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Safaris near Cape Town

Safaris near Cape Town

Old Jan 2, 2016, 9:52 am
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Smile Safaris near Cape Town

I am to attend an international conference in Cape Town in early May 2016. We are looking for a game preserve safari that is closer than Johannesburg. There is one at Shamwari that I've read about, curious about any others that you might recommend from personal experience.
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Old Jan 2, 2016, 10:37 am
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You should bear in mind that many of the iconic African mammals are not indigenous to the Cape. Most of the game reserves in the area stock many such species (e.g. giraffe, white rhino, impala) anyway, which makes them king-size glorified zoos.

The exceptions are the National Parks (e.g. Addo-Zuurberg, Mountain Zebra, Tankwa Karoo, Bontebok, etc.) and the private Bushmans Kloof.

Johan
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Old Jan 2, 2016, 11:50 am
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Thanks. So your suggestion would be to go to a location with native populations, I assume.
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Old Jan 2, 2016, 11:55 am
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OP, info about how much time you have would help us recommend things to you.
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 10:35 am
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There are no authentic (natural) safaris near Cape Town. Shamwari is a nice area in the eastern Cape but you would need to drive six hours or flu 1h15m to PLZ and then drive 2 hours onward to get there. You might as well hop on a plane and fly non-stop to the three airports that service the southern portion of the Kruger ecosystem’s private reserves. This is one of the largest natural habitats for animals in Africa and you will almost certainly see the big five on a three day stay if you pick the right property.

The airport codes are HDS, MQP and SZK and each airport services a different set of safari lodges determined by proximity. There are non-stops to each airport from CPT each day.

If you want to provide dates and a per person budget I can make some very specific recommendations. I have been to South Africa on safari over 30 times.

Craig Beal – owner – Travel Beyond
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 12:39 pm
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Originally Posted by SafariCraig
There are no authentic (natural) safaris near Cape Town. Shamwari is a nice area in the eastern Cape but you would need to drive six hours or flu 1h15m to PLZ and then drive 2 hours onward to get there. You might as well hop on a plane and fly non-stop to the three airports that service the southern portion of the Kruger ecosystems private reserves. This is one of the largest natural habitats for animals in Africa and you will almost certainly see the big five on a three day stay if you pick the right property.

The airport codes are HDS, MQP and SZK and each airport services a different set of safari lodges determined by proximity. There are non-stops to each airport from CPT each day.

If you want to provide dates and a per person budget I can make some very specific recommendations. I have been to South Africa on safari over 30 times.

Craig Beal owner Travel Beyond
Craig,
We are looking at a trip to Africa in May/ June or August . Having a tough time deciding between cape/ kruger/ Victoria falls type or a Tanzania/Kenya . We looked at some Micato and Abercrombie tours. Probably want 8-11 days. Any suggestions ?
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 12:54 pm
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Originally Posted by Jalen500
Craig,
We are looking at a trip to Africa in May/ June or August . Having a tough time deciding between cape/ kruger/ Victoria falls type or a Tanzania/Kenya . We looked at some Micato and Abercrombie tours. Probably want 8-11 days. Any suggestions ?
What kind of budget do you have and what sort of appetite for luxury/comfort do you have? I spent 90 days in Africa last year on two separate trips, one traveling overland from Nairobi to Capetown where we visited 9 or 10 parks including the Serengeti and returned to South Africa for a dedicated trip to Kruger in December.

It's hard to match East Africa for the scenery and wildlife opportunities, but it's a lot harder and less convenient to reach most of those places, and the facilities are much more "rustic" unless you are paying serious $$$ to stay at some of the incredible luxury facilities available.

On the flip side, I flew back to Johannesburg in December and after a beautiful 4 hour scenic drive, was in the Sabi Sand private game reserve in Kruger National Park and over the next 2 days, saw an absolutely impressive variety of game. If you are a professional photographer and want 5 absolutely stunning magazine covers, the Serengeti may be the place for you, but it will take many days of game driving for the "perfect" opportunity, while the density of spottings is much better in the private reserves in Kruger.

On my 2 days in Sabi Sands, we spotted many more animals than in the 5 days to follow in the "regular" Kruger park, and I would definitely prioritize my return in that fashion.

I am taking my girlfriend to Africa for the first time, and for the combination of wildlife spotting and comfort/accessibility for her, we will fly into Johannesburg, head to Sabi Sand for 5 days, and then go to Capetown and spend the next week or so at the beach / touring wine country.

Hope this is helpful,
Mark
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 2:15 pm
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Originally Posted by lowside67
What kind of budget do you have and what sort of appetite for luxury/comfort do you have? I spent 90 days in Africa last year on two separate trips, one traveling overland from Nairobi to Capetown where we visited 9 or 10 parks including the Serengeti and returned to South Africa for a dedicated trip to Kruger in December.

It's hard to match East Africa for the scenery and wildlife opportunities, but it's a lot harder and less convenient to reach most of those places, and the facilities are much more "rustic" unless you are paying serious $$$ to stay at some of the incredible luxury facilities available.

On the flip side, I flew back to Johannesburg in December and after a beautiful 4 hour scenic drive, was in the Sabi Sand private game reserve in Kruger National Park and over the next 2 days, saw an absolutely impressive variety of game. If you are a professional photographer and want 5 absolutely stunning magazine covers, the Serengeti may be the place for you, but it will take many days of game driving for the "perfect" opportunity, while the density of spottings is much better in the private reserves in Kruger.

On my 2 days in Sabi Sands, we spotted many more animals than in the 5 days to follow in the "regular" Kruger park, and I would definitely prioritize my return in that fashion.

I am taking my girlfriend to Africa for the first time, and for the combination of wildlife spotting and comfort/accessibility for her, we will fly into Johannesburg, head to Sabi Sand for 5 days, and then go to Capetown and spend the next week or so at the beach / touring wine country.

Hope this is helpful,
Mark
Great info . Thanks. I figure budget wise try to do the trip for around 15-20k for 10 days..
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 2:17 pm
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Originally Posted by Jalen500
Great info . Thanks. I figure budget wise try to do the trip for around 15-20k for 10 days..
For 2 people? Including or excluding airfare?

Mark
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 2:41 pm
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Originally Posted by lowside67
For 2 people? Including or excluding airfare?

Mark
Excluding airfare to get to Africa..
Including airfare in Africa .
Yes 2 people.

Last edited by Jalen500; Jan 3, 2016 at 2:41 pm Reason: Add info
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 6:15 pm
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To be honest, at that pricepoint, I think there may be others who are better qualified than me to speak to specific facilities.

When I stayed at the Sabi Sand Private Reserve in Kruger, I stayed at a property called Elephant Plains which was an extremely enjoyable place to stay but may not be as high-end as you had in mind, rates for a couple in a luxury room would be about $500usd per night.

The good news is that all hotels in the Sabi Sand Reserve will share the same game viewing area and the trackers are shared and are extremely comparable, so you can comfortably make your decision based on the quality of rooms and food and beverage and you know your wildlife viewing will not be impacted.

The top rated property in Sabi Sand is the Dulini Lodge and the pricepoint for 2015 was about $1150usd per night for a couple, inclusive of all activities. You would need to either arrange a private airplane transfer to the lodge's airstrip or I am sure they could arrange ground transfer.

While it is less sexy and a bit longer, I actually enjoyed the ground transfer to the reserve as you do drive through some nice scenery enroute, food for thought.

Hope that is of some help,
Mark

Last edited by lowside67; Jan 3, 2016 at 8:43 pm
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 7:37 pm
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Originally Posted by lowside67
To be honest, at that pricepoint, I think there may be others who are better qualified than me to speak to specific facilities.

When I stayed at the Sabi Sand Private Reserve in Kruger, I stayed at a property called Elephant Plains which was an extremely enjoyable place to stay but may not be as high-end as you had in mind, rates for a couple in a luxury room would be about $500usd per night.

The good news is that all hotels in the Sabi Sand Reserve will share the same game viewing area and the trackers are shared and are extremely comparable, so you can comfortably make your decision based on the quality of rooms and food and beverage and you know your wildlife viewing will not be impacted.

The top rated property in Sabi Sand is the [url=http://www.dulini.com/]Dulini Lodge[url] and the pricepoint for 2015 was about $1150usd per night for a couple, inclusive of all activities. You would need to either arrange a private airplane transfer to the lodge's airstrip or I am sure they could arrange ground transfer.

While it is less sexy and a bit longer, I actually enjoyed the ground transfer to the reserve as you do drive through some nice scenery enroute, food for thought.

Hope that is of some help,
Mark
Thank you.
I'm trying to decide if it worth doing an entire 10 day " tour" or trying to put it together by myself.
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 8:39 pm
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For East Africa, I would do a tour, the logistics are difficult and having a local contact is very helpful.

Conversely, I'd not hesitate to "DIY" for South Africa, it's a very modern country and all the major places you might stay can reliably be booked online, etc.

Mark
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 10:31 pm
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Hi Jalen,

I had to watch the Vikings game but I am back! I am sure a person from Michigan was happy to see the Pack go down, especially after the Hail Mary against the Lions a few weeks ago…

I don’t recommend taking a group tour to Africa unless the group is a private one put together for you and friends/family. The biggest reason is that I think the experience and value you receive by going on a tailor made trip (one you put together yourself or put together with the help of an independent agent) is a far superior safari experience. Also, the least expensive way to go on an upscale safari is plan a tailor made trip. Tailor made simply means you choose the dates & lodges and are the only person/couple on your exact itinerary. You simply fly on the various airlines that connect the places you want to go and book what is often called a game-drive package at the safari lodges. You still have full assistance at all airports, private transfers to hotels, etc. The high end safari industry is designed to be most cost effective for a private traveler on a tailor made trip. More on this below.

For a flight example, this airline http://www.fedair.com/ has multiple flights per day from the Jo’bur airport to the various lodes in the Kruger private reserves. This airline is the most convenient way to fly to the Timbavati (Tanda Tula is a lodge there), Thornybush (Royal Malewane is here), Manyeleti (Tintswalo is here) and western part of the Sabi Sands (Dulini, Singita, etc). Fedair also services the Madikwe game reserve which combines well with the Kruger for a second safari experience. Fedair has even more destinations! All you do is pay what is called a seat-rate which means if you and your travel companion are the only people on the plane they probably lose money but they make a lot if it is full. You pay roughly USD $300 per flight (each flight is different in cost). There are more airlines or at least branded flights, that can be used to get to various lodges on seat rates. Angel Gabriel and the Malatu express come to mind.

You can also fly on South African Airways (or Airlink) from Jo’burg to either Nelspruit/MQP, Hoedspruit/HDS, or Skukuza/SZK. Together, these three airports service almost the entire Kruger ecosystem. Once you land you transfer by road roughly 10-120 minutes to a lodge. There are also small planes that fly from MQP to the lodes to save time. The Skukuza airport is less than 15 minutes by road from lodges that A&K and Tauck (for example) use on their 2016 tour series (I am not recommending these tours). There are non-stop flights each day from each of these airports to Cape Town so you can go on safari and then Cape Town or the other way.

In Kenya, two airlines called Safari Link and Air Kenya (not Kenya Airways) connects all the major wildlife areas and offer seat rates as well. Virtually all the upscale safari lodges in Kenya have an airstrip with an hour or less of their property serviced by these airlines. There are exceptions of course.

I mentioned “game-drive package” above. Here is what I mean: The website price listed for the vast majority of 4 and 5 star safari lodges assumes you arrive with one other person and share a room with that person. It also assumes you share a land rover/land cruiser with up to 6 total guests per vehicle. I don’t know any upscale lodges that put 8 on a vehicle and I know a few that put only four (MalaMala Rattrays comes to mind). Typically, you will have the same guide and same fellow guests on your land rover/land cruiser at each safari lodge. The good thing is, if you don’t like them you never see them again when you leave that lodge! That is not the case with the tour group where the loud talker, the bragger, and the drunk will be with you for your entire holiday!

So, you will still be on a group tour if you book a tailor made trip. You simply won’t have to travel with the same 20 people on the entire trip; the group will change every few days. You meet new fellow-guests at each lodge.

I have inspected most of the 2016 Tauck, A&K, and Micato tours. With no exception from what I have seen so far, you can go to the same lodges and hotels at the same time of year on a tailor made trip for less money. In other words, traveling privately is cheaper than going in a group on the exact same trip! I suspect this is because you are paying for a superfluous tour escort (the lodge managers fill this role when you travel privately) and also paying for the profits and distribution costs of the group tour operators. You are sometimes also paying a brand premium as well. Micato charges the largest brand premium from what I have looked at for 2016. If you are seriously considering a Micato trip I STRONGLY encourage you to get a quote for the same trip from an INDEPENDENT safari tour operator here in the US for a comparison before you put down deposit. Most likely, the independent agent will not recommend the larger (sometimes massive) properties that Micato uses on their tours and the independent agent will encourage you to stay at smaller, more intimate properties with a better sense of place.

In Cape Town, if you want to tour in a group vs. privately, then companies like Hylton Ross, Ilios and Wilderness Touring Cape (and many more) offer day tours in small groups. Again, like the safari lodges, if you don’t like the people on your day tour you say goodbye and never see them again after about 4pm. I recommend doing private touring with a guide selected by your agent (almost all guides are independent contractors of the aforementioned tour companies) for maximum social compatibility with you and your travel partner.

There are plenty of companies in the US that contract directly with almost all the upscale safari lodges in East and Southern Africa and can put this trip together for you for less than a group tour and the same or less than booking directly with the lodges (where possible). These companies are also tour operators and would be legally the same type of entity; they simply choose to offer tailor made trips instead of group trips.

The Sabi Sands have been mentioned above. I have said many times on many forums that the private reserves in the Sand River Valley in the Sabi Sands offer the best odds of seeing the big five and many other species on any given day in Southern Africa. I have been to the Sabi Sands many times in every season and it always “delivers”. I feel the same way about the Masai Mara in Kenya for East Africa. If you must travel in May, I suggest avoiding East Africa because of the short rainy season. South Africa or Botswana would be stronger May options. If you go in June, you could get excellent shoulder season rates in Kenya and perhaps catch the migrations (not crossings) moving up into the Masai Mara in the far north of the Serengeti. South Africa and Botswana are good in June and June is also a strong shoulder for Zambia.

I hope this helps. Shout if you have more questions!

Craig Beal – owner – Travel Beyond
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Old Jan 3, 2016, 10:43 pm
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Last month, I had a client ask about a June trip with the exact same budget as you. After lots of consult, we decided on one night at the Intercontinental OR Tambo, four nights at Tintswalo (private reserve adjacent to the Kruger) and four nights at Tswalu (million acre private reserve in the Kalahari portion of South Africa. The two lodges have similar names but are not related. The trip ends in Cape Town with four nights at the Cape Grace. On safari, the clients are using a private vehicle so they do not share the land rovers with other guests. Including all flights and transfers, this entire trip was 119,687 Rand per person or $7,923 per person at the exchange rate in effect in mid-December. This type of luxury trip would certainly work with you budget range and you could substitute one of the other lodges mentioned above for Tintswalo if you wanted. You could also sub Vic Falls for Cape Town. My favorite properties there are Victoria Falls River Lodge and Elephant Camp.

Anyway, there are a million options. My point is that your budget is quite healthy and will get you a good trip for 10-12 days!

Good luck!

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond
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