ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
7-Day First Safari in Africa

South Africa - Fly-in safari

7-Day First Safari in Africa

Duration
7 days
Countries
South Africa
Suited to
2-6 guests
Pricing
From USD 13,780

The journey

Updated on 23 August 2026

A first safari goes wrong in small, avoidable ways: a six-hour transfer road on the second day, a shared vehicle that turns for home just as the light gets good, a lodge where the power goes off at ten. This programme removes those. You land in Johannesburg and go straight to bed at The Saxon, about thirty minutes from the airport, with nothing to do the next morning but eat breakfast. From there it is one flight. An hour and a quarter in a light aircraft, out of Federal Air's own small terminal, to an airstrip ten minutes from your suite at Simbambili in the Sabi Sand. Four nights, eight game drives, and a private vehicle so the day runs at your pace rather than someone else's. The suites are thatched and air-conditioned, with wifi, plug points and a plunge pool. The Sabi Sand shares an unfenced boundary with Kruger and holds the longest continuous leopard record in Africa, so the Big Five are a reasonable expectation rather than a gamble. Come between May and September for thin bush, cold clear mornings and the lowest malaria risk of the year. The last night is back at The Saxon, so nobody is running for a connection.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Land, Sleep, Breathe

You land at OR Tambo in the morning, are met before immigration and driven about thirty minutes to The Saxon in Sandhurst. Ten acres of walled garden, a long lap pool, and the suite where Nelson Mandela worked on the final edit of Long Walk to Freedom. Nothing is scheduled today. Sleep off the flight, eat when you are hungry, and let the time zone settle.

Stay 2

One Short Flight

After a slow breakfast you are driven to Federal Air's private terminal at OR Tambo, a small lounge rather than a concourse, and fly about an hour and a quarter to Arathusa airstrip. Your ranger meets the aircraft. Simbambili is ten minutes away: nine thatched suites, air-conditioned, each with its own plunge pool. Lunch, a rest, tea at four, then your first game drive.

Stay 3

The Rhythm Settles

A knock at half past five, coffee on the deck, and out by six while the air is still cold. The vehicle is yours alone, so you stop when you want and turn for home when you have had enough. Brunch at ten, the long middle of the day free, then out again at four. Your tracker rides the bonnet seat, reading the sand roads as you go.

Stay 4

Reading the Ground

A walk after coffee with an armed ranger and your tracker changes the scale of everything: dung beetles, a leopard's drag mark, the smell of an old kill. You cover perhaps four kilometres, slowly, and stop whenever there is something to look at. The afternoon drive runs on past sunset under a filtered spotlight, which is when hyena come to the roads and leopards begin to move.

Stay 5

Leopard Country

Rangers in the Sabi Sand have followed named leopards since 1979, which is why the cats here treat a vehicle as scenery rather than a threat. Ask yours for the family history of whichever female you find. Between drives there is the plunge pool, a spa treatment if you want one, and the waterhole below the lodge where elephant drink through the middle of the day.

Stay 6

Last Drive, Then the City

One more drive at first light, while the light is low and the cats are still out, then breakfast and the short flight from Arathusa back to Johannesburg. You are at The Saxon by early afternoon with a suite, a bath and a spa rather than an airport bench. Dinner is unhurried, because your flight home leaves tomorrow evening and not tonight.

Stay 7

Home, Unhurried

Breakfast in the garden at The Saxon, a late checkout, and a private transfer of about thirty minutes to OR Tambo for your flight home. Your laundry came back from the bush clean and folded, your bag is repacked, and you leave with a phone full of leopard photographs and a firm view about which of your rangers was the better tracker.

Safari highlights

  • One 75-minute light-aircraft flight, no long transfer drives
  • A private game-drive vehicle for your party, all four days
  • Sabi Sand leopards tracked by name since 1979
  • Air-conditioned thatched suites with wifi and plunge pools
  • A night at The Saxon at each end, so no tight connections
  • Low-risk malaria area, lowest of all from May to September

What is included

Included

  • 6 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Return Federal Air light-aircraft flights, Johannesburg OR Tambo to Arathusa airstrip
  • Private road transfers OR Tambo to The Saxon, and Arathusa airstrip to Simbambili Game Lodge
  • Private game-drive vehicle with your own ranger and Shangaan tracker for all four safari days
  • Two game drives daily at Simbambili, plus guided bush walks on request
  • All meals, local drinks and daily laundry at Simbambili Game Lodge
  • Breakfast and dinner at The Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa
  • Sabi Sand conservation levy and reserve gate fees
  • Meet-and-greet assistance on arrival at OR Tambo and at every transfer

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Visas and any visa fees
  • Comprehensive travel insurance, including medical evacuation cover
  • Premium drinks, champagne and imported spirits
  • Spa treatments at The Saxon and at Simbambili Game Lodge
  • Gratuities for rangers, trackers, guides and hotel staff
  • Items of a personal nature, curio purchases and telephone charges

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 7-day first safari in South Africa cost?

This programme starts at USD 13,780 per person sharing and runs to USD 17,680 over the festive peak. That covers six nights, four of them at Simbambili in the Sabi Sand, all meals and local drinks, two game drives a day in a private vehicle with your own ranger and tracker, return light-aircraft flights between Johannesburg and Arathusa airstrip, every private road transfer, and the Sabi Sand conservation levy.

Are international flights included in a South Africa safari package?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded and booked separately, because fares vary so widely by departure city and season. Everything once you land is included: the return Federal Air light-aircraft flight between OR Tambo and Arathusa airstrip, about an hour and a quarter each way, and all private road transfers. Most travellers arrive on an overnight flight into Johannesburg.

Is a safari safe?

Yes, with ordinary care. You sit in an open vehicle with an armed ranger and a tracker who have worked this ground for years, and the animals read the vehicle as one large, harmless shape. Stay seated, keep your arms inside, do not stand up. Staff walk you to and from your suite after dark. Comprehensive insurance with air evacuation cover is a condition of travel, and Johannesburg is under two hours away by air.

What do you actually do all day on safari?

Two game drives, and very little in between. Coffee at half past five, out from six until about half past nine, working out what moved in the night. Brunch at ten. The middle of the day is yours: a plunge pool, a book, a nap, the waterhole hide. Tea at four, then a second drive that runs past sunset with a drink stopped somewhere open. Dinner at eight, bed early.

Will I definitely see the Big Five?

No honest operator will promise it, but four nights in the Sabi Sand is about as close as Africa gets. Lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino turn up on most drives. Leopard is the one people worry about, and it is the one the Sabi Sand does better than anywhere: rangers have followed named individuals here since 1979, and most guests find leopard more than once across eight drives.

Do I need malaria tablets for the Sabi Sand?

The Sabi Sand is a low-risk malaria area rather than a malaria-free one. Risk is lowest in the dry winter, May to September, which is when we suggest you travel. South Africa's health department still advises prophylaxis for the Kruger lowveld, so see a travel clinic about six weeks before departure. Suites are screened, repellent is supplied, and long sleeves at dusk do most of the work.

What should I pack for a safari?

Less than you think. Federal Air allows 20kg per person in a soft bag. Neutral colours rather than camouflage: khaki, olive, grey. A fleece and a beanie for winter mornings, when an open vehicle at six can be near freezing. Long sleeves and trousers for dusk, plus binoculars, sunglasses, a hat and high-factor sunblock. Laundry is done daily and included, so three or four changes are plenty.

How early do you have to get up on safari?

Earlier than you would like, and it earns its keep. Wake-up is around half past five in summer and six in winter, and the vehicle leaves within half an hour, because the two hours after dawn are when cats are still moving. You are back for brunch by ten and the middle of the day is free to sleep. With a private vehicle you can also simply skip a drive.

Is there wifi on safari, and can I charge my camera?

Yes to both. Simbambili has wifi in the suites and main areas and mobile network coverage, so you can message home each evening. Every suite has mains power, South African three-round-pin sockets and universal adaptors on request. Bring a spare camera battery: an open vehicle in December heat or July cold drains batteries faster than you expect, and there are no sockets in the vehicle.