I don't plan a lot of self-drive trips for people in Africa. The bulk of my travelers are North American and they tend to be a bit hesitant about driving in Africa. I won't lie, I was a bit hesitant. I spent 3 months doing my master's research in Guatemala, driving by myself all over the country. But that was in my 20's and it's been a long time since I've been so cavalier.
We picked up our SUV crossover at the Kruger Airport. We loaded our luggage in the car and settled in. I just kept repeating the mantra given to me by my British friends, "when in doubt, stay left". Just about every country in Southern Africa drives on the left side of the road. The first few hours, I was a little timid that I would cause a head on crash. Between driving on the opposite side of the road and trying to help navigate, the 2 hour drive from Nelspruit to Hazyview was a bit hectic. But when I pulled out the second day to drive to Thornybush, I was accustomed to it.
The roads we traversed were mostly good. Highway R40 was in excellent shape, other than the dodging of humans, goats, cows, horses and mini-buses half parked in the road. In the game reserves, roads were mostly dirt and sometimes rutted, but perfectly fine for our little SUV.
In the end, I liked the self-drive aspect because we were able to see more of the landscape, towns and real-life of South Africa. If we had taken small planes between the lodges, we would have missed all of that flavor. We didn't miss any game drives at the lodges because we planned our trip well, making sure that the distances between game lodges could be driven in 2-4 hours, falling over siesta time.
The downside of driving is that is wastes time that could be spent relaxing on safari! Having done a fly-in safari in Botswana and a self-drive in South Africa, I would probably do a mix of both, in the future. I like flying between safari lodges to maximize time, but I like to have a more-adventurous self-drive component of a trip that doesn't include safari. In South Africa, that would look like an extension to around the winelands, Cape Town or the Drakensburg Mountains, all great locations for self drive.
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
1 day ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
1 day ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
6 days ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.