African Safari recommendations and ideas

In My Humble Opinion
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I found two older threads from 2004 and 2006 so I figure it’s OK to start a new one.

My wife and I have just started exploring the idea of taking a safari during the summer months when we have time for an extended vacation. (She’s a school teacher.) I’m an avid photographer so the wildlife and landscapes are a huge draw. We’d also like to spend some time learning the culture and meeting people as well. We love hiking so being able to get on trails on foot would be a bonus. I honestly have no idea the level of luxury that would be best for us; it’ll probably come down to price vs comfort.

Doing some research online and asking a few friends, there are several popular locations spread across a large area and numerous countries. For people here who’ve been on safari, I’d like to hear where you went, what outfitter you used, when you went, and what you thought of your experience.

Thanks in advance

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In South Africa I’d recommend Kruger Park. Guaranteed to see lots of animals, and checking their website they do have hiking trails. Not sure how people avoid getting eaten on said trails but I assume they’re safe.

And if you are looking to avoid the more obvious tourist trap type destinations then Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park, also in SA, is one I’d recommend. My parents went there recently and saw lots of animals.

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My safaris were in the 90s, and my strongest recommendation is to avoid the large national parks like Kruger. Why, you may ask? The national parks do have a lot of animals, but they also have bazillions of tourists and tons of vehicles that are all trying to jockey for the best positions in order to garner better tips. Someone radios that there is a pride of lions, and everyone descends on it. National parks have paved roads and the vehicles are generally required to stay on them.

Our safaris, in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Uganda were generally in private preserves. This meant that there were far fewer vehicles, and that they could travel cross-country to follow animals rather than sticking to roads. They’re also likely much more expensive, depending on accommodations.

Botswana and Tanzania are spectacular places. I highly recommend Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti in Tanzania, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and many of the private preserves in Botswana; we went with Wilderness Safaris to Mombo Camp, King’s Pool and a couple of others in Botswana. You can choose “trail camp” accommodations, which are basically tents, or you can go with better facilities with the hard-back tents that include a rudimentary bathroom. The food is plentiful and the drivers/guides were well trained and very knowledgeable. Mombo is in the Okavango Delta, which means you need to time your safari for the dry season or else be severely limited in where you can go. The river delta dries out in the cooler season and the trucks can go cross-country. Morning drives can be quite chilly, so layer up.

Ngorongoro Crater is an astonishing place. The hotels perch on the rim of the crater. We stayed at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, which is luxurious. Don’t let the photos of the cabanas fool you; they’re designed to look like native huts, but they are 1st class. The game drive into the crater was a lifetime memory.

On the Serengeti we stayed at a more typical safari lodge, the name of which eludes me now. Herd migrations were in full swing and it’s quite a sight. We saw leopards, cheetah, lions and all manor of deerlike critters. We also stopped by Oldupai Gorge archaeological site, where Leaky made his discoveries and went to a Zulu kraal for traditional dances.

I can’t recommend Victoria Falls enough. One of Africa’s natural wonders when in full flood. Walk the trail along the rim of the gorge. We also went to Chobe game park nearby, but that’s one of those places where you drive in a circle and hordes of people pounce on every lion. I wouldn’t do it again.

I’ve heard disturbing stories of these places being swarmed by Asian tourists consisting of a lot of young women who scream at everything they see. Very disturbing, if true, and more reason to stick to private preserves.

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Thanks for the information. We’re really in the initial stages of planning, there’s so much to figure out. And so much money to save up; doing this right isn’t cheap.

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I’m in Kruger right now, I’m typing this from Punda Maria. I’ve been here since June, for photography. I’ve been coming for a few years now.

The attraction of Kruger for photography is that it’s easy (and normal) to self drive. If photography is an important part of your trip, this is critical. Most wildlife shots require careful positioning, anticipation of what the animal is likely to do next, and patience. A safari vehicle where you’re packed in with 10 other people taking snapshots with their phones and a driver who is clueless about lighting and framing/background doesn’t work if you’re a serious photographer.

There are certainly private operations that run photography-oriented trips, but they are very expensive. Which brings me to the other major attraction of Kruger: you can spend literally a month here in the public park for what you would pay for 1 or 2 days at a high end private reserve. You’ll pay about $100 per night for a bungalow for two people. The accommodation is seedy and run down, but usually clean and air-conditioned. And (some camps) in absolutely unbeatable locations for wildlife.

Bookings open about 11 months ahead, July 2024 is already open and August 2024 opens on 25th August. If you go with Kruger, I can give you detailed information on exactly which camps to book and which bungalows - it makes a huge difference both in terms of the wildlife in the area and the quality of the accommodation. But you need to book early, for some locations you should aim to book as soon as they open. I can also give you detailed information on where to go shopping after you pick up your rental car, and exactly what you will need in the park - I have it down to a fine art now, there are spreadsheets.

In Kruger, with knowledge and careful planning about where to stay and where/when to drive, you can avoid the most crowded areas/times, without compromising the quality of sightings. There will still be a certain number of “car park” sightings, where instead of spotting an animal you come upon a lot of vehicles and then try to work out what they are looking at, probably sleeping lions or a leopard in a tree. But there is a high density of game here, and for a given cost I can spend 20 days here vs 1 day in a private reserve. Statistically that means that I will also have many sightings where I’m alone or with only a couple of other vehicles around. The high end private reserves track the cats constantly, so they can basically drive you off-road straight to them. But it’s more fun when you have a chance encounter with your own leopard.

If you’re not time-constrained, and you like the freedom to do exactly what you want rather than have the decisions made by a guide and ten other people on a safari vehicle, Kruger is hard to beat.

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Seems like Kruger may be a good option, particularly if one is on a budget, has the time, and has some prior knowledge on what to expect. On our trips to private reserves, we often had the truck to ourselves, and the guides were very well-trained and patient. The only time we were in a crowded vehicle was at Chobe.

Agreed. We happened upon an entire pack of wild dogs on one outing. They hadn’t been seen in weeks, as they were denning. The driver was just telling us that they hadn’t seen them in some time, when I looked off to my left and said “Well, there they are!” :laughing: They led us on a wild chase and I got some great shots.

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I can only speak for South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

I am Zimbabwean. Victoria Falls is incredible - although it needs decent rain in the Zambezi tributaries to show off its best aspect. Last time I was there was in a drought, which made it much less impressive. If you are active, and fairly fit, go white water rafting - big water but easy.

In light of the politics in Zim, I would visit from the Zambian side, so as to not support Mnangagwa’s regime. If you do choose to go there, Hwange is an absolute must. Last time I was there, lionesses chose our landrover as a good place to sit on (it was an enclosed vehicle). I saw huge elephant herds, over 100 individuals, wild dogs, and the afore-mentioned lions. The big five are all there.

Botswana is a strange land. The north (the swamps) are incredible. The rest is arid scrub desert infested with donkeys. If you go there, skip Gaberone, and go directly to Maun if you can. If you have transport … and a sense of adventure, visit Tsodilo Hills, which is in the north. Some of the most spectacular rock paintings, from over 20 000 years ago until relatively recently.

In South Africa, the obvious choice is Kruger National Park. The southern end (Skukuza is the goto camp) is full of rhino - I was actually bored of rhino by the time I last was there, and instead was intensely interested in small brown birds. On our exit from Skukuza to the main gate, we saw 17 rhinos and didn’t even stop.

There are a large number of game reserves in South Africa, but my favourite is Mkambati, at the end of the worst road in Southern Africa. That makes it pretty isolated and it is exceptionally scenic. The wild life is not that great - plenty of eland - but there is a vulture colony with the seriously endanged Cape Vultures. Worth a visit if you are adventurous and hired a 4x4.

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It was in good flow when we were there. Not full flood, but impressive. It actually brought tears to my eyes, as it was something I had dreamed of seeing since I was a child. We did sundowners on the Zambezi and then walked the rim and the trail going down the next morning. In Botswana, we flew into Maun from Jo’Berg and then by small bush plane to our first camp.

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Or a hippo. Encountered this guy on the Nile below Murchison Falls. This is not a telephoto shot. He was really unhappy with us being there. Yawn | Karl Voiles | Flickr

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I know someone who just came back, he was in SA & Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania) & a couple of places between them. I’m not sure where it was but one of the places he stayed in they stayed in out buildings with the mess hall & other amenities in the main lodge. They also had a walkie-talkie in their hut because if they wanted to go to the main lodge they’d radio their request in & an armed guard would come out to escort them in so you don’t want to go hiking everywhere.
I know there are outfits that pair Kilimanjaro with a safari. I have a friend who took his family, including tweenagers up Kilimanjaro; while it’s a good trek, you don’t need anything more than to be in good hiking shape.

If you don’t post that info in the thread please PM it to me

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I’ll post more planning info about Kruger as I have time and data connection.

Online bookings for all SA National Parks are here: https://www.sanparks.org/bookings/

A correction - bookings for Kruger NP August 2024 open Sep 1st.

When to go? Normally, the dry winter season (June to September) is the best for big game. The bush thins out improving visibility, and as many water sources dry up the concentration of game increases at the remaining water holes and rivers. The weather is also better - cooler, usually sunny with the sun lower in the sky (better for photography). But climate change is undermining this conventional wisdom. This winter (as last) there is still a lot of water around and thick bush, and yesterday it hit 36 C.

But late spring and summer has its attractions. Seasonal breeders are breeding - impala coordinate their births to saturate predation, so baby impala appear everywhere at some point in late Nov / early Dec. Migratory birds arrive, and birds are doing interesting things - courtship feeding and nest building, great for photography. And if you spend time in the right areas, you will still see plenty of predators.

Avoid school holidays. 2024 is 15th Jun - 8th Jul 8, and from 12th Dec.

Your probability of seeing cats doing anything other than sleep is much higher around dawn and dusk, so the best daily routine is to be out as soon as the gates open, drive until mid-morning, take a break and a nap during the middle of the day, then go out again for the last 2-3 hours before sunset. Only noobs and casual tourists with just a couple of days are out driving between 10am-2pm, except maybe on cool overcast days. This is why putting up with the seedy accommodation and aging infrastructure of the NP rest camps inside the park is really worth it - you are immediately in the middle of things as soon as the interior (rest camp) gates open. If you are staying in a lodge outside the park, you are wasting the best hours getting in through the external gates and reaching where you want to be. From November, the external gates also open an hour later than the internal rest camp gates, which is huge.

This leads to a significant consideration that most people (even locals) don’t pay adequate attention to. Gate opening times do change with the seasons, but the offset to sunrise/sunset is strangely inconsistent. Based on the 15th of each month, this is the sum in minutes (morning plus evening) of when you are allowed out, where a positive number is good - minutes before sunrise / after sunset:

Jun +55
Jul +47
Aug +46
Sep +4
Oct -10
Nov +40
Dec +19

So in Jun/Jul/Aug or in Nov, you are getting almost a full hour more prime leopard sighting time than in the worst month (October).

So all things considered, my favored periods are from mid-July after the winter school holidays ends, through to August; and November through the mid-December start of the summer school holidays.

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One decent alternative to Kruger is Addo, in the Eastern Cape. Not as large, but also less visited, and quite decent for wildlife. Also, you can’t see whales in Kruger, but with the inclusion of Woody Cape Nature Reserve in the Greater Addo Park, you can see them in this one.

Also, no malaria in Addo.

Worse than Tankwa? Must be something!

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The Tankwa road is like an autobhan compared to that one. I’ve driven some impressively bad roads - including some where we had to fill eroded ditches in the road with rocks and branches.

Mkambati has a road that was once tarred. Now it is a delicate lace of tar surrounding many, many potholes.

Still worth it, for the brave and foolhardy, or… for the people using a rental car.

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Hopefully not hijacking Telemark’s thread, but has anyone been on a guided trip in Namibia? I’ve been looking at an outfit that books nights at various camps and gives you a rental SUV that you drive from camp to camp. A poster on another travel/retirement board suggested it as a high value to cost experience, and it’s on my list of possibilities.

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In Nambia, if you are fairly fit and have 5 days free, definitely try hike the Fish River Canyon, the second biggest in the world (after the Grand Canyon)

It is really tough, very limited water and is closed during the hottest months. Pure camping, no facilities at all. Really rural, so dont expect a helicopter evacuation when you get bitten by a puff adder, you’ll need to walk out.

But amazing. Incredible. I have done it 3 times now and ready to go back.

The only down side is that the hotel/resort in Ais-ais where you end the trek no longer serves draught beer. And after a really dry 5 day hike, you REALLY need a draught beer.

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Thanks, that hike sounds like fun. Is there a preferred direction to go? If there’s no beer at the end, I would rather start there and hike to the beer.

What was the daily distance that you hiked? Is there a recommended time of year to do the hike?

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Absoluely not. I know almost nothing about the subject so any discussion is welcome.

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My recommendation - applies wherever you choose to go - is to equip yourself with really good binoculars and put some emphasis on birding. The number and variety of birds in southern Africa is simply amazing - to miss this would be like going to the Louvre to admire its noble exterior, while never stepping inside.

On the best safari I did - 10 days in the Okavango Delta - the native guides were astonishingly good. They of course were expert on the big animals most visitors come to see. But their knowledge of the birds was also top-notch. And they were obviously pleased to share it - I think they understood how wrong it would be to fail to appreciate this biological treasure.

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The road in Tanzania going to Ngorongoro used to be really bad. We broke an axle trying to cross one of the deep ruts on that road. I understand it’s been improved since then. We were lucky to catch our flight by hitching a ride with another outfit.

We have friends who did a safari in Namibia. They said it was an amazing place.

This was our experience, exactly.

One place I can’t recommend now, sadly, is Uganda. It’s become far too dangerous to travel in that country to any of the inland parks, and Bwindi (gorilla country) is even more subject to raids from murderous Congolese rebels than it was when we were there in the 90s.