Kruger Park and The Coast to Coast Trip.

South Africa is a country with about 49 million people and is divided in 9 provinces, the city with the largest population is Johannesburg with 11 million of people. The capital is Pretoria and you can get there from Or Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg using the Gautrain, it takes 30 min. and its very safe. You can also stay in Johannesburg, I stayed one night at Shoestrings Airport Lodge, located at 3 Km. from the airport, they will pick you up from the airport and transfer you there when you need.

A good option here is to visit the Apartheid museum and Soweto township to meet the local people, you must do this with a local guide.
Its interesting to see how the Football World Cup 2010, that South Africa organized, helped this country, the tourism have increased and the local people are using their houses as hostels for the visitors, also people are less afraid to visit this country.

Kruger Park.

You can start a trip to Kruger Park from Johannesburg or Pretoria, a good option is to hire a car and drive there (5 hours) or use a tour company, I did 4 day / 3 night tour with Livingstone tour company, our guide was called Sidney who knows a lot about Kruger and the animals, very informative. They provide you with food during the trip and  the accomodation is in a great campsite called Timbavati Lodge, they also have bungalows, but you have too pay some extra money for that.

Kruger is one of the largest game reserve in Africa, it has about 19,485 square Km and its one of the best places to see wildlife. But my recommendation is to forget about see the big 5 (buffalo, elephant, lion, rhino and leopard) and just enjoy what you get to see on your visit, this is a national park, no disneyworld. The park has 360Km from North to South and 65 Km from east to west, we went through Orpen gate, that was really good, that is on the middle of the park, the South area of the park is the best as I heard, but really depends if you are lucky or not. A good option is the night drive into the park, thats an extra cost but is worth to do it. Other animals that you can see here are zebras, hippos, giraffes, african wild dog, crocodiles, black mamba, about 517 species of birds and maybe a cheetah if you are lucky. The first day of this tour you will arrive to the lodge in the afternoon, that night you can do your first drive into the park, we saw 4 lions that night. The next two days are amazing drives into the park, the guide explain you very well about the animals, plants and their habitat, food is also awesome. The last day, after breakfast you drive back to Johannesburg but on the way you make a stop in Blyde River Canyon, that is one of the best landscapes here. 

Blyde River Canyon

After visit Kruger Park we came back to Pretoria and spent the night there, next day I took the Baz Bus (shared bus with another tourists) to go to Durban, on the coast. We depart at 08.00 am and get to Durban about 17.00 hrs, was a nice drive with a pretty landscape. I stayed at the Bluff, a nice area next to the beach, far from the city but very relaxed.

From Durban to Cape Town.

Durban its a big city and the busiest port in South Africa, it has about 536 644 people and it´s located next to the Indi Ocean, Durban is a great place for surfing and its part of the Wild Coast, is a great place to stay for a few nights, I stayed at The Bluff, nice hostels and good waves, the hostel I stayed was Ansteys, great chill place with good atmosphere, the people there were young, nice and good fun, good place to relax after been in Kruger. There are a few cool places to visit in Durban like the beachfront and all the restaurants there, there is also a big Casino and the Ushaka Marine World (Im not really agree with animals in pools and cages but some people like this place). Its easy to travel by bus and the nightlife is also very good in town. The last night in Durban was my birthday and the people of the hostel made a BBQ and we had a great night out. Next day I will go to Coffee bay, to have more time next to the beach. If you to the Wild Coast you must try the sea food, Durban has great restaurants and great wine. 

Sea food curry

Coffee Bay.

Hike in Coffe Bay

I met some nice people at Durban and we all took the Baz Bus to Coffee Bay as we heard was a great place to relax on the beach and see wales and dophins. Coffee bay is a little village in front of the Indi ocean with a population of 300 people aprox. After 7 hours drive the bus drop as in Mthata town, at the petrol station, a mini bus from the hostel was waiting for us and took as to Coffee Shack, best hostel in town and famous in the Wild Coast. Hostel was in front of the beach, has a nice bar and great food, was cheap and great atmosphere. The hostel organize some activities but you can also do your own stuff or hire a local guide, its easier and the money really goes to the people. 

Can you see the Hole in the Wall?

The next day we made a hike to the Hole in the Wall, this is a 2 hour walk next to the cliffs and beaches, next to the Indi Ocean, its an easy walk but tell the hostel you are going for a hike and ask the locals for directions if you feel lost. The landscape is amazing and we saw whales, dolphins, nice beaches and some local villages. The Hole in the Wall its a rock formation, very interesting to see and some people jump from the top, some times you can see whales around. 

Next day I did another hike,I hire a local guide and we walked to Mpuzi cliffs, was a nice walk and we saw some local villages and learnt about the local people. Behind the hostel there is a cliff where you can go in the late afternoon and watch whales and the sunset. 

The last night in Coffee bay we went to the bar in front of the hostel and was a local band playing African music, we had a great time. 

Coffe bay was great, its a place to feel the local atmosphere if you go to town, but sometimes could be a bit touristy se we decided to see something different, a guy at the bar told us about Port St. Johns, a good place to see more wildlife.

Port St. Johns.

 The hostel bus took us back to Mthata and then we took the mini van (from the next hostel) to town. It was a little fishing town, with about 5000 people, the main activities here are fishing, diving, tourism and see sharks and wahles, the Ocean Safari we did there was amazing. I met some people from Holland and we went to the port to start the safari. Was cold and the boat was very little, this Safari is too see Whales and the ocean is full of sharks and doplhins, so it was a great experience, we saw 4 whales, hundreds of dolphins, the coast and  the beach. In the afternoon we met some people at the hostel and went to the mountains to enjoy the view and have a few beers. At night we had a party at the hostel and a huge 700 gr. steak ! .

View of Port ST. Johns

Jeffreys Bay and Hermanus.

We took the bus from Port St Johns to Mthata and then the baz bus to Port Elizabeth, spent the night there and the next day took the baz bus to J Bay, a small town famous for good surfing. There was a Surf Championship so I stayed there a couple of days, I met some nice people there and we decided to go to Hermanus, we took the Baz bus and got there at night. A nice city with about 11000 people, located on the Western Cape and sorrounded by hills and mountains in front of the ocean. Hermanus its a place to walk along the beachfront and see whales, visit the viniards and try oysters, calamari and try the local beer.

Hermanus beach front

In Hermanus you can do the White Shark Cage Diving excursion, a great adventure, you can see the sharks very close swimming around you , you feel safe but still scary. Its one of the best things too do in Hermanus and I really recommended. We used a company called Great White Shark Tours, very professional, good guides, safe and the biggest breakfast ever just before go and swim with the sharks.

Viniards at Hermanus

 Cape Town.  

Cape Town view from Table Mountain

The most popular and beautiful city in South Africa, with a population of 900000 people and located in front of the Atlantic and Indi ocean it´s  place to stay a few days and enjoy sites like Cape Point, Cape of good Hope and Table Mountain, an amazing rock mountain with the best view of the city, you can take the cablecar or do the 2 hour hike, thats a great experience. I recommend the hike!

To get to Cape Town you can take the Baz bus from Hermanus, its a 12 hour journey but you can stop in another towns on the way like Stellenbosch, great viniards and amazing landscape.

Cape Point

On Cape town you can stay in Long Street, where all the pubs , hostels and bars are located, it has a great nighlife.

The best place to visit in Cape Town is Table Mountain, one of the wonders of the world and maybe one of the best places I have ever been.  

After been about a week in Cape town I took the flight back to Johanessburg, make some new friends and have some good wine, next day I flew home, it was a great experience and I recommend everybody to visit South Africa, do it on your own so you can really enjoy this country.