Hi Dan, I know South Africa very well, but do not know Namibia. First off, I would say 16 days is a great amount of time, but you are right to say Namibia OR South Africa. Even with 16 days, you will end up wishing you had more time! Here is a quick thought.
- Fly into CapeTown for 4 nights. Table Mountain, Robben Island are musts. But you are also within 45minutes of some great wine country (including the cheetah and birds of prey sanctuary at Spier), Cape Point, and the penguins of Simon's Town.
- Drive to George/Knysna for 3 nights - This is an area of stunning natural beauty, but not on the list of most first time visitors to South Africa. The coast line is hugged by stunning mountains. There are great drives, hikes and even train rides through the passes that were once the only way to move inland from the beach. Mossel Bay has one of the best cultural co-op gift shops I've been to. Oodtshoorn has great caves and caverns. There are also game parks and places to see osterich races!
- Fly to Nelspruit and rent a car for 3 nights in Kruger. You can take game drives, but in the park it is easy to drive, and I like that method. Splurge for a night drive. I tend to like the campgrounds in the South of Kruger, for seeing the big game.
- Drive through Mpumalanga's national parks for natural beauty like Bourke's Potholes, MacMac Falls, etc. spend one night in Lydenburg or Graskop.
- Drive to Pretoria/Johannesburg. These are not spots for Natural wonders so much, but certainly the cultural sites warrant time spent. You could easily spend the remaining 4-5 days getting to the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill, The Cradle of Humankind site, Cullinan Diamond Mine, etc.
- I have helped many friends book an add-on to Vic Falls, and all have said that it is worth it. 3 nights there is plenty, giving you 2 full days to do the falls, visit Livingstone if you like, or a game park.

I think this is actually 19 days, so it may not work for you, but to try and see everything, this gives you a change. Personally, I think Vic Falls is higher impact than LeSotho, but that is a matter of opinion. For your info, Maseru is about 8hours drive from Pretoria and 12 hours from George. If you wanted to eliminate the extra domestic flights, you could skip CapeTown and George, and drive to Durban for coastal time.

I hope this helps. You can certainly shoot me a line at kakinnard@gmail.com if you have questions I can help with.

Posted Jul 30, 2012

Hi Dan, I agree with all of Kasey's suggestions. Specifically, if you rent a car in Nelspruit and drive into Kruger via the Malelane Gate and head up north to stay the night in Skukuza, you're bound to see loads of wildlife (although the very far southern parts I've found have less than those closer to Skukuza). Then you could continue northwards (even more animals) and exit via the Orpen Gate, which would put you in perfect position to head on over towards the Mpumalanga attractions Kasey mentions above (Bourke's Luck Potholes, Three Ronadavels, Gods Window).

Another part of the country that you will love if you are into outdoor, natural beauty, hiking... will be the Drakensburg Mountains. They are super impressive. I've stayed at Inkosana Lodge in the Champagne Castle region of the Drakensburg and thought it was awesome. We only stayed there one night and did one long dayhike, but could have stayed much longer and been content. This would be close to Lesotho.

Swaziland is also a very culturally cool place to check out, if you end up getting your fill of natural wonders in South Africa and want to check out another country other than Lesotho.

Have a great trip!

Posted Aug 02, 2012