Climate:
South Africa has several climate zones. Mpala Safari Lodge and Kruger Park are located in the Northeastern part of South Africa, where it never gets really cold and even winters are relatively warm.
The period from November to March is summertime, with daily temperatures between 28-35 degrees Celsius or more and evening temperatures between 20-25 degrees Celsius or more. The warmest months are December to February. During the summer period, short and powerful thunderstorms occasionally occur. Shortly after a rain shower, the air quickly get dry again, so the high summer temperatures are never unpleasantly humid.
From April to October the weather is fairly dry and mostly sunny. Even during the coldest month in June it is often up to 28 degrees, and the temperature rarely drops below 18-20 degrees Celsius in the daytime and 8-10 degrees Celsius at night.
The Cape-region, which is located in the southern half of South Africa, has a cooler climate than the northern part where Mpala is located. South Africa’s wine districts are located in the Western Cape-region.
Click here to see the local weather report
(Mpala Safari Lodge is located near Phalaborwa)
Clothing:
Dress codes are generally very relaxed in South Africa. Safari clothing should be leisure clothing in subdued colors. Avoid great contrasts in colors that will attract attention and scare the animals. On the bush walk it is recommended to wear long pants.
You should bring a pair of good walking shoes, sneakers also work, as well as a pair of light shoes for excursions by car. A warm windbreaker is necessary on safari in open cars as the nights can be cool. During summer, it is also necessary to bring a hat and cover your arms and shoulders, as the sun is very strong even early in the day. During winter, warm clothes should be packed.
Mpala Safari Lodge has its own modern laundry. Here you can have your clothes washed for a small fee.
Currency:
The currency of South Africa is the Rand = R (or ZAR). We recommend waiting to change your currency until arriving in Johannesburg Airport, where the rate is better than at home.
Credit cards such as Visa, Eurocard, Mastercard, American Express etc. are accepted almost everywhere. At Mpala Safari Lodge you can pay with Visa, Visa/DK and MasterCard.
ATMs are found in airports, banks and shopping centers.
South Africa has introduced an extra security at the ATMs. If you are threatened to withdraw money at the machine by a robber, you should keep calm and just go ahead with the transaction. When you have to keyed in his PIN, you just key it in reverse (eg. If the PIN is 1234 then you key in 4321). After this machine discretely alarms police, which will come as soon as possible. At the same time the ATM just continue the transaction. But the machine retains the card and the money comes only halfway out. They will be stuck in the slot, so while the robber desperately trying to pull money free, you might get away and await police arrival.
Electricity:
220/240 Volt. Adapter is necessary. At Mpala Safari Lodge adapters are available in all rooms. (For European plugs).
Flight connections:
There are two local airports, Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa. Both are about an hour’s drive from Mpala Safari Lodge. We pick up our guests arriving at these airports on Mondays between 12 and 14:00. You must ensure to book a flight which arrival time fall’s within above mentioned hours.
You must inform us of your travel plans before arriving. If your flight is delayed and this will affect your final arrival time, we would appreciate hearing from you, so that we may arrange to pick you up.
On your return, we will drive to one of these two airports as well, on Mondays (or Saturdays) between 12 and 14. There is a later flight out of Phalaborwa, but it has often happened that our guests have missed their onwards flight from Johannesburg due to delays of this flight, so we do not recommend you to book the late flight from Phalaborwa.
Unless specially arranged we do not arrange transfers to other airports or at other times than those above mentioned.
Luggage:
Please check with your airline companys luggage allowances since this varies between the airline companies.
Always check the latest updated information of the airlines before departure.
We offer overnight laundry service at Mpala, so you do not need to pack clean clothes for each day.
Golfers: Special rules apply to golf bags – contact your airlines company for their information. Instead of carrying your own golf equipment, you can rent golf equipment for about 150 Rand at the Hans Merensky Golf club.
Remember that NO pointy or sharp objects may be carried on board, including small items like nail scissors and nail files.
Knives and scissors may be packed in your checked luggage.
Insurance:
Travel insurance should always be in order when you travel. Contact your travel agency to inquire about the possibilities for travel and cancellation insurance.
Hunting:
Hunters must check the applicable rules for transporting weapons with the authorities. As transport can be both difficult and expensive, we recommend that hunters hire weapons at Mpala – it is cheaper and less troublesome.
Language:
South Africa is multilingual. The vast majority speak English fluently and easily understood. At Mpala Safari Lodge the staff speaks English. There is a Danish tour leader at Mpala Safari Lodge. The lodge guides speak English.
Telephone and email:
There is telephone as well as internet access at Mpala Safari Lodge.
The telephone number for Mpala Safari Lodge is: +27 (0)83 654 0883
The mobile phone network works well in most areas, but far out in the bush there may be no connection. The phone at Mpala Safari Lodge may be used, and calls paid for according to the meter.
The email address of Mpala Safari Lodge is Mpala@worldonline.co.za.
If you would like to share photos from your trip, we recommend sharing them on our Facebook Group: Mpala Safari Lodge.
Passport / visa:
Foreign citizens are asked to inquire with their country’s embassy about the regulations. Passports must be valid for a minimum of 6 months from the time of departure from South Africa. At least one page must be available for stamps.
Photography:
Remember extra batteries and a charger for your camera. It is a shame to be in the middle of an exciting situation and have no charged batteries. Also remember extra film or extra memory cards for your digital camera. Good photos are often one out of many, and it is better to keep shooting without the fear of running out of space.
