Travel Butlers African Safari Blog.

South Africa is fast become one of the most popular destinations for a golfing holiday, and we are pleased to offer updated information on  Golf holidays in South Africa including a selection of popular routes and golf resorts.

From the courses around Cape Town and the Garden Route  (including some links courses) , up to the famous Gary Player designed courses around Sun City there is a wide selection of different courses on offer and plenty do see and do when you are not out on the course.

The Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu Natal are just a couple of hours north-west of Durban and are one of the most spectacular natural features of Africa.

Nature lovers will enjoy the many walking trails and hikes offered in the region, and in addition to soaking up the natural beauty of this World Heritage Site there are countless other activities including horse riding, fly-fishing, and art-courses to be enjoyed.

Whilst it would be possible to visit the mountains as a day trip from Durban or even Johannesburg, this really would be passing up the opportunity to stay in one of the most scenic parts of Africa. Accommodation around the Drakensberg range from clean comfortable lodges in the foothills of the mountains to luxurious guest houses and small hotels a little further out.

The less expensive places offer a clean, comfortable base from which to enjoy the great outdoors, whilst many of the more expensive places are the best of their type in the country and destinations in their own right, with excellent service and food presented in old colonial homesteads or restored farms.

Shamwari  is the longest established of the private reserves near Port Elizabeth, and the combination of luxury safari lodges and the outstanding work that they do with the Born Free Foundation has earned them numerous travel industry and conservation awards over the years.

Travel Butlers are delighted to be able to offer an outstanding special offer at Shamwari’s lodges which is valid for stays between May and September 2008. 

During this time, guests staying for 2 nights at Shamwari are entitled to 3 complimentary nights at either the 5* Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town or other selected 5* properties in Cape Town, The Winelands, and the Garden Route. Click here for more details.

All the lodges on offer a fully inclusive African safari including accommodation, all meals and local drinks, 2 game drives per day in 4×4 vehicles, and an optional guided bush walk each day.

To get an idea of what you might expect to see on a safari at Shamwari, you can see a selection of photos sent to us by some of our guests during their stays at Shamwari.

South Africa and Namibia are both very well suited to self-drive holidays, and this is the most popular type of trip for visitors to both countries.

The driving experience will be very familiar to overseas visitors in many respects:  both countries drive on the left hand side of the road, and all signposts are written in English. 

As in Europe and much of the rest of the world, it is law to wear a seat belt at all times, and using a mobile phone when driving is prohibited. 

The main roads and highways are generally maintained in an good condition, especially in South Africa, however some more remote areas (including most of Namibia!) will have gravel roads which you will need to drive more cautiously on.

2WD or 4WD?
There are very few roads in South Africa where you would need a 4WD.  Even in the self-drive National Parks and safari areas such as Kruger or Hluhluwe, the roads are good and a 2WD can adequately cope with the odd bit of unevenness. 

The story is much the same in Namibia for most of the year, although if you are planing on going to very remote areas or travel extensively in the wet season then you may want to consider a 4WD vehicle.

Driving Licence
All drivers must have a valid driving licence from their country of residence. If the license is not printed in English, then you will need to obtain an International Drivers Licence.

Please note that the various car hire companies have different regulations regarding the length of time that you need to have held a driving licence, so it is advisable to check with your hire car company about their requirements.

Buying Petrol (Gas)
It is worth noting that none of the petrol stations in South Africa or Namibia are self-service, and they alos only accept locally issued credit cards, meaning visitors from overseas will need to keep some cash handy to buy fuel. 

You can read more about driving in South Africa and driving in Namibia on our website.

The early Easter this year means that the contrast between weather in South Africa and the UK over the holiday period is even  more marked than usual.

Whilst much of the UK is forecast to have a cold-snap over the Easter weekend, Cape Town is set to see clear skies and temperatures of up to 29°c over the next 5 days.

The picture is the same over the rest of the country, with Kruger seeing some showers today but then turning dry with plenty of clear skies and temperatures up to 30°c over the weekend.

With the tourist exchange rates for the Rand currently floating around the R15.00 = £1.00, sunny skies and some places still reporting late availability, it might not be too late to book a short notice getaway to South Africa this Easter.

We are delighted to be able to offer Lion Sands River Lodge for the incredible price of only R2500 per person per night for guests who are able to travel between now and 30th April this year.

This special short notice deal represents a saving of R1780 (42%!) per person per night vs the published rate of R4280, and the rate includes accommodation, meals, and 2 game drives each day.

Lion Sands River Lodge is one of the best know lodges in the world-renowned Sabi Sand Reserve on the western side of the Greater Kruger Park, and boasts a fantastic location right on the Sabie river with some of the best game viewing in the reserve.

The rooms have just been refurbished in the last 12 months, and with the rand now very weak vs other major currencies this offer really does represent amazing value for overseas visitors.

With tourist rates for the South African Rand now appearing to have stabilised (at least for the moment) at around R14.5 = £1.00, visiting South Africa has become even better value.

The Rand is a very volatile currency, however at the time of writing the rate is R14.65=£1.00, and this compares to an average of R13.50=£1.00 in 2007, R11.45 = R1.00 in March 2006, and R10.60=£1.00 in March 2005.

So what does this mean for visitors to South Africa? Well, a 5 night stay for 2 people at the fabulous Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town would cost R13400 in May - that is £915 at today’s exchange rate, but would have been £1264 at the March 2005 exchange rate - a saving of £349!

The same holds true for the safari lodges which also work out to be much cheaper this year compared to previous years. A 3 night stay for 2 people at Exeter Leadwood in the Sabi Sands Reserve would cost R21720 this coming May - that’s around £1483 at the current exchange rate compared with £2049 at the March 2005 rate - a saving of £566, or 27%.

The same holds true for everyplace in South Africa, from the great value guest houses of Cape Town, the Winelands, and the Garden Route, right the way through to the 5* hotels and safari lodges.

There is an argument for saying that there has never been a better time to go to South Africa, and with the low season rates starting in a few weeks time there are certainly some real bargains to be found.

We are pleased to confirm that we now have a free phone (Toll Free)  number for our clients to use in South Africa. The new South African number is 0800 981 420, and our contact numbers are now:

UK local rate phone: 0845 838 2450
UK local rate fax:       0845 838 2451

SA Toll Free phone:  0800 981 420

Rest Of World:           +44 1932 268230  or  +44 845 838 2450

We have added new photos to a number of 4* and 5* hotels and guesthouses in the Cape Winelands:

Franschhoek Country House & Villas
Grande Roche Hotel
Lanzerac Manor
Le Quartier Francais
Summerwood Guest House

For most people the idea of spending the night under canvas surrounded by the sounds of the African bush brings to mind the romance of a bygone age of adventure.

Fortunately there are dozens of tented safari camps all across South Africa where it is possible to recapture this magic.

From Bayethe Lodge (Shamwari), Lalibela Tree Tops Lodge, and Gorah Elephant Camp in the Malaria Free Eastern Cape, up to Savanna and Hamilton’s in the Greater Kruger Park there is some outstanding 5* tented accommodation available with many ‘tents’ boasting air conditioning, luxury bathrooms, and even private plunge pools!

For guests travelling on a more modest budget, lodges such as Gomo Gomo and Kwa-Mbili offer less extravagant accommodation, however the large tents all still have proper double or twin beds and ensuite bathrooms…it’s still along way from most peoples idea of roughing it!

Our top 10 tented camps in South Africa are:

1 ) Bayethe Lodge
2 ) Tree Tops Lodge
3 ) Mkuze Falls Tented Lodge
4 ) Gorah Elephant Camp
5 ) Gomo Gomo Game Lodge
6 ) Savanna Private Game Reserve
7 ) Hamilton’s Tented Camp
8 ) Chapungu Luxury Tented Camp
9 ) Kwa-Mbili Game Lodge
10 ) Entabeni Wildside Tented Camp

This listing is ranked on the number of nights guests have spent at each lodge based on recent bookings made by Travel Butlers.