50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve by Alan Crawford
Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve is based in KwaZulu Natal and is the third biggest South African game reserve. The reserve is well known for bringing the rhino population back from possible extinction. The big five can be spotted at this reserve. The reserve is also close to the Isimangaliso Wetland Park a world heritage sight.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Golden Gate Highlands National Park by Alan Crawford
Golden Gate National Park is based in the northern reaches of the Drakensberg mountain range and the Maluti mountains and is a great destination for hiking amongst high sandstone rock formations. The park contains wildlife found in the mountains of South Africa. A visit from here to the Drakensberg mountain resorts is also possible.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Augrabies Falls National Park by Alan Crawford
Augrabies Falls National Park contains the Augrabies falls where the Orange (Gariep) River carves it path through scenic gorges. The falls are spectacular after periods of high rainfall. A number of animals including Black Rhino can be seen in this arid park.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park visit is an experience of adaption of life to a desert environment
A review of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa by Alan Crawford
The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is situated 260km north of Upington, South Africa and the South African section of the park is wedged between Namibia on the left and Botswana to the right. The term “Transfrontier” comes from the fact that the park spans two countries namely South Africa and Botswana and the park is jointly managed by both countries.
Our trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park was undertaken in December 2016 during summer. The weather at this time of the year is very hot with temperatures averaging between 32 degrees and 45 degrees centigrade. The heat is a dry heat without humidity and temperatures cool down in the evening into the twenties. In winter temperatures the night time temperatures can be below freezing point.
Whilst temperatures are hot at this time of the year there are advantages for game viewing as animals normally congregate close to the many water holes in the park. The geography park is a desert environment which has two dry rivers the Auob River that flows once every 10 years and the Nossob River that flows every 100 years. In summer the afternoon storms are spectacular as they are intense and occasionally are accompanied by dust storms.
The Kgalagadi is home to the black maned lions and during this year’s trip we were able to see 42 different lion at various locations in the park. Cheetahs were active as the onset of early rains resulted in the large herds of Springbok migrating off the dues into the river beds where fresh shoots of vegetation were growing. After dry periods when the first rains start you can see the change in colours overnight as the fresh shoots of grass and leaves on the “Drie Doring” (three thorn) shrubs start growing immediately. The Springbok can hold back the birth of their young until the rains come. When this takes place the cheetahs are very active hunting the young springbok lambs. Leopards, although difficult to see, are abundant in the park and often hide out in the rocky limestone outcrops where they can survey the riverbeds for prey. The Kgalagadi has high numbers of brown hyena, which are shy animals but often seen in the early morning.
A number of antelope species are found in the park with the dominant species being Springbok, Gemsbok (Oryx), Red Hartebeest, Kudu and Steenbok. During some seasons when water is scarce in the Central Kalahari in Botswana large herds of Eland, the biggest antelope in Southern Africa, migrate into the park.
The Kgalagadi is not always about the big animals but also a number of other interesting mammals such as the Honey Badger, Ground Squirrels, Mongoose, Surricates (Meercats), Cape Fox, Aardwolf, Pangolin, Black Backed Jackal, Porcupine, Caracal, and African Wild Cat that occur in the park.
Reptiles such a Tree Agamas, Cape Cobra, Puff Adders are often prey for the many small raptors, owls and eagles found in the park.
There are approximately 280 species of bird that occur in the park of which about 92 are permanent residents. During summer birdwatching is excellent as the area has a very high concentration of raptors that follow the rain fronts and feed on termite eruptions. During our trip we were able to tick off 92 different bird species.
There are three main camps Twee Rivieren, Mata Mata and Nossob. These offer a variety of accommodation from campsites, bungalows to family cottages. Only Twee Rivieren has power for 24 hours whilst Mata Mata and Nossob have generated power form 5.00am to 10.00pm. Most accommodation contains a fridge, hot plate or gas cooker top, microwave oven and the basic crockery and cutlery. Apart from the main camps there are three wilderness camps that are unfenced and offer a wilder experience being more remotely positioned but with modest “luxury’ facilities. Only Twee Rivieren has a restaurant and self-catering is required in all other camps. The three main camps have shops which carry beverages, basic food stuff, meat, curios and basic toiletries.
Apart from the South African side of the park guests can make use of two lodges on the Botswana side of the park one based at Rooiputs in the south and the other at Polenswa in the north of the park. There are also camps at Rooiputs and Polenswa that are completely unfenced and a vehicle with a roof top tent is essential as the camps are often frequented by lion.
Visitors can fly into Upington and rent vehicles to travel to the park although double cab pickup trucks will handle the gravel roads better and the higher vantage point facilitates better game viewing. Upington is a good travel hub to use as the Augrabies Falls National Park is only 112km away. Travelling into Namibia is also possible from Upington.
Further details of the park can be obtained by visiting the South African National Parks website on www.sanparks.org
For a sample of photos of the animals of the park visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanjcrawfordphotography/
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Alan Crawford
South Africa has a number of national parks which preserve it natural beauty as well as the flora and fauna of the country. One can experience animals in the wild in their natural habitats.
BR
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent and unforgettable!!!..
We have really enjoyed our unforgettable experiences in a 4 days tour in the Kruger National Park. Our best thanks to Wild Planet Safari and our guide Adriaan for the excellent services provided. We were in a group of 04 people and our transport was made in a van vehicle (kind of mini bus). It was relatively new, quite reliable, very safe and equipped with air conditioning and all other items to make our tour extremely comfortable. We stayed in very clean and cozy rondwel huts in Skukuza and Satara Rest Camps. Adriaan is a highly qualified, extremely well informed, very professional, creative and most friendly guide. His first class guidance and competent support as well as the information, stories and jokes about the wildlife made the tour even more interesting. His assistant during the tour was Lucky, a quite helpful professional as well. Wild Planet Safari is not apparently a big company, but its services are provided on a highly personalized basis as a big difference in its favor. I strongly recommend its services and for any further information please contact me.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome!!!
Everything about this trip was great. Lisa and Hanas picked us up in Jo-burg for our three day trip and dropped us back at the airport after the tour. Our group was large (18) but the tour ran like a well oiled machine. The guides were very professional and fun. We were able to see four of the big five in Kruger (leopard eluded us). I cannot recommend this Safari enough, it was the highlight of our trip to South Africa.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing post-wedding trip with friends & family!
Grassrootz helped us a lot to realize a trip of a lifetime! We had our wedding in Uganda, and Sander helped us to show our guests some of Uganda's highlights after the wedding. We travelled with a group of 23 people for 7 days, and visited Lake Mburo, Queen Elisabeth National Park, Kibale Forest and the crater lakes bij fort portal. We enjoyed it so much, we saw lots of animals, from zebra's through a lion in a tree, lots of hippo's, elephants, cimpansees... and enjoyed the great diversity of the Ugandan landscapes and national parks. Sander has been very flexible in accommodating different needs and budgets of individuals/sub-groups within our group, some alternative accommodation and activity options. He is also very quick to respond, and found us really good lodges! The lodges all had gorgeous views, good food, nice campfires, beautiful outdoor showers, luxury tents in the forest... The trip he put together for us was sharply priced, really good value. We had three vans with drivers and one car of our own, and all drivers were very friendly and professional, and made the trip do smoothly. Having travelled and lived in Uganda before, we knew how beautiful it was already, but this trip with so many friends & family was very special! We had an Amazing time!! A big thanks again to Sander for helping us make it happen!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Barafu is first class all the way!
My experience in Tanzania was far better than I had hoped, greatly due to Barafu and Chance. I booked my Kilimanjaro climb and a two-day safari with Barafu. As promised, I was picked up at the airport at 10 pm on arrival day by Barafu and taken to Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel in Moshi, which was awesome. The day after I arrived I went on the two-day safari to Tarangire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. I highly recommend this tour; I learned a lot, the landscape was gorgeous and the wildlife was more than I expected. I chose a 7-day Kilimanjaro climb via the Lemosho route. There were 4 other climbers in my group and we ended up completing the climb in 6 days. I am a 50 year old female and I hiked with a mix of 20+ year olds. It was a steady pace and we all summited. For the most part nobody had too much trouble. We all took Diamox. I’m sure our guides and porters deserve much of the credit. They were fantastic. They were professional, supportive, fun, energetic, encouraging, knowledgeable, interesting and more. Mohamed was my guide and I loved him immediately. I trusted his judgement implicitly. The best crew on the mountain! And the food was incredible! Barafu cares about every part of the experience; safety, nourishment, knowledge, achievement, fun and entertainment.
Recommendations:
Book with Barafu.
Take the Lemosho route.
Go to Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire.
Bring Diamox.
Follow Barafu’s gear list.
Rent a sleeping bag and then...
Use a Sol Escape Lite bivy as a sleeping bag liner.
(Best thing I did. I believe I was the only warm one at night.)
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience, guide was perfect, Organisation perfect, totally recommended and with closed eye
More then expected, also we needed some help in Zanzibar and we received 100% support without any extra charge.