Accomodation in S Africa/Kruger Park

tim..... schreef:
> 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?

If you intend to stay inside kruger, you will have big difficulties to
find a place. Especially for first week of july, everything is fully
booked. I believe there is a school holiday then.

I tried making reservations for that same period back in
january/february and found that most camps were then already fully booked.

Your only option would be to try and book accomodation just outside the
park and try to get in each day as a day visitor. But if the park is
fully booked, they might not let in day visitors.

Another option would be the private reserves bordering Kruger. They
might have vacant rooms, but at a price level different from Kruger!

> 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!)

Yes, nearly all people that visit kruger will do so with their own (or
rented) vehicles. No 4x4 needed. That makes access easy and cheap. But
it does take away a bit of the true feeling of wilderness.

regards,
Hans

Marc Lurie schreef:
> I'd recommend that you hire a higher car (something like an SUV if
> possible), prefereably with a sunroof.

Putting your head through a sunroof to watch animals is officially not
allowed in Kruger. I know, most people don't care about these rules, but
officially you should not have any parts of your body sticking out of
the car.

Regards,
Hans

Marc Lurie schreef:
> Just remember to CLOSE the sunroof when there are
> baboons around!!! ;-)

Indeed! Many years ago we had a fullgrown male baboon in our car at Cape
of Good Hope. I stopped at a parking spot and didn't see any baboons at
all. So I forgot to immediately close the back door when I took my
camera out. Suddenly I heard mt wife screaming as she was busy trying to
scare the baboon off. He came right at her. luckiliy he didn't bite,
just smashed his fist on het leg. It was black and blue for quite a while.

And for the next two weeks, we were scratching because of baboon flees.
:-(((((

Regards,
Hans

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. :-))