Meerkat Safari following South Africa ABD?

[Poohlie]

My daughter is completely obsessed with Meerkats and I am looking into whether it will be possible to add on a visit to a game reserve where we can get up close to them post our South Africa ABD next summer. I have started to do some research and it looks like to guarantee sightings, we should visit a "habituated meerkat colony". It seems that there are two primary locations to view habituated meerkat colonies: the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana and the Tswalu Reserve in South Africa’s Kalahari region. From the Makgadikgadi Pans, guests can stay at either Jack’s Camp, San Camp, or Camp Kalahari, which include visits to the the habituated meerkats in their activities. From Tswalu Reserve in the Kalahari, "visitors have access to one of the most expansive and exclusive conservancies which offers some of the best chances on the continent to observe meerkats".

Does anyone know anybody that has done this? And yes I know this is crazy!

 

[Snyders22000]

Not crazy at all! You might as well do it while you are there. Our family (2 adults and 3 kids ages 14,12,10) is going to Tswalu this summer. We are pairing it with a Safari in Kruger (Londolozi). One of the reasons we chose Tswalu was because they have a different ecosystem and some different animals than we will see on our Kruger portion. In addition to the meerkats, they are also famous for having sightings of the rare pangolin. From what I’ve heard, Tswalu is amazing and they are particularly good with kids. They also have direct private flights from their reserve to/from Johannesburg and Cape Town which makes it logistically possible. We had looked at adding Botswana but the logistics got complicated. Also, Tswalu is Malaria free if that makes any difference. We go in early June- I’m happy to report back after our trip.

 

[Poohlie]

That would be wonderful!! Thank you so much!! Sounds like an amazing trip! Londolozi is spectacular from what I understand.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Not crazy at all! You might as well do it while you are there. Our family (2 adults and 3 kids ages 14,12,10) is going to Tswalu this summer. We are pairing it with a Safari in Kruger (Londolozi). One of the reasons we chose Tswalu was because they have a different ecosystem and some different animals than we will see on our Kruger portion. In addition to the meerkats, they are also famous for having sightings of the rare pangolin. From what I’ve heard, Tswalu is amazing and they are particularly good with kids. They also have direct private flights from their reserve to/from Johannesburg and Cape Town which makes it logistically possible. We had looked at adding Botswana but the logistics got complicated. Also, Tswalu is Malaria free if that makes any difference. We go in early June- I’m happy to report back after our trip.

You are going to LOVE Londolozi! The staff are phenomenal, the food is excellent and the animal sightings were fabulous. I'd love to go back one day. Dd and I added a trip to Botswana to one of our S. Africa trips and while it was nice, I do not feel a burning desire to go back.

 

[Poohlie]

Not crazy at all! You might as well do it while you are there. Our family (2 adults and 3 kids ages 14,12,10) is going to Tswalu this summer. We are pairing it with a Safari in Kruger (Londolozi). One of the reasons we chose Tswalu was because they have a different ecosystem and some different animals than we will see on our Kruger portion. In addition to the meerkats, they are also famous for having sightings of the rare pangolin. From what I’ve heard, Tswalu is amazing and they are particularly good with kids. They also have direct private flights from their reserve to/from Johannesburg and Cape Town which makes it logistically possible. We had looked at adding Botswana but the logistics got complicated. Also, Tswalu is Malaria free if that makes any difference. We go in early June- I’m happy to report back after our trip.

Checking in to hear how your trip went if you don't mind providing some details please! I would love to hear about the Meerkat experience if you did that!

We have booked the ABD South Africa for August 2024 and now are looking into adding on Tswalu.

In addition to any tips/feedback you have I have a few specific questions:

1. Did you book directly with Tswalu or did you use a travel agency?

2. Which camp did you book? We are 2 parents and 21 year old daughter so 3 adults.

3. We would be flying out of Johannesburg so curious how the charter flights work and pp cost

4. We can't leave from Johannesburg until after 6 PM on the last day of the ABD so trying to determine if its better to fly to Tswalu that night (if that is even possible) and stay 3 nights or to spend the night in Johannesburg and leave the next morning, staying 2 nights. Is it even worth it to go for either 2 or 3 nights?

Thank you so much - looking forward to hearing about your trip!

 

[Jjpenguin2]

There are also meerkats near Oudtshoorn in the cape, might be an easier /cheaper option

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

You are going to LOVE Londolozi! The staff are phenomenal, the food is excellent and the animal sightings were fabulous. I'd love to go back one day. Dd and I added a trip to Botswana to one of our S. Africa trips and while it was nice, I do not feel a burning desire to go back.

Was there something specific about Botswana that you didn't love? We're looking at a safari in 2026 (so still a ways away). I've heard from a few people that Botswana is THE place to go, so I've been considering adding it onto the S Africa ABD or doing it instead of.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Was there something specific about Botswana that you didn't love? We're looking at a safari in 2026 (so still a ways away). I've heard from a few people that Botswana is THE place to go, so I've been considering adding it onto the S Africa ABD or doing it instead of.

We liked Botswana and are glad that we went. It's very, very remote and the drives to see animals was quite far, but obviously this varies wildly. I don't love the small planes used between lodges since I seem to get motion sickness from them and when you have to stop to drop off and pickup passengers a few times it makes it that much worse. I had to spend a few hours in bed with a massive headache when we landed in Jo'burg from Botswana. It might not be normal, but we saw 2 massive spiders, one in the (indoor) shower while I was showering (the kind that you have call staff to come and deal with because they are too big to kill) in our accommodations in one of the lodges. I can't wait to go back to Africa, but I'll be going to Rwanda, South Africa or Kenya, not Botswana. HTH.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

We liked Botswana and are glad that we went. It's very, very remote and the drives to see animals was quite far, but obviously this varies wildly. I don't love the small planes used between lodges since I seem to get motion sickness from them and when you have to stop to drop off and pickup passengers a few times it makes it that much worse. I had to spend a few hours in bed with a massive headache when we landed in Jo'burg from Botswana. It might not be normal, but we saw 2 massive spiders, one in the (indoor) shower while I was showering (the kind that you have call staff to come and deal with because they are too big to kill) in our accommodations in one of the lodges. I can't wait to go back to Africa, but I'll be going to Rwanda, South Africa or Kenya, not Botswana. HTH.

Do you think any of that was due to the specific location(s)/lodge(s) you were at in Botswana? Or is Botswana generally more remote than some of these other countries? I've only just started looking into safaris but it's already fairly overwhelming with all the possible reserves etc to visit. We've been happy with our previous ABDs, so I'm inclined to do the S Africa trip, but I also have a tendency to tack on additional travel. (I figure if I'm already in the area... which is how we ended up spending a full month in Greece this past summer.)

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Do you think any of that was due to the specific location(s)/lodge(s) you were at in Botswana? Or is Botswana generally more remote than some of these other countries? I've only just started looking into safaris but it's already fairly overwhelming with all the possible reserves etc to visit. We've been happy with our previous ABDs, so I'm inclined to do the S Africa trip, but I also have a tendency to tack on additional travel. (I figure if I'm already in the area... which is how we ended up spending a full month in Greece this past summer.)

I booked our trip through &Beyond and I highly recommend them. If you have thought about booking your own safari they take care of all the details and your trip would be seamless. Since they are an African company, should anything go wrong (we never had any issues), you are calling a local company, not a TA in N. America. The lodges we stayed at in Botswana were Sandibe (4 nights) and Nxabega (3 nights). We LOVED Sandibe -- it is were we saw elephants on our path to breakfast a few times (you have to stay in your cottage until they pass by) and a mom and baby super close to us at breakfast on one morning. It is Nxabega where we had the spiders and it is a tented camp on the Okavango Delta, which is a "must do" (in retrospect I'm not sure why). We did a dug-out wood canoe safari with picnic that was probably a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and saw many families of elephants in the Delta playing in the river. We never saw any other vehicles in Botswana, which was amazing and really added to our experience. Now I'm talking myself into wanting to go back lol.

Botswana is incredibly remote -- you have to fly to all lodges. I hired a private driver with &Beyond (we have had some interesting experiences with fellow travelers in vehicles, so I paid for a private guide and &Beyond sent the same guide with us between lodges which was amazing). We combined our Botswana safari with 5 nights at Londolozi (Founders Lodge, which is family friendly), which I HIGHLY recommend, especially if you want to see leopards (Sabi Sands is renowned for their healthy leopard population). I can't say enough good things about Londolozi; we will definitely be back.

We also stayed with &Beyond at Phinda Forest Lodge in Kwa Zulu Natal and it was lovely. I will mention that I am particular about accomodations, especially on safari where you spend a bit more time in your room than you would on a city-based trip. All of the lodges that we stayed at in 2018 were either recently renovated or new and gorgeous. If you're not fussy about your room then you will have plenty of options.

I can tell you that we booked our June, 2018 trip in August, 2017 and a few of the lodges on my radar were fully booked. One of my criteria for our safaris is that lodges have open reserves (not fenced); not sure if this matters to you or not, but it is something to look into.

If Botswana is on your radar, then you should definitely go. I am SO glad that we did -- looking through my pictures is bringing back great memories.

 

[AquaDame]

Love all the baby shots! I had thought that was more a wet season thing.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Love all the baby shots! I had thought that was more a wet season thing.

While I can't speak to the timing of estrus and subsequent births, I can say that having a private guide makes for a very different experience. I asked to see as many baby animals as possible and therefore we spent our days on safari looking for mommas and babies. With a shared vehicle the interests of everyone must be taken into account (we spent an agonizing few days on our first trip with obsessive birders). I'm not sure if that made a difference; most likely it had a huge impact on the number of baby animals that we saw because that's all that we looked for. We saw all kinds of baby animals, including a baby elephant that was a few hours old, adolescent giraffes and leopards, baby cheetahs, hyenas, wild dogs and buffalos, and more (this includes the S. Africa portion of our trip). While we were at Londolozi we even saw leopards mating in full view of our vehicle (a female will mate with as many males as possible to protect their future litter).

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I booked our trip through &Beyond and I highly recommend them. If you have thought about booking your own safari they take care of all the details and your trip would be seamless. Since they are an African company, should anything go wrong (we never had any issues), you are calling a local company, not a TA in N. America. The lodges we stayed at in Botswana were Sandibe (4 nights) and Nxabega (3 nights). We LOVED Sandibe -- it is were we saw elephants on our path to breakfast a few times (you have to stay in your cottage until they pass by) and a mom and baby super close to us at breakfast on one morning. It is Nxabega where we had the spiders and it is a tented camp on the Okavango Delta, which is a "must do" (in retrospect I'm not sure why). We did a dug-out wood canoe safari with picnic that was probably a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and saw many families of elephants in the Delta playing in the river. We never saw any other vehicles in Botswana, which was amazing and really added to our experience. Now I'm talking myself into wanting to go back lol.

Botswana is incredibly remote -- you have to fly to all lodges. I hired a private driver with &Beyond (we have had some interesting experiences with fellow travelers in vehicles, so I paid for a private guide and &Beyond sent the same guide with us between lodges which was amazing). We combined our Botswana safari with 5 nights at Londolozi (Founders Lodge, which is family friendly), which I HIGHLY recommend, especially if you want to see leopards (Sabi Sands is renowned for their healthy leopard population). I can't say enough good things about Londolozi; we will definitely be back.

We also stayed with &Beyond at Phinda Forest Lodge in Kwa Zulu Natal and it was lovely. I will mention that I am particular about accomodations, especially on safari where you spend a bit more time in your room than you would on a city-based trip. All of the lodges that we stayed at in 2018 were either recently renovated or new and gorgeous. If you're not fussy about your room then you will have plenty of options.

I can tell you that we booked our June, 2018 trip in August, 2017 and a few of the lodges on my radar were fully booked. One of my criteria for our safaris is that lodges have open reserves (not fenced); not sure if this matters to you or not, but it is something to look into.

If Botswana is on your radar, then you should definitely go. I am SO glad that we did -- looking through my pictures is bringing back great memories.
View attachment 821125
View attachment 821127
View attachment 821128
View attachment 821129

What ages would you say are good for a trip like this? We're definitely taking our teen (who chose a safari as a graduation trip), and had planned on taking our younger kids (who will be 10 to 13). I'm not sure if we should leave the youngest at home though?
Also, if you don't mind me asking, how much did the trip cost? (You can message me if you'd feel more comfortable.) Trying to get a rough idea.

 

[crisi]

Was there something specific about Botswana that you didn't love? We're looking at a safari in 2026 (so still a ways away). I've heard from a few people that Botswana is THE place to go, so I've been considering adding it onto the S Africa ABD or doing it instead of.

We've done two safaris - the same safari in Tanzania through Costco/Lion World Travel. Each time we had enough people going with us to make it a private trip (one time six, one time eight) - so we had out own jeep and could direct our days a bit. (With eight we had two jeeps)

Each area of Africa has its own wonders. The thing we liked about our Tanzania trip was that it included Ngorogoro crater - where you have the best chance of seeing wild rhinos (we saw nine on our last trip, two on our first trip, and the guide said its a better than 50% chance you'll see at least one in the crater) and you can stop at a museum of early humanoid history - which our groups both wanted to see.

I told the second group (after we'd been with the first group and since we were going around the same time), that I'd guarantee lions, elephants, wildebeest, giraffes, zebras for that trip - cheetahs, leopards, and rhinos are "if you get lucky" (no cheetahs on the last trip - but two really "good" photogenic leopards - where the previous trip we saw a pair of cheetahs - but all the leopards were in trees and difficult to see). We saw meerkats both trips. That part of Africa does not have gorillas - but you will likely see baboons and some vervet monkeys.

As to age - the first trip was all adults. The second trip was also all adults - but it was us and our adult children in their twenties, friends of ours and their adult children in their twenties. Its a fine trip - as we experienced it - for kids - basically you are going to get into a jeep in the morning and drive around all day. Sometimes it may be an hour of driving around where you don't see much - and getting from park to park involves long drives. But then there may be hours at a time where it feels like the safari ride at Animal Kingdom there is so much to look at. And then, you might wait. We sat in one place for an hour to watch lions hunt - it took that long before the lioness made her move - and spent an hour watching two rhinos stand off - when we left, they were still staring at each other. So you might need patience to catch something incredible. Or you might never get the opportunity to see something incredible.

Except for wildebeest, we were told African animals don't really have annual cycles of fertility and you might see young ones year round - our trips were in April/May. This last trip we say maybe a dozen lion cubs - the previous trip not a single one.

The Costco trips are pretty affordable, relative to ABD. The resorts were nice, the guides excellent. I do intend to go back to different parts of Africa.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

What ages would you say are good for a trip like this? We're definitely taking our teen (who chose a safari as a graduation trip), and had planned on taking our younger kids (who will be 10 to 13). I'm not sure if we should leave the youngest at home though?
Also, if you don't mind me asking, how much did the trip cost? (You can message me if you'd feel more comfortable.) Trying to get a rough idea.

It depends on the maturity of your 10 yr old. As pp mentioned, there may be long stretches where you don't see anything (much more likely in Botswana than S. Africa, esp. Sabi Sands). Also there aren't any bathrooms in the savannah and you don't go back to the lodge to use the facilities, if this factors into your decision. I would not have paid the $$$$$ for my dd when she was 10, but that's just me. Also if your younger kids bore easily it may not be the ideal trip for them because there are days where you may want to see something specific, your guide is going to try their absolute best to find it, even if it takes an hour or so. I will say that we were super lucky when we went because we saw everything that we wanted, even more, including a pangolin (which is super rare). I love cats and you will definitely see leopards and most likely cheetahs in Sabi Sands; it's an area that I will always go back to on future visits.

Safaris can be very expensive. You will be spending time in your room between drives, so be sure to book what your family will be comfortable in. Londolozi Founder's has cottages that can accommodate families of 5 and I highly recommend them.

There are so many options for safaris, do some research and decide what works best for you. I'd recommend an African TA because their knowledge is vast -- they will be able to make recommendations that work for your family. For our first trip I used Singita travel services (I don't recommend) and the second I used Icon Expeditions. I think you will find that &Beyond has some excellent lodges in varying price ranges. I wouldn't hesitate to use Icon again. Singita is extremely expensive and I found Londolozi to be almost as nice and not nearly as expensive (we had an issue with bats in our cottage in one of the Singita lodges {it's not normal, but it was our first safari lodge and that's what they told me}, the hotel in Capetown wasn't to my liking and they booked a non-refundable rate so we couldn't leave, and our private guide in Capetown made some questionable decisions).

 

[crisi]

On the bathroom front, you may end up squatting behind the jeep. You may also end up using a pit toilet. That is something else to keep in mind, especially if you have kids that haven't ever "roughed it." For the MOST part, we were able to hit a bathroom with American style toilets every few hours, but it can be a few hours. Your driver can prioritize bathroom availability if you are in a private jeep situation - but that might mean de-prioritizing going looking for something that's hard to find and not close to bathrooms. I suspect the ABD trip would be a little more designed to avoid any squatting.

Also, both our trips involved the Serengeti in the April/May timeframe. This means that when we saw the really good leopard or lion hunt, there were maybe fifteen vehicles there. For the most part the only jeep we saw other than ours was the one the rest of the party was in or maybe another jeep or two. That's the off season. The busy season might be thirty safari vehicles trying to get a look if something interesting is happening. We've travelled at the end of the little rainy season and there wasn't that much rain (about three hours where we drove with the top of the jeep covered) - the dry season can be very dusty. Ngorongoro is different because its a contained space (its an intact volcanic caldera - the floor is pretty flat and it isn't huge - the Serengeti is about the size of Connecticut, Ngorongoro is about a 20km diameter circle, IIRC), which means you see a lot more of the limited vehicles permitted. (The other parks we've been to in Tanzania are Manyara and Tarangire - I may be misspelling both of them).

These trips were mostly Serena Lodges. Food is buffet style with lots of options - although not really done for a "Disney Kid palate" (no chicken tenders and mac n cheese). You'll go to a travel doctor before the trip who will tell you don't eat anything that hasn't been cooked or peeled (banana or orange fine - don't have the salad) and probably get shots for travel.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

It depends on the maturity of your 10 yr old. As pp mentioned, there may be long stretches where you don't see anything (much more likely in Botswana than S. Africa, esp. Sabi Sands). Also there aren't any bathrooms in the savannah and you don't go back to the lodge to use the facilities, if this factors into your decision. I would not have paid the $$$$$ for my dd when she was 10, but that's just me. Also if your younger kids bore easily it may not be the ideal trip for them because there are days where you may want to see something specific, your guide is going to try their absolute best to find it, even if it takes an hour or so. I will say that we were super lucky when we went because we saw everything that we wanted, even more, including a pangolin (which is super rare). I love cats and you will definitely see leopards and most likely cheetahs in Sabi Sands; it's an area that I will always go back to on future visits.

Safaris can be very expensive. You will be spending time in your room between drives, so be sure to book what your family will be comfortable in. Londolozi Founder's has cottages that can accommodate families of 5 and I highly recommend them.

There are so many options for safaris, do some research and decide what works best for you. I'd recommend an African TA because their knowledge is vast -- they will be able to make recommendations that work for your family. For our first trip I used Singita travel services (I don't recommend) and the second I used Icon Expeditions. I think you will find that &Beyond has some excellent lodges in varying price ranges. I wouldn't hesitate to use Icon again. Singita is extremely expensive and I found Londolozi to be almost as nice and not nearly as expensive (we had an issue with bats in our cottage in one of the Singita lodges {it's not normal, but it was our first safari lodge and that's what they told me}, the hotel in Capetown wasn't to my liking and they booked a non-refundable rate so we couldn't leave, and our private guide in Capetown made some questionable decisions).

I'm not looking to spend money just to spend it, but I am the indoorsy type and pretty picky about accommodations. I grew up very frequently camping, fishing, etc and hated it, so I have refused to so much as set foot in a motorhome (no matter how "nice") or tent since I was 15. Hence my kids have never been in a tent or motorhome, either (they've never expressed any interest). I think I could "glamp" given a nice enough setup. The Ft Wildnerness cabins (which I like but am very glad they're being replaced) are as rustic as I get. (We stay in them each Thanksgiving and I gave serious thought to booking a room at one of the deluxes midway through our trip this year.)

My parents have never spent more than probably $120 for a night in a hotel, and believe it or not, about $50 is more their average. They'd have us stay in places where you keep your shoes on in the shower. Which is all to say, I don't have to stay at the fanciest hotel, but I am picky. I did enough roughing it and staying in bad motels growing up, I don't need to do any of that as an adult.

I'm not sure how the youngest kids would do. They're still only 7-10. Like I said, none have ever roughed it. I once suggested one of my sons pee outside and he looked at me like I had 3 heads. They all did very well on our Greece trip this year, but there wasn't too much driving around and we always had bathrooms available. They are all very good kids though. We're taking them all to Japan (and maybe China) next year, so I guess we could see how that goes, I just don't want to wait too long to book (I'd rather book ABD as soon as they're released).

 

[Mathmagicland]

I grew up very frequently camping, fishing, etc and hated it, so I have refused to so much as set foot in a motorhome (no matter how "nice") or tent since I was 15. Hence my kids have never been in a tent or motorhome, either (they've never expressed any interest). I think I could "glamp" given a nice enough setup. The Ft Wildnerness cabins (which I like but am very glad they're being replaced) are as rustic as I get. (We stay in them each Thanksgiving and I gave serious thought to booking a room at one of the deluxes midway through our trip this year.)

I think you would like a T-shirt I used to have - it said “My idea of camping is when room service is late”.