TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums Africa May 06 South Africa/Botswana/Zambia Trip Report

General Summary- Trip was a 2 weeklong visit to Africa in 2nd and 3rd weeks of May 2006 for my wife and me from the US, with Wilderness Safaris in South Africa. Their agent, Pioneer Africa Exclusive Safaris, arranged it here in the US. We spent three nights in Cape Town, then three nights each in Wilderness Camps in Botswana ( Savuti and Vumbura Plains), ending with two nights at Victoria Falls in Zambia.

Trip Planning- This was the hardest part. We first talked to three travel agents/agencies, all who knew little of the travel details for Africa, but seemed to want to SELL a standard package trip, several saying “you need to go to Kenya” (what is that about?). There were many questions they could not answer. We finally found a Wilderness Safari Company travel agent. He is Roualeyn de Haas of the Pioneer Africa Company and he grew up in South Africa and is also a professional safari guide. My wife and I feel this is what separates him from others who are in the same business. His web site is PioneerAfrica.net, and he has lived in Cape Town and has worked in the Botswana Safari Camps extensively. He was therefore able to arrange and advise on the big decisions and also able to answer all the detail questions. We also read many times all of Eric and Carol Hills travel reports on the travel talk online forum. We even used Eric’s clothes packing list (but since Eric did not list the sizes it was not much use to us).
For medical, shots were for Hep A, B, tetanus, and polio. We used Malarone for Malaria prevention. We used two cameras, a 4x optical zoom point and shoot camera , and a 12x optical zoom point and shoot camera with image stabilization.

Air Travel- We flew South African Airlines in coach from Dulles via Senegal (a fuel stop- you stay on the plane) to Johannesburg, then to Cape Town. Then after 3 nights back to Johannesburg, through Maun to Savuti and then Vumbura, and then Victoria Falls. Return was from Livingstone at Victoria Falls back to Johannesburg and to Kennedy, over to LaGuardia, and then home to Carolina. Total air and airport return time from the Victoria Falls airport check in to our home airport was 32 hours.
Many people we met went through London to get to South Africa, some staying in a hotel for 12 hours to get away from the sardine can planes. I think the world needs faster and roomier planes, not bigger planes. Johannesburg airport is a silent airport, as they do not announce plane departures which seems to work fine compared to 5 gates at the end of an Atlanta concourse all blaring out departures and calling passengers by zone between the mind numbing security announcements and people-hauling carts with beeping noises.
On the return flight, which stops in Senegal for fuel, about 30+ security people came on and went through the plane, mainly examining and mashing on all parts of each seat and cushion. They ignored the luggage- what caused that? JNB to Kennedy was 18-19 hours on the plane.
All 9 “foreign” carrier flights we used left on time or within 10 minutes of on time. All 3 of the US carrier flights were late departing by at least 25 minutes up to one hour. None of the “foreign airlines used boarding by seat rows. Atlanta still plays the “15+ planes in a line burning up fuel and polluting the air while waiting for takeoff” game. Seems to me the EPA should make the FAA fix that.

Wilderness Company Travel Planning and Execution , Activity in Johannesburg and Cape Town - Wilderness sends you a really nice extensive bound package with all the travel vouchers and the very detailed itinerary and a diary etc. All of the information needed was present and correct. Roualyn also went over last minute questions two days before we left.
Wilderness met us at the Johannesburg and Cape Town airports and helped us through the airport and to the next flight or to the hotel. They also gave us a 24-hour phone number in Cape Town. Additionally, the person who was meeting us for a tour or transfer the next day or would call us THE AFTERNOON BEFORE and say he/she knew we were there and would meet us etc. Really great. Roualeyn also called from the States with a reminder. I told my wife jokingly that I needed an answering machine for the hotel room, but it was nice being in touch. We did daylong tours of the Cape of Good Hope, and a tour of the wine country with wine tasting.
Several of these tour / transfer people seemed medically afflicted or impaired somewhat and I asked my wife, who has some medical training, what it was exactly. She said it seemed to be advanced stages of British/South African sense of humor, which she said was not usually fatal (to other people) and was not contagious to Americans, as we have built in immunity since throwing the Brits out a while back. An example- I asked a minor question about our itinerary and the answer was “Gee mate I don’t know, you know we never read these ourselves”. (But we then got the answer we needed of course. On the last day at the 4:30 AM departure to the airport the hotel made a nice breakfast for us to take. Loved Cape Town. Very modern with lots to do. Fuel comment- most cars there are smaller, unlike the huge US gas sucking ones.

The Camps- Two camps, one wet (Vumbura Plains not little vumbura) one dry (Savuti not Savuti Elephant Camp).

Savuti is a tented camp and very well done. The tents are raised on a platform and connected to each other by a raised wooden walkway that also goes to common areas. Everyone eats together and food is usually served buffet style. The tents are large with a wood floor and two twin beds, tables, and chairs. Tents were warm and had no bugs. Our tent had two baboons who jumped on the top of tent part of the night. No extra charge for this. The beds have down comforters, which were needed at night in May. A wicker storage area separates the sleeping area from the bath area. Bath area has a shower a beautiful washstand and a toilet. There is an outside shower on the deck in front of the cabin. The cabin and the common areas face a dry river channel with a watering hole and a “hide” so you can watch the animals grazing and using the watering hole. For all women who like to shop there is a nice shop with many beautiful handmade items. Monday night is African night, which features traditional dancing singing and food.

Vumbura Plains is the wet camp. Cabins EACH have a small outdoor pool with individual covered outside table chairs, and two lounge chairs in the sun. The “cabin” is actually a room facing the open marsh area. The room is canvas on one side and screened on the other 3 sides. The room is about 35 ft x 45 ft (yes) with a high center thatch roof about 20 ft high. Curtains serve as interior walls- very modern looking. Cabin has wood floors, a recessed upholstered seating area, a shower that is a 6ft x 6 ft cement slab with embossed flowers in the cement surrounded by a shower curtain track. Bath vanity area is a double sink on a modern mahogany piece with modern fluorescent lighting and tensor lights, including above the beds. These rooms are elegant but have ineffective protection from the wind causing them to be very cold one of our 3 days there when the weather got cold due to a front moving through.

Camp Activities- Both camps followed about the same general schedule. Wake up at 6:00 AM; light breakfast at 6:30 and a morning game drive at 6:45, returning at about 10:15. Brunch at 11:00 with free time until tea at 3:30 PM followed by another game drive until 1 ½ hours after Sunset. Dinner at 8:00. Escort back to your tent at about 9:00 or so. No walking about unguided at night. Both morning and evening game drives have a snack/beverage time stop about ½ way through. Vumbura Plains also has powerboat rides and fishing trips in aluminum boats with 60 HP motors, and mokoro rides in narrow dugouts poled in the marsh slowly by a guide. Vumbura also has a walking safari with a guide and a gun. Both camps had excellent guides.

Victoria Falls Area- Stayed at the River Club. Impressive facilities and grounds and especially the evening meal where everyone eats at one table with the host. We found the rooms really cold at night, as one wall is open. It’s probably even colder in June and July. We visited the Zambia National Museum where all the Livingston memorabilia is, , the Falls, went on one game drive and saw the Rhino’s, went on a sunset cruise – saw Hippos and Crocs, and also visited the African village/school that River Club sponsors.

General Travel Medical -. Wife did get a slight case of the Jaja’s as in” Are you from the US? Answer: JA. Are you having a good time? Answer: Ja. Hearing some of the South Africans talk causes this.

It was a good trip for us.

Edward--thanks for the report! I seriously LOVED Savuti and River Club, could have done without Little Vumbura. The temps when we were at River Club were very comfortable, just about a year ago. Gee, you didn't say anything about wildlife that you saw???? Any pictures??

Carol
We Have not been to Little Vumbura, though we rode near it in a boat. i will read your report on it.
At the River Club the weather service history data said it was 45 F one night we were there. With one side of the room open that was too cold for my blood- I did not shave or shower in the early AM. Wonder if the designer of the open rooms has ever stayed there in cold or buggy weather? .

Their water is also murky- I filled the claw foot tub twice but water was still tea colored- took a shower instead.

Edward, Sounds like you had a nice trip? What were your animal sightings? Were the elephants in-front of Savuti. When we were there in November we missed them by about a week due to the start of the rain season.

Dave

lots and lots of animals including elephants who were at the watering hole in front of the cabins and who also in a group of 5 crossed the "road" from the airstrip just as we arrived .
cheeta, leopard, buffalo, lions, giraffe wilderbeast, zebra, etc etc etc.
a great trip- all our transfers were by air including the longer one from Vumbura to livingstone.

I even had someone offer to "help me with the teller machine" in Joburg airport- wow!!!!!!!

Edward,
Did you see the 4 handsome young male lions at Vumbura? They were beautiful beasts when I was there in August, but had not mastered hunting too well.

Thanks for sharing this report with us.

No there were two male lions at Savuti and I think also two at Vumbura Plains