Been looking at some safari/trekking holidays for November, there’s plenty of choice out there but at my end of the market (low) there seems to be very few options that don’t have a ‘meal at a traditional village’ or ‘cultural visit’. Can’t find much detail on what this actually is, worried it could be a bit poverty porn (I imagine how I’d feel if some tour group came round to watch me eat)…am I being ridiculous, has anyone done it?

Yes, I’ve done a meal and an overnight in a “traditional village”. It was fine, just like an AirBnB with a moderately friendly host.

They don’t mind you being there to watch them eat. No one pays them to eat by themselves. I cringed at the idea a bit too, but it was no issue.

🙂

You could consider turning up and arranging things yourself. We stayed in a hotel in Kasane which we hadn’t booked and it had its own vehicles and boats. A whole day worked out at about £35 each, we saw 28 different animals. For the cultural bit, whilst driving around the Kalahari, we stayed on a bushmen’s reserve here http://www.dqae.org/
I talked to a guide in Maun who offered ‘exclusive’ packages to rich foreigners (£10,000 holidays etc). I asked what extra they saw for their money, ‘nothing really’ came the reply. Make sure you have some half decent bins and a camera with a telescopic lens.

Thanks guys!

You don’t mention which country/countries you have on your itinerary, or your time limits.

As BillMC says it’s not difficult to make your own arrangements if you don’t mind working to bus schedules.

If Southern Africa is on your mind then flying JHB -> Kasane or Vic Falls/Livingstone would be a good start.

– A day at Vic Falls/Livingstone and road transit to Kasane in the evening (or day trip from Kasane), morning/all day game drive and evening boat cruise in Kasane
– Early morning bus to Nata so as to connect with lunchtime bus to Maun (possible night or two in Gweta (Planet Baobab, Gweta Lodge) or Nata (Nata Lodge – on the Francistown road, ask and the bus will stop there) for the salt pans)
– If you want to splash cash then 2 nights at Oddballs Camp is recommended – nice flight over the Okavango with guided bush walks and mekoro cruise in the middle of the Okavango, otherwise a day trip into the bottom of the Okavango from somewhere like Old Bridge Backpackers, Okavango River Lodge or an independent guide
– Find a lift through to Namibia (not sure about buses, could also check air charters if they have spare seats on an ad hoc basis) to do Windhoek and Swakopmund (sand dunes).

If you are the type that can strike up conversations with strangers then the bus journeys will probably be more sociable and culturally enlightening than a night in somebody’s hut. It’s just the random drunks, beggars and slightly unhinged that are a nuisance around bus stops and shopping centres.

I’m a bit hazy on prices but shouldn’t be more than gbp70/day for typical rooms, then add excursions.

I hired a car and Botswana’s roads have changed much since I hitch-hiked round there in 1983. Against advice we also picked up hitchhikers everywhere, absolutely no problems. I got pulled over for speeding and put my wallet in my pocket as I got out of the car. The policeman told me ‘slow down and take care’, that was it.
Only problem with the car was getting stuck in the Kalahari. The San people appeared and the men dug it out whilst the women chatted away and feasted off the nearby bushes. The San are in many ways amongst the most exploited in the world, any dosh you can float their way is a good thing.
Oh and from the farm near Francistown where we stayed I had no idea the Milky Way looked like that, absolutely breathtaking.

…and just had a look at the Dqae Qare setup – it looks reasonable and would give you a cultural fix with probably the most fascinating tribe in the region.

You’d be able to get there on a Maun-Ghanzi bus and then either look for lifts Ghanzi-Windhoek for Namibia or back to JHB via Gaborone.

Also, a local SIM card costs peanuts and makes arrangements a breeze.

Depending on your age and time available I’d have a look at some of the truck tour companies. Absolutely the best holidays I’ve ever had. Awesome scenery, interesting travelling companions, good food, booze, cheap etc etc. We went in our twenties, there were a few ‘older’ people on ours, so if you are ‘older’ I reckon it’s just a state of mind.

Kenya used to be a good budget Safari option, I personally wouldn’t go now due to safety concerns though. My South African friends just buy a permit and drive themselves around the game parks like the Kruger but they know where to look and how to stay safe. I can ask for some advice if you wish.

On the “cultural visit” years ago we had one bad experience at a not in-expensive game park in South Africa which ended with people bascially asking for money. Contrast that with our last trip to Morocco where we stopped off for tea at a local home and sat on a rooftop terrace with a wonderful view, all very relaxed. What I am saying is you may just have to roll with that element.

@russian yes some of those truck tours are supposed to be good and us oldies 😉 quite like that sense of adventure and a throw back to our younger days

A few years ago, just kind of for the hell of it I did a training course too be a safari guide in South Africa. Anyway, the place I did it at has now set up as a self catering/ backpacker type of thing, and I can’t imagine it’s massively expensive. Bit basic, but a decent enough setup, and you can sit on the veranda and watch elephants, zebra, buffalo, maybe even lion drinking at the waterhole 50ft away.

The fella who runs it (Ian) has been a guide for years, and can take you on walking and driving safaris from the door.

http://antares.co.za/backpackers-accommodation/

Useful info all, I’ll have a look!

I did a truck tour about 12 years ago… there’s loads I could talk about, but in specific reference to the traditional meal at a village, it was eye-opening, both when you realise you’re eating goat which is normally a rare treat for the locals, but it’s just some (indifferent, bony) meat to you, and what you’re eating it with is cassava, which is (awful, tasteless, gluey) basic starch but it’s their main meal, every day.

The village kids went absolutely mad for chasing the little disc of light that I could cast on the ground/walls/trees etc. from my little LED torch though. Not unlike making a cat chase a laser pointer. Genuine entertainment for them…

So yeah, makes you think. Mileage may obviously vary depending on where said village is. If I recall correctly mine was in Malawi, which was definitely one of the poorest places on the trip at that point, and most likely still is.

The ‘cultural visit’ with a Maasai tribe was a bit more of a case of awkward standing around, and shopping for beadwork – very much a commercial arrangement for them, and you could be *reasonably* sure it was their own craft they were selling, and not Chinese imported replicas. Seemed fair enough to me. The odd bit is haggling over what are generally pitiful sums of money because it’s a necessary part of the transaction…