Southern Africa Solo

[Vespasia]

I am presenting at a conference in Cape Town early next year and plan to fly in a day or two early and extend my stay for at least a week afterwards . I've been to South Africa before and spent time in Cape Town and Franschhoek with a safari near Port Elizabeth. MH was supposed to join me for this trip but is having second thoughts. Colleagues will be at the conference but I don't anticipate being able to travel with them beyond that. 

My flights likely need to be in and out of South Africa but otherwise I am pretty flexible. Things I was considering when MH was going to join me were:

Garden Route road trip in South Africa
Kruger and Panoramic Route in South Africa (probably with time in JNB)
Victoria Falls and the surrounding area
Botswana and/or Namibia - possibly in combination with the Falls
 
I'm sort of struggling with how to translate these to a solo trip. I've traveled by myself before but only domestically and to Paris. If I were just staying in Cape Town I wouldn't think twice but traveling around (especially potentially driving and on the opposite side at that) has me nervous. There are lots small group tours I could join but they usually involve very long, consecutive travel days and they sound kind of exhausting. 

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Tagging wanderingback since I know you have familiarity with both the area and solo travel!

[sakoro]

I was born in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), moved to the US as a small kid and have been back a bunch of times.

If it was me, I would either spend a few days in the wine regions near Cape Town or do a trip to Victoria Falls/ Botswana/ Namibia, depending on budget. The garden route is quite a long (but pretty) drive and personally I wouldn’t want to do it solo.

I did the Knysna to PE drive solo about 15 years ago and it took a while to get the hang of the different road markings, the procedure for passing cars (you use a combo of turn signals, hazard lights and high beams to indicate that someone can pass, thank you and you’re welcome). Plus driving on the opposite side of the road. Driving from Joburg to Kruger and Panoramic Route is similar type of driving— 1 or 2 lanes, lots of passing slower vehicles or pulling over to let others pass you.

[Vespasia]

sakoro that info about driving is very helpful and solidifies my impression that it's too much for me to do on my own or really even if MH changes his mind. I'm an excellent navigator but get easily flustered if I am driving somewhere I am unfamiliar with.

I'll likely have around 48 hours on my own when I get in and tentatively plan to spend that time in Stellenbosch since I missed it last time.

[tvlmm]

We did a family trip to So Africa, Botswana (safari), and Vic Falls earlier this summer. I have a very long trip report I am happy to share if you PM me your email. You could do Botswana on your own since you'll be with groups everywhere but two days will barely scratch the surface. Vic Falls is nice for a day.

[Vespasia]

tvlmm I would love a link and will PM you.

To clarify, I will have about a week at the end. The two days at the start is just to relax and acclimate so I plan to stay close to Cape Town.

[wise_rita]

Would you really road trip solo? I can't fathom that (and am proficient at driving on the other side of the road).

Personally I'd get on a group tour if the dates aligned. If not, not sure what I'd do.

[wanderingback]

Namibia is amazing and safe. I didn’t do it solo but almost did.

But if you only have a week I might recommend Botswana and Zambia/Vic Falls.

The Okavango Delta is amazing.

You will find solo travelers Usually when putting together a solo trip if you google the area like "Botswana solo trip agenda" you’ll find blogs of people who have done it before and get a sense of a good itinerary. That’s what I’ve done for my solo trips in Africa, S America and Alaska.