South Africa #1: Johannesburg to Swaziland
21 days in South Africa, from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Thousands of kilometers and at least as many impressions. In the coming weeks I will take you on a journey along our route through South Africa, through word and image and with lots of tips and tricks. This week: Krüger National Park, the Panorama Route and Swaziland.
Day 1: Nelspruit
After traveling all day, we planned our first stop in Nelspruit. We spent the night at Nature Luxury Cottages, not too far from OR Tambo International Airport and the perfect starting point for the Panorama Route the next day. With spacious, clean rooms, a private kitchen and a terrace, this accommodation had everything we were looking for.
Day 2: The Panorama Route
From Nelspruit we traveled along the Panorama Route. You can easily spend two or three days on this route, but we chose to go a little faster. Less time means making choices and after some research we opted for Lisbon Falls, Three Rondavels and Bourk"e’s Luck Potholes as our stops. After a delicious lunch at Potluck Boskombuis (more on that soon!) we were headed to Krüger National Park
We checked in at Elephant Walk Retreat, a cozy lodge near the Crocodile River Bridge entrance of Krüger National Park. The lodges are super cute, with an outdoor kitchen and a gorgeous view on the Crocodile River. There’s a swimming pool, each cottage has its own barbecue and with a tiny bit of luck you can spot some elephants in the distance. The biggest advantage of Elephant Walk Retreat is its location, just outside Krüger National Park and therefore close by but much cheaper than any accommodation inside the park. If you’re looking for an original and budget-friendly place to sleep in the region, Elephant Walk Retreat is the place to be!
Day 3: Krüger National Park
At half past five in the morning we crossed the Crocodile River Bridge and started our self-drive safari. We drove through the park with your own car and at your own pace and followed a self-chosen route. We opted for one super long safari, but you can easily split this up and turn it into two less intensive safari days. I’ll share more about our experiences in Krüger National Park soon. After our safari we stayed at Elephant Walk Retreat for one more night.
DAY 4: SWAZILAND
From Krüger National Park we were headed to St. Lucia, a town on the east coast of South Africa, primarily known for its large population of hippos. Because the journey from Komatipoort to St. Lucia was too long to cover on one day, we made a stopover in Swaziland. Swaziland or eSwatini is a separate country completely enclosed between South Africa and Mozambique. If you want to drive through Swaziland, be sure to indicate this when renting your car. Also, be sure to count in some extra time for passport checks at the border posts. You can skip Swaziland and drive to St. Lucia through South Africa, but keep in mind that the trip will take a few hours longer.
It was noon when we arrived in Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, where we stayed for one night and slept in one of the beehives. The accommodation was nice, but pretty basic, so if you love some comfort (just like me) one night at Mlilwane will be more than enough. The Wildlife Sanctuary itself is not very remarkable too, especially if you’ve just visited Krüger National Park. Although for us, the bad weather might' have had something to do with it too. In retrospect, we could have skipped the stopover in Swaziland and drove directly to St. Lucia, but then we would have spent a full day in the car.
Curious about our next stops? Stay tuned for part two of this South Africa recap!