South Africa
Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Kruger National Park, and Cape Town
Getting there
Depending on where you begin your South African adventure, there are a few international airport options:
- Cape Town International Airport (CPT)
- Bram Fischer International Airport (BFN)
- King Shaka International Airport (DUR)
- Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP)
- Polokwane International Airport (PTG)
- Pilanesberg International Airport (NTY)
- OR Tambo International Airport (JNB)
12 day trip to South Africa
We took this trip in October. Our flights to and from South Africa were booked with the help of a travel agent friend. The safari was booked through Siyabona Africa – who took care of all of our connecting flights and transportation for the time we were on safari. In Cape Town, we rented an Airbnb, a car, and made our own itinerary.
Day 1 was spent on airplanes. We flew TPA to ATL and ATL to JNB on an evening flight. The flight time from the US to JNB will range from 14-16 hours. As soon as the attendants were finished serving dinner, I took two ZzzQuil and got as much sleep as I could.
Day 2 was the evening for us again when we landed at JNB. We were staying at the Hotel OR Tambo, which had a shuttle to and from the airport. We cleared customs and walked to the shuttle pick-up. We had dinner at the hotel and went straight to bed.
Day 3 began with breakfast at the hotel and the shuttle back to JNB. We then boarded a plane to the Skukuza airport. When we arrived, a shuttle was waiting for us that drove us to our first stop – Inyati Game Lodge at Sabi Sands Game Reserve. It was close to lunch when we arrived. A staff member greeted told us the rules – no walking outside by ourselves in the dark (hippos) and make sure that we lock our doors so that our things don’t get stolen (monkeys). Lunch is not a traditional meal, but the staff was happy to make us sandwiches. The schedule for our time at Inyati was morning tea, game drive, breakfast, rest, afternoon tea, game drive, and dinner. We unpacked all of our things, laughed at the monkeys peering into our windows, and explored the property.
Later, we had tea and snacks before heading out on our first drive! Almost immediately, we happened upon a leopard lounging in the sun. It didn’t seem real. A while later, we spotted a pack of wild dogs and hyenas – it was springtime in South Africa so there were babies too! They took off for a hunt and we thought we lost them, but then found them later dining on an impala (I’ll spare you the graphic pictures). After the drive, we returned to the lodge for dinner. Inyati is an intimate property so all guests and guides dine together.
Day 4 began with our 5:00 AM wakeup call, morning tea and snacks, and a sunrise game drive. We saw hippos, a leopard, elephants, wildebeest, wild dogs, lions, and rhinos!
After, we had breakfast with the group and then lounged by the pool and read books until afternoon tea.
Later that night, we were able to watch a leopard hunt an impala and take it up a tree to keep the meal safe. I was sad for the impala but happy that the leopard had a great dinner! Again, we returned for dinner with all of the lodge guests.
Day 5‘s morning tea, game drive, and breakfast were our last at Inyati. After spotting a Southern yellow-billed hornbill, monkeys, zebras, and giraffes, we were sad to leave but excited for our next adventure at Kruger National Park.
After breakfast and packing, we were picked up and driven back to Skukuza Airport for a quick flight to Kruger Mpumalanga Airport. When we landed, a van was waiting for us and took us to Rhino Post Safari Lodge. The lodge was beautiful and felt like we were at fancy adult summer camp! Except, at this point, it was a little cold! We were briefed on the rules again, which were the same as Inyati, and then left for our evening drive.
When we arrived back, we had a wonderful dinner with the other guests and enjoyed champagne by the fire pit.
Day 6 was our usual routine – wake up call, morning tea, game drive, breakfast, relax all day, afternoon tea, game drive, and dinner. Every drive was incredible – giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions, rhinos, monkeys, impalas, buffalo, kudu, and more! The guides were amazing and only added to the fun we were having.
Day 7, Cameron and I decided to skip the morning game drive so that we could pack and get ready for our next stop. It has been rainy and cold the previous day and I didn’t have enough dry pants to survive another cold morning! So we packed and relaxed while our friends went on their final drive. After, we had breakfast and then a driver arrived to take us to Elephant Whispers. This sanctuary is home to five orphaned elephants. We were able to learn about them, meet them, feed them, touch them, and take pictures! Tembo was so sweet and smart.
After our encounter, we had lunch and were taken to Oliver’s Lodge. This property blew us away with its beauty. Our rooms were huge, we were able to do laundry, there was a golf course, a beautiful pool, a spa, and resident cats that loved to snuggle. Cameron and our friend, Brett, decided to book a couples massage together – only $25 per person! If we had more time, we would have stayed longer.
Day 8 we woke up and got ready. We met our driver and went back to Kruger Mpumalanga Airport to fly to Cape Town. When we landed, we picked up our Hertz rental car and drove to our Airbnb for check-in. If you are traveling from the United States, beware that you’ll drive on the opposite side of the road and the driver’s seat is on the opposite side of the car.
Rater than drive down to Camps Bay for sunset, we opted to Uber to avoid the stress of finding parking. If you visit, take a bottle of wine with you and climb up to a good spot on the rocks.
Day 9 started with breakfast at Truth Coffee. I had a route mapped out for the day that included Boulder’s Beach, Cape of Good Hope, Haut Bay, and stops for shopping and eating along the way.
Then ended our day at Cheetah Outreach – a conservation that promotes the survival of free-range South African cheetahs.
Day 10 began at Truth Coffee again – it was so good! Plus, a quick walk from our Airbnb. We bought tickets for the City Sightseeing bus and started our day at Table Mountain. If you’re going to visit, I recommend that you arrive early. There was a big line by the time we were leaving.
Throughout the day, we hopped off at a few stops – Bo Kaap and the Victorian Waterfront – and rode around listening to the history of the city.
Later, we found a liquor store near our Airbnb, each bought a bottle of champagne, and took an Uber to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. The property was amazing and we felt like we were in a Jurassic Park movie. After enjoying our champagne in the most beautiful scenery, we ran around like silly kids having the best day of their lives – and we were! We got an Uber back to the Airbnb, walked to get dinner, and spent the rest of the evening playing Uno on our balcony.
Day 11 – we’re so predictable. We walked to Trust Coffee, enjoyed breakfast, and then began our drive out to wine country. We had a tour booked at Waterford Estate that included champagne, a facility tour, a hike through the vineyard, lunch and wine by a pond, and then a chocolate and wine pairing.
After enjoying a few hours at the property (and buying a lot of chocolate to take home), we made our way to the airport to begin our long trek home.
We took off from CPT in the afternoon. When we landed at ATL (Day 12), it was early in the morning. Chick Fil A was open already, so we grabbed breakfast before boarding our next plane from ATL to TPA. As soon we we were home, we spent the rest of the day sleeping.