So you thinking of going on to a lodge for a safari but aren’t sure what happens on ‘safari’. Here is an idea of what you can expect.

• An early morning wake up around 6 am with tea / coffee and biscuits (some time as continental breaks
• Morning game drive – usually for about 3 to 4 hours which allows for you to build up a hearty appetite
• Late morning breakfast or early lunch
• Time to relax and completely unwind. You could relax by the pool, go on bush walks, or take in some excursions.
• As the temperatures start cooling down you will have a mid-afternoon tea and cake – very civilised.
• Next up is a late afternoon game drive with sundowners (drinks at sunset) and snacks, often ending up as a night drive – usually about 3 to 4 hours
• Dinner, fireside drinks and relaxing to the sounds of the bush.

Naturally this can change but this is a rough guide to give you an idea. Some of you might simply want to miss a game drive and rather chose to relax with a book or writing a long lost novel or simply relaxing and watching the wildlife from the lodge.

Whatever you chose to do, we can assure you it will be relaxing and thoroughly memorable.

Moving at a snails’ pace, we geared up against the chilly air and made our wait to claim our self-rewarded coffee and rusks. We painted a dismal picture half asleep as we got into our overland truck and made our way into the queue of campsite vehicles at the Sesriem gate, entering the Namib Desert!

It was barely a minute after we’d started driving that I really woke up to the sight of the Namib dunes dressed in various shades of blue’s, purples and grey’s, dancing in the night sky changing shape and colour as we drove down the single, partially, tarred road going deeper into worlds’ oldest desert. I was getting excited.

45 kilometres later, we reached our destination standing at the foot of Dune 45.  It is named Dune 45 because it is 45 km from Sesriem Camp, where we set out, on the road leading to Sossusvlei.

Tying my shoe laces, I let the eager beavers get their head start on making the little sandy steps which would take us to the top.  By the time we finally reached the highest point, panting for water, we were assumed our spot single file next to each other and cameras on and ready.

There was a hum of excitement until we saw it … the first glimmer of orange slowly peaking over the furthest dune in the distance followed by lighter shades of oranges and yellows touching the highest points, reaching into the deeper, darker folds of the dunes, an African Picasso unfolding in front of our eyes.  It was simply breath-taking!

Wanna go?  Check out any of the following overland tours:

12 Day Best of Namibia (Cape Town – Windhoek)

10 Day Namibian Explorer (Windhoek – Windhoek)

12 Day Namibian Experience (Cape Town – Windhoek)

21 Day Cape Town to Victoria Falls

It’s the worst part because you now have to figure out how to get everything into your bag.  I dislike it so much, I’ll even consider flying my travel agent over her to help me pack!  Fortunately she’s been able to give me some awesome advise and simplify it all for me.

Bring the combat pants … I like them and they’re cool and you’re going to be on an overland tour where things get dusty and you get dusty.  The tsetse fly is common in East Africa and Zimbabwe where they are attracted to blue.  You will be fine wearing blue pants in Mozambique, Jozi or Cape Town!  My packing tips:

1/  Take 3/4 pairs of long pants (2x denim + 1/2x combat + 1x cotton/similar)
2/  Take 3 pairs of shorts (or 4)
3/  Take 6 to 8 tops (combo of tank tops, t-shirts, vests etc)
4/  Take 2 smart tops (something you can pair with jeans or cotton/similar pants – for dinners)

Keep the bottoms to a minimum because you can mix & match them with various tops, and not have people wonder if you actually brought clean clothes with you. I do suggest 2 smart tops (neat golf shirt / shirts for guys) to wear with jeans or your nice cotton pants for dinner.

For the ladies:  a little item I always like packing is a light scarf – it is something that can just jazz up anything with a splash of colour, or wrap around your head during the hotter days.

5/  Take 2 warm jumpers + jacket (like wind jacket or windbreaker)
6/  Take 2 pairs of sandals + 1x pair walking shoes (and socks) + 1x closed shoes (pumps)

Take 2 jumpers because you’re doing a long trip – volunteering in South Luangwa and 14 Day Mozambique in Comfort overland tour. Depending on your volunteering conditions, you can wear one during the day and the other at night under your wind jacket / breaker.  It’s a great combo for when it’s a bit colder on some nights or if it rains.

You’ll get a lot of wear from your sandals during the day – and they’re easy to kick off at your campsite or at the beach. A pair of the ‘ol flip flops always go down well with the second pair of sandals a nicer pair you could wear to dinner.  Closed shoes can be sneakers / walking shoes / hiking boots and a pair of pumps.

2/3 pairs of socks at most – because they are small and can easily be washed and dried out again.

7/  All the needed under garments
8/  Swimming costume + sarong (doubles up as a towel) / travel towel
9/  Hat + sunglasses
10/ Toiletries + medical kit

There you have it – all packed and ready to go!

Click on the banner if you want to donate to the fund to fight!

The public opened their hearts during Wednesday’s auction of Neil Pauw’s painting and pledged an incredible R570,000 towards the training of tracker dogs that will assist in Jacaranda FM’s anti rhino poaching efforts.

The event took place at Jacaranda FM’s studio in Montecasino. The campaign kicked off in March when Neil Pauw’s painting was part of the The Wild’s storyline on M-Net. Pauw said that its really amazing to know that so many people’s hearts go out to our endangered Rhinos. “When I got into the Jacaranda studio my nerves were on a high. The painting was standing in view of all to see. I had high hopes of it being able to attract at least enough funds for 2 dogs. All I can say is ‘WOW!!!’ . The amount pledged by all the awesome supporters for the cause way exceeded our expectations. What a great achievement.”

Jacaranda FM have been involved in the struggle against rhino poaching since 2010 in collaboration with Stoprhinopoaching.com, regional parks and the Rhino Management Group. The tracker dogs project is the next step to take these efforts further, by providing further support for those at the front line.

The Parlotones as passionate as ever where there to put their weight behind the event.

www.sagoodnews.co.za

If you are considering a new camera for your trip – their Sony NEX 3 seems to have done a pretty impressive job at capturing some of the African scenes, especially those beautiful sunsets in the Okavango Delta.

“Hello Huntley,

We just came back to Sweden after a couple of amazing weeks down on your continent. Just wanted to thank you for recommending the Botswana camping safari- those days were some of the most amazing in my life. Everything was perfect. The tour plan, the guide, etc. I would recommend this tour to anyone who is not TOO afraid of the camping part of it (I do not normally consider myself a camping person). The fact that we stayed in campsites rather than lodges really brought us close to nature. I loved every bit of it. The trip also has a very authentic feel to it- we never felt just part of the big tourist wheel. You can quote me on this

So in short- thanks for the help. I will tell all my friends

Helena”

These 2 travellers enjoyed Africa so much they are planning a return trip soon, this time East Africa!

Why go on this trip?

3 Crew members and a diverse likeminded travellers all looking for a great time in Africa. Great value for money!

21 Day Cape To Vic Falls Budget Overland Tour

• Was ZAR 6 495 plus the local payment of US$ 560
• Now ZAR 5 845 plus local payment of 560 USD (roughly 730 USD / AUD 560 Eu plus local payment)
  

Included Highlights

•     FISH RIVER CANYON
•     ORANGE RIVER
•     NAMIB NAUKLUFT NATIONAL PARK
•     SOSSUSVLEI
•     SWAKOPMUND
•     SPITZKOPPE
•     CHEETAH PARK
•     ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK
•     CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
•     BOAT CRUISE
•     CHOBE OVERNIGHT MOBILE EXCURSION

Itinerary:

• Days 1-8: Cederberg Area, Orange River, Fish River Canyon, Namib Naukluft National Park, Sossusvlei, Swakopmund
• Days 9-10: Spitzkoppe, Cheetah Park
• Days 11-17: Etosha National Park, Game Drives, Kavango River, Okavango Delta*, Maun
• Days 18-21: Chobe National Park, Boat Cruise, Overnight mobile excursion, Victoria Falls

Optional Excursions:

• Cederberg – Wine Tasting US$10
• Canoeing, Gariep River (min 4) US$40
• Skydiving US$350
• Sandboarding US$50 – $65
• Quadbiking US$90
• Okavango Delta Mokoro Excursion (3 days) US$160
• Victoria Falls National Park US$30
• Helicopter over the Falls 19 – 25 mins $250
• Rafting on the Zambezi full day US$130
• Rafting & Boarding Combo US$165
• Bungee Jumping (111m) $135
• Walk with the Lions US$130

 Contact us to book your trip

Here are some great budget trips. Are you looking for trips that are friendly on the pocket?

Try 10% off the tour price!

42 Day Cape Town to Nairobi

42 Day Nairobi to Cape Town

Have you got a bit for time and would like to go gorilla trekking? How about the 56 day trip?

56 Day Cape Town to Nairobi

56 Day Nairobi to Cape Town

Feel free to contact us on info@escape4africa.com or call us on:

RSA +27 (0) 21 448 0997
USA 1 888 815 2423
UK 0 800 098 8010

Hi everyone,

Over the years we have always prided ourselves in having the widest selection of great tours at the best prices. Thanks to the South African Rand  (ZAR) being hit we are a lot cheaper than booking in Australian Dollars and Euros.

Here are some examples:

20 Day Cape To Vic (Camping)

• AUD = 1900 (roughly 15 360 ZAR) excluding optional activity package
• Euro = 1289 (roughly 13 300 ZAR) excluding optional activity package

OUR PRICE: 12950 ZAR excluding optional activity package

20 Day Cape To Vic (Accommodated)

• AUD = 3215 (roughly 25 960 ZAR) excluding optional activity package

OUR PRICE: 21 950 ZAR excluding optional activity package

16 Day Zimbabwe Rediscovered

• AUD = 1 750 (roughly 14 150 ZAR) excluding optional activity package
• Euro = 1 559 (roughly 16 092 ZAR) excluding optional activity package

OUR PRICE: 11 950 ZAR excluding optional activity package

Make use of this opportunity and save yourself money!

Click here to enter the competition

During the entire month of May, we are able to give you some great discounts on some of our camping trips. Do not miss out on this fantastic opportunity and book now!