Q: Kruger Natl Park safari and Cape Town

[Myrna]

We are thinking of going to South Africa for about 10 days over the Christmas / New Year period. We have looked through brochures picked up from travel agencies, but could not find tours suitable for our timetable. We know that we have left things far too late etc. But, we would like to know some thoughts / comments from the forum - if you could recommend / suggest some reliable tour companies.

We would like to do 2 tours: one to Kruger National Park area to see the wildlife (maybe 6 days), and one to Cape Town area (maybe 4 days).

Much appreciated any advice / thought / comment. Thank you in advance.

 

[dajop]

When we went to South Africa about 4 years ago, we looked into this and ended up organising our own accommodation and car hire, and did our own thing. Even in Kruger we had hire car and saw a lot of wildlife over the two days we were there, but we were on a budget and stayed in the national park run accommodation in the park - which is perfectly adequate and joined some group dusk and dawn safaris run by the camp. However, perhaps realise independent travelling in SA requires either confidence or stupidity or a good measure of both. If you don't have that measure, and if you're not particularly constrained by budget you should be able to find a tailored tour that includes one of the private game parks adjacent to Kruger with stunning accommodation pretty easily - however I imagine as the cost goes down, the ability to find something that suits your timing probably also goes down.

Have you tried looking at a good South African based company on the web, you should be able to find some by googling? We almost used Thompson's, but I am sure there are others.

 

[bokflyer]

Hi, as a former South African, I can make a few recommendations. However, I don't really know about tour companies, as I have always made my own arrangements. For game viewing around thre Kruger park, the private reserves are by far and away the best, although can be very pricey. Some of the nicest are run by CC Africa (www.ccafrica.com). My guess if you book through them they will be able to package things for you, such as transfers from Johannesburg. It is about a six-hour drive from Joburg to the Kruger Park or an hour flight, but generally on small turboprop planes. I last stayed at Ngala camp, which is in the Kruger park and it was fantastic. There are cheaper, government-owned rest camps in the Kruger, but they get very quickly booked up and are seldom available at short notice. There are also great game areas north-west of Joburg, namely Pilansberg (next to Sun City) and Madikwe, which has several private camps in it. These are closer to Joburg and are malaria-free and the game viewing is just as good. Joburg itself is a city where caution must be exercised and I would always arrange hotel car transfers from the airport if you haven't been before. Cape Town is easier, but not crime free. Renting a car is a good idea, try www.carhire.co.za, I have used them in the past and they use the big name firms but seem to have the best rates. Staying in Cape Town I would recommend boutique hotels on the Atlantic side of the city, in areas like Camps Bay, Clifton. There are numerous day tours to the verious wine regions nearby, organizing them is generally easy if you don't want to drive yourself. Enjoy.

 

[Myrna]

Thank you, dajop and bokflyer, for your replies.

I had lunch with my golf partner today and she said they went to South Africa a few years ago, and booked hotels over internet and tours with hotel desks and they worked out much cheaper than using an Australian travel agent.

Then tonight we have been recommended the name of a tour company called Bundusafaris in SA and they are now running tours in SA for Intrepid. We will contact them for quotes. In terms of accommodation, we don't want the really cheap ones, nor the really expensive ones, but will aim for the mid-range ones.

 

[QF WP]

Where's admin when you see a thread that he could answer

 

[admin]

I guess as an ex-South African who returns to Cape Town every year and has visited the Kruger Park many times, I can make some recommendations:

Myrna, I really hope I'm wrong, but if you are planning to travelling to Cape Town this Christmas, you could have left things a bit late. Cape Town has become HUGELY popular with foreign visitors, especially at that time of the year. You might have difficulty in finding a rental car or accommodation. You might have more luck with the Kruger Park as summer is actually low season. (Game viewing is generally better in winter).

That said, I recommend these services for finding accommodation:
roomsforafrica.com, safarinow.com. I used roomsforafrica last December and was very happy with there service.

I find the best value car rental company is valuerentalcar.com. I use them every year.

If you are planning visiting Kruger, it is best to book directly with the Parks Board at sanparks.org. This way you avoid all the middle-men and are guaranteed to pay the lowest fee.

As mentioned by others, you need to be aware that crime is an issue - especially in Johannesburg.

Enjoy your trip - looking forward to reading your trip report!

 

[Myrna]

Thanks, Lindsay, for prodding admin to answer my post!

Admin: Thanks for the helpful suggestions - I will certainly surf all the websites you recommended. Yes, we may have left things somewhat to the last minutes . The reason was that we have standby tickets to SA (long story) so if we can't make arrangements this time we can save it for mid-year.

We know that we certainly will not drive from Joburg Kruger NP. But, is it safe to drive around Cape Town - along the Garden Route? Hubby said he would not be confident enough to drive in SA. He has driven in the US and UK.

 

[admin]

Should be safe to drive in Cape Town and along the Garden Route. But travel in day time only.

Yes, don't drive from Joburg to Kruger. The flight from Joburg to Nelspruit (or Mpumalanga) is less than 45 minutes. And the drive from that airport to the main gate of the park is less than an hour - an easy and safe drive.

 

[Myrna]

Well, after much thinking we decided to defer the SA trip until next year - hoping to use some FF points for it (fingers crossed tightly).

 

[Mr_Gimlet]

I realise its a bit late, but I have been travelling with Intrepid for a few years now (including our honeymoon) and they are excellent and generally good value. Worth a look when you get to booking.

 

[Myrna]

I realise its a bit late, but I have been travelling with Intrepid for a few years now (including our honeymoon) and they are excellent and generally good value. Worth a look when you get to booking.

Good that you should mention that because Intrepid has become IntrepidBundu - the Bundu part owned by relatives of friends of ours. We have got their details when we are ready for our trip. They said they own a private lodge near Kruger.