Hi,
Getting close to making decisions.
Will go to Sabi Sands (Exeter River) and Timbavati(Ngala) each for four days.

Should I go 4 days to Kwandwe or Phinda?

Advice?
KSC

Check how the transport works with each option, both time and costs.

I've only been to Phinda. If you are a cheetah fan, that's a point in favor of Phinda, a cheetah sanctuary. Phinda's 55,000 acres are fenced and you may see the fence on your drives, which could affect your decision. Phinda has 7 distinct habitats and you can easily see all of them in 4 days. There also are a variety of activities from canoeing to cultural visits. I did 3 rhino tracking trips that were wonderful. The accommodations at Phinda are really lovely. I stayed only at Forest Lodge where you have your own glass cottage in a sand forest with lots of nyala (antelope), impala, and vervets running around on trails you can walk on.

Lynn - I believe Kwandwe is fenced as well??

We also thoroughly enjoyed Phinda. We did see the fence a couple of times, but honestly it did not detract from our experience at all. We saw just about everything but leopard (which you should see in Sabi Sands), including 2 separate cheetah kills. Forest Lodge was also a great experience.

If you choose Phinda, request Brandon Ford as your ranger...he was beyond fantastic, even taking us to a local school and clinic during the midday hours.

Enjoy!

KSC,

We took essentially the same trip in September 2006--Phinda, Londolozi, and Ngala Tented.

I have no experience with Kwandwe, but Phinda is wonderful and would probably be more convenient for you to travel to your other camps.

I second the comments above, and can also recommend Thulani as a ranger at Phinda. We stayed at Forest Lodge and loved everything about it. There is something special about Phinda, and it will be a good place for you to see cheetahs and possibly black rhinos.

I hope you're staying at Ngala Tented. It is smaller than the lodge and in a better location to get out on your game drives.

Though Phinda was our first experience with wildlife viewing, it really gave us a great experience. We saw more lions, larger herds of buffalo and elephants at Ngala, leopards at Londolozi, but we did see all of the above in smaller quantities, plus cheetah and a lot of rhino at Phinda.

It appears there are quite a few excellent Phinda guides.

Thulani was recommended to me and after spending a week with him I am happy to recommend him to others.