Numbers

Would appreciate any help I can get - we've been on safari twice in East Africa and loved it. Now its time for Southern Africa and I am so confused! Would appreciate advice on whether to go to Botswana, South Africa, or both. We would have roughly 10 nights to spend on the ground in Africa (excluding international flights) and our sole interest is wildlife viewing. Which country and which areas would you visit? Assume for these purposes that cost is not an issue. Thanks in advance for your help.

tanzaniatouroperator

i really hope that cost genuinely is not an issue as there is a BIG difference in costs between south Africa and Botswana.

Personally i would look at the lodges of Wilderness safaris in Botswana which are superb and many of them offer the best wildlife viewing you can get but are not cheap

also if you look a a combination of camps in Botswana you will get a wide spread of diverse scenery - say a water camp in the Delta, a land camp in Moremi, time in Linyanti and then Ele's in chobe

I am no great fan of south Africa but in fairness i do not know it anything like as well as Botswana

divine54

i would do 2 camps in botswana and 4 (3) in sabi sands.

not knowing your month of travel: &Beyond has extended the "simply spectacular under canvas" in botswana until end of may which is a great deal.

or i would do a camp in the delta and one in savute or two in diffrent areas of the delta or 5-6 in one delta camp.

you see - it's soooo difficult to decide ;-)

then i would proceed to sabi sands but you must layover in/near jnb as the drive cannot be done the same day. and fedair doesn't fly matching your arrival from jnb.
vv is the same. you won't make it either way without layover.

happy planning!

div

divine54

let me add and clarify first line:

i mean 4 NIGHTS in sabi sands!!!

div

cary999

What's your budget???
For a reasonable (?) budget and for ten nights, I'd spend it all in South Africa. Doing Kruger and a Sabi Sand Reserve such as MalaMala. Kruger is fun and easy and not much $$$ to do on your own. Fly into JNB or (Nelspruit) rent/hire a car and drive into Kruger. Kruger about 6 hour drive from JNB. Kruger has several "rest camps" and a pleasant hut for two people is only about $70 per night. Here is SANP Kruger web site.
http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/ We've done this twice and will again in Sep 2009 before driving over to a private reserve/camp, Kings Camp. Start your stay with Kruger to unwind and relax a bit from the long flights (if you're from USA). Total cost 5 nights Kruger with car around $1,000 then 5 nights MalaMala two people $7,000.

Also, a couple of threads running here, now, with similar discussions.

regards - tom

divine54

i would opt for http://www.londolozi.com/
where everything is included in the rate (and one does not have to face loughable bills for water at a high-end lodge which has charge 7000US$/2 pax for 5 nights).
londo's varty camp is about 500US$pppd.
great leopard sightings guaranteed besides lions etc.

or on a rather tight budget
http://www.elephantplains.co.za/home/
which is about 200US$pppd

i would NOT recommend driving kruger on your own for your very first safari as you don't have the information where and what to loof for when.
rather do it vv - first the sabi sands lodge followed by kruger. by then you have done several gamedrives and got some vital information on wildlife behaviour etc. by the guide.

as a first timer i would generally speaking spend my money on a decnt but favourable lodge like EP than driving around myself.

just my 2 cemts.

div

cary999

divine54 - have you ever driven in Kruger??? (Also, have you ever written a trip report, wait we know that answer - no).

regards - tom

Numbers

OK - no need to get nasty with each other! I asked for advice and I'm getting some and I appreciate it. The more info the better. To clarify on the budget question, my point is that I really want the best wildlife viewing experience I can get. I'd rather wait a little longer and save some more money if that's what I need to do to afford the kind of trip I want to take. So, assume I have unlimited funds (I don't, trust me) and tell me what the best 10 night trip would be, in your opinion. Thanks!

LAleslie

It depends partly on what you want to see. Londolozi in Sabe Sands is known for its leopards. Duma Tau in Botswana is known for its lions and buffalo interactions. Chobe National Park in Sept/Oct/Nov,has unbeliebably large elephants herds. Thre are some ovre-the-top luxury lodges in Sabi Sands, such as Singita, that have extensive wine cellars and spas, which some people love and some abhor. And indeed the tiome of year you are going is important. I agree that mixing up camps in Botswana geographically will give you diverse terrain and wildlife viewing. You can't beat Wilderness camps for locations and wildlife but they're pricey. But you might want to mix up their lodges with others if you stay in Botswana; the Kalahari Desert is unique and fascinating. Is Victoria Falls also an interest? I've been to both countires and like them both for different reasons. If you only have 10 nights I'd stick to one country, myself. And if it's wildlife only you're interested in (as opposed to the wine country of South Arica, Cape Town, etc)I'd choose Botswana for sheer wilderness iisolation.

Numbers

Thank you, LAleslie - would probably want to go in September. Would that change your advice?

cary999

If Botswana, add Savuti Camp. It comes up frequently as favorite, but I've never been there. $900pppn high season.

regards - tom

atravelynn

Knowing when you're going is important. September is an excellent time for wildlife--at the end of the dry season with limited water and short grass.

LALeslie covered all the basics. I'll make one correction. It is Duba Plains that has the lion and buffalo interaction. I would agree with her about Botswana's edge in "wilderness isolation."

When you stated "our sole interest is wildlife viewing" you cannot ignore that the Sabi Sands in South Africa is one of the easiest places to see the Big 5. In Botswana, unless you go to Chief's Island or Khama Rhino Sanctuary, you won't see rhino.

Then there is Phinda, a cheetah sanctuary. It is fenced and you may see the fence while traversing the 55,000 acres.

Ten nights will give you a great trip wherever you go. I'd be happy to return to Botswana or South Africa for 10 days of wildlife viewing.

LAleslie

My mistake, Duba Plains it is. And Lynn is right about September. Perfect time in Southern Africa. And she is also correct about the Big Five; if you want to see them all in one place, South Africa is better. We stayed at Londolozi and Phinda and saw all 5, plus lots, lots more, and it was in Sept/Oct. (Mala Mala is also a huge SA favorite on this board) But I'm nuts about wild dogs, and for that Kwando and Chitabe in Bots was unbeatable. You can read much about all the places mentioned on this thread by doing a search of the specific names. You really can't go wrong with whatever you choose.

sdb2

Think of your choice between SA and Botswana as a win-win situation. Each will give you a memorable visit. With regard to SA, I agree with others who cite Londolozi, where I had great leopard viewing. My experience was that Kruger was easy to drive (it was the first place I visited during my first trip to Africa). Kruger does not offer off road game viewing and you often come to 'traffic jams' as cars stop when an animal is spotted; but it's a remarkable park and certainly worth a visit, even if it's a quick one. I haven't been there but others have said they like Singita.

Botswana has a different feel than SA and the Okavango Delta is a great destination. I stayed at Sandibe (andbeyond.com) and Savute Safari Lodge (desertdelta). Sandibe was great---got to see 2 packs of wild dogs (which I was told was truly rare) and huge elephant herds.

Because you're interested only in wildlife viewing, maybe you can swing both countries. I've used ngwesafari.co.za to take care of details for 4 of my trips to Africa. They are in Jo'burg. If you land at JNB they meet you to make sure all is good. It doesn't hurt to see what they can do for you. Leanne Zahn is the agent.

Best of luck!

mkhonzo

East Africa offers the true wildlife safari where each region that you could visit on a circuit offers up a varied landscape and diverse species. However and since you are thinking Southern Africa, to truly appreciate the diversity of species you'd need to travel further afield than either Botswana or South Africa and even combining the two.

Ok, before I have my digits displaced from the kwerty board by an exhuberant fodorite... Much of the game seen in Botswana and South Africa is the same, save a few antelope species that you'll only see in Bots such as lechwe and sitatunga as examples.

I would recommend that a circuit of three nights SA, 3 nights Zam and 3 nights Bots would yield the greatest DIVERSITY of game. And that assumes no budget restraints. In Zambia I would limit the stay to South Luangwa Valley, Botswana the Linynati/Savuti/Kwando area, unless you are hell bent on seeing a lilly lined, phragmites congested waterway, then venture to the delta, but expect not to see Sitatunga. In the SLV you are seeking Thornicroft Giraffe & Lesser Kudu. In SA general game, with perhaps a focus on habituated leopard , particularly so in the sabi sand.. and on that score, while Londoz through the photography of Lex Hess has popularised their leopard is not the sole leopard haven in the sands...They are pretty well distributed throughout.

The challenge with this suggestion is getting around in ten days, which can be overcome by private charter.. you said to assume that funds were not an issue.

The more rational and savvy itinerary would actually be a ten day Botswana safari. split 3 nights in the Kalahari, 3 nights in the delta and three nights in Northern Botswana, take the 10th night off and stop in at Vic Falls in Zim for a peek at the waterfall, before soldiering on to JNB and your flight home.

cary999

Well said mkhonzo, a different and unique approach to the typical East or South African safari. Zambia, SLV, is beautiful, primitive and special. But from my two visits (Robin Pope camps) the game viewing, certainly the big 5, was not so great. Maybe just bad luck.

regards - tom

divine54

Author: cary999
Date: 01/20/2009, 05:48 pm

divine54 - have you ever driven in Kruger??? (Also, have you ever written a trip report, wait we know that answer - no).

regards - tom

**********

- YES and would not do it again! an friend of mine spent 5 days at krüger and she didn't see ONE big cat! krüger is a matter of luck IMO. and if funds are available why should one risk the time when staying in sabi sands guarantees great sightings?

- is that mandatory in order to post experiences?

as far as i understand this is a travel forum where people ask for advise based on experiences. nothing more nothing less.

however - it was again performing enhancing "talking" to you tom ;-)

div

divine54

the 5 days were spent around satara which promises big cat sightings ;-)
my drives were all over incl. several satara visits.

so please if someone asks for advise i think it should be clearly stated in order to get the poster aware of "bad luck" which can happen at any time.
just be fair and don't promise anything which might probably result in waste of time which in my opinion is much more disappointing than just wasting money especially because EP is not that much more expensive than driving around in krüger facing that bad luck. i stay at ANY lodge in sabi sands is also educational in view to wildlife behaviour, plants, birds etc.


div

Numbers

Thanks for all the good info. I have done a fair bit of wildlife related travel (just none to Southern Africa yet) and I fully understand the hit or miss nature of wildlife sightings. In some way, that's part of the appeal to me. In fact, I struggle with the concept of fenced reserves for that reason. This is not a comment on the wisdom of such reserves - I don't want to start that issue on these boards again - I just don't know if its for me. Keep the info coming, though - this is great.

divine54

numbers
sabi sands doesn't have fences to kruger. the wildlife is free to roam wherever it likes.
and it's definately "tracking" involved!

div