Lalibela, Eastern Cape
(near Grahamstown)

by Joyce (via e-mail to Alison)
(UK)

Safari location: Lalibela, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Company used: Privately planned

When: April 2008

Travellers: Joyce plus hubby, both 50-somethings from UK

Did you plan your trip yourself or did you use an travel agent?
What sort of safari did you go on?

It was part of a self-drive trip we did to various parts of SA. I planned the whole month on the internet. It took quite a lot of research but the choices we were made were all good or excellent.

Which lodge were you in at Lalibela? Would you choose differently next time?
Did you have kids with you and how long did you stay?

We were in Lentaba Lodge at Lalibela (2 nights).

We deliberately chose not to stay at Marks Camp because we avoid places with children (not having any of our own) and didn't fancy what we thought were tents at the other one. Having spoken to other travellers at the time, the other one was really good.

No, we wouldn't choose differently - Lentaba was about 25 minutes from the Reception lodge and was really good.

What game did you see and what was your game viewing highlight?

We saw all but one of the big five - missed leopard - but we also saw some unusual things such as brown hyaena.

Game viewing highlight? All of it - loads of young animals with parents, lions trying to drive off an interloping male - it was all a new experience for us.

Did you consider other nearby reserves? What made you choose Lalibela?

The only one I had ever heard of before was Shamwari but the price put me off - we were already spending quite a lot of money and the cost of two nights was prohibitive. A friend's relative recommended Lalibela and I plumped for it after looking at all the others.

How would you rate your experience (scale of 1 - 10)

Difficult to rate our experience. It was my first time in SA (my husband lived in Worcester for 9 years as a child) and certainly our first game reserve. Were we to be comparing Lalibela with other game reserves, we don't know.

I would have to say the whole thing was 10/10. This applies to the whole trip and also to Lalibela on its own - fabulous experience - enjoyed every minute of it and would recommend it to anyone.

(Whatever game reserve we had visited we would probably have given 10/10 as it has been our only experience.)


What tips do you have for other travelers?!

Take warm clothing for the game drives.

They provide ponchos and blankets but you really need a few layers of clothing - probably a woolly hat and gloves too. It's fine until the sun goes down and then it is quite cold. Indispensable item obviously a fleece.

Two more tips...

... don't drink too much from the free bar before a game drive - not only are there no toilets out in the bush and you might come into contact with live animals at an inappropriate moment, but those long-wheel-base vehicles shake you about a bit - do I need to say more.

Choose your seat on the vehicles if you can, according to your preferences. Seat alongside driver - not as much a good view but it has a heater!! Back row - sounds romantic and best view of all but hang on for dear life as you go over the bumps and potholes. Middle of the road - in the middle of the vehicle.

Enquire about Lalibela rates here...