Vacation Home Rentals

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Jul 13

“Luxury Safari South Africa” – what an immense range of images such a simple phase can conjure up! One such might be a simple picture of the sun setting over the plains, or perhaps a cautious lion lapping at the far side of the dam keeping an eye on a herd of elephants gathered around the other end of the waterhole. Equally it might be the thought of lying in your huge, utterly comfortable, luxury tent and waking to the quiet call of your butler bringing early-morning tea or listening to the sounds of the night-time bush whilst having a gentle candlelit dinner alongside a crackling campfire. The essence of all these are encompassed within a luxury safari in South Africa.

The best safaris in South Africa will be in the east, especially in Madikwe, the Waterberg and Mpumalanga. The feel, climate and terrain in those areas is quite different to that of the Cape or the Garden Route/Eastern Cape, much more suited to the big animals. But naturally, despite the game being largely introduced to ranches and relatively small private conservation areas in the Cape regions and it is therefore a more ersatz experience, one can view animals in the Western and Eastern Cape as well.

A luxury South African safari can be experienced in many ways. The epitome of a luxury adventure experience might be staying at a private property; here a full complement of staff and having the entire place at your party’s disposal means superb comfort, traversing rights over large tracts of game-filled bush and world class cuisine. However our favourites are the small, wonderfully evocative, carefully sited tented camps which make the most of the views over the local terrain. riding treks South Africa Such a camp will often only be shared with a few other guests and one’s room will have accoutrements and facilities that put a “proper” house to shame in a very private, wonderfully spacious, fully ensuite luxury tent! luxury south africa holidays Described as “uber-luxury”, there are then a number of utterly top-end intimate properties such as Singita, Ulusaba and Royal Malewane.

However the game will be excellent and the adventure sublime virtually wherever one stays within reason! Of course there are many other facets of the bush to explore, whether from a vehicle, on foot or, for instance, on horseback; a luxury safari in South Africa is therefore not just about animals although it is likely that one will see all the major species. luxury holidays to South Africa The list of activities is endless and one can even be forgiven for taking a few hours during the safari to do absolutely nothing at all!

With so much else on offer, a real cornucopia of activities and excitements in places such as the Cape, the Garden Route, the winelands, the Drakensberg Mountains and the battlefields South Africa really does have a major advantage for a holiday/safari. A professionally created luxury South African safari can encompass all of these.

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Jun 26

Three wonderful ways to get the maximum enjoyment from the African bush without being in a vehicle are walking, canoeing and, of course, riding a horse.

Being easily combineable with other activities in the same trip and also perhaps being slightly more suited to family horse riding than some of the horse riding adventures elsewhere in Africa means that horse riding holidays or horse trekking in South Africa have a great advantage. private villas South Africa Ranging from an hour or two’s riding to full equestrian holidays, South Africa has a really good range of choice not only of the length of safari but also abilities catered for, camps and lodges used and type of riding. It is therefore no problem to tailor any trip to include riding – be it for someone who wants to ride every day, do a full horseriding holiday or, at the other end of the scale, just add another facet into the trip for one member of a party who wants to ride once or twice as an experience.

Kids can ride for as long as they want and then there are plenty of activities to keep them amused as well, with staff at the lodges and camps being also extremely child-friendly South Africa is also excellent for children’s riding holidays. Parents, or just one parent, can therefore ride for longer without having to worry about what the children are up to; in passing I’ve seen a child of only 6 ride in complete safety near rhino whilst on the leading rein!

Our favourite places for horseriding holidays and riding treks in South Africa are in the east of the country, in the Waterberg and in Mpumalanga, although there is good riding in the desert and the Cape. Two “outfitters” in the Waterberg stand out, one where there is plenty to do as well as ride on two gorgeous properties on adjoining concessions, here the game is good and the riding fairly straightforward; it is excellent for family riding holidays.
private villas South Africa With plenty of equestrian-related activities such as working cattle on their ranch as well as viewing game, the other outfitter is a touch more focused and one will spend 3 to 6 hours each day in the saddle. Here it is possible to spend a few days in South Africa and then the balance of the time in completely different country, the owners have an agreement with another operator just over the border in Botswana.

For the epitome of a trail riding holiday in South Africa we move down to Mpumalanga and some very sporting riding, .
safari walking Here one can do 8 and 10 day riding holidays with time spent in a proper safari camp as well as a superb lodge on two concessions; one of these is very private as it only has two camps and the property is amongst the largest private concession in southern Africa. With actual itineraries varying according to the movement of game this is a perfect riding holiday for more experienced riders; if all members of the clan ride at an acceptable level it also makes a really good private family riding holiday. The horses are local Boerperds as well as Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods, all very well schooled and immaculately turned out.

We can thoroughly recommend this sort of horse riding holiday as we ride regularly.

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on May 22

Enjoy Luxury Tanzanian Safari

For the neophyte, especially, a luxury Tanzanian safari is a wonderful experience
According to one’s previous reading and influences, so many expectations can be fulfilled on a luxury safari to Tanzania but the actual reality far surpasses the anticipatory images that pervade one’s mind pre-departure. luxury safari holidays This is because Tanzania is a huge, complex, country; an all-round experience where the wildlife is only a part of a whole which includes culture, geography and a melding of eastern and southern Africa in a balanced potpourri of the senses.

A caveat: Tanzania is far better savoured if one has planned ahead and made financial provision for a more individual safari, the country should never be seen on a minimal budget! It is missing the point to cram oneself into a minibus and spend nights in a huge lodge/safari hotel. We refer to a Tanzania where a private vehicle and guide offer the greatest daily flexibility to follow Tanzanian wildlife and savour small camps and lodges where each evening brings first rate food, very comfortable beds in tastefully-appointed, ensuite, room-sized luxury tents and excellent company. We take the best guiding as being a given, of course, without which no luxury Tanzanian safari can succeed.

Visiting Tanzania may be driven by many differing rationales
The Serengeti may of course be high on any list of reasons for a safari to Tanzania and we would nearly always include this 14,700 sq km National Park in a safari to the north of the country. Some of our other favourite places in northern Tanzania are the smaller Tarangire NP, the oft-overlooked Arusha NP as it offers so much in terms of vegetation and wildlife (e.g. Colobus Monkeys) that will not be easily seen elsewhere and, of course, the famous Ngorongoro Crater.
Other notable places to see in the north are snow-capped Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world, Lakes Natron and the excellent Eyasi with its resident bushman tribes and the revered Masai mountain of God – Ol Donyo L’Engai. In the south the enormous 55,000 sq km Selous Game Reserve (at the size of Ireland one of the largest reserves in Africa, a Selous safari is a primaeval experience and especially suitable for a honeymoon!) starts on the Indian Ocean coastline and then runs westwards in a massive swathe of gazetted parks and reserves via Ruaha NP, Rukwa, Rungwa, the fabulously remote Katavi NP and terminating with the tiny Mahale Mountains NP. Nestling on the shores of the second deepest lake in the world, Lake Tanganyika, Mahale is one of the few places where you can easily see one of man’s closest relatives, habituated chimpanzees.

The coastline of Tanzania is hot, palm-fringed and wonderful. safari holidays The two main offshore islands that form “Zanzibar” (Unguja, the main island that is usually referred to simply as “Zanzibar” and the more northerly Pemba) are utterly different, as is Mafia which lies to the south and has a superb marine park which is a paradise for scuba divers, as is Pemba A visit to the coast or islands is essential to any Tanzania safari holiday!

To conclude, culturally Tanzania is a microcosm of sub-Saharan Africa. luxury safaris tanzania From the tall, graceful nilotic tribes of the north such as the Masai, through the Arab-influenced tribal cultures of the coast to the more southern African Bantu-origin tribes of the south, a luxury safari to Tanzania can include so much of interest that is not “just wildlife”.