christabir

OK - this is really long. It's three weeks, 8 different camps, three distinct regions. Every one deserved some description. Here goes. June 4 - June 26

Leave Thursday JFK to LHR, arrive Friday. 12 hour layover (yuck) LHR-JNB
Saturday - Arrive JNB in AM, rent car, drive Entabeni
3 nights Entabeni, play golf, game drives. Really there for golf.
Tuesday, miss AM game drive, drive Timbavati, Shindzela 3 nights
Friday, Satara 2 nights – chosen for convenient location near Timbavati
Sunday (second week), drive Lower Sabie. 2 nights, golf Skukuza
Tuesday drive Swaziland, Royal Swazi Spa
Wednesday, Hluhluwe 3 nights Hilltop Camp
Saturday, Zululand Rhino Reserve, stay Rhino River Lodge 3 nights
Tuesday, Tembe Elephant park, 3 nights.
Friday drive back to Johannesburg
Saturday, fly JNB-LHR in evening
Sunday LHR – JFK

I think we had too much fun on this safari. I barely remember any of the glitches – and some were bad! And we didn’t see a lot of eles. We saw more rhino than eles for most of the trip.

We started out well. Took the train to JFK – no problems. Upgraded to Economy Plus at the last minute for just $319 for two. The seats reminded me of how travel was about 20 years ago. Wider, more leg room and the seats reclined more. We had a hellish 12 hour layover in LHR, but luckily we had access to the business lounge. But that’s when things got bad. Our flight was cancelled. Another flight two hours later had no business class seats left, and they weren’t sure we’d even get economy. Well, we were finally put in coach, middle seats, and on our way. It sucked, but we got there. Thankfully, we only had carry-on so our bags were with us.

Our debit cards didn’t work – had to get a cash advance. Really bad. But we had enough money to get us by for a while, so off to Avis. Got a Nissan Qanqian (sp?) mini suv and we were off. Easy driving on the wrong side on the highway. Running very late – can’t miss a game drive! – but had to stop. Wow – flat tire. Added air, and stopped at all the Quickstops (clean bathrooms and safe) on the N2 toll road for air, and we were OK for the rest of the trip. No leak, just low air. Phew.



After about a three-hour easy highway drive, including the final few miles on a gravel road, we arrived at Entabeni Wildside with about a half hour before our game drive. Signed our lives away and took a shower to get the airplane off of me (YUCK!). Our ranger, Munnik, was very nice. Young, enthusiastic and easy to talk to. Since we went to Entabeni for the golf, our expectations for the game drives were pretty low. It is 23,000 hectares (small by Kruger standards, pretty big for private game reserve standards) and fully fenced so we didn’t know what to expect. Well, we had great luck – hippos on land (our first) and 2 sub-adult lions along with all the usual game. Just know that some of the guests are there for the golf, not the game, so it can be quite different from what we are all used to.

The tented accommodations (the only tented option at Entabeni and quite reasonable) at Wildside were perfect for us. Off the ground, good size (not too big!), nice bathroom and the electric blankets were a nice touch – it was -5C on our first morning. If you go to the Waterberg region in the winter, take more warm clothes! The food was surprisingly good, except for the early morning bread/biscuits. And unlimited self-serve coffee. (I appreciate coffee at all times and temps). No fences around camp, so we had a few interesting visitors and required an escort in the dark. Vehicle : open, stadium seating.

Next morning, our ranger took us on a short game drive and then to the golf. We had fun, but without his clubs DH had a very bad round. But then we did the extreme 19th hole – take a helicopter up a mountain, try to hit a ridiculously small green and then take the helicopter back down the mountain. It was such fun!! But the pilot had a bit of trouble getting the power needed for the ride down and after our ride, it was shut down for the rest of the day. Our safari mates (a male foursome) were very unhappy – I don’t blame them. But ultimately were given a free future weekend with their families. The rest of the day was more about fun than game. After an uneventful game drive (I was in the seat next to the ranger and had a great time, ignoring the childish behavior behind me) there was dancing and drinking and general bad behavior in the fire-lit boma. It was a blast. Poor Munnik had to deal with all of the badly behaved adults.

The rest of the game drives were good, with great company – the Dutch kids and the Italian honeymooners. We had a fantastic cheetah sighting and drove under a giraffe eating. Had champagne with the newlyweds on an overlook in the “Upper Escarpment” - a fun ride up the mountain – with a beautiful view. If you want a great view at a camp, Ravineside in Entabeni could be a great option. It overlooks a grassy plain and there were so many animals! Our last night around the fire was excellent, with some of the off-duty rangers joining us for interesting chats. (I guess they heard us all the night before and wanted to join in the debauchery).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIKb-Z01lfU

We loved Entabeni. It was an entirely different experience than a “normal” camp. It was the only camp that we met any Europeans, which was a bit odd. Not sure if most of you would enjoy it, but we had a lot of fun. Would definitely go back.

christabir

So we left before the morning game drive to get to Shindzela. Good we did. Driving in South Africa can be difficult – goats, cows and children on the highway. The road between Hoedspruit and Timbavati is under construction so there was traffic, we missed the sign… but we made it just in time. The drive from the Ngala turnoff to Shindzela is a bit rough – don’t know how a sedan could make it through. And I had trouble staying right and scratched the heck out of the car! Just another learning opportunity.


We met our ranger, Sam, and our safari mates (our only Americans on the entire trip, and two from the Isle of Mann – never met anyone from there before) and were off. A quiet game drive – as were the rest of them until the last one. We were so unlucky – no game for three days! Sam left for vacation and Mike took over as our ranger. He was young and fun. He tried his darndest to find the leopard that was so nearby, but was unsuccessful. We did have a large herd of buffalo, though. Always unpredictable.

On our final game drive, we had the most exciting experience of any of our game drives ever. Hyenas have never been exciting, but this time was different. That’s me in the front seat, husband behind me taking the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Ztroz0wEE

Perfect final drive for our sendoff from Shindzela.

Shindzela has no electricity, but they do have some solar. Only two lightbulbs in the tents – one in the bathroom and one in the bedroom. and propane for the hot water. The beds were comfortable and the hot water bottles were appreciated. There was a wicker drawer unit in the bathroom but since it was “outside”, I didn’t put clothes in it and lived out of our duffle bags. A dresser of some kind in the bedroom would have been helpful. Nice porch with camp chairs (the low kind – difficult to get in/out). We were happy with the accommodations, even though sparse. The common areas were fine and the food was outstanding. Gertie (along with Melita) is famous for a reason. The best part was definitely the fireside chats at night. Mike and Dave, the owner, were fantastic company. At our final breakfast, they had me in stitches. Fun. They are talking about adding a webcam and an off-site treehouse for overnight stays. Sounds fantastic. Vehicle: open, stadium seating

My husband was having a lot of trouble with his long lens, so we headed off to Hoedspruit to a camera store, Oasis Water for a 20 litre container of purified water (necessary for me!) and the Pick N Pay for supplies. We were headed to Kruger so we needed a cooler, sundowners, hot water bottles and some food. A thermos and more food next time! We found a replacement lens, but unfortunately my husband had trouble with it as it was different from the original, so many pictures were difficult. But they are just for memories, not NatGeo, so it’s fine.


And off to Satara Rest Camp in Kruger. With our bad luck at Shindzela, we were hoping for some interesting sightings during our drive. We weren’t disappointed. An ellie, giraffe and lots of game. Perfect. Then driving into Kruger, there was a leopard walking on the road! Are you kidding?! And poof – gone in minutes. He was beautiful. Then a young jackal who seemed to be lost and we arrived at Satara Rest Camp. The buffet was OK, and the other food options were awful, but who cares. We could eat anything at that point.

Easy check-in and finding our bungalow. The room was large with a high ceiling. Bathroom serviceable. The porch, we got a view room, was great. Outdoor kitchen with all of the essentials to make simple food. In the future we will always get self-catering accommodations in the National Parks in South Africa – having utensils and dishes is very convenient. But we will still use the restaurants for most dinners. Too late to go on another game drive, so sundowners, dinner and bed.

So we packed up the cooler with breakfast (cereal, milk and fruit) and enough water for an army. There are rest areas where you can get out of the car and enjoy your food. Our very first sighting of the day – four lionesses walking in the road. Of course we had tons of traffic and people behave badly, but it was amazing to us that we were driving ourselves in a place that we could be so close to lions. They were gorgeous, and very calm amid the chaos of the cars. When we got fed up with the people, we moved on, and there we find two sub-adult males! Yikes. They disappeared into the bush pretty quickly, but we got a few shots between the cars. So we were a bit concerned about sharing sightings for the next four days with so many cars and badly behaved drivers. Well, not the case at all. We spent a long time with a saddle-billed stork and her young one feeding and building a nest, watched two birds of prey having a fight, two lionesses lazing above a waterhole and then about a half hour with a white rhino and her baby. It was spectacular.


We drove around all day for 2 days, stopped for a while to rest up and back out at 3PM. Being June, it’s the shortest days of the year so it worked out well, most of the time. The gate opened at 6AM, so that was cool – it was still a bit dark. The gates close at 6PM and that was fine, too – too dark at 5:30 to drive comfortably. The problem was the Kruger evening game drives – they were from 5-8PM. All in the dark. No thanks, so we skipped them. They should really adjust the times of the game drives in the parks more often – the morning drive will be too late in August and the evening drive too late in June. Bad.

Here’s a good morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBPyUkZ-mmw
Don’t bother with the whole thing – it’s long, you get the point (6 1/2 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmDAb8_QczU


So off to Lower Sabie. Our tent was right on the river and we were serenaded by hippos all night. No sleep. Fun, but we were tired. We also had a collared hyena visit our corner of the fence every night. And baboons at all hours. And an African mouse that got into everything – and can jump really far. No full kitchen (no bowls so we had to use mugs for cereal bowls). Just very basic stuff and a fridge and hot plate. But the location was spectacular, and the tent very comfortable with a nice bathroom, wardrobe and covered porch. The restaurant was closed for renovations, so there was only take-away which takes FOREVER! But for us it was the only option. I don’t cook on vacation and didn’t plan for an alternative.

The bush was a lot thicker and higher around Lower Sabie than Satara. But we got lucky with another rhino and baby – and then our rarest sighting – honey badgers playing on a gravel road. I was a giddy idiot. Another daytime leopard, large herd of ellies from a distance, another white rhino. PS – more rest stops with bathrooms would be appreciated. I drink too much water and coffee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq3k7UxyBUU

We packed up again for the drive to Skukuza for golf. Met our only other American on the golf course. No scary animals. It was kind of a letdown, but it was fun.

christabir

We drove from Skukuza to Swaziland. The road was OK and good signage. Easy border crossing – it just takes a while. Driving in Swaziland was terrifying with the livestock and school kids on the highway. But we arrived at the Royal Swazi Spa safe and sound. I always forget that expensive hotels also have expensive food. But it was delicious. Then off to the casino – no problem using the ATM in Swaziland, but unable to use in South Africa?? We loaded up on Rand! We came out a bit ahead after a few hours of gambling and off to bed. The buffet breakfast was delicious.

Now off to Hluhluwe. This was our most disappointing experience. The grass in Hluhluwe is too high to see any game unless they cross the road (except giraffe) and Hilltop Camp needs some updates and maintenance. Note to self - Remember to book self-catering units so you have access to dishes and utensils. The food at the restaurant was fantastic, though expensive (R175). A double bed, fridge and a flat screen tv (we never turned it on). The game drive times were similar to at Kruger so again we skipped them. The roads, both tar and gravel, are not being maintained at all and they were horrible. Tough to look for game when you are navigating huge holes and washed away sections of road. The second day we drove south to the Umfolozi section of the park, and it was much better. (But the roads just as bad). We watched a pair of rhinos joust for almost a half hour before anyone else showed up. It was amazing, though a little dangerous (stupid). I have learned to be a bit aggressive when at a sighting with others, and I got us into a bit of a pickle. No harm done, and we didn’t bother the jousters. We saw many white rhinos and giraffes here. While we were there, there was a boy scout (I don’t know the equivalent in S Africa) killed by a hyena at the main rest camp. Sad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrAW2r6hvDI

The best night we had was watching the full lunar eclipse, and watching the bats come and go that lived in the rafters of our chalet. It was fascinating to watch them come so close to the lights and us to catch their prey.

Today was my birthday and I wanted to see the Indian Ocean. 97 km – an hour and a half, tops. Nope – 2 ½ hours, so now we’re late, and it was just a pain in the butt. But I felt the Indian Ocean and the car wasn’t vandalized at Sodwana Bay.

We planned to go to the Rhino River Lodge in the Zululand Rhino Reserve – across the highway from Mkuze NP, next to Tanda and not far from Phinda - but didn’t make the reservation til the night before arrival, as we had some options. After 7 nights on our own, it was time for a full service game camp. Well, not exactly a camp, but more hotel. It was pleasant, though and the food is good (and it was very relaxed – self-serve coffee in the lodge, juice available all day, rusks and biscuits). We arrived in time for lunch and the evening game drive at 3PM (good time in June). We had a full vehicle, and I got stuck in a middle seat. Another large, fenced private reserve, but this one has received some black rhino over the last few years, so I wanted to support the effort. Again, better than expected, but some odd experiences. The next morning drive was better as there were only 5 of us, and we saw a black rhino – our first! He was pretty far away, but we thought we could get closer. Unfortunately, the ranger, Isaac, had to make time for coffee. We’ll come back and find him. My husband was livid, but didn’t open his mouth. After coffee, we did find him again, but he was in the high bush.

The camp is 5 connected rooms with a big bed, nice bathroom and porch and two self-catering chalets that accommodate 6. It was odd to be so close, but there were only 2 rooms occupied for most of our stay so it was no big deal. Our biggest problem was hearing road noise, as it is not far from the N2 Highway. We got used to it and stopped letting it bother us. Maybe some noise blocking trees close to camp would help. Nice place with a fridge and kettle (yay! Coffee!). I guess we could have requested an earlier time, but the AM game drive didn’t start til 7am – should have been at 6:30, but it worked out fine. The PM drive was at 3:30 and worked out well.

That afternoon, everything improved. We got a new ranger – Anand from India (was a tiger researcher but moved to S Africa to follow his dreams of becoming a wildlife filmmaker). Anand was so enthusiastic, and really into photography, it was very fun. Our safari mates – just two, Mom and daughter – were from Durban, and were way too fun. After a fun but quiet drive, as it got dark, the laughter got louder and louder. Anand was I bit annoyed, but it was all about the fun that night. The next morning things got odd. The reserve has land and animals that were once part of the Zulu King’s land, so I guess the rent payments are in animals. There was a helicopter and a few livestock trucks to move some nyala, rhino and wildebeast to the King’s land. So the animals vanished. Hippos and couple of giraffe was about all we saw, but watching and hearing the “captors” do their jobs was pretty interesting. We were unable to watch the happenings up close, but fascinating that the animal trade is so prevalent in all of South Africa. I never really thought about how they do it. Pretty dangerous job – especially for the pilot. But they have it down to such a science that it’s not too dangerous for the animals any more. Not perfect, but a better alternative to culling. On our last game drive, all was back to normal, and we had a great drive. Two cheetah and a “herd” of white rhinos. Good way to end our stay. I would visit the Zululand Rhino Reserve but probably stay at a different camp – but we had a pretty nice time at Rhino River Lodge. Heck – they were so gracious when we told them we wanted to watch the end of the Golf US Open (until 2AM). Sorry to say goodbye to our safari mates, as they were outstanding company. (the Mom is the owner of Bally High Guesthouse in Durban. If the place is as nice as the owner, I would highly recommend it). The Zululand Rhino Reserve, Thanda and the Zulu King are talking about combining their land to create one big reserve. I hope it happens. ZRR is getting lions this week, so maybe it will happen soon. It’s quite a nice place. Vehicle: covered, no stadium seating (bad)

I needed to find a wooden hippo, so off to the craft market south of Hluhluwe to find the perfect one. I have been looking for one since 2005 so it was a must. I picked one that is way too big and way too heavy to cart back to the States, but had to have it. Great market and no haggling (I hate it) and fair prices on everything. Thanks to our safari mates for helping find the perfect one. Really outstanding people.

christabir

With a bit of a delay due to finding “Hippo”, we had to rush off to Tembe. Darn road construction kept delaying us, and we were a little late. The PM game drive is at 3, and when we pulled up to the gate at 2:50 we figured we could just make it. Unfortunately there was a mix-up and getting picked up took quite a while (but psyched to have two local women show up driving the vehicle!!). Since we had already paid a deposit, I thought we could just sign our lives away and get to the game drive – didn’t want to keep our safari mates waiting at the hide for too long – but they did the whole thing. We paid, had a welcome drink, were shown our tent, etc. Finally, we were taken to the hide to join the rest of the group. We were very sorry, but luckily the hide had some action, so they were not too upset about the delay. The hide is where the webcam is, so it felt so familiar. Spooky. Nothing else on the evening drive, so back to camp at 6PM.

Our tents were spacious and clean, with electric blankets, but there was a bit of mold on the canvas ceiling. Understandable in the more humid coastal area, but still a bit icky. There was a big bed and a twin, an armoire and coffee service (yay) and a big porch. They unfortunately changed the sheets every day even after requesting they not do so and we had too many bath towels (2 would have been fine, 4 unnecessary).

Tembe just had an odd feeling about it. Everything felt so scheduled – and all bush camps are scheduled – but his one was too obvious all the time. Our theory is that Tembe is now owned and operated by the local tribe and the locals who work there don’t understand time or schedules. This is not unusual for some rural areas. So the people who trained the staff made time very important so that the camp could run smoothly. Unfortunately they overdid it and need to ease up a bit. 15 minutes one way or another is no big deal, or at least shouldn’t be. Vehicle: covered, no stadium seating (bad)

Well, we were gobsmacked the next morning – 6AM start, too early - on our game drive when we were treated to 3 lionesses. Roaring and all. Great stuff. We thought this would be about the elephants, being Tembe Elephant Park, and had no expectations of seeing anything but eles, maybe a white rhino or two and nyala (judging from the webcam). They were beautiful and surprising. All lions are collared and branded so they can keep tabs on them at all times, in case they escape. The next few game drives were fun – we had a great group of eles, finally – but not a lot in this very interesting environment of sand forest, marsh, regular bush. Tembe is all on sand, so no burrowing animals and little to see during the dark.

Then came our last game drive of our vacation. We were afraid it would be a bit quiet as the last three were. Well, this one was in our top three ever!! A lion pride of four hanging out by a water hole, a lioness and her two cubs trying to join them and all hell broke loose!! I didn’t know how beautiful they could be – and male lions are always asleep. Not this time – they all took off after the three newcomers and we lost them for a few minutes. When we caught up, everything had calmed down and everyone was OK – but it was thrilling. Then driving back to camp (after a bit of an altercation with our ranger about stopping for coffee – we did not!) I spotted a rhino. Well, I didn’t know it was a black rhino – and we were a bit close. He seemed to be considering a charge, and Patrick did well not to panic and he headed off into the bush. Really great!! I left most of my clothes, shoes and stuff at Tembe because the community is very poor. We gave the water jug to our ranger – all he had was a gallon container to get water for his family.

Very shaky video – not sure what happened:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fQnhSEdAC4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq3k7UxyBUU


So then we leave for JNB. What a disaster. We missed a turn and wound up lost for about four hours, then the road construction caused such major delays it took us 9 hours to get from Jozini to JNB (should have been 5 or less). Yikes. We didn’t have reservations because we weren’t sure if we’d make it all the way “before it got dark” – ha ha ha ha ha!! Thought driving in the dark would be difficult – it was fine because we were stopped most of the time. On arrival, we tried the City Lodge – not a good experience, so we went to the Sun – it was fine, we got a lousy rate (always book online – even five minutes before you walk in the door), but it was fine. We needed to just relax as it was very late.

During our travels in construction, our windshield got hit by a rock and cracked and I had done lots of damage hitting bushes and thorns while driving. So we got the car washed and waxed to hide the scratches and took the car back to Avis. When there is damage, you don’t get a receipt. Well, I needed proof the car was returned and that took quite a while. We finally got to the airport (we skipped doing anything in Joburg that day because we were exhausted) and BA’s tix counter doesn’t open until 3:30, lounge not open until 2;30. What a pain. We had biz flights, so thought we could just hang out in the lounge all day. Because we bought big huge Hippo, we had to check bags – something we rarely do – so had to wait until 3:30. Getting Hippo on as carry on was funny – my husband had to pretend the bag was within the weight limit. But we made it, and thankfully had a wheelie to attach to the duffle bag that Hippo was in to help us through the airport. Delays/cancellations again. But no biggie – just got home a bit later than planned. Many of you already know, but I went to work on Monday after a fabulous vacation and I was asked to leave. Unfortunate timing, but will work out for the best.

I will post some photos when I get to weeding them down a bit. I like the videos.

christabir

Funny things:

Every private camp was oddly connected. We started at Entabeni where there is a ranger training school. Dave, the owner of Shindzela had worked at Entabeni for quite a while many moons ago. Our ranger at Rhino River Lodge is to take classes in a few months at Entabeni. The Rhino Reserve is getting 5 lions from Tembe this week. It was spooky.

Khaki Fever can be a funny thing (and unexpected).

If you have trouble using the ATM’s in S Africa, Swaziland might be a place to get cash.

In conclusion:

I would stay at all of our camps again. Satara was our favorite location, but next time we will plan on more food to make on our own – breakfast and lunch, for sure – when in the National Parks. And get self-catering accommodations so you have more dishes/utensils.

Every night we watched the fire in the boma and chatted with the other guests. It was very nice to meet so many great people – and most were from S Africa. We talked politics, animals, HIV/AIDS, religion. Nothing was off limits.

We preferred the young/enthusiastic rangers over the older/more experienced rangers. We just did. They knew the lighting needs of photographers, were full of info and quick to share their thoughts.

Because we stayed in camps that were on the less expensive side, we met more S Africans than ever before. These camps are not marketed to the US or Europe, and you have to seek them out.

No need to spend a lot of money to go to S Africa. Kruger is outstanding, many private game reserves outside of the Kruger area are excellent and S Africa has many other National Parks that we would like to experience. No more (well, maybe not never) expensive camps for us.

We liked having “more eyes” out in the bush. When you are at a larger camp or reserve who share traversing rights, sometimes it’s better because the rangers talk to each other. Small camps have their own advantages.

Much prefer an open Landcruiser with stadium seating.

I loved the food – nothing is processed and the fruit and veggies are fresh.

Sorry for the ridiculous length. I'm a little bored.

cary999

Many many thanks for great report christabir!!!
No, not too long, relevant details and flows nicely. In fact expound some more if you wish!!!

Too bad about your flight cancellations. Knock on wood, but we haven't had such problem yet going to Africa. But that's why I like to arrive a day early.

Your Avis car, what have you heard about the minor damage done?? Covered by insurance? Not that it matters any for your situation, but, when we pick up a rental car (Africa, USA, etc) we go over it very carefully for any damage. And when we turn it back in we take photos of it from all angles.

Game drives, people like trackers (as do I), and they're fine, good, but the best trackers are 3-4-5 vehicles out looking in radio contact.

Satara. We have stayed at Mopani, Satara, Letaba and Olifants (about 15 nights total). All centrally located, we've liked them all. Satara and Letaba and Olifants only about 30 miles apart from each other. Olifants also has great view out over Olifant River. Someday we're going to have to get down south around where you were, Lower Sabie.

And do I remember correctly you had like "double" reservations at Kruger? And they double charged you? Did they make that right?

Anyway, many thanks again, fun read. However, I'm afraid I've learned camps NOT to visit rather than ones to add to my list .

regards - tom

atravelynn

Your debit cards didn't work? That could put a big crimp in your spending. It's one reason I try to get a good stash of money upon arrival, either debit card or Thomas Cook, etc.

Come for the golf, stay for the hippos on land.

What happened with your husband's lens?

Liked how you described the stadium seating in the vehicles.

How terribly sad about the Boy Scout. Real tragedy.

ovenbird

christabir, what a wonderfully detailed trip report! Loved the videos too, especially the long ones. They made me feel like I was sitting right behind you in the safari vehicle...which would have been amazing when that cute little hyena decided to check you out. OMG, you can hear it sniffing!

I think we might have been in the Timbavati area at the same time (June 9-13) and our first 4 game drives at Ngala Tented Camp were also very quiet. Maybe it was the previous days' rains and the cold, windy conditions?

We also loved Kruger and will plan to do a longer stay like you did the next time we're in SA. We stayed in the southern part of the park at Berg en dal where we had tons (literally and figuratively) of rhinos. I've made note that Satara and Lower Sabie would be great places to stay and explore.

In Swaziland we stayed a couple of nights at Malalotja NP and drove by but didn't stop at the casino on our way to Kruger. Our friend said the casino has an online casino which does millions more in business than the brick and mortar one. We had trouble using 200 rand notes in Swaziland...did you?

Your trip sounded amazing with lots of exciting experiences! Looking forward to your photos.

christabir

tom - still no word from Avis. We have insurance so it should be fine. Fingers crossed.

We got screwded by SANParks for that double booking. It was only a couple of hundred dollars, so I won't sweat it. Just don't make the same mistake!

atravelynn - the person I called to make sure our debit cards would work never filed the paperwork. We had it solved, but it was inconvenient. I should have followed up before we left.

I'm not sure what happened to the lens. It got stuck in manual or auto. The new lens was better, but new.

I can't understand why any camp wouldn't have stadium seating in their vehicles! If you're not in the front seat, visibility is terrible. And the poles get in the way in a covered vehicle.

ovenbird - I think we were in Timbavati at the same time. It was very windy. It didn't rain much but it was cold. Until I got a reassuring glance from Mike, I was pretty scared. If it had not been a sub-adult it would have been a different situation. He had a tick in his ear and I wanted to pick it off.

Were there lots of baby rhinos? We saw so many females with babies - it's just great! If we plan better, I think our next trip might be mostly national parks. Yes, next time.

We didn't get any R200, only R100 and smaller. We thought about staying in one of the nat'l parks in Swaziland, but Hluhluwe was calling.

tom - I agree that our choices were different. But we had great animal and people experiences on this trip that we wouldn't have at other places. And at $200 pp/pn or less every night, we had some great values! If we didn't stay so long it would have been affordable.

cristeen

christabir-loved reading your report. Thank you! It sounds like you had a wonderful experience. Love your videos.
I am bookmarking for our up coming plans. So happy to hear about all of the rhinos and babies. Love, love your hyena video. What a lifetime memory!

ovenbird

christabir, sorry about you husband's camera lens. Was it by any chance a 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 Canon lens? If so, I might know what happened.

cary999

Thanks christabir. Your $200 pppn, for everything, including car?

Unbelievable about SANParks. You booked using internet and that was the basic problem, if I remember? Guess I'll still call them as usual. (But no plans).

Golf. Maybe someday. I'm not old enough yet .

regards - tom

christabir

ovenbird - I think that's it! My husband was so frustrated. Please share.

tom - when all the bills come in, I'll let you know. I'd guess it's a lot more than $200 with all the extras, and I won't include the golf. We had a lot of extras - like sundowners at all times of the day.

cristeen - thanks. I am surprised how much we enjoyed this trip - even with the problems, the not perfect rangers, safari vehicles, etc. The people we met, the unexpected game experiences, KRUGER! and the service we received, made it unforgettable. And we just love S Africa so much that being there is enough. We plan to move there (someday far in the future), so we are biased.

I still can't believe they let us drive around Kruger. We are forever grateful to S Africa for creating their parks system. (The US, too! We adore our parks as well. But we don't have eles or lions).

cary999

KRUGER!! indeed!!! As you may have noticed here, every chance I get I "promote" Kruger. To be on a back gravel road by yourself, and have a giraffe trot across in front of you, to be stopped by a huge herd of buffalo crossing, to turn a corner and see elephants feeding on trees at side of road - amazing!!!

regards - tom

cristeen

Well, shortly after I posted, I received an email from SAA. They are having a 2 for 1 sale from NYC or Dulles to SA from Sept-Dec 2011. We had changed our plans to August 2012, but this makes for some serious reconsideration. I fired an email off to one agent I was working with earlier.(another agent we were more considering using, never even bothered to respond when I told them we decided to wait 1 year. His loss)
I wonder if it will be impossible to reserve lodges this late in the game. We shall see. Kruger is our focus. I'm so glad I have your report and videos to show dh to keep him interested! Thanks!!

christabir

cristeen - check the sanparks.com website. They have the availability right there online. Book them yourself, if you think you'll lose the spot. If you can get self-catering, I highly recommend (obviously).

You should have no trouble finding some availability at the camps you want to visit. Where are you considering? A couple of years ago we did a nice combo of Mashatu/Sabi Sands region (Arathusa)/Kruger (Pafuri - not highly recommended - go to Satara or other nearby). It was 10 days and a nice combination of different eco-systems. But whatever you decide, go to camps with the rangers first. That way you learn how to find animals and have some info in your head about them when you drive yourself in Kruger.

That's a great deal. SAA has been doing that for the last few years. The earlier in Sept the better, it starts to get hot and can rain in some years at the end of Sept. The only thing I don't like about Sept is the animals start to suffer from lack of water/food, but that's nature for you. The grasses are at their lowest levels of the year, so game sighting is great. The days are starting to lengthen, too (although I prefer shorter days so I can sleep a normal night's sleep).

We didn't use an agent this time around, but I would for your virgin Africa trip - just for peace of mind. But you don't have to.

cary999

Yeah, that's the ticket - 2011 not 2012!!!
Kruger for Oct 2011, pick a camp, Satara like christabir was at. Say for Oct 2011, bungalow/hut availability now at Satara for Oct -
http://tinyurl.com/3myer8m

Other Kruger camps? Check here near bottom of page. "Quick Availability Check" -
http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger

Stay away from the school holidays, I've heard Kruger is jammed, here's calendar -
http://tinyurl.com/ywhbw8

And - take me with you!!!

regards - tom
ps - and learn from christibar - do -not- make reservations on the internet. There is NO refund, no credit, no substitutions. Call SANP, it's easy.

christabir

tom - I was intrigued by the question of actual costs, so since I don't feel like weeding and I'm a bit bored, I figured it all out. I included everything - golf, tips, fuel, car, water, wild card, cash - everything (because I couldn't back it out, actually). I included all of our ATM withdrawals, our double booking, the cash advance and fee, all meals and our other shopping for food and booze. Just not the lens. I didn't include the small amount, maybe $100, that we won while gambling in Swaziland nor the few dollars we tipped at the airport.

Ta Da!! $250 pp/pn!! I think that's pretty darned good, especially with the $800 golf/helicopter thing, another round at Kruger and driving a $1238 car (and my penchant for over-tipping). Take the golf thing out and it's much closer to $200 pp/pn - about $210. And I'd do it again the same way in a NY minute.

cristeen

christabir & tom, Thanks! You guys make it so much less daunting. There is so much to consider. I do think we would go with the Kruger private reserve like Sabi Sands. Probably Arathusa or Elephant Plains since they are the more economical. We don't want to worry about car rentals either. We would also like to go to Victoria Falls, so flight hopping will be involved. I've heard, the good thing about going in Sept. is Devil's Pool. That's something I'd really like to see. If this all comes together, and soon, I think we're looking at Mid-Sept-Oct. Fingers crossed!

cristeen

christabir-Thanks a great rate! Good for you!
Tom-I never even consider checking for holidays. Thanks! Looks like planning as early in Sept. (sale day starts 9/19) is my best option.