I would agree about cutting a day off of your time in Cape Town. You will definitely want to go to the top of Table Mountain for the views and the photo ops. You can arrange a one-day Cape tour which will take you all the way down to the southern tip of the African continent and back, with some interesting and scenic stops along the way. I really enjoyed seeing the penguins in their native habitat there, and the area along the Indian Ocean where surfers take turns watching with binoculars for sharks from the cliffs over where their buddies are surfing. The baboons down along the cape, however, were annoying jerks. I visited the wine country while there on one trip, then wondered why I travelled halfway across the world and wasted my time looking at what I could see in California or Oregon. That's just me, though.
I would definitely recommend a one-day tour of Soweto in Johannesburg. Seeing it in person made me realize what a truly larger-than-life person Nelson Mandela was, and I was able to understand why that man was and is so loved by South Africans of every race, creed, color, political persuasion, and socioeconomic background. You really get a feel for what he accomplished by visiting there, and I felt really sad by how the country's subsequent and more recent and current leaders have mismanaged almost everything they have touched since he left office and then left his life behind. The rest of "Joberg", to borrow from Tate Martell, is ass, my dude.
Shakaland and the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi are really nice stops between CapeTown and Joberg. You can stay overnight in Shakaland and get a really interesting appreciation for the warrior Shaka Zulu and the Zulu tribe he founded. Hluhluwe-Umfolozi is a very low-key game preserve that houses one of the most successful rhino herds in the world. We toured this region with men who were retired rangers in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi preserve, and they had absolutely amazing stories, many of which kept my wife from being able to sleep. One of the most interesting things we did was that these rangers arranged for us to visit a school outside of the park, at my wife's request. Honestly, I thought it was going to be a waste of time, but it turned out to be absolutely amazing. The ENTIRE school planned for our arrival well ahead of our visit, and the teachers had each grade level prepare a presentation for the two of us, with songs, native dances, and enacted plays. Of course, we made a nice donation to the school, but I can assure you that there was no quid pro quo ahead of that visit - they were genuinely delighted to have two Americans come visit their school in the middle of nowhere.
Last but not least, I have been to game preserves in Zambia, Botswana, and Tanzania (including the Serengeti, Arusha National Park, and the NgoroNgoro Crater). In my opinion, the game experience in the private reserves outside of Kruger National Park (Kirkman's, etc.) is peerless. You will be treated like royalty, but the best thing is that the guides ride on the jeeps and look for tracks, they communicate with other jeeps on the same reserve when unusual game is spotted, the crowds are very limited, and the Range Rovers can and will go wherever they want including at night. You will get a really up-close and personal view of the wildlife (on one occasion I could have reached out of the jeep and petted a leopard which walked right by our Range Rover at night), you will get to see animals hunting at night, you will get to see animals that never come out during the day, and you will have knowledgeable and friendly staff who will make your South African experience memorable. I guarantee they will have at least one surprise show of hospitality for you if you go there. I hope you grow to know and love the people, places, and animals of South Africa as much as I have in my trips there.
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