We were excited for our first trip to Africa, and a week into our trip I can report we are still excited and a bit in awe. We are joined by our children for a week around Kruger National Park in South Africa followed by a few days in Cape town. With two Safari lodges and 14 game drives some would call it a “trip of a lifetime”, but I have never liked that term. It sounds too final, and a bit negative. Could I never travel to Africa again? Or worse, is my “lifetime’ almost over, with no time left for a return trip to Africa? After the past week I am certain a return trip to Africa is in our future.
The one aspect of our journey that we were not excited about was the 36 hours of travel needed to reach our destination. A ten hour flight to London, then a 9 hour layover at Heathrow, followed by an 11 hour red eye to Johannesburg, then a connecting flight to Kruger and a van ride down a bumpy dirt road to our first stop at Kwambili Lodge in the Thornybush Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park. Our children have limited vacation so traveling to Africa in the shortest time possible was a must. We have, on occasion, been able to make long flights bearable by flying business class but it seems near impossible to find a bargain on business class travel these days regardless of whether you use cash or points. I like the additional room, better food and a lie flat seat but it is hard to justify when could spend an extra month in Africa for the price of two business class tickets. And besides, you would probably judge me if we left our kids back in steerage….I mean coach.
An African Safari has been on our wish list for years. I had watched several vloggers on YouTube giving all sorts of conflicting advice and pricing. One telling you to splurge and travel like you are an Instagram influencer or maybe a Kardashian and another telling you to drive Kruger in your own car and tent camp. While both options are possible, I hoped to find something in the middle. I reached out to one vlogger who seemed both knowledgeable and reasonable and asked for recommendations for a safari booking agent and he referred me to the wonderful people at Brett Horley Safaris. I usually don’t use a travel agent and rarely go on guided trips, but I quickly learned that there is no price difference booking a Safari through an agent and having an expert on the ground was both wonderful and invaluable.
South Africa is generally considered the easiest location to go on Safari as it has good infrastructure, one of the largest game parks in the world and everyone speaks English. The greater Kruger Reserve covers over 7,500 square miles. It includes private game reserves which border on park lands, but fences were dropped back in the 90’s allowing animals to roam free even if humans have limited access.
Kruger is one of the few game reserves where you can self-drive through the park much like US National Parks. Accordingly, there are a wide range of price options. You could rent a car and drive through Kruger staying at camp sites or rustic lodges. You would not be allowed drive off road, but you could join an off-road game drive at various park lodges. On the other end of the spectrum are five-star luxury lodges on private game reserves costing $1000 a night per person.
With the help of our friends at BHS we chose a middle ground that fit our budget. 7 days at two different lodges on two different private reserves along Kruger’s eastern border. The price for the week not including airfare came in at about $3500 per person, about what you might spend for a guided tour in Europe or a mid-priced cruise.
Kwambili Lodge has accommodations for 10 guests in luxury tents and chalets with ensuite baths and king-sized beds or two twins. It sits among the 35,000-acre Thornybush Private Game Reserve. The price includes all meals and game drives so your only out of pocket cost is alcohol and tips. Drinks are cheap by US standards, usually costing around $4, and normal tips will cost about $25 a day per person.
A normal day in camp starts at 5:30 AM with a wakeup call from your guide as he walks through the camp to ensure there are no predators in camp, after dark they ask that you not leave your tent without a guide as the camp is only surrounded by a two string electric fence to keep out elephants and buffalo but all other animals can freely walk through, no different than camp sites in Yellowstone.
After a quick cup of coffee we board our open air Range Rover with guide Tim and tracker Paul and head out into the bush. After a couple of hours, we stop to stretch our legs and enjoy a coffee laced with Amarula, the local liquor made from the berries of the marula tree, a bit like Baileys and equally delicious. Then back on board for more game watching before our return to the lodge around 9 AM for a full breakfast. We then have a few hours to nap or relax before being called to lunch in the main lodge around 2. At 3:00 we head out for our afternoon game drive. Around 6 we stop in the bush for “sundowners” a national tradition of happy hour in the bush. As the sun sets we drive back to the lodge for dinner as our tracker shines a light to illuminate animals along the sides of the road.
At Kwambili, dinner is served in the Boma, an outside cooking and dining area with a central fire pit, a beautiful setting in the warm African night. The accommodation and food at Kwambilli aren’t over the top fancy but the delicious food with clean, comfortable rooms are certainly better than anything I have had at a National Park lodge in the US. I hesitate to make this claim as I have certainly had a nice meal in the formal dining room at the El Tovar lodge at the Grand Canyon, but sitting around the fire as our hosts grill a nice steak and serve it with a lovely South African red wine, just seems a bit better. The intimacy of this small lodge is incredibly inviting, the people are wonderful and I could not recommend it more. The rates at Kwambili are less than $300 a night per person all-inclusive and the bottle of Pinotage set us back $18. So how you ask, did we get to $3,500 per person in 7 days? Well let me tell you about Thabamati Lodge in my next post.
G&K
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