AJ605

Hi,

I am helping to plan a trip for a group of college students traveling to South Africa to play squash in December. Can anyone recommend a well priced game park that is either drivable from Cape Town or J-Berg? I visited SA a few years ago and had a wonderful time at Tanda Tula but that is a little more than we would like to spend.

Many thanks!
Amelia

canadian_robin

Try Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in northern SA - driveable from CT in about 8-9 hours (although you might want to overnight at Augrabies National Park on the way - great spot - take the students for a hike up to the top of Moon Rock) - camping in both parks is reasonably priced - you can book online - South Africa National Parks are incredibly organized - and it is a lovely park - great game viewing and not nearly as crowded as Kruger!
see www.sanparks.co.za and then go to "parks a to z"
Robin

AJ605

Thanks! That sounds like a perfect option.

Celia

Hi, Amelia. Yes, stay in one of the SA National Parks! They are very well organized, and if you don't want to camp, you can rent chalets for about $30 per person per night.

However, I would pick Kruger Park over Kgalagadi. It's closer, only about 4 or 5 hours from Jo'burg. Also, Kgalagadi is awfully remote and the camps are small, some providing for only 8 guests. Also, it's my understanding that there are no elephants in Kgalagadi, and if this is the only trip some of the students will ever make to Africa, it would be a shame not to see wild elephants.

Another thing to consider is that the roads in Kruger are good, and I gather that's not so in Kgalagadi.

And lastly, they will meet more South Africans in Kruger than in Kgalagadi, just because of the relative size and remoteness of the two parks. For a student group, that kind of person-to-person contact will be important.

I don't want to sound like Kgalagadi isn't a great place -- I haven't been there but I've just booked a trip there for next April! (Lucky me!!!) But I think for first-timers, Kruger is a better choice.

Do you get to go with the group, Amelia, or just help them plan?

Celia

p.s. It isn't too early to book for December; since that's school holidays in SA, the parks fill up fast.

See the Sanparks website for tons of helpful info. www.sanparks.org

luangwablondes

Pilanesburg is a smaller park and the game viewing is quite good. Its a fenced park and you would have a good chance of seeing about 'everything'. There was a posting quite a while back linking to pictures of wild dogs chasing a water buck into a lake and a hippo going after it there.

luangwablondes

Found the link
http://plig.net/~beccy/pilanesberg.htm

AJ605

Thanks again.

Celia, do you recommend any park in particular? There seem to be several that have chalets in kruger. Unfortunately, I don't get to go with them My sister is getting married so I will be at home celebrating with her.

AJ605

One more question: There is a possibility that we will not have time to go to J-berg...only to cape town, Do you think the best game park in that area is Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park? or are there other options? THanks

canadian_robin

Hi Amelia! The roads in Kgalagadi are fine - perfectly driveable in a 2WD vehicle - you do, however, need a 4WD to get into two of the wilderness camps - Bitterpan and Gharagab (because they are in the dunes) - otherwise a normal vehicle will do. As Celia suggests, you should check the availability in the park for the dates you want - you can do so on the SAN Parks website - the park is popular and fills up quickly - we have already booked for August 2008. Celia and I obviouly have different perspectives - it is the remoteness of Kgalagadi that we love and it is the 8-person wilderness camps that we always choose to stay in. We too have visited Kruger and the crowds and cars drove us crazy - once you have visited Kgalagadi, it is difficult to return to Kruger - although both are great parks and certainly worth a visit and Kruger does have elephants. Celia is correct that there are no elephants in Kgalagdi - we get around that by visiting Addo Elephant Park - driveable from CT but probably not an option for you, because I suspect the team won't have enough time. Kor Kgalagadi, you would be limited to staying in the three camps that have camping sites - Mata Mata, Nossob and Twee Rivieren - the wilderness camps would be far to pricey for the students. They would have lots of opportunity to mingle with other visitors in the campgrounds. The people the students want to meet and talk with are the park rangers - they always have a fascinating history and the students will learn much from them! Robin

Celia

Amelia, if you're near Jo'burg, then Pilanesburg is a good choice. Addo Elephant park is great too. I still think Kruger is your best bet though, and I would opt for Lower Sabie as the camp of choice, for location and game viewing, and because it isn't nearly as busy as Skukuza or some of the others. (Skukuza is almost a town!)

Robin, I am greatly looking forward to my first visit to Kgalagadi! But I don't see how American visitors can go camping in any park. They'd have to rent or buy all their equipment -- tents, cooking utensils, tools, etc. etc. No way could they bring all that stuff from the US in their luggage. And they'd have to spend time buying food and doing meal planning for the whole group -- the logistics are just too difficult for a group whose primary focus is something else, in this case their athletic activities. I just think they'd have a better experience staying in non-camping accommodation, and eating in the camp restaurants for most meals other than an occasional braai.

And Amelia, do encourage them to braai once or twice at least. That's so much fun!

If they will be pretty much based in Cape Town, then maybe Kgalagadi is best, given the distances. But I advise staying in the cabins/chalets/whatever, rather than camping, for the reasons I gave above. And note that you have to cook all your own food in Kgalagadi, except at Twee Rivieren camp; and you have to bring all your own water.

Enjoy the wedding, Amelia!

Celia

canadian_robin

Hello again Amelia!
To take a group of college students into Kgalagadi or Kruger will require a lot of work and organization, whether they camp or stay in cabins. You will have to work out an itinerary, make bookings and rent vehicles to transport them in (and they likely aren't old enough to drive rental vehicles). If they can afford to stay in cabins, then that might be the easier route. I say "might" because, if camping is the only option for economical reasons, then your best bet would be to hire a tour company who would look after everything for you - the logistics/bookings and provide vehicles, camping equipment (obviously, the students can't haul the equipment on the airplane!) guides (to do the driving and provide expertise)and food. There are some excellent tour groups in SA who provide this service to schools/colleges at very reasonable prices. Our neighbour's daughter is about to head into Namibia and Botswana for 3 weeks with her (Canadian) school at a very reasonable rate - led by Wild Dogs - a Namibian based (I believe) tour group. This is often the better route for schools/colleges because they are far less liable in the event of an accident if the group is being led by a "professional" - as opposed to teachers or parents. If you decide to go the restaurant route, Kgalagadi is not really geared to that - you would be better off in Kruger, where there are more larger camps with restaurant facilities - allowing the students to move bewteen camps and see more of the park. Whatever route you choose, the students will have a great time. Good luck! Robin

AJ605

Thank you to everyone for your advice. I am going to start researching my options today.