GrannyJoan

HAve to agree with Kaye & matt. MM is our favorite camp. We have enjoyed the experiences in each of the countries of Africa we've visited.

But the food & luxuries are not what we are looking for. We go for game viewing primarily. It is also nice to have considerate and like minded companions in the jeep. Knowledeable & English speaking guides is very important.

cary999

Matt says - "After having done this kind of trip 12 times, I am more than ever convinced by this trip, that you need to travel with like minded people, and get your own vehicle, otherwise you will be disappointed."

Good advice but rather discouraging, "otherwise you will be disappointed". And much easier said than done. And if I had the $$$$ I'd also fly first class. That is why I would like the camps to take into consideration the previous safari experience of their guests. And, try to group those guest with similar safari backgrounds and interests. Would take some effort from the camps but seems reasonable (too me).

regards - tom

cary999

It just now occurred to me what is the problem camps have with grouping like minded guests. That is because now guests are assigned to the same guide/ranger for their entire stay. And guests come and go out of that rangers vehicle. So you may have new guests in a vehicle every day (along "established" guests). Instead, the camps need to assign guests to rangers according to their how long they have been in camp. This would avoid the "information repetition" you hear having been in the same vehicle for 5 days as new guests come and go. This would of course require shifting guests among vehicles and rangers perhaps on an almost daily basis. But so what? Would this degrade the game drive experience? Would it confuse the guests? Is it too difficult for camp management?

regards - tom

napamatt

Tom

Both interesting points, I imagine it might be a scheduling nightmare to switch people so much. And who would ever be with Kaye on her 20 day + stays, of course she would then have a private vehicle and be ok.

I didn't mean to say everyone would be disappointed, I think we met our current safari friends at MM on our fifth trip, since then we have been together on most trips. We have also been on a trip with out TA and some of her other friends / clients that worked well.
For the most part our safari companions worked out pretty well, but that was before we were so into birds, and also before we were prepared to sit for hours at a sighting in the hope of something interesting happening. Most people don't have that patience or time to spare. This is for most people a one off trip, and so they equate moving with a better chance of finding animals.
We have asked to switch vehicles once, at Mashatu, when we were in a non-english speaking vehicle. Our request was met with no problem.
It seems to me that there are many like kinded people on this board who could travel together, or at least explore whether they might be compatible before giving it a try.

Shellcat - it will be posted long before Oct 14th. Probably this weekend.

cary999

Matt, I agree it would add a level of complexity to management of vehicles. But I think it would be reasonable, you just have to have a little decision tree chart and be willing to put maybe 20 minutes a day effort on it.

As for someone like Kaye being alone after 20 days, that's not exactly how it would work. Like perhaps, after she has been in camp say 3 days she would not thereafter be with newly arrived (first time safari) vehicle companions. She would always be in a vehicle with guests who have been in camp at least 3 days. In fact, I've just now done half of the decision tree for determining who is in what vehicle. Simple, new guests are grouped together, guests with 3 or more days in camp are grouped. This will require some shuffling of vehicles and guides. Changes for the day could be made in the morning at tea/coffee before the first game drive. There is one downside I can see to this. Guests can compare guides and might decide they prefer one over another. I have a feeling this is a big reason why guests are now assigned one guide for their stay. You're happy if you know no better. Also, guides may feel their tips/gratuities would suffer.

As for getting like minded folks here on the board. I'd go for that. But I fear trying to coordinate all of the choices/options involved, e.g. time, place, cost, commitment, etc. However, if anyone is game, email me tdgraham at sbcglobal dot net. I'm flexible.

regards - tom

scootr29

Why can't we all get along? We all need to just appreciate the fact that we get to go to Africa. Just being there is more than most people will ever get to experience. I hate seeing threads that concentrate on the so called negatives of such an awesome opportunity.

Maybe we should all sit down and just consider the opportunities Just that we all have and the fact that we can afford such trips.

Some one mentioned that people go to Africa and they have not even seen a Natl Geographic show. That attitude is not a good one to have. I went to Banff for my honeymoon and I did not watch nature shows on The Canadian Rockies.

Come on folks.

cary999

Are there nature shows on the Canadian Rockies?
That someone goes to Africa and have not even seen a Natl Geographic show about Africa, is not a good attitude on who's part?

regards - tom

scootr29

The arrogance on this forum is thick.

KayeN

Hi all

Welcome home Matt, sounds as if you had a wonderful trip! Can't wait to hear all your highlights!

Regarding the issue of me being there 20+ days, and having a large number of new arrivals every 2-3 days! Sometimes it can be draining, especially when they want to race from sighting to sighting and focus on the Big 5 and I understand that sometimes I have to do that, but then when it is just me and maybe a niece, then we do just the opposite and spend time looking for something different - generally, I love looking at most things, so usually it is not a problem, but it has been annoying in the past on some occasions. But on the other hand, last trip in March 2007, I had two groups of 4 english people, both first timers and both groups were interested in anything and everything! They were great fellow companions, and if all first timers were like them, then I would have no problem. So I do not think the issue is first timers, but the interest in wanting to see anything!

Kind regards

Kaye

HariS

Hi Kaye or Napamatt,

The main reason we picked Rattray's is that we are given a vehicle for a party of 4. That should ensure no racing around to tick off the sightings. I'm sure in a huge concession like MM, there are plenty of sightings to go around so that we can just stay in one spot to try and be patient for good photo ops (unless there is a cheetah radio call, ofcourse!)

In 2006, in the Western SSGR .... the common game drive route merely suggested that we stay for 5 minutes on several ocassions. Was pretty frustrating!!!

Rgds,
Hari

PS: Did you already catch the first rains in Botswana? we read about it recently here. Oh! we won the T20 world cup while you were away!

KayeN

Hi Hari

Good idea! That way you can decide when to move on! Did you see the cutest newborn ele on the MM cyberdiary? Hopefully, the cheetah sightings will be good, they have been for the past few trips! I leave 10 weeks from yesterday, so the trip is now in sight, so to speak!

Kind regards

Kaye

HariS

Hi Kaye,

I've been browsing thru their cyberdiary and in recent weeks have noted lots of lions around ..... so, not the best invitation for cheetah into the concession. However, always a chance i suppose.

Rgds,
Hari

napamatt

Hari

We did indeed catch the first rains, we were at Kings Pool.

Kaye

We saw the elephant baby , it was born very near Rattrays and we probably saw it within a couple of hours of birth. Later we heard that 2 Hooded Vultures and a Pied Crow were eating the afterbirth. We missed the Pied crow which would have been a new bird at MM for me.

Clematis1

To the nervous posters who have reserved Mala Mala, I only wish I was going with you! We've been to SA twice, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia and had a number of game drives as we never missed one. We were at Mala Mala less than four months ago and now it is our favorite.

I want to encourage anyone like Dennis or Tanky to honestly state their experiences here because that's what makes this site so valuable. But because Lynneb asked what others thought of your comments, and another poster had questions I'll address some of them. Please realize that while I'm relating our experiences there, I'm certainly not trying to discredit you (Dennis and Tanky). I believe that what you experienced was true for you and some of what you say I can say I experienced too.

Yes, it seems true they care that visitors see the Big Five or the Big Seven. If you are not interested in that, you should let your TA communicate that ahead of time to them. However, I would say if you're not interested in amazing lions, leopards, rhino, buffalo, elephants as well as bonuses like Wild Dog, but you are much more interested in birds and plants, maybe Mala Mala isn't the best choice for you. There are plenty of camps in Africa where they don't have a lot of cats or big game, but you can enjoy seeing new birds and plants.

My comments are based on our experience at Rattrays as that is where we stayed. Kaye has the experience of both camps so ask her for specifics at main camp.

We found they do their best to make the car matches work and if they don't, they will try to fix it. When we were there, it seemed everyone got at least one day of the vehicle to themselves, which was a wonderful treat. That isn't guaranteed, of course, and may have just been the lucky time we were there, but we saw everyone who stayed three or more nights got this.

We found that each of our two drivers went out of their way to ask what we wanted to see. Every time we were consulted. If the ranger/driver heard of a leopard in a tree over the headset and also lions mating somewhere else, he'd turn and tell us the choices and the guests in the car would respond with the choice. At night we tracked some lions who looked like they were about to hunt. We stayed later than the other cars because we were interested. (nights are possible and no extra charge). It was so exciting to be out in the bush at night with all the lights off, the car engine off, just listening for the lions to make a move.

They were very receptive to the kind of drive we wanted. If it is just you in the car, or your group agrees, they will try to accommodate whatever plan you want. Some cars go out earlier. Some may stay out with a picnic lunch if the weather is cool. Just remember your ranger and spotter will work longer that day so tip accordingly.

While they were excited about getting us to a great spotting, we were never rushed. The guides loved that we enjoyed shooting and watching for a good length of time.

The main camp vehicles were more full (Rattrays seemed to have a 4 person max), so that would make it harder to get a group consensus. The ideal situation is to either have your own vehicle or do as Napamatt did and put together a party of like-minded people.

Rattrays is small, so meals felt very intimate but fun with everyone at a long table for dinner. The cocktails (even though we had to pay) in the bar, were the most fun, with everyone sharing their sightings of the day. I did not get it until the last day that the guides need to be bought their drinks here.

I agree with Tanky and Dennis that the food is not memorable. There is plenty of choice and you'll never go hungry. I've had better food in Africa but I can get that anywhere.

My spotter was a tracker. He did get out of the vehicle a couple of times, yes. And he also would talk to the ranger and the ranger would stop the car and show us the tracks the tracker saw so we could learn. He also pushed branches out of our face with a long stick. I loved having him at the rear up high so he could see things we might miss.

I also saw nice relationships and interaction between the rangers and the trackers. It is true that the rangers were young men but for some people that can be an attraction <s>. They don't stay for years but the upside of that is they are fresh, energetic, and very excited about the game. The man who trains them is superior and having met four guides and ridden with two, I now feel confident any one of them at Rattrays would have been terrific. I have been at expensive camps where we only had a ranger and no tracker at all. This system of two is much better.

The only other place where we had almost as good game viewing was Singita Boulders. Mala Mala had leopards we could follow, leopards in the daytime, leopards with a kill up a tree while the hyenas waited below, leopards drinking, leopards we got within six feet of. We saw lions hunting, hyena cubs that came up right to our rangers foot (oh, they were funny - so curious), elephants that mock charged us, plenty of funny buffalo with babies. Rhino and baby rhino. We probably saw more, I have not organized photos yet. The wild dogs alone would have been worth it to us - it was the highlight of our trip to see those excited puppies.

It is hard for me to imagine anyone having slow viewing at MM because it was all jaw-dropping excitement for us. The only times that were &quot;down&quot; times were the long drives (about 25 min) to the Wild Dog den (no longer an issue as they aren't in that den anymore). But we didn't care because we knew where we were going.

It is possible the South Africans Tanky mentions may have their opinion influenced by the fact that Mala Mala does not give them a discount over other nationalities, as does some CCAfrica camps. But also, I do not know about main camp and perhaps that is what their comments were based on.

The &quot;dated&quot; aspect Tanky mentions, doesn't apply to Rattrays perhaps because it's fairly new, although it has that tasteful, old money feel to the lobby and veranda. The &quot;cottages&quot; were very state of the art with a computer and tv and top of the line beautifully designed, luxurious spaces.

I would be very disappointed to see Mala Mala sold to a company as it is a family-run business. For us, the game drives went like clockwork, never a flat tire, lots of communication between ranger and guest, and incredible game viewing. Also, you can get there via a scheduled SA large plane (instead of 5 seaters). I can't say it enough, I loved, loved, loved Mala Mala. This is the one camp we plan to return to.

</s>

Clematis1

Apologies. I don't know why my computer does that sometimes. Just know that it isn't meant to be a strikeout - I meant every word.

napamatt

Clematis

I second every word. My next trip to both Main Camp and Rattrays is next April, and I am working on the planning for January 2009, which will likely have 2 days birding at Pafuri, followed by 7 or 8 days at MM, in a combo of Main Camp and Rattrays.

napamatt

An interesting point is that this forum is read by MM management, so at the very least I'm sure they will have a new and improved bar charges argument for next time
In MM's defence they did not raise their rates for at least five years from 1999 onwards and the rate is not significantly higher than it was then, many other camps can not claim such a record.
As to profits on soft drinks - imagine that! If they didn't make more than the local grocery store, they would be almost unique in the hotel / travel business. The wine prices compared favorably with the Sun Hotel at JNB, but I have no comparison with SA retail prices, so don't know if I'm really getting screwed over.
Lastly if a ranger is ignoring you, speak to his supervisor, management can't make changes if they don't know there is a problem.
On night drives and the issue of looking for small nocturnal cats, I have always assumed that was more luck than skill in finding them, and I have seen a lot of small critters while sitting aptiently watching a big one think about doing something interesting.
As for the holiday camp remark - that's about as inane as Rocco being queasy about the Rattray's rooms, having only seen two photographs. It's a provocative remark that serves no real purpose.

atravelynn

LynneB and Lillipets,

I'm sure others have put your mind at ease, but I'll chime in too.

Dennis should report what he experienced and his reactions. It is good that people take the time to do so and a variety of opinions are helpful. Tanky's comments are also informative because they are detailed and give specifics. They were other properties also mentioned that surpassed Mala Mala for game viewing.

On the speeding around--we did do some speeding to leopard sightings on two occasions. We sped about 10 minutes.

The slowest time for me was just like Clematis said, the commute to the dog den. Even then I only recall the return trip from the dog den being slow.

Our tracker/spotter did not get out of the vehicle either, as Tanky mentioned. They did at Phinda. This was only my second experience with a tracker/spotter and the other one I had did not get out of the vehicle, so I had no expectations the MM guy would.

On our walk we were driven to a spot, as Tanky mentioned, and did a short climb up to a scenic lookout. It was not really a walk, but we had no time for a real walk because we did this activity our last morning and the bulk of the morning was spent with a couple of leopards, which we had raced to get to.

Any camp/lodge can have slow days. After all, that's nature. I recall a Mombo guide telling me that during one two week period there was not one cat sighting and it was not the rainy season.

I saw only one pair of mating lions in 4 days at MM and as the others have stated, on night drives I did not see anywhere near as much as I have in other places. No cheetah either. But leopard, dog, rhino, elephant activity were strong. Plus other animals and birds.

To answer <b>LynneB's</b> question on how much influence you have while on a game drive: Our MM ranger would ask his clients (a husband/wife and me) if we wanted to stay or go at sightings. I usually let the couple answer and they always gave the same answer I would have, except once. I asked to stay longer with the leopard and we did. It lead to leopard-hyena interaction.

I would suggest to make your wishes known in a polite way. In fact the ranger talked with me privately before we ever entered the vehicle about what I might want to see. I am sure he did the same with the other couple as well. My response was quality, not quantity and that I had no desire to race around to find the Big 5 quickly.

One thing that has helped me on several occasions is I ask the agent to inform the places I'll be going of how many times I've been to Africa. That always comes up when I arrive, meaning it has made an impression, and is viewed favorably, which I think rubs off on me. Even if you have only been once or twice you could emphasize that you are a repeat visitor and enjoy quality time with animals.

The food at MM was great! And there are many choices so if one or two dishes are not to your liking, you can eat something else. You can go back as often as you like in order to find something palatable. Rooms were really nice too.

I would not change my MM plans unless you have drastically changed what you are looking for on safari, such as seeing the wildebeest migration or the lion-buffalo interaction of Duba Plains, or going for boat and mekoro rides, or having a mobile camping experience, etc.

obrienenator

OK so all I have to say after reading all of these posts is if you go to Mala Mala ask for Ben's as your ranger. He is one of two African Rangers and he is the only tracker at Mala Mala to be promoted to a ranger from a tracker. He is the first African to be promoted as a ranger ever in Mala Mala's history and boy are we glad we got him as our ranger. Our experience at Mala Mala was LIFE CHANGING. If you request it they will do ANYTHING to accomodate you. Look at our photos www.jeffreyobrien.com when we left after a week at Mala Mala and after having seen hundreds of animals our small plane took off on the runway and we did not know that Ben's our ranger was at the end of the runway standing on his landrover waving frantically good bye to us as we left the airstrip. We both instantly started crying and to this day we have a brother in Africa. He took us to Twice Mountain on hikes. made us laugh, got us up close with animals day and night and offered to take us out when other guests were resting. He MADE our trip. He is a simple man but knows the bush and animals inside and out. We had the trip of a lifetime. It was because of Benson at Mala Mala. I would have been disapointed to have ended up with someone else because I could tell the other young guys were not as experienced and they looked to Bens to help them get animal sightings during the drives.Mala Mala has its weird quirks but the animal viewing is ridiculous and if you tell them what you want they will make it happen. We asked on the first day for our mini bar to be stocked and they did it. We asked to have dinners alone and they did it. We asked for drives alone and they did it AND did not charge us. Hope this helps somone. Feel free to e-mail me off line and I am happy to elaborate. [email protected]

cary999

Cynthia says &quot;We asked for drives alone and they did it AND did not charge us.&quot; Whow, I didn't know all I had to do was ask !!!!!!

regards - tom