1KHI

Hi all,

I will be a total of 2.5 days in JNB during thanksgiving weekend (arriving early morning on Friday and departing late night on Sunday). This is probably not the best time to visit a safari, but a cheap ticket and my partner needed the miles, so might as well try crossing one line in the bucket list.

1) Is it feasible and would you recommend to visit a good safari in 2.5 days during late november?

2) Do you have a company recommendation?

3) Any especial advise I should be aware?

4) If you think it's not feasible, would you recommend just staying in JNB town for a few days instead? Any must see stuff that you recommend for some flyertalkers ?

Thanks all for the suggestions. Maybe some other flyertalkers will be there as well on the cheap AA fare


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As a thank you for your help, expect a trip report

Jasper2009

While I´d usually recommend 3-4 days for a game drive, 2 days definitely is doable. Your schedule would allow for 4 game drives (Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning) which should give you a good taste of what game drives are like.

I´d recommend either Pilanesberg (~2.5h by car from JNB) or Maikwe (~1h by plane). Both tend to be somewhat more expensive than Kruger, but I´ve had fantastic game drives in both areas. Any more detailed recommendations would very much depend on your budget.

1KHI

Thanks so much. Looking into both of them. Seems Pilanesberg is a great option. Flight lands at 7am and we can go straight to there...

theassassin

A more upmarket option would be to take a federal air flight direct to one of the private game reserves in sabi sands. Much better game viewing than pilansberg. 2 nights is short but not impossible. Really depends what time your flight is out of Joburg

355F1

Sounds like we will be in JNB on the same exact days and times.

I am going to Lion Park to play with the baby lion cubs.

http://www.lion-park.com/cub-world

Buddy Eleazer

Watch out, the lions WILL chew tires. ... and then there is the story of the asian gentleman who got out of the vehicle to get a photo with the lions. When you get there I'm sure others will tell you more on that story. Never knew if it was urban legend or 100% true.

355F1

Are you sure you are talking about the locked up area with the BABY CUBS...???? Lol.

Buddy Eleazer

The cub petting is good for 10 minutes and then you'll want to drive into the enclosures with the big boys. Lion Park is primarily about the latter.

1KHI

That looks a little bit extreme LOL... did that in Thailand this past summer with a Lion, very cool... I'll hit you up by PM, just in case.

1KHI

Thanks theassassin! This is very helpful. Looking into this right now, seems a very good alternative now that my companion cancelled on me.

Boraxo

Has anyone done the one-day safari trip to Pilanesberg park?

We only have 1 full day at JNB and I would rather try to see some animals than visit museums. However I can't leave at the crack of dawn because that's when my flight lands. It looks like there are a few companies that provide private tours that fit the bill.

Also any recommendations for a Sunday morning? Our outbound flight leaves in the afternoon.

ranles

Boraxo: They do have a zoo in Johannesburg. www.jhbzoo.org.za

It would be sad to be all that way and not do a safari, but your time available seems limited.

1KHI There are "tours" that will take you on a package (day or more) for game drives. We just, this month got back from being in Johannesburg (after a 3 country epic trip of vehicle and boat game "drives". We were told on FT that there was not much to do in JO, and that proved to be right. We were so tried, that the three days went by easily, and we only ventured out to the mall and the African Craft Market (3 week total trip).

Flying on to Kruger is possible on your arrival. It is iffy how many game drives you could do, and still get back in time for your Sunday flight. The schedules are not that broad based. Good luck. Maybe a TA could help you.

Dianne_AfricaDirectUSA

Hi there!

If you could provide your arrival and departure times into JNB, it would identify whether it's logistically feasible and worth it to fly into one of reserve airports in the Greater Kruger area.

While 2 nights is a quick turnaround, you would surely have a better game viewing experience, especially if you can stay in either Timbavati or Sabi Sand where there is high likelihood that you will have at least one leopard sighting in your short stay, if not multiple. This is something that might be very hard to come by in the reserves closer to Jo'burg. Depending upon your budget, I think traveling further afield is worth the extra cost, if any, compared to more local reserves.

I would also like to comment on those visiting lion parks and petting cubs. These are animals "bred for bullet". As cubs, they are used at petting zoos and later they are moved to larger pen enclosures, such as Lion Parks, then they are off to hunting reserves for those who pay the fee to shoot them for trophy hunting.

There is a lot of controversy as to whether you are doing any good going to these petting zoos or lion parks. Some say money is routed for research or to the local communities but I think that is fairly questionable and thus some controversy. Regardless, continuing to patron these places supports the "bred for bullet" business and that's a business with tremendous controversy as well. Just my opinion on this but many visitors have no idea really what they are supporting...

Happy to help putting together an itinerary for you.

Best
Dianne
Africa Direct USA

Boraxo

Appreciate the offers of assistance but I think Kruger is out given the short turnaround (arriving early Saturday morning, departing Sunday afternoon. We found a private guide that will take us to Pilanesberg park which is a 2.5 hour drive from JNB. This seems like the best option - no worries about connections, delays etc and hopefully some animals will be out at dusk.

downinit

I will be in JNB the exact same time as the OP (plus 4 years), taking advantage of a 5 day weekend and cheap fares. I decided to rent an SUV and just do a self-drive to Pilansberg. Not sure if I should go straight out at 7am after arrival, or make a day of it on Saturday. I will be solo, so I am not sure about making two 2.5 hour drives after arriving from two twelve hour flights. I guess we shall see how much rest I get on the plane.