Holidays+from+Sudan+-+South+Africa

Destination : South Africa
 * Dates of travel: ** 2 weeks in January 2008
 * Number and Age of Children: ** 1 toddler of 2 years three months

We did a self-drive tour of two weeks across SA starting in Cape Town (4 days), Oudshoorn (1 day), Knysna (3 days), Port Elizabeth (1 day), KNP (3 days), Johannesburg (2 days). Several tour operators in SA offer this kind of tour with different routes, sightseeing, and prices. We used [|www.selfdrivesa.com]. They arrange everything for you: the car, accommodation, itinerary, recommendations. You will be met upon arrival, handed all documents, and they are all the time available to solve problems should they arise. They proved to be reliable, efficient, and helpful, indeed. Accommodation was 3 star B&B, which is really good value in SA. Total cost including car and accommodation for the three of us was 2,600 USD. An even bigger chunk of money we paid to Kenya Airways to take us there via Nairobi (2,900 USD) with the usual nerve-racking wee-hours flight, quarreling with Khartoum airport staff in order to be allowed to take the pram to the plane (you need to insist! Be firm, otherwise you will be dragging around for hours your anyway foul-mooded toddler plus the pampers bag plus the tickets plus the passports plus another long list of etceteras). We managed to put all clothes and everything we needed into hand luggage as Nairobi Airport is notorious for lost luggage. Clothes in SA are widely available, easily affordable, and of excellent quality. So if you are need of anything just buy it there and buy a bag if it doesn’t fit in there. Better to loose luggage on the way back, than on the way into your longed for holidays. Websites of places visited:  a)  Cape Town : [|www.boschendal.com], www.tablemountain.net,   [|www.waterfrontboats.co.za/daily_cruises.html] , [|www.aquarium.co.za] ,   [|www.worldofbirds.org.za] , [|www.brenwin.co.za/index2.html]   b)   Oudtshoorn: [|www.cango.co.za/tours.htm] , [|www.cangocaves.co.za/standard.php] ,  c)  Knysna: [|www.capenature.co.za/reserves.htm?reserve=Goukamma+Nature+Reserve#reserve_tabs], [|www.capenature.co.za/reserves.htm?reserve=Keurbooms+River+Nature+Reserve#reserve_tabs] , [|www.ferry.co.za] , [|www.featherbed.co.za]   d)   Port Elizabeth: [|www.jeffreysbay.com]  e)  KNP : [|www.places.co.za/html/1968.html] (don’t stay there. it is the absolute tourist trap), [|www.moholoholo.co.za/index.asp?pgid=16], [|www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/camps/satara] , [|www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/camps/lower_sabie/default.php] __ Cape Town __ :   ·   World of Birds close to Constantia (claims to be the World´s biggest aviary. It is huge, has an enormous variety of birds form all continents, which are well kept and you can just walk through the aviaries. And there is also a quite big monkey sanctuary where you can walk inside a big cage with squirrel monkeys that jump onto you.).  ·   Acquarium on the VA Waterfront,   ·   the beaches if weather permits,   ·   watch dassies on Table Mountain and eat dassie droppings (a chocolate-coconut sweet) __ Oudtshoorn: __ __ Knysna: __ __ Port Elisabeth: __ __ Krueger ____ National Park ____ : __  Then the Garden Route could be done in one visit as it equally has many things to offer and to do.   And I would recommend the KNP for one visit as well.   ·   Skip Port Elizabeth.   ·   Don’t stay at Hippo Hollow Country Estate, Hazyview, just outside KNP. It is the prototype tourist trap. You are shacked up with drunken pensioners doing a runner from grandchildren and bad weather in Europe and foul-mooded staff (no surprise!). No hippos in sight (no surprise either!)
 * Itinerary ** (where please include method of travel, departure and arrival times, accommodation, estimates of prices, names of restaurants, activities, shopping, etc.)
 * Language ** : English, Afrikaans (also understood and spoken by Dutch/Flemish speakers)
 * Food ** : Just great. Wide range of types of food, excellent quality, readily available at all times. Some restaurants offered a special kids menu adapted in size and type to the little ones. The only thing that bothered me was that waiters automatically assumed that the child should have chips as a side dish.
 * Kid-specific activities: **
 * Ostrich farms where you can mount an ostrich, and your child just laughs at you.
 * Cango cave: our daughter found it fascinating to go “inside” a mountain.
 * Beaches if weather permits
 * There are a quite a number of different wildlife sanctuaries around
 * Outeniqua ChooChoo: an authentic steam train, 2 hrs trip to George
 * Cruising Knysna Lagoon on a boat
 * Halfway on the road to Plettenberg you can see on your left handside a couple of handicraft shops, one of which is quite remarkable as they have a umber of really lovely and funny DIY merry-go-rounds and other things for children. Parents can relax with some café, home-made cakes and food while the kids entertain themselves. Place is easily visible on the roadside among high trees from which metal animal figures are dangling. Unfortunately I forgot how the place is called.
 * Beaches if weather permits
 * The Dolphin Show at the Oceanarium
 * Mohololo Animal Sanctuary, close to Orpen Gate to KNP: an NGO that receives injured or abandoned animals from KNP. They are nursed back to health to be released again, though in some cases this is not possible. Some animal storied are really sad and it is better not to listen to them when you’re suffering from pregnancy-related hormonal upsets. They do a remarkable work and also take part in some research projects. Very well guided tours of 2 hours duration are offered.
 * Cheetah sanctuary, close to Orpen Gate: Cheetah breeding, research station.
 * Animal watching at KNP
 * What went really well: **
 * the food, restaurants, accommodation.
 * The tour operator was great and always ready to help. Did even a follow up two months after our visit.
 * Visits to animal places
 * What you would do differently: **
 * Do less driving. Some stretches as suggested by the tour operator were really long (> 5 hours).
 * Limit the stay to 1 place only. Maybe Cape town and peninsula for one visit. Greater Cape Town really has so many things to offer that you won’t get bored.

SA is really good value for money. Traveling, particularly with kids, is made easy. People are very friendly and helpful. They accepted our Spanish driving licenses. Coming from Khartoum you will need to show that you are vaccinated against yellow fever. In case you forget to take your vaccination card, you can get a jab at the airport against 99 USD.
 * General Comments ** :