Visitors can enjoy a safari without it taking the lion’s share of their earnings. Emily Bamber reports
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Africa brochures may be packed with exclusive lodges and eye-watering price-tags, but safaris are not the sole preserve of lottery winners and honeymooners. If clients are prepared to camp, self-drive or travel in a group, it is possible to see the big five on small bucks.
Africa’s national parks are vast areas of protected wilderness that are open to the public. What they lack in terms of up-close encounters they more than make up for with low entrance fees, sweeping vistas and the knowledge that animals are free to roam enormous areas, some the size of small countries. The better-maintained parks can easily be explored independently in a hire car. Most parks have smooth roads, picnic points and refuelling stations, making this a popular way to enjoy a safari on a budget.
Alternatively, suggest a small-group holiday, during which local guides with expert knowledge will drive your clients straight to the action in open-topped vehicles or minibuses.
Boutique guesthouses, simple hotels and tented camps are springing up, making Africa’s glorious wildlife accessible to everyone. Here, we look at four of the top parks.
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Just a short drive or flight from Johannesburg, with excellent infrastructure and animal sightings pretty much guaranteed, Kruger is a fantastic place for a first safari.
Clients could easily spend weeks in South Africa’s flagship national park – at more than 7,000 square miles it’s about the size of Wales – but a few days should be enough to tick off the big five, as well as cheetah, giraffe, hippo and endless antelope.
Established in 1898 and continually expanding, Kruger is home to a remarkable range of wildlife – 187 species of mammal and more than 500 types of bird – and the professionalism of its environmental management is unrivalled.
The well-developed infrastructure may put off genuine wilderness-seekers, but it does make self-driving a delight – the roads are well maintained and there are rest stops at regular intervals.
Around Numbi Gate, on the southwest side of the park, you’ll find a great selection of budget properties. For permanent tents with air conditioning suggest three-star Nkambeni Tented Lodge, or try Hippo Hollow Country Estate just outside the park if clients would rather stay in a hotel – it’s set in lush gardens on the banks of the Sabi River.
Suggest an itinerary that combines Kruger with Pretoria and Johannesburg, where they can visit legendary township Soweto and the Apartheid Museum.
Book it: Premier Holidays offers an eight-night Johannesburg, Pretoria and Kruger self-drive holiday from £1,169 including return flights from Heathrow with Qatar Airways, car hire and B&B accommodation, including four nights at Hippo Hollow.
premierholidays.co.uk
0844 493 7444
Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa
Back in the 1930s, only 16 elephants roamed this part of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, so Addo Elephant National Park was established to protect them. Today, more than 550 of the gentle giants inhabit the park, which spans 700 square miles from the arid Karoo at Darlington to the Indian Ocean.
From newborns to boisterous youngsters in water holes and solitary old bulls, there are few better places to admire the African elephant. Buffalo, lion, leopard and rhino complete the big five, and there are also large populations of zebra, hyena and antelope, as well as many birds.
Addo sits in the heart of the Eastern Cape’s big-game country and is malaria-free, making it a popular choice for families. Under government plans it is continually expanding, and now includes a large section of coast, where whale sharks and southern right whales bask off vast dunes.
There are several luxury lodges within the park and more affordable options just outside it. Elephant House, near the main gate, is an elegant guesthouse with just eight rooms and is furnished in colonial style, with wide verandas and big sofas.
Guests are hosted by a wildlife expert during optional small-group drives into the park, while those on a self drive holiday can grab a map at the park gates and find the elephants themselves.
Book it: Travel 2 has a 10-night Cape Town, Garden Route and Addo Elephant Park tour from £1,149, including Emirates flights from Heathrow to Cape Town and back from Port Elizabeth, car hire and B&B accommodation, including two nights at Elephant House.
travel2.com
0800 022 4182
Etosha National Park, Namibia
The grande dame of Africa’s national parks, Etosha was established more than a century ago and spans a whopping 8,600 square miles of northern Namibia.
An 80-mile-long saltpan dominates the park; the former lake glistens white under the cobalt sky and makes a dramatic backdrop for viewing the park’s endangered black rhino, plus lion, zebra, springbok, giraffe, oryx and desert-adapted elephant that also live in the park.
Despite its enormous size, the bone-dry climate means wildlife can be spotted from great distances on the arid plains or gathered at vital watering holes.
Etosha is a great option for adventure-seekers. The roads are rough gravel at best and, while facilities are being upgraded all the time, rest stops and information centres are few and far between. The park is also malaria-free, and there are budget lodges and campsites.
Specialist operator Wild About Africa offers a group tour (maximum 14 people), on which clients sleep under canvas at Okaukuejo rest camp near the saltpan. There is a restaurant, bar and pool, but the main attraction here is the floodlit watering hole where animals come to drink by day and night.
The holiday also takes in the Namib-Naukluft park, with its apricot-hued sand dunes, and allows for time in the leafy colonial-style capital Windhoek.
Book it: Wild About Africa offers a nine-night Taste of Namibia Safari from £1,779, including flights from Heathrow with South African Airways, camping and guesthouse accommodation, all safari activities and most meals.
wildaboutafrica.com
020 8758 4717
The Masai Mara, Kenya
This is probably Africa’s best known national park and, as well as having the big five in abundance, it’s home to the Maasai people, a large and important nomadic tribe.
Any safari here is likely to include a cultural experience and the chance to witness humans and wildlife coexist in a way that has not changed for centuries.
Covering 200 square miles of southern Kenya, the park sustains an astonishing array of animals: zebra, giraffe and gazelle roam its golden plains; elephant, buffalo, hippo and crocodile wallow in its waterways, and eagles soar overhead.
If clients are lucky enough to be in the park between July and October, they may witness the annual migration from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara of of around 1.5 million wildebeest, hooves thudding as they cross plains and rivers.
Wildlife Worldwide offers a small group tour that concentrates on quality wildlife viewing experiences above luxury accommodation, with drives and nature walks in the Maasai operated Ol Kinyei Conservancy and in the main park, as well as three nights in another major park, Amboseli.
Clients stay in domed tents with mattresses (they take their own sleeping bags), yet enjoy facilities akin to a more expensive lodge – there are private bathrooms, quality dining and four-wheel-drive tours led by local guides.
Book it: Wildlife Worldwide offers an eight-night Kenya Adventure Camping from £2,070, including flights from Heathrow with Kenya Airways, internal flights, most meals and safari activities.
wildlifeworldwide.com
0845 130 6982
