South Africa or East Africa

Hey, next year i will be living in SA (near Swaziland) for 5months and am then going to travel for 2, and am having a very hard time deciding if i should travel SA/ Swaziland (and maybe Southern Mozambique time permitting) in depth or do an extreme-budget version of Tanz/Uganda/Rwanda/Kenya. Whichever i don't do now i will probably do another time as i intend on going back to this wonderful place (the whole africa bug thing and i want to visit the people i'm living with in SA).

In terms of activities do they offer much the same? Or is the likes of the Serenghetti much greater than Kruger and the culture of the east more memorable than that of SA, etc? Given that, if i do go north i want know adventure will call out and i'll do all the big (hence expensive) things like gorrilas, Mt. Kili. and wil use tour companies whereas i'd use public transport in SA.

Of course my decision is more complex than that (safety, cost etc) but i can worry about that myself and read other threads.
Ohh, such a predicament...

Cheers in advance,

Mel.

Please also note that i will be traveling for July/August.

Meli, you really do not need to make a decision now. Circumstances change very rapidly and while you are here you will make contacts and pick up plenty of info. As you will be here anyway, it would make sense to see and experience as much as you can of Southern Africa (not forgetting Lesotho, Botswana, and Namibia if you have the time). East Africa is, in my opinion, a seperate trip to a different part of the world. Can you really go back to Oz, having been here for 7 months, and say that you did not even visit Cape Town?

I agree- southern africa have a lot to offer, and you can keep eastern africa for another trip. South africa is gourgeos, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland... Zimbabwe too, although with the political situation it's a personal decision to go or not (and it's changing very fast so check last info re security)

Well, if you are going to be in South Africa for 5 months you can do many week-end trips and see a lot - even Cape Town for a long week-end - getting around here is so easy. And you are so very close to Mozambique you can go there for a few week-ends. Why not start your 2 months travelling in Cape Town and go through Bots, Zambia, Malawi and into Tanzania, Kenya, etc. You can have it all! If you keep it simple it won't cost you a fortune, and once you're out of the good old RSA you're as safe as houses. You cna never compare The Kruger National Park to the Serengeti. One is incredibly diverserse (Kruger Park) and one is basically one huge plain. Anyway, the Kruger Park is another place you can spend your week-ends if you are near Swaziland. I say all this because I have lived in different parts of the world and sometimes things pan out that you can't come back and you may regret what you didn't do.

Thanks Lynnedt, That is very helpful.

I will see Swaziland, Kruger and Mozambique all before the 2months as i have 2weeks pro-rata holiday some weekends.

However, to properly see this vast area, is it realistic to do in 2months? And also, i have a very tight budget so to do this safely is that doable? Is Zambia safe? I have heard mixed reports about this.

Mel.

OK. When i travel i want it to be somewhat relaxed (hence not a frantic rush and want time to look around the markets and have moey to go to out some nights or eat at a resturant every now and then).

With that in mind, does the idea of doing Drakensburg and Durban to CT (inc. hogsback) and then (fly to Dar es Salaam) and do Kenya, Rwanda, uganda and Tanzania in 1.5-2 months (i'm on a tight budget) seem 'stupid'? Or would it just be more ideal to stay south. I defniately am going to do the south stuff, its just a matter of if i sohuld do it in depth or do a crash course of both.

Thanks,

Mel.

well... if you say you want to take your time andare on a tight budget... than I would suggest you just stay in southern africa... I mean, appart from SA, you could also go to Mozambique, vic falls, botswana, namibia, lesotho, swaziland - The choices are endless, and 2 months is not too much for all of that...