davetravels

I want to burn some US FF miles and 70K seems like a pretty good deal from the USA to Africa! Anyway . . .

You'll probably think I'm crazy, but, here's roughly what I'm thinking of doing . . .

Something like 3 days in JNB (city) - - a 3 day mini safari - I guess in KrugerPark? - - 3 days in CPT and back home. around 10 days total

1) Does this sound a little too rushed?

2) If I do a quickie safari trip to KNP, what / where sholud I go and do to maximize my short visit? I'm thinking early December 08. I see that KNP has a 3 day fly-ins from JNB - $888 USD - but maybe I could do it cheaper arranging my own flights? And any lodge / camps / game drives you can reccommend would be appreciated!

Thanx.
Dave

KIXJNB

Not crazy at all - and have a nice trip!

If you only have a few days for a "quicky safari", consider the Pilanesberg National Park around Sun City. There are a few nice lodges inside (I like Kwa Maritane). I find, because the reserve is smaller, you stand a better chance at actually seeing a few of the Big Five than in the Kruger. May be better if you only want to spend three days.

Cheers.

johan rebel

What kind of safari do you have in mind? Self-drive or a fully inclusive lodge safari?

Johan

Meneer Guggenheimer

I would minimize my stay in JNB and maximize it in CPT. Kruger is ofcourse very nice for a 3 day safari.

travelmad478

I would cut out two of the three days you have scheduled for Jo'burg and add them on to either the safari or the Cape Town end (a very strong recommendation would be to spend two nights in the wine country in the Western Cape, a short drive from CPT).

Someone else recommended Pilanesberg but I find that place just too much on the "canned" side (it is small and crowded with both animals and tourists). Plus, I find Sun City deeply unappealing, and prefer to spend my money elsewhere.

There are a lot of lodges around the Kruger area--you can fly to Nelspruit or Hoedspruit and they will pick you up, or you can rent a car and drive (3-4 hours or so). There is a fairly broad price range, with the top end extremely expensive, so you may find yourself choosing among them on that basis. I did a four-night stay at Honeyguide Tented Camp in the Manyeleti Reserve (adjacent to KNP to the west) and had a great time there--it is one of the less extravagant places, but still very comfortable, with excellent service. I did two days of walking safari and two days of driving.

davetravels

I'm open to any and all suggestions at the moment! Self drive is ok, or guided tour. I'm very flexible just starting to investigate this at the moment. I do want to maximize my 'wildlife experience' since I have only a short time to spend there. As far as price goes, I'm usually middle of the road. I don't like roughing it - and I'm not a posh Ritz-Carlton type!

May I ask why you reccommend more time in CPT and less in JNB?

Thanx!

travelmad478

Johannesburg (with its suburbs) is a big, sprawling, traffic-filled, fairly unattractive place with not a lot to do from a tourism perspective. I spend a lot of time around there for business, and I wish I could say some nice things about it, but there's just not a lot going on there. The downtown area is fairly unsafe (even in the daytime), most people spend all their time in their cars and do not walk much, and it's not really a good-looking place from an architectural or natural perspective. The suburbs remind me a lot of Atlanta, if Atlanta's suburban houses were surrounded by barbed wire and electric fencing. You will become aware of the security situation very quickly in Jo'burg.

Meanwhile, Cape Town (with its suburbs) is a stunningly beautiful city with cool colonial-era architecture in many neighborhoods, surrounded by beaches and mountains, with gorgeous wine country only about 90 minutes away by car (in some suburbs even closer), fun hiking and nature areas right in the city itself, great art galleries, and tons of cheery and sophisticated places to eat/drink/dance. If I could live there, I would. It is one of my favorite places on the planet. Safety is not nearly as big an issue in Cape Town, and you will find a lot of people walking around. It's just so much more pleasant that it's hard to overstate the fact.

davetravels

Wow! I had no idea!! I've been to 57 countries, but JNB sounds absolutely dismal, by your description!!

thijsseh

Thank you! Every now and then I need a reminder how lucky I am to live and work in this wonderful place!

travelmad478

It's not hell on earth by any means--I don't want to give that impression. But it is just not really a place that a tourist would want to spend time. An awful lot of people live fine lives in Jo'burg (well, the suburbs), but it's much more of a business hub than anything else.

I am so jealous!!!

LongingForORD

I am going to jump in late into this conversation.

Dave-- I really encourage you to go on this trip. JNB could be done in 2 days, 3 max. Ok, maybe a day and a half. I had to laugh about it looking like ATL (since I previously lived there ). Probably best to get a guide and driver for the day to see the sites.

CPT is a fun, exciting city, kind of reminds me of SFO. You can easily enjoy +4 days there, but rent a car and drive yourself (I have not been to wine country, as I live in wine country, CA!).

As far as a safari, go for as long as you can, you will love it. Try to get the most remote area for the best experience (less crowded). We went from JNB to Bongani Mountain Lodge, which was very conveinient, but not really remote. It is up in the mountains and really beatuiful. It borders on the Krueger. The first afternoon drive we saw 3 of the Big 5. It is an easy 4 hours drive from JNB. We got a driver, but since he had never been out of JNB, and I was riding shotgun, I easily routed us to the reserve gates (so I am sure you can easily do it yourself).

Sounds like you are a experieinced traveler, so go for it. Enjoy!

davetravels

1st, it's not late in the conversation as this trip - if it happens - won't be til December. I have a ton of travel already booked between now and then. This trip would be using miles and in January I'll need to start doing revenue trips again to requalify for Elite status!

Please enlighten me as to what the Big 5 are. I've seen many refereces to it.

Thanx!

Dave

LongingForORD

The "big" 5 was actually started as the 5 most difficult large animal to hunt, but it has come to be known as the 5 animals that people come to Africa to see, they are still supposedly the 5 most difficult to view. I hope you are just going to view and not hunt! They are lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, buffalo.

They will also talk about the "little" 5, which I think the guides just invented to keep the guests interested.

If you go just looking for the "big 5", you will miss so much more. I am endlessly fascinated by the little animals, the flora and fauna, and especially the birds. Hate to sound like a geek, but it is endlessly fascinating!

LongingForORD

johan rebel

To get the most out of a self-drive safari, it really helps if you know the area, are familiar with the animals and their behavior, and have experience spotting game. Otherwise it can be a bit of a hit-and-miss experience. Also, the KNP gets very full during the December-January summer vacation, you will need to book well ahead.

If this is your first safari, a lodge stay will probably be your best bet. In the mid-price range you could consider e.g. Monwana or Serondella in Thornybush. Easy to get to (short road transfers to/from HDS), and with good game viewing, including the B5 (an inane concept, but certainly not the most difficult to view).

Johan