Our plans for late next July (after the World Cup) is to fly into Johannesburg and then head to Zulu Nyala near Richard's Bay, spend 7 days there, then head to Nitro Safaris near Kimberly for 6 days then back to Johannesburg to fly out. We do not have an outfitter since these trips were purchased at auction.

Here is the question-- Would we be better off getting connecting flights in and out of Johannesburg and then getting picked up by the operators from the smaller airports
OR
renting a car from the smaller airports
OR
renting a car in Johannesburg to drive all of it on our own
OR
hiring a driver to do all or part of the driving??????

There will be 4 people traveling, all with some experience traveling outside the States, but none to Africa. We are not traveling with our own guns. I have driven before in Ireland and the UK so I am OK with "the wrong side of the road issue." Obvisouly there is some concern with the group over crime, but we all understand that travel in Africa is not like Kansas City to Denver. I would like to keep the expense within reason since that could amount to an extra trophy.

ANY tips suggestions, etc???????????

Thanks in advance!

I think you've confused the term outfitter with agent. You must have an outfitter because otherwise you couldn't have a hunt....... I'll assume that is the case and go from there.

The drives you're talking about are really enjoyable with fantastic scenery BUT they are longish drives and if time is an issue then you'll be much better off flying between the various destinations.

If you want to hire a car, you might to check with my friend John Ilsley who can probably give you a good price and if you need accommodation along the way, he can also do that for you. Email him at john@detra.co.za.

Regarding safety: Don't let that worry you too much. If you take the normal precautions such as not picking up strangers, not driving too much at night and not stopping in dodgy places etc, you don't have much to worry about. I drive considerable distances here and have never had a problem.

Another option you might like to consider with a group of that number is a charter between areas and probably the best man to speak to is Aubrey Kent of Kent Air Services who posts here as Aubs458. You'll find a link to his site on the Air Charters & Tourism link here: http://www.shakariconnection.c...nting-directory.html

If you take the charter option, you'll have the best of both worlds because you won't have to drive but you'll fly fairly low and will get to see some stunning scenery.

Shakari, you are correct. I got my termonology confused. We have an outfitter for the Kimberly hunting portion and the Zulu Nyala is a photo safari/lodge.

Thanks for the info and tips! Please keep them coming!

You might find other parts of our site at www.shakariconnection.com useful as well.

Also, whilst you're in KZN, you should pay a visit to Hluhluwe Game Reserve which is between Richards Bay and Zulu Nyala. While you're in the park, make a point of visiting the Centenary Centre which is the game capture unit bomas......... it's signposted from Hilltops which is the main camp in the park and it's actually midway between Hilltops and the other half of the reserve which is called Umfolozi.

KZN also has a lot of historical sites if that's on interest.

GREAT INFO!

Always a pleasure!

The site comprises something like 450 pages and covers about 170 species in 12 African countries.

Going back to the game capture unit, you never know what you're gonna find there. Sometimes it's empty and at other times it's chokka block. All you have to do is ask at the entrance what they have in there.

There's also the Duma Zulu cultural centre in the same area and that's also worth a visit.

Wildfowl Be sure to take a few side trips when at Zulu Nyala. They are well worth the extra time. The trip to Phinda is outstanding. When i went we flew to Richards Bay.It is still a few hour drive from there to Zulu Nyala. They have a PH on staff there also,maybe hunt a day while there. Chris