Going on a safari is a bit of a kid’s dream. We all had this image of big 4 × 4 in the savannah, surrounded by wild animals. Here are some tips from experts of Garden Route Tours which will definitely serve you well.
Which animals to see in which parks?
The Kruger Park Safaris are home to a wide variety of species, which is pretty cool for a first safari. You’re likely to see the Big Five: the rare leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, lion and buffalo. You will also come across a bunch of giraffes, pumbas, zebras and antelopes. With a little luck, you will see a cheetah, hyenas and some rarer species. On the contrary, Addo Elephant National Park is dedicated to elephants and iSimangaliso Wetland Park is famous for its hippos.
How to prepare your safari?
It depends on how fast you go and how much time you have. You can very well stay from a day to a week in a park. The Kruger National Park stretches over 20,000 km2, 60 km east to west and 350 km north to south. Hard to fully explore! So we settled for three days in the southern part of Kruger Park and only one day in Hluhluwe, which is much smaller.
Warning: In some Game Reserve, it is essential to book your accommodation to enter.
Buy the guide at the entrance to the park: it’s a real gold mine. The map details the roads, ecozones and animals that live there. You will also discover the list of animals in pictures. It is convenient to navigate between all these species of antelope or to differentiate a cheetah from a leopard.
Make your provisions before arriving: the restaurants are expensive and the mini markets are poor in food. Take the opportunity to refuel before entering the parks. There are some stations scattered in the big camps but the prices are slightly higher.
Book your accommodation in different camps: Sleeping in the park, you avoid unnecessary roundtrip and you are on the spot at dawn and until sunset. You can go camping, sleep in a bungalow, lodge or tent. Simply book on the official website. They have the best options for the same and that also within the best options that that you can take. By taking both accommodation and tickets, you save a day. For two nights there, we only paid two days instead of three. It is a kind of option that makes the entire journey perfect. You need to keep in mind about the destination budget as well. This is an essential part of the whole process and you need to be specific about that. Otherwise, too much of spending at the places that are not so important would change the kind of cost options that you have. For the whole tour, it can be quite a problem in every case. Therefore, be sure of the places to go for and that too within budget. That makes the whole journey perfect.