Honeymoon

[V8_Disco]

Hi all

I am in the fortunate position of having to think about a honeymoon holiday during September-October next year :eek:

We have settled on Africa as our preferred Location :biggles:

I love mountain climbing and initial thoughts where to do and do Killy as its not to hard and not to high, But its high enough for it to be an issue, you have to pay to do so and it would take a big chunk of the time we have available and in September there is a real chance we understand that you will not achieve the summit, so we are looking at other ideas:(

I would love to overland at some point but its just not feasible for an extended period of time, not only for work reasons we have challenged our thoughts and agreed that, I cant afford in money or time getting a truck together to then send out there for our trip. But I did think about organised overland trips (that abound on the net) or if you can hire a equipped car in country go out in a group or on your own for a defined period of time, any recommendations out there, obviously i would like to do it in a Land Rover:D:coolgreen

We will have just over 3 Weeks at our disposal, Money will be something of an issue as we are financing most of the wedding ourselves but its not that bad, I love camping:flower2: and Mahala does not mind it as long as its interspersed with nice accommodation:hmmm:. We are looking for something that bit different, like us really, any ideas out there from all of you, I know i could look at 100 flashy website and not get the level of information avalible on here. its Sothern Africa that is most appealing for this trip

Thanks Chaps

Aidan

:Mexicanwa

[Roger Whittle]

Errr, I don't know what you guys think, but isn't Aidan more or less applying for Gauteng Chapter Membership and signing on for the next GOODLARF? :D


Roger.

[Marc Lurie]

Errr, I don't know what you guys think, but isn't Aidan more or less applying for Gauteng Chapter Membership and signing on for the next GOODLARF?

It certainly sounds like it Roger. ;)

Aidan, if you decide to do Kili, please let me know. Brigid and I did Kili in 2003/2004 and I can assure you it's no piece of cake. It's also no Everest or Aconcagua ;) I wouldn't trust an outfit that charges you less than $1500 per person for a Kili climb. Every year around 20 people die on Kili, however that's a small percentage of the 20,000 to 30,000 people who attempt the climb each year.

If you're looking for a trip down here, please feel free to post questions, ask for advice etc. in this part of the forum. The South African forum members, although low in actual numbers, make up for it by being far too talkative and keen to see other forum members come over here and have a good time.

I'm sure Roger will agree that the forum members he's met down here are so passionate about the Southern African bush/mountains/veld/desert that we can't wait to show it off to visitors, to encourage them to get over here etc.

Your fiance has an interesting name, "Mahala". In South Africa "mahala" means "free-of-charge" or "free" as in "Buy one Coke and get another for mahala" or "you get nothing for mahala". The word is from the Nguni group of languages which include isiZulu, isiXhosa, seSwati and seTsonga, but is understood by most South Africans. Her name could cause some hillarity around a camp fire, or a few nudges and winks at the very least. ;)

September/October is a good time of year to visit Southern Africa if you're wanting to do game viewing. Kruger National Park at that time of year is superb and not too hot.

The only interest that you've mentioned is mountains. There's a lot of good climbing to be had in South Africa, and as it happens, Brigid is a member of the SA Mountain Club, so she'll have a bunch of information available for you. The most spectacular mountain range is the Drakensberg (watch the movie "Zulu" for some idea of what they look like), but there's climbing closer to Johannesburg, and around the Cape Town area too. Cape Town in September is horrid. It's cold and wet. Mind you, you'd probably feel quite at home there :D

Tell us what else you're interested in, and we'll make suggestions...

[Henk Coetzee]

Hi all

I am in the fortunate position of having to think about a honeymoon holiday during September-October next year :eek:

We have settled on Africa as our preferred Location :biggles:




Congratulations and a great idea. Southern Africa offers a lot of scope for this sort of thing. If you are looking at overlanding, it is possible and not prohibitively expensive to hire a vehicle in South Africa or Namibia. I would recommend this over the overland tours, as you can choose your own destinations and your own pace. September-October is also a good time of year. If you like, you could get the South African and Namibian members of the forum to start suggesting places to visit.


Errr, I don't know what you guys think, but isn't Aidan more or less applying for Gauteng Chapter Membership and signing on for the next GOODLARF? :D


Would you choose to spend your honeymoon with the Gauteng Chapter? :D:D

The only interest that you've mentioned is mountains.

Mountains... Mountains... Why do these sound familiar? Actually, the combination of pony trekking, overlanding, climbing and recovering stuck Landies from Rivers makes Lesotho sound like an interesting option.

[V8_Disco]

Thanks Chaps

I found the whole trip you went on fasinating !

Thanks for the info on the Name Mahala- very helpfull :D

Activities, horse riding is a joint intrest, as is climbing i am a former instuctor, Winter climbing is the main intrest for me, i am not great however. we dont like the idea of sitting on a beach and would prefer to do musuems and other things like that, both love live music if its good

E1 on Grit stone at best, E2 limestone, Winter ice about 5/6 and Apline TD dont realy do bolts, as a trad climber i am worried about the weight of the gear i would have to bring over, Whats the sea cliff climbing like?

We would Love to hire a truck out there and explore on our own that sounds like the most romantic option, we would of cource love to catch up with forum members out there you all sound like you have much more intesting lives than us. any ideas on the cost a tuck? are they kitted out?

I am a civel servant and H&S manager:o, Mahala is a senior prison service manager or for those not speeking UK Gov - prison governer :eek:

Aidan

[Marc Lurie]

E1 on Grit stone at best, E2 limestone, Winter ice about 5/6 and Apline TD dont realy do bolts, as a trad climber i am worried about the weight of the gear i would have to bring over, Whats the sea cliff climbing like?

Have a look here: http://www.mcsa.co.za (http://http://www.mcsa.co.za) for the Mountain Club.

There's no Alpine climbing in Southern Africa at all, the highest point is under 4000m which (I think) is only just considered to be African sub-Alpine.

For sea cliff climbing, the best places would be in the Cape Town area or on the Wild Coast between Port St. Johns and East London.

For museums and live music, the greater Johannesburg area is the place to be. There's the Apartheid Museum (which Roger can tell you about), the Museum of Military History (which I think is one of the best military museums in the world), Museum Afrika, Voortrekker Monument, etc. etc.

There's even a prison museum here: http://www-dcs.pwv.gov.za/Museum/Museum.htm (http://www-dcs.pwv.gov.za/Museum/Museum.htm) if Mahala is interested. Of more interest is "Constitution Hill". This is the seat of the Constitutional Court (the highest court in the country), and it is housed in the old Johannesburg Prison which was a notorious apparatus of the apartheid regime. Of course, South Africa has a long and unfortunate history of prisons and prisoners. Just off Cape Town is Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spend most of his 27 years incarceration. It's a fascinating place to visit, and a "must-do" if you're in Cape Town.

Live music can be found in just about any genre. Jazz, metal, classical, African traditional, grunge, reggae, Afrikaans traditional, Afrikaans alternate, etc. etc. in venues that range from tiny clubs and bars to full concert venues.

Johannesburg has website here: http://www.joburg.org.za (http://www.joburg.org.za) where you can get an idea of things to do, what's on, etc.

If you're into animals and safaris, then SA is the perfect place. You can easily do a self-drive safari. Kruger is easy to get around in, is inexpensive, and is truly a remarkable place for viewing animals in their natural habitat. You don't need a safari tour guide, except if you do a (highly recommended) night game drive. As I mentioned earlier, September/October is a perfect time to go to Kruger.

I'll try to find out about hiring a Landy, and post my findings here.

Cheers,
Marc

[V8_Disco]

I'll try to find out about hiring a Landy, and post my findings here.

Cheers,
Marc

Marc thanks for all of this and the above offer if you could that would be great! Sorry for the delayed reply - work again

I think we will be coming to SA next year! looking forward to it

Aidan

[Jode]

Just for your info, we have marvelous (but generally quite rough) camping options in Botswana. No climbing, however.

If you want unusual experiences, you could hire a 4x4 (which, sadly, is seriously expensive in this part of the world - and I believe that includes RSA - although the Botswana Pula has recently lost considerable value against both the Euro and Rand) and take in the very rugged solitude of western Botswana: Xai-Xai (where you can enjoy San-guided game walks, as well as Drotsky's Caves), Tsodilo Hills, and the western side of the Okavango Delta.

Note however that Botswana is NOT a country with European cafe/museum life, which RSA does offer (albeit in an African spirit). You may wish to Google Botswana to get a better sense of what activities the two of you could take part in.

Cheers.

[Jode]

PS - Where in Yorkshire? We used to live in Sheffield (I worked on the Meadowhall Project, for my sins....).

Cheers.

[Roger Whittle]

I've just noticed you are in Botswana Jode, do you have any more information about what Bvudzichena was referring to, vis a vis the 'BBC Top Gear' programme and their visit to you part of the world? That was in the 'Pub Meet' thread - same forum.

Roger.

[V8_Disco]

Cool keep the ideas comming, rough camping will be ok as long as its mixed with something that has a shower

3 have about 3 weeks, where would be best to fly in? i assume its SA?

Aidan

[Henk Coetzee]

3 have about 3 weeks, where would be best to fly in? i assume its SA?



Shop around a bit for flights. A while back my sister and her family who live in the UK came out to visit. The cheapest flight they could find was on Air Namibia via WIndhoek, which also scored them a few days in Namibia.

Henk

[Roger Whittle]

Shop around a bit for flights. A while back my sister and her family who live in the UK came out to visit. The cheapest flight they could find was on Air Namibia via WIndhoek, which also scored them a few days in Namibia.

Henk

Cor' crikey Henk, thats a bit of a dog leg! :eek: Its got to be almost as far from London to Windhoek as it is to Johannesburg and then its the thickest end of 900km from Windhoek to Jo'burg. Another hour? Hour and a half?

And that is cheaper why? :D

Before we came, the cheapest fares were Air Kenya - three hour lay over in Nairobi or Emirates - three hour lay over in Dubia. They were both about £530. Our direct LHR - O.R Tambo SAA were seven hundred and something.

Roger.

[Marc Lurie]

And that is cheaper why? :D

Roger, I think there are two reasons:

1) Air Namibia is not quite in the same league as SAA in terms of technical standards, appointment of aircraft, general quality of staff etc. and therefore can charge less for the flights.

2) I think that there is some cross subsidy to Air Namibia for bringing tourists into the country because those tourists mean income for Namibia.

Some time ago I discovered that I could fly to England for virtually peanuts if I flew to Gabon and spent 7 days there, and then off to London. I don't think they offer that anymore. Besides a hotel costs around $200 per day anyway, so you flight REALLY costs in excess of $1400.

[Henk Coetzee]

Cor' crikey Henk, thats a bit of a dog leg! :eek: Its got to be almost as far from London to Windhoek as it is to Johannesburg and then its the thickest end of 900km from Windhoek to Jo'burg. Another hour? Hour and a half?

And that is cheaper why? :D



It is indeed a smallish dogleg. Don't ask why it's cheaper :D. The idea behind this is that on the way to or from South Africa you get to spend a few days in Namibia. The flight to Windhoek is around 2 hours, which is way quicker than driving which takes the best part of 2 days in a Landy dodging donkeys along a long flat straight road through Botswana and then dodging warthogs in Namibia.

Windhoek is a great base for touring Damaraland. There is also the possibility of climbing in the Brandberg. Annalet's brother is a member of the Namibian Mountain Club and can probably help out in this regard.

For a taste: elephants in the campsite at the Brandberg, The Brandberg, a hot desert road and Spitzkoppe - another mountain well worth visiting.

[mowog]

A couple of years back Stayed at Glen Afric, just north of Jo burg , near Hartbeestpoortdam , very inexspensive, they filmed ''Wild at Heart'' TV series there. Daughter got to play with a couple of lion cubs (with the ranger) . Nice accomodation. Usual disclaimers :)

[Roger Whittle]

Wow! Namibia looks awesome. Is it all like that? The colours and atmosphere are haunting. Doesn't Frank guide tours through the deserts where the ship wrecks are?


Roger.

[Marc Lurie]

Wow! Namibia looks awesome. Is it all like that? The colours and atmosphere are haunting. Doesn't Frank guide tours through the deserts where the ship wrecks are?


Roger.

Yup
No, not all of it.
Yup
Yup

We're expecting power cuts today for routine maintenance, so keeping it short :D

[Carl]

Hello Adrien,

First of all...Congratulations!

My wife and I had our honeymoon on a self drive safari around Botswana back in 2004.

We used this company for the vehicle hire and arrangements: Safari Drive (http://www.safaridrive.com/)

We originally wanted to do Namibia but the company didn't have any vehicles available when we wanted to go so we chose Botswana. More expensive but we had a great time! and what the hell it was our honeymoon!

We flew BA into Jo'burg then a flight to Maun where we were met and taken to a local Lodge for the night. The next day we were driven into town and picked up our Land Rover. The agent was very thorough and spent a good deal of time going over the vehicle and equipment. Then we were on our own!
We had an itinery that we planned with the help of the people at Safari Drive. We rough camped most of the time. Besides the first night we did one night in a hotel in Kasane on the Chobe river, and spent our last night in a Lodge in the Okavango before driving back to Maun and handing the vehicle back.

We went with Safari Drive has they had a good reputation and offered Land Rovers as the vehicle for hire. It was well maintained and we had no trouble with it at all and the whole two week holiday went without a hitch.

What ever option you do I'm sure you will have a great time!

[V8_Disco]

Wow thanks for the info chaps, Its all very intresting and I am getting excited about the thought of sutch a holdiay (this may be due to the 12 hours of work a day! to pay for it all)

If we saved on the flight but it ment a couple of days else where in the contininet i think we would live with that, we might do the horse riding that Mahala wants to do ... then we get to play with a truck

Carl - I will look into the website, keep the info comming it all makes it feel so doable, Before Mahala came on the seen holdays where booked a ferry was booked i drove to the alps with a mate we went climbing - very simple ...

Africa will not be that simple but it looks AMAZING and just right for a Honeymoon!

A

[Henk Coetzee]

If we saved on the flight but it ment a couple of days else where in the contininet i think we would live with that,

I was actually recommending that you do this. It gets you a few days in a place like Namibia which could really add to your trip, if you have the time for it.

Henk

[V8_Disco]

Henk, thanks I was using my phone to log in and missed the sence if you see what i mean

Its all been very helpfull, unlike the wedding "trade" over here, The only thing to organise here thats been simple was the church ... but my dad is the minister!

A

[Carl]

Oops, Sorry Aidan:(

I know what you mean about holidays. It seems as time goes by our holidays keep going up a level and costing more:rolleyes: Time was just a backpack would do. Then camping out of a car (had a great summer rough camping around France discovering local crags). Now self-catering cottages seem to be the norm.

Everybody is different as to what is a good holiday, but if I may I would advise against trying to see too much do too many things. It is easy when planning such a big ( and expensive) trip to want to pack as much in as possible. The danger is you end up knackered and a bit frustrated as you are always on the go, it is a honeymoon after all.;)

[Roger Whittle]

Oh boy, did I ever learn about time management in Africa Aidan. Carl is right, don't try to plan too much. On the other hand, plan it but don't get too fussed if it doesn't quite go according to plan. Always have a plan 'B' - and 'C' and probably 'D'. Even then, you've got to be able to shrug and say; 'Oh well, this is Africa.' :D

If you get the idea that I've been bitten by some bug or other and infected with an incurable disease, then yup, I have. I've been badly infected by Africa and I can't wait to get back. :)

If God hadn't meant for us to have Land Rovers, he would never have given us Africa.

Roger.

[K&S]

If you get the idea that I've been bitten by some bug or other and infected with an incurable disease, then yup, I have. I've been badly infected by Africa and I can't wait to get back. :)

If God hadn't meant for us to have Land Rovers, he would never have given us Africa.

Roger.

:D:D:D:D:D:D

I think it's a case of I don't like Africa .....



I LOVE it.

[Jode]

I've just noticed you are in Botswana Jode, do you have any more information about what Bvudzichena was referring to, vis a vis the 'BBC Top Gear' programme and their visit to you part of the world? That was in the 'Pub Meet' thread - same forum.

Roger.
Roger, as I don't live in RSA and rarely visit I haven't been reading the Pub Visit tread. But to answer your question, I've heard nix about Top Gear visiting here. But you know these souties - they tend to be shtumb about what they're up to!

Cheers.

[Jode]

Oops, Sorry Aidan:(

I know what you mean about holidays. It seems as time goes by our holidays keep going up a level and costing more:rolleyes: Time was just a backpack would do. Then camping out of a car (had a great summer rough camping around France discovering local crags). Now self-catering cottages seem to be the norm.

Everybody is different as to what is a good holiday, but if I may I would advise against trying to see too much do too many things. It is easy when planning such a big ( and expensive) trip to want to pack as much in as possible. The danger is you end up knackered and a bit frustrated as you are always on the go, it is a honeymoon after all.;)
Carl's advice is really spot-on. One of my sisters came out and we arranged to drive through the Kalahari and then throughout Namibia. If we had kept ourselves to Nam south of Windhoek it would have been excellent, but we thought we could fit in Etosha Park without problems. Big mistake - driving up to and back from Etosha, when put on top of all the other travel, just wore everyone out. All told we drove close to 5000km!

So be just a bit modest in your plans.

Cheers.

[V8_Disco]

Thanks for the advice about time managment, Mahala wants to do the lot

but i will plan it out and add days here and there, like climbing trips ... and its a honeymoon after all:D;)

Aidan