$1000 for a private vehicle... IMO, extortion. Two safaris a day, about 3 hours a safari, six hours drive time @ 15 miles an hour, that is around 90 miles in a day, max! Vehicle probably gets 9 miles to a gallon, at the worst. 10 gallons of gas in a day, argue $4 a gallon for fuel, wear and tear... thats a cost of $40 a day... where does the additional $960 go?
Ranger and tracker... well that $1000 is double their salary combined... you were had, shame on them!

How can they justify that price?

Costs more than gas to operate and maintain a vehicle. For the punishment a game drive vehicle may take, $3 per mile would not surprise me. And that's just for starters.

However, I know one camp, Kings Camp, that charges (if I remember) only $260 per day extra for the private vehicle. Now that is reasonable.

regards - tom

We had a private vehicle at Lion Sands last year and did not pay $1,000 a day!

A private vehicle at LS does not cost $1000 per day but it is expensive. I have done it there and may do again.

When you say you contacted the lodge and they made promises, no chance there was a misunderstanding? I do find it hard to believe they can make a promise that would be hard to deliver. The lodges, including Lion Sands, do not need to make false promises to fill their rooms.

There are way too many variables to make that promise including an imposition on other guests and their wishes. I think if you asked any lodge that question, the answer should be the same assuming no private vehicle, no promise could be made.

Mike

I checked to see what the rate of a private vehicle is at LS, its R4375. I wanted to know for myself as I am interested since I am going there in May. At the current exchange rate, that about $400 a day, FAR from the $1000 that was posted earlier.

Given that someone said a vehicle in Kruger was charged $260, I think $400 is reasonable for a private reserve. I probably will not do it every day, but I think its worth it for a few days for my photography.

As for seeing a kill, there may have been a misunderstand at what seeing a kill means. Personally to me, it means the actual hunt and then the capture and killing of the prey. To the original poster, it may mean that even seeing a dead animal being eaten means a kill. So far in my 5 trips, I have not seen a kill in the sense of the word where I use it. That may be part of the confusion.

Mike

Mike I suggest you get that price in writing in advance.
A for me, I was going to drop the issue, but I will have my Travel Agent
contact the lodge for a refund.

Unfortunately this thread has become like broken telephone, so for the last time I will say, coming upon a kill is O.K.
Specifically looking for a kill is not

Erly I have gotten it in writing. So if you feel you were charged $1000 for just the vehicle, I agree, you should contact them for a refund. My dealings with the lodge have all been perfect so far.

If you find out that you were not charged $1000 per day for a private vehicle, you should also post that here too.

Mike

Hi Mike,
I don't usually keep unnecessary papers, but I was just checking my next flight, and to my surprise I found their quote, typed on their Stationary.
We are Canadian, and asked how much it was in our dollar
The quote:
per half day
540 Canadian Dollars
429 US Dollars + vat
I thought that all of the staff were wonderful, and their service was even beyond our expectation... but something is very strange.
I will of course follow through..

"per half day"
More or less per game drive. Or like you said first, $1,000 per day?

regards - tom

Tom, its not per 1/2 day. I have done it before and I plan to do it again. That quote is for a full day.

Mike

Hi Erly, I was rude in previous post to not thank you for posting the rates you were quoted. I think you should follow through in case an error was made. The people at LS are as nice as you say and if there was a mistake done, they will correct it. You probably can contact them directly if you paid the fees to them, or go through your agent if you paid for the private land rover via the agency. I hope it all works out for you.

Mike

Mike - I was quoting erly who says they are reading directly off of the camp price quote sheet given to them. I don't know which number is correct. But IF the camp quoted $429 per half day (plus tax), then $1,000 per full day is correct. At least per my math, but hey, I only know what I'm told and I believe every word But now I'm confused - again Sooooo, good luck erly!!!!!

regards - tom

Oops, I missed the small print of her post, but I am will check late night when they are in their office.

Mike

I received a reply from Lion Sands about the rates of private vehicle and I have posted them below.

ACTIVITIES RATE SHEET 2009


Description
Rates

Private Land Rover – Guest Exclusivity, Photography or Bird Watching (Minimum 2 nights booked)

R4 345.00 per day

It clearly states PER DAY and not per drive.

Erly please do continue to check on this. You need to have it taken care of to your financial satisfaction if you were charged double that.

Mike

I received a nasty response from Lion Sands telling me that people nowadays want the thrill of the kill, and that I should not go on Safari if I don't want to go for the kill, as this is the new reality because of the recent Television shows.
No explanation whatever about their promise.
They totally ignored my question regarding their intent to double bill me.
I am not finished yet..

Thanks for your follow-up. Keep after them. The least they can do after lying to you is get their charging correct.

regards - tom

One other thing, wasn't it your agent -not Lion Sands- that said you wouldn't have to see a kill? Maybe most of your complaint is with your agent? Well, never mind, I'm staying totally out of it.

regards - tom

I am curious about one detail: Who is the person that sent you the nasty response? I am asking because I had a bit of a dispute with the manager on checking out--regarding a bill for wine that should have been included. Just wondering if the same manager is handling your inquiry.

I have been following this discussion for sometime and was avoiding adding a comment as I feel being the Owner of Lion Sands and therefore potentially biased towards our Lodge these forums need to remain exclusive to travellers only. Firstly thank you to those who have defended our reputation. This is so greatly appreciated and means a great deal to me and all of us at Lion Sands.Thankyou! Regretable "erly's" stay did involve seeing what she has decribed above and due to other guests being on the land rover it was a sitaution where a compromise had to be made. It was not our intention to effect "erly's" stay but we had to give consideration to the other guests demands i.e. client always remains king. This has been discussed in the forum so I shall not continue on this subject. I would however like to remark, and is the reason for myself entering this forum, that there have now been false acqusations made about overcharging "erly". We have submitted all details through to "erly's" agent with full proof that we offered "erly" a full day private land rover for a 50% discount to accomodate "erly" request. The full day land rover usage was charged to "erly" at R2172.00 (excl. 14% vat) as this is 50% of the normal full day rate.This is approximately USD 217.20, assuming a 10:1 exchange rate. I again confirm that a full and detailed report has been sent to "erly's" agent and we have never sent "erly" a nasty response. We apologise that this will have effected their stay with us and ask that if "erly" wishes to continue with this debate that it is done on a stictly factual basis. If there are any other issues/comments/suggestions from any guest please feel free to send it to me directly on [email protected]. Thanks for your time in sending it through.

I would also like to add for the benefit of regular safari goers in that vehicles, land rovers, have the single biggest impact on a conservation area and is one of the reasons why we charge such a premium for a private land rover as by discouraging private land rover usage we actually reduce the number of vehicles on safari which benefits the Reserve which is our goal and basis of everything we do at Lion Sands. We are always the visitors in this pristine safari area.