How many of you have rented a car and drivin yourself in South Africa?

Our party of 4 will be spending 6 days at Zulu Nyala and I have heard of other folks being very happy that they had a rental car so they could get about and do things much cheaper than through the lodge.

I have driven in other countries (UK, Ireland, Mexico) before with no problems.

I have rented cars picked up and returned at Joberg Airport. Very practical, but I was only going to Pretoria on short 3 to 4 day business trips and renting the cheapest beater they had.

i've done it a couple times. but that was 10 years ago. it has huge advantages if you want to take a few xtra days before or after to go see some of the many attractions RSA has to offer. For instance we took a week and drove thru krueger park, staying at the camps within. that was fun. 1st time in africa i hunted zula zyala with trevor,but that was before he really got into the hospitality business. No big deal once you get out of joberg, but getting out of joberg can be fun . I really would much rather drive than fly, cause i get to see the county. if you're going to zulu nyala, try to take a day or 2 and go to hwluewue and umflozi parks. they are both close by, also just down the road you hit the ocean and charter fishing boats.

You just have to remember that we drive on the correct side of the road.

If you do visit Hluhluwe/Umfolozi, make a point of visiting the game capture bomas there.

quote:

You just have to remember that we drive on the correct side of the road.

i noticed things were kinda backwards, but the people were so friendly, waving their finger and the like

I travel to SA at least once a year and have experienced no problems after the first couple of minutes. This includes driveing both in the country and in cities as large as Cape Town. Not had the pleasure of driving in/around J-Berg.

If you have driven in the UK, you are ready for SA.

Don

We had no problems at all. Hired a car in Capetown, Messina to Jo'Burg and again later Jo'Burg airport and return. We also borrowed a Kombi for a few weeks.

We found AVIS SA the cheapest of the bigger firms. In Cape Town our B&B Manager found a local firm who rented a 5 seat car for A$45 a day. You can't find much cheaper than that. We did have problems finding a road atlas to buy but found a GPS very handy.

We had no problems with traffic and the highways are usually dual carriageway and very well made compared to Australian roads. Toll booths were very numerous and we kept a ready supply of small change and notes handy.

Hireing a car and getting out and about is the best way to see the 'real' south africa.

Edit: Refueling is done in large Road House complexes. You don't have to get out of your car at all as it is all done for you by the garage employees. You need to pay in cash for fuel. Useing a plastic card is a pain in the ....

I have driven thousands of kilometers all across South Africa without difficulty. Their main roads are quite good. And it is a beautiful place.

Other than a short familiarization period the driving on "the other" side is not much of an issue.

Though, remember that all the signs and signal [robots] are also on the left, and you go around "round abouts" the other way, and driving after dark can be much more exciting with farm animals, and Kudu wandering the roads.

I also found Avis to have the best rates available from the international companies, you will want to include the maximum insurance available, as your own insurance will not likely cover it.

Oh, and tip the guy that fills up your fuel tank, seems like just the spare change/ a few rand works. [maybe ask a local what the "correct" tip is]

Driving there, and getting out in the country adds a great deal to the overall experience - enjoy it

Les

We (4 females, one a them a 14 yr old) rented a car in Johannesburg and drove up to the Botswana border and then over to a camp near Krueger. We didn't have any problems other than the luggage barely fitting in the back . We did not drive at night.

I'm taking my family of four in May, and we are planning on flying from Jo'burg to Phalaborwa where we plan on renting a vehicle for a few days in Kruger before hunting with Spear Safaris. Would you all recommend flying to Phalaborwa over driving from Jo'burg, or would we possibly be better off renting a vehicle right at Jo'burg and driving from there?

I've done the drive from Jo'burg to Phalaborwa. The roads are fine, but it's a long haul (7 hours), and I would rather not do it at night. If I had my druthers I would fly into Phalaborwa and rent the car there. Last time I looked the airfares from Jo'burg to Phalaborwa were very reasonable. If you can, rent a vehicle with higher seating positions, like an SUV or a van, for better game viewing in Kruger.

If you are flying into JNB on SAA I believe that first internal connection flight is already included in your international ticket price.

I assume you are using one of the africa travel experts at Gracy or Kathi who posts here!

Les

If anyone needs to hire a car here in SA, you might like to contact my friend and neighbour John Ilsley at john@detra.co.za. John has contracts with all the major car hire companies and will give you a very good price.

If you fly internally from Johannesburg you need to check that the airline will carry your firearms, some airlines on sone routes and indeed some destination airports might not accept firearms so you then have to drive whether you like it or not.

If you do drive, the roads are good but the usual rules apply. Don't give anyone a lift and be cautious where you stop.

Thanks for the advice guys. We'll most likely end up flying into Phalaborwa and depend on our safari operator to arrange a rental car for the oportion before our hunting commences. It looks like we'll just be driving around from Phalaborwa to Kruger and around the park for a few days. Going to stay at Letaba and Satara camps in Kruger.

Might I suggest the bushcamps as a better option than the public camps which is what Letaba and Satara are. They're smaller and slightly more private and more enjoyable. You can still buy your supplies in the public camp shops during the day.

If you have time and especially if you have teenage (ish) kids, you might like to consider a day or two at Tshukudu as you're in the area.

It's not wild Africa by any means but it is a lot of fun as you get to go for a morning walk with Lions and an Elephant. Always a winner with the kids!

Definitely fly into Phalaborwa. I've done both and even though the drive is beautiful, it's not worth the time lost by driving. And while at Kruger make sure you take in the Elephant Museum.

How you are not driving at night?

Jerrod,

see above?

quote:

Originally posted by LHowell:
Jerrod,

see above?

Oops I meant why are you not driving at night not how?

quote:

Originally posted by LHowell:
driving after dark can be much more exciting with farm animals, and Kudu wandering the roads.

There do seem to be a lot of domestic animals grazing the roadsides, which at night is more of an issue, and many of the locals take the "Kudu Crossing" signs seriously and avoid the roads completely after dark. I just take their advice seriously.

Kudu at night can be bloody dangerous, but they're not the only danger. In my area at least, we also sometimes get hippo and croc amongst others!

A more common thing you need to be cautious of is lunatic taxi drivers!

As of last year, Richards Bay airport, among too many other destinations, no longer has the capability to receive/send baggage that includes firearms. I hunt in the Hluhlwe area and that means either flying to Durban and trekking back north and then back to Durban, or renting in Joburg and driving down. Rented a car last year. No problem except driving after such a long flight. Have lived in the RSA/Lesotho in earlier years so driving on the other side has no terrors.

Agree with NOT picking up hitchhikers, keep the doors locked and drive defensively.

Regards

The first time i drove in Rsa i had problems becouse in Scandinavia we drive on the other side of the road and it tok me some hours to get use to this!last year i almoast hit a kudu on the way back to camp not wery nice yes one thing i have learned is also not to take opp pasasjers from the road it can be dangerus!

And don't imagine that because the lights are green for you that you don't have to check the sides! Not everyone stops for red.
Oh yes, that following distance is called a taxi gap!

And don't forget that the old adage about looking BOTH ways before stepping off a curb is something that you WILL want to reaquaint yourself with.
Stop, Look, Step.
Many of us have become used to simply looking in the direction that we know traffic will be coming from, over there it will run you down if you get lazy and step off the curb.