SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion

Ok guys, I know I have been a bit absent, but I have been following your comments. I just haven't made many comments myself. I am planning on buying a laptop in the near future which should make it easier for me to comment and be a fully participating member of this group again.
Even though I have been absent I hope you haven't forgotten all about me and are willing to help me out. :)
I recently got good news about my work and that they want to keep me on for another year. This gives me the chance to travel again and I think it is high time that I meet you guys (or at least some of you) in real life instead of just online. So I am in the very early stages of planning a trip to South Africa.
With early stages I mean I have decided to travel to SA in 2014 but I haven't got a clue as to how and where and when. And that is where you guys come in. Please tell me things like where is everybody? which cities should I visit? what is the best time of year to come visit? which hotels are convenient? What are the sites I must see? how expensive is life over there so I know how much I need to save. etc etc etc.
I hope you'll help me and I hope to see you all next year!

Cool! When I go home I go to Cape Town, but I can't say for sure when I'll be there. Probably around April.

Which cities to visit: Cape Town and the surrounding winelands.

Best time of year: October-April, at least for Cape Town. January and February can get very hot though. There'll be loads of tourists during the festive season.

Hotels: hmm, someone else will have to advise on this, and it depends where you want to be and what you want to do. In Cape Town, city centre hotels will be convenient as it's not just a business centre but has loads of restaurants, bars, sites, shops, etc. Sadly, our public transport really sucks, so staying outside of the city centre will be a pain. Within the city, there's a new bus system.

To do: Although I haven't been there yet, The Test Kitchen is a world-class restaurant that everyone raves about. Can give you more food recs if you're into food tourism. Take the cable car up Table Mountain. The beach, although the water is VERY cold in the Camps Bay area. Go to the west coast beaches for warmer water. Wine-tasting, if you love wine. The V&A Waterfront. Charly's Bakery (you may have seen them on the food channel). A book launch or other event at The Book Lounge, if there's something interesting while you're in town. If there's one on, a movie festival at the Waterfront or The Labia (yes really, named after an Italian princess or something. Be warned that is beloved by hipsters). There's historical stuff, like The Castle, District 6 Museum and Robben Island, but I have to admit I find this boring.

Cost: As a European, I think you'll find many things quite cheap, particularly food. A euro is worth almost R14 at the moment. Other things like clothing and books can be expensive or about the same as what you'd normally pay.

Some SA things to try: biltong, rooibos tea, Pinotage wine, malva pudding, boerewors, snoek

If you come to Johannesburg, you are more than welcome to stay with Lauren or me, or even both. We will take you around and show you places and so on :) There is quite a bit to see in JHB depending on what you like: history, entertainment, food. So if you want to stay with us, we can work out a whole plan with you :)

Also we are 10 mins for the airport, so if you need to fly to Durban or Cape Town, you are sorted.

Best time for Johannesburg is probably also October-April. June/July/Aug is horrible.

As Lauren said, if you get paid in Euro's things should be quite cheap.

Do you like game drives and safari's and things? If so I suggest the Kruger National Park (it can be expensive tho). There are A LOT of smaller game parks close to us as well, so we can take day trips :)

PS: If you don't feel comfortable staying with us, no worries :) We can look at some b&b's for you. However, then you miss out on the Harry Potter room! :)

If you are making it all the way to SA, you really do need to see Cape Town. It is one of the most beautiful (if not the most) cities in our country.
Stopping by in Joburg? There are loads to see. If you like theme parks and rollercoaster's etc you have to go to Gold Reef City. It has fantastic rides and you can actually go see some old museums and stuff there to (although I haven't been in a while as I haven't been to JHB in a while).
I myself am in Natal. Durban is okay, very busy though. If you wanna see the lovely KZN I would suggest places like Balito or Richards Bay. They both sport lovely coast lines. St Lucia is also pretty fantastic (and they also have game drives).

We really have a pretty fantastic and picturesque country so you will not be at a loss for what to see.

Oh and yes - I agree about the June - August thing. It's our worst months. Don't know about Cape Town and Johannesburg but the coast gets ugly windy and really unpleasant. November and December is best down here because it is before it gets REALLY hot.

Personally, I don't like Johannesburg and I don't really know Durban. I love Port Elizabeth, which is why I live here. My favourite city in SA to visit for holidays is Cape Town, partly because of the drive there and back through the Garden Route. My advice to international tourists is to come to Cape Town and travel up to Port Elizabeth via either the coastal route or inland via Oudshoorn. Just outside of PE you have Addo National Park which has big five with no malaria. From there you can either travel back to Cape Town the way you didn't come or fly to Durban or Johannesburg if you really want to see those places. PE gets a bit cold in winter (even though our temps are not as low as Europe we have no central heating so it is felt more) so best time to visit is October to April.

If you come to PE I will be happy to show you around and give to tips, connect you with people or places. As others have mentioned, there are various different kinds of things to do. Are you interested in seeing cultural type stuff, museums, history or nature or sport or something completely different? If you are interested, PE hosts the Iron man in April.

I also have no interest in Joburg, but I guess that's a typically Capetonian attitude :)

I think there are lots to see and do in JHB. It gets a bad rap, but it's just cause it doesn't have an ocean :P

Agree with Lu - we have Maropeng, the Constitutional Court, Liliesleaf, Apartheid Museum, the Big 5 within an hour's drive, Newtown Arts Precinct, Madobeng Arts area in the CBD where William Kentridge's studio is, Melville and the Randlord houses as well as a gold mine (Gold Reef City) and Diamond Mine (Cullinan). Soweto and Pretoria not even touched yet. From a book perspective, Joburg has at least one book event a week between Skoobs/Love Books/Troyeville Hotel.

Having just returned from travels, here's a few important questions that we need to know, Barbara:
1 Do you have driver's license? Can you drive? Public transport is not an option in large parts of South Africa so if you don't drive we need to plan it nicely. (Don't worry, we'll organise it that you don't have to drive - Joburg has a hop on-hop off bus these days for one.

2 Do you want to do any book things? There are probably two major book events available - Franschhoek Literary Festival and the Bloody Book Week in Joburg. I think I'm missing one in Cape Town? If you want to include something like that, it will influence your timing.

3 How long will you have? I'm guessing two weeks maximum? It will determine how much driving vs seeing things you can do.

I'm sure there is lots to do in JHB. I grew up there. The main things I dislike about it is the fact that due to altitude I get tired much quicker and I can't wear my contact lenses as it is too dry. I also find it to much of a rushed lifestyle or atmosphere but that is because I am used to the laid back relaxed version we have at the coast.

Great list Carolien!

There is also the Origin's center, Sterkfontein, Botanical Gardens, Neighbourgoods market etc.

I think we just need to know what type of thing you like :)

@Varla - I must say I miss the relaxed coat lifestyle, but now that I'm living in JHB I'm getting used to it. Atleast I live on the fringes of it, so not in all that hectic traffic etc.

Lu (Sugar & Snark) wrote: "@Varla - I must say I miss the relaxed coat lifestyle, ..."

And you must be glad to have left the sweater lifestyle behind you too. :D

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

lolol at least my spelling amuses :D

We have no idea how lucky we are in our weather in Jhb. I've just spent 10 days in 40 degrees plus temperatures (and then a day in 20 degrees with intermittent rain).

Oh wow, what an information.

@Lu: does Lauren know you have opened her home to me?
I would love to stay with you as long as it isn't an imposition. Having said that I would hate to miss out on the HP room. Have the bunnies moved out or do I have to worry they will nibble on my ears in the night?

Ok all these questions:

I do not have a driver's license. It's silly I know but I never got around to gettting one.

I am interested in seeing historical things (I am an archaeologist after all). I am also interested in typical SA things and there I need your help because I don't know what they are. If there is a book festival while I am there I would like to see it, but it isn't a priority. I would love to see nature and do a safari for those lions and tigers and bears (it is just a figure of speech, Lauren, I know there aren't any tigers or bears), but only if it is a responsible one that won't put me in the animals faces or where the animals are caged or hunted so I can see them. I also would love to see your lives and everyday things. I always visit a supermarket and a cemetary in every country I go too.

I am planning on going to Johannesburg and Cape Town. But I am interested in seeing other places too. It all depends on where you all are and if we can fit it in because my primary goal is to meet you guys. So I guess I'll be including PE and Natal too.
Can someone tell me if it is easier to make travel arrangements here or is it better to do that when I am in SA? Say I fly to Johannesburg and from there I make arrangements to fly or travel to the other cities or is it better if I do that before I leave from home?

My primary plan is to stay for 2 weeks but I can easily extend that to 3 weeks max, depending on all the things I want to see and people I want to meet.

I am already planning another trip in April, which means that based on your suggestions the best time to come is October. January-March might be a short notice for a couple of things like my job. :)
But when you can see me is also an important factor of when I am planning my trip.
Weather isn't that big a concern for me. And windy is absolutely not a problem. Right now when I go to work I have to watch out the wind doesn't blow me in the river and that is quite an achievement for the wind. I am not a tall girl, but what I lack in height I make up for in width. :)

October will be lovely - you'll see Gauteng in its purple glory from all the jacaranda trees and it is warm (we don't do spring here).

Here's a rough proposal for two weeks, and everybody can pitch in with ideas. @Varla, your input is critical please and some Cape Town advice is needed.

You're best bet for a flight is probably the KLM - Amsterdam - Jhb flight (it may be cheaper to fly Emirates or Qatar, but you'll end up spending another 12 hours in the Middle East somewhere).

Fly Saturday morning from Amsterdam, the KLM flight arrives at about 21:00 in Jhb. We'll organise a SA Booklovers welcome for the Sunday. Stay up here Mon - Fri to see the Gauteng list. We'll sort that out in time.

Depending on Varla's input, fly to PE on Fri or Sat morning. (The timing depends a lot on where we fit in the wildlife part of the trip. If you go to Addo with Varla, extra day in PE. If we find something up here, extra day in Gauteng).

Fly to Cape Town on Monday (or if we can find a tour company that does the Garden Route, drive down to Cape Town).

We'll need to find a tour company that does day trips in Cape Town to take you to the winelands. I have a British friend who doesn't drive who is down here in Feb and I'll check with him what he finds. If we find you a fairly central B&B you can get around Cape Town itself quite well.

Fly up to Durban on Saturday some time. The Durban contingent need to come up with a plan until Sunday.

Fly up to Jhb Sunday afternoon 17:00ish. The Joburg squad can have a farewell supper with you at the airport. Fly out to Amsterdam on Sunday evening - the flight leaves at about 23:00.

That looks good to me.

I know there are game parks all over, but why I always pick Addo, is because it is a National Park which is pretty big and had the Big 5 (actually they talk about having the Big 7 as the marine section is part of the protected area and includes Southern Right Whale and Great White Shark). You are highly likely to see 4 of the big 5 on a visit to Addo but very few people see Leopard. Despite the size of the park, you will see elephant!

You are welcome to stay with me while in PE. I will look into options of travelling PE to Cape Town. Even the bus is worth it as you get to see some of the Garden Route. One option would be for me to drive you to Tsitsikamma on Monday, we spend the day and night there and on Tuesday you catch the bus to Cape Town while I drive home.

Flying around SA is cheapest if you watch for specials. Once we have a finalised itinerary, mostly for dates, we can watch out for the specials and let you know or book them for you.

@Barbara - Yip she does :) We have already been chatting about where we can take you and so on! Yip bunnies have their own place now (the dinning room lol).

That sounds perfect! There are tons of safari's we can take you on, and tons of Archaeological/History things!!

October is perfect! Diarising it so long :)

Carolien's plan sounds perfect! And the nice thing is that I am free during the day's (and mostly Lauren).

So excited already lol!

Agreed with Varla. If you book ahead it can be quite cheap when there are specials. Lauren has gotten some great flights for only R300 before.

Oh and for some reason the Fraser's (Lauren and I and the family) drive to PE quite often, so you never know, maybe we do something like that and you can see some more scenery. We also drive to Durban quite a bit.

Either way, the airport is super close, so I can defintley drive you too and from it, when need be :)

@Carolien: Oh wow! What is your job? Because if you aren't a travel agent you should be. It looks great. Maybe we should add a couple of days here and there for Durban and PE so I have a bit more time there. But it is a great plan to start with and build on.
All I was asking for was some advice and here I get my trip all planned for me. Thanks so much!!!

@Lu: I hope you mean under the dining table and not on it.

@Varla: thanks for the offer. I would love to stay with you and of course I would like to visit where you work and maybe see you fence.


Let's make it official and say that I am coming in October. I'll mention it on my work too. It is a bit early to ask for the days off but I am going to let them know what I am planning. And start my own research on SA and figure out what things I want to see etc.

I guess we'll be here a lot over the next couple of months to finalise everything. But so far it all sounds great, guys. Thanks for welcoming me and making me feel so welcome.

Yay so happy about this!
Check out Sterkfontein caves :)

Ok let me do my bit here too!
Lauren Smith mentioned the surrounding Winelands area here in the Western Cape... and I happen to live in one of the Town's there, Paarl.

You have to come do some wine tastings in Paarl and surroundings (like Stellenbosch and Durbanville). There is also of course the Blue Bus or Red Bus in Cape Town (not sure which one) that does the tour to Great Constantia for wine tasting.
Aquarium is pretty cool and if you're the history buff then you HAVE to see the the Castle and some ofthe churches in town.

Some wine stops that should be made is the JC le Roux cellars (where you can taste some of SA's favorite Sparkling Wines), Van Rhyn Brandy Cellar, Nederburg Wine Estate, Fairview Wine Estate (for delicious cheese and wine, and a couple of cute goats). Rheebokskloof Wine Estate, Spice Route, some great markets also at Blaauwklippen Wine Estate, Route 44 in Stellenbosch, the Laborie Wine Estate Lazy days market on a Saturday.

Then in Cape Town (if you love markets) please do the Old Biscuit Mill market, it's lovely!!!

In the Winelands area I would recommend B&B's as there aren't a lot of Hotels here. But the B&B's are usually top notch :)

Ooh, how about a bunch of us go wine-tasting and then have dinner together?

Hopefully I can make it to Cape Town around that time. We normally go in April, but it's Yaseen's brother's graduation, so we might go for that. Let me know if you decide on a date Barbara, and maybe I can arrange my plans accordingly.

Sounds like a plan Lauren, would love to see you again, it's been way too long!

It has! We must go out together again, whenever I'm back in town :)

Cool beans, and would be fun if Barbara could join us :).
Some sushi and wine woul be fun.

I wanna come too!

Come for a visit Lu!!!!
I'd love to see you again too, it's been more than a year now and I miss you :(

I will try and make a plan :)

Yay!!!!! You know you can stay with me anytime.

When is the graduation? and from what?
I'll start looking for a ticket soon and I can arrange my plans so I can be in Cape Town around the graduation date.
I would love to go wine-tasting with you guys so we have to make this happen.

He's graduating from university. I went to the university's website though, and graduations are scheduled for December, so actually this might not work :( However, our travel periods are April and October, and it always helps to go home and get supplies, so will see.

As much as I love wine, I've actually never been, which is shameful for a Capetonian wine-lover. It would be really great if we could all go :)

Lu, I've actually been thinking about making a stop in Pretoria again, before heading to CT. Had a great time with you guys earlier this year.

Cool! December is a bit later though.

I am not that big of a wine lover but I do appreciate a good glass now and then and the experience of a couple of us going wine tasting is something I definitely want to experience! :)

I have just checked some prices on tickets and I will probably not be flying in the weekends as that is going to cost me up to 500 euros extra. Can I go ahead and book a ticket or are there dates I need to take into consideration?

Yeah, I don't think we'd be able to go in December either :(

I can't think of any other dates. Will just try and see if I can make my trip coincide with yours.

My exams are normally last two weeks of October, but go ahead and book and we'll fit in around your plans!

i havent been on here for such a long time and was browsing through when I came across your post Barbara.I have been so busy with life that Its hard to fit everything in. so hello again and nice to see that you are planning a trip to SA. My favourite place in SA has got to be Cape Town, been there 7 times now and never get bored, always something different to see and do. You must do all the obvious places like Table Mountain, Robben Island, also visit signal Hill which I think has a far better view than Table Mountain. There are some nice hotels in Cape and stayed in several of them. All depends on your budget really. Because you dont drive maybe consider Cape Town City lodge, a stones throw away from the waterfront and you can get out and about on your own from there. Also Harbouredge apartments is not bad and reasonably priced. We got a good deal last year at The Cape Royale, a beautiful place to stay and wonderful restaurant just downstairs.
Last time we went we took a drive from Cape to Plettenberg Bay, its a beautiful scenic drive along the N2 takes about 6-7 hours tho but you wont even know it. You can visit George, swellendam, Mossel Bay and Knysna you can always fly from George to PE and visit Addo Elephant Park. Oh In Plettenberg and Knysna you can go walking with the elephants, a bit expensive but I enjoyed the expereince. Im not sure about how youre gonna get around tho, probably tour companies can help.

Whatever you decide enjoy your visit.:-)

PS:Im in Cape Town on the 1st April for 7 days:-)

I have to make a list of all the great things you guys are suggesting and start to pick and choose. Also I have to really get my ticket so we can get actively planning. Due to some computer issues I haven't been able to do either.

@Emma: Where are you located when your aren't visiting Cape Town? Maybe there is a chance we can come together and meet in real life? How is life and your family?

Barbara, are you interested in astronomy? A friend of ours did a lovely trip to Sutherland from Cape Town this week to see the telescopes. You'll see a part of South Africa that is very different (it's called the Murderer's Karoo for a good reason, but October is actually a good time - not too hot in the desert yet).

Oh that sounds interesting. I'll look into it. I don't know that much about astronomy but I am always looking up at the stars and I have been intending to learn more and at least know some of the constellations.

We are building the world's biggest telescope - the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in the Karoo (we are sharing some of it with other African countries and Australia, but we won the bid to construct the biggest part of it). We already have some of the world's biggest - the test for the SKA is called the Meerkat. You will also really see a side of SA that is not top of any tourist map, but is very beautiful in its own way. The Karoo was an sea in prehistoric times, now a desert and one of the best fossil sites in SA.

Even better. I like to go to where the tourists don't go and as an archaeologist everything prehistoric is fascinating!

It took some doing but I finally did it.

I booked my ticket!!!!!! Yes I am really coming and I am giving you all fair warning so you can all leave the country. :D

I am leaving home on Sunday 5 October at 20:30 which means I will arrive at Johannesburg Tambo International Airport around 10:05 on Monday 6 October.

I will be leaving again on Sunday 26 October at 20:15 and will arrive home at 08:35 on Monday 27 October.

Let the real planning begin!

Yay! Well I might actually leave the country to come and see you in SA :) Will see how things go and let you know closer to the time.

I would love to spend some time with you and finally see you in person. That is the main reason for me to go to SA besides wanting to see your beautiful country. I call you all my friends and sometimes that feels weird because in some cases I have no idea what you guys look like. I hope to get to see you many of you in person.

Can't wait to finalize plans and places to stay and see. I will start doing that next. It might sound silly seeing as how I have travelled a bit and did go to live in Mexico for 6 months on my own but it is a bit daunting. But I have my tour guide and I have all of you and I am sure my trip will be memorable for all the right reasons.

Put you down in my diary!
Cannot wait to see you!

You are more than welcome to stay with me, or between Lauren and I while you are in JHB :) I'll take the days off and we can shows you around!

Awesome. Looking forward to meeting you and showing off my favourite part of the world.

I am so happy that I have my ticket now and decided on 3 weeks not 2. Just gives me a little more time to travel around. There are already a lot of things I want to see. You guys have made some great suggestions and I have a Lonely Planet travel guide and I am planning on getting some maps, so I will be prepared. :)

And as for stying with you and Lauren: I am counting on it and looking very much forward to it. Especially with the new addition to the family. :)

Lauren and I were just chatting about all the things we could do, and show you! :)

Heheh the new addition is so cute!

You have another bed in Joburg if you need it. I've booked it in the diary and we'll have such fun showing you around.

One more place to add to my list in message 9 is the Origins Centre at Wits which is another lot of fossils for you to go and look at.