Loadshedding and Accommodation in South Africa

One of the considerations we have at Ignite Travel Group, LLC is where to book our accommodation.

We know we want to be in Marloth Park - originally built in the 1970s as a holiday village it’s now home to many year-round residents. Why Marloth Park? We had the opportunity to stay there, with friends at their home, in January 2023 and it was a fantastic location to see wildlife right outside your back door.

A kudu in Marloth Park in our friend’s backyard - I took this with my phone.

However, the universe says there must be a trade-off if you want giraffes, zebra, warthogs, kudu, and wildebeests in your backyard. And that trade-off my friends is load-shedding. Load-shedding is the practice of planned electrical blackouts that deprive South Africans of power between 3 and 12 hours a day. This practice takes some of the strain off the electrical grid.

A giraffe, probably checking on the status of this home’s air conditioning during loadshedding in Marloth Park.

While there are some properties, like my friend’s, that have installed solar power to maintain power during load-shedding, many have not. When searching for a great place for our Adult Trip to South Africa in October 2024, I considered this while also looking for affordability. Balancing those needs I’ve chosen accommodations that have an inverter that will provide basic power for lights, some small appliances, and wifi for short periods during load-shedding but not air conditioning and other high electric use appliances.

Wildebeest in the backyard in Marloth Park - I took this with my phone too!

This is all part of the true travel experience that you will get with Ignite Travel. We believe that the proximity to the animals, Kruger National Park and our other activities, as well as the beautiful property will outweigh the possible inconvenience that load-shedding can cause. We don’t anticipate being home much during the day and hopefully will miss much of the load-shedding times, but continuous power can be an issue even outside of load-shedding scheduled times. We know about it and will make plans accordingly to maximize the fun and enjoyment of the trip while experiencing the realities of life in South Africa.

The lesser bush baby loves the dark so load-shedding is no problem for this cutie!

Share your travel experiences with load-shedding or other inconveniences and how you dealt with them in the comments below.