It wasn't until the overland truck rounded the bend and the ocean breeze came rushing into the windows, that I (Matt) saw 'Table Mountain,' and knew we were close to our final destination of our 6-week organized tour - Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA.
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| Table Mountain |
As always,we hadn't made reservations or plans for what we would do when we actually finished our 'Acacia Africa' trip (including plane tickets out of the country), but that was okay. We were happy to take it slow and get back into the groove of planning.
SOUTH AFRICA proved to be a great place to do just that. The entire first week was designated for resting, planning and even doing a little sightseeing around Cape Town. Afterwards, we spent the final weeks in Africa driving along the southern coast from the Cape of Good Hope to Port Elizabeth, ending up in Johannesburg to pick up our VISAs for INDIA. (Turns out the Cape Town Indian Consulate doesn't accept VISA applications - see next post on how to obtain your INDIAN VISA in SOUTH AFRICA.)
It really was the perfect transition to being back on our own. The car rental made things flexible and the coastal drive was incredibly beautiful. There were guest houses galore, so finding somewhere to stay each night was easy and there were fun things to see along the way like penguin colonies and ostrich farms.
Here are some snapshots of the dramatic coastal scenery and the things we saw along the way:
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| Hout Bay |
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| Cape Point |
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| Southern Right Whale |
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| Cape Agulhas - Southernmost point in Africa |
CAPE TOWN TO PORT ELIZABETH:
Rented a car from a local dealer, 'Comet,' through our hostel, 'Ashanti Lodge.' 240 Rand / day ($27.50 USD / day) with unlimited kms / day. They will drop-off and pick-up the car at your door step. Because we weren't making a return trip to Cape Town, we paid an additional drop-off fee of 650 Rand ($74 USD) to leave the car in Port Elizabeth.
In addition, we had to fill up the gas tank before they picked it up. Keep in mind, the gas attendant may not fill your car all the way (something about a button you have to push to release trapped air from the tank), so the rental company may charge more after you've dropped it off to make up the difference in missing gas.
The best thing about using a local rental company is they have more flexibility when it comes to special requests, like extending days or upgrades. Plus, they are more eager to negotiate price.
- Comet Car Rental - Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth
- Cape Town Tel: 021-386-2411
- Email: info@cometcar.co.za
- www.cometcar.co.za
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