has anyone *here* been to africa??...
 

...yes, i am well aware there is a separate africa board, but i think everyone there must be in the millionaire's club because all the discussions seem to center around which $1000 ++ a night lodge is best for 3 week safaris. little hope of finding what i would call practical advice.

so, i appeal to the "realistic" and budget minded people here, whom i have come to trust, to answer honestly ...

can there be a southern africa safari camp/lodge (with bedding and walls or tented walls) that does not cost a month's rent per night?

thanks, kind ozzies and fuzzy kiwis! (that's fuzzy as in warm and...). i know there are lots of s.a. kiwis out there, just dying to help??

thank you in advance! and sorry to "hijack" just this one time.

Kerikeri,
I believe I have just the thing - I was in South Africa last year and stayed in a private game lodge next to Kruger National Park. We were in luxury tree houses (!) and went into Kruger most days, but also had a couple of private game parks trips , and night drives and the like - and it cost about 500 Rand a day (roughly A$100 - 120)

We booked it through the Africa centre in Johannesburg and it included the transport to and from Jo'burg

Rather than direct you to a single option here's their web-site adress they have loads of different options and were very helpful to us

http://www.africacentre.co.za/inform...ris/index.html

kerikeri - The problem with travel to South Africa these past few years is the fact that the currency exchange between the ZARand and USD is lousy. In '01 it was running USD$1=ZAR10.5-11; now it's USD$1=ZAR6. Because of this prices we paid in '01 of $600/nt/pp is now running $1,000+/nt/pp and pricing is based on the ZAR/USD. American's aren't any happier with this increase then anyone else for that matter. It's no wonder the prices seem completely whacky against the AUD$. Also to consider is that these are all small properties - anywhere from 5 to 10 rooms (whether tents/houses, etc.) and the ratio of staff to guest is very high. This is what you are paying for.

And while a few posters readily toss out very high prices for lux accommodations and not being able to choose between a cost of $950 or $1,100/nt/pp - take my word there are accommodations for less.

When we visited we stayed at both Singiti (very very expensive then at $600/nt/pp) and Honeyguide at about $250/nt/pp. And just recently one of the regular posters "Kavey" did a rather budget trip in SA. You should read her trip report on the Africa/Middle East board and get an idea of the places she stayed. Granted she had been away for about 8-weeks, spending the expensive part of her trip in other countries - but she went with a budget on the SA portion.

I would check the site listed by MikeD above, or connect with one of the incountry tour operators and work with them. Do let them know your budget and I'm sure they will be able to come up with camps/lodges to meet your requirements and budget.

Just about every camp on the Private Reserves adjacent to Kruger will be expensive - Honeyguide was located on the Manyeletti Reserve - check it out. You will also find many accommodations located inside Kruger can meet your budget.

But I think your best resource would be an incountry tour operator as they have all the information right in front of them and you don't have to go jumping around. Do a search on the Africa board for "tour operators" and find those used for Sourthern Africa. A few I can think of:

taga safaris
go2africa
pulse travel/tours

And maybe, until the exchange rate becomes more favorable, you might have to consider putting SA on the back burner. If you haven't been, you might want to consider East Africa - Kenya and/or Tanzania, both have outstanding game viewing and prices are more favorable. Hope this helps

Hi KK - I think we have a communication problem here - or I could be totally out of order. As U say the Africa board is mainly reserved for those with lots of dosh. I am sure Sandi has been there and done it all - but I for one would not even contemplate spending $600 US for one night. Sure, it's less than 1,000 - but then I think Sandi and I live in different worlds.

Which world is yours?

I adore Africa - spent many months there - lots of different countries - some two or three times. Lots of adventures - lots of good times.

I would suggest checking out some of the adventure travel companies for ideas. And check the Lonely Planet forum.

The closest I have been to your desires is at Mana Pools - tent - animals roaming through the site, but this is not a thing you can book thru a travel agent and it is as far from being in a lodge as you can imagine.

Apols for not addressing your query in terms of SA - I know it is the destination that springs to mind first, perhaps, but there are other places to go.

excellent!

i am freshly inspired. thanks everyone.

i would very much like to learn of any options ex j-burg, even if not in south africa. a lovely man in luangwa n.p. (spelling?) has been really helpful (and cheap!) and that may be an option.

i felt that kruger was the logical choice if flying into jnb, but if there are reasonable places in botswana or zambia (that's where luangwa is) then great....

$600 usd a night is not in the cards for me -- either practically nor ethically in such a poor nation.

i am even thinking of attempting volunteer work whilst there.

all suggestions most welcome! (but i'm afraid my camping days, rather than being over, actually never existed. i like a good adventure, but i am "indoorsy" when it comes to sleeping in malarial countries...)

thank you again! you have no idea how greatly i appreciate the help.

alice13 and kerikeri - the $600/nt/pp was a splurge for us. I do not ordinarily layout that kind of money whether in SA or elsewhere. But I did want to clarify the reason for many of the extremely high prices these days.

I give you that the sums mentioned regularly on the board regarding SA are high and rather ridiculous, and off-putting; that is why I mentioned that there are more than enough accommodations in SA, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia that can fit into Keri's budget and some resources that could help her.

If Keri can't locate those that fit her budget utilizing the outfitters I mentioned, there are other resources then the Fodors board for information. ThornTree is a good site, as well as Lonely Planet for those working on a tighter budget.

There is someplace in all of these countries where someone can lay their head nightly and not go broke. Keri, I know you will find something that works for you.