Trip report: Our South Africa journey in July (page 1 of 5)

Hi there,

We’re back from our 3-week trip to South Africa in July. It was a family trip with our four grown-up kids (ages 18 to 25).

First off, I’d like to thank everyone on this forum for their great tips—they really helped us plan this trip!

The trip: We spent 15 days between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, then a week around Kruger (including Blyde River Canyon). We found South Africans to be welcoming and always ready to help. We never felt unsafe (just followed basic safety rules). The police are very visible, especially on the roads.

Logistics: We’d booked our accommodations in advance but made a few changes on the spot based on how we felt at the time. We rented two vehicles from Firefly (Hertz). No complaints—recent cars, quick returns, and the deposit wasn’t charged. We’d gotten our international driver’s permits... which stayed in France! Luckily, no one asked for them. Driving on the left wasn’t an issue (it wasn’t our first time). The roads we took were in good, even great, condition. Only a few tracks to lodges or parks were rough and required extra caution. Lots of pedestrians on the sides of roads, even highways. And plenty of very slow trucks. But they pull over to let you pass. It’s also common for cars to cross into the opposite lane to overtake, even with white lines. We took two domestic flights: one early in the morning (Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth) and one in the late afternoon (Cape Town to Johannesburg) to save time.

We had some highlights and a few disappointments—all part of the journey! More details coming soon.

Good evening! We’ll be eagerly waiting for the rest—it’s true that with six people, you either need two cars or a really long, expensive Toyota. From what I’ve seen, unless there’s an exception, the international driver’s permit is still just theoretical… Phew!

Hi Laurence

Lovely photo to start with... makes me want to see the rest! 😉.

Hi Laurence, Oh yes, I agree with Muriel—the first photo is really beautiful (where is this?) and makes me want to see the rest. Thanks for putting together the travel journal and good luck sorting through the photos!

This is the kind of view you get from Olifants Rest Camp.

Hi there,

Thanks for your messages. The photo was taken from the Malelane Gate bridge in Kruger.

Day 1: For our first day, we decided to take it easy and stay in Johannesburg. We visited the Apartheid Museum—really interesting and moving—where we ended up spending over 3 hours without realizing it. Then we went to Constitution Hill, but it was closed due to a water issue. We could only see the outside, which wasn’t very exciting. Since it was a Sunday, we wrapped up at the Rosebank Mall Sunday market. Great vibe, lots of African craft stalls (some better than others), food stands, and a second-hand market. We can’t say the city itself—at least the little we saw—really wowed us. But there are probably nicer neighborhoods than the ones we passed through. We used Uber for all our trips—reliable, fast, and cheap.

Hi there,

Day 2 & 3: Addo Elephant NP. Our first long-awaited safari—here we are!

We entered through the south gate and drove up to Addo Main Camp for 2 nights. The landscapes were stunning, and we saw tons of animals: dozens and dozens of elephants (2/3 times quite aggressive, forcing us to back up or even turn around), just as many zebras, warthogs, various antelopes, hyenas, and other animals—including 1 lion. Actually, we first *almost* spotted one at the end of the day. It was the people in another car, scanning the horizon with huge binoculars, who pointed it out to us. With our much less powerful binoculars, we could just barely make out a distant shape lying on its back. You couldn’t really say we *saw* a lion—more like the silhouette of one. We wondered how they even spotted it! The next morning, several stopped cars alerted us to an animal, and bingo—another lion, lying in front of some bushes. Still pretty far, but clearly visible with binoculars. We passed by the same spot in the afternoon, and the lion was still there! We stayed a little while to watch it until it disappeared into the bushes. We got really lucky this time (spoiler: that won’t always be the case ).

Two days felt like enough for this part of the park. It let us do some loops twice without necessarily seeing the same animals—we spotted more in the northern part than the southern. Some dirt roads require keeping the car at a decent height.

This amazing park was our first love. Beautiful landscapes, tons of animals, hardly any crowds—pure bliss! !

Well, here’s a good start! Joburg has its appeal, but definitely not everywhere or at any time of day. Pretoria is a tad cooler. Addo… It’s the park created for elephants— originally tuskless ones. A “natural” selection under ivory-hunting pressure. It’s true that an elephant—especially a grey one, not pink—can be pretty impressive and not always easy to understand or handle. Sometimes it’s better to back off *very* gently! Lions were reintroduced quite recently, and you’ll need some luck to spot them. I know what I’m talking about… Did you notice the lack of giraffes? Since they weren’t endemic to this region, they weren’t introduced to Addo. Alright then, We’re eagerly waiting for the rest of the story!

Good evening Michel,

For the giraffes, we’ll still have to wait 🙂.

Days 4 & 5: Headed to Garden Road NP. Spent the night at Storms River Mouth rest camp. The waves crash against the rocks—still a stunning sight. Easy and pleasant walk to the suspension bridges, which we thought would be much higher. We spotted several monkeys. The next day, before leaving, we made a quick climb to a viewpoint for an overview. Suddenly, a spout of water caught our attention—a whale! The advantage of being in a group is there’s always someone looking in the right place. What was supposed to be a quick glance lasted much longer than expected. Stopped at Robberg Nature Reserve. Since the morning was already well underway, we decided to do the 2-hour hike. It took us much longer—not because it was difficult (far from it), but because it was so beautiful. Between the cliffs, the white sand beaches, and the noisy, smelly seal colony, we lingered the whole way. Second favorite moment—it was incredible. We regretted not having time to do the longer loop. We skipped the other planned stops along the route to arrive at Ebb & Flow Rest Camp just before nightfall. Absolute calm, almost no one around.

Good evening Despite my many visits to this area, Storms River and Robberg are still on my "Not Done" list. Lovely discovery!

Hi Laurence,

I don’t know the southern part of South Africa at all—it’s a trip I keep putting off (in favor of regions/countries that are more "wildlife-focused"), but your photos really make me want to go! 😉

Hi there, The Western Cape is stunning! Fewer animals for sure, but way more landscapes. Still, you can find: Mountain Zebra Karoo NP On top of Addo.

Hi Muriel,

It's a beautiful region. Addo Elephant NP is definitely worth a detour in this area.

Day 6 & 7: With clouds clinging to the hills and rain forecast all day, we change our plans. We’d originally planned to take our time driving through Oudtshoorn and its surroundings to reach Swellendam, but we figured that mountain passes and viewpoints in fog or rain wouldn’t be great. So, we decide to head to Woodville Big Tree instead. It’s an easy walk through the forest to a tree over 800 years old—nothing special, pretty ordinary. We take the N2 in the rain to Swellendam, a road with no charm. Since we arrive much earlier than planned and the rain has stopped, we decide to visit Bonteboks NP. Well, it’s more of the same for the day: meh. The roads are quite rough (high clearance essential). We spot a few bonteboks (spoiler: we’ll see way more the next day) and some steenboks. Okay, one positive point: we see our first mountain zebras. Maybe we should’ve stayed overnight (the chalets seem nice) and explored the trails to really appreciate the park.

We stop for 2 nights at a farm in the middle of nowhere. Gorgeous. The day’s mood shoots right back up!

The next day is dedicated to visiting The Hoop Nature Reserve. Ostriches, mountain zebras, baboons, and bonteboks. A walk on the dunes—we’re alone, and it’s stunning. A large marine animal shows its back now and then. We couldn’t identify it, but it was too close to shore to be a whale, in our opinion. Second walk toward the reception along Hoopvlei—it’s beautiful and peaceful. This park is one of our favorites too. It’s truly beautiful, relaxing, with a variety of landscapes, wildlife, and hardly any visitors. We really felt alone in nature during our walks. The roads to access the park and within it are unpaved and in pretty rough shape (high clearance essential).

Hi there! It’s true that Bontebok isn’t an awe-inspiring park. It’s true that the chalets are gorgeous. Since there aren’t any big animals, you can also take two or three nice hikes and go fishing. I’d considered this place as a cheap stopover and a break. De Hoop It’s pretty cool, right? The beach, the view… That little restaurant up on the beach? And bonteboks, ostriches, and zebras everywhere! Lovely spot. Did you have a chalet? It was very likely a whale 🐋 Mountain Zebra – you nailed it! The stripes don’t go all the way down. Muzzle with an orange tint. Ears are bigger and striped on both sides. Slight “goiter.” 😄

Hi there,

It was from that little restaurant above the beach that we spotted the whale or something. We didn’t sleep in the park but at a farm in the surrounding countryside. Absolute peace and quiet. Really lovely.

Day 8: We set off for Hermanus with high hopes to see the whales. We stopped at Cape Agulhas to see the southernmost point of the African continent. Well, apart from telling ourselves we’d been there, there wasn’t much to see. The lighthouse is pretty ordinary, and we didn’t go up.

Then we arrived in Hermanus for the whales... which weren’t there. The coastal path was still nice to walk, but it was a bit of a letdown not to see a single one. Only some bold and curious rock hyraxes came up to us. We tried our luck again the next morning. We spotted a few splashes in the water in the distance—a whale, but only visible with binoculars. We didn’t exactly win, but we made the best of it! !

They really don’t seem shy at all, those dassies :) 😏

Hermanus and its whales really didn’t go our way this time 🐋

Indeed, Agulhas is iconic. The photo. Still, the park offers gorgeous bungalows for cheap. It could be a one-night stop.

Hi there,

We’ve seen them everywhere except in Hermanus! Quite ironic ;). But nature isn’t on demand, and that’s a good thing.

Day 9: Stop at Stony Point Nature Reserve (Betty’s Bay) to see the penguin colony. A short walk on a wooden boardwalk to avoid disturbing them. Lovely setting facing the ocean, unlike the coast with its large houses. The R44 road is pleasant with some stunning viewpoints. We arrived in Cape Town in the early afternoon and decided to start with Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, which was on our way to our accommodation in Hout Bay. Bad call, but we didn’t know it yet! It’s not the best time to visit the botanical garden, but it’s still nice. A little suspension bridge. Some lovely views from the top of the park.

Hi there, Just a quick note for fellow travelers. According to my sources, you need to be extra careful and stay alert around the Kirstenbosch Gardens area—roads, entrance, and nearby accommodations. Paranoia or reality? I’m not sure. Did any of you notice anything?