Natasha’s clients stayed at Africa on Foot in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve and Shindzela Tented Safari Camp in the Timbavati Game Reserve in the Kruger.
Hello Natasha:
Thanks for following up. We had the trip of a lifetime, and we are very grateful to you and the bush camps you helped us arrange. You were so helpful and responsive as we planned the trip, it was pleasure working with you and we would certainly recommend you to anyone we know. (In addition to voting for you as “Africa’s Leading Safari Company” as your link suggests below!) Thanks again for taking the time to understand what we wanted and help us design the trip to achieve it.
A minor point – I am curious about why you advised us to book air travel from Cape Town to Mpumalanga instead of Hoedspruit. Not a major drama, but we were very glad to have the shorter car ride to Hoedspruit after our time in Kruger was over.
As for the bush camps themselves…
Africa on Foot: (3 nights)
I think they have a fairly unique offering with the morning hikes and afternoon drives. It was critical for us to get out of the land rover and put our feet on the ground to really experience the magnificence of Kruger. I would highly recommend that to anyone planning a safari. (As it happens, poor weather forced us to cancel 2 of our 3 walking safaris, but that wasn’t their fault. We were also fortunate to have some “on foot” opportunities with Shindzela – more on that later.)
The food at Africa on Foot was superb. There was a shift change during our short stay there, so we switched guides after the first day. Again, no complaints regarding the guides, but we just didn’t get the chance to know them and develop a great deal of rapport (also – more on that later). We did enjoy the fact that at Africa on Foot, we shared meals with our guide and our tracker. At Shindzela, the tracker did not join us, which we would have preferred.
Overall the camp was a bit more “polished” than Shindzela, but I suspect the new Shindzela team will get there over time.
Shindzela (5 nights)
Can’t say enough good things about the people at this camp. We were the only guests in camp for our first 3 nights, and that, combined with the opportunity to spend 5 days with the same guide/tracker/camp manager offered us the opportunity to build a relationship and rapport that made the experience that much better. Johann, our guide, like most of the experienced rangers in Kruger I’m sure, was a wealth of knowledge about the bush. But what we really appreciated was the fact that, once he came to understand our daughter’s passion for birds, he paid special attention to the bird life we encountered and did a great job helping Alex hone her identification skills. He even took us on what he described as his “first ever offroad drive in search of a bird” when we sighted and followed an elusive secretary bird out in a field.
Eugene, the camp manager/part owner was also an important part of our experience and we enjoyed many good fireside stories with him. You probably know that his family just took ownership of the camp a week or so before we arrived, and it was fun to see the improvements they were making and the enthusiasm this team brought to the challenge of making this place their own.
John, our tracker, always seemed to know exactly where the animals were heading. He was a bit of a reserved fellow, but by the end of our time there, even he was relaxing and joking in his own way with us. As I mentioned, it would have been nice it he would have joined us for meals.
An unexpected, but hugely welcomed, surprise was the occasional opportunity to get out of the land rover and track animals on foot at Shindzela. As I mentioned, this was important to us and we were disappointed by the weather-shortened extent of our walks at Africa on Foot. I don’t know how common this practice is, but if I ever take another safari (which I hope to!) I will ask specifically whether or not the camp provides the opportunity to walk to see the animals under the right circumstances.
The service and accomodations at both camps were great, but at Shindzela, it became more personal. I credit this to a combination of the great people working at Shindzela and the longer time we had with them. The birthday cake and sparkling wine on Tammy’s birthday made for a very special day for our family.
The food was good at Shindzela, but Africa on Foot was slightly better. Pindy was a sweet lady, but tended to overcook the meat! 🙂
As for the animals, here are some of our pictures. We were very pleased with what we saw at both camps.
Again – thanks so much for all your assistance in helping us plan the trip of a lifetime.
Regards, Tracy
