South Africa's Kruger National Park is the ultimate do-it-yourself game-viewing experience in Africa. Offering more than 20 camps and 300 km (1,800 miles) of well-maintained asphalt and gravel roads, the reserve presents would-be visitors with many choices. Where to stay, when to go and what to take along are amongst the questions which we will tackle in this two-part article.
In their own way, all of Kruger National Park's camps have something going for them. If you take it easy (no one-night stands, drive slowly and spend enough time just sitting and waiting at waterholes) you'll have a great time in Kruger no matter where you stay. However, you may want to avoid Skukuza, which is just too big and busy by half: it doesn't really feel African in any way. Even so, you run smack into Africa just outside the camp gates, and while there may sometimes be too many other vehicles around, game-viewing in the Skukuza area can be excellent. In fact, one of the best places of all in Southern Africa to find Leopard is a triangle of asphalt roads immediately east of Skukuza. There is some first-class birding in the camp itself - listen for the Purplecrested Loeries - and alongside the Sabie River. Scan the branches of the big Wild Fig trees and you're bound to see a Green Pigeon - quite a sight when you get it in your binoculars. If you're really lucky you may even see an African Finfoot down by the reeds. I've also seen Water Dikkop and African Pied Wagtail by the water. A telescope is really useful and you can put it to good use on some of the smaller mammals as well.
Pretoriuskop, the oldest camp in the reserve, is somewhat under-rated, but it's quiet (for such a large camp in the southern part of the camp) and at a higher altitude than any other camp, so it is not quite as hot in mid-summer. Pretoriuskop also has a nice natural rock-pool, an important consideration when one is travelling with children. The game-viewing is perhaps not as productive as further east, but there are some interesting species in the Pretoriuskop area such as African wild dog, white rhino and klipspringer. If you can get a bungalow on the edge of the central grassy area - which has some beautiful trees - the view is not too bad, either. Bird-watching is excellent in the area and you can probably spot 50 or 60 species just by walking around the camp. Pretoriuskop is a good choice for your first night, if you're coming in from the south.
Among my personal favorites are:
* Satara
Although it doesn't have a particularly good setting or much atmosphere, this large camp is located in flat, fairly open thornveld which supports the largest concentrations of grazers and predators in the park. Good bird-watching in the camp garden, too, with the Redbilled Buffalo-Weavers being quite entertaining. Make the trip to Mudzadzeni picnic site - it's a good area for elephant and much else besides. And anyway, you simply have to have a brunch at a Kruger Park picnic site. Another interesting drive is to the Timbavati picnic site as well as to Nwanetsi, where there is a good viewing site over the Sweni River. Satara also offers night drives. You could spend several days here without running out of new territory to explore.
* Olifants
Olifants Camp is dramatically situated on a dome of rock, with wonderful views over the Olifants River Valley. The lookout platform in front of the restaurant complex is one of the best places in the entire park to just relax and watch (with binoculars) game down by the river or birds - such as African Fish Eagle and Bateleur - up in the air. Don't forget to try one of the buffalo pies in the restaurant. The camp grounds are amongst the most attractive in the park, with an array of impressive indigenous trees. (By the way, no exotic plants are allowed anywhere in the park, with the possible exception of the Bougainvillaea which thrive in several camp gardens). You could easily spend three nights here, which should be just enough time to explore the roads to Letaba to the north and Satara to the south.
* Balule
A tiny, rustic camp near Olifants, perfect if you're looking for something basic and 'close to the bush'. No electricity, no restaurant, with rather cramped 3-bed huts and a shared 'ablution block', but a wonderful spot, nevertheless. At night, sitting outside near the fence, you may see an old solitary buffalo bull grazing, and there's bound to be a Serval or some other nocturnal prowler in attendance. So have your spotlight or powerful flashlight ready. The low water bridge over the Olifants River just down from Balule is an excellent spot to stop and wait, if there's no other traffic around. There's often a Giant Kingfisher around and I saw my first White-crowned Plover there in May 1987. On another occasion, there were several lions along the road, and the area gained a measure of notoriety when a road worker was attacked and killed by an elephant here several years ago. Please remember: the animals may be used to the presence of vehicles, but they are as wild as they come. This is no zoo!
* Punda Maria
Definitely worth the long trek to the north, if you have the time. Wonderful tranquil atmosphere and lots of charm: this rather isolated camp in the far north has remained pretty much the same over the last couple of decades. There's a good nature trail right inside the camp and a compact 'braai' (barbecue) area where you are bound to meet people with an accent markedly different than yours. The rustic, yet comfortable thatched cottages, by the way, must have been built from a two-thirds scale plan: if you're even of average height, you'll bump your head in the entrance doors. So take it easy on the South African beers! The area around Punda Maria and towards Pafuri is some of the wildest in the entire park and very diverse, botanically. Although the area does not teem with game, there's a good sprinkling of all the popular species, as well as lots of special birds. The far north is prone to drought, but in times of normal or above average rainfall, it is a bird-watcher's paradise!
I also like Lower Sabie, Letaba and Shingwidzi, and will discuss them in more depth in a future newsletter, together with some advice on when to go and what to take with you.
If you can book in advance, by all means do: at least you'll have a shot at reserving (some) of the camps of your choice and hopefully for several nights. Doing Kruger on a 'day-by-day' basis is possible out of season, but you never know where you may end up. It can be a real problem if you're stuck without accommodation for even just one night, as you will have to leave the park altogether, perhaps having to drive several hours to the nearest exit gate - and back the next day. If you're camping, this won't be a problem, as there is almost always an open campsite or two, somewhere.
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
I am often asked to suggest the 'best' safari destination. It's a tough call. Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe are all wonderful safari destinations; each with its own particular highlights, and all three are politically stable and peaceful, with little of the stress encountered when traveling in so many other parts of Africa. These countries are also relatively lightly traveled, particularly Botswana, which is also the best 'pure' game-viewing destination.
Despite my familial and other ties, I'm only lukewarm about South Africa as a 'big game' safari destination, unless one can afford the world-class private game lodges adjacent to Kruger Park - and a ride on the Blue Train, naturally. Compared with Botswana and Zimbabwe, not to mention Zambia, South Africa is rather tame and the game-viewing experience is a bit too sanitized for many people's taste. Don't get me wrong - I love the Kruger Park as much as anybody who's ever made his own Boerewors - but if I'm going to travel halfway around the world for a safari, I won't think twice before deciding on Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Another question which comes up periodically is why one safari operator charges more than another for a trip that appears - on paper - to be almost identical. When comparing various group safaris, similar looking itineraries may lead one to believe that the quality of the safari and the game-viewing must be the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. The most important criteria for selecting a safari should be the quality of the guide, the group size (nothing bigger than 8 or so), whether departures are guaranteed, and whether the trip will get you away from the crowds.
As for saving money by booking a trip direct (i.e. dealing with an operator in Africa), I'm not so sure. US-based agents have long-standing working relationships with African operators and after a few years in the business they develop a good feel for particular operators' trips (type of activities offered, quality of food, average age of participants, relaxed vs. strenuous pace, etc. etc.). And, mostly because of the volume which they handle, most US-based agents should be able to offer you a discount of around 10% on the retail ('rack') rates.
Regarding folks who actually wait until they get to Arusha or somewhere before booking a trip, I applaud them. Their forefathers must have been the ones who headed out west and 'civilized' places such as Texas for the rest of us! The way I see it, if you book your trip here through a reputable agent - and something goes wrong - you have some recourse, both legal and otherwise. You'll know where the agent's tent is, so you can burn it down, in a manner of speaking.
On the other hand, if you're left high and dry somewhere in northern Tanzania, fed up with the shabby treatment you've received on the first two days of a safari you bought from a (very) new friend in Arusha, what DO you do? Make an appointment with the local District Commissioner? Not long ago, I saw the following posting on the rec.travel.africa newsgroup on the internet: "Very Important: If you are booking a safari on all accounts avoid (Name omitted) Tours and Travel. I was ripped off and left in a bus which hardly made it into the park and then scared the animals off as it had no exhaust - don't let it happen to you! You have been warned. Also, don't book a safari or hire a car from (Name omitted) Tours. They ripped me off and gave me an old car with many mechanical problems. They didn't reimburse me for repairs I had done, and kept half of my deposit for other damages they falsely accused me of. My total cost for a 51-hour rental was US$605. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of these thieves!" Enough said.
Bert du Plessis
Houston, July 1997
TRIP REPORT: ZIMBABWE AND BOTSWANA
By Robert Smithson
Following a long-standing desire to see wild game in Africa, we researched the area on America Online and Compuserve, obtained lots of brochures from various travel agents and talked to a number of people.
Initially, we wanted to go on a cross-country safari, but several operators advised us that this was not possible because of our ages (76 & 68). In our contacts with Bert du Plessis of Fish Eagle Safaris who represents Wilderness Safaris, a South African outfitter, he suggested that we go the fly-in safari route, a recommendation that led to one of the best trips we have ever been on.
We had decided on Botswana and Zimbabwe, based on Wilderness' brochures and seeing how many others went to Kenya and Tanzania. Bert and Wilderness arranged for us to visit six different lodges, three in each country, and all environmentally different.
Arriving in Harare, Zimbabwe, we flew Air Zimbabwe to Kariba where we were given our vouchers and transported by bush plane to Matusadona Water Lodge for three days. It was the perfect introduction to Africa: elephants, impala and buffalo on the drive from the airstrip to the boat. The manager, Gail and Dean, the guide, immediately settled us in our houseboat and took us on our first game walk. This set the pattern for the remaining three days of game walks, drives and boat excursions.
Returning to Kariba by bush plane, our next stop was Ivory Lodge outside of Hwange National Park for two nights. This was one of our favorites because of the water hole and viewing hide there. You could spend all day and night watching the animals come and go and their activities. Of course, there were morning and evening game drives in the park.
From Hwange, we spent three days at Sekuti's Drift Lodge, outside of Victoria Falls. The lodge was new in 1996 and Jonathan Ellway, the manager, is the quintessential host of an outstanding facility. Situated adjacent to Zambezi National Park, there was a good variety of game.
The next two nights were at Chobe Chilwero Lodge on the Chobe River in Botswana. Again, a wonderful facility with both game drives on land and by boat on the river. The quantity of elephants was unbelievable and watching a young lioness stalk a warthog (unsuccessfully) is a memory that will always remain.
From Chobe we flew by bush plane to Kings Pool on the Linyanti River, where we spent the next two nights. This is another new lodge with outstanding accommodations. Imagine, standing in your tiled bathroom and looking out through the screened wall at the hippos playing and resting in the river 30 feet away!
Another bush plane flight to Kwara Lodge, bordering the Moremi Wildlife Refuge. Great accommodations and food. Lots of giraffes, lions and sable as well as elephants, baboons, lechwe, and tsessebe. A final bush plane flight over the Okavango area to Maun, Botswana for a flight to Victoria Falls, connecting with another to Harare, and then home.
We went in late September and early October, 1996, which is the end of the dry season. All lodges operate about the same. Rise at 5:30 AM, have coffee and a roll, go on a drive until about 10. Breakfast or brunch, then siesta until 3:30, again tea or coffee and rolls then a drive until 7:30. Back for a shower and then dinner at 8. All the lodges had flush toilets, hot showers, and daily laundry service. Meals were outstanding, with a full setting of linen, china, crystal and silver and superb service. Lighting in the accommodations is by solar cell charged batteries and candles or kerosene lamps at meals. Some had full drink service, other furnished wine with dinner, with full cash bar available. In all cases, beer, soft drinks and occasionally tea, were furnished on game drives.
There is a constant change of your lodge companions because everyone is on a different itinerary. Guests are from every country in the world with Americans in the minority. This makes for great dinner conversations.
If doing it again we would opt to spend more time at Ivory Lodge, and less at Victoria Falls. We felt the optional extra cost canoe trip on the Zambezi River was not worth the money and our flight over the Falls did not materialize because of problems with the aircraft, but we weren't too keen on it anyway.
TRIP REPORT: LANDELA CIRCUIT SAFARI, ZIMBABWE
By Brian Hahn
In December 1996, I spent 11 days in Zimbabwe with Landela Safaris. My traveling companion and I flew to Africa via London, spending a night at Belmont House, a bed & breakfast establishment in Horley, a village near Gatwick Airport. It was our first African safari.
Thank goodness we stayed over a day in London! We had enough time to take a city tour and do a little sight-seeing and shopping. More importantly, it gave us a chance to have a good night's rest in-between the two long flights from the USA to London and London/Harare.
Upon our arrival in Harare we were greeted by a Landela Safari agent, Patrick. The welcome was sincere and it was the last time we had to pick up our luggage until we retrieved our bags in Minneapolis two weeks later! Patrick, who is a native of Harare, treated us to an abundance of information and sights of the area for the following two days. We felt fortunate to have had him as our host. We were not quite as impressed with the new manager of Landela Lodge in Ruwa, outside Harare, where we stayed. He is a chef by trade, and he still has something to learn about personal attention, which is the ultimate goal of all the Landela employees, as we later learned. We stayed two nights in Ruwa.
Gache Gache at Lake Kariba was our second Landela camp. The staff was outstanding and we were treated like royalty! We love water and enjoyed being on the lake. To our surprise, the weather was incredible, just hot! (it was early December). Between 11 am and 4:30 pm our activity consisted of taking a cold shower, lying on the bed, ten minutes later we were dry and sweating again, so back into the cold shower. It was a classical Catch 22. We loved the camp, all of the staff and the food was the best of all of the camps. We saw a large number of animals on land drives and on boat rides and the sunsets were incredible, but the heat and humidity were difficult, at best, to bear. Fortunately, with the excellent service of the camp's manager, she arranged for us to leave a day early (we stayed two days) and extend our stay in Victoria Falls by a day. We also were in the camp with another couple scheduled to stay two nights at each of the next three camps. It was nice to have six days together with them as the four of us got along great. The highlights in Lake Kariba were the sunsets from the lake with our guide, Harris, the trumpeting of the elephants that we had separated on a path, the hippo outside of our bedroom the second morning and how close we were able to get to the hippos in the water.
The next three nights were spent in Hwange at Landela's Chokamella Lodge. What an experience this was! The main purpose of our safari was to see large animals in the wild and all of our expectations were exceeded there. We went on two all-day safari drives with Alistair, who was extremely knowledgeable and happy to share his wisdom. The number of animals we saw was amazing and what made it even more amazing was how close we got to them. It was most exciting to experience an adolescent male elephant charging our jeep several times. The video of this is fantastic! We also had the thrill of a lifetime as we sat for nearly 45 minutes observing a lion eating on a water buffalo kill. Another lion, already having eaten, was lying in the brush and occasionally rose up to check us out. We were about 10 yards (probably closer) from the lion eating the whole time. It was great! In addition, we saw a lot of elephants - three of which were in our camp grounds on our third night at Chokamella. The elephants were on the path to our honeymoon suite, so it was just as well that we had a guide walk us to our suite each night after dinner!
We also had a fruit bat in our room one evening, a huge chameleon outside of our room, and saw a lot of impala, giraffe, baboons, vervet monkeys, water buffalo, sable antelope, zebra, ostrich, jackals, warthogs, crocodiles, and more colorful, beautiful birds than I can recall. I am not a bird guy and had no interest in them, until I was there. It was very interesting to listen to our guide talk about all of the birds. It was a disappointment to have to leave this camp!
Our final Landela camp in Victoria Falls was Sekuti's Drift. Again, we were in the honeymoon suite, as we were in all of the camps excluding Ruwa. The queen-sized bed was comfortable and sleep was great here, the accommodations being more of a hotel style. After eight days in the wilderness, we welcomed this change, though we would have not wanted our accommodations any differently at the other camps! Sekuti's Drift manager Jonathan Ellway is a 'one of a kind' host/manager. He is very intelligent and very witty and we really enjoyed his hospitality! As there was no shopping in Hwange or Lake Kariba, we enjoyed Victoria Falls 'tourism' so we were able to purchase some souvenirs. We really enjoyed the 15 minute helicopter ride above the falls, the walk along the Victoria Falls, the Victoria Falls Hotel and the white water rafting. Being out of shape, the walk down to the river was difficult, but nothing compared to the hike, crawl and exhausting walk out! I enjoyed being in the raft over the rapids, but didn't enjoy getting tossed out. The video of the water rafting experience was a great purchase, as we'll watch that many times over!! The least favorite event was the canoe ride down the Zambezi River. We saw no animals or life, didn't get close enough to the falls to see anything and just felt very disappointed in that outing. We were real glad we did the white-water rafting our last full day there, as we were tired and sore the next day!
We really were happy we spent the three nights here and ended our trip there! If we could do it over, we would have spent a night in London on the way back as well, as it took us 42 hours from the time we left Sekuti's Drift in Victoria Falls until we arrived home.
NOTES FROM MY TRAVEL DIARY: SOUTH AFRICA
Our recent visit to South Africa started on a high note. The South African Airways flight from Miami to Cape Town was exceptional. Friendly attendants who actually HELP you with your carry-ons, toys for the kids, good food available during the entire flight (like a sandwich for our child who woke up hungry mid-flight). The American airlines could certainly learn a thing or two!
Cape Town: loved the waterfront area -- great for kids and grownups alike.
Lunched several times at Ferryman's, which has a children's play area adjacent to the outdoor dining area. Good food at reasonable prices with South African favorites like PeriPeri chicken, sausage and chips, good SA wines by the glass. Table Mountain cableway was closed for installation of new larger cable & cars. Cape Point is always fun, as were the Jackass Penguins at Boulders. Fish Hoek was a great beach, Llandudno has gone topless! Kirstenbosch Gardens as beautiful as ever, shouldn't be missed.
Wine region: Lunched at La Petite Ferme -- great food, ambience (we ate on the deck), lovely wine from the estate.
Blue Train: We only went Cape Town - Worcester, but it was lovely. Great service, although it was funny -- we heard at least 6 times, 'Oh, the family for WORCESTER!' Had lunch, very nice -- bobotie! -- again lovely wines, etc.
Tulbagh: We visited while staying with friends in Worcester. I'd forgotten what a lovely restored town this is, and so friendly. Definitely worth a visit, great museum in the old Dutch Reformed Church.
Wilderness: We stayed in a friend's cottage here. Enjoyed the steam train ride from George to Knysna, even though it was a very wet day -- drizzled the whole time and could barely see Knysna Heads. On a clear day it would be fantastic. But, my husband and son still liked it so much, they also rode back, while our daughter and I rode back with our friends. Great beaches here, very quiet in February, loved it.
Jo'burg: We flew George - Jo'burg on National Airlines -- fine flight and MUCH cheaper than SAA. Visited Gold Reef City -- again great for kids, and educational too.
Sandton -- very nice, but could be anywhere. Friend took me to the 'Organic Market' -- fantastic crafts, baskets, beaded dolls, etc., at great prices. Also has clothes, produce, you name it. I could have spent several days there, but it's only on Saturdays. Very high quality and lots of fun.
Honeyguide Tented Safari Camp: This was a lot of fun. Very low key, nice people, fantastic tents, good food, reasonable price [compared with other camps, that is]. Without kids, it would have been VERY romantic. The first night there were hyenas in the camp and I heard a lion purring! Didn't get much sleep! Animal viewing was varied -- saw four lions (two mating pairs, mating, no less), an elephant, lots of birds and the more common game. Had one great ranger -- Jerray -- and one not so good.
Kruger National Park: Stayed three nights in three camps: Satara, Pretoriuskop, & Berg-en-dal. The latter two to accommodate our friends who flew into Nelspruit to meet us. A recommendation: tell people to rent a VW Microbus ('combi') or other HIGH vehicle, no matter how few people, so they can SEE! But, we saw 12+ elephants first night near Satara, 30+ from little babies to huge ones bathing in the river the next day. Incredible. Also saw giraffe, all the more common game, herd of water buffalo with babies crossed the road in front of us, etc. Were told not to expect much at Berg-en-dal, but saw a rhino up close and a leopard less than 25 yards away. Next time, we skip the private camp and just do Kruger, but at least two nights per camp, and get farther north, too. Our route worked out well for the time we had, though, and the ages of our kids, who loved the pools.
One last thing. Advise people travelling through Miami to use hard sided luggage and lock it -- nearly all our souvenirs were stolen from an unlocked gym-type bag. NW reimbursed us, but some stuff just isnst replaceable.
TRAVEL BYTES
Table Mountain Cableway Closed for Renovation
The aerial cableway to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town will be closed for renovation until early October 1997. The capacity on the snew, improveds cable car will be increased from 230 to 900 people an hour, so at least for the first few months (hopefully years) there shouldn╒t be too much of a wait. The new cars will be able to operate in wind speeds much higher than the current limits, and the floor of the cars will revolve through 360 degrees during the ascent and descent, giving passengers a complete panoramic view. Table Mountain, once Cape Town's premier tourist attraction, has for several years been outstripped by the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.
Good rain in Namibia
Wilderness Safaris report that Namibia has had one of the best summer rainy seasons for a long time after many, many years of drought. The stories and photos coming in from the Namib desert show wonderful scenes of lush grasses and flowers in landscapes which are normally barren. All the rivers in the desert flowed this year and Sossusvlei even has water down within the dunes.
Namibia's water situation was getting so desperate towards the end of 1996, that there were plans afoot to divert a small percentage of the waters from the Okavango River, prior to the river entering Botswana. The aim of this was to help fill the dams around Windhoek. The pressure to do this is off for now - but there seem to be a few politicians in the country who are persisting with the idea.
News from Botswana
The wild dogs from the area around Mombo Camp on the northern tip of Chief's Island in the Moremi Nature Reserve was the focus of a recently shown National Geographic documentary. Mombo surely has to be the best game viewing camp in Southern Africa on a year round basis when one factors in the quantity and quality of game viewing. Right through the summer, guests have been treated to stunning game viewing with superb sightings of leopard, lion, wild dog, and cheetah, as well as the plains game seen on most game drives.
Ongava Lodge, Etosha National Park
Since taking over the management of Ongava Lodge in May 1996, Wilderness Safaris have upgraded the quality of meals and service and improved the variety and quality of activities. On the activities side they introduced open sided and 'PopTop' safari vehicles for drives into Etosha, which are ideal for photography. They now also conduct walks with an armed guide on the private reserve, leading to some interesting encounters with a variety of animals, and enabling guests to get that true wilderness feeling. The Ongava guides have also been conducting interesting night drives with good sightings of Aardvark amongst other things. Itss not all hard work either. Guests relaxing at the lodge have enjoyed excellent sightings of large herds of eland at the waterhole in front of the lodge, where both lion and leopard have also been spotted.
