Small, simple camps in South Africa?
 

Five of us are planning a trip to South Africa in the spring of 2012 and after the basic #1 priority of good game and guiding, we are looking for small camps with as few upscale amenities as possible -- can anyone make any suggestions? It seems that camps increasingly compete on luxury and size standards which is just exactly what we don't want! We hope to stay at three camps (four nights each?) and at this initial stage, where we are gathering info, we don't really care where they are in South Africa.

What is a small camp? How many huts/rooms/tents? How many guests if full?
FWIW, a small camp to me is one with no more than 24 guests max occupancy.

regards - tom

Oh, also, how about one or two camp names as examples of the types of camps you want to stay clear of.

And, have you been on safari anywhere in Africa before?

regards - tom

Try Khoka Moya and Tanda Thula, honeyguide might be worth reviewing too. All are in the Timbavati/Manyaleti.

I like Sabis Little Bush Camp, which might be a little on the luxurious side for you. It is small with just 6 suites.

Why not consider staying at the SANparks restcamps inside Kruger NP? Basic, comfortable affordable, with the option of doing morning/night drives and walks in addition to driving yourself around during daytime. www.sanparks.org.
Tamboti restcamp near Orpen gate consists of only self-catering safari tents, and offers a great experience; combine with with a stay at Lower Sabie camp and you're sure to have a good time.
Note that spring 2012 in SA is in October/November, great time for seeing young animals.

OK, the word small does need clarification . . . so I'd say for me that means camps with a maximum of 8 tents. And I do prefer canvas! In South Africa I've stayed at Kirkman's Kamp and Ngala Main and both were way too big (although Kirkman's manages to keep the old world charm thing going) and I also stayed at Ngala Walking Camp which was perfect with only 4 tents but the guy running it (in'07) was a jerk. Sorry if that's blunt, but he was.

I've been to Africa several times, to several different countries, but lately (since 2007) I've been staying in the Tibavati area, in a private home where it's a self-catered, self-drive situation and it's quite wonderful (although not as game-rich as I understand the Sabi Sands to be, for example), so despite fairly regular travel, I'm not familiar with commercial operations. And this time I'm traveling with two couples who've been to East Africa and Botswana, but not recently (not since '95), and never to South Africa. We will start this trip in Cape Town, where none of us has been, and finish as guests at the private residence, and it's the two weeks in between that I'm trying to fill with a complementary tasting of "small" camps, with good game (and birding). I suppose I should add that we are also looking for camps that are NOT family-friendly.

(Tanda Thula looks terrific but is only about 5k's from where we're staying at the end . . . maybe we should call in for lunch!)

In a month's time I'll be staying at Nottens which I understand to be a "small," family owned operation in the Sabi Sands area and maybe that will be a contender! If so, I'll just need two more!

Hi Pula,

do check Pixelpower's excellent review of camps in the game reserves along the western border of Kruger, http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...und-kruger.cfm

Cheers,


Pol

Happy to know you've been on safari before, you know what you want from experience.

It will be interesting to know what you come up with because I suspect (but don't know) that "economy of scale" would preclude your very small camps. Especially in the well developed reserves like Sabi Sand. The land there is worth a fortune and jealously guarded and (little) shared. Same for Timbavati reserve.

You mentioned Tanda Tula, it is -not- small, 12 tents. -
http://www.tandatula.com/pages/tanda-tula.php
And not tent "cheap", $600-$700 pppn.
If 12 rooms is ok, look at Kings Camp. Not tents I know, but really, $600 tents?

You've stayed in the Timbavati, private house. Were you able to traverse the whole Timbavati (other camp property)? I've been in Timbavati several times and know that a very large part of it is private and not accessible to safari camps there, e.g. King Camp. But the camps do share traversing among themsleves.

FWIW, like you I've also been to Ngala Lodge/Main and in brief, would not go back. I've also been to Kirkmans and liked it. But I hear their traversing rights with MalaMala has ended.

regards - tom

Thanks Treepol -- Pixelpower's survey of camps is impressive and his general priorities synch reasonably well with mine -- I wouldn't have found this without you so many thanks.

And Tom, your hunch is correct that the private residence situation has limited traversing, mostly limited to a couple neighboring (private) properties with whom an arrangement has been made. So, yes, you are "confined" to a relatively small patch of bush . . . and if the critters are on your patch you have them all to yourself, and if they are away next door where you can't go, well, then you have an extra dose of tranquility. I can tell you this -- it's big enough to have me terrified of getting lost!

Anyway, I can share pixelpower's analysis with the others and that will keep us busy for quite awhile!

On Kings Camp game drives we would often go past/cross a very impressive private camp (Oud Nederland ?). It is owned by by Germans I believe, several nice small buildings, caretakers, fenced all around. If you look at map of the Timbavati it seems over half is private. Must be nice :)

regards - tom

As usual I'm late to the party. :-D

I see my thread was pointed out already. Just wanted to say that it needs a bit of an update. To name but a few things I found out during my last visit;

- Africa On Foot now has a 2nd camp: "nThambo", in the same area. Both have much more traversing rights too.
- Umkumbe in Sabi Sands is new and fantastic, certainly if you consider that the places around it cost 4x as much or more.
- Gomo Gomo is no longer in Timbavati, but in Klaserie now. They actually share traverse with AOF and nThambo.
- The old Gomo Gomo in Timbavati is now called Simbavati River Lodge, and not bad either.

I'm writing a trip report on Umkumbe, nThambo and Simbavati RL, here:

http://safaritalk.net/index.php?showtopic=6898

(...but you'll have to wait for the Simbavati part until this weekend).

Best regards,

Jochen