August 2009 Weddings
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
~Sushisamba~ RE: South Africa
Can you tell me about your trip? Where'd you go, what were your favorite places? Did you do it as an organized tour group or on your own?
I'm so excited and just wading through information. TIA!
Re: ~Sushisamba~ RE: South Africa
Cecilia arrived 12 October 2012
We went to South Africa and Botswana for our honeymoon and had an incredible experience. However, since it was our honeymoon, it probably was a bit more luxurious then otherwise would have been. We did 3 days in Capetown, 4 days in Sabi Sands, and 4 days in Botswana
We flew from NYC to Cape Town (via J-burg) and spent 3 days there. We stayed at a boutique hotel, Kensington Place, and we thought it was fabulous. There were only a few rooms so we had great service. And the view from the rooms was fabulous. We had heard great things about CT and were really looking forward to it, but unfortunately since we were there in August (winter), the weather didn't cooperate and it was cool and rainy. But we still got out and saw what we could. We had organized two guided tours. One was a half day where we went up Table Mountain and then did a city tour. We enjoyed it, but nothing in particular sticks out to me. We also did a full day tour out to the wineries. It was pouring rain, but that just made curling up by the fires in the wineries doing a wine tasting all the better :-) If we had time, we would have liked to do a tour to the cape to see the whales.
We then took a flight to Kruger National Park, where we stayed at Singita Boulders in Sabi Sands (a private game reserve). I will say that this place is the most expensive hotel I've ever stayed at, but it was worth every penny! The service, the rooms, the food and the people were all amazing. So if you have it in your budget to splurge, this would be the time! Anyways, aside from that, the game viewing was excellent. I liked that it was on a private reserve, so the traffic was extremely limited and often you would be the only one at a specific location. And they had the offroad jeeps so you could go pretty much anywhere and they had tracker guides to help find the animals. We saw the Big 5 within the first few days. We would do a drive first thing in the morning and then again in the late afternoon/evening. Because we were there for 4 days, we would sometimes just skip out on the drive and relax. Given the time of year, it was cold in morning/night, but when the sun came out it was HOT. So check the temperatures in March. Layers were definitely our friends.
We then moved (via J-burg) to Botswana, and stayed in the Okavango Delta at Baines Camp. We had been spoiled at Singita, so while this was great, it didn't live up to expectations. Also it was flood season, so the land animals weren't great. But we had a great time doing some different activities, like an elephant experience, canoeing and a boat tour. They also had beautiful birds, and it the different scenery, being in the delta, was very cool.
I'm not sure if this all helps you much, but thought I would share. We did not do a group thing and went on our own (we much prefer it that way). We did use a travel agent, and I would definitely recommend that - Mia from go2africa.com was amazing and so much help. She arranged everything for us, including all airport transfers, dinner reservations, and tours, and even went above and beyond when we had trouble transferring our luggage (since we couldn't take it on the safari portion).
As mentioned, we went quite high-end given the occasion, but it can be done very inexpensively as well - check out GilliC's experience on her blog here (she and others on the Travel board have some other great advice, so feel free to ask opinions on there). I also know somebody who did a tour through Abercrombie and Kent and really liked it. Our focus obviously was the safari aspect, but there are a lot of other things you can do. In general, I would think 3 days is all your would need for a safari portion. As mentioned, we would have liked more time in Cape Town (and in better weather!) as there is a lot to do and see in the area. People have also recommended driving the Garden Route (although one of my friends didn't really like it). Also, you can take a trip up to Victoria Falls, which I would have loved to do too. So many options depending on what your preferences are and how much time you have!
Sorry so long, but I hope you find it somewhat helpful. I know there are a lot of choices and so much info to sift through. I would recommend using an agent, as they can help you out in booking and tailor for your needs and budget. But no matter what you do, you are going to have an amazing time!
Cecilia arrived 12 October 2012
I'm going to add to this (because I can't remember if I told you or not) that March is pretty much the hottest month about. We were in the Kruger from Nov 10-14th and it was 33 degrees (92F) at 9:30 in the morning and by noon it was 39 (103). It's hellhot in March and in the park, as it's the lowveld, breezes are few and far between on some days. I haven't been in SA in March since um... 1994... but when I say it's fuckhot, it really is. However, make sure you still have a sweater or a pair of pants because when the rains come in (as they often do in late afternoons) the temperature can drop drastically for the duration of the storms.
I'm so jealous of you. I just got home and want to turn around and go back there to live again.
my to-read shelf:
34/150
Thanks ladies! I'm so excited. The information you both gave is amazingly helpful. It's great to see what locals and tourists suggest.
Most of our trip is arranged, but we do have some afternoons and evenings to venture out and I've matched up what you guys have given me to those dates and locations, so I know what to check out.
I love you ladies! Everyone I know in real life, thinks we're crazy!