Land of Good Hope

by Glen Strachan

Our visit to South Africa started in Johannesburg in the same fashion as many first-time visitors to the Republic and, while this most modern city is of some interest, it has its problems. Our advice is to try to make Cape Town the entry point for your South African trip. While it is not easy to arrange travel this way round, the benefits are such that the effort will be rewarded.

Johannesburg is a huge sprawling modern city with a very ritzy upmarket suburbia and a terrifying crime-soaked city centre downtown area. Murders are routine and muggings commonplace with a range of car-jackings and random shootings adding spice to this cosmopolitan city. The police force is being overwhelmed and the swelling tide of crime shows no sign of abating. Downtown and the old business district are now out of bounds to most locals, who will not even drive through this district in daylight. In general, driving at night is not recommended but, if you are challenged and stopped, the advice given is that you pass the keys of your vehicle to your assailant and then hand over your wallet. A combination of the two may be enough to save your life.

That ends the warning and mostly it ends any negative feelings about this remarkable country. I began with the warning because it is so important that all visitors heed it, when planning their South African visit. It might be a good idea to plan your trip around a flight into Cape Town and out of Durban. This could cost a little more but there is more than enough to see without even passing through Johannesburg or Pretoria, its neighbour.

Leaving Cape Town, the journey along the coast to see the fabulous Garden Route is a real treat. The solitude and the stunning beauty of this coastline make this a journey to be taken very slowly and with as many stops as you can work into your itinerary. The South African Tourist Board in the UK is most helpful in providing the literature that will help you to get the most out of your visit and the local offices of the Board were tremendous with a wide range of helpful and friendly staffers. The stars of our visit were the National Parks administrators and rangers.

The wide range of parks is nearly beyond belief and, since many of the parks carry accommodation, a little careful planning can see you in log cabins inside the parks. Don't worry about being wakened by an elephant or a lion. You might be sharing the park with such animals but you will be well warned that your car must be back within the living quarters before darkness falls. The South African passion for the brai or barbecue, as we know it, means that you will probably get an invitation to join in and, if this is not the food that you like to eat, the National Parks also run excellent restaurants in almost all of the parks.

Most parks have their own distinct characteristics. They should not be confused with either theme parks or the sort of recreational parks that we have in Europe. Firstly, they are enormous - as one incredulous Welshman told me, he had been in two parks which were both bigger than his native Wales - and it is also important to remember that the animals in the parks are left to their own devices. This is not some kind of outdoor zoo and, if the animal has to eat, then it will look for a food source which it can kill.

Carcasses litter the water holes and we were also confronted with the sad spectacle of an elderly lioness, which had been deserted by the rest of the pride. Weak and sick, it was left to fend for itself against the nocturnal attacks of the hyenas which had spotted it by day. The thrill of driving along a road in the early morning light and coming across a family of lions or a leopard or even a group of elephants is one that must be experienced. The video films and camera pictures that we brought home barely capture that sensation. Just remember that the animals are mainly nocturnal and, if you do want to see the scarcer ones, it is important to have your eyes and ears wide open and, above all, speak to the ranger and to your fellow-visitors.

Animals will often stay in one area for a few days and move on. You can drive for a whole day and only see a few springboks and zebras, while on other occasions we were very lucky. Two lions came over to look at our car as we drove down a deserted tar road, while a number of fellow visitors had headed off down dirt roads to search for big game just minutes earlier. Not content with staring into the car for a few minutes and posing for some really sensational pictures, the lions walked alongside us for almost a kilometre.

That happened on our last morning in Kruger National Park and the only beast on our whole list that we had not seen was the leopard. We were not too disappointed as they do not enjoy the heat of the sun. As a result, they sleep in the trees well off the road in order not to be disturbed. We could hardly believe our luck but, within minutes of leaving the lions and only a short time before we drove out of the park, there it was before us - a fully-grown leopard. We stayed close to it for almost twenty minutes as it went through a series of stretching exercises that precisely mirrored the waking routine that our beloved family cat performs each morning. There are trips which can be arranged at considerable expense but, if you are willing to do a little work for yourself and avail yourself of the great support offered by the Parks Department, your stay in the world-famous Kruger National Park can be achieved within a reasonable budget. Try not to miss this place. I promise the thrills will stay with you for the rest of your days.

If you choose to drive north from Cape Town towards the Namibian border, there is one park that you must not miss. Just north of the town of Kakamas is Augrabies National Park and while most of the literature highlights the waterfall, drive on and experience something like a lunar landscape. This park might just be the best kept secret in South Africa. Do yourself a favour - visit the park and eat in the restaurant. Be there as the sun goes down and stay in the Park accommodation if you can arrange this in advance. On the Garden Route, Knysna is a great place to stay but, if you are planning a honeymoon or even a second honeymoon, I think we may have found the ultimate destination. The log cabins in Tsitsikamma National Park beside Storms River Mouth are set in one of the most beautiful seascapes that we have seen anywhere and, if the time of year is right, you can even watch the whales performing their courting rituals. We were lucky enough to pick up a cancellation for one of the best-sited cabins on the day but, to avoid disappointment, I would recommend booking in advance.

Mostly, rural South Africa is more rewarding that the rather tense environment of the cities, but we do recommend that you consider landing in Cape Town, hiring a car right away and driving the short distance out to Stellenbosch. Base yourself there and travel the thirty minutes or so into the city each day. Stellenbosch and neighbouring Paarl will be familiar to all who have enjoyed the excellent wines that are now being produced in the Republic and the entire district is known as "the wine route". Once again there are expensive tours of the region available, but we recommend that you arrange your own visits to the wineries - they will all be happy to show you round and give you a little sample of their produce without any charge. A number of the grape-growing farms in the region will provide bed and breakfast and you will quickly become part of the family. Forget the costly hotels and make some new friends - and please your bank manager.

This country has a wide range of problems that grows daily, despite the titanic efforts of the remarkable Nelson Mandela but, if you take the precaution of avoiding the problem areas, you will make a journey that you will never forget. The Cape of Good Hope is an easier travel from Stellenbosch and, if you fly home direct from Cape Town, then a cable-car trip to the top of Table Mountain and a walk around its summit to watch the sun go down will round off your trip in perfect style.

First published in VISA issue 23 (winter 1996)