Backpacking South Africa in Jan/Feb 2007

Hello,
On the 20th of January I'm going to South Africa with a friend. We're spending 39 days in the country and need some tips for what we can't miss out on.

We're planning a safari (of course), but we're on a tight budget. Do any of you have any companies that have some really good offers for safaris in Kruger NP?

How is it to get around. I've been thinking we could rent a car and drive the Garden Route by ourselves, instead of having to wait for the buses all the time. What would you prefer?

Since none of us have been backpacking before, we could use all the tips and recommendations we could get.

Accommodation: Will it be that much cheaper to bring a tent? Or is it to prefer and pay a bit more to get a bed?

My biggest concern is snakes and spiders. I'm terrified. How common is it to spot a giant beast inside the tent/room?

Looking forward to hear about your experiences!

Frida--I hate to say it, but I think that your biggest concern should be something other than snakes and spiders!!.. as in, real wild animals.. It sounds to me that you would be better off doing one of the escorted camping tours..

Well of course.. I know there's lot's of other things to be concerned about down there. I should have written: "one of my biggest concerns".

And of course we will join escorted camping tours, we will not camp outside in the wild all by ourselves. Now, that's just stupid..

Frieda, you should be able to rent a camper AKA Cumby (sp?), that is very common in SA, you should be able to google camper rental. However it might be cheaper to get a Bed breakfast and a car. Staying with people is part of the experience, that is where you will gain great local knowledge. You probably may want to fly up to the game lodges rather than drive. There are discount airlines in SA.


When you get to SA you will find a lot of last minute deals to the game parks. There are a lot of parks surrounding Kruger and you might see more in a shorter time. Keep in mind that it will be Summer, so it will be hot on the game drives and the animals will be harder to see because of the brush.

I tried and google for a rental camper. It's way too expensive. I thought rent a car was expensive enough. There's always the BazBus, though. But then we don't have the full liberty to go whereever we want..

Hi Frida
i backpacked along South eastern africa twice. once in 2002/3 for 3 months and again in 2005 for 7 weeks. As far as i remenber hiring a car for a long period is expensive. is cheaper to buy a second hand car and the sell it again at the end of your trip. many people does this or at least did them. We got a van and was real fun to have the freedom. another option is to use the buz bus and other companies es the greyhound etc surpraisingly enough transport in Africa is easier than you may think as there were plenty of local buses, van 9sort of really old over crowded vehicles run and used by locals who are happy to take you if you dont mind to travel with goats and chickens, it's real fun. There are as well air conditioned buses with toilet and coffe machine that travel along South Africa into Zimbawe , Namibia, etc but the fare increase with the quality. the cheapest way to go into the parks is actually if you have a car ang go to the park yourself. this way you pay just the entry. You can camp or stay at a lodge or cabins and you can hire a guide. the price depends on the haggling. With a guide is easier to spot the animals as they know where to look for them but you can allways get a map and drive yourself along the reserve. i did that in many parks in Swaziland, namibia, Tanzanie and Kenia and i saw the big 5 , well almost instead of the leopard i saw cheetas but i saw a kill !!!. If you go to SA get the Coast to Coast booklet with all the backpackers . Some of them collect you for free and offer you free shuttles. Hope this helps Pardon my awful spelling, etc