October at SANParks: should we book accommodation in advance?

Hi,
We are planning to visit South Africa next october and we'd like to avoid having a to much rigid schedule (we will be travelling on a rental car). It would be ok to go there without sanparks reservations and book on arrival to each park? We want to stay on some of the more basic accommodation, nothing fancy. In fact, we are thinking on carry an camping tent with us: there are places for camping on some parks? do you have to book your tent space?

If we really should book ahead, how much in advance should we book?

Thanks in advance!

Agh! I just lost my reply. But I see RudiK has answered pretty much exactly as I had written while I was typing.

Have a look at availability now to give you an idea. The online booking section shows real time availability.

Kruger and Kgalagadi will be the main ones that fill up very quickly - even for camping. The others - less so. It may be possible to rock up to others and get a spot - but keep an eye on availability and book when/if you need to.

Definitely book Kruger and Kgalagadi well in advance. You can change it later (and won't lose any money as long as your modification doesn't downgrade your booking).

Yes, each camp site needs to be booked. It's not just a case of 'oh, 1 more tent will fit'.

For the Kruger National Park and for the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park it would be highly advisable to book well ahead. For October this year I would already have made my bookings. For October next year you could wait until the end of this year. And that includes camping. You should access the Sanparks web-site - http://Sanparks.org.za/parks - from where you can access each of the national parks under their control. You can check the availability of accommodation during October at each of the camps within each of the parks and you can make your bookings on-line. If there seems to be good availability in the camps in which you want to stay, you might want to leave the booking for a while, but I would rather make the reservations as soon as possible and, if necessary change them at a later date (assuming that there is availability for your new dates).

Wholeheartedly concur with RudiK - book in advance after researching where you want to go, particularly (especially, really) for popular parks such as Kruger; availability allowing you can always change when you get there, but you'll need accommodation booked for the duration of your entry, if i remember rightly, into each park.

October's a great time to hit Kruger too, at least insofar as viewing goes - the grass is at it's flattest, most of the leaves that will drop have dropped and visibility is at about it's highest.

Good luck with the planning, and have a great trip!

mark

Thanks so much for your answers, guys!

We were hoping to go there and define the travel on the road. But I'll start planning the whole trip right away, so we can make the reservations as soon as possible.

Inside Kruger and Kgalagadi, there are some camping sites or accommodation that you recommend to go (not for the accommodation itself, but for the surroundings)? Wich other parks do you think are unmissable?

I've read that you can only travel by 4x4 on some parts of Kgalagadi. We are not going to rent a 4x4, it's still recommended to go to the park or will we miss all the good places?

Kglagadi is my favourite park. I think I've been12 or so times. Only the last 2 have been in a 4x4 - the others were in a tiny hatchback.

You will be more comfortable in a 4x4, but it's not essential. There are a few roads and 2 wilderness camps (Bitterpan and Gharagab) that are only accessible with a 4wd - you just won't go there. Having a higher vantage point is an advantage - especially around Nossob where the road verges are very high. In some stretches, you won't be able to see in to the river bed from a small car. The roads are often quite badly corrugated. Expect to be a little rattled!

There are 3 main rest camps - Twee Rivieren (at the main park entrance), Nossob and Mata Mata. Camping at Nossob and Mata Mata will fill up relatively quickly (particularly Nossob). You can leave booking Twee Rivieren a bit longer. It makes sense to book at least your 1st and last nts there as Kgalagadi is a looooong way from anywhere and distances between camps is quite far. If you have time - longer is good.

If you don't have a 4x4, I'd recommend spending the most time around the Mata Mata area (the Aoub River bed) where it is much easier to see in a small car. But definitely still go to the Nossob River side as well.

If possible - stay at all 3. And if possible - definintely try to stay at one/some of the wilderness camps. Urikaruus and Grootkolk would probably have the best game sightings. KielieKrankie is in a stunning location on top of the dunes. Book Urikaruus and Grootkolk 11+ months ahead (or keep an eye out for cancellations).

Check the SanParks forum (Arid Parks) www.sanparks.org/forums for excellent and detailed advice/info on the park and each of the camps.

My suggestion for first-time visitors to the Kruger Park is to enter the park at Phalaborwa gate, stay at Letaba Camp on the first night (Letaba is 50km - a 2 hour drive - from the Phalaborwa gate, so be careful of your timing) and then spend 2 nights at Satara camp ( south of Letaba). At Satara I suggest that you book an early morning bush walk and a sunset drive (as opposed to a night drive) on the day following your arrival there. I then suggest that you carry on southward and spend the fourth night at Lower Sabie camp. From Lower Sabie the road south to the exit gate at Crocodile Bridge is always good for game viewing.
Before entering at Phalaborwa it would be worthwhile spending a night on the Mpumalanga Panorama route between Sabie and the Blyde River canyon. The scenery in that area is beautiful (google for detailed information).
After leaving at Crocodile Bridge, you could cut across to Maputo in Mozambique for a night or two, or you could pop into Swaziland instead, before moving on or returning to Johannesburg.
Obviously the route can equally be done in reverse.
Enjoy.

Ups! I didn't get the notifications about your replies, so I've just saw them. Sorry.

Thanks so much for the detailed information! This week we will buy our tickets and start with the reservations. We are going to be in SA for almost a month, so we have to do a lot of reservation!

One more question (sorry for taking advantage of your kindness!): I been reading about wilderness trails, whats your opinion about it? Walking a few days around the park sounds exciting. It's a good way to see big animals or they take you for path away from them for safety? They are kind of expensive, do you think they worth it? There are a few where you carry your tent and you cook yourself and they last one more night, but in the sanparks site say that you have to book the complete trail and I'm not sure what that means...

We have a month to explore the country. So any suggestion on what other place not to miss will be greatly appreciated!