Your consultant Ute, y'r eyes & ears on the ground
Roho Ya Chui
- Offices In:
-
Netherlands
Germany
Austria
United States
Australia - Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2007)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, APTA & SATSA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $500 to $900 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
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Safari
A few years ago we went on safari, but were very disappointed, because we didn't really see anything. When we intended to plan another safari, friends told us about Ute and Roho Ya Chui. They had been very happy with their safari so we gave it a try. Ute listened very well to what we want to do and see and out came a truly amazing safari. Everything was fantastic, accommodation, routing, the animals we saw and the service provided by Ute and the lodges. It was wonderful and we want to go again! Back home we heard from others, that they didn't have the trip we had and their financials were excessive!!
Our Best Vacation Ever
When we started planning our safari in South Africa we really had no idea where to begin. We found Roho Ya Chui through browsing on the internet. This greatly facilitated the planning of our trip. Everything was clearly explained and the many questions we had were answered quickly and accurately. As everything was very well arranged, our trip went smoothly and completely stress-free. We stayed at the Ngala and Kirkman's Camp lodges and loved every minute. The customer service and friendliness was of a level we had never seen during our travels. The game drives were some of the best experiences of our lives. This was also one of the few vacations when we were really looking forward to getting up at 5 am every day to join the game drive. We had a truly fantastic time and have already started thinking about planning our next safari. We can fully recommend Roho Ya Chui for helping you to plan your safari and recommend staying at the Ngala and Kirkman's Camp lodges. Suzie & Axel, April 2015.
DE
Email Christine & Lothar | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It was all outstanding!!!!!
Excellent organisation, very well chosen lodges, fantastic locations, incredible landscapes, lovely staff, assisting for all our wishes, very helpful, a varied safari with lots of love, empathy and knowledge of the wildlife, time to watch the animals at the sightings, simply ingenious and created the desire to repeat the adventure!!!!
US
Email Dave | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ute is a pleasure to work with!!!
We recently returned from our second safari booked through Ute. As with our first trip in 2018 to South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, Ute provided a wealth of information and wonderful recommendations for our trip to Kenya and Tanzania. Ute was always prompt and courteous when replying to our numerous emails. We would not hesitate to use Ute again!
US
Email A&C | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
FANTASTIC JOURNEY thanks to Ute Sonnenberg's knowledge, expertise, hard work and time
Highly recommend Royo Ya Chui and Ute Sonnenberg. Ms. Sonnenberg will put together a first class trip within your price range.
We had been working on this trip for over five months and were about to give it up (because we had already communicated with four travel operators who just didn't listen to what we were interested in seeing and doing while in Africa) when Ute was referred to us. We worked with Ute approximately six months putting the trip together, and she read all our emails carefully and listened to all our requests, ideas, and questions. She gave extremely helpful suggestions and recommendations, and delivered far above what our expectations were.
Ute always responded to emails quickly, and even followed us during our trip to make sure everything was alright - we never waited more than fifteen minutes for a response to any text while traveling and using whats app.
Ute introduced us to the Trip Plan app, which we referred to several times during our month in Africa because it had the entire itinerary with all the necessary information, and one doesn’t need internet to use it.
All the accommodations Ute suggested were excellent (Kirkman Kamp, Qorokwe Camp, Pelo Camp, Chobe Game Lodge and Victoria Falls Hotel and the Rovos Train). We did a total of 20 land, water and walking safaris during our trip, which gave great diversity, and the diversity was a great recommendation from Ute. All, but two, of the safaris were fantastic with excellent guides. We were disappointed with the guide at Chobe Game Lodge and Ute immediately texted us and offered to get us a new guide when she found out.
We booked all our flights both international and within Africa, using Ute’s suggestions assisting us with times and airlines, which made it so much easier working with the airlines.
Overall it was an incredible trip, and we felt for an incredible price. We are most grateful to Ute for all of her time, patience, knowledge, suggestions, assistance and expertise with the entire trip. Highly recommend Ute Sonnenberg and her company Roho Ya Chui.
US
Email Michelle | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ute was very professional, thorough, patient, and prompt to respond to all my questions/input.
Communication was excellent and Ute was very prompt to respond to all my questions/queries. She was also prompt to respond once we arrived in Africa. Pre-trip information packet was extremely thorough and included all aspects of our safari. The trip exceeded all expectations. The accommodations were lovely and our game viewing experiences were excellent. We were completely taken care of and directed every step of the way upon arriving in Nairobi, as well as upon returning to Nairobi for our departure home. Overall, an excellent experience. For those of you interested in more specifics regarding camps, our safari was throughout Kenya. Elsa's Kopje in Meru was excellent. Beautiful with excellent game drives. Managers George and Theresa were wonderful and our guide George was excellent! Sasaab in Samburu was beautiful and we had an excellent guide, Steve Tilas, there a well. However, we felt the manager Nikkie was very pretentious and intentionally made us feel very uneasy and uncomfortable. Bateleur in Masa Mara was nothing short of AMAZING!!! Dennis was an incredible guide as well! Little Joe our butler was excellent. Attention to detail and accommodations were superb! Management was excellent. Sand River in Masa Mara also provided an excellent game viewing experience and Javan was an excellent guide as well. Chris and Debbie, managers, were genuine and caring. However, the outdoor dining area was definitely lacking in terms of the view as well as pesky birds pooping all over the umbrella tables. Also, the pool (as seen on the website) is not yet completed. And, although the outdoor shower is lovely, there is not an indoor shower in the tent. Which could have been an issue if the temperature was any colder. And lastly, Tortilas in Amboseli was beautiful, however, it definitely was lacking in the game viewing arena. The managers, Graham and Candy were lovely and pleasant. However, as compared to all the other places we stayed at, the game drives were very short. So much so, that we even questioned why were back so early. We also seemed to stay fairly close to the camp as compared to all other places. I hope this is helpful to those seeking more detailed information.
FR
Email Iwao | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Once again, an unforgettable safari holiday !
We have been going for safari holidays every summer since 3 years ago, and have chosen Roho Ya Chui every time. From our first experience, Ute has been so kindly helpful, catering to our taste and responding immediately to all questions. Our destination this time was Zambia (after experiencing South Africa and Botswana in the past), and we had a little more special requests as to the itinerary and the lodges. Ute rapidly provided us with very good alternatives and options, and we are so thankful to her as our trip in South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi turned out to be another unrivaled experience of our life.
Those (including myself) who love the nature and animals never get bored of being in the African wilderness even without spectacular sightings…but our trip this time gave us the memorable chances of seeing a leopard hunting, wild dogs hunting, porcupines, honey badgers, as well as a colony of beautiful southern carmine bee-eaters, not to mention all other big popular animals (except the cheetahs which are unfortunately non-existent). The boat and walking safaris in the serene Lower Zambezi not only made us discover a new world of African nature but also was in itself very exciting with lots of animal/bird events.
Safari trips are not inexpensive but as always we felt that the actual experience was totally worth the costs. Even after coming back from the trip, Ute cares how our trips went along and is attentive to our feedback. Sharing the experience and giving her the feedback is indeed a part of our safari pleasure.
US
Email Michel P | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best vacation ever
We were late in booking our safari. As I travel several times a year to Africa, mostly with one month - or less - notice, it didn't occur to me that many (most?) people plan their safari months in advance.
After some back and forth with Ute Sonnenberg - and being on a "waiting list" - we spent six days/nights on safari in and around Kruger National Park in South Africa. Communication/updates were frequent and efficient and as indicated above, my wife and I who have traveled the world agree that this was the best trip ever. It was not our first safari, but it seemed that everything was hand picked and that we were the center of attention.
The highlight were the wild dogs and the leopards. But then there was the 18 member lion pride... and soo much more
US
Email Jim Flynn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The experience we had was much better than anything I expected.
My daughter was living and working in South Africa. When I suddenly found an opening in my schedule I contacted Ute at Roho Ya Chui and asked if she could put together a Safari for my daughter and me. My only parameter was that it would be memorable. We ended up spending three days as the Phinda Reserve at the Phinda Rock Lodge and three days in Sabi Sands at Kirkman's Lodge. The entire trip was amazing.
In working with Ute I found a true professional who really cared about the quality of our stay. She took care of everything from the time of arrival in South Africa to my transfer back to Johannesburg. She was fully accessible and immediately responded to all my questions. I cannot find words to fully describe this wonderful adventure.
One of the best holidays we've ever had! 5 stars!
We had an amazing holiday! AndBeyond safari lodges were fantastic. We were blown away by the high standards and superior service. Everyone remembered our names, and all staff were wonderfully friendly. Nothing was too much trouble. The accommodation in Exeter River Lodge was a real highlight. A truly stunning suite, and although it was a bit too cold to use the private plunge pool (we missed the 40C day and had 25C weather for much of our stay), we did enjoy sitting outside watching the Nyala, warthog, monkeys and lions wander by. This is absolutely the place to go if you're on honeymoon or want a romantic getaway.
The AndBeyond game rangers and trackers were excellent - both at Exeter River and particularly at Ngala, where I'm sure because of our tracker (Fanny) we seemed to see more wildlife than anyone else! Rhino, lion, several leopard (incl. cubs), buffalo, dwarf mongoose, cheetah, wildebeest, African wild dogs and pups, hyena and pups (they were surprisingly cute!), elephant (incl. lots of babies), yellow-billed hornbills and lots more.
Additionally the food was an unexpected highlight of our stay in the AndBeyond lodges. Every day we were impressed at the spread and quality of the food. We asked for many of the recipes and ended up buying their recipe book. Really, it was divine! If there was any criticism it would simply be that there was too much food and it was too irresistible - we came back weighing 1-2 kg heavier than before we left :-)
The staff were incredibly helpful and welcomed us warmly and professionally with airport transfers from the remote airport (where part of the Ngala rangers role was to chase any animals off the airstrip!). The short flights (10mins) between lodges were definitely the way to go (saved a 2-3 hour drive through uneven terrain). We really didn't want to leave when our guide and tracker returned us to the little bush airport (well, runway) for the final time.
We then had 3 days at Royal Chundu in Zambia to see Victoria Falls. Royal Chundu River Lodge was amazing! It was a bit of a treck to get there - an hour's drive from Livingstone, mostly along an unfinished and very bumpy road. By the time we arrived we were feeling slightly motion sick and starting to wonder whether it would all be worth the long drive there. But it absolutely was! When we stepped out of the car and into the resort it was the most serene and peaceful place, instantly dissolving any doubts we may have had. There was an infinity pool overlooking the Zambezi, the restaurant tables also overlooked the Zambezi. There was a welcome drink waiting for us and a beauty therapist ready to give us a shoulder massage whilst we completed the paperwork. The chef at the Royal Chundu was amazing - he trained under a 2 Michelin star chef and I have to say the evening food was divine - both in presentation, innovation and taste. And the room was amazing! Both Royal Chundu and Exeter River were stunning places to stay - probably the nicest places we have ever stayed at before.
The only slight disappointment with the Zambia trip was that the Vic Falls were very dry when we went (mid-late October), as the rains hadn't started yet. So it was a little like looking at a regular waterfall. So the views from the helicopter ride were not the stunning gush that we had hoped for, and there was no roar of water from the falls. But being in low season did mean we got to swim in Devils Pool - right on the edge of the falls, which was very very good! Apparently you can't do that in high season as I guess there is too much risk.
This trip has honestly been one of the best holidays we've ever been on, which is saying a lot as we are both well travelled. We can't recommend enough the lodges we stayed at: Exeter River Lodge, Ngala Lodge and (in Zambia) Royal Chundu (River Lodge). We also thoroughly recommend Ute Sonnenberg of Roho Ya Chui for organising this amazing holiday. She was enormously helpful and even added a wonderful personal touch of collecting us at the airport when we returned from the safari. She truly helped to make this trip so great.