South Africa Budget & Trip Report
Our itinerary, lodging info and budget from our road trip through South Africa from September 2-30, 2014.
South Africa
Traveling to South Africa?
Here, you’ll find all of our South Africa travel stories, budget travel tips, posts on backpacking destinations, road trips, and top sights.
Visits to Cape Winelands, beaches, the Drakensberg, national parks, and beyond.
Things to do in Cape Town, off-the-beaten-path places to visit, and more.
A wealth of information to plan your vacation!
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South Africa Archive
Ndlovini Mountain
We take a hike…up into the Southern Drakensberg to see what we can see…which isn’t much at first, but are rewarded for our efforts in the end.
Wild Coast: Coffee Bay
A mile outside of already-remote Coffee Bay sits a place of stunning beauty and supreme tranquility. Make it down the Driveway of Terror in a tiny compact hatchback and you shall reap your reward.
Wild Coast: Cintsa
Another breathtaking beach stop along our route, Cintsa may have beat all others which came before it…and if it hadn’t been for the Baz Bus, it would’ve been just about perfect.
Addo Elephant National Park
We spend a day driving through Addo Elephant National Park to try and catch a glimpse of at least one of the Big Five and it far exceeded our expectations!
Hiking Nature’s Valley
After a night reconnecting with our inner “Wild Spirit,” we spend the day hiking to Nature’s Valley and the Indian Ocean, then back again.
The Magical Forest
At our next stop along SA’s hippie trail, Earth Angel checked us into Wild Spirit Backpackers, and suggested we check out the Sunset Tree of Love, Starry Shower and Magical Forest. Seriously.
The Secret Cave
Upon check-in, Hippie-Surfer Dude said, “There’s a cave up those tracks, brah…you should totally check it out.” So we did, and what we found astonished and terrified us.
Garden Route: Cape Agulhas
We arrive at the bottom of the world, Cape Agulhas, and boy is it cold! This is still Africa, right?
Hermanus Whale Watching
We make a pitstop in Hermanus, the whale watching capital of South Africa, for a few hours to see if we can’t spot some whale action from the shore…turns out the whales were ready and waiting.
Cape Winelands: A Tale Of Three Wineries
We set out from Stellenbosch on a gorgeous midweek morning with two simple objectives for the day: to cover the 20 miles to Franschoek and to hit a few wineries along the way. Done and done.
Chapman’s Peak & Penguins
I take the wheel of a stick-shift rental in left-side driving SA and do what any sane person would–head straight for death-defying Chapman’s Peak…and penguins.
Cape Town: Hiking Table Mountain (Pt.2)
After our devastating discovery at the Cable Car ticket office, we eventually make it off the top of Table Mountain and to Camps Bay just in time for our final sunset-over-the-ocean of the trip.
Cape Town: Hiking Table Mountain (Pt.1)
When visiting cities, we generally like to make our way on foot to the highest point and have a drink. Darn you, Cape Town. Darn you.
Cape Town: Arrival!
Sad to leave Istanbul (but ready for our 15-week Africa backpacking adventure to begin), we board a plane to one of my favorite cities in the whole wide world.
