US
20-35 years of age
Review about Etosha National Park by adoninger13
There was always an animal to see, but finding the big 5 is a challenge. Salt pans and bush are cool to see, but I wouldn't necessarily describe them as breathtakingly beautiful.
Review about Mkhuze Game Reserve by MrTicklingstick
Only drove around for a short period on the way to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi - so cannot possibly give a fair overview, the scenery was amazing though.
US
20-35 years of age
if you go to Namibiaq, see the dunes - they are magnificent and breathtaking.
My first night in Namibia I spent at The Cardboard Box Backpackers in Windhoek. It was cheap, clean, nice, had a kitchen, and a friendly staff – I highly recommend it. I can’t talk much about Windhoek because I didn’t spend much time there. It doesn’t seem like there is too much to do. Also, it is a very modern city – reminded me of home (USA). My first destination was Etosha National Park. We got there by rental car – I don’t think there are buses that go up there, just tours which are really expensive. The drive was beautiful and what is nice about Etosha is that you can use your own vehicle to do a game drive instead of paying for an expensive safari. The problem with Etosha is how expensive it was. The park entrance fee and camping prices are OUTRAGEOUS. More than staying at a hostel – it was really ridiculous, but we had no alternative. The only food options are overpriced snacks like chips or breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets all very expensive. There are not any grocery stores or other restaurants nearby so either bring your own food and cooking equipment or prepare to be spending a lot of money on food.
Etosha is very big. We spent one night at a campsite on the eastern end of it and the next night at the western end of it. We did our own game drives and saw loads of animals. Apparently, Etosha is a great place to see the Big 5, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any of them in the 2 days we were there. The problem with Ethosha is that although you may not spend a lot of money on paying for a safari (although you certainly can – we didn’t) you spend a lot on gas because the park is so massive. By the time we left Etosha I was very tierd of sitting in the car.
Overall, Etosha was great. Just know that it has pricey food and accommodation and the majority of the trip will be spent sitting in a vehicle – a safari vehicle or your own. Also, it should be noted that the campsites all had very nice, clean facilities and pools.
CA
50-65 years of age
Review about Nairobi National Park by Yukon Travellor
Surrounded by the city. Some decent animal and bird viewing.
35-50 years of age
Review about Spioenkop Game Reserve by architectkzn
This is a landscape photographers dream. One can head off to the nearby Drakensberg Mountains and take spectacular photographs and enjoy the vast scenic mountain range scenery of the are. The local culutral village near Phutijaba isvery informative in terms of the cultural lives of the early San People who had inhabitated the region.
CH
50-65 years of age
Very good accomodation,excelent service,good game viewing. However little of that "Okavango" feeling
Very good landing strip and transport to the camp. The weather in April 2011 was warm to hot (what one would expect), some rain around but not over us. Charming cottages not fenced off from the reserve - one can even "get in touch" with the night-wandering hippos (not advisable though). Very good food and service (almost too attentive – but this over-attentiveness was experienced in all other camps, too). Wildlife viewing good.
However, in my opinion, one cannot experience the serenity of Okavango from a motor boat thundering through the channels of the Okavango Delta or from a 4-wheel drive, which are the only activities this camp offers. This camp does not offer excursions by a makoro (a dugout is for my part the main attraction of Okavango and I consider it a must). One can book a game drive in any game reserve in southern Africa – however the tranquillity of gliding silently low over the water surface through the reed, walks on the islands feeling the bush and peacefulness of this place is a must, which this destination unfortunatelly does not offer to its visitors.
35-50 years of age
Review about Mikumi National Park by bianca
The wildlife is good, but no different than many other parks in Tanzania. The location along the Great East Road makes it easily accessible for a quick game drive, but takes away some of the wildness of the remoter parks.
35-50 years of age
Review about Kruger National Park by Fad
Huge park with much variation. Lots to see if you are in the right part at the right time and a lot of camps to choose from or tour between.
35-50 years of age
On a downward curve
Having visited uMkhuze on several occasions previously I was somewhat concerned this year to see it looking somewhat shabbier than on previous visits. Signage was poor and some of the hides in a lamentable state of repair. Game viewing was also not what I had experienced on earlier visits.
That said, the accomodation was as good as I remember; comfortable, isolated chalets, a swimming pool all to me and my wife and father in law and babboon and impala right at the door. There is also cheap, decent food just a stone's throw away at the camp restaurant and nightly tours that are both reasonably priced and far from overcrowded. What game I did see was worth the trip; a pack of wild dogs (the rarest predator on the continent as I understand it), fantastic up-close views of a very impressive Kudu and plenty of bird life. On earlier trips I have seen rhino, both black and white, there, bush babies, hyena, civet, hippo, giraffe, zebra, untold impala and nyala and some of the rarer birds.
uMkhuze is a quiet reserve, perhaps due to it's current lack of maintenance, so there is no danger of encountering crowds and it has some lovely picnic spots by the pans where there was no one but myself, my family, and the monkeys to spoil the peace. With a bit more care uMkhuze could be a lovely, peaceful place to visit again and the staff are helpful and pleasant. It is also conveniently located for day trips to neighbouring Hluhluwe-Umfolozi and the St Lucia wetland park (now renamed iSimangaliso). A good destination for bird lovers but not as varied scenery wise as I might prfer, with a lot of thick, flat brush for the animals to lose themselves in.
Weather in early April was almost perfect, warm but not too hot, mosquito free (from what we saw) and suitable for Braais (BBQs) every night at the fixed Braai grills that are located outside each chalet, and cleaned at dawn each day. Just don't forget to take your own charcoal, lighters and food as the shop is a little sparse.
A little much needed work and uMkhuze could be, once again, a top destination, located as it is within easy travelling distance from Durban.
35-50 years of age
Review about South Africa by Fad
Having only ever visited South Africa I could not make comment on the rest of the continent.