Whilst one of the main advantages of time travel must be the ability to always book everything at the lowest possible price, even a Time Lord could not find a better time to book a South African safari holiday.

That might sound ridiculous, but a quick look back through our records shows that many safari lodges in South Africa are currently cheaper than they have been at any time in the last 9 years (which is as far back as our records go).

To take a specific example, if you booked a stay at Bayethe Lodge in the Shamwari Game Reserve in November 2004  it would have cost £313 per person per night in the low season or £399 per person per night in the high season.  Thanks to some fantastic special offers and changing exchange rates, booking the same lodge today would cost only £191 per person per night in the low season (down 40% on the 2004 cost) or £250 per person in the high season (-25% on the 2004 cost).

That is not a typo…it really is 25% to 40% cheaper to stay at this fantastic award-winning safari lodge than it was 9 years ago, and rates include accommodation, all meals, and two guided game drives each day in the big-5 Shamwari Game Reserve! Incredible…

Oh, and to top it all off, Travel Butlers is also celebrating it’s 10th anniversary at the moment, so we are running a special offer where we are only asking of a £100 per person deposit for all accommodation and ground arrangements in South Africa when you book before the end of this year.

So, you don’t need a Tardis to book at our lowest ever prices for South Africa…just pick-up the phone and give us a call on 01932 428384 or enquire via the website.

This week at Travel Butlers HQ, we’re cracking open the bubbly to celebrate 10 years in the safari business. Exactly a decade ago, we opened our virtual doors and began creating personal, unique safari holidays for our customers. Now, ten years down the line, we are immensely proud of our company and very thankful indeed to everyone that has supported us along the way, from customers to lodge owners and from agents to our very own staff.

Our landmark anniversary has inspired us to take a nostalgic wander down memory lane and reminisce about how it all began. So, if you’re sitting comfortably, here is the story of a trip that turned our lives upside down – for the better.

Eleven years ago, we set off on a career break adventure that ended up shaping our personal and professional lives. We were all set to travel the world and we spent a good chunk of time in South America, but shortly after arriving in South Africa, we found ourselves completely hooked. Everything about South Africa grabbed us – the culture, the incredible beauty of the landscape, the people, the wine and, above all else, the amazing wildlife. We couldn’t wait to find out what the rest of Southern Africa had in store, and the more we explored, the more in love we fell. Each safari left us hungry for the next one and we soon realised that we had become hopeless Africa addicts.

And then we had our lightbulb moment. Suddenly, we had the idea to build a company that could bring the best wildlife experiences of Southern Africa to the UK market. Once this idea had taken hold, there was no going back. We knew immediately that we wanted to become real experts in our field, so we spent a year travelling throughout Southern Africa on a hunt to discover the perfect locations and safari holidays to offer our customers. We roamed from cosmopolitan Cape Town to Kruger National Park and from the desert plains of Namibia to the rich flora of the Garden Route, all in search of the best wildlife destinations and safari holidays for our prospective customers.

We even trained as safari guides ourselves in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in order to really understand the ways of the African bush and its abundant wildlife. There really is nothing like waking up to the sounds of the bush and spending each night under a sky bright with stars. After a month living in a basic tent, learning to track wildlife and guide game drives every day, we were confident that we had finally earned our safari stripes. As you can probably tell by now, we don’t do things by halves!

We quite simply had the time of our lives and our determination to make Travel Butlers a reality grew day by day. We couldn’t wait to get down to business and start spreading the word about safari holidays in Southern Africa. At first, we specialised in South Africa and Namibia, where we felt that we could offer the most comprehensive advice. We set up the website whilst living in Cape Town and made our first sales from a little apartment in the lovely Camps Bay area. We can both still remember our first customer, who booked a stay along the iconic Garden Route in November 2003, and I’m sure we always will.

So that was it! We had lift off! The past decade has been a wonderful roller-coaster ride, and we’ve seen Travel Butlers go from strength to strength. Over the years, we’ve expanded to sell the whole of Southern Africa as well as Kenya, Tanzania and the Indian Ocean. We’ve continued to explore at every opportunity so that we can advise our customers from our own personal experiences, and we’ve visited the majority of the safari lodges that we feature on our website. This approach has helped us to win several prestigious awards, including the SATOA award for best tour operator in both 2012 and 2013.

Looking back over our journey, we feel incredibly proud of what we have achieved, but we certainly couldn’t have done it alone. We’re so grateful to the wonderful people that have worked with us at Travel Butlers to bring such brilliant safari holidays to our customers. We would like to give special thanks to Natasha, Anneli, Bryony, Susan, Alys, Tracy and Keran for their hard work and support over the years. It’s been a pleasure to work with you all!

And, there’s more! Travel Butlers wouldn’t be possible without you – our customers. So, to celebrate our tenth anniversary, we would like to give something back with a very special offer. Right now, we’re offering you the chance to pay a deposit of only £100 per person to secure your safari holiday to South Africa or Namibia in 2014. The offer is valid for all new bookings confirmed between 12 November and 31 December and the balance will be due 8 weeks before travel, as per our usual terms and conditions.

This £100 deposit per person (or equivalent amount in USD, EUR or ZAR) will secure your safari lodge, hotel bookings, and transfers or hire car in South Africa and Namibia. If you would like to book your flights with us, we’ll need to take payment in full for these at the time of booking. We can accept payment by bank transfer, Mastercard, or Visa, or UK debit card, with no surcharges for card payments.

Our company has grown directly from our love of Southern and East Africa and we know from experience that a safari holiday is something that will stick with you forever. We believe that everyone deserves a Big Five safari at least once in a lifetime, so we’re hoping that this offer will make it easier for you to head off on your own safari holiday.

Thank you all for a brilliant decade. Here’s to the next one!

Best wishes,

Paul and Tracey Campbell

Yes, another frequently asked question, and one that has oddly enough popped on up TripAdvisor twice this week, is where should people stay in the Winelands – Franschhoek or Stellenbosch?

Most people put aside only one/2 nights for a stay in the Winelands, so unless they want to do one night in both, then there is a choice to be made.

I personally have a marginal preference for Franschhoek, just because I love the fact that it is basically just one main street set in beautiful valley/mountain scenery – no one can say the setting is not pretty! Over 25 wine farms, including some of South Africa’s most respected names, are in the area. Exploring the Franschhoek Wine Route is easy to do and there are locally trained guides on hand to help you understand the wines better. Tours can be arranged on foot, on horseback, or by car – take your pick!

If you are wanting to eat out in style for at least one of your nights in the Winelands, then Franschhoek is also the ideal place to stay, as there is a reason it is dubbed the ‘food and wine capital of the Cape’!  Many of the restaurants here have picked up awards, and there is a restaurant to suit all tastes and budget.  Some of the top dining experiences are  Le Quartier Francais Tasting Room, Le Bon Vivant and Monneaux, or check out Cafe Des Arts if you are on more of a budget.

For chocolate lovers too, a trip to the Huguenot Chocolate Factory should also feature high on your list of things to do in Franschhoek!

Stellenbosch is a much larger town, but great if you want somewhere with more of a buzz to it.  It is pretty too in its own right, with lots of whitewashed Cape Dutch architecture to look at, and streets lined with oak trees – hence it’s other name of ‘Eikestad’ – the Town of Oaks. As well as exploring the many excellent wine estates which make up the famous Stellenbosch Wine Route, take time out to visit the quaint Victorian fronted Oom Samie se Winkel, which is a typical example of a period village shop complete with old-fashioned items for sale.  It literally is like stepping back in time.

Of course, if time is tight on your trip to the Cape, or you do not fancy the idea of unpacking and packing your suitcase too often during your holiday, then you can easily visit the Winelands as a day trip from Cape Town – Stellenbosch is a mere 40 minute drive away; Franschhoek about an hour.  You can either drive yourself or arrange a guided tour (either with a group or a private tour, depending on your preferences).  But do try to get there somehow during your holiday to South Africa, otherwise you will have missed out on a lovely experience.

We have had the Royal birth, we have just had the Royal christening – but these 2 significant events have been royally topped with the recent news from our friends at Pumba Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape.

Not one, not 2 but THREE pure white lion cubs have been born!

The mother, Nomathemba, who is a pure white lioness herself, had been in ‘hiding’ while she gave birth, and for the first few weeks after the cubs were born.  The cubs were finally revealed briefly to the world (well, OK, the game rangers and lucky guests) on 29 September.   The sex of the three bundles of cuteness is not yet known, this will not become evident until another few months when the cubs are about 6 months old.  The father, Themba, also a pure white lion, is said to be very proud of his offspring…

Pumba are just one of a few reserves in Southern Africa to have free-roaming self-sustaining white lion.   Pumba first aquired white lion soon after the reserve opened in 2005, and these 3 cubs are the first to ever have been born in the reserve.

White lions are not a subspecies of lion, rather, the rare white/cream colour of the white lion’s coat is due to a recessive gene in their make up.  Because of this gene, they are not classed as albinos.   A similar gene also produces white tigers.

All we can say is – we wish we were going on safari to Pumba soon so that we could get to see these little cubs as they start to venture out of the den more and do what all lion cubs do so well – play!!   And if you are one of the lucky ones who are going to Pumba soon, it may be an idea to make sure you have a spare memory card for your camera when out on your game drives…

Whilst the daylight hours here in the UK are rapidly getting shorter, and it now time to dig out once again the woolly hats, scarves and glove sets, over in Cape Town they are embracing the start of Spring. The days are getting longer, the temperature is getting warmer, and everyone is digging out their bbqs/braais.  Restaurants are pulling the covers off the outside tables, and setting them up, ready for evenings of al fresco fun dining under the clear skies.

Yes, Spring in Cape Town promises to be a fun time.  In fact, any time in Cape Town will be wonderful – as Cape Town had also just been listed in the Lonely Planet’s top 10 list of cities to visit in 2014 – and we at Travel Butlers could not agree more with that result!

Here are just a few things you can do here over the next few months if you are looking to escape the cold winter months in the UK:

Sundowner Time!  Can you think of anything better at the end of the day than a cold glass of beer, or a chilled glass of white wine, whilst looking out over the ocean, or gazing up at Table Mountain?  No, thought not.  Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and there are a plethra of places where you can just sit and soak in the atmosphere and the sights.

Pushing the Boat Out!  Literally – have you ever thought about chartering your own yacht for a private sunset dinner?  Well, it can be done!  Or if you are not feeling that extravagent, but you are still looking for that decadent night out, relax in the Bascule Bar at the Cape Grace for an exclusive atmosphere to accompany your night cap before turning in.  Or take a trip to one of Cape Town’s theatres for a night of ballet, classical music, opera, drama or even comedy.  For a truly wonderful dining experience, try one of the city’s famous food and wine pairing evenings – such as the evenings hosted at the Greenhouse at Cellars-Hohehot, or La Colombe at Constantia Uitsig, for example, or the Planet Restaurant at the centrally located Mount Nelson.

Stay Outside!  If you want to make the most of the warm, barmy Spring evenings, then check out what open-air entertainment is going on.  Kirstenbosch host a number of Summer Sunset Concerts where you can enjoy live outdoor music (jazz, big band swing, R&B, folk and rock) in the Amphitheatre every Sunday evening from the end of November to the beginning of April.  Or for the more cultured, the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre in Wyndberg stages a Shakespeare-in-the Park production.   But let’s also be honest, just staying around the V&A Waterfront is good enough too for an evening’s entertainment, as the warm weather just entices the performers out – be it Cape Minstrel performers, fire breathers or African dancers!

Put on your Dancing Shoes!   Cape Town’s nightclubs are thumping with live music and guest DJ’s from across the world.   Burn off those sundowners while dancing the night away.

It’s the spookiest night of the year, and all over the world witches and ghouls will be carving their pumpkins ready for the traditional celebrations.

But spare a thought for those who live in South Africa where Halloween falls in the middle of spring and pumpkins are completely out of season. Okay, on the upside they can expect 13 hours of daylight, warm weather and maybe a trip to the beach over the weekend, but the downside is expensive pumpkins. Or a long trip by broomstick to a pumpkin patch in North America or Europe.  What would you rather have?  Oh…

Anyway…for anyone who is looking for a more tropical alternative to the pumpkin, we have a solution: all hail Jack, the Pomegranate King!

Now we realise it sounds a tad ridiculous, and also that pomegranates are usually harvested in February in South Africa, but bear with us and take a look at the pictures.

We hope that you agree that these jack-o-lanterns made from pomegranates are surprisingly effective.  We have had a look at a few other alternatives, and whilst the orange was quite promising we feel that the skin is not really thick enough to help the lantern retain its shape.  The pineapple has a thick enough skin, but looks, frankly, ridiculous.

Tsitsikamma is known as the Garden Route’s ‘adventure playground’ and for adrenelin junkies, there is yet another activity to add to the adrenelin-pumping list that already includes bungee jumping and tree top canopy tours.

How do you fancy a blackwater tubing river adventure trip?

Just about to be launched on Friday by Tsitsikamma Black Water Tubing, aka ‘Storms River Tubing’, there are 2 guided tubing adventures, depending on how much time you have – so there is a shorter 3 hour trip, or a full day 6 hour trip.

The quick and easy 3 hour trip will give you a good induction into the excitement of tubing, coupled with loads of fun and only a little bit of exertion!   In your one man (or woman) inflatable tube, you launch into the upper Storms River, and spend a pleasant couple of hours pool hopping and rock jumping along the safest and widest section of th river.

For the fitter and more fun-loving adventure-seeking people, try your hand at the 6 hour adventure.   You enter the Narrow Gorge, and the only way out is 4-5 hours later at the spectacular Storms River Mouth in the Tsitsikamma Park itself.

For both trips, safety equipment is included in the cost – so helmet, life jacket, wetsuit – and of course your inflatable tube.  Please note, however, that uou have to be over 12 years old to participate in either adventure.

November is the peak of the high water season, so you can expect to have a great experience!  I have done blackwater tubing myself once before (albeit it in New Zealand), and yes, I can hand on heart say it was awesome!

For more information, you can email the company directly on info@tubenaxe.co.za, or check out their website https://www.blackwatertubing.net/.

Yesterday I became a giraffe. Only for three days, admittedly, but a giraffe nevertheless.

No, I am not currently sitting alone wrapped in a cosy white jacket and bouncing happily off the walls of my padded room whilst singing ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain’.  I am instead referring to the latest craze/fad to have swept through the Facebook community.

For those of you who are unaware of what I am talking about, you are invited to answer a riddle. If you guess the correct answer you name is published along with the glory of everyone knowing you got it right. Guess wrong, however, and you have to change your profile picture to that of a giraffe for three days.

I joined a thread last night of a friend whose picture is now that of a cute cuddly toy giraffe, and it was quite surreal as the only people in said thread were all giraffes.  Ok the thread was bemoaning how silly we all were for getting the riddle wrong, but even so, it will go down as one of my more weird Facebook moments.

But in all honesty, what’s wrong with being a giraffe?  Think on the positive side:

Had I been a giraffe on Saturday night when I was at the Round House in Camden watching the Boomtown Rats, I would not have had my view constantly blocked by people who were at least 2 feet taller than me.

I would be able to run at a top speed of about 52-55 km/h – so when I do my half marathon in March I will do it in record time.

Never again will I have to find the willpower to walk past Starbucks and resist popping in to buy a double mocha with cream and an almond croissant – have you ever seen a Starbucks in the African bush and also have you ever seen a giraffe carrying money in a purse or bag?

I would still have the same number of vertebrae in my neck as a human so not everything will be a massive change.

I would only need to sleep for between 1-12 minutes at a time, so no more ‘bed hair’ to worry about in the morning, and I would never oversleep and be late for work.

As a giraffe, I would only need to drink once every several days, thereby saving a fortune at the pub.

Each time I raised my neck as a giraffe, it would be the equivalent of lifting 550 pounds – who needs a gym membership if you can exercise like that every day at home?

I would have a naturally beautifully spotted coat that is unique to me, so I would never have to worry about anyone else wearing the same outfit on a night out.

So all in all, I am going to embrace this identity change for the next three days. In fact, I may even decide to remain as a giraffe.

Ps. In case you were wondering, this is said infernal riddle:

3:00 am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors. It’s your parents and they are here for breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese. What is the first thing you open?

Hint – the clue is the time…

In the UK today, a lot of people woke up (or indeed may not have even slept) to gale force winds this morning howling around our windows. Homes are without electricity, train services have been cancelled, and flood warnings have been issued.

For anyone holidaying in Cape Town today, however, they can also get their fare share of wind, but it will be slightly more enjoyable! One of my favourite places to go when I used to live in Cape Town was to head out of the city towards Bloubergstrand Beach, which is about a 20 minute drive (traffic depending, of course!). Not only is it THE place to go to take that ‘picture postcard’ shot of Table Mountain from across the bay, it is also THE place to go if you are a kite surfer.  Not that I am a kite surfer, I hasten to add.  But I used to love walking along the beach and just watching the mad keen kite surfers throw themselves around in the waves.

The beach is popular with kite surfers because of the large waves and the 10 – 30 knot winds (which do make sun-bathing on the beach a tad uncomfortable unless you are into being sandblasted constantly – saves getting a expensive body exfoliation at the Spa I suppose though).

Kite surfing, for the uniatiated, involves harnessing yourself to a board and a power kite, and letting the wind propel the kite and you across the waves.  The French kitesurfer Sebastien Cattelan became the first person to break the 50 knots speed barrier by reaching 50.26 knots in October 2008 in Luderitz, Namibia, but since then, this record has been broken several times, and the current record is held by Rob Douglas for reaching speeds of 55.65 knots over a 500 m distance.  Talking of distances, Francisco Lufinha is the distance record holder, having kitesurfed an amazing  537 km  from Gaia (Portugal) to Algarve (Portugal) in September 2013.   And did you know that Sir Richard Branson also holds the record as being not only the oldest person to have kitesurfed across the English Channel (in July 2012), but also holds the record (along with 317 other kitesurfers) to have formed the largest parade of kitesurfers to complete a one mile course (in Hampshire in September 2013).

If you fancy learning to kite surf while you are on holiday in Cape Town, there are several operators that you can contact who can teach you to kite surf, either in the ocean or in the calm safety of a lagoon.  Courses tend to run from mid-September through to March.   You can also rent equipment too if you are an experienced kite surfer already and you want to loop, flip, roll or shred whilst admiring Table Mountain from your board.

Whether you want to just watch or participate, either way I can definately recommend a trip to Bloubergstrand!

Hot off the press, thanks to a newsletter just in from the wonderful Alex Walters.

Always had a yearning to see wild dogs? Well, you should go to the Selinda Reserve in northern Botswana immediately.  Guests and guides here have had the pleasure of not just one wild dog pack denning in the area – BUT THREE!  And with pups too.  Can it seriously get any better?

Every year, the normal resident wild dog pack here will den in June or July, and in the past, there have been as many as 15 cute little puppies emerging as a result of the mating between the alpha male and the alpha female.  This year, however, not one, not two, but three packs are denning – as a result of the splintering of the initial pack and subsequent interaction between neighbouring packs.   Sounds like the basis for a wildlife ‘soap’, doesn’t it – the wild dog version of EastEnders.

The packs all have their individual names – so there is the Selinda pack (9 adults and 8 puppies), the Mopane pack (3 adults and 8 puppies) and the Makoba pack (5 adults and 6 puppies).

Despite this huge abundance of pups, wild dogs are still one of the rarest/endangered species in Africa, and it is estimated that less than 3,500 exist in the wild now.

They can cover a huge area when hunting (their territories can be as large as 500 square kilometres), and can reach speeds of up to 55 km/h and maintain this speed too for several kilometres.  They hunt by literally running down their prey until the prey is absolutely exhausted.  Wild dogs are known for their violent kills – in that they jump in immediately and start eating (or rather tearing) up the prey, regardless of whether it is still breathing or not.  A bit gruesome to watch, I will admit, but something I have been very privilidged to have witnessed.  And have a thousand photos or so to prove it too.

Wild dogs are sociable animals, but the packs have a strict hierachy, in that there is normally only one alpha/main male and one alpha female.  Only the alpha pack members are allowed to mate and therefore reproduce.  Only when the alpha couple are unable to reproduce or one of them dies, then a new dog can come into ‘power’.