Cape Town + Johannesburg: Table Mountain, wine farms and a safari in Kruger
South Africa is visa-free for a Russian passport and fits an ocean, mountains, wine and the big five into a single trip.
Why both stops
Cape Town is about nature and beauty: a mountain over the city, two oceans, penguins on a beach and wine farms half an hour away. Johannesburg is about history and people: apartheid, Soweto, a modern African metropolis. But the main reason to add the second city is prosaic — it is the closest gateway to Kruger, the country's largest national park.
Cape Town: six days
Table Mountain by cable car or on foot up Platteklip gorge, but go in the morning: by midday the «tablecloth» of cloud covers it. The Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point for a full day, with Boulders Beach and its penguins walking among people on the way. Robben Island, where Mandela was held — the tours are led by former prisoners. The wine districts of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek for a day of tastings, with a driver. And Chapman's Peak, one of the most beautiful coastal roads anywhere.
Johannesburg and Kruger
In the city: the Apartheid Museum, which deserves to be walked through in full, and Soweto with Mandela's house on a street where two Nobel laureates lived. Then Kruger: five or six hours by road or a short flight to Nelspruit. The park is huge and can be driven independently in an ordinary car on tarred roads — cheaper than the lodges and it works. An early start is essential: animals are active at dawn, and by noon the savannah empties.
When to go
Here is the difficulty: the best seasons for the two halves do not coincide. Cape Town's summer runs November to March — dry and warm. Kruger's best season is the dry one, May to September: low grass, animals gathering at water, lower malaria risk. The compromise is April or October: Cape Town is still or already acceptable, and the park is already or still good.
Safety without panic
South Africa does require behaving differently than in Europe: no walking through central Johannesburg in the evening, no displaying electronics, moving by car or taxi. At the same time Cape Town, the wine districts and Kruger are calm places with ordinary caution. The rule is simple: ask locally where not to go, and listen to the answer.
The wine districts
Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Constantia have three different characters. Stellenbosch is studentish and lively with many farms and moderate tasting fees. Franschhoek is more refined and has the wine tram — an open carriage looping between estates, a convenient way not to drive. Constantia is closest to the city and the oldest of the three: wine was shipped from here to Europe in the seventeenth century. Book tastings ahead and hire a driver for the day — drink-driving rules are strict.
The cape and the penguins in a day
The peninsula route fits into one day with an early start. Chapman's Peak is a toll road of switchbacks above the ocean. Boulders Beach has a colony of African penguins with boardwalks laid right over the sand and birds walking beside you. The Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point come with a funicular and a lighthouse — and baboons that break into cars, so close the windows and show no food. Return through Simon's Town and Muizenberg with its beach huts.
Practical matters
No visa is needed, up to 90 days. Driving is on the left, which matters when renting. Kruger sits partly in a malaria zone — discuss prophylaxis with a doctor in advance. The flight between Johannesburg and Cape Town takes two hours, with many cheap departures.
Moscow → Cape Town → Johannesburg
Route and nights go into the form — adjust the date and passengers.