hey! We are a diverse bunch of people. Thanks for sharing!

[benbsb29]

Beautiful pics, and a short, crisp travelogue to go with it. Is that all from your trip, or did you guys venture any further?

[saion666]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Small is beautiful they say...so is your travelogue. It leaves people wanting for more.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Beautiful pics, and a short, crisp travelogue to go with it. Is that all from your trip, or did you guys venture any further?

Thank you both. The trip was short(10days, excluding flights), so kept it as precise as possible. Total kms driven and walked were ~4000 and ~60 in that span.

[libranof1987]

Lovely report! I've been fascinated with SA for a while now and itching to plan a trip.

Of course, we could do with more pictures but this a good sneak peak. And a SA travelogue without any pictures of lions, say whaat! Just goes to say how much there is to explore in this world.

How's the water situation now in Cape Town, did it affect your stay?

[saion666]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Of course, we could do with more pictures but this a good sneak peak. And a SA travelogue without any pictures of lions, say whaat! Just goes to say how much there is to explore in this world.

How's the water situation now in Cape Town, did it affect your stay?

Thanks. We purposely avoided the big cats in this tour. Maybe that would give a reason to come back to Africa. However we did spot quite a few deers and zebras on the roadside.

We didnt face any water issue since Cape Town have had good rains this year. There were warning signs though everywhere requesting tourists to be frugal with using water.

[Ankoor]

Wow fantastic pictures. I did a road trip across SA in 2012 and can relate to most your pictures. It a beautiful country and I hope you did cover the garden route as it is worth the drive....