Swanky Safari

I have been on over 70 private games drives and have never had to share a vehicle with anyone who wasn't in our group. 6 of us, (or 4) the ranger and the tracker.
Where are these vehicles (Types) that would hold 9 plus tracker and ranger? With the situation I speak of you have 4 rows, 3 for guests, room for 2 in each row. A tracker seat on the front of the vehicle and one inside along with the ranger seat. No one sits in this front row but the ranger and the tracker. Range Rovers or Land cruisers. All of the reserves I have been at have been under the 'And Beyond' (AB) umbrella so they have higher standards.

Maybe because its not our first time and have been educated by the ranger none of us are blabbing away like idiots. We know when to shut up etc.

The most I have ever seen AB put in a vehicle were 2 unrelated couples. You guarantee something will happen, blah blah blah. BS. You are only aware of what goes on in your life. That is the only guarantee you have to offer.

Share the And Beyond property you have stayed at? Agree there are private reserves and then their are a more luxury professional private reserve where the ranger would never pull over to watch lions sleep for an hour. We are active in the finding of animals, The trackers are on radios, talking back an forth to each other saying where they are and what they found so the rest of us can go take a look.

Can you go on safari at night in Kruger? I'm sure you are aware that at night the noctrenal animals come out. Oh and the African sky at night -unbelievable!

The private reserves have no tar roads. If the ranger knows there is a den of wild dogs (or hyenas) not near the dirt road, he just goes through the grass, down cliffs etc to find them. A ranger job is to find or know where these animals are or were last located.

Have you ever taken a shower outside, looked up and a leopard was watching you, I have. Guess he was paying us back for tracking him that day. They don't call them 'And Beyond' properties for nothing. Or have the private pool outside your accomodations drained by a few elephants, while you stand inside watching them right outside your door. Or someone forgot to lock the door, a babboon walks in your room while you are laying on your bed goes past you to the minibar area and takes all the fruit and candy he can grab. And walks out like he's part of the staff. Oh yeah this wasn't his first rodeo to know right where to go. Another one of those things you won't experience on a tar road.

Driving on a tar road in Kruger is you have a lot of rules to follow. And you have people that see you don't break the laws set up by the park. No matter how much you think you are in control, you have certain hours you can go out and are restricted to the tar road.

How many leopards or wild dogs have you seen in Kruger? Lions in the areas we go are very abundant. We seen lions fighting over kills more times than I care to. And yes they sleep alot. And they let the rover get very close to them. If someone was blabbing away, the ranger wouldn't hesitate to tell you to shut up.

To the OP. Don't let my conversation with Johan discourage you. Obviosuly he must live closer to Africa than I do. But I can tell the private reserves he mentions, he groups them all as one. They are as different as apples and oranges. I'm flying business class across the Atlantic and paying low 5 figures for these experiences. I need to make it worth my time and money.

The trip you planned to Kruger is probably a good place to start, to get the feel. If you feel like a friend of mine did "Oh well I saw the big 5 once." that is enough. But if you catch the 'Africa bug - I Have to go back! Again and again. Save your money and do some research on the reserves. Talk to people who have stayed at the ones you are interested in.

johan rebel

To be fair, this is not always the case.

First of all, not all lodges put ten guests on a vehicle. Some restrict the number to six or seven (everybody gets a "window" seat), some to only four. There's a correlation with price here: the more upmarket the lodge, the fewer guests per vehicle.

Secondly, you can simply get lucky. Not all lodges are fully booked all the time, so you may be fortunate enough to end up sharing with fewer guests.

Finally, most people go on safari to see animals, they don't spend the entire game drive discussing the price of airline tickets or the merits of various make-up strategies. It does happen, I know from experience, but it is not the rule. On the other hand, people obviously comment on, and ask questions about the animals etc. they see. As I have heard just about all these questions and answers a zillion times, I don't really need to hear them again. But for those on their first safari, many of these questions are probably very interesting. You also get really dumb ones, but they have the merit of being amusing.

Off-road does make a difference in combination with three other factors: the use of trackers, a dense network of roads, and intimate knowledge of the area traversed.

Most private lodges have fairly small traversing areas, at least when compared to National Parks etc. The size ranges from just a few thousand hectares to maybe 25,000 hectares in exceptional cases. That's small enough for the guides, and especially the trackers, to know the area very well. They know the animals that live there permanently, and those that visit regularly. They know where these animals like to hang out. A dense road network means that it is easy to find tracks, and the blocks between these roads are small enough to make it doable to search for animals in them. That's where driving off-road comes in.

Small size also has downsides. There's less scenic diversity, and there's a limit to the number of animals that occurs in an area. For example, a traversing area is usually only big enough for one or two prides of lions, as well as the odd nomads from time to time. One a good game drive in Kruger, you can see lions five times, exceptionally even more often. Same goes for leopard. Rare is the private reserve where you can have six or seven sightings in one game drive.

Yes, but Black Rhino is the only species I can think of. They go to great lengths to avoid roads, at least during daylight hours when there's a greater chance of encountering vehicles.

On the other hand, many animals are really fond of roads, especially species that have large territories and/or cover great distances, or those that need to patrol their territories regularly. It is so much nicer and easier to walk along a road than to move through long wet grass, thorny bushes, etc. Roads, especially tar roads, are also great for sleeping on. No prickly vegetation, less bugs, often good visibility in several directions affords a modicum of safety, and when it is cold roads are nice and warm.

You can never have enough preparation, as experience is something you acquire over time, and you can never get enough.

Generally speaking, if you are entirely new to this game, a couple of guided drives is a start, but nowhere near sufficient. I only started doing self-drives after several years of going on guided ones.

Having said that, the KNP is without doubt the best place to start if you want to drive yourself. The infrastructure is very good. Roads are excellent and well signposted, maps and guide books are widely available, and so forth. If you are a novice the fact that the KNP can be quite busy is actually and advantage. There are many more experienced people driving around who see what you may well overlook, and people are almost always very helpful and willing to share information.

There's one more consideration you may wish to take into account when choosing between a private reserve and the KNP:

Private lodges provide an all-inclusive experience. You need to get up in the morning and brush your teeth, but from there on everything is taken care of until you brush your teeth again and go to bed. All you have to do is sit back and relax. Guide and tracker will take you on drives to view animals, all meals are provided, etc.

A multi-day guided safari in Kruger (like the one you considered initially) provides pretty much the same thing, with the level of luxury being comparable to the least expensive of the private lodges.

If you do a self-drive, you are on your own. You need to rent a car, plan your own game drives, decide where to stay, book your accommodation, prepare your own meals and wash the dishes (or eat in the cafeterias or restaurants that can be found in most, but not all Kruger rest camps).

Johan

lrbenko

Just my two cents I as visited SA for the first time a couple years ago in June. We spent a couple nights on a private concession in the Kruger, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We flew from Johannesburg to Skakuza airport, and the safari company picked us up there. We stayed at the Jock Safari lodge, and while it was a bit pricey, it was worth every penny. We saw so many different species during the twice daily drives. And we could see many animals directly from our room over looking a dry river bed. It was very warm during the day, and chili at night/early morning.
We then spent a few days in Cape Town, and this has been one of our most favorite cities in the world. The waterfront was fantastic, and we did a day trip to Stellenbosch and a day trip Gansbaai to cage dive with Great White Sharks. Both amazing and priced very reasonably. The weather was fine in Cape Town, slightly chili at times, but pleasant.
Hope this helps.

ttapps

To the OP, would also recommend considering places like Madikwe NP and Marakele NP. These are about equidistant in other directions from Joburg as Kruger, but I found the experience better than my visits to Kruger. Some amazing lodges in those places (check out MORE Properties' Madikwe Safari Lodge and Marataba Safari Lodge).

Regarding Cape Town vs. Durban - always always Cape Town! You won't regret it. There may be a day or two of rainy weather, but those are perfect for wine tasting, restaurants, the Waterfront, etc. Within a 5 day period, you're likely to still have 3+ days of sunshine in winter, and the local attractions cannot be beaten. Durban is interesting for a day or two, whereas you could stay for 2 weeks in Cape Town and not get bored or tired of the beauty.

flyertalker09567

I would like to sincerely thank you all for your advice and for the time you spent to answer my questions.
There is a lot to process but I think you all gave me everything I need to know to at least plan the perfect first Safari
I really look forward to it now
Best,

Swanky Safari

I am very excited for you! My first time I bawled like a baby at the airport when I left thinking I'd never return.
Now Africa is the only place I want to go.

Please fill us in when you get back and let us know how things went.

flyertalker09567

Bad news for us, our trip to South Africa was jeopardize.
Good news, we found a workaround that will lead us to a Safari but in Tanzania.
Thanks again all for your help. Will report back

LillianJ

Jasper2009

How long is your stop?

If you have a full day, I'd recommend a Sani Pass + Lesotho tour.

If you only have a few hours, a walking/driving tour around Durban may be interesting, though there are no "must see highlights" per se. There are also various "culture and heritage" tours.

Another option would be to go microlighting along the Indian Ocean.

sweetsleep

I want to encourage the OP to contact a travel agency that is either located in SA or a good one in the UK or Europe that has experience booking trips to SA.
Give them your budget, how much time you have and a good company will find a great holiday for you.
My expat South African friends and I have used Rhino Africa tours-they are located in Cape Town and provided great service and totally took care of all details for us many times during our many visits. Since they are located in SA, they had a 24 hour emergency number in case anything went wrong for backup support. Not many travel companies do that. Of course there are quite a few tour companies that can curate a wonderful trip for you besides my favorite.
June and July tends to be high season for safari so your budget may go further if you are able to book in September-October? Expect VERY chilly early morning game drives-warm hat, gloves and warm jacket until the sun comes up. Layer your clothes like crazy and have a great time. The wind hitting you in an OSV is shockingly cold at 5:30-6am-as there of course is NO heat in the vehicle. Even though they will provide a blanket and hot water bottle-that may not keep you warm enough.

johan rebel

Unless you are sitting in front next to the guide. Plenty of them have the heater going full blast when it is chilly out. Keeps your feet and legs snug and warm!

There are also a few game viewing vehicles around that have heated seats, especially in the Waterberg. Now that's where it can get really cold!

Johan

sweetsleep

You are correct about the heat in the front for the guide and tracker. But in my experience they have never turned it on and said it was not fair for them to be warmer than the guests which is very kind. I usually like the back row on the open air vehicles so getting any heat would not happen for me!

johan rebel

For sure.

The last row has the advantage of being the highest. Best to sit on the right-hand side, so the tracker doesn't block your view when looking straight ahead.

The front passenger seat is worst of all. Low down, tracker and guide block your view front and right, and looking behind you is almost impossible.

On a bad day, an OSV ride can be a really miserable experience. Not only when it is cold, but also when the rain comes pouring down. Thunder and lightning is also a lot of fun.

The cardinal rule is to come prepared. Unless I'm 100% sure the weather will be fine, I bring a backpack with everything I might conceivably need. That includes rain gear that actually keeps the rain out. Never trust the poncho that has been kindly provided in the seat pocket in front of you.Never trust the canvas roof that some OSVs have to keep you dry.

Johan

Smiley90

I just wanna stop by and thank everyone who's posted in this thread, it's given me great inspiration for upcoming travel. We're planning for September 2020 so we've thankfully still got some time, but I want to be ready to book as soon as I can haha.

General gist I'm getting is to try staying at two/three different places if possible to get a feel for different areas, so I'm thinking we'll probably do 2-3 nights in two different lodges each, either private on private grounds or concessions, or even split it up and do 2-3 nights at a private/concession lodge and stay 2-3 nights at a main camp and book game drives via SANparks separately (if the cost of two lodge-stays becomes unbearable). We definitely won't self-drive.

One question that I still have - SANparks game drives vs lodge drives on private / concession land - which are "busier"? E.g. I read that in private/concession drives it'll often be several cars going in a caravan and you're limited in time per sighting to give way to the next car, but then also sometimes a car might overstay its welcome and you're stuck just sitting there... does that apply to any kind of game drive that isn't specifically a single-vehicle drive (which would be very costly/mainly from more luxury lodges), did I understand that correctly?

johan rebel

In the KNP, all vehicles (self-drive, SANParks guided drives, commercial guided drives) may use the public roads from the time the gates open in the morning, until they close in the evening. That means sightings are a first-come-first-serve, free-for-all, self-regulated show. The result may occasionally be chaos and mayhem, but usually not. It is equally possible, probably more likely, that the number of vehicles at a sighting is fairly low, or if you are lucky only one (you). On public roads, you are welcome to stay at a sighting for as long as you feel like. I've known people to stay for the whole day.

In the KNP, SANParks guided drives may and do use roads not open to the general public, and may drive outside of gate hours. That means they have sightings to themselves, i.e. one or maybe two vehicles max.

In the KNP, certain lodges on private concessions are also allowed to use a number of designated public and management roads outside of gate hours.

On private land, the land owners and/or lodge operators make up their own rules. They can be very imaginative and creative, the rules can be very numerous and vary depending on a host of factors. Quite a few are also, in my opinion, downright silly. In any case, they usually boil down to this:

- the number of vehicles at a specific sighting is restricted to X (usually between two and four)

- If the number of vehicles responding to a sighting exceeds X, the incoming vehicles have to "take a standby".

- If there are vehicles on standby, the vehicles at the sighting will have to make room for waiting vehicles after Z minutes (10 or 15 is common).

There are any number of refinements and exceptions to these rules, differing from reserve to reserve.

Private lodges on concessions in National Parks operate on the same principle. As they are constrained by SANParks regulations, they have a bit less leeway to make up their own rules, but when it comes to behavior at sightings the differences are small.

At private lodges game vehicles do not drive in a caravan. On the contrary, they spread out in as many different directions as they can in their endeavor to find as many interesting animals/sightings as possible. A specific sighting will therefore almost always be found/tracked down/chanced upon by a single vehicle. If interesting enough, other vehicles will be notified and may then choose to respond. Depending on the size of the reserve, the condition of the roads and their location, they may take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour to get to the sighting. That means that sightings often become partially self-regulating, in the sense that various vehicles will arrive at various intervals, thus allowing for a fairly regular turnover at the sighting. It is in reserves with a very high density of vehicles (Madikwe immediately comes to mind) that sightings can become ridiculously congested, even to the point where the standby list becomes oversubscribed. This issue is exacerbated when all these vehicles mostly utilize certain parts of the reserve where game concentrations are much higher than elsewhere (Madikwe comes to mind again).

As an aside, I know of a few instances where private game viewing lodges have resorted to "caravan" game drives, albeit against their will. These all involved large groups of Chinese tourists chaperoned by a asssertive guide who insisted that "all guests must see same animal!". The guests were then packed into half a dozen or more OSVs, which all drove single file down the same roads.

On one occasion, such a large group had also booked a game walk. The solution was to march all 40+ of them through the bush single file, with armed rangers inserted into the column at seven-guest intervals. For some funny reason, they did not see that many animals.

Finally, there's no such thing as a "single vehicle drive". Well, in a sense all drives actually are, but I suspect you are referring to sole use of vehicle (SoV), which usually comes at a (steep) extra. SoV just guarantees you that you will not share the vehicle with any other guest than those belonging to your party. It does not guarantee you that you will have all sightings to yourself for as long as you want.

However, enough money will buy you almost anything. There's a lodge on a concession in Kruger that will charge you an arm and a leg, but also bend over backwards to accommodate your wishes. They have a regular guest who has stipulated that on her sole-use-of-vehicle game drives no other vehicles should be encountered, not even glimpsed in the distance. The lucky guide assigned to drive her around has his work cut out for him, as he is kept extremely busy on the radio coordinating with all the other vehicles out there to make absolutely sure they do not meet. It also means they are invariably the last ones at any sighing, as they can only approach when all the other vehicles have left, and only along an empty road.

This same lady, when she feels like having a meal, will first phone the restaurant to make sure no other guests are in. If there are, she will have the meal served in her room instead.

The really upmarket lodges get more than their fair share of eccentrics!

Johan