CarrieT & atravelynn- I have the single room at Mala Mala on hold for a few days until we decide.

Carrie - I hope it's not a Freudian slip that you said "unfortunately, for me, I found someone to go with me." I'm sure it was really a fortunate thing - I wish my mom could be so lucky - the single supplements on every room other than Mala Mala will probably be too much for her to handle.

OK, so after getting the sense from you all that sticking to 2 camps for such a short visit was the best way to go I got pricing on a 10 night itinerary of: 1 night Jo'burg; 5 nights Mashatu Main camp; 4 nights Mala Mala Main camp. All transfers in between are flights not road.
Based on 2 people = $6285 pp.

Another operator has offered this 12 night itinerary: 1 nt Jo'burg; 4 nights Mashatu Main; 4 nights Pafuri; and then 3 nights in either Mala Mala Main or Kings Camp or Tanda Tula.
All transfers are flights except from Mashatu to Pafuri.
That 12 night itinerary would cost $5900 pp if using Kings Camp; $6090 for Tanda Tula; or $5805 for Mala Mala Main.

So it seems a no-brainer that the 12 nights for up to $400 less is the way to go. That gives one night less at Mashatu and Mala Mala (or Kings which is my second choice) but the opportunity to experience 3 camps.

The Pafuri camp seems a little less likely to have game sightings but they did start off-road driving in April this year and that is supposed to improve viewing.

Do you think the time lost in switching camps is an issue that would make you stick to two camps or in this instance would you go with the three?

And do you think Mala Mala would be the better option over Kings Camp in this scenario just to get to Sabi Sand vs. Timbavati?

Thanks for any input -

Leslie

For me it's first about game drives. With the camp transfers, transfer times, between camps do you miss any game drives? That is, do you miss a morning game drive at camp A in order to get to camp B for the afternoon game drive? Or, after the morning game drive in camp A can you get to camp B in time for the afternoon game drive? I now it's not life threating to miss a game drive, but its nice not to.

Coming down from Mashatu or Parfuri -if flying- would think no difference in getting to either Kings or MM. Both have camp airstrips. -Unless- you'd be first flying into Hoedspruit or Mpumalanga? Are flights between camps charter or SAA/Fedair commercial? That will make a difference in cost and time. Charter being scheduled for you but costing more. If driving, believe Kings Camp would be slightly easier/quicker to get to than MalaMala.

Other than those details, I feel it is basically a toss-up over which option is better.

regards - tom

Oh, also, thanks for getting back and posting those proposed itineraries with costs, interesting to see.

regards - tom

I'll be asking about the transit time between camps and whether drives are missed or not on different options.

I'm guessing that you didn't think the itinerary costs were out of line or you would have commented. The direct quote from Mala Mala for a package including Mashatu was higher - I guess the operators negotiate better pricing - maybe on airfare also?

For cost comparison, I don't see an exact apples-to-apples comparison of camps and itineraries. For example, I think Parfuri is $350 per night pp while MM is $575 per night pp. So you substitute 1 night Parfuri for 1 night MM the savings is $225. And like I said on airfare, a charter flight (on Genair) will cost perhaps $200 pp while a commercial scheduled flight (on SAA) is $120 pp.

But you know, when it comes down to it, $100-300 is not a huge deal against a $6000 total. That's why I guess I like to compare transfers and times. But maybe that's a bit too persnickety :-) . Wish someone else would add their 2 cents in here.

regards - tom

"All transfers are flights except from Mashatu to Pafuri"
This is one very long drive. We left Mashatu tent camp (which is about 45 minutes past Main Camp)after the a.m. game drive and drove to Tzaneen (which is about half way to Parfuri) and got there as the sun went down. We spent the night in Tzaneen which worked out perfect. Do you have to give up the a.m drive? Any reason you are not flying from Mashatu to Mala Mala? Both have landing strips on their property.

I roughly checked prices on both websites and it looks like you could possibly stay under budget by flying JNB-Mashatu Main Camp (6 nights) fly to Mala Mala (4 nights) and I would highly recommend doing the Panoramic drive from MM to JNB.

http://www.mashatu.com/travel.htm
http://www.malamala.com/waytogo5.htm

My husband and I just got back from a similar trip. We went backwards from your trip. In Sabi Sands (we stayed at Arathusa and LOVED it). We flew on Federal Air charter JNB to Arathusa. We had a driver from Sabi to Pafuri - it was an easy enough drive. Maybe 6 hours and we only missed a morning game drive at Arathusa. (I would have changed our pickup time to 11AM so we didn't miss that last drive at Arathusa and miss the one at Pafuri). I can't recommend Pafuri. We didn't have the best experience, but the camp is beautiful and the Makelule people working at Pafuri were especially nice. We then had a driver to Mashatu. That was a really easy drive - we didn't miss any game drives at all that day. Maybe three and a half hours to the border post and 45 minutes to the tented camp. (I don't know what CarlaM did differently than we did). Main camp is 10 minutes shorter. Tented camp is rustic, but we loved the people there. Batswana are so nice. We flew from Mashatu to JNB - it takes just as long to get a driver. You have to get a charter from Mashatu to Polokwane and then connect there on SA Airlink to JNB. It was a WONDERFUL trip and we spent less than $4000 per person (plus maybe $250 for extras) not including air from NY - JNB. Let me know if I can help you. It was a GREAT trip!!

Hi christabir

I am doing Mashatu - Pafuri - MalaMala in December. I have been told about 3 hrs to Pafuri where we will be for 2 nights. Shame you didn't have a good experience, as I am looking forward to going there. Then I have been told about 6 hours onto MalaMala and I will miss the morning gamedrive at Pafuri as we need to be at MM for someone to pick up the rental car.

Carla, staying where you overnighted must have been in a different direction from Pafuri. When we did the drive direct from MalaMala to Mashatu, that was 9 hrs to the border post. Less than 6 months now and it is going so so so slowly, especially with all the action happening at MM.

Kind regards

Kaye

ps Carla I would love for you to explain the safari game on facebook as I have no idea really what I am doing - give me some basic tips! Remember you are talking to a computer person who is a bit slow witted! A smiley face should be here if I could remember where I put the print off sheet from atravelynn!

Kaye-
You'll like Pafuri since this is not your first safari experience. The camp is beautiful and the area is entirely different from any place we've been in S Africa. Ask your guide to go to Lanner gorge - on a morning drive. We went and it was amazing, but it was almost dark when we got there so we could only take a couple of pictures (that did not come out well) and go back. I was bummed out about our experience, too. We were really looking forward to it. But it's just bad luck sometimes - the rest of the trip was perfect. We chose not to rent a car and got drivers for most of our transfers. The price was about the same when we looked into it plus the car is parked most of the time anyway.

Christa

Hi Christa

Yes, people have told me I shall enjoy Pafuri so I am happy to give it a go! Especially as I have turned into such a birder! The landscape was also a selling point, especiall after having been to Mashatu for the first time and loving the scenery. Normally I am a wildlife addict, so to be taking photos of scenery says something about that scenery! Thanks for the tip regarding Lanner gorge. I shall only be hiring the car 3 days as once at MM we shall fly back to Johannesburg.

Perhaps go back on another trip - after a dreadful experience, I try to give the place another go just to make sure before I say I will not return!

Kind regards

Kaye

Christa --
Can you elaborate more on why you say you can't recommend Pafuri?

Why do you say "You'll like Pafuri since this is not your first safari experience."
Do you mean if it is your first safari it is a big disappointment because the game viewing is not as consistent? But wouldn't that be a disappointment to someone on their 5th safari as well?

Please - I'm looking at 3 or 4 nights there so if there's something "wrong" please tell me! Thanks.

Leslie

Leslie-

There is nothing "wrong" with Pafuri, we just didn't have the best time there. Pafuri is a great change of pace from chasing down the big five. There is scenery and flora I'd never seen before. The animals visiting the river outside the tents was great. We also saw animal behavior that was new for us. I'm just not sure it's a first safari destination yet, and 3 nights is plenty. Maybe others have had different experiences and disagree with me completely, but I would do Mashatu and MM and try for Vic Falls or another game destination before I went to Pafuri. According to the MM website, there is a flight from Mashatu to MM on Sundays. I saw your other thread - why not both KC and MM? Or go to one of the less expensive camps in the game reserves and MM or KC (personally I prefer the Sabi Sands to Timbavati, but again just my humble opinion).

We were pretty surprised by how rustic Mashatu tented camp is. I think if it was my first Africa destination ever, I would stay at Main camp. We loved tented camp, but it was pretty close to nature and a bit of a shock with the zippers for "doors" and the outdoor bathroom (really tough if you need to use the restroom at 2AM and the gas ran out of the hurricane lamp) and very little electricity. We are already planning a return trip, so we really loved it there.

Southern Africa is amazing. This will be your first safari, not your last.

Christa

Thanks Christa.
Yes, I chose Main camp not Tented at Mashatu for just those kinds of reasons!

There is a special deal combining Mashatu & Pafuri - I think that is the main reason the operator I'm working with is guiding me in that direction. He was at P. and says he loved it. I have read mixed reviews - negatives were mostly of the "not a lot of game, mostly birds" variety.

Hmmm...will have to weigh out pros & cons of this Pafuri leg.

Leslie - you have plenty of time. Don't rush it. When I started planning our first safari, it looked entirely different than what we actually did. Are you considering Cape Town and/or Vic Falls? Both are great, and if it turns out to be your only time to S Africa it would be a shame to miss either.

We're really limited in how much time (and money) we have for this trip. So it was recommended to stick to just SA or possibly part of Botswana but not the delta for this first trip.

We did consider one option with several days in Cape Town but I think for our first (but not last, I'm confident!) time I'd rather spend the days on game drives rather than in the city. Although it's clearly a gorgeous city we'll look forward to checking out some day.

Leslie, I've been following along with your decisions. We have only been on one safari and hope to go again in two years. We originally thought about Capetown, safari, and the beach. But we had a budget and limited time. Then we realized that we were mainly interested in seeing animals so we adjusted our original inclination and wound up spending 4 nights Phinda, 2 Londolozi. and 3 at Ngala Tented. No nights in Johannesburg though we spent a night in London on the way over.

It was perfect for us as it turned out. Of course, we want to go back but next time it will probably be Botswana or Zambia.

The benefit of going to a large reserve in the Sabi Sands is that you are almost guaranteed to see the big 5, plus, plus, plus. So you make up for missing seeing certain animals anywhere else. For a first safari, I think it's a safety net--like applying to the state university as the back-up when you're really interested in some private colleges.

cw- I know - it really seems that with limited time & resources it would be best to go with the percentages -- Mala Mala sounds like it wins in that category.

It's funny to me that the big 5 are so coveted - I would be more thrilled with zebra and giraffe sightings.

I have another thread specifically about Mala Mala vs. Kings Camp in the Timbavati region and the answers there are making me lean towards Kings. Too many fabulous choices really. I'm amazed I've been able to whittle it down to the few camps I'm looking at. I guess that's the benefit of periodic lurking - you kind of have an idea even before you start planning.

Hi Leslie

I am thrilled to hear that you are not about the big 5, so many guests are. As visits go on, you are less interested in the big 5, though I do love the cats and the elles, and more about seeing things that you have not seen before. I had excellent sightings of wild dog and leopard at Mashatu, but I would have loved it without those sightings as I saw a lot of things I do not see at MalaMala - eland, bat-eared foxes and ostrich. So I am very happy to be staying at Pafuri, not expecting much in the big game, and hoping to see a lot of things of a smaller nature that I don't often see or rarely see.

When you want to see all manner of creatures, then you are not ever disappointed in any gamedrive. When I get home and look at the photos, I am even more amazed at what I see as I often forget to some extent how lucky I have been!

Kind regards

Kaye