Tour, Camp and Trip Reports by Linx Africa

We like going to the Kruger National Park often. Mostly because it is so easy to visit, so very rewarding nature-wise, safe and affordable. Also, the wonderful atmosphere.

Our descriptions of the camps are totally subjective and our own opinion. The feel of a camp can and will change with the seasons and weather. Each camp has its own atmosphere, which makes it so enjoyable to tour the park and to experience all the camps.

We suggest a game viewing route for every camp. These routes try to take in most of the good visiting points which are near the camps. There are many more combinations of routes possible if one wants to travel a bit further.

No matter what trips and tours we undertake, we are always called back to the beauty and emptiness of Namibia, our beloved sister-country.

This time, after doing the South Africa part, we entered at Rietfontein/Aroab border post, then up north past Gochas, making a high turn through Mariental, Rehoboth, Solitaire, Helmeringhausen, Bethanie, Rosh Pinah, Ai-Ais, Noordoewer, Warmbad, then out at Ariamsvlei and then just to end the trip, to Riemvasmaak and Aughrabies in South Africa before coming home.

This was again a wonderful trip and I can recommend the itinirary for anyone who like the wilder Namibia.

We have been planning a trip to Botswana for a long time. We decided that while we are up there at Kasane, we may as well go through the nearby Caprivi and come home to South Africa through Namibia and also do Etosha and Kaokoland on the way.

Highlights of this trip was definitely the Etosha, Kunene and Kaokoland part of the trip, since that was totally new and an undescribable experience for the two of us.

In the end, it took us much longer to get through Namibia than the original trip we planned, but we were very happy that we did this life-changing Namibian desert and wildlife tour as well!

This Botswana tour later became just the first part of a sixty day trip through Botswana and Namibia. The tour started in South Africa, then Botswana and then proceeded to Namibia through the Caprivi strip. That part of the tour is discussed under its own heading above.

We entered Botswana after sleeping at the Ivory Route Camp in South Africa and went to the pans first, then to the Moremi area, staying in camps inside and outside Moremi. We then went through the Savuti area on to Kasane where we used the friendly Chobe river Lodge as a base for visits to the Victoria Falls and also a wonderful trip on the Chobe River, before crossing the border into Namibia and Katima Mulilo.

We undertook this Kruger Park trip with friends visiting us from the Netherlands.

The Kruger National Park, which was established in 1898, covers an area of nearly 2 million hectares and offers a wildlife experience that is of the best in Africa.

This we combined with the majesty of the Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon in the world, and the historical villages of Mpumalanga - all just to give our guests a small taste of our spectacular country.

In stead of heeding the advice of almost everybody who know the Drakensberg, we decided to go on a trip to the famous "Drakensberge" of South Africa without checking the weather forecasts first. The weather on this trip turned out bad on our first night, but luckily the camps have nice, warm chalets that we upgraded to.

The highlights of the tour was Injisuthi and the Royal Natal. We also included a Free State farm stay which added another dimension to the trip.

Camping or staying in the Drakensberg area must be wonderful if the weather is conducive to doing the hikes, visiting the caves, etc. Just remember to check the weather first.

Our aim with this trip was to see the flowers of Namaqualand. To this we then added a visit to the Richtersveld and the Kgalagadi while we were in the vicinity. In the end, we saw some of the best flower sights in the Richtersveld, with everywhere flowers but in the deep Kalahari, where it was very dry. This was a fantastic trip that we will forever remember. Should we live long enough, we will definitely go there again. See my full trip report on Northern Cape.

We trekked on a tour of the Parks managed by the Eastern Cape Provincial Government. We found some jewels among them and some others that may well be on their way to becoming jewels. The natural settings of all these parks are absolutely wonderful and we feel that these parks deserve a closer look by nature lovers, both from overseas and locals when they do their trip planning and reservations.

When the going gets tough in the city and you need to go to the bush, remember Ivory Route has four camps in big five country where you can go to recharge your batteries in rustic bush luxury, where you can go on game walks and drives while the friendly staff will clean up camp while awaiting your return. While the pattern remains the same in all four of these camps, each has its own character and breathes a different atmosphere. If you tried one, you will be back.

This holiday was our first camping holiday. The wide open spaces, the thin populations of the countryside, the evening braais, the wild animals, the birds and the stars that appear to hang from invisible little strings from heaven, caught us unawares and turned us into bush campers. The southern part of Namibia was the perfect place to start this way of life for us. If you are a wildlife and nature tourist, it will work for you as well.