dominick

All,

I've read several threads on FT and other websites over the past week.

My wife an I are thinking of travelling to SA which would be 6-7 on the ground. For a safari option, JNB would be the obvious arrival point.

Of this, I'm thinking 4-5 nights in a safari, and hence a few questions:

1) I'm looking at 3000-4000R pppn budget (I assume this is fairly mid-range), I've just emailed Ngala Safari Lodge, Notten's Bush Camp, Serondella and a couple of others that I've seen recommended here - are there any others in this price range?

2) What's the most common way of transport from J'berg to the parks?

3) What is an ideal time to spend in each lodge. If we stay 4 nights should it be just one? Same questions for 5 nights?

4) I see sarafi "tours" where they look like they pick you up in J'berg, then drive through different parks, not necessarily staying in one lodge, rather several - is this another option, and if so and recommendations?

5) What else do I need to be considering? I feel a bit more lost here than other travel experiences!

Thanks in advance.

johan rebel

1) I don't really keep a tab on all the lodges' rates, but there ought to be quite a few.

2) For the Lowveld lodges: fly to HDS, SZK, MQP or PHW, whichever is closest to your destination, then transfer by road.

For Madikwe: Fly to Madikwe East or West, whichever is closest to your destination, then transfer by road.

Driving the whole way is of course also an option.

3) For four nights I would definitely stay put, and I would only split five night two ways if the transfer can be easily be arranged between the morning and afternoon game drives.

4) No recent experience, but this option seems worthwhile to me only if you want to visit a number of national parks in a fairly short time.

Johan

flatlander

1. Try looking at the major hotel sites (booking.com, expedia.com) to get an idea of who else is out there. Not all lodges are with the major OTAs but many are.

2. Fly or drive, as noted above. It's 6 hour drive from JNB to a south Kruger lodge, give or take. Roads are good except near the lodges where they become dirt.

3. If you really want to move around, consider doing a day or two self-drive in the Kruger to give it a go yourself, then transfer to game lodge. Otherwise, pick one and stick to it. Self-driving in the public KNP is way cheaper than game lodge so you can increase your per-night lodge budget commensurately.

4. You probably don't have time for that, unless you want to spend much of your time between lodges. Maybe transfer between two only.

5. Make sure you bring a long zoom lens for your camera, as well as camera gear to handle close-ups, if you want good photographs. Not all the wildlife will be a stone's throw away, but some of it will be. Bring also a good pair of 8x or 10x binoculars.

dominick

Thanks to both... I'll look at short flights to the area from JNB to save time once I figure out our location.

Good to know/thanks for tips re: moving (or not) between two lodges. I just wasn't sure if it was beneficial to visit two over one (maybe it is, but not for my timeframe).

Regarding lodge prices, of course there are many in that price range, rather, what was a good bang for your buck in the medium-price range, and in a good area to see Big5 + others in the short time we are there. Johan - a couple of those lodges I reached out to were from your past mentions!

Thanks again.

johan rebel

Indeed.

You could do worse than picking Ngala or Serondella, both are good options.

Johan

theassassin

I will be at Ngala in around 2 weeks and can report back. One attraction for us with Ngala is that it has two separate camps in its concession area so we are staying for 3 nights at each.

johan rebel

You will find, however, that both camps mostly conduct their game drives in the same part of the concession, roughly comprising of two of the four-and-a-bit farms that make up traversing area. Tented Camp is smack bang in the middle of this part, Ngala Camp is a longish drive away. Game drives from the latter camp are therefore longer in duration.

The other parts of the concession are less often visited, and then mostly when there's a specific reason, e.g. lions on a kill.

Johan

dkc71

Fly JNB to HDS and have the folks at Pondoro lodge arrange for your pick up. You won't regret it!!

susiesan

If you fly to HDS look into Gomo Gomo Game Lodge. Because they have their own watering hole, the animals just come right to the camp in addition to the game drive. We stayed there 3 nights in April this year and it was wonderful.
price point is at the lower end, around $250pp per night.

johan rebel

Almost all lodges have one, but Gomo Gomo's is nicer than most. It is actually a dam, and by virtue of its size appeals to large herds of elephant and buffalo. I've seen herd of about 700 buffalo drinking there, which is about as big as these herds get in the Lowveld.

Johan

susiesan

There was a herd of about 1000 moving through the area in April. We saw them on the game drives and a few came by Gomo Gomo to drink. But not anywhere close to 700. The most elephants we saw there at one time was 13.