My daughter, age 19, will be spending 10 weeks in the Cape Town townships working with children. With advance notice, she can take a three day weekend. I may have the opportunity to visit her in early to mid September and would love to take her on a "quickie" safari. Where would you recommend, that would allow us to maximize our time and experience? Thanks everyone. Good to be back!

Hi aknards

Do I understand correctly that your safari will have to take place in three days - including travelling time?

Kind regards

aknards, if budget allows I would recommend a flight from Cape Town to Nelspruit, to join a guided Kruger Park safari or spend a few nights at a game lodge in the greater Kruger area. This will be a far better safari experience than any safari destination close to Cape Town.
You could even book an early morning (6 am) flight to Johannesburg, and join a safari departure from there if you wish.
Closer to Cape Town, you could try Gondwana or Aquila or the like, but the game viewing and safari experience cannot be compared to greater Kruger.
Hope this helps.

Onne from Wild Wings Safaris

thanks, wildwings. yes, living4, we'd only have a total of three days because my daughter has an obligation to the orphanage. the most she can take off at any given time is three days/long weekend. Therefore, i was hoping to avoid the expense of airfare to Kruger. I was hoping to hear that there was someplace terrific closeby to CT. Oh well, maybe we'll go whale watching, something I haven't yet done and really want to do!

One idea would be to stay (and support) Paul Hart's Drakenstein lion park.

It's certainly NOT A SAFARI but you can sleep in tents and get a feeling of the place and their work.

They provide abused lions with a safe haven for the rest of their lives:

http://www.lionrescue.org.za/

Paul Hart is one of the most honest people I have ever come across. He has dedicated his lofe towards those lions.

Not a safari per se, and none of the Big Five present, but with three days you could easily drive up the Atlantic coast to the West Coast National Park - http://www.sanparks.org/parks/west_coast/default.php - which is quite gorgeous and accessible. In September, a huge side benefit would be the stunning wildflowers you'd encounter en route and in the park. St. Helena Bay is also gorgeous, as is the inland area around Darling.

You could stay in the historic and picturesque village of Paternoster, from which trips to the National Park or the wildflower areas all around the region could be easily done. Only about 2 hours by car from Cape Town, it seems like a world away.

Some pictures I took of the area a couple of years ago:

Paternoster -
http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20016s.JPG
http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20026s.JPG

West Coast NP -
http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20044s.JPG
http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20066s.JPG

Thanks spassvogel and gardyloo. Your photos, gardyloo, make me want to go to Paternoster even more. However, this child of mine wants to swim with the sharks! I'm not sure she'd be satisfied with wildflowers...But all of you have given me a lot to consider. As always, the forum comes through.
anita

I think Atravelynn did swam with the sharks. See if you can find her trip report about that. She had some good recommendations, as always.

Found it: http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...o-charters.cfm

shay, i can always count on you