Cape Twon/Kruger Weeks on Hold...

[LisaH]

I had an on-going search for Sep/Oct in Cape Town and tonight a match was found - a 2BR at the Peninsular from Oct 13 to 20, 2017 (Yes 2017!). I went on RCI and found a prior week in a 3BR unit at Kruger Park Lodge from Oct 6-13. So I guess our SA trip is pretty set. Questions:
1. Is early Oct good for wildlife viewing? Is the weather still relatively dry?
2. Any info about the 3BR units at KPL? The resort sounds like a mixed bag. Not sure if 3BR units are any better than the 2BR ones.
3. Should I wait for Burchell Bush Lodge instead which seems to be favored here?

 

[GrayFal]

I had an on-going search for Sep/Oct in Cape Town and tonight a match was found - a 2BR at the Peninsular from Oct 13 to 20, 2017 (Yes 2017!). I went on RCI and found a prior week in a 3BR unit at Kruger Park Lodge from Oct 6-13. So I guess our SA trip is pretty set. Questions:
1. Is early Oct good for wildlife viewing? Is the weather still relatively dry?
2. Any info about the 3BR units at KPL? The resort sounds like a mixed bag. Not sure if 3BR units are any better than the 2BR ones.
3. Should I wait for Burchell Bush Lodge instead which seems to be favored here?

Nothing to add but excited about your trip.

 

[LisaH]

Thanks Pat! Guess not too many TUGGERS have been there. I did a search on TUG and also read a lot on Tripadvisor. I think I'm going to confirm both. Now the long, one and half year wait begins! plenty of time for me to figure out airfares and rest of the itinerary...

 

[rhonda]

How are you planning on making the transition between the two: flying, driving, or ??

The drive would be 17+ hours on N1, not including stops. Most likely the designated rental car driver in your group will already be pretty worn from driving all day in/through KNP. During our KNP days, my dear husband was driving from sunrise to sunset (park open to park close).

 

[LisaH]

Hi Rhonda, Thanks for chiming in! I just confirmed both weeks so now let the planning begin!
It seems to take three calendar days to go from SFO to JNB, then 2 calendar days to come back. We are thinking of leaving a bit early.
Sat Sep 30: leaving SFO
Mon Oct 2: arriving JNB
Between Oct 2-6: we are open, thinking about flying to Zambia or Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls
Fri Oct 6-13: Fly back to JNB, rent a car (hopefully before noon), drive to KPL and stay for a week
Fri Oct 13-20: fly from Kruger to CPT (if there is direct flight) or drive to JNB and fly to CPT, stay for a week at The Peninsula
Fri Oct 20: fly to JNB and sightseeing (may not be a good idea)
Sat Oct 21: fly home
If we go directly from SFO-JNB-KPL, then we will fly into KNB on Thursday, sleep overnight in an airport hotel, then rent a car and drive to KPL in the morning.
Obviously I need to do more research on the Victoria Falls portion of this trip, but does this sound doable so far?

 

[rhonda]

Your 'best bet' airport for KPL is likely Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMI). You'll still have a drive to reach KPL -- but less so, I think, than coming from Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport. Overall, I really like the idea of flying into a local airport rather than driving ~7 hours from JNB except for the restrictions on baggage (see linked website above) and having to backtrack to Nelspruit for the rental car.

Be careful, the airport initials KNB maps to Kanab Muni in Utah -- not your intended destination.

We haven't yet seen Victoria Falls -- but enjoyed many incredible sites along the Mpumalanga Panorama Route. You might consider using the leading days to see the Sudwala Caves, God's Window, The Three Rondavels, Bylde River Canyon, etc.? There were several darling Bed 'n Breakfast homes in Graskop. This might be a good home base for touring the area before your Park days.

 

[happymum]

Sounds like an exciting trip! I believe that a friend stayed at the Peninsula a few years back, I'll check with her and get back to you!

 

[GrayFal]

Sounds like an exciting trip! I believe that a friend stayed at the Peninsula a few years back, I'll check with her and get back to you!

Is this thru II?

Another exciting trip in the making.

 

[TAG]

Compare notes

LisaH, I just saw your post. We're doing much the same trip: Sanbonani near KNP the last week of September and Wilderness the first week of October. We're flying EUG-SEA-DBX-JNB-MQP. We have friends providing local transport, and we're staying two nights in KNP. Then, they will drop us off at the airport and we fly MQP-JNB-GRJ. We're getting a rental car at GRJ. Leaving SA we fly GRJ-JNB-DBX-SEA-EUG. We get back to Eugene too late to spring the dog from the kennel. I'm really excited about this trip! We should compare notes - we just have 2 weeks in SA.