Ian

Proposed: July vacation

This trip might include a stop in Cairo or Tanzania (Mahale Mtns) before arrival in SA.

- Fly to Joburg. Rent a Nissan 4x4. Drive to a lodge in mid-Kruger – somewhere around the Orpen gate area. Stay 3 nights or so in a lodge. King’s, Hoyo Hoyo Tsonga, Kampana etc
- Then drive thru Kruger to the Parfuri area to stay at The Outpost for 3 – 4 nights.
- Return to Joburg for flight home.

This will be our 1st trip to Africa. I investigated Kenya, Tanzania & Bots etc but the Kruger area seems to fit what we need. We want to see game, of course, but also to enjoy Africa without the camping. And without the crowds. We would prefer real lodges with all the niceties as opposed to tented showers & crappers etc. We have camped enough – never again. I am looking at small up-market lodges with 6 or 8 rooms in more remote areas to keep it intimate & real. I know, I know, luxury lodges are not real, but we have discovered that the quality of our lodging has a direct impact on our enjoyment of a place. So, 4 & 5 star it is.

I also like driving. It lets me get the feel of a place better than any other transport means. I would rather drive for 5 hours than endure an airport for a 1 hour flight that usually takes you 5 hours anyway with all of the usual airport abuse before/during/after.

So . . . my questions:

Is it a good plan?

I figured by self-driving & staying in 2 different areas, we will see a nice swath of the Kruger area & see a nice assortment of wildlife while we’re at it. The lodges will pamper us bodily & we can use their services for daily no-stress game drives & walks.

Is it safe?

My prelim research says yes, but I have to sell the SO. I have been through the Fodors & SANpark forums, but most posts are concentrated in the south & central Kruger. It seems to get much lonelier in the northern reaches. If we keep to the main north/south road, is there enough traffic if we break down etc? I am a go for the adventure, but my SO has visions of us stuck in a mud hole with lions & hyenas circling.

Is it doable?

Orpen area to Parfuri is a long, long drive thru the park – 335 kms at 50 km/hr. But of course, it might be an amazing drive. Driving outside the park & around looks like it would be almost double the distance. The option here, would be to stay outside the park in a reserve & do the north/south drive on the toll road & cut in at the Punta Maria Gate.

Is July (winter) decent weather?

Again, I have read that it will be cool nights/mornings with very pleasant afternoons & early evenings. Not pool weather but nice enough for traveling.

Your thoughts? And thanks for reading the long-winded post.

Ian

mcwomble

Hi Ian,

I think you may want to check out just how luxurious tents can be in Africa. You can slum it, if you want, but some come with their own butler.

Many are "walk-in" with double beds and flush loos and showers en-suite.

I wouldn't rule them out based on previous experiences.

Sorry - I don't know Kruger that well to answer the detail of your question.

Ian

>I think you may want to check out just how luxurious tents can be in Africa.

I know, I have seen some websites of great tented camps but no. Once see saw The Outpost website, tents were out.

Ian

amolkarnik

Ian - I recently drove from Pafuri down to Letaba (Orpen is further south). The drive is do-able in a day, but I'd recommend a break at one of the camps along the way. North of Mopane(?), the park is very remote and you will see far fewer vehicles, but we would usually pass the odd vehicle every 20 or so minutes, so nothing to worry about. The game density reduces as one goes north, but we still saw some lovely tuskers, large buffalo herds and if one is willing to pull over and stop, birds.

We stayed at Pafuri and its a lovely area. I think The Outpost vehicles are allowed to traverse the Pafuri concession and the birding was also graet.

Poppins

This is certainly a very doable itinerary as long as you don't mind driving. The distances aren't short. But the scenery is lovely and varying.

Outpost is superb. The rooms are huge and very luxurious. This is an awesome lodge.

You may like to consider spending a night at the Coach House in Tzaneen on the way back to Johannesburg to cut the trip. And go back a different way.

July will be cold in the morning and evenings, but it is the dry season and great for game viewing. Take warm clothes for the game drives.

For the lonely stretch of road where you are afraid of breaking down. There should be SanParks staff driving around, but also, phone the lodge when you leave in the morning and let them know your route and timings. Then they will come looking for you if you don't arrive.

Ian

Thank you both for the reassurances.

amolkarnik - do you remember how long the drive took you?

Poppins - I looked at the Coach House, but it seems a fair jaunt from the tollway. I was also looking at Entabenni as a possible one night stop on the drive back.

Keep the suggestions coming . . .

Ian

amolkarnik

Ian - We had stayed at Wilderness Pafuri and drove down to Timbavati area. The drive was about 7 hours, so consider about 5 hours to get as far down as Letaba.

Gritty

Sounds like that plan would work, Ian, but I'm not sure why you are getting a 4x4--you don't really need one. You'll be on good gravel or paved roads all the way in Kruger.

amolkarnik

A 4*4 does provide a slight advantage of visibility, particularly in self-drive parks such as kruger.

However, since you are only driving yourself between lodges, you may as well rent a car, and put the money saved towards an additional night at a lodge if you like.

Ian

>you may as well rent a car, and put the money saved towards an additional night at a lodge if you like.

300 Rand extra per day for a Nissan 4x4 over a Corolla. That would be nice to spend elsewhere but the extra height was one of my reasons. But, I just might downgrade. Or split the difference & get a BMW.

I have fallen in to the trip reports on the SANParks forum. They've got me thinking about using the park lodges to stretch the $s. Do a couple of lodge nights on arrival & then a couple of park camp nights as we meander north & then wrap with The Outpost. That would make the drive an adventure rather than a hurried A to B. Hmmm . . .

And if you want to read an amazing trip report, see:

http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16403

Thanks

Ian

amolkarnik

Ian - Had a look at the Outpost website and it doesnt say how many people it accommodates at once. The rack rates for 2008 arent available but the ones for 2007 were 2800 ZAR pppn. Assuming they stay the same, they have a markup of approx 50% over Pafuri rates. I have posted a report from my trip to Pafuri in September here (http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...&tid=35081173?)

My only complaint about Pafuri was that it accommodates 52 guests at once and is very impersonal. Outpost appears to be more luxurious, so if thats what you want, it would be a better choice. If not, consider Pafuri. The pictures on the Outpost website are teh same as Pafuri, so it appears that they have traversing rights over the same terrain. Kruger camps are certainly reasonable accommodation and great value for money.

If you choose to stay in Kruger camps and self-drive, consider getting the 4*4. If not, a car works just fine. SA is a great driving country so the BMW will be a joy to drive (as long as you arent stuck with a base 316 or 318).

HariS

Amol,

Did you find the self-drive amidst the big tuskers and probably the breeding herds of ellies a bit intimidating? You able to stop and watch them?

Hari

mkhonzo

Your trip plan is fine, both in logistics and time of the year. I have one comment though and that is simply the routing.

It in my opinion is best to start the trip with the Kruger and finish with fewer nights in the private reserves. So give yourself a good eight hours to get into the northern extremes of the KNP and then finish up with two nights around the hoedsruit area.

Comment on car, Nissan fine, but gas consumption is the compromise that you'll be making for height. July is a great time to be in the Kruger, book early though as it is the SA schools winter break and the KNP is a huge destination.

matnikstym

Ian, I agree with your latest thinking-stay in the Kruger camps. Though not luxurious, they are clean and comfortable and most have restaurants if you don't want to cook. Mopani Camp is the most "upscale" of the camps. I'd also rent the SUV class of car-Nissan X-Trail or similar, you get the height but not the cost of a 4X4, we had the Hyundia Tucson and it was perfect.

Hari, it was a bit intimidating being amongst the ellies-especially seeing one trotting towards us in the rear view mirror! Yes you can stop and stay with them but need an escape route and don't pop the clutch when speeding off. For the most part they didn't pay us any mind.

Ian

Thanks for the suggestions one & all.

Mkhonzo – I heard about the July school break. I will adjust timing to the 2nd half of June or July.

After some thought, I will probably opt for an SUV – extra height & extra ‘security’ for my SO. She suggested Africa (“I’m tired of cobblestones”) but she is really apprehensive about the self-drive part.

Park Camps. From what I’ve discovered so far:

The downsides: no heat - from what I can gather, strict rules for arriving (5:30 Winter/6:00 Summer) & leaving (not before 6:00), questionable restaurants – some people like them & some didn’t. Self-cooking is not something I like to do on holiday. I do it at home. People mention that the night drives that are offered are so-so because they see few animals (but that’s because it’s dark). Very busy during holidays & must be booked months in advance - particularly in the south.

The upside is price & location, location, location. Accommodations are clean & neat. The walks they do seem to be great.

Some resources:

Kruger Park Website:
http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/

Kruger Park Forum: Stuffed with info. Camps, roads etc etc. Also read by park employees btw
http://www.sanparks.org/forums/index.php?c=5

A detailed zoomable map:
http://www.ecotravel.co.za/Guides/Re...P_Map_Full.htm

School calendar:
http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/school_cal/2008.htm

Kruger Time/Distance Calculator:
http://www.african-safari-journals.c...onal-park.html

More Kruger maps - Including cell phone coverage: Click at upper right
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/

Ian

HariS

Thanks, Dennis ...

cary999

For school calendar, suggest this one-
http://tinyurl.com/ywhbw8
much easier to understand (for me).

regards - tom
ps - that calendar will also do moon phases.

amolkarnik

Hari - it can be slightly intimidating, so like Dennis says, its always good to have an escape route in mind.

In all the self driving I have done, the only slightly hairy moment was in Botswana near Savuti. We came around a bend on a very sandy track and almost bumped into a large male behind some bushes. He was well hidden and we got more of a fright than he did. I managed to stop in time but was slightly worried about making a quick getaway given how sandy the track was. Luckily that wasnt necessary.

As far as watching ellies goes, our best sighting was at a waterhole in Etosha, surrounded by over 75 ellies. They drank for over 30 min and there were absolutely no other vehicles at the sighting. This was back in the days when i used to shoot with film, but I will try and scan some pics.

Ian - I found the restaurants to be frankly quite dodgy in Kruger, but its a damn sight better than cooking.

HariS

Amol,

Yep, sounds like you had your share of that deep Kalahari sand in Bots. That would be frightening bumping into one of those big tuskers, never know how they would react when in musth.

That's always a nervy situation.

However, the Pafuri/Outpost area looks good for scenary and birding i would think ......