Accomodation in S Africa/Kruger Park

tim..... schreef:
OK thanks. R500 for a bungalow is easily affordable.
It seems that the week that is best for me: 1-7 July
still has some availability.

There may be some bungalows available in that week, but if you intend to
visit different restcamps (which I would certainly advice), please keep
in mind that distances between camps can be BIG and you are only allowed
to drive very slowly (around 40kmh).

Waiting until about July 14 is better but then my flights
will be 200 pounds more!

I found the same thing. And since we need four tickets (me, wife, 2
kids) that counts.

Seems I will need to book the accomodation first and
then make the flights fit. Unfortunately, I can't find the
cancellation details.

Cancellation details for the parks should be on the site somewhere. But
if you want to book on such short notice, you will have to pay the
entire sum immediately, without getting a refund upon cancellation. I
think the entire sum has to be paid six weeks in advance.

I presume that car hire in Jo'burg isn't going to be a
problem!

I would try to rent a car beforehand and have it ready at the airport.
So you don't need to go into Jo'burg and can head for kruger
immediately. It is about a 5-6 hour drive to Numbi gate (close to
Pretoriuskop camp).

Does arriving really early get you in? I note that it opens
at 6:00, or does everybody do that?

It helps, but most people arrive early. I guess really big crowds only
happen at national holidays and long weekends. Don't know about this
early july holiday.

The park would appear to be about 400km from end to end.
That's a size of a medium sized country, 2 or 3000 people
is not going to fill it.

If I remember correct the park can hold up to 4300 overnight tourist at
a time. Still, some accomodation can be fully booked a long time
beforehand. You can book accomodation 11 months before.

More general info he
http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2668

Right, off to the Library, to get a book, so that I can work
out what to do with a week in Cape Town.

Cape Town is nice if you have a week. I would visit/do:

In Cape Town:
- City centre and botanical garden
- Table mountain
- Waterfront
- Old dutch fort.

In the area:

- Cape of Good Hope
- Simonstown (pinguins)

- Cape Agulhas
- Hermanus (Whale watching)

Regards,
hans

"tim....." wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm thinking of booking an impromptu trip to SA in about 4 weeks time.

1) If I just fly into Jo'berg, rent a car and then drive in the direction
of
the park, will I have difficulty finding somewhere to stay or do I need
to make arrangements beforehand?

2) Is it possible to arrange safari trips through the park 'on the day'?
(I presume that I'm not allowed to drive to see the elephants in my
hire car!)


Hi Tim,

1. In the month June you don't have to book in advance.
2. Guess what... you are allowed to drive in the Kruger Park with your own
vehicle! Off course you can also book gamedrives, but meeting elephants and
all the other animals is also very nice when you're driving yourself.

Enjoy your trip!

Regards from the bush,

Corné.

www.amukela.com

"tim....." wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm thinking of booking an impromptu trip to SA in about 4 weeks time.

1) If I just fly into Jo'berg, rent a car and then drive in the direction
of
the park, will I have difficulty finding somewhere to stay or do I need
to make arrangements beforehand?

2) Is it possible to arrange safari trips through the park 'on the day'?
(I presume that I'm not allowed to drive to see the elephants in my
hire car!)


Hi Tim,

1. In the month June you don't have to book in advance.
2. Guess what... you are allowed to drive in the Kruger Park with your own
vehicle! Off course you can also book gamedrives, but meeting elephants and
all the other animals is also very nice when you're driving yourself.

Enjoy your trip!

Regards from the bush,

Corné.

www.amukela.com

School holidays are from 22 June to 16 July



On Fri, 25 May 2007 20:49:48 +0100, "tim....."
wrote:


So how does that work out with the school holiday?

"Marc Lurie" wrote in message
...
School holidays are from 22 June to 16 July

Um, that's interesting.

So, would I be better to wait two weeks?

Doing this will cost me a little under 200 pounds on
the flight cost (because that's when the holidays here
start). But how much of my time will be wasted
driving around looking for somewhere to stay (generally,
not just in the park)?

I really don't want to have to pre-book, experience
tells me that I will end up with a compromised route
doing this.

tim

"Wildpicture" wrote in message
...
tim..... schreef:
OK thanks. R500 for a bungalow is easily affordable.
It seems that the week that is best for me: 1-7 July
still has some availability.

There may be some bungalows available in that week, but if you intend to
visit different restcamps (which I would certainly advice), please keep in
mind that distances between camps can be BIG and you are only allowed to
drive very slowly (around 40kmh).

Waiting until about July 14 is better but then my flights
will be 200 pounds more!

I found the same thing. And since we need four tickets (me, wife, 2 kids)
that counts.

Seems I will need to book the accomodation first and
then make the flights fit. Unfortunately, I can't find the
cancellation details.

Cancellation details for the parks should be on the site somewhere. But if
you want to book on such short notice, you will have to pay the entire sum
immediately, without getting a refund upon cancellation. I think the
entire sum has to be paid six weeks in advance.

I presume that car hire in Jo'burg isn't going to be a
problem!

I would try to rent a car beforehand and have it ready at the airport.

I had no intention of not pre-booking.

Just that it will be the last thing. I didn't want to book a flight
to somewhere, to find that I can't get a car.

So you don't need to go into Jo'burg and can head for kruger immediately.
It is about a 5-6 hour drive to Numbi gate (close to Pretoriuskop camp).

Does arriving really early get you in? I note that it opens
at 6:00, or does everybody do that?

It helps, but most people arrive early. I guess really big crowds only
happen at national holidays and long weekends. Don't know about this early
july holiday.

The park would appear to be about 400km from end to end.
That's a size of a medium sized country, 2 or 3000 people
is not going to fill it.

If I remember correct the park can hold up to 4300 overnight tourist at a
time. Still, some accomodation can be fully booked a long time beforehand.
You can book accomodation 11 months before.

More general info he
http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2668

Right, off to the Library, to get a book, so that I can work
out what to do with a week in Cape Town.

Cape Town is nice if you have a week. I would visit/do:

In Cape Town:
- City centre and botanical garden
- Table mountain
- Waterfront
- Old dutch fort.

In the area:

- Cape of Good Hope
- Simonstown (pinguins)

- Cape Agulhas
- Hermanus (Whale watching)

Thanks

tim

Tim, I can't tell you what to do, but I'd personally want to avoid
school holidays here. The park will be chock-a-block and facilities
are stretched to the limit. There's nothing worse than finding an
amazing sighting (lions on a kill for example, or a leopard in a
tree), only to have 5 million other tourists descend on you for a
gawk.

When its quieter its always better.

A major advantage of staying inside the park is that you can get into
the park slghtly earlier than outside tourists which means you have a
better chance to see the shy animals such as leopard. However, you
have to get up REAL early to be at the front of the queue to leave
your camp, and its chilly at this time of the year in the mornings.

Cheers,
Marc

On Mon, 28 May 2007 17:01:56 +0100, "tim....."
wrote:


"Marc Lurie" wrote in message
.. .
School holidays are from 22 June to 16 July

Um, that's interesting.

So, would I be better to wait two weeks?

Doing this will cost me a little under 200 pounds on
the flight cost (because that's when the holidays here
start). But how much of my time will be wasted
driving around looking for somewhere to stay (generally,
not just in the park)?

I really don't want to have to pre-book, experience
tells me that I will end up with a compromised route
doing this.

tim

On 29 May, 09:28, Marc Lurie wrote:
Tim, I can't tell you what to do, but I'd personally want to avoid
school holidays here. The park will be chock-a-block and facilities
are stretched to the limit. There's nothing worse than finding an
amazing sighting (lions on a kill for example, or a leopard in a
tree), only to have 5 million other tourists descend on you for a
gawk.

When its quieter its always better.

A major advantage of staying inside the park is that you can get into
the park slghtly earlier than outside tourists which means you have a
better chance to see the shy animals such as leopard. However, you
have to get up REAL early to be at the front of the queue to leave
your camp, and its chilly at this time of the year in the mornings.

Cheers,
Marc

On Mon, 28 May 2007 17:01:56 +0100, "tim....."

wrote:

"Marc Lurie" wrote in message
.. .
School holidays are from 22 June to 16 July

Um, that's interesting.

So, would I be better to wait two weeks?

Doing this will cost me a little under 200 pounds on
the flight cost (because that's when the holidays here
start). But how much of my time will be wasted
driving around looking for somewhere to stay (generally,
not just in the park)?

I really don't want to have to pre-book, experience
tells me that I will end up with a compromised route
doing this.

tim

Self drive safaris are fine in theory but the best safaris are
normally guided by someone with local knowledge of the likely places
you will find elusive aqnimals like leopard. That's not to say you
won't find these animals on your own, simply to point out that
experiencd guides will make a huge difference to your safari.

Safarihenry

schreef:
Self drive safaris are fine in theory but the best safaris are
normally guided by someone with local knowledge of the likely places
you will find elusive aqnimals like leopard. That's not to say you
won't find these animals on your own, simply to point out that
experiencd guides will make a huge difference to your safari.

So much for this sponsored commecial message. :-))