Kruger, Sabi Sands, Madikwe?

[Tantris]

Hallo to everybody. I am planning a trip to South Africa on March, just 7 days (CapeTown and Safari). I will be travelling with my two kids ,10 and13.



I have been reading this board about South Africa as much as some other informations, and I dont quite get a clear idea of what would be the best place to go for the safari.



As I understood it, Sabi Sands offers the best game viewing chances (why exactly, what makes the difference to Kruger?), as well as the nicest places to stay.



Madikwe is malaria free (the question would be then: howhigh is the risk in Kruger/Sabi Sands in March? Is it really so bad?) and this would be its best advantage. How good is the game viewing there? How long does one drive from Johannesburg?



Concerning Kruger, what added value does it have? Why are most of the people just going there if the other two present more advantages? How about Imbali or Jock Safari lodges? Does anybody have some experience with them?



Thank you in advance for your answers.

[kyshel]

hi Tantris--I can only comment on Tuningi (Madikwe Collection--they have mutilple types of lodge accomodations). They have family size villas (part of Little Tuningi camp--which means its a short walk up the drive--total camp occupancy is 16ish) But we saw lots of other lodges represented on game drives in the reserve. From what I understand, there are some private reserves inside Kruger, so otherwise, you are with the masses in vehicles that you're supposed to stay in?

Winter was excellent viewing in Madikwe--srcubby and brushy--animals dependent on watering holes, etc. There are excellent reviews of stays in March on the Tuningi newsletter linked thru their website. Early enough for greening.

You can email [email protected] and ask more q's. Ck LL for pkgs. The rangers are very attentive to kids--they'll even take them away for a sep drive if you want.
The whole place is lux to the max in very unobtrusive way.
Our "resident" safari fan/contributor here is jashermd--you can locate his notes and sort thru them--he's in a class of his own for experience. I think it's a very confusing choice.
Take a look at tripadvisor.com for more ideas and thoughts.

Our drive from Joburg was less than 4 hrs and we took some side highways (diagonals to avoid tourist traffic).
I guess you need to know what kind of safari you want--in-depth, up close, popoular, etc.
I will tell you most places don't have TV and you're so pooped, you never miss it, but the kids, well....
I hope that helps a little

[Tantris]

Thank you for your useful comments, kyshel. Despite Madikwe sounds interesting, I think, I am up for Sabi Sands.



Just tell you that I myself dont have any TV at home, so neither I (nor my kids) would ever miss it on our safari. Wildlife is all we want to watch!

[kyshel]

Just came across this article--maybe it will help?!
http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/c...src=newsletter

Sabi Sands has been very highly recommended--keep us posted with your trip results, please.

[jashermd]

Hello,

As you may have guessed from my other posts, I've spent quite a bit of time on safari. I've stayed at different lodges in all three of the locations you're considering, and here's a brief summary of what I think distinguishes them:

The Sabi Sands offers the best game-viewing and accommodation in South Africa, especially for the big cats -- I've gotten close enough to pet lions and leopards (of course I didn't though it was tempting!). Because it's a private area you can drive off-road and at night which enables you to track animals through the bush, to follow predators on the hunt and to see species you won't see during the day. Not all Sabi Sands reserves are created equal, however -- the higher the acreage-to-guest ratio, the more exclusive your safari (some of the smaller reserves have to share game-viewing space with their neighbours, which can lead to queues at sightings and being asked to leave before you want to in order to keep the queue moving). I've stayed at a number of places in the Sabi Sands and found that reserves in the central sector offer the best game-viewing experience (Singita, Londolozi, and Mala Mala) because they have such a high acreage-to-guest ratio. They're also rather expensive and some of the camps don't accept chidren under 12 (or at all) so you'd need to choose your camp carefully. The least expenisve options in this area would be Londolozi Varty Camp and Mala Mala Main Camp. Both offer very good game-viewing; Londoz is smaller and feels more like a bush camp. If you are only visiting one reserve and it's your first safari, I'd recommend the Sabi Sands. (NB when most people on this board talk about 'Kruger' they actually mean the private reserves (like the Sabi Sands) NOT Kruger National Park.)

The Sabi Sands adjoins Kruger National Park (there's no fence between them). Kruger is home to two types of camps: the public rest camps for self-drive safaris (where you take your own car and drive around) and private camps in concession areas where only that camp can drive. The private concession areas in Kruger include Lebombo (where Singita Lebombo and Singita Sweni are located). The main difference is that within the national park there are limits on what the camps can do in terms of off-road driving, and in general the game-viewing is not as productive because the most productive parts of Kruger were already taken up by the public rest camps (the private concessions are a relatively new phenonemon). As a result the lodges are less expensive. I'd definitely recommend doing a privately guided safari for your trip (rather than self-driving) as you only have a few days, and a professional guide and tracker will make a huge difference in what you see -- some of the guides I've driven with seem to have X-ray vision in terms of seeing leopards in trees and antelope in the bushes. Even after many safaris I can't come close to what they can do.

Madikwe is a relatively new reserve located in the northern part of South Africa, and is known for its sightings of wild dogs (though the wild dog population has recently taken a nosedive as a large number of the dogs escaped and were sadly shot by neighbouring farmers). Madikwe's game-viewing is probably best described as uneven -- it can be very good, or you can go days without seeing much of anything. For this reason it wouldn't be my top recommendation for a first trip where you only have time to visit one reserve. If you had time to visit two reserves, Madikwe and the Sabi Sands can be a nice combination as the environment is quite different. The othe thing that bothers me at Madikwe is that things like fences, telephone wires, etc are much more visible than they are in other reserves in SA because of its relative youth, and it can be rather jarring to find yourselves driving alongside telephone poles when you're supposed to be in the bush. It's a work in progress, and it's doing well -- but it's not quite there yet. However, for these reasons it's less expensive (and the accommodation tends to be very luxurious as a way of drawing people from more well-established reserves). There is a lodge which has a particularly strong emphasis on child-friendly activities (Jaci's) which you may want to look into.

Another malaria-free zone is the Eastern Cape, which tends to have more productive game-viewing than Madikwe. You may want to consider reserves in this area -- I'd recommend Kwandwe, which has a particularly good children's programme.

All of SA will be quite warm in February, with Madikwe being much warmer compared to the other two reserves due to its location on the fringes of the Kalahari desert. If you or your kids don't tolerate heat well this may be an important factor. There is a chance of rain as all of the reserves will be experiencing their wet season. There will certainly be mosquitoes in the Sabi Sands and Kruger -- you would be advised to use insect repellant and to take anti-malarial prophylaxis (medication). Some people prefer not to give their children anti-malarial drugs -- this is something you should discuss with your doctor and with a travel medicine specialist. There is a paediatric version of Malarone, the drug which has the lowest rate of side effects.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Julian

[kurtis]

Hi Julien



You seem to be our Africa expert, so here goes.



I booked a package from LL to Lion Sands. Have you been there? I think it is fairly close to Sabi Sands. Will we see comparable animals. The big attraction to this resort was the treehouse night. Will it be warm enough late Aug. to do this outside night?





We are also going to Ulusaba, again from LL. Do you know anything about this area?



We have some days before our Kruger Park reservations, we were thinking of flying to Nairobi and going to Royal Mara on LL right now. Have you ever been up there? Do you think it would be a letdown if we went to Kenya during Migration then to Kruger park.



I also noticed on this board you like a resort off the coast of Mozambique starts with "B" lost the name right now. Do you know what the weather will be like there late August. If it is cold there, could you suggest somewhere else that would be warm with warm water good diving easy to get to from JNB or Kruger park.



Thanks in advance

carol

[jashermd]

Hello Kurtis,

Lion Sands is actually within the Sabi Sands, which is made up of a number of private reserves adjoining Kruger National Park. It's a great reserve with a lot of river frontage which will make a big difference in August as it's the dry season and the animals will be drawn to water sources, and they have a high land to guest ratio which will give you a more exclusive safari experience. It's one of my favourite reserves after the Big Three of Singita, Londolozi, and Mala Mala.

Ulusaba is on the western edge of the Sabi Sands and isn't actually that far from Lion Sands as the crow (or African fish eagle) flies. This sector has a lot of lodges in a relatively small area, which means a low land to guest ratio and a high vehicle density -- this can result in queueing at sightings especially for the big cats. Since you'll be going to Lion Sands where there aren't any queues, you could avoid this by telling your guide that you'd rather look for your own sightings then rush to the sightings reported on the radio which will have queues. This is what I would do if I were there. Because Ulusaba is actually on the edge of the reserve you can sometimes hear road noise from the lodge which is not ideal and is one reason (along with the crowding) why I don't think that Ulusaba (at normal rates) offers very good value for money. If you got a good deal through LL you're probably getting pretty good value for money if it represents a signfiicant discount off the normal rates.

I think I answered the Kenya question on your other post -- while the Migration is certainly an amazing sight, I'd recommed leaving it for another trip as the cost of flights between SA and Kenya will eat up any savings.

The place in Mozambique is Benguerra -- it will be lovely and warm when you're there and it would make a great finale to your trip!

Cheers,
Julian