Wanted: Safari Holiday

[rob4586]

Hi Folks,

I'm currently in the process of trying to arrange a safari holiday next year for myself and the Mrs for our honeymoon. We won't be looking to shoot, just view animals in their natural environment. We get married in May, so anything later in the year would work. Location not too important - i'm open to suggestions.

Before I head off searching the internet I thought someone on here must offer such or holiday or be able to recommend someone.

All the help is appreciated.

Regards
Rob

 

[guy]

Hi Folks,

I'm currently in the process of trying to arrange a safari holiday next year for myself and the Mrs for our honeymoon. We won't be looking to shoot, just view animals in their natural environment. We get married in May, so anything later in the year would work. Location not too important - i'm open to suggestions.

Before I head off searching the internet I thought someone on here must offer such or holiday or be able to recommend someone.

All the help is appreciated.

Regards
Rob

Hi Rob, please feel free to contact me on guy@wildhorizon.co.za we are based in the Eastern Cape and do Off Track adventure tours to remote inaccessible areas of the Eastern Cape and Wild Coast. We travel to lesser known reserves where we can walk amongst the game as well as really remote coastal destinations not available to the regular tourist, great fishing, sea food etc I can supply references that you can contact.

Kind regards
Guy

 

[rob4586]

Excellent - message inbound guy

 

[rob4586]

As always, some really useful help from this forum already. Thanks chaps.

 

[Colonel]

Hi, several years ago we did a similar safari in Tanzania. Our holiday was booked through Thomas Cook back then in conjunction with Somak Travel. We started in Mombasa and crossed into Tanzania near Urusha. We visited the Ngorogoro crater on our way across the Serengeti calling in at Lake Manyara? on the way back. We stayed at the “Serena” Lodges whilst on safari, excellent 5 star accommodation, couldn’t fault them. Champagne with breakfast before going on a game drive, what more can you ask (according to the missus!) At the end of the safari we returned to Mombasa and stayed at the Serena Beach Hotel (also 5 star) which again we couldn’t fault. Would recommend Tanzania for a safari holiday without hesitation.

 

[Tulloch]

Speak to Atlas hunting

 

[Sika98k]

Go to Namibia. Hire a SUV or Hilux from Savanna Car Hire. Visit Sossuvlei, the Fish River Canyon, the sand dunes, Swakopmund. Tour the Skeleton Coast National Park. Maybe do a bit of beach casting at Henties Bay. Visit Etosha. Stay in various rest camps along the way. Lots to see and do.
It’s a safe country, sparsely populated, size of France with 2 million people.

 

[deerpath]

Guy at Wild Horizons or Gerrit Van Vuren at Bosendal would be a great first safari for you and the new Mrs.

 

[deerwarden]

Been with Guy several times and always managed to get the trophies I wanted. highly recommended, and several other guys on here been with him too deerwarden

 

[savdp]

I would recommend Jock Safari Lodge - it is a private concession within the Kruger National Park. This would be at the more expensive end, but well worth it, even if for just a couple of days, then move onto another location.

Sean.

 

[NickJ]

May is coming in to their winter (June-Aug) but it will be dry and sunny in most places (their summers are their rainy season.)

I haven't been to Namibia or Tanzania, they are on my list, especially the latter as I have a friend who lives near Arusha.

I have been to SA a number of times and I agree with Sean that the Kruger is a great place for your first photographic safari, it is so big and diverse you can spend 2-3 nights at each place and travel around. You can share the drive from Jo'burg airport (7 hours ish) or get a connecting flight. The best and best value private place we have stayed there is Baluleni Safari Lodge which is unfenced so the game wanders up to your balcony.

The biggest range in value however is at the National Parks rest camps South African National Parks - SANParks - Official Website - Accommodation, Activities, Prices, Reservations some of which are amazing. You can still have guided game drives/walks etc from the camps.

Wild Horizon as above sounds fun. For our Eastern Cape trip we stayed in a SanParks lodge in Addo near Port Elizabeth South African National Parks - SANParks - Official Website - Accommodation, Activities, Prices, Reservations only 5 rondavels looking out over your own private 50,000 hectares, my idea of heaven. You can fly to PE then do Addo, then a drive stopping off through the Karoo and along the Garden Route, get some coast in and fly back out of Capetown. We did this over 10 days.

I managed to fit in a couple of days hunting around my family holidays, most places will tailor-make something. You might as well start your marriage off as you mean to carry on!

 

[sh1kar]

If you do end up in Kruger make sure you go as far up to Timbavati to visit the elephant museum. Unbelievable tusks. Including one embedded in another bull elephants skull
S

 

[sh1kar]

Pics with my son 2007 Assume its still there

Saw this guy on the way up, pity never saw anything like him on the 4 occasions I went elephant hunting! ( FYI don't any more)

 

[rob4586]

Incredible photos and very good advice - thank you. I’ll be sure to add that to the list.

View attachment 134653View attachment 134654View attachment 134655

Pics with my son 2007 Assume its still there

Saw this guy on the way up, pity never saw anything like him on the 4 occasions I went elephant hunting! ( FYI don't any more)

View attachment 134656

 

[rob4586]

Thanks gents - I think I’m sorted now with a few different options on the cards. We just need to decide between SA and Namibia but the latter seems to offer much greater value for money and a more unique experience. That said, I’d like to thank everyone for their help on this forum. You’ve all been very kind and full of information! Roll on next year!!

 

[Hunter 53]

If you want something really special and different to really spoil yourselves have a look at Rovos Rail we did Victoria falls to Pretoria. We are doing Namibia next year on the Shongola Express.

 

[tiny tim]

we went to Tanzania ,selous game reserve couldn't recommend it more fantastic camping in the bush

 

[NickJ]

View attachment 134653View attachment 134654View attachment 134655

Pics with my son 2007 Assume its still there

Saw this guy on the way up, pity never saw anything like him on the 4 occasions I went elephant hunting! ( FYI don't any more)

View attachment 134656

The pierced skull was still there Shikar when I visited the museum in 2018. I would guess hunting Timbavati would be as close to 'free range' as you can get in Timbavati?

 

[sh1kar]

Thanks Nick. My elephant hunting was in Zambia and Mozambique. Both free range. I have to say the elephant damage on the way up to the museum was massive when I visited, very little standing trees or bush due to a too large population. Not sure if its still like that as the cull in the Kruger that was planned the following year was stopped by Greenpeace et al
S

 

[NickJ]

Thanks Nick. My elephant hunting was in Zambia and Mozambique. Both free range. I have to say the elephant damage on the way up to the museum was massive when I visited, very little standing trees or bush due to a too large population. Not sure if its still like that as the cull in the Kruger that was planned the following year was stopped by Greenpeace et al
S

Indeed I think the elephant population in the Kruger is nearly 50% more than the recommended carry capacity when they stopped the culling in the mid 90s. The damage is very evident, there is a major problem with lack of trees in the park now. Add to that the pressure from the buffalo and hippo herds that were also culled previously and some we spoke to think in another 20 years the park could look very different given the current rate of attrition.
I assume they were hoping that now the NE borders were open in the Transfrontier park 'osmosis' would help distribution but the herds apparently don't leach over the national borders much but, understandably stay in the 'safe' Kruger park. SanParks were evidently worried about the potential backlash with the 'Green' groups saying they would campaign for tourists to boycott the park if the culling continued. There is some really compelling figures published by Timbavati about how much income one hunter brings in Vs a photographic tourist and the relative environmental footprint, even given that I fear hunting in the Greater Kruger is on borrowed time.
As always it's about ignorance - with emotions and politics overruling science. It is amazing how many people you meet in the Kruger who think you can just let nature take it's course when man has constructed a fence along at least most of the parks borders.