A pelican graced these shores!

[Willem Fick]

it is not often that Pelicans venture to Johannesburg but I had the priviledge of meeting up with Mr. And Mrs. Motion last night over a meal and a couple of glasses of wine.

All I can say is:

Great couple, great conversation, great experience!

Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to catch upbagain really soon, and hopefully they will not be the last pelicans we get to see down here in South Africa.

[GH85Carrera]

Pics or it did not happen!

[enzo1]

pics of Mrs Motion...

[Willem Fick]

No pics were taken, and my lips are sealed! ;-)

[enzo1]

Originally Posted by Willem Fick

No pics were taken, and my lips are sealed! ;-)

Just kidding, kinda... ..not really, hmm dunno

[motion]

We are on yet another excellent adventure in this beautiful country and an evening with Mr. Fick has been the hilite! Great guy who can talk intelligently on just about any subject. The 2 hours at dinner passed by in an instant, and Mrs. Motion got in on the Porsche-heavy conversation with minute details about the South African economy. It was a wonderful evening and Willem loaded us up with things to do on our trip. I hope some of the other Pelicans make it down here soon and meet up with Willem. Its worth the long flight!

[imcarthur]

Willem

It looks like you may have to suffer another Pelican . . . next May. I just booked a rewards flight to Cape Town for 3 weeks of stomping around SA & Namibia. Initial thoughts are a bit of the Garden Drive out of Cape Town, some self-drive in Kruger plus a few nights at a lodge bordering Kruger (crazy $$s btw) & a visit to the Namib Desert.

I have 11 months to plan so I will ping you closer to my visit.

Ian

PS: I travel somewhat slower than motion.

[Willem Fick]

Great news Ian, and it will be a pleasure and privilege to meet you! Please feel free to be in touch if I can assist with anything from this side!

[imcarthur]

Thanks, Willem. I may take you up on that.

Ian

[motion]

Ian, I hope you get a chance to meet up with Willem. You will not regret it! Also, I absolutely insist that you spend a few days in the Franschoek/Stellenbosch area. It is without peer if you want great food and wine tasting! The garden route is also well worth it. The drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth is gorgeous.

[imcarthur]

The Franschoek/Stellenbosch area is certainly on our radar. It also appears easily drivable from the airport after our long flight from Amsterdam, where we are stopping for a few days on the way. It is looking like we will have 4 nights in the Cape Town/Garden Route area before flying to Namibia for 3 days around the Sossusvlei dunes. I just have to moderate the steering wheel time to accommodate my wife.

Thanks for the suggestions. Any quasi-affordable hotels? Unfortunately it seems that we will be there just at the tail end of high season so the nice places ain't cheap.

Ian

[Willem Fick]

4 nights only? What were you thinking?! :-)

Franschoek is just around the corner from Cape Town international, and probably a nice place to go and recover from your flight! You can fit in a nice loop from the airport to the Strand/Gordon's Bay, Franschoek, Stellenbosch, and then back to Cape Town. If you have a bit more time you can also head out to a little town called Robertson, where there is also some good wine tasting to be had.

Cape Town has a number of excellent boutique hotels, often available for less than the mainstream ones. Would you consider self-catering?

I'll quickly do some digging and send you a few options.

[tabs]

Didja ever think that Motion is really George Kaplan?

[Willem Fick]

Ok, didn't take long to dig!

You can have rooms for under $200 per night for two adults in a range of really good boutique hotels - link

Might be worth comparing the prices you are quoted as your foreign IP might attract a higher rate than they would from an SA based IP.

[motion]

Originally Posted by tabs

Didja ever think that Motion is really George Kaplan?

I'm going to take that as a compliment, even though I have no idea who George Kaplan is.

[motion]

Arghhhh.... typed a long response about hotels, but it was deleted. Will try again later.

[imcarthur]

Self catering? We will be self catering for 3 - 4 days in Kruger at the Skuzuka & the Crocodile Bridge Camps. I snagged some decent bungalows in both - they are almost pretty much sold out of the good ones already btw. So, it would be a hard sell that early in the trip.

Here is what I have roughly planned:

Arrive Cape Town April 28 mid-afternoon. Drive to Franschhoek. Crash for minimum 2 nights in semi-deluxe hotel/B&B. < 2500 Rand per night. Must do day trip to see penguins @ Boulders Beach.
May 1 - hotel within easy reach of CPT airport.
May 2 - fly to CPT to Windhoek, Namibia early. 5 hour drive to Sossusvlei area.
3 nights - probably Moon Mountain Lodge
May 5 - 5 hour drive back to Windhoek. Hilton Honors @ Windhoek Hilton (booked)
May 6 - fly Windhoek to Skukuza Airport in Kruger Park via Johannesburg.
May 6 & 7 - stay in Skukuza Rest Camp - self-drive Kruger (booked)
May 8 & 9 - stay in Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp - self-drive Kruger (booked)
May 10 & 11 - pampered stay @ Hamiltons Tented Camp in Kruger (booked)
May 12 - 5 hr drive to Johannesburg. Hilton Honors stay at Sandton Hilton. Dinner with Willem (booked)
May 13 - fly JNB to CPT. One night in hotel within easy reach of CPT airport.
May 14 - depart CPT @ 15:40 for return flight.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look at them all.

Ian

[Willem Fick]

Nice trip you have planned! Only 14 days only for all that? You'll be back! Also good to see I have been booked for the 12th, and I am really looking forward to meeting up with you!

Can't help you much with Namibia, but here's some tips for your SA leg:

Cape Town:

• In Cape Town you can get a room in a 5 star boutique hotel for much less than your budget. Prices are often better for local travelers, so more than happy to assist in any way here. It is nice and central ito the attractions around, and even the city center is a pleasant experience.
• Boulder beach is a short trip, and I would suggest you take a day and do a loop around Simon's Town, (Boulder Beach), Cape Point, Chapman's Peak Drive, Hout Bay (stop here for lunch), Llundudno, Clifton and then back to Cape Town. Try to get back to Cape Town in time to take a late afternoon trip up Table Mountain by cable way to watch the sunset from there. May is not ideal as it can be quite cold up there, but the view is amazing. Alternatively head out to Table View, have dinner at the Blue Peter and see a spectacular sunset from there (the most famous view of Table Mountain is from this vantage point).
• Franschoek is a great day trip too, overall not quite as scenic as the Boulder Beach one, so if you are pressed for time head out to Stellenbosch, and from there travel directly to Franschoek over Helshoogte Pass. Alternatively you can do a very nice loop around The Strand, Gordon's Bay, Franschoek and back to Stellenbosch, but for that you'll again need a day.
• If you are into wine tasting, Stellenbosch is a nice central point as it is surrounded by wineries. Another option is to head out towards Robertson which is a bit further out but also has some first class (less commercialized though) wineries surrounding it.
• Sadly time will not permit you heading up the garden route, but certainly remember that for your next visit!

Kruger:

Not much I can add here, other than I feel your pain as it has become a very expensive destination. Again, it is slightly cheaper to book as a local, so remember that for your next visit! Your choice of Hamiltons will certainly win you many brownie points with the Mrs!
Please remember that in late summer there still is risk of malaria in that part of the country, so be sure to start taking malaria tablets well in advance of your arrival!

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Willem Fick

Nice trip you have planned! Only 14 days only for all that? You'll be back! Also good to see I have been booked for the 12th, and I am really looking forward to meeting up with you!

My trip planning is always a balancing act. I have found that the trip goes MUCH better if my spouse is happy. I don't rent hotel rooms, I rent balconies & bathrooms. Driving too much is never a good thing. And too many early mornings are a guaranteed problem. I missed my true calling as a travel planner . . .

I dove into your link & yes, the North American sites do seem to be more $s or less services for the same property. I will get back to you. Thanks!

Ian

[jhc]

If you are driving Kruger to J'burg you should really allow more time than 5 hours as you will be driving the spectacular Panorama Route driving past the Blyde River Canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes, God's Window, Misty Mountain. At the very least stop for pancakes in Dullstroom or Graskop.

Waterfall Panorama Route:



Also we were told there were many more penguins in Betty's Bay than Boulder Beach and there were 6000 of them:


And you might consider a cocktail in Camp's Bay after Table Mountain. It has a very urban, hip beach town vibe, we liked it so much we actually came back the next day to look at possibly getting a condo there. Have fun, impossible not to.