How to choose a safari in South Africa
So, he made the critical decision and decided on a vacation in South Africa. It’s going to be brilliant. Cape Town is amazing, the beaches on the Cape Peninsula are beautiful (and most of the time practically empty), the food is wonderful, the wine even better, and the Garden Route is a road traveler’s dream.
This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The Big Five will play an important role in any South African holiday, but trying to choose a safari can really be a tedious affair. The South African safari market is ridiculously saturated (mainly because it’s ridiculously lucrative) and there are so many options that it can be hard to know where to start.
The good news is that there are all kinds of safaris out there, something for every budget and every type of person (except perhaps those who don’t like animals). Whether you are a backpacker or an investment banker, there is sure to be an ideal solution. It’s just a matter of knowing what’s available and what the jargon means in real, tangible terms.
Hopefully this pocket guide will put you on the right track for your perfect South African safari:
WHERE TO GO ON SAFARI IN SOUTH AFRICA:
First, you will have to decide where to go:
1. There are no decent, ethical game reserves near Cape Town. Final point.
I used to work for an excellent safari specialist in South Africa, and I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been asked about safaris near Cape Town. It’s just not possible. Yes, if you google ‘safari near Cape Town’ you’ll come across a number of hits claiming to be Big Five game reserves a couple of hours outside of Cape Town, but don’t listen to a word. Truly wild animals need space, probably around 5000 hectares minimum, and none of the “game reserves” near Cape Town offer this kind of space to roam. If these reserves are indeed home to the Big Five, it’s probably a couple of lions, usually within some sort of enclosure, a few elephants, and a few gloomy giraffes. Basically, they are nothing more than glorified zoos. They are unethical and certainly do not provide any kind of authentic safari feel. You will likely leave feeling very sorry for the two overweight lions in their oversized cage who don’t even bother to raise their heads when your safari vehicle stops less than a meter away. I’ve seen it and I’m marked enough.
2. If you want a true jungle safari experience, you should head north.
Understandably, many tourists to South Africa prefer to fly in and out of Cape Town, bypassing the fabled badlands of Johannesburg. However, the area north of Johannesburg is not only very beautiful (Blyde River Canyon, God’s Window and more) but without a doubt, the best safaris in South Africa are in the Kruger National Park or Madikwe Game Reserve. These reserves are huge – Kruger, at over 2 million hectares, is about the size of Wales – and they feel really, truly, truly wild. Madikwe is less visited and perfect for travelers eager to do something different. It borders the border with Botswana and spans 76,000 hectares, compared to 3,000 hectares of “reserves” near Cape Town. It also has the advantage of being completely free of malaria. Both Kruger and Madikwe are great for really exciting safaris. It’s worth making the trip north if you’re passionate about wildlife, and you’re likely to see entire herds of animals doing what wild animals do, not just a lone rhino at a man-made watering hole.
3. The Eastern Cape can be a big compromise.
Sometimes going up north just isn’t possible. If time is tight or you have a whole family in tow, you can opt for a malaria-free Eastern Cape safari. Again, there are a plethora of options available, some much better than others. As always, the larger the game reserve, the more authentic the safari experience. Unfortunately, the curse of the Eastern Cape seems to be that you pay per acre through the nose.
Kwandwe and Shamwari (the setting for BBC’s ‘Safari School’) have over 20,000 hectares and are both the most expensive options. Despite his size, I still found Shamwari quite docile and spoiled for his own commercialism. There are a couple of extra lodges in the reserve, so you tend to pass other vehicles quite often and the animals are mostly found by walkie-talkie contact between rangers rather than by scouring the bush. I saw the Big Five, but I didn’t get the great feeling.
Some of the smaller reserves in the Eastern Cape can provide a much warmer and more memorable safari experience. Bukela, on the Bushman Conservancy, is a family-run lodge with safari drives in the 8,000-hectare Amakhala Game Reserve. There’s a real sense of community here and you get much more of a feeling of living remotely in the bush, even if it’s low scrub rather than wild plains.
Pumbaa (6,500 acres) is another small but lovely reserve, and Kariega (7,500) offers very reasonably priced accommodation, as well as horse riding along Kenton-by-Sea beach.
Addo Elephant Park is definitely something not to be missed, as you are almost guaranteed to see dozens of elephants gathered around water holes and crossing streams. Although technically a Big Five reserve, Addo is all about elephants, and you should combine it with another reserve if you really want to see lions too. You can stay outside of Addo in one of the beautiful guest houses in the Sundays River Valley, surrounded by citrus groves and ostriches, and drive to the park with your own car during the day. Alternatively, all lodges and guest houses in the area offer Addo safaris with an experienced guide for an additional fee.
WHERE TO STAY ON SAFARI IN SOUTH AFRICA:
Next, you will need to choose what type of accommodation you are looking for. Here are some tips on hostels and rest camps, as well as what’s included and what’s not:
Private hunting grounds: Think glossy brochures, impeccable service, chocolates on your pillow and G&T at sunset. Private Game Reserves will provide the entire safari: one guided morning and one afternoon game drive (usually in an open-top vehicle, with stops for morning coffee and sunset cocktails), and all meals are included in the price. price. So while the rates may seem heartbreakingly high, you can take comfort in the fact that you won’t be spending much when you’re there (unless you have a penchant for vintage wines).
You will find many exclusive reserves in what is known as the Greater Kruger: Sabi Sands, Timbavati, Thornybush. Basically, these reserves are still part of Kruger, but privately owned. There are no fences between the land owned by these reserves and the public part of the Kruger National Park, so animals can roam between public and private at will. What’s really crucial is that rangers can go off-road in private reserves and actually track animals through the bush, while all game drives in the public Kruger have to stick strictly to the roads.
Rest camps: These are the other end of the scale. Operated by the South African National Park Rest Camps, they are the budget options in the public part of Kruger, Addo Elephant and other National Parks.
Prices start very low (just over £10), and you can choose to camp, caravan or one of the types of accommodation available. These range from 10-person log chalets to 2-person forest cabins, some with and some without private bathrooms, but almost all with their own braai (South African barbecue) set up outside. There will invariably be some sort of shop-site, so you can stock up on boerewors for dinner. If you love camping or getting close to the great outdoors, you’ll love this (I know I loved it!).
As for Safari, it’s all about self-driving. You’ll get up early and hit the road network hoping to spot wildlife as you drive, and there’s nothing quite like the feeling of coming across a herd of elephants in your own car. It may not be an all-rounder, but it’s brilliant in other ways. Word of advice: if you are planning a rest camp safari, make sure you book well in advance because they fill up incredibly fast, sometimes YEARS in advance.
Of course, you can always mix and match. Why not spend a few nights in a basic forest lodge before moving on to a private reserve for some exclusive and luxury safaris? That really could give you the best of both safari worlds…and it won’t burn a hole in your pocket the size of Fish River Canyon!
Fingers crossed that this information gets you closer to the right safari for you. South Africa is just wonderful, and however you choose to do it, you’re bound to have a pretty unrivaled experience.