- Our road trip lasted 21 days
- TRANSPORT: we rented a car during 18 days driving 4200km, and used public transport for our the last 3 days in Cape Town
- ACCOMODATION: we spent 7 nights with locals thanks to Couch Surfing, 3 nights in dorms, 1 night in a hut and 11 nights under our tent
- MONEY: we finish within in our initial total budget but not in the details! We explode in transport while saving much for instance in accomodation, and in particular thanks to couch surfing!
South Africa is the first stage of our great voyage, and it was important for us to start with the Black Africa that we did not know (we had never been below the Sahara). Before leaving we both read the memories of Nelson Mandela. This enthralling work sensitized us on the political situation and the very complex demography of South Africa. We did indeed start this voyage with great impatience! The country having many zones of interest, we decided to rent a car to carry out this first circuit.
Much more positive points than negative points, the first stage of our WWT went perfectly!
The adaptation to our new daily life was done naturally. We were quickly regulated on the rhythm of nature: wake up with the sun around 6am and go to sleep just after 9pm. The noise from the cars of London and Paris was transformed into songs contests of birds in the morning, with in the background the sound of the waves from the Indian Ocean. Much easier to be in a good mood when waking up in such conditions and without the worry of going to work!!
The road was sometimes a little long and tiring, but nature was so beautifu on the side that it made of journeys much more appreciable. The landscapes could vary very quickly, from mountains to valleys, from wildness to fields, from emptiness to the crazyness of local villages and towns...
The history of the country fascinated me. We were lucky to be in contact with the locals, and to share time with them. Listening to their stories was enthralling.
Good moments: The Kruger Park and the animals in the wild, the meeting with local Afrikaans, the visit of the townships of Cape Town, kids in the countryside, the camp-site in the national parks
Less good moments: The long roads and especially when Delphine was driving, the real danger in the streets and on the roads, the highly visible consequences of Apartheid, still in everyone's minds.
I am really enchanted to have been able to appreciate this country under all these facets, to have been able to find places which I had imagined during my readings in Europe.
South Africa is a country with a passionating history, and very rich on the level of the human values. We left the country mindly enriched and emotionally exhausted.
The colors of this country, in the streets, the townships, the country side and also the colors of the flowers, the animals, the beauty of this still virgin nature in the national parks, gave me much inspiration and positive energy and I felt nourished every day.
Good moments: The Kruger Park, for the beauty of the free and wild animals, the St Lucia Park close to the Indian Ocean. Swaziland. The roasted pig with caramel sauce cooked on barbecue in the camp- site of Tsisikama Park, yummy yummy!
Smiles, spontaneous waving hands from the many children and locals that we crossed on our road.
Less good moments: the comments of Laurent regarding my driving skills, which is however not so bad at all! The glance from the black population which is sometimes very difficult to bear when I am white. Being white we always bear the image of the colonizer, the boss, the tourist and the rich...
