Everybodies favourite guide, Trevor
Elephant Herd Tours & Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- SATSA & MISA
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $69 to $1,104 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
NL
Email Peter | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice trip Good info
Nice trip for a good price. Driver was well informed
DE
Email Aylin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic and very experienced operator who goes the extra mile
Perfectly organized safari. We had a really nice small group, a guide with 26 years of experience, good stories and an excellent sense of humor. They went an extra mile to make us all happy. We saw quite a lot of animals, learned & laughed a lot about animals, South African culture and landscape. Would always choose this operator again.
NL
Email Eric | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Best safari ever
Our ranger was very good, he knew everything about the Kruger Park and the animals, he was born there
Email Suzie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly, reliable, helpful service which created a truly magical trip
This trip was a positive experience from the outset. I sent in a booking enquiry and received a quote back from Bev really quickly. The quote gave a detailed breakdown of what I could expect from the trip (a 3-day Kruger safari experience), what was included and so on. The price was reasonable (and, with current exchange rates, good value for money). Every time I went back with a query I got a prompt and helpful response, including advice about weather, clothing and what to pack. This was a big adventure for me and my partner to celebrate a milestone birthday, and Bev really went the extra distance to make sure we were well looked after from start to finish and that the experience was really special for us. It felt a bit of a leap of faith flying to a city we'd never been to and then getting on a shuttle bus to be dropped off 5 hours later in a town we'd never heard of. However we were provided with all the information we needed, including the registration and driver name for the shuttle bus, and everything ran to clockwork. Bev was there to meet us on arrival and take us to our hotel, which was stunning. The Elephant Whispers experience was a wonderful way to settle us into our safari trip, meeting these magnificent animals up close and learning more about them. The two safari days were fantastic. The guides arrived exactly when they said they would (and coped with our bleary-eyed incoherence at being up so early in the morning). Both days we arrived at the gates to the park at first light and had a wonderful time. We felt in utterly safe hands with our friendly, knowledgeable and experienced guides (Vuyo on the first day, Bhekife on the second day). They were brilliant, especially Bhekife, who spotted things at an incredible distance, and stopped frequently to peer out and look for footprints in soft sand to spot which animals had been by recently. Both guides were keen to help us find and see a huge variety of wildlife, including as many of the 'big 5' as possible but many other incredible sights. They were generous in sharing their incredible knowledge of the animals and birds and answering all our questions. They also made sure we were comfortable, offering blankets, rain ponchos and bottled water throughout the day. They were very good at picking up on what we were interested in and finding more of it to show us - my partner and I were interested in birds as well as animals and we saw so many species of birds we had never seen - an unexpected aspect to what we thought would be predominantly an animal safari. In our one full day and one half day we saw 3 of the big 5. We narrowly missed the elusive leopard (Bheki had spotted tracks from one and returned to that area several times, but no leopard appeared there until one was reported just as we were leaving the park), but we did see a cheetah instead. We also didn't see rhino - which given their vulnerability wasn't all that surprising, but we were able to catch up on rhino at the incredible service-station on the road back to Johannesburg. On our final day Bev and Brendan arranged a seamless handover of our luggage ready for our transfer back to the airport, and even arranged to print off our boarding passes for us (which was great as our phones were out of battery by the time we got back to the airport!!).
For the wildlife geeks reading this, we have a long list of what we saw -
Animals - impala, gnu/wildebeest, hippo, elephant (many), zebra (many), giraffes (many), kudu, hyena, nyala, buffalo, baboon, velvet monkey, lions (several), warthogs, crocodile, turtle, iguana, chameleon, steenbok, crocodile, cheetah
Birds - hooded vulture, woodland kingfisher, glossy starlings, egyptian goose, blacksmith lapwing, red-billed oxpecker, hammerkop, saddle-billed stork, african fish eagle, plover, grey heron, tawny eagle, white-headed vulture, african hoopoe, brown snake eagle, marabou stork, helmeted guinea fowl, swallow, bataleur eagle, grey lorrie, white-backed vulture, purple heron, yellow hornbill, red hornbill, white-fronted bee-eater, magpie shrike, lilac-breasted roller, brown hooded kingfisher, goshawk, ostrich
A special mention should also go to our hotel, Ashbourne Country Escapes. Rob and his staff treated us like royalty from the moment we arrived. Our room was wonderful (even though we didn't have as much time as we would have liked to lounge around and enjoy it). The sundowner bar is a magical spot and our dinner both nights was utterly delicious. We also set off both days with a delicious packed breakfast to eat while out on safari. Rob is a truly delightful host with lots of interesting tales to tell at the bar of an evening. It's a wonderful hotel - the service is discreet, attentive and meticulous and it is in a breathtakingly beautiful spot. Can't recommend it highly enough.
I was hoping that this trip would be a memorable, magical experience and it exceeded my expectations by some way. We felt safe, confident and well looked-after throughout the experience and were able to relax and concentrate on soaking up the sights and filling our heads with incredible images and memories. I think that is a tribute to the personal care and attention to detail by Bev, Brendon and the Elephant Herd team, and the superb guides Vuyo and Bhekife. We are enormously grateful to all of them for opening our eyes to such wonderful experiences. We hope to return someday. We definitely left wanting more!!
Email Pamela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime experience
My partner and I had a game drive with Bhekifa..where do I even begin...He said "today I'm going to find you a leopard" and he did spot one hanging on a tree from a distance, he was very educational, the best and patient game driver, he showed different types of birds, we also saw lions.. I don't know how to put in the right words but we had the best experience and it's all thanks to him...Bhekifa♡♡♡♡
Email Pat & Paul | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trevor was our driver/guide, courteous, knowledgeable and friendly
With an early morning start on a overcast morning which probably helped us in seeing a lot of game, we saw lions as we entered the park, and spotted leopard, feeding hyena, elephant, jackals and much more within an hour of our tour, our tour was basically all day 06h30 to 15h00. a very long day, luckily in the morning it was very overcast ,which probably also helped us spot game in abundance. I would probably have called it a day after the mid morning break as as it got hotter, animals became harder to spot and it was a bit tiring but as an experience in the Kruger it was excellent and would totally recommend Elephant Herd Tours & Safaris. The cream on the cake was seeing a Hippo out of water lumbering towards our vehicle and then entering the dam close to our viewing position.
MX
Email Federico | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best Safari operator anyone could ask for!!!
Elephant Herd was such an amazing operator, everything was great! The communication since i asked for a quote was fast and clear, also through the days we spent there (thanks Bev!). The guide that picked up us from te aiport and took care of us at arrival (Smiley) was friendly and helpful.
For the Safari we had the best guide, not kidding, THE BEST guide: Bekhifa! not only he was kind, friendly and funny he did everything he could to take us to find all the animals we wanted to see, including the big 5!! also rhinos, jiraffes, cheetas, hippos, zebras, etc. even birds, monkeys, owls... He could find any animal, he knew the park perfectly well and his vision through hthe landscape was incredible! The guy that drove us back to the airport also was great, don´t remember his name, we talked all the way back and made the ride comfortable.
Overall, i would rank them with a 100. Great service, value and reliability. I would recommend Elephant Herd everytime and would go back with them without a doubt! YOU MADE US HAVE A GREAT EXPERIENCE!
Email Fiona | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you for giving me a wonderful safari of Kruger game park This was a wonderful time Also my pri
I had a wonderful safari of Kruger and a private tour of the panaromour route Amazing scenery what a beautiful country South Africa is .The mountains the animals Sabi sands and the people Thank you for taking such good care of me You are all excellent the animal sightings in Kruger were really very special Thank you regards Fiona Clarke
US
Email Tamara | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life changing family vacation
Elephant herd was so conscientious to our needs from the first email till the last. Our guides were always listening to our needs for every decision. They were knowledgeable and friendly. The moments on safari we shared as a family were amazing. My kids still say it was their best vacation ever.
US
Email Alireza | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
On time, polite safe
The tours were safe, on time, and with lots of animal seeing 😀
