Africa - Naledi Bushcamp or other similarly priced in South Africa?

We are looking to go on a safari in mid July and ran into Naledi on Trip Advisor. It has amazing reviews that say how great the owners are, but many of the posts are by people who have only posted 1-2 times.

Our budget is around $800-900 for two nights or maybe $1200-1300 if we can get a good deal for three nights

We're actually planning on flying into LVI using SAA via CO J award. Thinking of 4 days in Vic Falls, then about 8-9 days in Cape Town/Garden Route then to a 3-4 day safari. Going to use BA miles (with the 30% bonus via membership rewards) to fly within the region. Many of these flights which run 300 rt are around 9k miles, with the bonus, so only really 7k or so MR points

Thanks!

Edit: I found this blog posting by someone who stayed there not so far back: http://jenniferia.com/2010/07/14/day-83-graskop-to-naledi/

Wow for 1300.00 you can rent a vehicle in JoBurg and drive to Kruger spend a week there and have a great time. I dont see spending 4 days at Vic.Falls. Spend 2 days there then the rest at Kruger. do the self drive it is easy to do.
I will be doing that in March for 4 night at Kruger. Then over to Botswana.

:cool: ^

Wow for 1300.00 you can rent a vehicle in JoBurg and drive to Kruger spend a week there and have a great time. I dont see spending 4 days at Vic.Falls. Spend 2 days there then the rest at Kruger. do the self drive it is easy to do.
I will be doing that in March for 4 night at Kruger. Then over to Botswana.

:cool: ^

Im a little worried re: the self drive in that I may not spot enough animals or any.

as for Vic Falls, we get in from the US on a Sunday at 1230 PM, will probably relax that first day and do the Vic Falls up close tour.

Second day will do the rafting trip
Third day: helicopter + sunset boat trip + Vic Falls up close again.

Gotta figure out if we want to stay a fourth day. The flight to Cape town is basically all day (departs at 130 and gets in around 830 PM to CPT). So this is more or less a transit day.

Anything else worth doing/seeing in Vic Falls? I got a deal at Vic Falls hotel for stay 4, pay 3. But it's still around $900. Anyone got ideas on a cheaper place that is relatively nice? Ideally $75/night, otherwise the 4/3 is not bad if paying $150 at crappy places.

btw, it turns out that Naledi Bushcamp also has great vegatarian and halal food options, so that is a big deal for us and probably sealed the deal. Need to finalize the booking now.

Naledi is very well run, has very good food and accommodation and is very good value for money.
Because it entertains small numbers, it does feel very "exclusive".
It is sited in the Balule reserve.
Although you may well see the big 5, it is not as large an area as say Sabi Sands and consequently feels rather less of an "adventure".

The only alternative I have experience of at a similar price is Elephant Plains.
This is within a larger area and feels "wilder".
In my opinion, Elephant Plains game viewing is a slightly better experience because of the traversing area.
Elephant Plains food though is not good at all in my opinion. Naledi wins hands down on this count.

If budget allows, you can arrive at Elephant Plains in a light aircraft on a "jungle strip". This really adds to the experience.

So, ...
For best food - Naledi
For best Game viewing "safari feel" - Elephant Plains
Accommodation - equal
Feeling of Exclusivity and attention to detail - Naledi

At a different price point , Ulusaba in Sabi Sands is really superb. Yoiu might want to check it out.

I am sure you will enjoy any of the above.

Although you may well see the big 5, it is not as large an area as say Sabi Sands and consequently feels rather less of an "adventure".Sabi-Sands is about 65,000 hectares in size, Balule approximately 40,000. However, a comparison based on these figures is quite meaningless, as both reserves are open to the Kruger National Park, in Balule's case via the Klaserie and the Timbavati. Both are therefore part of the same huge conservation area.

What matters from the guest perspective is how much land is available to the lodge for game drives and walks (the traversing area), the quality of that land, and the location.

Traversing areas vary considerably in size everywhere, also in Sabi-Sands and Balule. From a practical point of view, anything over 12,000 ha or so is becomes hard to cover on game drives, unless the operator can move the guests between several lodges. Anything under about 5,000 ha means that you will very soon be driving around in circles. Obviously, the shape of the area is also of importance in this respect.

Quality is of immense importance. Having, say, 10 km of frontage on a major river gives you a very considerable edge, to name just one example.

Location is a factor especially for lodges tucked away in a corner, such as the northeastern Sabi-Sands. Not only because of light and sound pollution from outside the reserve, but because being fenced on several sides turns the area into a cul-de-sac for animals. Far less chance of big herds of e.g. elephant and buffalo moving through if they hit a fence and have to turn back again.

As for the "adventure" feeling, forget about that in South Africa. Botswana and Zambia are the closest options that offer a true wilderness experience. South African game reserves come with powerlines, cutlines (i.e. boundary roads that run straight for ever), artificial waterholes, weirs, dams, and what is euphemistically called "veld management", i.e. messing with the environment by clearing bush etc, to favor certain charismatic species at the expense of others, or to ensure that guest can see the animals better.

It is fair to say that of all the private nature reserves contiguous with Kruger, Sabi-Sands is the worst offender. Some years ago environmental scorecards were compiled, with Sabi-Sands scoring 1 out of 10, the Timbavati 3/10 and the Klaserie 5/10. Providing artificial water holes on every corner is the main problem, but Sabi-Sands also regularly imports blue wildebeest to keep the numbers up. The number of predators that is, not of wildebeest.

I have no idea how big an area Naledi traverses, and with whom they share it, but if they use more or less the same area as Billy's and River lodge, you should be fine.

Welcome to FT ColonelHathi, by the way.

Johan