If you haven't heard anyone tell you yet, let me be the first to tell you how beautiful South Africa is. Situated right at the southern most tip of one of the most biologically diverse continents in the world, the country had felt like a world on its own yet connected to the most ancient of history and origins. Other than eating at an Italian grandmother's house, it has always been a lifelong dream of mine to visit the safari ever since I was a young girl watching the documentaries in my tiny HDB flat in Singapore.

So I finally visited it, and it was an amazing time with memories I'll cherish forever. And for those looking to do the same, here's my itinerary for my 3-week trip in South Africa in mid-2016 (Johannesburg,  Kruger Park, Port Elizabeth, Garden Route, Capetown) plus some additional info on F&B in Capetown and wine region Stellenbosch and Franschoek. Hope you find it helpful.

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Day 1 - 2 July Sat

We picked up rental cars at the Joburg airport, bought tourist data SIM card from the airport shop and water/snacks then drove towards Graskop (an ancient gold mining area and old Dutch settlement).

We did stop by the Voortrekker Monument on the way for a quick look see since there is time. We also stopped at the Sabie Brewing Co. for beers and snacks too (just 20 min away from Graskop).

Apparently, the places you can visit at Graskop are: 3 Rondavels, Pilgrim’s rest, Bourke’s Luck potholes, God’s Window. The airbnb host recommended Bourke’s Potholes as God’s Window and the rest are dependent on weather/fog. People can either go sightseeing or sleep at the Graskop Hotel.

For our first night, we stayed at the Thaba Tsweni lodge and had dinner at Canimambo (heard The Glass House's pretty good too but they were full).

We then packed up and drove on to the Kruger Park that is really close to Graskop.

Do drive in from the Orpen Gate into the park. From there we headed to Skukuka, a large camp in the park that is famous for game viewing. It was 280 rand per person for entry to the park, paid daily at the office. Nobody is allowed to get out of the car once in the park except for rest stops and there's a few fixed paths to follow for game viewing, so remember to plan ahead!

I would recommend for you to get takeaway food for lunch at the rest camps instead of wasting time waiting to sit and dine (especially during peak season), which was what we did during the first day. The food's like theme park food, nothing fantastic. The view though - I wish I'm back there!

Bring binoculars or zoom lens camera for best game viewing.
H4-1 is the best road to view cheetahs (either early or late at night).



Then we headed down south to see other parts of the park - we left at 5th in the early morning for a 3h15m drive to Manloth Park. We have to go all the way down south and move around from there because of lodging constraints.




We then had an evening game drive with the Wild Olive at 1600hr at 550 rand each booked for 7 people on second night. Initially we thought there wasn't much to be seen in a cranky old open air jeep, but we got a call and drove to find a family of LIONS eating their game at close range. The cubs were cute.



Then we headed down south to see other parts of the park - we left at 5th in the early morning for a 3h15m drive to Manloth Park. We have to go all the way down south and move around from there because of lodging constraints.

Stayed 2 nights in Manloth Park (south of the park) at Crocodile Kruger Safari Lodge for S$521 for 3 rooms. It was much more luxurious compared to our yurt tents! We had a morning bush walk with Crocodile Lodge Manloth Park on the 6th July 0630 to 0830am, which was a really nice walk but no game/wildlife/any animals.



Sad but true - we had to leave the safari that day to drive to Joburg airport to drop off the car and catch a flight. We left the Joburg airport via a 345pm flight and arrived at Port Elizabeth at 525pm. From there we picked up a rental car and drove along N2 Highway to Jeffrey’s Bay to stay for the night. Our accommodation was 3 bedrooms at JayBay House, with dinner booked at Kitchen Windows Beach Restaurant at 8pm (must visit, one of the best).

Day 7: 8 July Fri

We got up next morning and drove along N2 Highway to Knysna for the Oyster Festival. On the way you will pass by Bloukran's Bungy, which is the world's highest bungee bridge. We didn't take the leap, but its definitely worth doing for adrenaline junkies.





From there we drove towards Capetown and stopped by the Safari Ostriches north of Knysna (they do a 1-hr tour which we skipped and only visited the shop). The ostriches were really curious about us.


Finally when we reached Capetown we had a game meat and local cuisine for dinner at Mama Africa. Capetown also has Saturday markets but they close before 2pm. We booked a gorgeous airbnb house for 4 nights - this was the longest we've stayed in a place for all 7 of us!


The next day the gang decided to go do the Table Mountain trekking (3 hours). I preferred to take the cable car (4mins). Choose the latter if you want to be alive for the amazing views on top later :P








The next day we went to the South African Museum in the morning to look at dinosaur bones and other natural history items. It’s a pretty interesting but rather kitschy and outdated place. It was fun learning about all the "generic" animals we saw on the safari. They were called browsers. *mindblown*


We also made a reservation for dinner at Fork Restaurant for tapas, which was great!




Nobody will go to Capetown and miss the penguins! We drove from Capetown to visit Simon’s Town Boulders Beach to see penguins via Hout Bay. It is possible to do a 2-hr sea kayak here, which starts at 9am but it depends on weather. For us, we were happy to just be on land with the tiny birds.

Some might want to choose to visit Robben Island in the morning instead (you have to book the tour in advance - lasts for four hours departing from V&A). We didn't have the time.







Next leg of our tour - the vineyards! We took a leisurely drive to Stellenbosch and Glenwood for morning wine tasting and had lunch at Franschoek at La Petite Ferme. It was a fantabulous fine dining experience - go for the lunch for a better deal.








Drove to Capetown to return the car and take a flight back to Joburg, and then got an Uber into town (about an hour in peak evening traffic). We had a delicious dinner at Lucky Bean.

Day 14 - 15 July Fri Joburg

Visited the Apartheid Museum in the morning after breakfast at Service Station (awesome salmon croissant). It was a sobering experience.




There was a Neighbourgoods market at 73 Juta Street from 9am to 3pm every Saturday, which I went for by myself after the gang flew ahead back to Singapore. I got a cup of latte at Father Coffee nearby after, and loved the vibes in that area, everyone was just chilling on the streets on a weekend. Joburg didn't feel dangerous to me at all!



Checked out Market on Main at Maboneng happens every Sunday from 10am to 3pm. There were a lot of repeats from the Neighbourgoods market the day before. However, the Rosebank Sunday Market beside the parking lot on L4 of Rosebank Mall has a great selection of vintage and arts/craft every Sunday 9am to 4pm and I bought quite a bit of stuff. I loved it!

Additional info:

Stellenbosch and Franschhoek Vineyards

Accommodation

Capetown recommendations

Other F&B in Capetown