Phillip and Wanda, the passionate visionaries.
African Wildlife Plains
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2023)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, APTA, SATSA & SKAL INTERNATIONAL
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $193 to $1,308 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Patricia and Robert | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Personable, White Glove Service with Amazing Communication
We found Phillip through safari bookings.com and glad we did! He called us personally on What's App app and immediately his warm personality and true love for the business and wildlife is second to none. My husband and I wanted to plan 1 year in advance and Sabi Sands was our destination of choice. Phillip quickly got a feel for what we wanted (we wanted a bit of luxury and an amazing wildlife sighting experience). We also wanted to go to Mauritius after our safari and he planned the resort there as well. Once we got our quote including all transfers and flights required, we decided to add our friends to the trip! A quick call to Phillip and he responded promptly with accommodations for them as well! During the year that we had the trip planned, Phillip called us regularly to check in and let us know any updates and we added in golf and other tours to our agenda. The accommodations Phillip recommended were luxury and secluded even prior to getting to our safari! The safari accommodations were a 12 out of 10. All inclusive 3 meals a day and 2 trips in the bush daily for animal sightings! The staff and meals were top notch and it was one of the best experiences of our lives! For this first time trip in Africa and within our budget, we couldn't have asked for anything better. We made some changes on the fly while in the country and Phillip communicated with us and the vendors regularly. The tailored app with tips and info on each step of the journey was invaluable. Book your trip with African Wildlife Plains and you will not regret it.
IT
Email Marco | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect organisation with true gems
Philip is an incredible agent and I am very grateful we found him! I needed to plan at the last minute (only 8 weeks in advance) a tour for my parents to visit vic falls followed by an authentic safari experience in the bush. It would have been the first time in Africa for my parents, who don’t speak perfect English, so I requested that all transfers and flights were perfectly organised to avoid surprises that could have been worsened by the language barrier. Philip found the best accommodations in line with our budget and prepared an unforgettable experience. He gave us access to a tailored app with tips and info on each step of the journey, and checked constantly during the vacation. One thing to remark, is that the safari lodges he would propose you are not the commercial and overcrowded ones, but little gems in the bush with drives with maximum 6 people on board and top of the game rangers. Would recommend to anyone planning a trip to Southern Africa.
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Email Jonathan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thoughtful
We contacted Phillip about 2-3 months before we wanted to go on our trip, realizing that it was super late to try and organize something like this. He responded to my email within 2 hours and by the next day already had multiple options available to us. He called us multiple times to go over the options with us, and to try and find out what exactly we were looking for. By the end of the week he had everything booked for us for the whole trip, with the only thing we had to purchase was our airfare from the USA.
On the lead up to the trip he made sure to reach out to us more than once to ensure us that everything was lining up. We landed in South Africa and were immediately met by a guide who brought us directly to our transfer driver. From start to finish in our trip we never had to worry about our transfers or getting to the places we needed to be on time because Phillip did it all for us!
The lodges we stayed at were amazing, and we got to see the Big 5 in its entirety on day 1 on our game drives. During our time in South Africa it was also my wife's birthday, and Phillip had special surprises waiting for her at every stop! A birthday cake at one, a private dinner at another, birthday cupcakes while we were on a game drive.
He went so far and above anything we ever expected, and I honestly can't recommend him enough. It never felt like he was selling something to us, it felt like he was planning something special for friends.
DE
Email Eike | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Phillip and his AWP is very customer oriented and finds best possibilities to consider these
The personal welcome was sweetened by a little gift - thanks Phillip!
At one of our tour stops we had a room upgrade as a surprise from Phillip.
During the whole time we had contact via a WhatsApp group to have the possibility for asking questions
Thanks for this wonderful yourney!
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Email Molly | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Philip was the most helpful
What an incredible experience! Thank you to Philip and his team for organizing everything. The lodge he choose was insane and the game drives were breath taking. He made the process so seamless and I recommend everyone use his company for easy planning of a once in a Life time trip
Email Taegan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly but wish the company was more proactive in communicating with the tour group
Philip from African Wildlife plains was friendly and chose amazing accommodation regarding our safari experience -we stayed at a beautiful place called Kapama Lodge, myself and the group certainly felt that this was a highlight of the trip. However, I do think overall he could have been more proactive in his communication with us, often we were contacting him to find out logistics of the trip. For example, we were asking for our flight details and this would often only be sent on the day or evening before our flight (very anxiety provoking and although he might of been wanting us to trust that he would handle it) as a group we felt that if he has sent this to us in good time, we would be less anxious overall of how were were transferring on each leg of the journey. As a psychologist, I really feel that more open and transparent communication and information not less is always best for people.
A further example, on our second leg of our holiday to Victoria Falls, it would have been helpful to stress that international tourists required a multi entry visa to cross the boarder from Zimbabwe to Zambia (we were staying in Zambia) but we were flying out back on the Zimbabwe side and would need to cross the boarder and pay again at the end of this leg to do so. In addition, since it was low season at the falls, on the Zambia side (which we were staying on) we would not see much of the falls. The group wanted to to go over the Zimbabwe side to see this extraordinary world wonder (it truly is) and so bought a multi entry visa at this point, had he just clarified this upfront and the costs for this (some of our group didn't have the cash on hand), it would have made things much easier for us to navigate. Secondly, we were looking forward to engaging with him at the end of this leg before we traveled to Stellenbosch and he did not meet us for a meet and greet even though it was indicated that he would do this as well as I was told the night before traveling back to Cape Town that they were not going to transfer us to our accommodation even though its was indicated as such. Overall I think better organization in terms of communicating proactively with the group, sending all relevant documentation well in advance to everyone and updating information in good time when plans change would have helped us a great deal. If you want to go on an excellent safari experience, this group is great just ensure that you have all the information before hand, ask for updated itineraries and tickets before you leave to ensure you have not missed something.
Reply from African Wildlife Plains
Posted on Oct 31, 2024Hi Taegan,
Thank you so much for sharing your detailed feedback and for choosing African Wildlife Plains for your safari experience. I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed the accommodations and that Kapama Lodge was a highlight for you and your group! We always aim to select destinations and accommodations that offer truly unforgettable experiences.
I appreciate your insight on communication and logistical clarity. I understand how important it is to have all information ahead of time, especially for flights and transfers, and I apologize for any stress caused by delays in sharing those details. Your suggestion to improve communication timing and proactively outline travel details and visa requirements is invaluable, and it’s something we are absolutely taking on board to enhance future experiences.
Your feedback will help us improve, especially for future multi-country trips where visa requirements can be a bit tricky. Regarding the meet-and-greet, I informed Rayann that I was, unfortunately, unable to attend due to a sudden stomach bug and didn’t want to risk passing it on to the group. I’m truly sorry for any disappointment caused and I appreciate your understanding.
Thank you once again for helping us improve. We loved having you with us and hope to welcome you on another adventure in the future!
Warm regards,
Phillip.
Email Dave Reynolds | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
African Wildlife Plains the best!
We stayed a Tinga Lodge in Lion Sands Safari Park during September 2024. Phillip & Wanda organised the our whole trip from the UK to SA including the Safari, Cape Town and the Wine Region. This included all transportation, accomodation, guides (Cape Town & Wine) and several restaurants we wished to visit in particular. Everything proceeded without a hitch and Phillip was always available should we wished for any clarification. I cannot recommend AWP enough and would not hesitate to use them when we return in the near future.
Tinga Lodge was fantastic, the accomodation, food and most of all were the staff were absolutely wonderful. We saw the "big five" plus lots of other speices as well, not in abundance but that is probably a derivitive of the size of Lion/Kruger and made it special when we did find them.
Thanks AWP
Regards Pat & Dave
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Email Bindy St. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best safari experience!
Shopping for a first time safari vacation can be daunting but Phillip from African Wildlife Plains made the entire process very smooth! He was not only patient with all the questions but helpful and honest. From start to finish everything was exceptional. The personal greeting at the airport to making sure nothing was for want and worry free. Thank you Phillip and your team for making our first time in SA very special. Until the next time!
NZ
Email Igor and Dalinda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exclusive, professional, caring and loyal
From the very first engagement, untill we landed back home safely, our journey with AWP was more than we could have hoped for.
I cannot get over the amazing customer experience and value for money experience.
This was truly the best investment in ourselves we ever could have made. We have memories to treasure forever.
Thank you AWP for our amazing safari experience. We will be back to book our next adventure soon.
SG
Email Jacintha & Jeremy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Philip was super friendly, went the extra mile & definitely has beautiful taste in hotels!
Philip exceeded expectations! Impeccable service, excellent communication, tasteful accommodations, and unforgettable experiences. Highly recommend his expertise!
