rickmck

Now that my 2008 safari is booked (Kafue + N&S Luangwa), I’m kicking around some alternatives for next year. I’m a cat fan (big and small) and, from what I have read in this forum, Phinda is a good choice for Cheetah (plus on-foot Rhino tracking), and Mashatu for Leopard (and maybe Lion). I have been to Mala Mala on my first safari and, of course, it is good for Leopard and Lion, but not so much for Cheetah. All three would likely be good for the variety and quantity of other wildlife. So I am considering 15 days between these 3 locations and have a few questions.

1. Access to Phinda appears to be via Federal Air from JNB. To Mashutu via SAA Airlink from JNB to Polokwane and then by charter to Limpopo. And to MM via SAA Airlink from JNB. As I will be traveling solo, charters between locations will not be affordably feasible. So, is there any way to get from one to another without having to do 3 round-trips out of and back into JNB and staying overnight in Joburg 3 times? As Mashatu and MM are under the same ownership(?) or management(?), is there any connecting travel linkage between the two? Is it possible (and reasonable) to obtain a driver for affordable road transfers between locations?

2. I’m pretty much sold on Phinda Forest, in the north of the reserve. If spending 5 or 6 nights at Phinda, is there any reason to divide the time between north (Forest) and south (Mountain or Rock)?

3. Likewise, I’m pretty much sold on Mashatu Tented Camp but, if spending 5 or 6 nights at Mashatu, is there any reason to divide the time with Main Camp? (I should mention that relative luxury or comfort is not a discriminating factor for me, either at Mashatu or Phinda).

4. While I have been once to MM and enjoyed it, are there other SA locations you might recommend instead that would fit well with this itinerary, keeping in mind my interest in great animal encounters (and cats) and that MM is at the top of my price tolerance?

5. Finally, Mashatu hosts ongoing research programs on Leopards, Lions, and Elephants. “Volunteers” can participate in these programs at a cost of about $900 per week (meals at the lodge and shared accommodation included). Does anyone have any experience with this program or have any further information on it, other than what is published on their website?

Many thanks for any info, advice, or insights you can offer…

Rick

HariS

Hi Rick,

RE cheetah in SA

Sabi Sands - Depending on the Lion activity at any given time, will the cheetah make an appearence as they are all not too big traversing spaces in comparison to other wilderness areas like Tanzania or Botswana etc etc ., bear in mind, during your visit there was a hell of a lot of lion activity with two sets of cubs. The cheetah would be wise to stay away. This was the case in January when i was there - with the Styx and Eyerefield cubs.

I have seen cheetah only once in the SSGR(lion sands) and no surprises, it was quiet on the lion front that visit......

Phinda - Saw several cheetah, and i think they work actively towards cheetah conservation over there.

cary999

Also Re cheetah in Sabi Sand

I have spent around 30 nights in Sabi Sand and Timbavati safari camps over last three years and have seen cheetah only one occasion. A male pair sleeping on a termite mound at MalaMala. I suspect the terrain around there is not favorable for cheetah. Too bushy/brushy.

regards - tom

CarlaM

Re: question #1, have you tried contacting Wilro Tours about the driving transfers? I've seen them recommended here on Fodors and on the MM/Mashatu websites.

CarlaM

Also you may want to contact Angela at malamala dot com.

She is the contact person for the itineraries on their websites and gave us various quotes on transfers to MM/Mashatu and Elephant Plains when we were in the planning phases.

http://www.malamala.com/itinary.htm

(click on read more and at the bottom of the page is her info)

hguy47

Re question 3 (I don't know about Phinda), at Mashatu the Main Camp and Tented Camp are only about a 10-15 minute drive apart, and they game drives traverse the same area. So if luxury and comfort aren't factors, and price is, then Tented Camp sounds like the better deal ($330 pppn vs. $510 pppn, including the single supplement at each). We stayed at Tented Camp, but visited the Main Camp one day, and frankly I preferred the size and feel of Tented Camp. Main Camp has 14 suites, with landscaping, enclosed by a high brick wall, whereas Tented Camp has 8 tents in a brushy area.

nancy1652

Rick: [email protected] is the one that arranged our whole trip for us. We're flying from Mala Mala to Phinda. I'm sure if you contact her, she'll provide you with good information. I found her to be very prompt and responsive and easy to work with.

africaddict

Quote Tom
"I have spent around 30 nights in Sabi Sand and Timbavati safari camps over last three years and have seen cheetah only one occasion."

Talk about the rough end of the pineapple Tom.
Our last visit to the SSGR for 10 nights, was 4 separate Cheetah on 5 days at both Leopard Hills & Lion Sands. ;-)
Hmmm...............perhaps we were very fortunate?
Cheers
Marc

cary999

Well, guess I'm not really expecting to see cheetah around that area of SA. What have been other's experiences? KayeN, napamatt - how often do you see cheetah at MM?

I have seen a few though in the Mara and for sure will see more next Feb around Ndutu . But who was it that just last month at Ndutu, PB?, who saw only a couple of cheetah while Bill H. saw a couple hundred?

Marc - I'm trying to recall, when were you at Leopard Hills and how did you like it? Leopard Hills is the only other camp I've been to in SSGR after MM. I though it was great (except they don't have any heat in camp for cold weather, least not in May 2007).

regards - tom

Clematis1

Tom, (and not for the OP),

About cheetah:

We saw cheetah twice in our three day stay at Singita Boulders five years ago. Two youngsters and a mom and then two others. What was great was that both times they were not in high grass and were very close. Nice photos of one posing nicely on a termite mound. Great video of them grooming, playing and prancing.

We also saw lions and lion cubs there. (As well as two separate leopard sightings)

At Phinda Vlei last year (again, three days) we saw a cheetah once lying in tall grass. We were not very close and there were other vehicles there. Not a photo op.

Mala Mala last year, our guide offered to find a cheetah he had seen but we were more interested in the wild dog!

scootr29

Hey Rick....My wife and I stayed at the Mashatu Main Camp and we really enjoyed it. Next we go I would like to split time between the two camps. While at Mashatu we saw lions, leopards and cheetah. A total of 6 cheetah. I personally like the terrain at Mashatu...a lot of open area. Good for cheetah.

We meet 2 brother from England while at Mashatu who had done the "volunteer" program and they loved it. They were actually back for holiday when we were there with their mom.

I think I will always be drawn to Mashatu since it was my first taste of an African safari.

scootr29

Plus I read recently where wild dogs have been released into Mashatu...maybe you will see those.

africaddict

Quote
Marc - I'm trying to recall, when were you at Leopard Hills and how did you like it? Leopard Hills is the only other camp I've been to in SSGR after MM. I though it was great (except they don't have any heat in camp for cold weather, least not in May 2007).

regards - tom

Hi Tom
My wife and I were there for our Wedding & Honeymoon back in Sept 2004.
We enjoyed the very "family" friendly atmosphere here much better than at the very new & luxurious Ivory Lodge- Lion Sands.

BTW- any news on a D300 purchase?

Cheers
Marc

KayeN

Hi Tom

I have had visits to MM where I have had 3 or 4 cheetah sightings then two or three visits in a row where I haven't seen one cheetah. I saw cheetah in Jan 07 then again in March 07 but not this last visit, Dec07/Jan08.

Kind regards

Kaye

cary999

Thanks Kaye.
Marc - You're memory is too good. No D300 yet, probably in July. Sort of like to sell the D200 first. But going on a Mediterranean cruise in May-June. Maybe I should put the D200 up for sale now. (Anyone interested, like new, about 12,000 shutters, original box and everything). I was rather planning on taking the D40x anyway. It with the 18-200mm, a tripod (for possible night exposers) and that's all.

regards - tom
ps - still just playing with RAW. They say the jpgs out of the D300 are great

africaddict

Yes Tom

The Jpegs are very usable straight out of the D300, I knew that would appeal to you. ;-)
Have fun on your Med cruise.
Cheers
Marc

atravelynn

2009 is looking good! I have no specific answers to your questions.

rickmck

Oh, come on Lynn! I was counting on some good advice from you... How did you get from MM to Phinda (or vice versa), and did you manage to do so without having to overnight in Joburg in the process?

And your stay at Phinda was entirely at Forest, in the North. Did the game drives extend to the areas in the South where Mountain and Rock are? And would you see any advantage to splitting time between N and S?

Carla and nancy, thanks for the tips on Wilro and Angela; I will check with both of them.

hguy, thanks for the info on the relative locations of Mashatu Tented and Main. Tented is more my cup of tea...

scootr, thanks for the encouraging report on so many Cheetah at Mashatu, not to mention the potential for Wild Dog...

From the looks of lack of responses to the contrary, this may be an itinerary that is dominated by air back-and-forths to JNB and overnights in Joburg, so it may turn out not to be too practical...

Rick

atravelynn

I did MM first, then Phinda and had to keep it in that order for the no-SS room at MM and to accommodate my schedule. I o/nted after MM before Phinda. I have heard the flight from Phinda direct to MM is very expensive.

I stayed all 7 nights at Forest. To do rhino tracking you must stay at Forest or Vlei so 3-4 nights I had to stay there for my 3 rhino outings. Forest Lodge just intrigued me when I planned the trip and I remained intrigued while there. Mountain, the counterpart to Forest cost-wise, would be good too. Rock is on par with Vlei for luxury, fewer guests, and higher cost. A split in accommodations would allow you to cover the most ground. Forest and Vlei are north and Mountain and Rock are south. You head south for the canoeing so that is easier to do from the Mountain, but we easily managed an afternoon canoe trip, departing from Forest.

I liked the fact that every day I could do little trail walks around Forest in a unique sand forest environment. Where else can you be in a sand forest? I've been on mountains and stood on rocks before. Once I looked up vlei, I knew I had spent time in ponds that can dry up and have bushy shores. But a sand forest--now that was different and a sand forest with lots of nyala bulls running around was a real treat.

I think there used to be a MM-Mashatu air shuttle. Without it, the transport can get tricky. I was going to do Mashatu instead of or in addition to Phinda, along with MM, but with 12 nights for safari, I opted out of it. Now with 15 nights, that is more reasonable. Even if you have one transport night per location, that's 4 nights at each.

Other SS options: Elephant Plains has my interest. There was a good and detailed post on it. I'll see if I can find it. EP is such a cost saver for these reasons, according to the post: (1) simple accommodations, which seemed fine (2) the vehicles can be filled so there are 8-10 people. And I think there was a third reason, but I forget.

A travel agent couple I met in Africa who were on Visit #22 told me that they go to EP. They said you don't have to spend lots of $ to have great Sabi Sands wildlife viewing if you choose EP.

Also of interest to me is Vuyatalja (sp?)Bush Camp. There are two or more places to stay there, but the most rustic one is less expensive and seems to provide good wildlife viewing.

Finally I met a former manager of Arathusa who had wonderful tales of the wildlife around that place. I liked the approach of that camp as he described it, but don't know if that gung-ho, hop-out-of-the-vehicle and-follow-the-tracks, stay-out-longer-than-the-schedule-states attitude still prevails.

There, you forced me into spewing advice!

atravelynn

Here was the post on EP
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34987363

Looks like the rooms are fancier than I thought if you get a suite. Not that fancy rooms are an issue for you.

The activities seem to be more than MM.