South Africa Safari 2017 (HD 1080p)

Safari South Africa 2017, Kruger National Park, Entabeni Game Reserve, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa trip
Travel Videos HD, World Travel Guide
Explore the national parks
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SAN Parks (South African National Parks, sanparks.org) is responsible for 20 parks across the country, and its properties are much cheaper than privately operated lodges, including those that have their own concessions in the national parks.
The most traditional South African family holiday is a self-drive trip from Johannesburg to the 19,500 sq km (approximately the size of Wales) Kruger national park. Entrance for foreign adult visitors, called the standard conservation fee, is £18 a day (child £9). Bookings should be made online in advance (fee £1.20).
Accommodation options in the national parks range from campsites, huts and chalets to cottages and guesthouses, all bookable through the parks’ central website. In Kruger, sociable types can self-cater in one of the rest camps. The largest of these, Skukuza, offers cottages of various sizes, shops, a decent steakhouse chain restaurant, as well as play areas and swimming pools for families. A cottage for four costs from £138 a night.
Those who dream of a truly isolated bush experience might prefer an electricity-free tent at one of the wilderness camps, where only a low fence separates people from animals. At Tamboti, on the Kruger’s western edge, a two-person tent costs from £32 a night.
If getting that intimate with wildlife is too daunting, but regular camps are too big and crowded, a good compromise might be one of Kruger’s many bush camps: three of the most popular are Biyamiti, Shimuwini and Talamati. A bush cottage at Biyamiti, on the banks of the Mbiyamiti river, which comfortably sleeps a family of four, costs from £150 a night. Wild dog, white-tailed mongoose, cheetah and leopard are often seen around this camp.
Shimuwini is Shangaan for “home of the baobab” and refers to the huge 3,000-year-old trees that line the Letaba river. Cottages along the Shimuwini dam cost from £66 a night for two. At Talamati, residents enjoy the bonus of privacy, as only they are allowed to use its access roads, waterhole and hide. Cottages sleeping two cost from £66 a night. Giraffe, kudu, eland, impala, zebra, rhino and buffalo are all often to be seen from the cottages’ verandas.
The Kruger, like all the SANParks, is set up to make self-driving and self-catering holidays easy, even for novices. Managers and support staff are available around the clock at rest and bush camps, to ensure guests’ comfort and safety. Rangers are available to guide walks or drives, with rates from £12 per adult for a night drive from Skukuza. While groceries are available in the rest camps, the towns of Komatipoort and Malelane, with their supermarkets and off licences, are close by. Water at the bush camps comes from boreholes and is drinkable, but salty.
Visitors should note that the Kruger is in a malaria-risk area and that booking is recommended at least 11 months in advance, as the camps are very popular. Cancellations do occur, though, so it’s worth monitoring the site.
Fly to major airports
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Internal flights in South Africa, especially to airports close to remote bush destinations, such as Skukuza, Hoedspruit, Hazyview, Hluhluwe and Richard’s Bay, are expensive. Picking a safari close to a big city airport served by local low-cost airlines (Mango, Kulula, Safair) will bring the cost down significantly. Car hire all over South Africa is reasonably priced.
The malaria-free Pilanesberg national park, for example, is just two hours’ drive from central Johannesburg and 1½ from the city’s Lanseria airport. It is one of the most beautiful parks in the country, though its proximity to the huge Sun City holiday resort means it can be extremely busy at weekends and during school holidays. Visit during the week, when prices dip and the 550 sq km park is much less crowded. The Black Rhino Game Lodge has 18 detached suites overlooking a busy waterhole, from about £123pppn (low season), including two game drives and three excellent meals a day.
Walk in the morning
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Africa on Foot, in the Klaserie private nature reserve, bordering the Kruger, is six hours’ drive from Johannesburg. The basic but comfortable camp offers guided big-five walking safaris every morning, and guided game drives in the evening. The Klaserie shares unfenced borders with the Kruger and guests can expect to encounter the big five, as well as wild dog, cheetah, honey badger, porcupine, aardvark, plus small cats – civet, caracal and serval. Guests can also request a night sleeping under the stars in the lodge’s treehouse. Rates for 2017 are from £150pppn including three meals a day, a walk and a bush drive each day.