SKIING, SNOWBOARDING & SANDBOARDING

 

Tiffindell Ski Resort

©South African Tourism

OK - South Africa is a sunny country so it's not exactly a skiing paradise. However, we do have winter and we do have mountains. There is one dedicated ski resort, high in the Drakensberg of the northern part of the Eastern Cape.

Swiss-style chalets, a snow machine for when mother nature doesn't oblige, and a vibrant après ski environment all contribute to a fun-filled snowy time. There is also excellent snow in the mountains of the Western Cape and local ski operators offer packages from Cape Town. For the more adventurous, and relatively well heeled, heli-skiing and heli-boarding are becoming more and more popular in the Western Cape mountains.

Atlantis dunes

©Gregg Stopforth

But - most of the time - we content ourselves with sandboarding. With a slightly modified snowboard, you whiz down sand dunes, either carving patterns in the sand showing off your skill, or tumbling head over heels showing off your underwear. It's not snow, but it is fun and it's warm and sunny. There is excellent sandboarding near Cape Town but the most spectacular is the enormously high red sand dunes of Namibia.

• Check out accommodation and things to do at Tiffindell Alpine resort
• View more about Sand and Snow on a Board!

Need to know! If you're planning to drive to Rhodes and Tiffindell Ski Resort make sure you have a enough fuel - there is no fuel for sale in Rhodes.

PARAGLIDING & HANG GLIDING

 

Lions Head flight

©South African Tourism

In order to have a good non-powered flight, you need one of two things - thermals or mountains with good ridge lift - and southern Africa has both. The coastal areas and escarpment, generally, have excellent ridge soaring, while the flatter interior produces fantastic thermals on hot summer days.

There are loads of good launch sites, but here are a few of the classics. Lions Head, in Cape Town, is a convenient, immensely scenic launch site. It's a short walk up a good path to the launch, and the flight offers views over the city and the Western Seaboard beaches, while Table Mountain looms at your back. You land on a convenient grassy field next to a beachfront pub. Wilderness is another classic site, with fabulous ridge lift on the dunes facing the sea. You often see whales and dolphins from the air. Tandem flights are offered at both these sites.

Wilderness paragliding

©South African Tourism

The mountains of Porterville in the Western Cape offer truly spectacular flying. It's a high take off with some good ridge lift, but you also get fabulous thermals from the flat valley below, so it's a great cross-country site. The Drakensberg, particularly at Bulwer and Oliviershoek, is another great spot, and the Mpumalanga escarpment also offers some great flying. The dry Northern Cape town of Jan Kempdorp is a favourite winch launching destination, as the thermals are fantastic.

Obviously, there are loads more launch sites, and almost every hill and sand dune is a potential flying site. There are paragliding schools in most of the major cities and some smaller centres, and the South African Hang gliding and Paragliding Association (SAHPA) oversees all the admin-type stuff - licensing, registration, safety, etc.

Hang gliding in KwaZulu-Natal

©Silent Wings

South Africa is a great place to learn to fly as you could complete all your required flights in a relatively short time because of the fabulous weather and flying conditions. And the exchange rate means it's quite a bit cheaper than learning in Europe or North America.

RELATED LINKS FOR HANG GLIDERS & PARAGLIDERS:

Silent Wings Hang Gliding School
Paragliding Schools and other stuff

PUBLIC & SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

 

Book your dream holiday spot before the rush!
Don't miss out - most places along the coast are booked a year in advance for the December and January peak season.
Living outside South Africa? It is worth noting that on public holidays banks are closed, shopping hours are often reduced and shops close for Good Friday, Christmas day and New Year's day. School holidays are slightly variable for the coastal and inland provinces.

Public Holidays and School Holidays 2009

• 1 January - New Year's Day
• 21 March - Human Rights Day
• 10 April - Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday)
• 13 April - Family Day (Monday after Easter Sunday)
• 27 April - Freedom Day
• 1 May - Workers Day
• 15 June - School Holiday
• 16 June - Youth Day
• 9 August - National Women's Day
• 10 August - Public Holiday
  
• 24 September - Heritage Day
• 16 December - Day of Reconciliation
• 25 December - Christmas Day
• 26 December - Day of Goodwill

School Holidays for the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, and Western Cape - 2009

• 6 December 2008 - 20 January 2009
• 4 April - 14 April
• 27 June - 19 July
• 24 September - 4 October
• 12 December 2009 - 12 January 2010

School Holidays for the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West Province and Limpopo - 2009

• 6 December 2008 - 13 January 2009
• 28 March - 14 April
•  27 June - 19 July
• 24 September - 4 October
• 12 December - 12 January 2010

Public Holidays and School Holidays 2010

• 1 January - New Year's Day
• 21 March - Human Rights Day
• 22 March - Public Holiday
• 2 April - Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday)
• 5 April - Family Day (Monday after Easter Sunday)
• 26 April - School Holiday
• 27 April - Freedom Day
• 1 May - Workers Day
• 16 June - Youth Day
• 9 August - National Women's Day
• 24 September - Heritage Day
• 16 December - Day of Reconciliation
• 25 December - Christmas Day
• 26 December - Day of Goodwill
• 27 December - Public Holiday

School Holidays for the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, and Western Cape - 2010

• 12 December 2009 - 12 January 2010
• 27 March - 11 April
• 10 June - 12 July
• 24 September - 3 October
• 11 December 2010 - January 2011

School Holidays for the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West Province and Limpopo - 2010

• 12 December 2009 - 12 January 2010
• 27 March - 11 April
• 10 June - 12 July
• 24 September - 3 October
• 11 December 2010 - January 2011

Source: www.info.gov.za and Gazette 31590, Government Notice 1203, [PDF]

VISAS -

 

No visas are required for visitors who are nationals of the EU, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Singapore and Japan. A three month temporary visitor's permit is issued. However, it is advisable to check with your nearest South African embassy or consulate. A valid passport with two empty pages is essential. You may need to have a return fare or deposit money at customs to cover a fare home (refundable once you leave the country). They may also require you to show sufficient funds to support your visit.
South Africa has at least consular representation in most countries. Link to South African Embassies and Tourist Offices around the world.

South African Diplomatic Missions Abroad

USA

South African Embassy Washington
3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008
Tel: (202) 2324400
Fax: (202) 2651607
Link to Website
Email: safrica@saembassy.org

South African Consulate General New York

333 East 38th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 213-4880
Fax: (212) 213-0102
Email: sacg@southafrica-newyork.net

South African Consulate General Los Angeles

6300 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 600, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel: (323) 651-0902
Fax: (323) 651-5969
Link to Website
Email: sacg@southafrica-newyork.net

South African Consulate General Chicago

200 South Michigan Avenue, 6th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604
Tel: (312) 939-7929
Fax: (312) 939-2588
Email: sacongenchicago@worldnet.att.net

Canada

South African High Commission Canada
15 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1M 1M8
Tel: (613) 744-0330
Fax: (613) 741-1639
Link to Website
Email: rsafrica@southafrica-canada.com

Australia

Rhodes Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 6273-2424

Ireland

2nd floor, Alexandra House, Earlssort Terrace, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 661-5553

UK

South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DP
Tel: (020) 7925-8910
Link to Website

HOLIDAY KIT LIST

 

Pack sensibly and streamline your luggage to the bare essentials for your own comfort.  Aim to keep your bags as light and compact as possible, especially if you are planning to use small aircraft transfers.  
Choose practical, casual, comfortable wash and wear clothing. If you are planning to dine in upmarket city hotel restaurants and golf clubs a jacket and tie may be required. Hotels provide efficient same day laundry services, frequently within a few hours.

South African Safari Holiday Quick List

• Cotton shirts
• Casual, lightweight cotton shorts and long pants (neutral coloured clothes are best for safari holidays)
• A warm jacket and a fleece for evening or early morning game drives (it can be chilly!)
• Comfortable walking shoes
• Swim wear
• Personal toiletries
• Sunscreen lotion
• Binoculars, camera and accessories
• Sunglasses (UVB resistant)
• Wide brimmed hat
• Copies of passport , traveller's cheques, credit cards

Essential items for your safari in a malaria area

• Long sleeved shirts with a high neck, long trousers and socks
• Mosquito repellent – spray and stick form (to spray on mosquito net and clothes)
• Anti-malaria pills

Essential items for your beach holiday

• Windbreaker
• Sarong or beach towel (most self catering places don't provide beach towels)

Tips for Packing Light

Most people come back from holiday wishing their luggage had been a bit lighter. Aim to streamline to the bare essentials and keep your suitcase sleek and slender.

• 1. Do some research. Contact the hotel, lodge, B&B or self catering house where you've booked and find out if they have a hairdryer, iron, beach towels, and bath towels – leave the cumbersome stuff that is best left at home.
• 2. Find out about the climate and only pack what will be suitable.
• 3. Choose a neutral colour (like brown or black) as a basic and pack accessories and other items that harmonise.
• 4. Obey the numbers rule and pack for less than one week - one shirt per day, one layering fleece and jacket, one pair of pants for every two days, two pairs of shoes and underwear for every day. Utilize the laundry services of the hotel, the local Laundromat or do it yourself if you're travelling for more than a week.
• 5. Pack travel-size toiletries - decant into small containers if necessary.
• 6. Scrutinize everything on your bed before packing. Be ruthless and ditch whatever isn't needed – you'll be glad you did!

Accommodation

2010 FIFA World Cup Semi Final (II) B vs D

Where	Durban
When	2010/07/07 08:30 pm to 10:30 pm
Venue	Durban Stadium
Will you be there to watch your team go for glory in Durban? Durban Stadium is where the 2010 FIFA World Cup Semi Final (II) B vs D match kicks off at 20:30 on Wednesday 7 July 2010. Start blowing your vuvuzela when your team makes a killer pass. Who will make it to the Finals? Eish! The professional season in South Africa is between August and May with teams participating in the Premier Soccer League and a few other competitions. The Chiefs and the Pirates have a nationwide following and their contests are a colourful climax of the Premier Soccer League's matches. South Africa's national squad, affectionately nicknamed Bafana Bafana qualified for the 1998 and 2002 World Cup Finals and will have the privilege of competing in the 2010 World Cup on home soil. Vuvuzela? Contributing to the jovial atmosphere of South Africa's football games are the unique sounds of the vuvuzela, a plastic horn, along with singing and countless other homemade instruments.
Contact Person
Contact Details
Event website	www.fifa.com

 

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In and Around Durban

City Regions

Durban Beachfront

Durban Central

Durban City North

Durban City South

Durban City West

Suburbs

Assagay

Athlone Park

Berea

Brighton Beach

Cowies Hill

Durban North

Glenashley

Glenwood

Hillcrest

Kloof

Morningside

Mount Vernon

Musgrave

North Beach

Point

Queensburgh

Sydenham

The Bluff

Umdloti Beach

Ushaka

Westridge

Towns

Amanzimtoti

Bothas Hill

Umhlanga

Westville

PERSONAL SAFETY

 

Crime continues to be a contentious issue in South Africa but media reports often tend to be overblown. Most tourists who visit South Africa depart after their vacation without any unpleasant occurences. Certain areas witness violent crime as a daily occurrence but this tends to be in places like downtown Johannesburg and certain townships which are the poorer areas.

Tourist venues are pretty safe, especially in places like the Waterfront and central Cape Town which have privately funded police and 24 hour surveillance cameras. The South African authorities have made it a high priority to protect tourists and have deployed special 'tourism police' in the cities and large towns.

As far as your personal safety is concerned, don't be paranoid, let commonsense prevail and take care as one would in most cities around the world.
Avoid deserted places, wearing expensive jewellery, slinging camera and video equipment over your shoulder, carrying lots of cash and leaving valuables in vehicles.

Most safari lodges, hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs have safe facilities for valuables in rooms or with reception.

USEFUL LINKS:

U.K. Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice
U.S. Department of State Travel Advice

Mount Edgecombe Golf Estate

Mount Edgecombe Golf Estate

Fairways Lodge is situated on the prestigious Mt Edgecombe Golf Estate and guests may play on both courses at membership rates. The Lodge has golf carts available for hire. In addition, the hotel will arrange play on other courses in the vicinity for its guests, including Durban Country Club, Zimbali, Princes Grant, Beachwood and (further a field) Wild Coast Sun. To cater for the golfing fraternity, Fairways Lodge has launched its own unique golf package. Guests have the opportunity to 'build their own tour', with a selection of daily options each individually priced. The package caters for the non-golf playing partner as well, and has full day and half day tours and outings for the guest's leisure time. The package is competitively priced and extremely flexible.

View accommodation at Fairways Lodge

Cathedral Peak Hotel - golf course

Set in the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park (recently declared a World Heritage Site) lies Cathedral Peak Hotel with its spectacular golf course surrounded by the finest of the Drakensberg scenery. Located only 250km from Durban and 400km from Johannesburg the Cathedral Peak Golf course was designed and built by Roly Taylor with the collaboration of his well known brother, Reg.

Cathedral Peak Tee Off

The course has been aptly termed 'the thinking golfer's course' and was opened by Dayle Hayes on 13 January 1996. The Complete Golfer once stated 'Few courses in the World have a more spectacular setting and although it clearly has no pretensions to being a championship test, it must be added to the list of veritable gems among our country courses'. This challenging golf course has recently undergone quite extensive renovations and upgrades including the construction of 'Philip's Folly' - the new golf clubhouse. This upmarket facility incorporates change rooms, a pub, lounge area and terrace; it is the perfect 19th hole offering breathtaking mountain views, ideal for early evening sundowners after a great day's golf.

View accommodation at Cathedral Peak Hotel

FAMILY HOLIDAYS

Knysna lagoon exploration

©South African Tourism

With its first world infrastructure, favourable exchange rate and varied attractions, South Africa is a great family holiday destination.

Children of a sufficient age to walk and talk and communicate with ease will find a visit to a game reserve or national park fascinating. Many of the private game reserves do not allow children, but some particularly welcome them, and many that do allow children don't allow them on game drives, unless the whole vehicle is taken by one family or party, so do your homework. Bear in mind that the main game viewing destinations are in malarial areas, where it is risky for young children and pregnant women, so you might want to stick to the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and North West Province reserves. As a rule the national parks are very child-friendly, with self-catering family chalets and perhaps even playgrounds.

Fishing in tidal rock pools

©South African Tourism

Beach holidays are another great favourite with families and, with such a long coastline, there are some really good options. The Wild Coast, in the Eastern Cape, is a favourite with local families, and many of the hotels have special children's programmes, playgrounds, children's dining areas and baby sitting services. The Garden Route is a good option if you're looking for a more exclusive experience, as there are a number of luxurious hotels and guesthouses that cater specifically for families, and many child-friendly attractions like a monkey park and walks with elephants. Dolphin and whale watching is another experience most children would never forget.

Springflowers near Clanwilliam

©Licia Erasmus

If you are travelling in spring, it's hard to resist the temptation to travel from Cape Town up the West Coast and into the main flower area of Namaqualand, where you could photograph your little darlings frolicking in fields of flowers stretching to the horizon.

But, really, there is something in almost every centre that you and your children will find interesting so it's just a matter of planning carefully and ensuring that you get child-friendly accommodation. Also bear in mind that, if you want a child seat in a rental car, you need to book it in advance.

Travelling by car? Try 13 games for kids in our Travel Matters article - Travel with Kids

Nelspruit

 

Author:Samantha Black
Submitted:05 May 2009

Nelspruit is the biggest town in Mpumalanga, so it's definitely the place to go for real shopping or any other infrastructural need. The KMIA (Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport), which is just outside the town, is the nearest airport to the Kruger National Park. Nelspruit is the main town on the N4 which heads east towards Mozambique, and it's also en route to Swaziland from either Johannesburg or Pretoria.

The Lowveld National Botanical Gardens is spectacularly situated on the confluence of the Nels and Crocodile Rivers, just outside the town. It's a good place to do a crash course on all the trees you'll be seeing on safari, and it has one of the most comprehensive cycad gardens in the world.

Not far from Nelspruit, you can do a hike or a horse trail though the lovely Kaapsehoop, with its rolling montane grasslands and deep forests. You're likely to catch a glimpse, at least, of one of the many feral horses that roam the hills and, if you're into birds, you may see the very rare blue swallow.

Nelspruit shopping mall
© South African Tourism

 Horse riding through montane grasslands
© South African Tourism

Kruger National Park

 

Author:Samantha Black
Submitted:05 May 2009

The Kruger National Park, which measures a whopping two million hectares, is approximately the size of the whole of Wales. Although there are still fences between parts of the Kruger National Park and Mozambique and Zimbabwe, so the planned Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park is not quite yet a reality. When it is, it will be spectacular. Actually, Kruger already is. Most of the park is situated in the Lowveld. Restricted to broad valleys below 1 000m above sea level, the Lowveld is what many people consider to be the 'real' Africa. In this low-lying subtropical climate, broad-leaved trees and thorn trees co-exist happily in relatively open woodland, interspersed with long grass - and, of course, game. Wildlife abounds.

In the far north, it gets hotter and the vegetation changes to mopane woodland and, right in the northern part of the country, huge baobab trees dominate the landscape. The rivers here tend to be broad and slow-moving and may consist of no more than a few unconnected pools at the end of the dry season but that's when the game congregates around the few known water sources - so it all evens out. You may have heard the cynical remark that Kruger is 'too developed' with loads of town-like camps and other infrastructure. Well, yes. The park does have a number of good accommodation options - more than 20 SANParks camps and a few private luxury lodges as well. That may sound like a lot - but remember that Kruger is the size of Wales - and in all that space there is one town - the main camp, Skukuza, is virtually a small town - about a dozen tiny hamlets with less than a hundred families and a few out of they way camps that would probably relate to a small farmstead. That leaves an awful lot of real wilderness.

You can do Kruger as a self-drive or as a guided tour. Other exciting options include walking safaris, mountain bike trails and a self-drive 4x4 trail. The nearest airport to the park is the Kruger-Mpumalanga International Airport, just outside Nelspruit. The southern, more popular, part of Kruger is about four hour's drive from Johannesburg, and a little less from Pretoria. The drive to the more remote, far less utilised, northern part, takes a few hours longer, but it's not on the same route. You could do a great circular tour if you had ten days or so to spare. Fly in to KMIA and enter the park in the south, drive very slowly to the north, spending a day or two at different camps en route, and then drive back to Johannesburg. (Or the other way round, of course.)

Strangely - and contrary to expectations - the northern part, which is truly wild, has less animals than the south so don't feel you're missing out if you've only got a few days in the more busy part of the park. As well as the Kruger National Park, the lowveld is well endowed with private nature reserves, most of which have luxury lodges, where guests are subjected to an outrageous level of pampering and taken on fantastic game drives and optional walks by very knowledgeable and attentive guides. Many lodges even have attached wellness centres where you can fill in the time between morning and evening game drives with a massage, facial or some other indulgent treatment.

Note: If you are planning to travel to the Kruger National Park or Lowveld please be aware that this is a malaria region. Consult your doctor or travel clinic for advice and refer to our article on malaria.

Check out some amazing video footage of a battle between lions and a herd of buffalo in Kruger National Park - Battle in Kruger Park.

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Bull elephant taking a sunset dustbath
© South African Tourism


© South African Tourism

Baobab sunset
© South African Tourism

Hiking the Olifants Trail in Kruger Park
© South African Tourism

ABSEILING

 

Abseiling on White Mountain - KZN Midlands

©South African Tourism

It was only towards the end of the last century that abseiling, also called rappelling, became an activity in its own right. Till then it was just the method climbers used to get off a mountain, cavers used to descend into the bowels of the earth and fire-fighters used for all sorts of macho purposes. But it's fun, so it's available as an activity in its own right.

In case you have no idea what abseiling is all about, it's the art of lowering yourself safely down a rope. You wear a climbing harness, and are clipped onto the rope with some manner of descending device (there are lots of different ones, and they all have technical names, which you'll either know already or not understand, anyway).

Abseiling Kaaimans Gorge

©Kelvin Saunders - Eden Adventures

You then walk backwards down the cliff face (or dam wall or enemy headquarters, or whatever) supported by the rope, slowly lowering yourself down, enjoying the scenery en route. Most commercial abseils are belayed, which means they're almost idiot-proof. If you were to just let go in panic, the trip leader could safely lower you down remotely, either from above or below. It's also quite likely that there'll be a decent section of overhang, so you get to spend some time just hanging out, admiring the view. For something a tad more extreme - rapp jumping is abseiling with the climbing ropes attached at your back instead of your tummy, so you go down face first - usually running. Not for the faint of heart. One of our most spectacular abseils is on Table Mountain. The actual abseil is only about 100m high but you're hanging out about a kilometre above the city - which is great if you want to check out the scenery, but a tad scary if you're really not good with heights.

Table Mountain abseil

©South African Tourism

Also with fantastic views and close to Cape Town is a combination abseiling/kloofing trip along the Steenbras River Gorge, where you get to jump into deep pools and abseil down a waterfall. You could abseil down another pretty waterfall on the beautiful Kaaimans River, which is a landmark near the Garden Route town of Wilderness. There are three abseil routes on the spectacular western head at Knysna - including a really high, very exposed site hanging right out over the crashing waves - a pretty abseil at Oribi Gorge, on the KZN South Coast, a nice scenic one next to Howick Falls, near Pietermaritzburg, one over Sabie Falls, near the town of Sabie and another at Hazyview, both of which are in Mpumalanga, and another fun abseil at Hartebeespoort Dam in North West Province, near Johannesburg. For an urban adventure of note, you can rapp jump off skyscrapers in Johannesburg. There are also fun abseils in Swaziland and at Vic Falls, on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. The small country of Lesotho, which lies entirely within South Africa's borders, has the highest commercial abseil in the world. It's 204m high. Try that if you dare.

To book Kloofing and Abseiling tours along the Garden Route contact:

Chris & Louise Leggatt at Eden Adventures
Mobile: 083 628 8547
Tel & Fax: +27 44 877 0179
Email: tours@eden.co.za