Best ideas for solo travellers

Which part of SA?

Does he want to do safari only in SA,or in other parts of Southern Africa? ''Overland safari'' to me suggests a truck-tour type group thing......if so,how much time has he got,and how much budget?

Hi, well he can get to either JHB/CT/PE for early Jan. Think open to anywhere in Southern Africa. He has till end of Jan/early Feb. Not entirely sure abou budget as not sure where these things even begin cost wise?

If he wants to do one of those group overland tours,the best start point is CT.

There is a very wide range of operators,price depending on where it goes exactly,what is included,the standard of food and accommodation,how many people on the truck etc etc.If you google 'truck tours southern Africa'' you will find several companies that offer this.

These are overland trips that include some safari options...if he just wants to do a safari (ie to see wildlife,rather than travel around long distances)then i'd stick to a park in SA (which will cost him a lot less).Kruger would be my choice.

Hey ...we did a road trip starting from Cape Town in the Western Cape. Here is the link of the itinerary:
http://www.tickingthebucketlist.com/2014/07/western-cape-roadtrip.html

This itinerary is for a slightly longer trip and would need to rent a car. We loved Cape Town and around. We missed Cape Aghulas, that is the great confluence of two oceans.

If you want to be around CT only, check out this post on CT :
http://www.tickingthebucketlist.com/2014/07/cape-town.html

How many days does your friend have? How will he be travelling - public transport or renting a car?

for overland tours, you (or your friend, as he knows what he likes and not, and what his budget is etc.) might look at drifters and nomads, 2 south african companies that do "adventure style tours" within south africa and southern africa, and are very reasonably priced. other (international) companies to look at are intrepid, g adventures, dragoman and geckos.

for south africa, maybe the bazbus would also be an option. this is a hop-on/hop-off bus where you buy a ticket for a certain route (like cape town to durban) and you can stop on the way. definitely with a fun young vibe and with the opportunity to meet other travellers. but not so great for the safari part of your request.