Occasionally we find that it can be difficult to get accommodation in some parts of South Africa during the South African School holidays….after all, it is not only visitors from overseas who want to visit Kruger, Durban or the Garden Route!

Given this, we thought it might be useful for people from other countries to know when the South African School holidays will fall in 2012. We realise that sometimes it will be unavoidable to travel at these times, however it might be worth keeping in mind just in case you do have some flexability on your dates. For example,  whilst 23 June to 15 July is holiday time across SA and it is very likely that every SANParks camp in Kruger is already fully booked, things will be a lot quieter from 16th July t0 28th September when the kids are back at school.

2012 SA School Holidays are:

• 29 March – 10 April 2012
• 23 June – 15 July 2012
• 29 September – 7 October 2012
• 8 December – 7 January 2013

Following heavy rains, South African National Parks (SANParks) has issued an urgent warning about flooding in the Kruger National Park.

A number of entrance gates have been closed including Crocodile Bridge, and the road between Letaba and Olifants is not accessible…Letaba camp is without electricity, and a number of smaller bush camps are currently closed.

The Tinga Private Lodge has been evacuated, and it seems likely that more private lodges both in Kruger and the neighbouring private reserves will evacuate over the next few hours.

For people wanting to combine Vic Falls with a Kruger safari, there is a service run by SAA that operates directly from Kruger Mpumalanga / Nelspruit (airport code MQP) to Livingstone, which currently operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It has just been announced, however, that a new flight is being planned for Saturdays (commencing March 10 2012) and eventually on Tuesdays (from August 7 2012).

These direct flights avoid any need for safari goers to stay overnight or connect in Johannesburg prior to flying to Livingstone. The opportunity is then for travellers to enjoy a game drive and breakfast at their bush lodge before travelling to Livingstone and enjoying, on the same day, an evening sunset cruise on the Zambezi. For people travelling from Livingstone to Kruger, they can enjoy a walk to the Falls in the morning, then breakfast and mid-morning activities before travelling to Kruger to enjoy dinner and the first night in the bush.

The SAA flights depart Nelspruit Kruger at just before midday, and takes just over 2 hours to arrive at Livingstone. The return flight will depart Livingstone at early afternoon, arriving in Nelspruit Kruger just before 5 pm. Please note these times are subject to change.

A Woodland Kingfisher … Picture of the Week because of the sheer brilliant colours of this beautiful bird.

Anyone on safari now in the Kruger region can hopefully expect to see these colourful migratory birds, who returned at the beginning of November so that they can enjoy the warmth of the South African summer months.

AIRLINK has confirmed that it will operate a new route from Kruger to Livingstone (for Victoria Falls) from August 17.

Airlink’s service will operate directly from Kruger Mpumalanga / Nelspruit (airport code MQP) to Livingstone in Zambia (airport code LVI) initially on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with the intention to grow frequency corresponding with demand.

This will avoid the current need for Kruger travellers to stay overnight or connect in Johannesburg prior to flying to Livingstone. The opportunity is then for travellers to enjoy a game drive and breakfast at their bush lodge before travelling to Livingstone and enjoying, on the same day, an evening sunset cruise on the Zambezi. For people travelling from Livingstone to Kruger, they can enjoy a walk to the Falls in the morning, then breakfast and mid-morning activities before travelling to Kruger to enjoy dinner and the first night in the bush.

Flights will depart Nelspruit Kruger at 11.55 am, arriving in Livingstone at 1.50 pm. The return flight will depart Livingstone at 2.20 pm, arriving in Nelspruit Kruger at 4.45 pm.

Keen to see leopards in the wild?   This video (appropriately enough taken at Leopard Hills) is a good example of why the Sabi Sands Reserve in the Greater Kruger Park is probably the best place anywhere to see leopard. 

We have just been passed the special offer for Notten’s Bush Camp in the Sabi Sands Reserve:

Reduced rate of only R2500 per person per night at Nottens for bookings made in March 2009 for travel in March 2009. The rate includes accommodation, meals, 2 game drives each day and an optional bush walk, and this represents a saving of R600 (19%) on the regular price.

We are delighted to be able to offer a special 20% discount for all new bookings made at Lion Sands River Lodge from travel between now and the end of February 2009.

Lion Sands is located on the banks of the Sabie River and is widely regarded as having one of the best locations in the Sabi Sands Reserve. 

The rooms have recently been refurbished, and with tempretures in Kruger reaching 30%, lots of new born animals at this time of year, and the Rand still remaining weak against sterling, the US Dollar and the Euro, this is a great opportunity to visit one of Africa’s great safari lodges.

Savanna is a beautiful tented camp in the Sabi Sand area of the Greater Kruger National Park, and has long been a favourite of both us here at Travel Butlers and our guests.  Savanna was the first place that owners Tracey & Paul Campbell went on safari many years ago and it was the amazing game viewing of the area along with the enthusiasm of Paddy and his team and wonderful tented suites that first got them hooked on safaris.

We are delighted to be able to offer substantial discounts at Savanna for anyone able to travel before the 15th March this year.  The discounted rates are nearly 20% off the normal rates for this time of year, and are available for both Savanna Luxury Suites and Savanna Executive Suites.

Following our recent trip to Swaziland we have added a few pages of information for anyone thinking about including a night or two in this charming Kingdom as part of a longer trip to the area.

Swaziland’s location between the Kruger National Park and the many attractions of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Coastline (including St Lucia, Phinda and much more) means that it makes an ideal stop-over between these two areas.  And as the border controls are quick and easy (15 minutes or so), South African Rand are accepted throughout Swaziland, and the country is well known for it’s friendy and relaxed people and vibrant craft markets, this really is an excellent addition to any trip to Southern Africa.