Just wanted to share some information on my recent trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland. My girlfriend and I traveled there in August and September of 1996.
It took a while to get there as we drove 100 miles to San Francisco, took a red eye flight to Newark stopping in Houston and finally took a van to JFK for the 14 1/2 hour non-top flight to Johannesburg.
We had a car or van with driver/guide for our trip in South Africa logging over 1,800 miles. After one night in Johannesburg, we drove to Sun City, a large resort complex. The “Lost City” there reminded me of something out of a Cecil B. DeMille movie set. The Palace was really luxurious but I’m glad we stayed at the more down-to-earth Cabanas.
We then drove on to Pretoria and saw the Union Buildings, Paul Kruger House and the Voortrekker Monument. In many ways, South Africa’s settlement history is much like America’s. We continued on a scenic drive stopping at Elizabeth Falls, God’s Window, Berlin Falls, and Pilgrim’s Rest Mining Town. We finally reached our lodge near Kruger National Park after dark. The owners of the lodge were very nice. They even showed us their farm complete with pet warthog.
The next day we drove through the Park for some game viewing, and finally saw an elephant up close just before leaving. It was the dry season (winter) there so the grass was low and the game viewing pretty good.
Our next stop was the Kingdom of Swaziland, where we especially enjoyed touring the Ngwenya Glass Factory to watch the manufacturing process and buy some glass art. Then it was off to Hluhwe-Umfolozi Game Park, where we were hoping to see our first Rhino (the park has 1,600 White Rhino and a much smaller number of Black Rhino). We were fortunate enough to see White Rhinos before departing for the night to the Hilltop Lodge in the Park.
The next day in Zululand, we stayed at Bushlands Lodge which I highly recommend. We saw the Dumazulu Village and show. Even though it’s a touristy kind of place, I think it’s a good way to learn about the Zulu culture while there. Even though we were the only two people at the afternoon show, the dancers really put on a great show.
Next on the agenda was Durban on the coast. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on the beach (great view from the 18th floor). We saw the City Hall, Ship Channel and relaxed on the beach.
The next day we flew to Cape Town, where we encountered our first disappointment- rain and high winds! Despite rain for most of the next three days, we did visit several very good wineries which use old Cape Dutch buildings. The wine valleys are more scenic than the Napa Valley here in California, and the wines we tasted are close to California quality. During our Cape Town stay, we also visited the Cape Peninsula area to see Hout Bay, Chapmans Peak, Cape of Good Hope Nature Preserve, Cape Point (short hike), Simon’s Town and False Bay. A highlight was a stop at the Boulders to see the famed Jackass Penguin Colony - very reminiscent of the Galapagos Islands.
Unfortunately, on the third day in Cape Town the weather got worse and we could not take the cable car to the top of Cable Mountain or see the world famous Kirstenbosch Gardens, so we took an earlier flight back to Johannesburg.
That night, Paulo, the owner of the tour company took us to the delightful Carnivore Restaurant. The waiters keep coming around with skewers of different meats - beef, lamb, chicken, kudu, eland, ostrich, crocodile, etc. which were all quite excellent! When you’ve had enough, you tip over a small white flag on your table and the waiter then brings you dessert!!
The next day, we flew to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe staying at the Mukasa Sun Hotel which is the closest hotel to the falls. The grounds are full of monkeys and mongooses which were fun to watch. We took the sunset cruise on the Zambezi River (saw several hippos and one crocodile) and saw the African Spectacular show. Our walk around the Falls was watched by several curious and friendly baboons.
Even though it was winter there, it was around 90° F and sunny. Since it was the dry season, about half the falls were dry but it was still an incredible sight and during the wet season, you can’t see the falls through the mist. While there, we also walked across the border to Zambia.
Victoria Falls is rightly known as the adrenaline capital of Africa - they offer bungee jumping from a bridge three hundred and thirty feet above the Zambezi River, ultralight flights, and white-water river rafting. We chose to take the full day rafting trip on the Zambezi. They say this is the wildest commercial raft trip in the world. Most of the river’s eighteen major rapids are Grade 4 or 5 (you have to carry your raft through one Grade 6 rapid known as "Commercial Suicide"). We didn’t flip over until #18, known as "Oblivion", where I learned to be a good "long swimmer". The really hard part is the 700 foot climb up the gorge at the end, but you have an ice cold soda or Castle Beer waiting for you at the top.
The next day we flew back to Jo’burg, only to find out our flight to the States was delayed seven hours due to engine trouble. South African Airways put us up at an airport hotel, gave us free dinner, and a 3 minute phone call anywhere in the world. The hardest part was getting up at midnight after 2 1/2 hours sleep to catch the flight at 3:00 a.m.
All the people we met were very friendly. Our friends called our hotel in Zimbabwe and ordered champagne, a fruit basket and flowers for our arrival - and the hotel refused to take any payment for it!
On the way home, we spent three days in New York City and New Jersey to see some sights and visit some old friends. That helped break up the long trip home also. This was definitely one of my all-time best trips!