Book 2 nights on safari at Lion Sands River Lodge and Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, in the exclusive Sabi Sand Game Reserve; OR at Tinga Legends and Tinga Narina lodges, in Big 5 Kruger Park PLUS 2 nights at Madikwe Safari Lodge, in the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve AND RECEIVE A THIRD NIGHT AT MADIKWE SAFARI LODGE FREE.

• Valid from NOW until 30 April 2013.

Restrictions of Offer: May NOT be booked over the peak periods of 23 December 2011 – 3 January 2012 and 23 December 2012 – 3 January 2013 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion.

Book 3 nights on safari at the following safari lodges, and receive 2 FREE nights at either the Cape Cadogan or More Quarters, in the buzzy and beautiful city of Cape Town – the perfect way start or end your safari trip of a lifetime.

Lion Sands River Lodge and Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, in the exclusive Sabi Sand Game Reserve

Tinga Legends and Tinga Narina lodges, in Big 5 Kruger Park

Madikwe Safari Lodge, in the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve

• Valid from 1 October 2011 – 30 April 2013.
• Free accommodation will be either in a Standard Room at Cape Cadogan or a luxury apartment at More Quarters. If 3 nights are reserved at Ivory Lodge then a luxury room will be reserved at Cape Cadogan.

Restrictions of Offer: May NOT be booked over the peak periods of 23 December 2011 – 3 January 2012 and 23 December 2012 – 3 January 2013 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion.

STAY 4 NIGHTS AND ONLY PAY FOR 3

• Valid from 1 October 2011 – 30 April 2013.
• Valid for all room categories at the following properties :

Lion Sands River Lodge and Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, in the exclusive Sabi Sand Game Reserve

Tinga Legends and Tinga Narina lodges, in Big 5 Kruger Park

Madikwe Safari Lodge, in the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve

and Cape Cadogan and More Quarters, in the buzzy and beautiful city of Cape Town.

Restrictions of Offer: May NOT be booked over the peak periods of 23 December 2011 – 3 January 2012 and 23 December 2012 – 3 January 2013.

Now, if I was to say to you, you are going on safari and sleeping in a tent, what would your first images / thoughts be ? Of a 2 man dome tent, stuck in the middle of the bush, with lions and elephants sleeping outside the tent door keeping you company through the night ?

Possibly NOT of a spacious tent, including a bathroom with a freestanding bath, polished wooden floors, climate-control air-conditioning system, mini bar and tea / coffee-making facilities. Oh yes, and a covered deck that extends along the length of the tent, with uninterrupted views out of the African bush.

Not to mention an infinity-edge pool in the central guest area, ideal for relaxing around inbetween exciting game drives in search of Africas’ Big 5.

Well, if this appeals to those of you with a sense of adventure BUT who still like your luxuries, then you need to look no further than Buffalo Camp, in the Kapama Game Reserve – a 13,000 hectare fenced reserve situated near the Kruger National Park, which supports no less than 42 mammal species and approximately 350 bird species.

Rates here start from just R2,115 per person per night until the end of November, and for this you get 3 meals per day (special bush dinners can be arranged), tea / coffee, cakes, pastries and afternoon teatime snacks; 2 game drives daily (including night drive by spotlight) in open safari vehicles, accompanied by experienced rangers and expert Shangaan trackers; and complimentary road transfers between your Kapama accommodation and Eastgate Airport.

Book 3 nights at either Tinga Narnia Lodge or Tinga Legends Lodge, both in the Kruger National Park, and receive 3 nights FREE in Cape Town!

The Tinga Private Game Reserve is an exclusive 5,000 hectare concession within the Kruger National Park, where guests can view the wildlife on safaris or bush walks, whilst accompanied by accredited guides.

Tinga vehicles also have access to the entire Kruger road network, thus allowing guests to view the areas of historical significance and aesthetic beauty that the southern Kruger has to offer.

Both Narnia and Legend Lodges offer an exceptional high standard of accommodation.

FREE NIGHTS in Cape Town !
Nestled at the foot of the majestic Table Mountain and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Town offers an appealing mix of cosmopolitan restaurants, good shopping, historic monuments, mountain hikes, sandy beaches and rich history. The climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters and hot summers. Consistently voted amongst the top cities in the world to visit, it is no surprise that this wonderful city is one of the highlights of a holiday to South Africa, and most people want to return again and again.

The Cape Cadogan is a stately double-storeyed Georgian and Victorian building that dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, and was declared a national monument in 1984. The luxuriously appointed en-suite bedrooms are decorated with an eclectic mix of contemporary and antique furniture using dramatic fabrics to maximum effect.

The More Quarters Apartments are conveniently located just off fashionable Kloof Street, with some of Cape Towns’ finest restaurants just a leisurely stroll away.

Valid for stays from now until 30th September 2011 AND then again from 1st December 2011 until the end of January 2012 (except over Xmas and New Year).

Yes, I know it is a phenomenon in this day and age to get something for nothing … but it’s true !

From now until the 15th December, any guest staying at one of the private lodges on the 18,000 hectare Imbali Private Concession in the Kruger National Park – so the luxurious tented 5* Hamiltons Tented Camp, and its 5* sister lodge Imbali Safari Lodge, and the African styled Hoyo Hoyo Lodge, will receive a complimentary return road transfer from the nearby Hoedspruit Airport.

The private concessions in Kruger are areas of land where carefully selected operators have a licence to offer all the benefits of a safari lodge on a private reserve. Some of your game drives will be on the private concession, meaning that your ranger will be able to drive offroad in search of the Big 5, offering you an unbelievably close encounter with the wildlife – and other game drives will be in the Kruger Park itself, where your ranger will have to abide by the rules of the Park and remain on the road network at all times.

Hoedspruit Airport is only an hours flight from Johannesburg, and about a 90 minute drive from the lodges, so this makes it possible to leave London on a Friday night, fly to Johannesburg … and be on your first game drive in the Kruger National Park by 4 pm on the Saturday !

The transfers are of course subject to the availability of the transfer vehicle and need to be booked at the time of reservation – but your consultants at Travel Butlers can do this for you.

We stayed at Billy’s Lodge, in the Balule Game Reserve, for just one night in February.

Firstly, getting here … true, we stayed in Dullstroom (Critchley Hackle) the night before, so we knew we only had a relatively short drive that morning, but even so, it was less than 3 hours from here via the Strydom Tunnel (tunnel ?? … ha ha … blink and you will miss it !!), so from Jo’burg I reckon it will take about 5-6 hours only if you are driving. If you fly into Hoedspruit Airport, however, you are looking at about a 30 minute drive / road transfer.

To enter the reserve cost us just R60 (although the published entrance fee is R70 – but I wasn’t going to argue with them !! ), and then from the gate to the lodge was very easy … follow the road, turn left at the sign … and we were there! The road was perfectly OK to drive in a saloon car (we had a Toyoto Corolla).

Upon arrival, we parked in the shaded parking area, and were greeted by a cold drink and a face cloth. And had our first wildlife sighting … a tiny tiny bush baby, who had made its home in the thatch just above the main entrance !!

We had to wait for our room to be finished, but that was no hardship at all … we were taken out onto the wooden viewing deck where we just sat and just enjoyed the sounds of the bush. There is also another viewing platform, up high … great views but I don’t like heights very much, so climbing up there and back down again via the wooden staircase was not something I particularly enjoyed !!

Lauren, the manageress, came to find us when our room was ready … what a great girl. The lodge is actually her family home (her mother, Tess, runs the Reservations Office from Johannesburg), so she has lived here all her life … lucky lucky lucky !!

Our room was lovely – rondavel style, so round in shape, with a small tea / coffee station, a comfy bed complete with romantic mosquito net, and an en-suite bathroom with a large walk-in shower.

The lodge has just 4 rondavels in total, so a maximum of 8 guests, so it really is an ‘intimate’ safari experience.

And very reasonably priced … between now and the beginning of December (excluding the World Cup period), rates are just R2,140 per person per night if you book with Travel Butlers. The rate includes all meals, and morning / afternoon guided game drives.

There were just 4 of us for our game drive, and we met our ranger, Jonathan, who had just joined Billy’s only recently from another reserve / lodge. Again, great guy … friendly, knowledgeable, enthusiastic … all the qualities you want from your ranger really !

No sooner had we driven out of the camp, we met a giraffe, and then tracked a MASSIVE bull elephant, who later that evening reappeared back at the camp, and wandered around immediately under the viewing deck … we were able to stand VERY quietly on the walkway looking down on him … I swear we were only a few feet away.

The highlight of the drive was tracking the lions tho … we tracked them this afternoon, and caught a fleeting glance of 2 lionesses just before they disappeared into the bush, but the next morning we actually tracked and found the 2 male lions of the pride, lying in the shade of a bush and who really didn’t care whether we were there or not … so we got some great photos !

That is one advantage of a safari in this reserve (aside from it being ‘fences down’ with Kruger and also being home to Africa’s Big 5) – because the reserve is also ‘home’ to less lodges, your ranger and tracker have to ‘work’ that much harder to find the animals (versus a lodge in say Sabi Sands, where you have more lodges, so therefore more vehicles out on game drives … so you can go on a drive and just wait for the sightings to be called in over the radio by the other rangers !!) … in Balule, however, you actually do some proper tracking … it is so satisfying !!

True, the vegetation is thicker than you will see in other reserves such as Sabi Sands – there are definately more bushes and trees and not so many open spaces, so the slight downside is that you won’t get to see such large herds of wildlife together here. If you like birding, the birdlife is extremely good.

Oh yes, another nice touch was that when we got back from the afternoon game drive, Lauren ‘hosted’ a wine tasting for us all down in the wine cellar – I believe she offers this to all new arrivals, so we were not just singled out for special treatment.

Before we left the reserve the next day, we were taken up to their other lodge, Ezulwini River, for a quick look around. Ezulwini River is much further into the reserve, so from the gate I reckon it will take about an hour to drive here through the reserve. Again, another great lodge – lovely rooms, great guest areas.

It was my first time to Balule, and I sincerely hope it will not be my last. I enjoyed it immensely, I would have NO hesitation in recommending Billy’s, Ezulwini River Lodge OR the reserve to anyone, and overall, 10 out of 10 for everthing.

Want to experience the bush from the comfort of your living room? iafrica.com is reporting that National Geographic Wild Channel is broadcating twice-daily game drives this week ‘live’ from Singita Lebombo in the Kruger National Park, to 166 countries worldwide.

The programme, called ‘Caught on Safari: Live’, is presented by safari legend John Varty and Andy Coetzee, and will feature morning and afternoon game drives that are being broadcast ‘live’ until Saturday 15 November. The drives will take place from 6am-8am, and again from 5pm-7pm daily.

The programme will be hosted by UK wildlife presenter Michaela Strachan and will be broadcast on National Geographic Wild, as well as online at www.natgeotv.com. Game rangers and wildlife trackers from Singita, along with veterinarians and ecologists, will also share insight into Africa’s conservation issues, as well as specific initiatives taking place in the Kruger National Park.

The ‘virtual safari’ will cover the length and breadth of the 15 000 hectare Singita Kruger National Park concession, situated along South Africa’s border with Mozambique on the far eastern reaches of the Kruger National Park.

We have been advised that day visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP) will no longer be able to book their entry as this will be done on a strict ‘first come, first served’ basis.

This decision has been taken as the day-visit booking system was creating logistical problems, and day visitors to the park are now advised to arrive as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

This change has no impact on guests staying at rest camps or safari lodges in the park which should still be pre-booked well in advance wherever possible.