Originally Posted by
em0616
Why can't one simply travel to South Africa, rent a car and go to the game parks yourself? The parks have plenty of accommodation, and you can book safari trips with the parks themselves. The major supermarkets are loaded with products with the South African Beis Din kashrut symbol? I think it's outrageous how much Safari operators charge vs. how much the locals pay for the exact same trips!
see: e.g.
http://sanpark.co.za/parks/kruger/
Otherwise, this company has an excellent reputation.
But it's not the same trips at all, is it? One is using ones own car / not being allowed off road / no guide / microwave meals / OK-ish accommodation and the other is a Five Star experience with freshly cooked meals etc etc. You pays your money and you takes your choice, and there's a market for both extremes and everything in between.
We've been on safaris where we took our own meat (from Trevors / Maxi's) and did braais ourselves and koshered part of the kitchen, had pre-packaged meals from Joburg / had the full works from AKS, and they were all different and exciting. It's also very different when one gets into ones own car in SA and drives a few hours to the Kruger for a couple of days to when one flies halfway around the world to get there.
Is the AKS price outrageous? Depends on what your view is and what you're paying for..... Are the Mount Nelson / Saxony Hotels "outrageous" compared to the Kosher B+B in Balfour Park?