BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi there. This is my first time posting and I've got a lot of questions! My husband and I are Peace Corps Volunteers in Gaborone, Botswana. We're planning to travel in SA over Christmas by renting a car and basically making a big circle from Joburg, through Kruger, Swaziland, St Lucia/Hluhluwe, Durban, through the Drakensburg and back. I've got a few questions about different stages of the trip, here's what we've got so far:

1) Bus from Gabs - Joburg then possibly Joburg - Nelspruit? I know it's 5-6 hours from Joburg to Nelspruit. Is it safe/unsafe to drive on the N4 after dark? I wouldn't mind getting into Nelspruit late if it was safe to drive after dark. If it's not safe, anyone have a suggestion on where to stay that's about 3 hours or so outside Joburg?

2) Nelspruit - Kruger (staying in Lower Sabie)

3) Kruger (staying at Crocodile Bridge Camp)

4) Crocodile Bridge - Mbabane (Is this possible in one day? How are the roads north-south through Swazi? Possible to drive in a Toyota Tazz or similar?)

5) Mbabane (staying at Sondzela, planning to do the quad bike tour thing)

6) Mbabane

7) Mbabane - St Lucia (looks like its about 300kms, is that right? Half a day drive?)

8) St Lucia (planning to snorkel Cape Vidal. Can you rent snorkel equipment in town?)

9) St Lucia/Hluhluwe

10) St Lucia/Hluhluwe - Durban

11) Durban

12) Durban

13) Durban - central Drakensburg

14) central Drakensburg

15) Drakensburg - Joburg

16) Joburg/Soweto tour

17) Bus it back to Bots

Any suggestions on the above itinerary? I know its kind of quick and dirty, but we've got a lot we want to cover! Any advice on the above questions? Thanks!

Visit our Peace Corps blog

Almost forgot, any recommendations on how much to budget for petrol? We'll be renting something small and economical, but not driving in Bots has made it impossible to me to think of a reasonable budget. Thanks!

Hi There

Coming from Joburg to Nelspruit, the road is great. You won't have a problem driving them at night. If you plan on going further into Hazyview etc. Then the roads can get a little disorientating, so probably a better idea to stay in Nelspruit.

Have a great time!

Cheers

Philip

Petrol is now around R7/litre or R23.8/Gallon. In a Tazz I would estimate you will spend about R50-R60 per 100km.

Please let me know how close I was

hi,
Yer the road to Neilspruit is ok, but remember you are not used to driving on South African roads! I lived there for 4 years so got used to it! Expect a cow, donkey,vehicles with no lights and anything inbetween to be on the road at the same time as you. If possible always try to get to places in the day time!
Itinerary looks ok. Was there a reason why you are staying in Durban so long? Durban itself is not the nicest of places and not much to do there, so personally i'd stay for shortest time as possible as so many other cool places to go!
Antony

"Expect a cow, donkey,vehicles with no lights and anything inbetween to be on the road"

That's a bit extreme...

Maybe a tortoise or two

quote:

Originally posted by Antony:
Was there a reason why you are staying in Durban so long? Durban itself is not the nicest of places and not much to do there, so personally i'd stay for shortest time as possible as so many other cool places to go!

i'm hurt now... ok, so maybe i'm bais but Durban is an awesome city, with loads to do! There are the beaches and loads of activities along the Golden Mile and the Midlands (about 15 minutes outside Durbs) which has hundreds of activities and it's an arty, crafty area and most of the small breweries are located there! There is the north and south coast where you can do diving (with sharks)!

I see you are going to the Drakensburg... very cool area! I would suggest spending one day and night in St Lucia and then 2 nights in Hluhluwe (check out the Isinkwe Backpackers)

Thanks for all the tips, y'all. Oh, and don't worry Dopeyzn, we're not going to skip Durban. I've got to hit the Victoria Street market, plus the Golden Mile beaches sound amazing and now the Midlands sound very intriguing (can't get enough of arts and crafts!)

Philip/SouthAfricaBlog - thanks for the advice on fuel costs. Will definitely let you know how we do. I'm interested to see now!

~ Heather