Private safaris with Mike Lawrie & Michel Girardin
Choose five or seven nights in one camp, ten nights across two camps, or a safari shaped around you. Travel through Greater Kruger with two seasoned safari guys, a private vehicle and time to read the bush properly.
30-minute Safari Fit call · No payment on the call · Written next step after we speak
Your reserve comes after the people
We match wildlife priorities, privacy, budget, mobility and camp style before naming a reserve. These are the Greater Kruger areas we assess once we know your group.
A polished private stay with acclaimed guiding access in one of Greater Kruger’s best-known reserve areas. The current Tumbeta House journey sits here.
A private-reserve safari beside Kruger, with varied bushveld and a strong conservation identity. Property style can range from intimate camps to private villas.
A large Greater Kruger private reserve for guests drawn to quieter safari time, personal guiding and a less commercial lodge atmosphere.
A provincial reserve sharing open boundaries with Kruger, Sabi Sands and Timbavati. It brings strong wildlife access with a distinct, grounded character.
South Africa’s iconic national park offers immense scale, varied camps and a choice between guided, private-lodge and classic park-style journeys.
River-influenced safari country within the wider Balule and Olifants system, with strong elephant appeal and varied private-lodge choices.
Other Greater Kruger areas can join the collection once the right property and five-night commercial package have passed review.
Let us match the reserveWhy the name Dagga Boys?
In the bush, dagga boys are mature male buffalo that often move alone or in small bachelor groups and cake themselves in mud. The name is linked to the isiZulu word udaka, meaning mud or clay. Mike and Michel claim it with affection: two experienced guys choosing patience, independence and their own pace.
A private-camp example
Tumbeta House at DjumaThree en-suite bedrooms · six guests · underground hide · subject to availability
EM Gatland Photography · Tuskers Construction
Your private safari home
A feature we love: Tumbeta’s underground hide puts you at eye level with the waterhole, giving the group a quiet place to watch and photograph wildlife between drives.
Photography: EM Gatland Photography. Construction: Tuskers Construction.
Seen slowly, remembered clearly
No sighting is scheduled. Time, good fieldcraft and a private vehicle give the group room to watch behaviour unfold.
A considered itinerary
Meet your host, unpack once and gather for a short trip briefing. Your first drive is scheduled around arrival time.
Morning and afternoon drives can anchor each day, with long breakfasts and quiet time back at the house between outings.
Stay close to the wildlife action, slow the pace, or add a suitable local experience agreed during planning.
Use the knowledge built across earlier drives to focus on the species, photography or area your group values most.
Breakfast and a private transfer are timed around the next stage of your journey.
Your local team meets you for the road journey to Djuma. Settle into the house, meet your guide and start with an unhurried first drive when timing permits.
Private morning and afternoon drives follow tracks, weather and animal movement. Meals and rest time fit around your group.
Choose a later start, spend more time at the house or add a planning-approved local experience. The day need not be filled to feel valuable.
Return to productive areas, read changing signs and give patient sightings the time they deserve. This is where a longer stay pays off.
Build the final full day around your group’s strongest interests, followed by a relaxed private dinner back at the house.
A final morning outing remains possible when schedules align, followed by transfer support for your next connection.
Settle in, meet your host and head out for a first drive if arrival time permits. This is the first of five nights here.
Private game drives, time with sightings and quiet hours at camp. Shape the pace around your group and its interests.
A planned transfer connects the two camps. Settle into a new setting for another five nights; the route and drive times are agreed before booking.
Get to know the second reserve through its wildlife, habitats and game-drive routes. There is time to follow your interests without rushing between camps.
Your final morning and departure transfer are arranged around your onward connection.
Tell us which reserves or properties appeal to you, or ask us to suggest a combination. Set your total nights and the time you want at each camp.
Share your group size, ages, travel dates and budget. We match camp style, privacy and travel time to the people coming.
Photography, particular wildlife, time together or longer stays in fewer places. Add your priorities to the enquiry and we will work through the options with you.
We check camp availability, transfers and hosting, then send a proposal with the route, nights, inclusions and price. Nothing is booked by completing the enquiry.
Why private changes everything
“The best safari is not the busiest one. It is the one that feels entirely yours.”
More time with a sighting. A later breakfast. Space for children, parents or close friends to travel at their natural pace.
EM Gatland Photography · Tuskers Construction
Clear group pricing
Every public per-person figure is based on six paying guests. A camp with eight or ten beds keeps its full private-camp cost, which is divided by six. Final quotes state the rate year, taxes, levies, transfers, beverage level, guide and host roles.
Five nights in one Greater Kruger reserve, quoted for six paying guests.
More time to read the reserve and shape each day around your private group.
The larger camp does not create extra paying guests in our calculation. Its full group cost is still shared by six.
Rates are planning prices in US dollars. Camp availability, travel season, supplier changes, taxes, conservation levies, transfers and chosen inclusions can change the final figure. Your written proposal shows every inclusion and exclusion before any deposit request.
March to October
Choose a published departure or ask for dates that suit your private group. We’ll check the camp, private vehicle and Mike and Michel together before confirming.
Alternative date request
Pick a possible start date during the March–October safari season. We will carry the dates into your Safari Fit enquiry and assess the full operating picture before replying.
This sends a planning request only. Dates remain subject to camp, vehicle, host and supplier confirmation.
Trust before a deposit
Your proposal names the operating party, camp, reserve, guide, tracker, host presence, inclusions, exclusions, payment steps and cancellation terms.
Your journey is planned from the Greater Kruger area by people who know the distances, seasons and practical details.
You speak to a specialist before the proposal. No anonymous itinerary generator and no pressure to pay online.
The full inclusions, exclusions, payment milestones and cancellation terms are supplied before any deposit request.
Group needs, mobility, children, dietary requests and pace are discussed before we recommend the final plan.
Dagga Boys field notes
Mike and Michel answer the price, trust, safety, health, wildlife and group-fit questions that can hold back a confident safari decision.
A calm look at wildlife, camp, road, country and medical risk, with current US and UK travel advice.
Read the field noteWhy Dagga Boys uses six paying guests, and what happens when the best camp sleeps eight or ten.
Read the field noteThe checks to make before a large deposit: parties, quote, bank details, terms, cancellation and insurance.
Read the field noteSafari agents & travel planners
We can negotiate highly competitive rates at many leading safari properties. Tell Mike and Michel where your clients want to go, their dates and group size, and we’ll discuss the options.
Prefer to email us directly?
info@dagga-boys.co.za
Meet the Dagga Boys
Close to 60 years in the safari sector sits at the centre of the journey. Your first call covers dates, interests, pace, mobility and budget. You then receive one direct recommendation.
Meet Mike and Michel
Expert host · safari operations
More than 40 years across safari guiding, lodge operations and guide assessment. Michel brings practical judgement to camp fit, service and the guest experience.
Expert host · elephants & Greater Kruger
More than 20 years in the safari sector, with experience in guiding, elephant behaviour, private groups and safari operations around Greater Kruger.
Choose a time and tell us the basics: preferred dates, group size and ideal safari style.
We confirm fit, check availability and prepare one clear recommendation with honest options.
You receive the route, inclusions, exclusions, price and terms before any payment request.
Questions worth asking
The consultation covers anything that is personal to your group. These answers deal with the usual starting points.
It is a privately planned safari centred on a selected lodge, camp or private house. The Sabi Sands example uses Tumbeta House at Djuma. Guiding, transfers, catering and chosen extras are matched to the group and shown in the final proposal.
Couples seeking privacy, families, close friends and small photographic groups of up to six guests. It suits travellers who value time, flexibility and a more personal safari rhythm.
We calculate every public per-person figure with six paying guests. If the right private camp has eight or ten beds, its full group cost is still divided by six. That makes the per-person price higher, and the proposal shows the calculation.
Flights are not included in the draft page estimate. We can help plan suitable connections and add agreed regional flights or transfers to the proposal.
Family fit depends on the children’s ages, game-drive policies and the needs of the full group. We check this on the first call before recommending the journey.
No travel is risk-free. We separate wildlife, camp, road and medical risks, then confirm the guide, property rules, transfers and emergency contacts. Read our full safety guide.
Yes, the Greater Kruger region is a malaria-risk area. Seek current advice from a qualified clinician or travel-health service before travel. Our health-planning guide lists the questions to prepare.
We spend about 30 minutes on dates, party size, interests, pace, prior safari experience, budget and practical needs. No payment is requested on the call.
The applicable deposit schedule and cancellation terms arrive with the full proposal. You can review them before accepting the trip. Use our pre-payment checklist for the documents and verification steps.
Your safari starts with a conversation
Tell us where you are in the planning process. We use the 30-minute call to test fit, answer direct questions and agree the next move.
