Anyone ever been on safari ?
 

I'm off to South Africa in a fortnight - 8 days exploring a game reserve , then on to Cape Town for 5 days.

Anyone got any advice ? ie - I wish i'd taken this... or don't go there ...

cheers Iain :)

Just the blindingly obvious like a decent camera and lens. Kruger?

When in Cape Town get down to Cape of Good Hope nature reserve - the Land's End of Africa. Watch out for semi-tame Baboons getting into car or nicking wipers and aerials. DL

It'll be like Longleat re-visited ! :D

Never been to Longleat but I do have a photo somewhere of a notice saying "DO NOT SLOW DOWN AS THE LIONS MAY BITE THE TYRES". I remember closing the sun roof at that place :D

Some safari's go early morning and late evening as well - not sure what the temp is like this time of year but maybe take some warm clothes for these . i went to Zim ( before all the **** going on there ) and was totally frozen when we did the 5.00am stints! wasnt expecting that in the middle of Africa.

Maybe obvious, but if your doing on foot stuff, wear dull coloured clothes..earthy tones good so you blend in. We tracked some elephants on foot for a whole day and it was brilliant .. especially when they spotted us and the bull decided to stand his ground and escort us away from his women :)

Leave your jewellery at home to be on safe side.

Mosi repellent ( although some part of the year you dont get any probs )

A big fcuk off gun just in case :norty: .. we also nearly got caught in a stampede of buffalo which scared the life out of the wife and I ( ive still got the nail marks to prove it ) The guides we had just pushed us aside and took aim with their rifles..would have been happier if i had one as well.

have fun.....you'll love it!

Don't keep food or smelly items like toothpaste in your tent! My brother woke up with a huge hole in the side of his tent and 300lb wild boar snuffling his face! :eek:

(and no it wasn't his missus! ;) )

I have , we went to the tuli block ( just in Botswana, on the banks of the limpopo ). Take plenty of film/batteries/memory cards, a couple of jumpers for night drives and decent walking boots.

When you hit cape town, the only advice is if you can see the top of table mountain, drop everything and go up as it can be in clouds for days..

Oh and go and see the pengiuns @ boulders beach & camps bay is a good night out .


We're going back again about this time next year


Steve

Make some room for the Steaks - they can be BIG.

http://www.cosmiccamel.com/remote/store/Large Steak.jpg

We stayed at an unfenced camp at the end of a long dusty road - Some Visitors came by

http://www.cosmiccamel.com/remote/store/Warthogs.jpg

They were quite friendly really - especially compared to the Elephants who turned up one night after we'd been on a night safari and the Hyena's who obviously liked the smell of me - They sat outside our room crunching away on the bones that our "friends" had left outside our window.

Take lots of Cameras, Lots of Film and lots of Toilet paper.

One of those Life experiences everyone should have :D.

blimey , some good stories there , stuff the walking shoes - i'm gonna buy some running shoes ! :D - a gun lookks like a good idea ;)

We decided to do the once in a lifetime holiday - before we settle down and have kids

note - musn't let missus read this thread - if she thinks kids are on the cards she'll have me trousers off as soon as look at me !

just ordered a 1gb memory card for my sony camera - that should be enough :)

binoculars always handy as well.

I always said you should have your once in a lifetime holiday ASAP. That way you can always have another one ;).

Take extra cameras and borrow a decent SLR (that's easy to use) with a fook off lens - you'll need the lens for most animals as they are generally shy - Although I could have stroked the Elephants (If I wasn't $hitting myself) :D.

Be careful....

The Baboons pooh in your air vents, and the Giraffes eat your windscreen wipers.

And dont buy a burger they are really expensive.

http://www.ukattraction.com/north-we...ley-safari.htm

Kids are always handy to have along. They attract the lions so you can get better photo's*

Steve














* joke

lol @ yoza :D:D

weather doesn't look too bad at the mo'

Are you around jo'burg at any point ?

An evening at the Butcher's Shop in Sandton is worth it if you are a carnivore :D

Steve

Elephant aftermath ;-)
 

They were just hungry - Pulled the tree apart like it was twigs :eek:

http://www.cosmiccamel.com/remote/store/elephant.jpg

^^^

Electrified fences are no deterrent either btw .... they just walk through them ( as we found out one morning )

We also went to a place called Cape Vidal on the Indian Ocean.

Crowded Beaches, Clouds overhead and more hippos / Sea crocks than you could shake a camera at.

http://www.cosmiccamel.com/remote/st...idal Beach.jpg

WOW http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung...smiley-020.gif nice pic jasey

And it doesn't do the place justice - Trust me you're in for a treat.

Did I mention - Take loads of cameras ;):D

Here's one of a place called Shakaland ...
http://www.cosmiccamel.com/remote/store/Shakaland.jpg

Not so obvious but a large wide brimmed hat and expect to get DIRTY the dust gets everywhere.

mmm - not sure i'd suit a wide brimmed hat :)

judging by the size of that steak on the first page, i'm not gonna go hungry !

Anyone know if i'm gonna get plagued by mozzies at this time of year ?

We went on a 'once in a lifetime holiday' on Safari to Kenya (before it was spoilt) in 1986.

Since then we have been on Safari in '88 (Tanzania & Kenya), '90 (Kenya), '94 (Kenya), '98 Zimbabwe, 2000 (South Africa), 2001 (Nepal), 2003 (Tanzania) ;)

So be warned it can be VERY addictive.

If you think a 1GB card is enough then you are probably going to need 2GB. Also as people have said take an 35mm SLR if you can with a big lense. I would say 300 as a minimum, though I take a 600 and find it useful. Otherwsise when you show your pictures to friends it will go something like this "If you look carefully, see that dot? Yes, that's an impala!" :)

Go on a walking safari if you can, but be sure to check on the distance and watch out for 'misunderstandings' I accidentally found myself doing a 30km walk due to a small misunderstanding of the English langauage - was great fun, but exhausting! Oh yes and however hot, dont wear shorts on a walking safari, or you will look like someone has been whipping your legs with a bramble.

Which reserve in SA are you going to?

Have fun

Robin

I'm also borrowing another 1gb card , so i should be ok . the other couple we are with have a decent SLR.

It is the Kruger game reserve :)

Oh and check your boots in the morning if you leave them outside - Scorpions :D :D