Richards Bay

Beware of the docks at Tuzu Gazi! They collapsed in high winds, twice while we were in Richards Bay, damaging a few yachts. You have to go there to check in to Richards Bay, but then get over to Zululand where it’s safer.

Zululand Yacht Club has got the friendliest, most helpful people we have met in all our cruising. They are over the top in doing all they can to welcome cruisers. They put on twice weekly Braai’s. One that you take your own stuff and cook it yourself on Barbecues they have going, and one that they cook you HUGE T-bone steak dinners. (for about 8USD)

It’s a good idea to take down your sails and stow them inside while in Richards Bay. There is a coal plant close by and with some wind, it blows all over the boat. We left our Genoa furled and we now have permanent black “Zebra stripes” on it…

Wild card

A Wild Card is a year-long “get in free” card for most of the SAN Parks in South Africa. For two of us, it cost 2800 Rand, about 300 Canadian dollars. Kruger costs 250 Rand per person, per day. Imfolozi was around 200 if I remember correctly. It also got us into Cape Point, (125 per person), Cape Agulhas Park, Boulders Beach with the African Penguins, and Table Mountain.

We loved having it and the freedom it gave us to go to these special places as much as we wanted. AND! it paid for itself on our first trip to Kruger where we spent 6 days.

Cell C 100GB offer

There are three big cell phone providers. Cell C, Vodacom, and MSN. We found a non advertised and not well-known deal from Cell C. 1500 Rand for 100GB’s of data, that expires in a year. OR, 1000 Rand for 50GB’s. MUCH less expensive than the regular plans that only last for 30 days. (10GB for 500 Rand)

Cell C was excellent wherever we stopped, but not while travelling along the coast.

Vodacom had better coverage while actually sailing the coast as long as you stay close enough. Like within five miles.

Getting Work Done in South Africa

We came to South Africa with the impression that it would be a good place to do work on the boat. And it is, with some provisions. We found the workmanship to be substandard overall and it was difficult to get people to commit to getting the job done in a certain period of time. Not that I was looking for exact dates, but even, like, within a week or so, was a bit much to ask it seemed.

A stainless welding job we had done on the radar arch was strong but looked terrible. A new reef point we had sewn in on our mainsail came back with the tack and clew way too weak and had to be redone, AND! the intermediate cringles were crooked. They didn’t line up, at all, with the clew and tack! I took in my outboard for a full going over and it had to be returned three times for various reasons related to them not getting it right… These types of stories are typical with all the cruisers we met.

The work is an OK price by world standards but not that inexpensive and the general attitude with tradespeople is that “it’s only a pittance in your currency”, which got a bit old after a while.

Kruger vs Imfolozi

“To see South Africa and not see Kruger, would be like going to Australia and not seeing the Great Barrier Reef.”

This is what a South African told us when we first arrived and after spending a week in Kruger, then another week in Imfolozi and Hulhule, we have to wholeheartedly agree. Kruger was so much….. more. WAYYYYYY more animals to see and it’s just cool to be in the famous Kruger Park.

If you decide to go to Kruger from Richards Bay, go through Swaziland and it takes 6 or 7 hours total. That will get you to Crocodile Bridge at the southern end of Kruger. Get your rental car agency to give you a paper saying you are allowed to go into Swaziland (as Forest Gump would say, “it’s like this whole other country”). We used Avis and they gave us the paper no problem, no extra charge.

We stayed at the Crocodile Bridge Safari Camp and it was excellent. It overlooks the Crocodile river and into Kruger. The fence is 20 meters from your Safari tent and Elephants, Rhino, Giraffe, Water Buffalo, Zebra, Antelope, Wart Hogs, and many more walk right by the front of your tent. The biggest concentration of animals is at the southern end of the park, so this is a good place to base yourself.

The only problem is that you have to enter the park each day and it doesn’t open until 6 am, and the very best time to see animals is first thing in the morning. If you wanted to stay inside the park, we’d suggest staying at Sabi River. It seems to be right in the heart of the best viewing area, and it has a great restaurant that overlooks a meandering river where Elephants, Waterbuck and Hippos can be seen at almost any time. It’s really cool!

Personal Safety

This is NOT a safe country to travel in. BUT! with a bit of common sense, it really is no problem. It’s just that your personal safety is more of concern here than pretty much anywhere else. When asked if an area was safe, the locals would always say, like wherever we went and whoever we asked, that it “should” be OK in the daytime – but don’t go out at night. The locals would try to minimize it by saying things like “well, it’s unsafe in certain areas anywhere you go in the world”…. which is true to a point, but in SA, it’s different. It’s….. more. Way more.

Now having said that, we rented cars and drove across the country and never felt unsafe anywhere, but following the recommendations we got, we didn’t stray off the main roads and we didn’t travel at night.

Simons Town

Simons town marina fills up quickly so you need to make reservations like 3 or 4 months in advance. It is a great place to stay with very, very friendly staff who are always willing to help with anything, and lots of get-togethers, Braai’s and parties.

**Watch out for uncharted rocks and reefs INSIDE the marina, in-between the dock fingers. They were marked with buoys when we were there.

Hout Bay

 Hout Bay, which on a chart looks very protected – isn’t. There is a lot of surges, and the (many) working boats don’t slow down in the marina basin. Hout Bay also accelerates any winds that come by. “It’s a terrible place to stay” was how one cruiser put it that stayed there.

Cape Town

Dingy to VA.

You can dingy over to the VA Waterfront from the RCYC. There is a ladder that you can tie to right beside the old pirate ship that takes tourists out for day trips. No one uses it and no one cares if you do.

The attitude at the RCYC was….. a bit weird and disappointing.

We were there for a few days as you HAVE to go there to check out of South Africa. When I went to pay our marina bill the woman told me of a 250 Rand charge for filling out the paperwork to give to Customs, Immigration, and Port Control, because we hadn’t stayed a minimum of a week. Basically, a receipt saying we have paid all fees at the marina that we had gotten from all the other marina’s in SA without even the question of a fee. When I “politely,” asked what the charge was for, the woman instantly said, “I’ll call the Commodore to speak with you.” I told her I didn’t think that was necessary, that I only wanted to understand what the extra charge was for, but she was already on the phone. So he came by and told me in no uncertain terms that the fee was the fee and I had to pay it, adding that it was “only like five bucks for you.” (it was actually $26) So, I ended up paying for it.

But it left me with a kind of bad taste in my mouth. After all the overly incredible and helpful people we had met in Richards Bay and Simons Town, the attitude I received was an unpleasant shock.

The RCYC is also tough and somewhat dangerous to get in and out of when the winds blow strongly, which it does all the time. You can have 10 knots blowing outside the marina and 30 knots inside. The fingers get very close together when it’s blowing, leaving very little room to get in or out. We know of two boats that were damaged trying to leave. I’m sure there are many more.

When we arrived after securing a reservation ahead of time, we were told to go to one slip and after getting there, and in a very tight fairway, we found it to be too narrow for our 12.2-foot beam! Getting out of there without hitting anything was just luck as the gusts of wind favoured us and not the opposite… Then the next slip they sent us to, (over VHF) was the same thing! Highly unimpressive…

Truth Coffee

This coffee shop won the award for the “best coffee shop in the world” that was done by a UK firm in June of 2015. If you’re into good coffee in a very funky atmosphere, you have to go. They have a HUGE old roaster (like 30 feet across) that sits in the back and the staff wear a lot of leather “props.” It’s also filled from top to bottom with metal piping and quirky old machinery. Try the “Deep Dark and Twisted!” Yummy!

36 Buitenkant St., Cape Town.

Cameras

If you need camera gear, I found the BEST camera store in the whole world! ORMS has a super friendly staff that really know their stuff and are excited about photography. It has an incredible selection of cameras and gear. Everything you could possibly want! AND! it’s a short walk from Truth Coffee!

95 Upper Canterbury St. – Gardens, Cape Town.

Wine

This has got to be the best place in the world to stock up on wine. Some very good wines can be had for very little. We only had four months in South Africa, but we made the most of it and tried to taste as many wines as we could and we left with a very nice ‘cellar’ on board!!!

Dentists

We found two great dentists in South Africa we can highly recommend.

A general dentist in Fishhoek (close to Simon’s Town). This is Sam, from the Sammnet’s personal dentist.

Pieter Nieuwoudt
Ph – 021 7821 511
79a Kommetjie Rd.
Fishhoek

We found a specialist in Endodontics (root canal specialist) in Cape Town for a “very tricky” root canal Rosie needed to be done. She had the best experience (as the situation allowed) and couldn’t have been happier with Dr. Ashberg and his staff.

Dr. Tony Ashberg
021 439 1141
1 Kloof Rd.
Sea Point, Cape Town

Southern Ropes

Is a company in Paarden Island that sells “offcuts” for a quarter of the regular price. It’s a great place to stock up or replace any lines that are getting scruffy.

Overall

We LOVED cruising South Africa. It’s a country of extremes in so many ways. Extreme beauty, animals, violence, weather, friendliness and giving, history and wine.

Mark n Rosie
SV Merkava

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.