Africa Wild

This now on the SANParks website...

Date: 5th August 2013

Due to infrastructure changes on site at the SANParks Head Office, the following services will not be available from Tuesday, 6 August 2013 at 20:00 p.m. until Wednesday, 7 August 2013 at 04:00 a.m:

Online Bookings - both Public and Travel Trade.
Wild Card - Purchases, Renewals, Updates and Purchase completions.
Webcams - All webcams.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

It's the 1st of September, so August 2014 bookings are meant to open, but it’s a Sunday, so only open tomorrow.

Strange, check out the online availability now for LS or others in the south

It is quite clear that the system is not genuine as far as 12month regulations go, BC!

Urikaruus and Grootkolk in KTP don't have full availability anymore either.

Whilst we were staying in the Park in January this yea, I was forced to spend rather a lengthy time resolving problems with a booking and a Wild Card at Pretoriouskop camp. During my time spent at reception two different people came into the office and asked for accommodation on the off chance. Their only requirement was that they did not wish to use communal ablutions. At the same time I heard several incoming calls handled by reception staff. In both instances the people on the phone and those that came in were categorically told that there was no accommodation available other than the huts that utilise communal ablutions. During our stay the circle we were in adjacent to the camping site was more than half empty on every night of our stay. I can only assume that these units had been booked by tour group companies and then not occupied. It is clearly apparent as the Cow has demonstrated by taking screen shots that the reservation system is definitely manipulated to some extent and as loyal park goers this is incredibly sad that we are getting the second bite of the apple! Oh and by the way my couple of nights at Pretoriouskop for two people cost the same as it does for 6 people at Ngwenya for the entire week!

I see that the entire camp of Tamboti is booked from the 3rd October 2014 to the 12th October 2014.

I realize that it’s school holidays, but have never seen this before. A mate of mine was 1st in the queue at the KZN SANParks office on the 1st of November and at 7:30am when bookings opened Tamboti was already fully booked.

Any ideas as to why

Same old story!!!

SanParks said that they would give away whole camps before bookings open.

On a positive note: The bookings for KTP next October were fair this time.
Admittedly there was one day when Urikaruus was already booked out before
bookings opened, but as said above... And the rest only vanished after 7.30 am.

Different question if we consider this modus operandi fair or not.

There’s nothing fair about it Mel, but it’s not going to change.

I just wish that someone from SANparks would actually post the truth instead of all the spinning.

I used another “method” for my October 2014 trip, a “booking agency” and didn’t get the exact unit I wanted, but got all the camps I wanted and certainly got more than I would have got standing in any queue or phoning in. I asked on the 31st of October “What are your chances versus mine standing in the queue” and was told “Don’t stand in the queue”