Africa Easy

The “secret season” in South Africa is during September and October. That’s what Nadia Eckhardt of Africa Easy Travel Company (2212 Queen Anne Ave. North #148, Seattle, WA 98109; 800/617-2319, www.africaeasy.com) told us years ago. We’ve traveled four times with her during that time of year and have enjoyed lovely weather and few crowds.

On our most recent independent-travel trip arranged by Africa Easy, Sept. 29-Oct. 31, 2007, we added BOTSWANA to the itinerary for the first time and loved it! Moremi, Savuti and Chobe game camps were outstanding. We saw every manner of wildlife, including many leopards, an entire litter of African wild dog pups, lions, elephants, hyenas, cheetahs, giraffes and much more.

Our three weeks in SOUTH AFRICA were delightful also. We stayed in our favorite B&B, the 4-star Hog Hollow (Plettenberg Bay; phone +27 [0] 44 534 8879, www.hog-hollow.com). For $156 per night, we had one of the 14 rooms overlooking Tsitsikamma National Park plus a gourmet breakfast.

We drove Route 62 via Barrydale, Ceres, Kasteel-Riebeck and, finally, Cape Town, and our B&Bs, all with distinct “personalities,” were clean and hospitable, averaging $70 a night.

A good value — Africa Easy did not charge us for the arrangements they made; I assume they were paid commissions by the hotels and lodges they reserved for us. The hotels averaged about $100 per night. The safari costs in Botswana were around $800 per night, all-inclusive of accommodations, three fabulous meals daily, plenty of gourmet-quality wine, and two safaris each day with excellent local guides and trackers plus sundowner cocktail parties on the trail.

We must note that in our 30 years of traveling the world, the travel consultant from Africa Easy is the only one who has ever phoned us to ask how we were doing en route!

For first-time travelers to South Africa, we recommend taking one of Nadia’s guided tours.

MARILYN WHISENAND

San Clemente, CA