We flew South African Airlines. The crew was nice and attentive. The New York to Johannesburg flight took 15 hours, then a short hop to Durban.
Since I left on a Monday and arrived on a Wednesday, I was tired and dragging. A short but good nap later and I’m ready to go for the evening.
The Southern Sun Elengeni in Durban was okay. It has a good location and is the center of activities. I think our group was in the “older” part of the hotel, as during a presentation we saw much nicer rooms.
Sightseeing in Durban consisted of the Moses Mabhida Soccer stadium, Indian Spice Market & Shaka Marine World, which is reminiscent of Sea World only on a smaller scale. We also visited the Blue Train. It was the highlight of my visit to Durban.
15 on Orange in Cape Town is a very nice hotel, but had hot water issues and their wifi was not connecting.
Sightseeing in Cape town was wonderful. Early morning drive around Cape Peninsula and then to Cape Point. The following morning tram ride up Table Mountain and then the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Next day was a drive to Winelands with a visit to two wineries. We were introduced to a new wine (for me) called Pinotage. My quest is to find it here, but have had no luck so far, at least not close by.
We flew from Cape Town to Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. It took 2 ½ hrs, then another 2 ½ hrs to drive to the Mala Mala Game Lodge, in Kruger Park.
Mala Mala Main Lodge is a wonderful place. I had a roommate here but a very nice large suite accommodation with two bathrooms overlooking the river. This is a private game reserve and the oldest in South Africa which has existed since 1927. There is a ranger with each Land Rover and no more than 4 people to a vehicle. Since the 33,000 acres are private, off road game viewing is permitted. In the actual Kruger Park since, it is open to the public, you are not permitted to leave the road. Private parks are the way to go. Also there are restrictions in a private park as to how many vehicles are allowed at any one sighting, which is maximum of three. This is not true in the public park, as there are no restrictions and we were told sometimes 30-40 vehicles could be at a single game sighting.
I liked the food. We were served a buffet breakfast and lunch. Dinner is served in the boma under the stars with a roaring fire. The staff sang and entertained us with their local dance.
Game runs were daily. Our typical day started with an early morning–usually a wake up call at 5:30 AM–coffee and Danish at 6:00 AM, then board the Land Rovers by 6:20 AM. We would then return to the lodge at about 9:30 AM for breakfast.
During midday, after a safety briefing we took a short but adventurous bush walk with the rangers.
We departed from our lodge by 4 pm to view the nocturnal wildlife. As it got colder we received blankets and hot water bottles. Before the sunset, our sundowner cocktail stop was a perfect ending to the day. Once darkness fell, we headed back to our lodge around 7 pm for another wonderful dinner in the boma.
We spent one night at 54 and Bath in Johannesburg. We loved this hotel. It would have been nice to spend one more night here. It’s an elegant, small boutique hotel, not far from the main area of Johannesburg.
While in Johannesburg, we were able to see the Soweto, Mandela House, Hector Pieterson Memorial and Liliesleaf farm.
It was a great trip. I learned a lot. The South African Tourist Board did a wonderful job.
Contact me for your next vacation, or request a quote.
Tags: 15 on orange, 54 and bath, Adventure, cape town, durban, Food and wine, Johannesburg, mala mala game lodge, Safari, South Africa, southern sun elengeni, Tour, Tour Guide, Wildlife, Wine
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