South Africa Oct/Nov 2009 - The Logistics

As there were five of us travelling, we started planning this trip well in advance, deciding when would be the best time to travel and our exact itinerary.

We booked our international flights through Trailfinders. They were very helpful, especially after our original outbound flight was changed from a morning to an evening one! With the minimum of fuss, they transferred us to a partner airline of Air France so that we still had a morning flight out of Manchester. Outbound, we flew Manchester to Schipol then Schipol to Johannesburg with KLM. We left Manchester at 0600, arriving Johannesburg at 2125 (local time). This was an excellent flight with frequent refreshments, meals and snacks being served. Our return flight was with Air France and was Johannesburg to Charles de Gaulle, then CDG to Manchester. This was an overnight flight, leaving Johannesburg at 2030, arriving in Manchester at 0815 the following day.

On arrival in Johannesburg we were met by a representative from Africa Centre, our overnight hotel. We had found the hotel through SA Venues which has information on lots of hotels, transport and general information for South Africa. The hotel was clean, good breakfast and secure. They offer free pick up from the airport and have a small charge to return you there. All staff were helpful and friendly.

Prior to leaving the airport, we picked up a mobile phone that I had pre-booked through Vodashop. As we had landed quite late, if it hadn't been for the persuavive powers of Dirk from Africa Centre I think it might have been the following day when we collected it!

The following day we flew from Johannesburg to Hoedspruit with South African Express, which operates alongside South African airways. All our internal flights were booked through this company, check-in was smooth and all flights left on time.

On arrival in Hoedspruit, we collected our two pre-booked cars from the desk. These had been booked and paid for through Avis prior to our trip. We were given a basic map and shown the route we needed to take to get to Phalaborwa Gate.

Our accomodation, morning walks and evening drives were all booked through South Africa National Parks. A lot of work is being done throughout the camps in Kruger to upgrade the accommodation and dining facilities. In Lower Sabie the boys hut was a little basic but, served its purpose. Other than that, all accommodation was of a high standard. We found it an advantage to book our walks and drives in advance. Last time Chris and I visited South Africa, we were unable to take part in a morning walk as they were fully booked. All these bookings were done over the telephone, all representatives were helpful. About a third of the cost was payable on booking, with the remainder being due (at the latest) four weeks prior to departure.

When in Kruger, daily conservation fees are payable. About six months prior to our trip, I ordered Wild Cards for all. These cards cover all conservation fees within Kruger and also entrance fees into various other parks such as West Coast National Park, Cape National Park and Wilderness National Park. They are definitely worth having.

We flew from Nelspruit to Cape Town, again with SA Express and collected our car from DollarThrifty at Cape Town Airport. This had been booked through Economy Car Rentals. They just took a small deposit and the balance was due on collection. The car was waiting for us on arrival but, in retrospect, if doing this again, I would use a company with whom I could pay in advance as we did for Kruger.

In Cape Town, we stayed at Afton Grove, which is run by Chris and Louise Spengler. Chris is a birder with lots of local knowledge. We booked the self-catering bungalows as we were planning on being out early most mornings but, they also do a bed and breakfast option. We ate each evening at The Toad in the Village which is in Noordhoek Farm Village, just down the road from Afton.

Our pelagic trip was booked through Zest For Birds. This was lucky for us as they use the services of the Zest II. On the day we went out, several other trips in smaller boats had been cancelled due to the wind and choppy seas.

Following our stay in Cape Town, we drove to Knysna and stayed at Peace of Eden (also initially found through SA Venues). This is a little outside the town of Knysna and has nice grounds. There is a small eating place next door, (The Red Barn) with a limited menu. We ate a couple of evenings in The Dry Dock Company in Knysna Quays.

The costings below are based on the total for each item, divided by five and are approximate.