Need help with Southern African itinerary (~2 weeks)
Replies: 5 - Last Post: Feb 12, 2012 8:19 PM Last Post By: DianaHaddad
jump to
Need help with Southern African itinerary (~2 weeks)
Greetings!My wife and I traveling to Southern Africa this June and we're trying to figure out an itinerary within the very limited amount of time we have. As is our usual habit, we've put together a very aggressive itinerary (see below). Please let us know if we're staying too long/short at any place, what we should skip, or what we should do instead. Your ideas are most welcome!
Day 1 - Land at Johannesburg early AM
Fly to Livingstone near Victoria Falls (~2 hr flight). Land early afternoon.
Spend night in Livingstone
Day 2&3 - See Victoria Falls and any other activities.
Day 4 - Fly back to Johannesburg early AM (~2 hr flight)
Fly immediately to Windhoek, Namibia (~2.5 hr flight)
Land in Windhoek and spend night in Windhoek
Day 5 - Drive rental car to Sossuvlei (~6.25 hrs)
Spend night near Sossuvlei
Day 6&7 - Explore famous red sand dunes of Sossuvlei
Day 8 - Drive ~6 hours to Luderitz.
Day 9 - Explore Luderitz. See the penguins (high priority for my wife)
Day 10 - Drive back to Windhoek (~9.5 hrs). Stay night in Windhoek
Day 11 - Fly from Windhoek to J'burg (~2.5 hrs).
Drive to Kruger Natl Park (~6 hrs)
Day 12,13,14 - Explore Kruger Natl Park (we will be staying with friends who live there)
Day 15 - Drive from Kruger back to J'Burg (~6 hrs)
Fly out, vacation over!
Any advice/comments are very much appreciated!
thanks,
Mike
1
Your plan is as sound as it gets. Too bad there is no direct flight between Livingston and Windhoek to save you some time. At least, Namibia has excellent lager beer and killerlicous oysters awaiting for you.Have fun!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/youngadventure/sets/72157625578378522/
2
Busy schedule. Don't underestimate driving times, avoid nighttime drives and read up on Namibia gravel road driving before you try.Intercape runs direct overnight buses from Vic Falls to Windhoek, this would save you a day, money and stress but may also just be extra tiring. Last year we got a great deal at the new Windhoek Hilton using Expedia.
You'll only need a morning at Sossusvlei; you get up early, drive to the end of the valley and are back by mid-afternoon. You could spend a second night at one of the guesthouse farms near there, doing some walks. The drive between Sossusvlei and Luderitz is amazingly beautiful, take the gravel road (#104?) skirting the desert and ending between Helmeringshausen and Aus; there are a few guesthouses along there that would be great to break the long drive.
An hour east of Luderitz take a short detour along the signposted road to the wild horses; there were hundreds when we visited.
Luderitz is great for a day. The penguins are on an island off the peninsula, we only saw them in the distance... but the moon landscape was amazing in itself and there's good cakes at the lighthouse cafe. In town, go to the oyster bar in the harbour, fantastic and affordable. Don't miss the Kolmanskop tour; it's along the Aus road but tickets only available in town so you could do that on the morning of departure. Drive back to Windhoek using the asphalt roads via Keetmanshoop.
3
Day 15 - Drive from Kruger back to J'Burg (~6 hrs) Fly out, vacation over!Please allow more than 6 hrs to get back from Kruger to Jo'Burg, especially is you are catching a flight out the same day. They were doing construction on the highway when we were there in late 2010, and that added time to our drive that we did not anticipate. Don't know if that construction is done yet, but word to the wise.
5
I haven't been to Luderitz, but I think the Cape Town area is THE place to go for penguins. I loved them here: Boulders Beach Lodge. You can get very, very close to them (one almost stepped on my foot) and they wander around freely in the hotel building.I also haven't been to Windhoek, but I loved Swakopmund and think it's worth seeing. You can fly there non-stop from Cape Town, if you decide to go to Boulders Beach.
