Hmmmm... So an American friend of mine may come over for a holiday soon. And it'll be expected of me to show him the sights, and be a tour guide basically.
He will pay for his own lodgings and stuff. But ya. I feel like I should be at least prepared...
My thinking is the KNP and Marloth Park?
Any suggestions guys?
Also... Have any of you done this before? How did it go? And more importantly... What did it cost?? HAHA!
Tourists?
- Sev
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Re: Tourists?
Yeah, it would be a crime against humanity, if you never took him to the KNP.
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I tried to do to this last year with Ice Bear.
Bought his plane tickets for him, booked leave, and everything.
The day before he was supposed to leave, something came up on his side, which prevented him from going.
Had to pay a $500 cancellation fee on a $1200 ticket...
If you mean local expenses, then I don't imagine that it would be any different than hosting someone from another South African province.
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I tried to do to this last year with Ice Bear.
Bought his plane tickets for him, booked leave, and everything.
The day before he was supposed to leave, something came up on his side, which prevented him from going.
Had to pay a $500 cancellation fee on a $1200 ticket...
If you mean local expenses, then I don't imagine that it would be any different than hosting someone from another South African province.
- Sudan Red
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Re: Tourists?
Yup plenty of times. Please bear in mind that KNP is redonkulously expensive to sleep over and that the N4 is SA's most expensive toll route. You will be spending a day on the road both there and back (if your time is limited).
If you want to give the safari experience, I would actually suggest a place like Mabula near Bela Bela. Still expensive but less so than KNP, only an hour or so from Pretoria & you'll see all the same game as in KNP (they have a separate lion camp).
There are scads of things to do in & around Pretoria itself too. Rietvlei Nature Reserve has rhinos & it is R20ish to enter. The Union Buildings are remarkably visitable & touristy. The Zoological Gardens, the Botanical Gardens, the Voortrekker Monument & several museums. You can also have day trips out to Gold Reef City & city walking tours of Johannesburg CBD.
If you want to give the safari experience, I would actually suggest a place like Mabula near Bela Bela. Still expensive but less so than KNP, only an hour or so from Pretoria & you'll see all the same game as in KNP (they have a separate lion camp).
There are scads of things to do in & around Pretoria itself too. Rietvlei Nature Reserve has rhinos & it is R20ish to enter. The Union Buildings are remarkably visitable & touristy. The Zoological Gardens, the Botanical Gardens, the Voortrekker Monument & several museums. You can also have day trips out to Gold Reef City & city walking tours of Johannesburg CBD.
- Adagio
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Re: Tourists?
Yeah. But I've never done anything like this before... Hehe!Sev wrote:If you mean local expenses, then I don't imagine that it would be any different than hosting someone from another South African province.
Will probably be staying in Marloth Park right outside the KNP. My family and I have been there many times. It's nicer and cheaper(depending on where you get a place...) and less "Tourist trap" kind.Sudan Red wrote:Yup plenty of times. Please bear in mind that KNP is redonkulously expensive to sleep over and that the N4 is SA's most expensive toll route. You will be spending a day on the road both there and back (if your time is limited).
I'd not mind something cheaper like what you suggested. But the problem is he's paying a lot of money to come here. I would like to give him his moneys worth at least...
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Re: Tourists?
It isn't his expenses I am concerned about. Unless he is footing the bill for both of you, you will have to keep up financially if you want to be a gracious host. One thing I have learnt from tourists is that they go "OH! This is only $10!" but they don't consider that that might be a ridiculous price for locals to pay.Adagio wrote:I'd not mind something cheaper like what you suggested. But the problem is he's paying a lot of money to come here. I would like to give him his moneys worth at least...
Set your boundaries early on about who pays for what & how bills will be split. I made the extremely expensive mistake of hosting someone in Cape Town. The two weeks cost me nearly R12,000 because I was too embarrassed to ask them to contribute when I had ASSUMED they would.
- Adagio
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Re: Tourists?
Hahahaha!!! He will certainly cover his half. Thats sure. And I'm saving up... So we'll decide by December exactly what the budget will be and make reservations...