safari excursions

For those cruises out of or into Cape Town, excursions to various lodges for game drives are listed - what is the maximum number of pax per vehicle at these locations?

Depending on the lodge usually six or eight. The better lodges restrict it to six though none of the top lodges are offered through Regent.

Regent hasn't had a ship in Cape Town for a few years but there will be a post-cruise safari in Cape Town in December. Hopefully someone will report back to us about the safari. Those of us on the November 2015 safari are also anxious to learn more about the safari.

I'm on the verge of reserving space on the 11/21/15 CPT-SIN trip. We do not plan to do any "safari excursions" offered largely because of limited time and expected crowded vehicles. We are also waiting to see whether Oceania will offer a similar cruise early in 2016. O's 1/6/2015 itin is identical to Regent's 11/21/15.

We are taking a post cruise safari in December so will endeavor to post a review of it when we return. It will be after December 26th. Maybe someone taking a pre-cruise safari in December will post their experiences when they board the ship before i get home.

Any safari will be A GOOD SAFARI! WE PREFER Kenya, but South Africa is good also. NO crowding on any safari vehicles in our experiences!

It's not the crowding on the vehicles themselves that can affect the experience, it's how many vehicles are allowed in any one game viewing area. The best camps are in private lands where vehicles numbers are limited and you do not have a multitude of vehicles striving to view the same game.

You are absolutely right - that is why Botswana has been our favorite destination. The number of beds is strictly limited in each area of the Okavango and the wildlife is outstanding. We have spoiled ourselves by arranging private vehicles and have a guide (professional photographer and old friend) who arranges our trip and travels with us. So, we can stay out all day if the spirit moves us. Yes, we have been to the Maasai Mara and Seringetti, but you'd better be ready for real crowds during the migration. South Africa has truly luxurious lodgings but have tight restrictions on their territory - we have had to halt a tracking at a property line. As for "private lands", many are fenced and result in a zoo like environment. So, we wil probablyl not take advantage of safari excursions on this trip. However, would suffer hearing about sightings at dinner which we missed! So, we'll see.

We are booked on November 2015 Cape Town to Cape Town cruise. We are doing the three day safari prior to cruise. We were on safari this past May and never felt crowded. We were in Kruger Park at Lion Sands and Sabi Sabi. We had six people per vehicle and our tour group was 30 people. It was wonderful. We are going to Port Elizabeth with Regent since we visited Kruger this year. By the way, Lion Sands is one of the lodges offered by Regent at extra cost. It's a beautiful lodge. Very elegant, large suites, wonderful food, and excellent guides. We saw the big five. There are several of us doing the Regent cruise next year. Check roll call for the cruise. 1982CruiseStart I believe we cruised together in Asia March 2013. That was a memorable cruise in spite of little hiccup which got us late to Shanghai.

If you had six people per vehicle you were at Lion Sands Ivory whereas Lion Sands River has eight.

We are at the Sibuya Forest, and it looks quite interesting. We are very, very active, but my husband is 81 and I am 75. Hope this fits. I'm sure it will. Can't wait.

1982CruiseStart I believe we cruised together in Asia March 2013. That was a memorable cruise in spite of little hiccup which got us late to Shanghai.

Yes we were on the same cruise. It was a great cruise even with the late arrival and missed port. Have a super cruise in 2015. Can't wait for ours this year. I think it will be an amazing experience.

The vehicles did accommodate eight, however, we only had six people per vehicle so it was more comfortable. We were on a Tauck tour and Lion Sands was told to only put six people per vehicle. The Land Rovers have three levels and each level can sit three or four. We had two people per level.

Could someone comment who might have noticed, please. Is it difficult to step up into the 4x4s? Is a step stool ever provided for anyone who might need a little boost?

Thanks very much. This topic is important to me.

Carolyn

Could someone comment who might have noticed, please. Is it difficult to step up into the 4x4s? Is a step stool ever provided for anyone who might need a little boost?

 

Thanks very much. This topic is important to me.

 

Carolyn

Nobody can provide a definitive answer without knowing the Safari Camp you are going to as each situation can be different. We did Bayethe at Shamwari last year with all of the vehicles seating 2 in each of 3 rows so 6 per vehicle. It was a pretty big step up but, they had a kind of a dock the vehicle could pull next to allowing people to step down into their seating area.

There are so many lodges and possibilities that you really need to contact the lodge of choice to find out how they do things. Would expect most to have the dock or small ladder, etc. but, nobody on this board can definitely answer without knowing which lodge you want to go to. Oh, the Ranger was able to provide a tuchy push upon request which helped my DW at times.

Wonderful time and can't wait to do it again for more days. We did 3 nites and saw the Big 5 and would do it again in a heart beat.

Good luck,

Dave, Thanks very much for your reply. We have not booked a safari camp as I am afraid I will not be able to make that step. I thought there might be variables in the vehicles used. We will be doing the game reserves from the ship and there will be variation from there too.

Thanks again. (Good to have a helping hand from behind!)

Bissel, hope this won't keep you from booking. I've been on two Africa land trips, and they always have had step stools to get into the vehicle, or better, onto the lower seat. If not, they will get a person into that vehicle. It is just too great an experience to miss, for that one step, even if it means a shove to the rear to hoist one up. I'm sure this is not an issue any of those lodges doesn't deal with from time to time.

Jhp, thanks for your observations about the step stools. Maybe I won't carry one along with me. I have given serious thought to that.

Sometimes in certain itineraries i.e., safaris, the Antarctic, the Arctic, scuba diving, etc, the stars of time, good health and money have to align just right. If you're a bit short in any area you have to be creative! It is a shame to miss out on anything but sometimes...........

I will be content to do the Regent Game Reserves excursions from the ship. But here too 4x4s are used and I don't want to get in anyone's way.

Sorry for my diversion on this topic. Please carry on and thank you.

Carolyn

bissel, we were in Bed, Bath & Beyond the other day, and they had the neatest collapsible step stool which was very, very light and could easily be put into a little bag to carry on the safaris.

I hate to see you miss such a wonderful excursion. Go look at one.

Thanks for the stool suggestion, Spindrift.

I will definitely check this out. (The ones I see on Amazon run around 9 pounds.) Could be very useful for those busses that do not "bow", although those seem to be more common now.

This one on Amazon is 2.3 lbs. http://www.amazon.com/Kikkerland-Rhino-Stool-Short-Black/dp/B004V3PE2Q/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1408924291&sr=8-4&keywords=portable+folding+stools

Thanks but the reviews are bad and also a couple of years old. There are some better ones listed on Amazon than this. I can't remember off-hand but one's in my cart.

Jhp, thanks for your observations about the step stools. Maybe I won't carry one along with me. I have given serious thought to that.

 

We did a safari about 3 years ago in SA. On the initial "game hunt", we boarded from a platform so basically we just stepped into the vehicle (maybe even down steps a few inches"). That said, on every excursion, there was a "off" the vehicle snack stop where we had to climb back in. I seem to remember that the excursions were only about 2 hours each, one leaving just before daybreak and the other in the afternoon around 4 or 5 PM. The rest of the time was spent at the lodge. Total ride time per day around 4 hours with a bit of that consumed getting to areas where the wild life lived.

I don't remember if there was a stool for the snack stop or not, but I'm sure the guides would help anyone getting back into a vehicle. That's what they do.

Whether what we experienced was the norm or the exception I don't know. To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed in how little time was spent in the field. Still, I would have to say the experience was rewarding.

A good lodge will have outings that last from three to four hours each, not two hours. That is hardly enough time.

And, if it's worth it, a private vehicle with driver and guide can be arranged with food taken along or sent out so that a full day, into the evening, will be immersed in that incredible world.