South Africa Aug 2011 (1 Viewer)

I'm tentatively planning a 2-3 week trip to South Africa next August- I will do 3 weeks if money and time allow, both of which are up in the air at the moment. It will be my first visit to the continent so virtually everything will be new. I'm hoping to do about a week in Kruger and a week around Cape Town, including a pelagic trip. I just got Cohen et al's book "South African Birdfinder" in the mail yesterday, and perusing its contents has renewed my determination to pull this trip together, even if I have to max out my credit card (which I rarely even use!).

My main question at this point is when do I need to take the plunge and start booking- especially for sites in Kruger, I expect reservations should be made far in advance? I'm planning using the more basic accommodations, such as the huts or camp sites. I also would love some advice on any cheap options for airfare, car rental, etc., or must-see places in Kruger and around Cape Town- since all the birds will be new, it's a little hard to prioritize! One particular species that I do plan on targeting though is Cape Rockjumper.

Also, would I need an international driver's license, or will a US driver's license suffice?

Thanks!

Check the vacational trip reports - there's at least 3 SA trips onthere from October at present. The link to mine's here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=185354
We did the trip on as tight a budget as possible and I've given rough costs in the report.

Book ahead as far as you can for the Kruger - and once you're inside it was easy for us to change our accomodation around to fit in with itinerary changes. We booked online directly with SanParks and it's very straightforward.

Check Southern African Birding website too - excellent site material.
http://wiki.sabirding.co.za/portal.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Also go and read the South Africa Birding thread here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=104790
The guys on here were most helpful with hints and tips

That should keep you busy!!
It's a great country with fab birds and animals - just remember to give yourself a bit of leeway for the pelagic as the weather can be a bit unpredictable along the southern coast.....

Ads

Abbey, greetings,

I have only birded SA once – I preferred the northern half of the Kruger (Pafuri to Olifants) Pafuri has a lot of specialties.

Accommodation in the Kruger is relatively inexpensive but I would book as soon as possible. The Camp at Punda Maria is a must (due to it’s proximity to Pafuri). I think there is also a small open camp at Pafuri but I don’t know the details. Olifants and Shingwedzi I also liked

Within the Kruger, the camp gates on all the main camps are closed from after dawn to before dusk which is unhelpful. Therefore the park organized night drives (inexpensive) within the Kruger are a must.

Regarding car rental, I rented a 4x4 pickup, which was expensive and fun but you can get by with a normal car.

If you have an extra week, the Drakensburg area outside of Lesotho (Eland and lots of bird specialties) and Lesotho itself (OB Rockjumper etc) I found a superb birding area.

By the way Umfolozi, Ndumo and particularly Mkuze (black rhino) I also liked.

A number of species (Animal and Bird) are uncommon or local.
However, it is possible to see a good number of birds and a hefty number of animals in SA notably mammals

Definitely book along way in advance for Kruger, even the campsites fill up in July/August. A UK license is fine, so I presume one from the US would be the same.

You can get by with a 2WD but I'd check that you are covered for unsurfaced roads. Some do cover you, some don't and the majority are very vague. I think last time I booked through:
http://www.africa-car-hire.com/
Do look around, comparing can be confusing, some seem great but then you find you have a huge excess.
You can do pelagics out of Durban as well. Do be aware that pelagics are prone to be cancelled at this time of year.
I'd be reluctant to cover a large amount of the country on a short trip, there are no shortage of birding spots you may be best covering a smaller area.
I agree about the comments about Drakensburg/Lesotho - a fantastic area which I want to revisit sometime soon. Also relatively close to J'burg, is Wakerstroom. Near Durban the St Lucia area is good as well as near Mtunzini.
I agree with Ads, it's a superb country - I keep returning - and very easy to travel in. Feel free to post or PM if you have any more questions.

You are allowed to book eleven months in advance for Kruger and to get exactly what you want in terms of accommodation, you really should do this. The North is definitely the best birding area. Satara is the best for all round viewing , very good for cats and large mammals; so you could go in at Punda or Parfuri ( about 400km from Nelspruit International I think), spend a few days there then drive down to Shingwedzi or Mopane and finally to Satara where you could leave via the Orpen gate. As you are intending to spend your time in two areas just about as far apart as you cam get, it might be better to fly in to JHB, get a car hire there (say something like a Tereos which is quite high off the ground, (you don't need 4x4) and that will position you better to make for the north of Kruger. Alternatively, from JHB, you could pick up a link to Nelspruit International and pick up your car there. (Might be worth checking the comparative costs here). Then fly out from Nelspruit to Cape Town and pick up another car because driving from Kruger to the Cape is quite a journey and will wast some of your time unless you want to stop off en route any other birding sites. Feel free to PM me if I can help further or keep it on the site for future travellers!

Thanks for the advice so far folks. I was definitely planning on booking an internal flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town rather than trying to drive that distance. I didn't know about Nelspruit, I'll look into that as well. It looks like I can have about 9 days in Kruger, I'm thinking about splitting that between Punda Maria, Satara, and Lower Sabie- or do you think that will require too many long driving days?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as the planning progresses. I'm leaving soon for some field research in Ecuador for a couple months, so other than maybe booking with Kruger I'll probably put my planning on hold until early March when I return.

The distances aren't that great in Kruger, not really. If you have a long stretch to do, do it in the afternoon when it's hottest and the animal activity is at its lowest, that way you won't miss much - or keep stopping! We went from Satara to Punda Maria, via Letaba and Shingwedzi, and back down to Skukuza over 6 days and never had to 'push' at all. Lower Sabie/Skukuza would give you better chances of the big cats.

ovenbird43 said:

Thanks for the advice so far folks. I was definitely planning on booking an internal flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town rather than trying to drive that distance. I didn't know about Nelspruit, I'll look into that as well. It looks like I can have about 9 days in Kruger, I'm thinking about splitting that between Punda Maria, Satara, and Lower Sabie- or do you think that will require too many long driving days?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as the planning progresses. I'm leaving soon for some field research in Ecuador for a couple months, so other than maybe booking with Kruger I'll probably put my planning on hold until early March when I return.

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Just remember that the speed limit in Kruger is 50kph on tar roads and 40kpm on dirt roads. The distances don't sound so great but its all the stops you make that take the time. Some are inadvertent because, for example, a herd of buffalo is crossing the road, most are because you see something. We stop at every waterhole and often take little side roads too. We also drive very slowly. It takes us about five to six hours to get from Satara to L Sabie which is only about 96 km away! Punda to Satara is rather longer, its 240km, which is five hours at max speed on the tar stopping for nothing; if you factor in the stops and detours you can double that time in a heartbeat. ( SANParks recommend you work on 9 hours for that trip) So you would have to be very disciplined about your day to get to Satara in time. which is why I suggested you spent a night at Mopane. In August, the camp gates open at 0600 and close at 1800 and they stick to those times like glue.

ovenbird43 said:

Also, would I need an international driver's license, or will a US driver's license suffice?

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The first year we went out we took international drivers licences and didn't use them once, not even for the car hire. We haven't bothered for the last 5 years.
As long as your licence is in English you should be OK, but if you are concerned then play safe.
Allan

I've been able to return to my planning, and I also now know that I will have more time and money than previously thought. So I'm now looking at leaving in mid-July and staying for 3-4 weeks. I just sent in a reservation request to participate in the Nyalaland Wildnerness Trail as part of my stay in Kruger.

Will many birds be singing or even calling much this time of the year? I was wondering about getting CDs or some other multimedia to learn the calls of at least the common species. Any recommendations?

http://www.wildsounds.com/products/533-Southern-African-Bird-Sounds.shtml

or free recordings here:

http://www.xeno-canto.org/africa/

cheers

cassowary said:

Abbey, greetings,

Within the Kruger, the camp gates on all the main camps are closed from after dawn to before dusk which is unhelpful.

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I assume your sentence is intended to read "closed from after dusk to before dawn"

If I am correct, and you were expressing disappointment at not being able to drive at night, then the following comment applies.....

I think 'unhelpful' would have been better served by 'unfortunate'. Kruger, because of its proximity to at least three major population centres, experiences relatively high traffic density, and sadly, allowing the general public to drive at night results in death and injury to many birds and animals. Nobody is being unhelpful - the welfare of the animals is paramount,and overrides any other consideration.

Best wishes,
Dave

ovenbird43 said:

I've been able to return to my planning, and I also now know that I will have more time and money than previously thought. So I'm now looking at leaving in mid-July and staying for 3-4 weeks. I just sent in a reservation request to participate in the Nyalaland Wildnerness Trail as part of my stay in Kruger.

Will many birds be singing or even calling much this time of the year? I was wondering about getting CDs or some other multimedia to learn the calls of at least the common species. Any recommendations?

Click to expand...

Sounds great. Even though it will be mid-winter, you will hear a great many bird calls in the park.
If you look here :
http://www.sabirding.co.za/rmm/pda.htm

you will find info about the Roberts Bird Calls PDA

or look here:
http://shop.sabirding.co.za/product_info.php?products_id=55

there is info about a CD set.

Ok, so I'm FINALLY working on my itinerary and hope to buy my plane tickets soon. The more I learn, the harder it is to decide where to go, and where to leave for another visit! But here is a rough sketch of what I have in mind.

Arrive roughly July 19 (much flexibility still, I can arrive earlier if I decide my schedule is too cramped) and go first to Wakerstroom for a couple of nights. There I'm especially wanting to see Gray Crowned Crane and Blue Korhaan, and either Longclaw species- such a striking example of evolutionary convergence with our meadowlarks! One question- how long is the drive from Wakerstroom to Kruger (whatever the nearest gate from there would be), and what is the best route? I considered taking the scenic route through Swaziland, even if that requires an overnight stay outside the south end of Kruger- but only if there are routes available that don't require 4x4.

I'm planning spending roughly 10 days inside Kruger, working from south to north and spending the better portion of that time in the north section. Roughly Lower Sabie, to Mopane, to Satara and then Punda Maria, where I will be doing the 3-night Nyalaland Trail, plus spending an extra day or so in the area. Then I'll head back toward Johannesberg, maybe stop for some forest birding along the way, and fly to Cape Town. There I'll have a week to ten days to explore along the coast and possibly a day or so in the Karoo, plus the pelagic (if weather holds). I'll have to double-check my schedule to see when I absolutely have to be back in the states and how many days of travel it will require to get home to decide when I have to leave.

B

It's official, I bought my plane tickets and booked the rest of my stay in Kruger... it's finally seeming real. I can't wait!!

I will be there for about 3 and a half weeks, and will have a few days to visit Wakkerstroom before getting to Kruger. Depending on how quickly I want to get from the north end of Kruger to J'berg for a flight to Cape Town, I will have 7-10 days in Cape Town (still need to arrange and purchase that flight).

I think I was starting to push my luck with waiting this long to book in Kruger... Lower Sabie camp was already pretty filled up (even the camp sites) but most of the others still had plenty of room. So instead of starting at Lower Sabie I will be spending one night in Pretoriuskop and then one in Skukuza, then moving on for 2 nights at Satara, one at Mopane and 3 at Punda Maria (not including the 3 night Wilderness Trail). I'm bringing my tent and stuff so I booked regular camp sites for most areas (except Mopane which doesn't have them).