Bought 1st S/A Timeshare!!!

[jimbosee Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimbosee]

Hi to all TS4MS'ers,
jimbosee,from Melbourne,Australia.We,my wife Pat, and I have just bought our 1st South African Timeshare,the sale was carried out by Ron Rutter,from Fairfields,a real gentleman.If you are interested in S/A buy or sell,Ron is now on Skype +27114774939,or info @fairfields.co.za.We now have a Peak week,1st week of the Easter holidays,as long as we own the week.The week is a 1 Bedroom,sleep 4,at Magaliespark Resort.We will be staying at this resort,Easter 2008,as well as Sabie River Sun.We are going to S/A in October of this year 2007,our 1st trip to that country,staying at Castleburn and Mt Amanzi,looking forward to the adventure.Regards Jim Seedsman

jimbosee@hotmail.com

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Sounds like a great trip. Hope to see a trip report and resort reviews.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Hi, Jim and Pat! Nice of you to check in here on the 4Ms. ... Your SA trip sounds fantastic, I have been quite pleased my SA peak week tradewise, but you are lucky to be using yours!

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Congratulations on your new timeshare!!!!! Enjoy your trip, and be sure to tell us all about it.

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

That's great Jim, especially using it too. Sounds like a very interesting trip.

Would love to read your trip report and what you thought of S.A. We own two there and would like to one day use them.

[Ron1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ron1]

Hi All

I sold Jim his first SA timeshare and I had the pleasure of meeting up with Jimbo, Pat and his son Matt in South Africa. We all had lunch together.

From what I hear they are having a fantastic time travelling around the country. When we met them they had just completed 4000 kms - travelling all over the place.

Anyhow, I am sure Jimbo will fill you in with all the details. Take care,

Ron, Fairfields

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

Congratulations! Can't wait to hear more about your trip.
Connie

[suebe Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close suebe]

Shame I didn't join this forum before jimbosee went to S Africa. We were staying at Kruger Park Lodge in August which is not far from Sabie River Sun, so could have given information about the area and where to visit (besides Kruger Park!). Have also stayed in Pretoria area which is near where they own, as well as staying at some of the Pilanesberg Park resorts near Sun City.

We own at Sudwala Lodge and have stayed their twice. Great people running the place - Niky and Cameron. They are doing great work there and upgrading the units.

Have also met up with Ron on a previous trip to SA - a real gentlemen. Hi Ron, if you read this message.

Sue

[jimbosee Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimbosee]

Reply to "suebe"

Hi suebe,
Thanks for the offer of information of what to do around Kruger,please do,we go to Sabie River Sun in March 2008,1 week before Easter.This time we went to Castleburn Farm,in the Drakensburgh's,the most wonderful scenery and then 8 days later into Mount Amanzi,which was very restful,close to Hartbeespoort Dam.Will write reviews when we return to Australia in December.As mentioned before,met Ron,from Fairfields,and his wife and daughter,wonderful people,looking forward to your tourist information,Thanks.Jim Seedsman

jimbosee@hotmail.com

[suebe Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close suebe]

SA visit

Hi Jim

Sorry I misread your email and thought that you had already visited Sabie River Sun.

Okay, what to do in the Lowveld (or the province of Mpumalanga):

1) Kruger Park itself - the nearest gate (or entrance to the park) is the Phabeni Gate which is not far from Hazyview, the town where Sabie River Sun resort is located. This gate is much closer than the Paul Kruger Gate. You take the same road as if you were going to the Paul Kruger Gate and then turn off. Gates open at sunrise 05.30 or 06.00 depending on time of year and close at sunset, around 18.00. Big fines if you don't get out on time. As international tourists you pay higher entrance fees than locals who only pay around 30 rand per person - we were paying around 120 rand. We spent whole days in the park - there are plenty of rest areas where there are places to eat. It is a massive area and we only covered a very small part, mainly the southern part. Game viewing is the luck of the draw. We were lucky on our last day and saw all the big 5 - first time ever we have seen a leopard close up in the wild!

You can book game drives at the gates where rangers will take you out in game vehicles - these take place either early morning, or late afternoon when you stay on in the park for a couple of hours after dark and try to find animals with the aid of lights. We saw a couple of packs of hyenas which you wouldn't see during the day. They are worth the extra money - booking these direct with park can be cheaper than booking at your resort.

2) The Panorama Route - which follows the Blyde River Canyon with lots of different viewing points including God's Window. Also pass through towns such as Sabie and Graskop with a number of restaurants and shops (also Harry's Pancakes at Graskop) which are well-known in SA and very popular). You can do this route in a day - first time we went God's Window was shrouded in mist so never saw anything but this time we returned later in the day and saw the views! Also lots of waterfalls in the Sabie area. And Pilgrim's Rest which is an old gold mining town.

3) Hoedspruit area which is north of Hazyview - at least 1.5 hour drive. Near here is Moholoholo Rehabilatation Centre, which is worth a visit - very educational and tours have to be booked as there are only two a day. Not too far from this is the Cheetah Breeding and Research Centre which is open all day.

4) Hazyview itself. A number of small shopping malls with supermarkets, liquor stores, restaurants, banks, and department stores. also Perry's Bridge where there are some small shops and restaurants. We ate there a couple of times. There is also a tourist centre, Big5 Country, where you can book for Moholoholo and also book game drives (quite reasonable prices compared to what Kruger Park Lodge were charging). Website is Big 5 Country - Central reservations for South African Accommodation, Adventure Activities, Tours and Safaris for the tourist Travelling and Touring Southern Africa.

On the road to Graskop is the Shangani Cultural Village where you can see how the local tribes lived. They organise evening events with food and native dancing. Well worth a visit if you have never been (I know there is one not far from where you stayed last time.

There is also the Elephant Sanctuary which I think is on the same road as the Sabie River Sun resort. Quite expensive but you can interact with their elephants, feeding them, walking with them, etc.

5) Nelspruit area to the south which is a larger town and regional centre - larger shopping malls and a casino. We found a small village called Kaapsehoop in the middle of nowhere quite by accident - an old mining village now a tourist centre with a couple of bars/restaurants and local craftsmen. Famous for their 'wild horses' and some great views out towards Swaziland. There is also a chimanzee sanctuary on the road out to Kaapsehoop.

6) Sudwala Caves (about 1.5 hours drive) - Sudwala Lodge, another timeshare resort, where we actually own, is located here as well.

7) Sport - lots of opportunities - golf, fishing canoeing, hiking mountain biking, river rafting, rock climbing.

As you can see, so much to see and do! You would probably need more than a week to do everything.

We have been to Hartbeesport Dam and the African Market near there. Magaliespark Resort is near there as well isn't it?

If you need any more information let me know. It brings back memories just writing about it.

Sue

[jimbosee Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimbosee]

Thank's to Suebe!!!

Hi Suebe,
Sorry to be so long in thanking you for your wonderful tour information.You sure covered a lot of area ,and saw some terrific scenery,your description certainly has us looking forward to visiting South Africa again.We visited Pilanesberg National Park,with a terrific guy,his hobby is Botany and wild animals,works for himself,so took the day off to pick us up in Rustenburg,all day at the Park,and bring us home.We saw many animals,but no Leopard,no Buffalo,no Lions,but still had a great day.I will have a more detailed report when we return to Australia,in December.Thank you again Sue.Regards Jim Seedsman

jimbosee@hotmail.com