South Africa is a very easy self-drive destination, with good infrastructure that allows travellers to visit some of the most amazing places. Dorine Reinstein asked industry players to share their secrets for amazing self-drive packages.
- Cape Town and the Garden Route – a circular trip
Driving from Cape Town to the Garden Route is one of the most popular self-drive itineraries in South Africa, according to Chinky Taljaard, Go Selfdrive Tours. “This tour can be done as a circular roundtrip from Cape Town or as a one-way trip to Port Elizabeth, flying out to either Johannesburg or back to Cape Town,” she says.
This route is ideal for first-time visitors to South Africa or for tourists who are hesitant to self-drive and who worry about driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, explains Taljaard. “This is a relatively easy drive as there are many little towns or villages in which to stop over.”
Taljaard adds that it is also a varied area. “Cape Town with its mountain, Waterfront and Robben Island; Hermanus with its prime beaches and whales in season; Knysna with its lagoon and forests; Plettenberg Bay with its long white beaches; Robberg for hiking and many animal-related activities like the Elephant Park where the elephants eat out of your hand and you can stroke them; Monkeyland, where you walk with a guide in the Tsitsikamma Forest whilst the monkeys display their antics in the trees; Birds of Eden and some sanctuaries for the large cats.”
- An active self-drive holiday option
Christiaan Steyn, Marketing Manager for Drifters Adventours, a division of Tourvest, says the options for self-drive itineraries are endless. Although the chosen itinerary will largely depend on what the client wants to see or do, Steyn says active self-drive holidays are a popular trend in South Africa.
“For a more active self-drive holiday guests can easily combine their love for hiking with various different elements in South Africa. Clients will be able to go on a guided game walk/bush walk safari in the Kruger area then move on towards the Drakensberg and finish with a guided hike along the Wild Coast. This tour will allow travellers to be active during their holiday and still experience some of the highlights in South Africa.”
For active self-drive travellers, Drifters has compiled a 17-day self-drive itinerary that takes travellers from Johannesburg to the Kruger via the scenic Panorama Route. They will be able to alternate a game experience with visits to places such as Dullstroom, Pilgrim’s Rest, the Blyde River Canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes and God's Window.
The trip then takes travellers through the Kingdom of Swaziland with its traditional homesteads, to Zululand, where they can visit the Hluhluwe Game Reserve or the World Heritage Site of St. Lucia before a few days’ rest on the white beaches of the Dolphin Coast. A short flight to Port Elizabeth allows travellers to explore the Garden Route, before driving down the scenic route to Cape Town.
- The mountains of Cape Town
The mountain passes in Cape Town and the Western Cape are ideal for any self-drive holiday. Judy Lain, Wesgro CMO, explains: “Road trips are the perfect way to get up close and personal with the Western Cape’s unspoilt landscapes, locals and culinary and wine secrets.”
Wesgro has compiled an attractive self-drive package in the Western Cape, covering 547km in five nights, during which travellers will visit seven towns and two spectacular mountain passes.
On the first day, travellers make their way from Cape Town to Citrusdal. An easy two-hour drive from the city, Citrusdal is nestled between the picturesque Cederberg, Koue Bokkeveld and the Swartberg mountains. Quaint little farm stalls on the side of the road sell homemade orange marmalade.
They then travel on a mix of gravel and tar roads to Ceres via the Middelberg Pass, which offers exquisite views of the Kouebokkeveld and rugged mountainous terrain. In Ceres, travellers will be able to try the longest zipslide in Africa, go quad biking, mountain biking or horseback riding. Tours to the working fruit farms and to the Ceres Fruit Growers packing shed – the largest in the Southern hemisphere – can also be arranged.
On the third day, travellers head to Worcester via Michells Pass. The scenery along the pass is rugged but spectacular and definitely worth the drive. Travellers should make a stop at the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden before heading to Worcester, where they can relax on a river cruise, indulge in traditional cuisine and local wines and appreciate local arts and crafts.
Next stop is the charming town of McGregor, which is a 20km picturesque drive from Robertson and Bonnievale. McGregor is known as one of the Western Cape’s jewels. This unique town is therapeutic village, away from the hustle and bustle, where travellers can truly unwind, step back in time and just relax or venture down the McGregor Art Route.
Bonnievale rests in a fertile valley between the Langeberg Mountains and mighty Breede River. It is a friendly, happy place with loads on offer for any traveller, such as the fascinating Bredasdorp Shipwreck Museum.
From Bredasdorp, travellers head to Arniston. Here they can explore Kassiesbaai, a 200-year-old fishing village, which is a National Heritage Site. Characterised by white thatched cottages, this is where travellers can experience the customs of the locals, as many who live here still make a living from the sea. There are some lovely little coffee and craft shops to visit in the village, the sea is safe for swimming (and relatively warm), and the sand dunes around the town are great to explore.
- Self-driving Namibia
Gary Lotter, MD of Go2Africa, suggests its 13-day journey that will take travellers to all Namibia’s major highlights, such as Etosha National Park, the adventure and cultural capital of Swakopmund, mystical Damaraland and the spectacular dunes of Sossusvlei.
Travellers start and end their journey in the capital city of Windhoek. They begin with a trip into big cat country with a visit to the Waterberg Plateau and Okonjima – home to the Africat Foundation and up-close encounters with Africa's large carnivores. They then head to Etosha National Park, Namibia's flagship conservation area, and on to the geographically unique Damaraland region with its desert animals and large collection of San Bushman rock art. Next stop is the picturesque town of Swakopmund before continuing the desert journey into the Sossusvlei area with is vast dune fields.
According to Lotter, this is a relatively easy self-drive as there is very good, well-maintained road infrastructure, tourist-friendly settings, plenty of different types of accommodation and outstanding scenery all the way. “This route lends itself to sightseeing at the traveller’s own pace, which is a big advantage for independent travellers who enjoy doing their own thing.”
- A 4x4 self-drive experience
For those who want to literally venture off the beaten track and explore the more rugged roads of Africa, a 4x4 self-drive experience is the way to go. August Richter says Richters Safaris has compiled ‘self-drive guide packages’ in South Africa, but also into Namibia, Botswana and Victoria Falls. These packages give tourists the opportunity to experience driving in sand, dunes and rocky areas but under the control of an experienced guide.
Says Richter: “We live in an age of unprecedented freedom and 4x4 is a wonderful adjunct to that freedom but, with freedom comes responsibility and to do drive self-drive you have a duty to be sensitive to the environment in which you operate. If there are no controls over our sensitive environment, then there is nothing to share with others.”
Richters Safaris has compiled an adventurous 4x4 expedition, taking travellers into the heart of Botswana. At the Kgalagadi Transfontier National Park travellers stay at a basic ‘unfenced’ campsite, allowing them to enjoy the experience of overnighting in the wild. The area is known for its rich wildlife, rolling grass plains, acacia woodland and unforgettable sunsets.
Travellers will visit the frontier town of Ghanzi before heading to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which covers 51 800 square km, and where it is said one can find one’s soul, where the modern world recedes and you get in touch with the earth, the sky and the space. The Makgadigadi Pans National Park is the next stop, followed by the iconic Moremi Game Reserve and the Chobe National Park.
Richter says on a guided self-drive tour like this, guides can help travellers understand the wilderness better, help them respect it, care for it and share it.
