South Africa - safari and holiday

[Hulababy]

I am looking at the possibility of going on safari next year as a 40th birthday treat to myself.

There will be me, Dh and DD, who will be 10y. My birthday is in February. I work in schools so we have to stick to state school holidays. Would be a week's holiday.

Me and Dh went to Kenya for our wedding and honeymoon and I loved going on safari, and I know Dd would love it too.

Have you been to South Africa? Where would you recommend? What did you enjoy most? Amy information or advice?

DD is meerkat obsessed but I am assuming that the chances of doing a safari to see the big animals really wouldn't coincide with meerkats would it?

Any information appreciated :)

Bump

Sounds fantastic - 10 is a lovely age to go on a safari, your DD will really appreciate it.

Cape Town is very beautiful but the good game reserves tend to be further north on the country. You dont say what your budget is - as safaris range from very luxurious camps where you are driven around by rangers who track down game for you and serve up fine diding to very cheap & cheerful (still magical) self catering camps where you self drive a car and whatever game you see is the luck of the draw. The Kruger National Park is the famous game reserve where you can self drive but its very popular and you'd need to book about a year in advance especially in peak season.

If you want to combine a beach and safari holiday you might want to conider Port Elizabeth which is not as glamorous/international as Cape Town but has lovely beaches( and aquariums with dolphins, seals etc for kids) and is a manageable drive to go on to a self drive game reserve in Addo Elephant Park.

There are any number of more luxurious safaris on offer and you can browse them here www.go2africa.com/south-africa-safari/african-safari-guide/luxury-safari

Whereever you go in South Africa you will probably want to hire a car. South Africans are very friendly and I think you will have a great time. :)

Fine dining! Gah!

And yes you could see meerkats on any safari!

Hi Hulababy

I know about safaris pretty extensively - personally and professionally. I lived in SA for over 20 years. It would be helpful if you could give an idea of budget, expectations in terms of what you want to see and accommodation, whether you're happy being in a malaria area, and whether you want to visit any other places in SA while you're there.

www.krugerpark.co.za/

You might find this link of interest. It is to the Kruger national park. I love going there, you can rent out bungalows, fairly cheap, and will get to see most animals. Just note that it will be very hot in parts (as it is summer) so you will definately want to hire a car with air conditioning and be aware of this - although most animal wathing is done early morning, (animals like to snooze out of sight over lunch) and then early evening and night drives (which most parks will organise for you)

I think if you are only going for a week then i would fly to JHB, and either fly out to the Kruger and stay there for 3-4 days, and spend the rest of the week either by flying to Cape Town, or you could drive from JHB to the Berg (mountains) . Durban (Kwazulu natal) will probably be tooooo hot during this time.

You will definately see meerkats, they are amazing little creatures to watch, and they abound! The leopard is trickier, night animal, but elephants; rhino; giraffe; zebra; most buck; etc etc will all be seen .......

Because you are going for 10 days, i would decide first on where you are going to see wildlife (so if it is in the Kruger) then i would tailor the rest of the holiday around that. I can PM you the name of a friend i use in south afria who is a travel agent who can advise you, book internal tickets; carhire etc. Let me know if you want that

what a wonderful idea to celebrate your 40th - good luck!

I've been going to the KNP region for 40 years, and I've never seen a meerkat. You're more likely to find them in the western parts of the country, and in Namibia, tbh.

Conflugenglugen - oh, budget. TBH I am not really sure what we would be looking at at all. It is so long since I went to Kenya, so not really up with how much it might be.

We want to spend time at one place om safari, rather than lots of travelling each day. But don't mind the longer transfer times at either end of the week.

Want to stay somewhere relatively comfortable, prob with a pool. Things for DD to be occupied a bit by the pool perhaps, but we din't do kid's clubs etc normally anyway. Would need all inc food wise though.

Wamt to see lots of animals - and if DD can see meerkats even better :)

Hulababy, we went a few years ago and LOVED IT!

We flew overnight, had a few nights in Sun City, for pool, fun and relaxation.

Then had a transfer driver to Madikwe Safari park. It is great for kids because it is Malaria free. I didn't want us all taking the tablets/medicine.

There are several different camps in Madikwe so you can choose depending on budget.

We booked through bushbaby.travel, who were brilliant. They have loads of info on their website. They got us some excellent flight fares, after I'd spent ages looking. Arranged our transfers etc.

We did 3 nights on safari then back home again.

It is doable in a week, but factor in your flight days.

Thanks everyone, great info.

We don't want self drive. Think it would be better to be driven round the camps and better chance of seeing animals of the proper game drives.

Sorry, not sure where 10 days was from, will be a week - so 7 days. Only going for a week - it will be Feb half term probably. So focus will be on the safari, with maybe just 1-2 days elsewhere nearer the airport.

Happy to have vax before we go and we were expecting to have to take malaria tabs too. I am assuming at 10y DD will be fine taking these.

Not expected to look at hiring cars. Was assuming would be via transfers.

We will have a day or so either side as weekends in.

Dd is 10 and is going with her grandparents to S Africa at Easter - she could not be more excited. They know S Africa well & are taking her to the Kruger national park then heading towards the Indian Ocean coast.
Sorry I've no more specific advice - just wanted to say what a great age your dc will be for it.

Is this too expensive, Hulababy?

• 5-star lodge
• Especially known for being kid-friendly
• Non-malaria area
• Not self-drive

www.madikwe.com/

Can't find the cost and trying "book me" keeps giving me an error.
They look lovely.

TBH I really have no idea how much we'd be looking at, at all. Only recently mentioned the idea to DH!

Wondering if it is easier to do as a package from UK? Although probably way dearer that way.