My Recent South African Safari

For those of you who have never been on safari or perhaps those of you who are looking for a new safari, perhaps consider a full out diverse and game packed South African trip. Our country has an incredible amount of diversity and its all very accessible and easy to get to visiting all the safari hotspots and breathtaking places. And, it gets better. South Africa has so many lodges to choose from varying in their price range which means that even smaller budgets are still possible to work with. And again, even better news is that we have an amazing Madikwe safari portion which is very time and budget friendly. The whole trip should be about 18 nights. Thats two and a half weeks of jam packed safari and travel.

The reason I chose to write this very blog is because I have recently returned from this very trip so I figured that I would share our itinerary with you as I am really passionate about what my country has to offer. Our trip consisted of 4 legs and look something like this...

First Leg: Madikwe Private Game Reserve 

Lodge: Nkurru Lodge

Duration: 6 Nights

Game Viewing: Excellent Big 5, Cheetah and Wild Dog. My best Lion and Elephant sightings have come from Madikwe.

Habitat: Semi Arid. The reserve is on the border of Botswana and just south of the famous Kalahari desert. There is a slight spill over of that harsh Kalahari landscape into the reserve making it a mixture of arid and bushveld. Great for photography back drops.

Madikwe is so special and boasts some incredible sunsets and exciting Wild Dog and Lion sightings. The lodge is a very "homely" lodge and the staff are simply amazing and after a few days become family. As a start for your South African tour you might find it very difficult to leave. But, on check out day we fly through to our next destination. But before you do, check out some Madikwe images below.

Second Leg: Sabi Sands

Lodge: Kirkmans Kamp

Duration: 4 Nights

Game Viewing: Excellent Big 5 viewing with phenomenal Lion and Leopard sightings.

Habitat: Bushveld savanna divided by the famous Sands river where a lot of the game pours down to to have a drink.

The river itself is beautiful and its such a bonus that the camp overlooks the river too. Its not uncommon to find herds of elephant, prides of lion and leopard frequently walking through camp. You are never too far away from the action and when it comes to leopard sightings you cannot find a better spot in the continent in my opinion. Check out some images in the slider below.

Third Leg: Phinda Private Game Reserve

Lodge: Forest Lodge

Duration: 4 Nights

Game Viewing: Excellent big 5 game viewing with great Cheetah sightings and birds for the twitchers!

Habitat: Phinda has 7 distinct habitats including the ancient, rare and awe inspiring Sand Forest

Phinda's diversity in itself is quite impressive and when you throw in some great game viewing with these special habitat back drops its quite the combo. Its completely different to the other destinations on this tour and the lodge itself is immersed in the sand forest where some trees are believed to be over 2000 years old.

Fourth leg: Cape Town

Hotel: The Cadogen

Duration: 4 Nights

What to do: Vineyards, Table Mountain, Cape point  and so much more

A great way to end the South African tour as I said good bye to my guests. Cape Town and so much culture with plenty activities. We have local guides who take you around and show you all that Cape Town has to offer!

The 4 above destinations gives you a great overview of what South Africa has to offer and as far as diversity and game viewing goes its really tough to beat. My guests and I had an absolute blast and were very sorry to see our South African adventure end. Drop us a message if you would like to find out more :)

Check out our Madikwe lodge and Safari

Ive ranted on about it in my blog above, now check out in detail what our Madikwe safari entails.

4 thoughts on “My Recent South African Safari

  1. Jana Logan

    says:

    This was a fantastic safari and trip to South Africa. Having Matt as a guide and photography expert made the trip all the more fulfilling. Madikwe, especially Nkurru lodge, were unsurpassed. Wild eye did a great job of organizing the trip and it went off in an epic way. I would totally do it all over again.

    • Matt Yardley
      says:

      Thanks so much Jana. It was an absolute blast and I really look forward to the next.

  2. Jana Logan

    says:

    This was a fantastic safari and trip to South Africa. Having Matt as a guide and photography expert made the trip all the more fulfilling. Madikwe, especially Nkurru lodge, were unsurpassed. Wild eye did a great job of organizing the trip and it went off in an epic way. I would totally do it all over again.

    • Matt Yardley
      says:

      Thanks so much Jana. It was an absolute blast and I really look forward to the next.

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