kelly991

I am planning my first trip to Africa with a girlfriend of mine. We will be traveling to Africa for three weeks in July 2011. We will fly into Jo'burg and then to Richards Bay to spend 5 days at Amangwe Village conducting photography workshops for the children there.

After that, we were thinking of backpacking the rest of our time there -- hoping to travel along the coast, see Victoria Falls, a game preserve/safari and then fly home out of Nairobi.

Is this too much to fit in our amount of time? Too risky backpacking for two females? We are planning to spend between $3,000-4,000 USD on the trip. Given what we want to see and the amount of time we have, what would be the best way of getting around & where are the must-see spots?

Thanks for any help!

cary999

$3000-$4000 each, probably? Including air?
Airfare could soak up a lot of it, $1,000 or more per person. If from USA?

regards - tom

kimssouthafrica

Well you will be in the kosi bay area so it makes sense to visit the Hlhluwe/Mfolozi National Game Park whilst there as well as Mkuze National Game park and the great lakes of st lucia.

The beautiful Drakensberg Mountains is also nearby about 4.5 hr drive across zululand or you could drive thro Swaziland and back in to SA to visit Kruger National Park and the Panorama route.
Baz Bus is one form of backpackers transport, hiring your own vehicle is another option.
www.kimssouthafrica.blogspot.com

spassvogel

Considering the budget and time I would rent a car and spent the time in SA visiting different parks/reserves, staying at high-end B+B, enjoying nature, culture and interaction with locals plus Mozambique and beach.

Whatever you choose please don't support any big cat breeder and walking/cuddling/photo venue.
Those cats have got a human imprint (taken away from their mothers before they even open their eyes, bottle fed by humans) in order to exploit them up until they become too unpredictable for human interaction. Then those cats end up as trophies at a hunter wall/floor.
Please don't support such practices despite they might be tempting.

Thank you and happy planning!

kelly991

Thank you everyone for your replies. Yes, I am coming from the U.S.& I appreciate your response spassvogel. Are you including the Cheetah Center at Kruger? I don't know if they allow you to take pictures with the big cats there or not. While I would love to "cuddle" with a cute cheetah, I don't want to support an industry that exploits them. Thanks!