Meerkats2008

I am traveling to S.A. in September for a research project, and will have some time at the end of the project to take a safari to Kruger and/or Phinda. I have a proposal for Kirkman's Camp (2 days) and then on to Phinda Forest Lodge for 2 days. I also have a proposal for all 4 days at Phinda and 3 days at Elephant Plains. A local agent suggested Ngala. I'm going crazy trying to decide. Any suggestions/comment would be appreciated! Thank you.

debwarr

Hi, Meerkat,

I understand how easy it is to go crazy deciding these things. I'm agonizing over an itinerary of my own right now. Anyway, I've stayed at Phinda Forest Lodge, although it's been several years ago. It was wonderful then and I doubt it would have changed much since then. Forest Lodge itself is architecturally beautiful, but the best thing about Phinda is that it is a cheetah conservation area, so you're almost assured of getting close to these beautiful cats. We spent hours with a few different groups of cheetahs and enjoyed every moment. There is other great wildlife, too, but they are most known for their cheetah. We had an excellent guide named Mike. I think he may now be the head ranger, but if he is still taking out guests, be sure to ask for him if you go to Phinda.

We visited Ngala this past September and stayed at the tented camp. We also looked at the lodge, but didn't stay there. We had a mixed experience at Ngala. The two negatives were that we had a bad ranger/tracker mix that didn't work too well (although we contacted CCAfrica when we returned and they said they resolved the situation). I wouldn't worry too much about this, since I think that was a fluke. All our other experiences with CCAfrica rangers/trackers has been wonderful. The other negative, which would not have been resolved is that the tents (which are exquisite) are fairly close together so privacy is a little compromised. If this isn't an issue for you, I would definitely recommmend Ngala, but we found we almost had to whisper in our tent not to be heard by our neighbor. Other than these two things, however, the sightings were great, food was good, staff was attentive and the accommodations were first class.

I can't help you with Kirkman's Camp, but I would give an overall plug for CCAfrica. We've been to Africa three times and until this past trip had only stayed in CCA properties. With the exception of what I noted about Ngala, we have always been extremely please with both the quality of the property and the quality of the staff. You will have a good experience with them.

Have a wonderful trip, and by the way, September is a perfect time to be there!

Deb

Meerkats2008

Thank you so much for the info! You clinched it with the cheetah information, because that is what I wanted! I researched where would be the best place to see cheetahs and came up with Phinda, and I am so glad to have confirmation!

Thanks again.

cw

Meerkat,

I also stayed at Phinda Forest two years ago for four nights. I would recommend it for cheetah and also for rhino, including the black rhino. The staff there is wonderful and we had great game drives, and an exceptional ranger, Thulani. Others on this board also have highly recommended Thulani.

I would stay there at least three nights. Two just wouldn't be enough, I think. We also stayed at Ngala Tented. We didn't see as many animals as we saw in the Sabi Sands (Londolozi) but I enjoyed the more remote feel of the camp. Another plug for CCAfrica. You will certainly enjoy yourself no matter what you decide but I would recommend staying at the lodges at least three nights and not two.

CW

Pula

As much as I don't like big camps, Kirkman's was quite lovely. Kirkman was the manager of the property when it was a private residence and it has the feel of an old-world house without being the slightest bit dark or musty. There's quite a bit of tame game around and I even had a pair of nyala come walking past my back door. I was there in early July and it was freezing on the morning game drives and in fact, there wasn't much game until the day warmed up.

I didn't care for Ngala Main Camp at all, mostly because it too big for my taste but I also stayed at Ngala Walking Camp which I loved. Not Ngala Tented, but Walking. As I understand it, it's much more rustic than the "Tented" camp because the tents are standard-issue tents, nicely appointed but basic with bucket showers, and not "luxury," and importantly, there are only four of them.

atravelynn

How does this one work out cost-wise?

all 4 days at Phinda and 3 days at Elephant Plains

That's what I'd take.

I'm sure you know Phinda is fenced. I still really liked at, staying a week at Forest Lodge. Never been to EP, but hear good things.

I just saw your cheetah and Phinda comment. That's how I ended up at Phinda as well. Plus you can track rhinos on foot, which was outstanding.

HariS

Phinda is certainly, part of a cheetah conservation effort. That's part of the reason i went there a couple of years ago..... however, now that it is the flagship lodge for CCA - the emphasis is more on Big 5 viewing and lots of rushing around from sighting to sighting!

I'm sure if you informed them in advance regarding your interests etc etc., you may be able to get a better overall experience.

mytmoss

Meerkats, if you stay at Forest Lodge ( I have been there twice), ask for your ranger to be Walter. He is one of the two best rangers that I have had in my 5 trips. I highly recommend the lodge and Walter.

Here are shots from my last trip there.

http://www.pbase.com/mytmoss/phonda_2005

mancfi

I would absolutely recommend Phinda Forest Lodge. Most people seemed to stay for 3 nights, we stayed for 4 nights and found that to be right for us. I think 2 days would be too little in terms of appreciating Phinda and also in terms of having to pack/unpack before feeling like having had a 'rest'.

We had some great Cheetah sightings and didn't at all feel rushed from sighting to sighting. Our ranger asked us what our interests were and tried very hard to accommodate them. We perhaps were lucky in that the most people on a drive with us were 6 people on 1 drive, mostly it was 4 people and for 2 drives we had the car to ourselves.

We felt it complemented the Sabi Sands very well in that we saw the big 5 numerous times in the sabi sands (including lots of leopard sightings which we did not see at Phinda) whereas in Phinda we got to see more of the tracking skills employed to find the big 5 as well as seeing black rhino and cheetah. I should also mention the different ecosystems, I found them to be very interesting and very different to the Sabi Sands. I can totally appreciate you 'going crazy' trying to decide what to do, I think most of us have been there! Sometimes life presents us with some wonderful choices!!

Gardyloo

We stayed three nights at Phinda Forest Lodge last year, then went on to a less expensive three nights at Chitwa Chitwa in the Sabi Sands.

While we did indeed see more cheetah at Phinda than at Sabi (saw them in both places) the much greater diversity of animals at Sabi keeps bringing us back, whereas we don't anticipate returning to Phinda any time soon.

The accommodations at Phinda are indeed lovely, with antelope walking calmly past the steps, fine food in the dining room and very competent rangers and trackers; however the fence is a presence and we found it and what it means hard to ignore.

Chitwa Chitwa was a pleasant surprise. The accommodations face a big lake with resident hippos and crocs, and the wildlife viewing, especially leopard, was superb. The rooms were comfortable but certainly not fancy; the food was excellent, and the staff were knowledgeable, friendly and efficient. We'll go back there next time.