Safari, first time, help please

[Adenauer]

Hi Chaps and ladies,

I'm looking at taking Mrs A on a Safari next year and combining it with a few days in Cape Town (Whale watching and Boulder Beach for the lovely whiff of Penguin poo).

We've never done one before so any tips most welcome.

I'd like us to be in a small vehicle / group and not a mass thing. Any recommendations?

It would be Feb / March time. Good or bad?

So far it's looking like (based purely on my own googling) 5 nights at Lamai Safari Lodges and 4 nights in Cape Town, but I can change whatever I want at the moment, nothing's booked, just looking for ideas and recommendations?

Dankeschön.

[TT1138]

Did similar in 2023.

I’d say a couple of nights in Capetown. It’s fine but not 4 night interesting. Queen Victoria or the Victoria and Alfred Hotel both highly recommended depending on budget. Really excellent, and a nice easy walk to the waterfront. Food recommendations Den Anker and The Butcher’s Grill. 12 Apostles hotel too, although it’s further out.

Happy to write up recommendations for Safari as well if interested?

[Adenauer]

TT1138 said:

Happy to write up recommendations for Safari as well if interested?

Yes please.

[Audis5b9]

Adenauer said:

Hi Chaps and ladies,

I'm looking at taking Mrs A on a Safari next year and combining it with a few days in Cape Town (Whale watching and Boulder Beach for the lovely whiff of Penguin poo).

We've never done one before so any tips most welcome.

I'd like us to be in a small vehicle / group and not a mass thing. Any recommendations?

It would be Feb / March time. Good or bad?

So far it's looking like (based purely on my own googling) 5 nights at Lamai Safari Lodges and 4 nights in Cape Town, but I can change whatever I want at the moment, nothing's booked, just looking for ideas and recommendations?

Dankeschön.

Dont want to be overly negative but...

Wrong time of year for whales around Cape Town (they come June-November), also Boulders beach is a bit rubbish, if its busy you pay to join a queue to walk along a boardwalk to see some penguins... may as well be at a zoo.

If you enjoy food/ wine then get yourself to the wine regions (Stellenbosch/ franschoek/ Hemel en Aarde are the biggest ones near CPT) for a couple of nights. Can't really go wrong there.

Regarding Safaris, the best ones in SA are in/ near the Kruger. We went to Tintswalo which was incredible.
The ones along the garden route tend to be more like oversize zoos and many allow big game hunting, so that puts some people off.

Edited by Audis5b9 on Friday 7th March 21:31

[_Neal_]

TT1138 said:

Did similar in 2023.

I’d say a couple of nights in Capetown. It’s fine but not 4 night interesting. Queen Victoria or the Victoria and Alfred Hotel both highly recommended depending on budget. Really excellent, and a nice easy walk to the waterfront. Food recommendations Den Anker and The Butcher’s Grill. 12 Apostles hotel too, although it’s further out.

Happy to write up recommendations for Safari as well if interested?

We thought Cape Town was stunning - stayed in Camps Bay and it was excellent. Did a small group day tour (Hout Bay including boat tour, Cape of Good Hope, Chapman's Peak Drive, botanical gardens etc) and it was absolutely superb. Table Mountain, Robben Island etc we didn't do, so there's plenty for 4 nights. 2 nights I think would be too short, you'd arrive evening of night one, full day next day then have to pack up again. 3-4 nights I reckon

Safari-wise we drove the Garden Route staying at an bunch of other places (Oudtshoorn, Fancourt etc) and finished with Safari at Pumba (see other threads on here too) and it was exceptional. This was all in August so weather far colder/wet in Cape Town. As said, whale watching unlikely in Feb/March.

Thing I would say is that if you can do 12-14 nights you'll be able to see and do more (obviously) and travel at a sensible pace. Given how long it takes to get there, cost etc I'd try and do two full weeks if possible.

[DJC76]

TT1138 said:

Did similar in 2023.

I’d say a couple of nights in Capetown. It’s fine but not 4 night interesting. Queen Victoria or the Victoria and Alfred Hotel both highly recommended depending on budget. Really excellent, and a nice easy walk to the waterfront. Food recommendations Den Anker and The Butcher’s Grill. 12 Apostles hotel too, although it’s further out.

Happy to write up recommendations for Safari as well if interested?

I respectfully disagree. I’ve been to Cape Town I think 10 times now and I’m still finding things to do. It’s got everything and is well worth spending a decent amount of time in and around.

I wouldn’t hang around the V&A too much, it’s pleasant enough but it’s not Africa, it’s a shopping centre with some largely mediocre restaurants attached. The saving grace is that Den Anker has one of the nicest views you can imagine looking back at Table Mountain. Get out and explore the other parts of the city, it’s incredibly varied.

As for safari, Kruger, every time. You can fly direct to Mmombela or better still Skukuza from Cape Town. I like Rhino Post which also has a sister walking safari lodge, now that’s an experience. Also in the area and quite cool is Shalati where you stay on the train over the Sabie River. There are so many high end lodges around there you’re spoilt for choice and can’t really go wrong.

Alternatively, get up to Botswana and out into the Okavango. That’s just incredible and the density of wildlife is insane.

[LooneyTunes]

Adenauer said:

Any recommendations?

A good pair of binoculars for everyone in the group.

You don’t need crazy sized optics/magnification but do need them light enough to comfortably use.

[DJC76]

LooneyTunes said:

Adenauer said:

Any recommendations?

A good pair of binoculars for everyone in the group.

You don’t need crazy sized optics/magnification but do need them light enough to comfortably use.

Great tip

[Imasurv]

DJC76 said:

TT1138 said:

Did similar in 2023.

I’d say a couple of nights in Capetown. It’s fine but not 4 night interesting. Queen Victoria or the Victoria and Alfred Hotel both highly recommended depending on budget. Really excellent, and a nice easy walk to the waterfront. Food recommendations Den Anker and The Butcher’s Grill. 12 Apostles hotel too, although it’s further out.

Happy to write up recommendations for Safari as well if interested?

I respectfully disagree. I’ve been to Cape Town I think 10 times now and I’m still finding things to do. It’s got everything and is well worth spending a decent amount of time in and around.

I wouldn’t hang around the V&A too much, it’s pleasant enough but it’s not Africa, it’s a shopping centre with some largely mediocre restaurants attached. The saving grace is that Den Anker has one of the nicest views you can imagine looking back at Table Mountain. Get out and explore the other parts of the city, it’s incredibly varied.

As for safari, Kruger, every time. You can fly direct to Mmombela or better still Skukuza from Cape Town. I like Rhino Post which also has a sister walking safari lodge, now that’s an experience. Also in the area and quite cool is Shalati where you stay on the train over the Sabie River. There are so many high end lodges around there you’re spoilt for choice and can’t really go wrong.

Alternatively, get up to Botswana and out into the Okavango. That’s just incredible and the density of wildlife is insane.

Yep, agree. CT has more than enough going on to keep you occupied for at least a week. Couple of days in the winelands, day up Table Mountain, day to cape point, Clifton and Camps Bay beaches, I could go on.

Also as pointed out Feb/March is wrong time for whales, although we have seen them off the coast on occasion around Jan/Feb.

We are looking at a safari next year so will keep an eye on this thread, although there are other PH threads on safaris.

[WY86]

Spent a lot of time in Cape town and Garden route! A wonderful city but have your wits about you! Food wise i would recommend Chapmans Peak hotel and restaurant but if you want a cheaper place try a Spur.

I have done two Safari’s one in Kenya and one in Joburg. The biggest tip i can give is do not expect to see anything, they are extremely hit and miss in terms of seeing big cats and alike. Still an amazing experience though.

Edited by WY86 on Saturday 8th March 18:54

[DJC76]

WY86 said:

Spent a lot of time in Cape town and Garden route! A wonderful city but have your wits about you! Food wise i would recommend Chapmans Peak hotel and restaurant but if you want a cheaper place try a Spur.

I have done two Safari’s one in Kenya and one in Joburg. The biggest tip i can give is do not expect to see anything, they are extremely hit and miss in terms of seeing big cats and alike. Still an amazing experience though.

Edited by WY86 on Saturday 8th March 18:54

If you want to be as sure as you can be of seeing big cats and rhino I would pick somewhere like Etosha in Namibia where water is in short supply and they have to use the watering holes near the campsites. Okaukuejo campsite which also has chalets some with balconies views overlooking the watering hole is a good spot. I could spend all day just sat there with a bottle of pinotage watching the animals come and go. That being said I visited Kruger 3 times in 2023 and saw lion and/or leopard on every trip. Etosha last year lion and cheetah but no leopard, both black and white rhino is fairly significant numbers.

[Adenauer]

Thank you very much everyone.

That's a bummer about the Whale watching as we love to do that. I'll maybe have a look at shifting the trip dates.

Off to look at the other Safari threads on here now.

[Djtemeka]

Don’t pet the daawg