The Return of Winter Safari Savings

Special offers, particularly where travel is concerned, are imperfect for the most part. They’re either too restrictive, not really what you want, or more of a compromise than you would like. But then there are the rare gems you need to take a closer look at.

For the second year in a row Wilderness Safaris is offering the Six Countries Special, and this time around it’s even more perfect than last year. Just as the cold of winter sets in in North America and we begin the long, dark teatime of the soul as we wait for the sun to reappear, it’s now easier than ever to escape to summer in Southern Africa.

Summer has a bad rap as a time to be on safari for some reason, but the rumour is simply not true—you get all the game and none of the crowds as regions like the Kalahari and Namibia are transformed by the rains from desert moonscapes into lush meadows: magnets for plains game and their attendant predators. This offer begins for travel from November 1, 2013 through April 15, 2014 (the period from December 20 to January 10 is excluded), and in addition to pretty amazing discounts on nightly rates, Wilderness has waived the single supplement, reduced flying costs and taken 50% off rates for kids 16 and under. Rates that are in many cases 50% of what they would normally be at other times of year all of a sudden make going on safari an eminently affordable proposition, especially for families. Really though, the most exciting thing about this deal is the flexibility it offers—with 28 camps and lodges over six countries in Southern Africa, you are literally spoiled for choice. There’s no number of maximum nights that you have to spend in one country, all you have to do is spend five nights at any combination of Wilderness properties in any of the countries that they operate safaris in to take advantage of the savings.  The idea is that you can easily combine two or more countries without adding significantly to the cost.

In just one trip you could go from seeing the mighty elephant herds of Hwange while staying at Little Makaolo to relaxing by the Zambezi River at Toka Leya and taking in Victoria Falls, before moving on to Botswana and the stark beauty of the desert in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve at Kalahari Plains and finally ending your trip luxuriating at Vumbura Plains or Abu Camp, deep in the heart of the legendary Okavango Delta. While there is a lot of choice, the offer is subject to availability and the early bird gets the worm as they say. Book early and book often.

Dan gets the worm every day. Email him to get in on these safari savings.