Russel brand wrote in his book "Revolution" that the best way to understand the culture of the country is to find out which are the biggest buildings in that country. For example, in most European cities the biggest buildings are a church, which shows the religious culture there. In South Africa, the biggest buildings our insurance companies. The culture of this country is therefore so much different, where a lot of emphasis is laid on the death of someone where it is actually celebrated in ways very different from anywhere else.Well, that's one of the many things unique to this fabulous country that Renjini and George and so many other regaled us with during our travel.
Read on for more.
Travel Tips:
Tipping:
Starting with Tips etiquette itself. It’s normal to pay 10% for service. It’s expected. And if it’s an activity like a bungee, then it’s better to pay even higher. And people take real pride and ownership in what they do. There was one time at a public toilet where the janitor actually welcomes you by saying, "Welcome to my office".
Never shy from tipping generously here.
Car etiquette:
If someone lets you overtake, flash your indicators once you pass to thank them. They would flash their headlights to say they’re welcome. It’s quite a fun etiquette and adds to your driving entertainment. It’s actually connected to the Afrikaans language, where the literal translation of greeting someone is “I see you” and the response is “I see you too”.
Practice this if driving, it’s a lot of fun!
Music:
There's always a tune running in the South Africans head, so they're always singing or dancing. Petrol bunks, waiters, even at the bungee jump, people are always singing or dancing. They even go on strikes doing this.
Simply smile along when this happens.
Safety:
Everyone will tell you to be careful in South Africa, and when it comes to Cape Town, there are folks there who can disorient you more than the wildlife of Kruger. Renting a car to drive around, especially at night, is an absolute must at Cape Town.
Avis even gives you a 'safety' WiFi that you can keep in your car and press in case of an emergency.
Stay at your vigilant best in South Africa.
Water:
There's a huge water crisis in parts of South Africa. Don't be surprised if your rented car isn't washed or if you only get sanitisers instead of water from the faucets of public toilets.
Always carry a bottle of water with you.
Alcohol:
Stick with the wines, and within them, the Pinotag, a form of red wine. You just cannot go wrong with it. And if you need a break, go for the Amarula.
Anything else outside of wine just isn't South African.
Food:
Braai is Barbeque, but more 'fun'. Broewors is sausage with more meat (90% meat vs sausage that only have 70% meat). Biltong is juicer cured meat.
Try and savor all of these at whichever place offers them.
Sport:
South Africans are big on sport and their national teams are named after things unique to this country. The Cricket team are called Proteas, after the flower from South Africa, and the Rugby team are called Springbok, one of the South African deer.
Adventure sport:
Bungee jumping at Bloukrand Bridge is a highlight activity on the garden route since it's the highest natural bungee in the world and the third highest amongst all.
Was an absolute rush doing this, and you can catch the action at this LINK.
Shark cage diving and whale watching are the other interesting things to do, which we skipped due to time shortage, or simply driving around itself (which you can read more about next) could be an adventure sport by itself.
Dabble in at least one of these during your visit.
Driving:
South Africa is a great place to drive, with its landscapes and fancy cars at good value. We drove an Audi A4, a Mercedes C180 and a Toyota Fortuner. The rides were just incredible, especially the self-drive safari of Kruger and the incredible sights of Garden Route. The cars were even better.
The Mercedes C180 we drove even parked on its own! Catch the video at this LINK.
Language:
‘Robot’ is what a traffic signal is called. So, don't be surprised if someone says "take a right at the robot"
‘Cshop cshop’ is the way you say bye in a really cool way. It can't be used randomly and only applies to someone you get along with really well
Kruger National park
A game reserve that's half the size of Netherlands and as big as the country of Israel (for some reason the people at Kruger kept comparing the park to Israel) where we did a night Safari, a day Safari and one last Safari on our own car. Never knew this was possible, and turned out better than the other safari's which itself were an exhilarating experience.
The Big 5; most people visit Kruger wanting to see them, and successful or not, everyone leaves learning there's a lot more than just The Big 5.
There's Little 5, Big 5 Trees, Big 5 Birds, and even The Ugly 5!
The Big 5 comprises of Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceroses, Wild Buffalo and Elephant. And they're called The Big 5 since the poachers found them hardest to find. Today there's not much reason to club them together today. Because the hardest to find are just the cats (Lion, Leopard and Cheetah) and the most dangerous to humans are Wild Buffalo and Hippopotamus.
But in anyway, it's a great way to learn about the animals, and at the end of the trip, we saw many of them and learnt a great deal too.
The emblem of Kruger Park is the horns of the male Impala. A type of deer that's ubiquitous at Kruger.
There are about 30k of them here and known as the McDonald's of Kruger not only because they can be seen everywhere, and serve as fast food for the cats, but also because you can see a big M on their butt.
An interesting fact about them is that they have a gland in place of false hoofs from which they secrete a liquid that allows other Impalas to follow a trail.
They also sleep only in open areas, which is also a reason they're always visible just next to the roads that you drive by.
The other kind of deer visible here is the Kudu. It's a large deer with a huge twisted horn which was at one time used as a trumpet and called the kudu zela. This was what inspired the vuvuzela that made World Cup at South Africa famous.
The Big 5
Elephant:
We saw them first. They're the next most visible animal after the Impala. And they're always doing something to help the other animals in the forest. Either breaking trees and exposing the roots that some animals feed on, or digesting only 20% of the food they eat, leaving baboons to fetch food from their dung, or simply just taking care of themselves and their offspring’s with mud baths that protect them from the heat and kill the germs on their body.
They live up to 60 years, take 22 months of pregnancy, and the young take 7 years to grow into a full adult.
And yes, their ears resemble the map of Africa!
Wild Buffalo:
Spotted these big muscular guys next. There was one group hanging out together, that our guide called the Daka boys, since they were old Bulls hanging around.
We learnt that the male species of all animals do one of three things. Either hanging out by themselves to enhance their attractiveness to the females, or hanging out with a bunch of other males rejected by the females, or an old bunch who are tired of the females.
Rhinoceros:
Couldn't see them up close since they're cordoned off due to poaching. We saw a couple from a distance during the day Safari.
Lion:
One of the highlight moments of the Safari. Happened late into the day Safari by when we had almost given up on sighting the cats.First the monkeys climb trees and start making a lot of noise.
Then Impalas run helter-skelter.
Then you see some ruffling in the brown grass.
Then the brown skin camaflouged with the grass gets clearer.
Finally the lions emerge slowly, and peacefully amble along, like the kings of the jungle they behave like.
Morne, our Safari driver who was not much of a talker until that point showed his true skills, driving!
He peacefully cruised along next to the lions and went ahead and u-turned for us to have an undisturbed view of the the entire pride of 2 lionesses and 3 cubs to pass by us right next to our car. A moment I'd always dreamed of having. Only one the last lion passed by did it dawn on me that I was standing on the shotgun seat. Wouldn't have taken much for one of the lions to simply pull me out of the car. The thought was terrifying, but the moment will last forever.
Something interesting we learned about the lion here is the derivation of the term ‘Lion's share’, where it is the culture among these beasts to let the lion of the heard eat first, before the lionesses and the cubs and the other older lions can get a bite (all in that order).
Leopard:
This was the last of the Big 5 we saw, and it happened during the self drive Safari when I was driving, and then I spotted the Leopard, and then it was in between a game trying to catch a bird.
All of this was just incredible. It's toughest to even spot a Leopard. People talk of going 15+ safaris before seeing one, and then you find one on your own while driving, and that too in the midst of a game.
Another treasured Safari moment.
We had a huge confusion if what we saw was a Cheetah or a Leopard. Cheetah has slender body for running, single spots, lines on face and long tail. Leopard is more muscular for climbing trees, double spots. But after showing the video to a lot of people, the verdict was the Leopard.
Thus completing the Big 5.
The Ugly 5
These are the Vulture, Hyena, Pumba/Warthog, Hippo and Crocodile. And we saw them really quick.
The Hippos could be found basking in the watering hole just opposite Sabi River Lodge where we stayed, and the rest we spotted on the safaris.
One thing we learned about the Hippo was that they can hold breath under water for 5 minutes. They can sleep underwater as well, and automatically surface for air every time they need it.
Hyena we saw a baby and another that ran across the road in front of us. Our Ranger told us how lions hate hyenas so much that they chase them away even if they're just resting.
Crocodiles could be found next to a lake we passed with their mouths wide open as if they are waiting for food, but all they're getting is just a dental cleanup.
The "ugly 5" is just a joke among the Kruger rangers, but helps you remember the animals all the same.
Garden Route:
Wilderness
Accessible through a flight to either Port Elizabeth, George or Cape Town, followed by a drive via Garden Route.
It's a dream town. BNBs are straight out of a fairytale. By far one of the best BNBs we've ever stayed in.
The nearby beach, or whale watching from Hermanus or shark cage diving at Gaansbai, or simply a coffee at Knysna are all things to do out of Wilderness.
We only did the coffee since the place was far too relaxing to attempt anything else.
Cape Town
Viewfront for the best (and safest) evening times. Sunset, African Street dance parties, great food and shopping is what you can experience here.
Long Street and Strand Street are other party areas, but always drive there in a car. We got accosted no longer than 2 minutes from leaving our BNB.
Table mountain is great for a hike and good photos. Signal hill, lions head and devil's peak are other similar spots which we skipped and simply took photos off from table mountain itself.Penguins can be seen off the beach of Simonstown. There are so many of them, you never tire of taking their photos and videos. And if you are lucky, you may even spot a penguin savings it's egg from the preying seagulls, a sight only P was lucky to spot.
Cape point is a great drive and hike. We spotted an ostrich walking along with us on the road here. And the girls spotted a whale during lunch. It's a bit expensive to drive in, but sure makes for a good hike and photo-worthy views.
Kitchen Windows
34South
Two Oceans
Codfather
Madam Titou
Vineyards
Hire a driver to take you here. Rithwaan from Romer is the perfect option. He regales you with stories as you drive along to these vineyards (or any other of your choice):
Neethlingshof
The best of the lot we visited. Jean-Lewis assisted us here and was so full of stories, he made the entire experience delightful.We purchased just one bottle (a difficult sounding German name) and later regretted the decision as we should have picked at least 3 more.
La Motte
Pretty popular to see these bottles in stores. And one variant is the recipient of numerous awards.
However, the wines were just not all that great. And the whole place comes across too commercial.
Eikehof
A little family owned vineyard whose logo is a century old Ford. A car that's still on display at the vineyards.
Completely enjoyed the tasting here and purchased 2 bottles.
Delaire Graf
Johannesburg
The last leg of our journey and the place tourists normally spend the least time.
There is a Lion and Rhino park for those who cannot travel all the way to Kruger. You of course get a close of up of these animals, but there is no chance of sighting the Leopard and elephant here.
The other things to do here are shop, eat and drink,and if in the mood and with time, the Apartheid Museum. Perfect for that final stop of the South African sojourn.
Lucky Bean
Delhi Darbaar
Annapurni
Nala Bheema
Raj Sandton
Zen Garden
Durban
A visit to this beach city came about on a work trip, and I was quite surprised that we didn't include this in the original itinerary, given the following:
1) Incredibly beautiful beach and promenade with wonderful restaurants and an upbeat party vibe
2) Shark cage diving with guaranteed sighting in half hour drive vs a long journey depending on where you're stationed along the garden route
3) Probably the next best Unilever office after HUL, if ever you want to pay homage
4) And the most important, the next best steak after the Florentine one and the Texan one. Would love to revisit this place just for how the steak was cooked medium-well in precisely the way I like it
Bellazar Beach Cafe
Hussar Grill
Chefs Table
La Spiaggia
