philw

We have just returned from a short (6 night) safari to South Africa – Ngala Lodge and Kirkmans camp.

Photo links :

Colour :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5302866...7624611119919/

Black and white :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5302866...7624731775520/

Report set out below…

We arrived on the BA day flight from London and the first (and only problem) we had was the overnight stay at the airport InterContinental. It is the most expensive airport hotel I have ever stayed at (around $500 per room per night excluding breakfast) so as we were only actually going to be in the hotel for around 10 hours, we decided to share our room with my two teenage daughters. The website allowed us to book a room for four adults and all seemed fine…until we got there. We arrived at the hotel at around 10.30pm and were told that the rooms only accommodated two adults and that we would have to pay for a second room for a further $500. I refused requesting that they stand by my booking. Despite me showing the duty manager a paper copy of my confirmation, he stood firm and instead offered us a transfer to a sister hotel 10 minutes away. It was only when I said that they would lose my business account and that they would also lose the booking from another couple travelling with us that they gave us three rooms for the price of two. To be fair to the duty manager, I suspect he simply had a limit he could not go below and only when he heard of the third booking could he make the maths work. Even so, very poor organisation from Inter Continental. That’s the end of the bad news !

The following morning we took the 10.30am SAA flight to Hoedspruit – very scenic journey and a nice one hour drive to the lodge. Having travelled to &beyond (previously cc africa) lodges before we decided to use their lodges again and took advantage of the ‘3 for 2’ offers at both lodges. I had however been concerned by the recent lukewarm reviews of Ngala on Fodors.

Yes, its true that the Ngala lodge is located in an area which means that there is a 20 minute drive to the main viewing area. However, the lodge has an excellent waterhole where elephant, warthog, impala and bushbuck visited. In fact we were near the swimming pool when a herd of 30 elephants walked past no more than 10 meters away ! There is a very high electric wire which stops elephant, buffalo and rhino (but little else) from entering camp. The chalets were very nicely furnished and offered an excellent safari experience. We have a preference for tents as you can better hear the African night sounds but one of the people we travelled with was a bit nervous about tents so the compromise was good. The food was excellent – with the exception of Mara Explorer, as good as any of the more expensive camps (upto $600 pppn) we have stayed at across Africa.

One reason we chose these two lodges is because of their relatively large traversing areas. I must admit that, mainly visiting East Africa, I find the concept of being limited in this way (despite the absence of fences) strange which is why we tried to minimise the effect. We also enjoy trying to find animals ourselves and not having to rely totally on being called in by radio. Being a group of six, we had our own vehicle which allowed us to plan the day according to our own agenda. The game viewing was generally good even though the leopards did their usual trick with us by generally going the opposite direction to our vehicle. During our time we had some excellent lion, leopard, cheetah and rhino sightings – the best was probably four cheetah feeding on a recently caught impala. There was a large wild dog pack denning nearby but, frustratingly, a couple of miles outside the traversing area in the Mayeleti – oh well, next time…. We were allocated the head guide (Barney) and a tracker (Joe, who only had one eye but still spotted everything before us…), both of whom were excellent at their job and very good fun.

After three very enjoyable nights at Ngala we had a three drive to Kirkmans Camp. Kirkmans is very different and, as an old hunting lodge, has been around since the 1920s with a lot of history. There is a huge amount of history and the rooms are nice but a little worn compared to Ngala. The food was also good but not as good as Ngala. Unlike Ngala, there are no electric fences and elephant and lion (as well as warthog, bushbueck, monkies etc..) visited the camp when we were there. The views fro the lodge were fantastic – I think it has the highest elevation in the Sabi Sands.

Game viewing was good although one day particularly quiet because of the high winds. We only had two leopard sightings but both were very good indeed – both on kills as the photos show.

So overall, a very enjoyable safari with both camps surpassing expectations !

Phil

cw

Welcome back! Interesting seeing the cheetahs at Ngala--great sighting for you.

I'll check your photos later. We stayed at Ngala Tented and thought the food was terrific. I assume the food at both camps is pretty similar. Glad you enjoyed it. Too bad about the InterContinental but it's good that it all worked out.

cary999

You drove from Ngala Lodge to Kirkmans? Drove yourself or hired, and how many hours was it? And you went back out to the SA highway and then down and back into Sabi Sand? Inquiring minds want to know, sorry

regards - tom

Vegantraveler

Very nice informative report and excellent photographs, so many leopards! Loved the shot of the 'possessive' leopard on top of its warthog kill in the tree. I'm also a big fan of Kirkmans, have never stayed at Ngala though. Thanks!

christabir

Thanks for the report. Beautiful pics. Looks like it was cold!

kcapuani

Your photos are stunning! I can only hope that mine turn out half as well.

My mother and I will be staying at Ngala in October. Can you tell me what kinds of foods were served at breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Femi

Thanks for the reassuring post on Ngala. I'll be visiting next month.

atravelynn

Looks like it was a great trip for your family.

KK01

Awesome Pics and sightings!

I see you had Paul and Exon at Kirkman's Kamp. Nice!

Kind Regards,

KK

philw

Thanks for kind comments.

Tom, &beyond organised our road transfer from Ngala to Kirkmans. Despite the fact that it is not tha far as the crow flies, it is a three road transfer via Hoedspruit and Hazyview.

Christabir, yes it was cold for the first hour of the morning an open vehicle. However, the wooly hats were probably a bit OTT !

KCapuani, as I said the food at Ngala was excellent. Breakfast (served after the game drive) was a cold buffer suplemented by whatever a la carte cooked breakfast you want (waiter served including full English, pancakes, waffles etc...). Lunch was buffet and included soup, a choice of 2 or 3 hot dishes (including one roasted meat joint and a pasta), desert and cheese. Evening meal alternately between a bbq in the boma (choice of meats, salads etc...) and in the courtyard where there was choice of meals, typically including a game meat such as impala or ostrich. The game meat is from a farm and does NOT come from the reserve !


Phil

cary999

Agree with philw that meals at Ngala are excellent, I ate there for 8 days!! And also excellent was the service staff.

Philw - you're saying a 3 hour drive (3 roads?) from Ngala to Kirkmans? And the cost? Both are &Beyond camps. Thanks.

regards - tom

philw

Tom

I am not sure how many different roads we went on. It took around an hour to get from Ngala to Hoedspruit (thru the Timbavati), then tarmac roads to Hazyview and a dirt road thru Sabi Sands to Kirkmans. It was all included in the package but I think this transfer worked out at around $400 for all six of us.

Phil