Galloping Safaris Staff with Director
Galloping Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Member Of:
- ASTA, TATO, TTB & EAWLS
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range & luxury)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $225 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email William | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A professional, well organized, thoughtful, and caring organization
Jul 2021 • Couples
If you’ve ever contemplated or “bucket-listed” a Safari in Tanzania, Galloping Safari’s is the choice guided excursion. Walter Tenga, director of operations, put together a all inclusive luxury tour of 4 national parks on a nine day stay. The three of us were greeted upon landing by Walter then escorted to a nearby luxury accommodation for our first night stay in Arusha. The following morning Walter introduced us to Lawrence, our private guide for the next nine days. Lawrence, a fifteen year guide veteran with a big smile and jovial humor made this Safari a personal and intimate experience that has left us so grateful and honored to call him a friend. An expert and naturalist on the flora and fauna of the regions we visited, his wealth of knowledge was unsurpassed in spotting, identifying, and placing us in the best position to photograph. I’m still editing and marveling at the 2,000 plus pictures captured!
We visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro crater and Serengeti national parks. Walter also added some cultural stops into the itinerary, a visit to a Maasai village and a stop at a working museum/art gallery. All so added was the highlight of our Safari, a hot air Balloon ride across the Serengeti to see the migratory Wildebeast from above!
Our accommodations thru-out were world class. Each night we were graciously catered to at each of the Sanctuary, Lemala and Four Seasons resorts on route.
Walter and Lawrence nurtured us throughout the Safari even as I told ill, (from a medicine reaction a was prescribed. That’s another story).
Walter’s planning and guidances eased us through in-field COVID testing to arranging our bush flight from the Serengeti back to Kilimanjaro.
I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and the expert planning and guidance of both Walter and Lawrence. We are daily recounting the stories and pictures to friends and loved ones.
WOW!!!
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Email Sarah J | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honeymoon Trip of a Lifetime
Walter and Lawrence crafted a perfect itinerary hitting all of Tanzania’s highlights while staying in luxurious accommodations. Our game drives were highly productive seeing all the Big 5, even hard to spot leopards and rhinos due to their keen eye. The Serengeti and the Crater are truly what dreams are made of. Witnessing the Great Migration, sleeping among lions and buffalo and getting a few feet away from lions will leave us with memories to last a lifetime. These packages are not cheap but the caliber of the experience more than outweighed the expense. We are happy to count Walter and Lawrence as friends for life.
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Email Barbara | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely well organized, knowledgeable and careful
The most difficult part of this tour was getting a COVID test BEFORE we got to Tanzania. On the safari, it was a breeze! Walter set up the testing appointments at the airstrip and handed us our hard copy results before we got on the return flight. It couldn’t have been easier. NOW is the time to go! There are hardly any tourists and we saw loads of animals close up and personal, even the elusive cheetahs and leopards. Many lions; many baby animals. Take the balloon ride for extra $$$- it is worth it, and the company even let my brother make up a day he missed due to illness. Our tour guide, Lawrence, has eagle eyes and incredible knowledge of the habits of animals and birds. I felt entirely safe in his hands; he is an excellent driver on rutted roads. Be sure to look for birds- remarkable plumage and colors! The accommodations were top notch with great to excellent food, including gluten free. I have an odd personalized anti- inflammatory diet and never went hungry. The lodges are sublimely soothing- we took a few afternoons just to hang around watching the herds pass by. I even did yoga with an elephant. How about a personalized swimming pool on your porch? No kidding! At Kuria Hills Lodge! We did the luxury tour and it was worth it. These memories will sustain you for years. Go and rejoice in Nature’s wonders!
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Email Deepak Mehta | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good Name And A Great Game. Outstanding
Walter and his crew ( in our case Emanuel and Lawrence) are truly and gem. We started out months before the scheduled trip as customer and vendor and by the time we left Africa, we were friends and family. We tend to be somewhat demanding travelers and Walter was superb in meeting our needs. Our trip was meticulously planned months in advance with charter flights and 5 start luxury accommodations in N. Serengeti, Tarangiri and Zanzibar. With the exception of one preferred type of accommodating, Walter delivered all. Unfortunately one accommodation was booked and the replacement suggested was top notch. No regrets at all. Walter is a very simple and straightforward owner who communicated well and answered every question we had. He met as upon arrival in Nairobi and flew with us to Tanzania to ensure all was set-up as we desired. We had two vehicles due to the size of our party with two excellent guides, Emanuel and Lawrence. Vehicles were well maintained and very comfortable with charging ports and refrigerators on-board. Both guides were very courteous and knowledgeable of the jungle. Our kids loved them and they enjoyed our kids and us. We stayed at three separate accommodations in Tarangiri, N. Serengeti and Zanzibar. All three were 5 star and with beautiful camps, lodges and villas. All three places had chefs that cooked to our delight and service was top notch. Walter, Emanuel and Lawrence made our 9 night trip special and memorable. I would strongly suggest working with them to create and tailor your itinerary. They will deliver every-time. Reliable, honest and trustworthy with a personal touch. Priceless!!!
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Email Genese and Joseph | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extraordinary 13 Day Luxury Safari
We have just returned home from our 13-day luxury Safari adventure that included Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, and Selous. We are both having a little trouble adjusting to all the loud noises, crowds of people, and that lost connection to the presence of wildlife about us. In short, we had a life changing experience that neither photos nor mere words can convey. However, we can tell you what made the experience and adventure possible was all the careful planning and attention to detail that Galloping Safaris provided. We cannot praise Walter Tenga enough for all that he did for us. As promised, Walter was waiting to personally pick us up when our 5am flight arrived and took us to enjoy a wonderful breakfast. Afterwards he reviewed our itinerary with us making sure that all our needs were met.
We booked this trip eight months in advance for my 50th birthday and our anniversary. As I was somewhat nervous, I sent many emails to Walter, with questions, to which he always promptly and patiently replied with explanations and assurances. Four weeks after booking our air travel with Turkish Air and placing a down payment with Galloping Safaris, we were notified that our outbound flight had been cancelled and that we would have to book a different flight. Through emails exchanged with Walter he offered us alternate solutions so that the rebooking could still be managed within the budget of our Safari. Then in March, after paying for the balance of our trip, we read that Azure Selous, one of the camps on our itinerary had closed because of forest clearing in preparation of construction of a dam. After I frantically sent off an email to Walter, we learned that he had already been finalizing a rebooking at another equally amazing camp. I think in the process of trading emails, Walter came to understand my preferences, and made one last upgrade substituting the &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater lodge for the previous Highlands Camp. That change thrilled me beyond words and our stay there was amazing but more so, Walter had apparently arranged a surprise celebration for our anniversary and my birthday as the staff from &Beyond not only set us a special dinner table but also performed a traditional dance and song for us complete with rose petals thrown over us.
And then, there was our amazing guide - Lawrence. We liked him from the moment we met him. His laugh is infectious, his knowledge of the flora and fauna in-depth, and only surpassed by his keen eyesight at spotting animals. We spent many a happy day on game drives with Lawrence and he somehow always managed to locate various animals and position us for not only wonderful photo shoots but also to enjoy intimate moments with the animals where we could observe their special behavior. Like Walter, we cannot praise Lawrence enough. He was the most gracious guide, and wonderful person, always making us feel very special, and sharing insights into the Tanzanian people. It was tough saying goodbye to him when we flew off to Selous.
We had told Walter that we were looking for memorable experience. With Walter’s planning, Lawrence as a guide, and all the wonderful, friendly, and accommodating staff at all the camps and lodges we stayed, we felt very special and genuinely welcome, and had a trip that was every bit as we had hoped for and even beyond.
There are literally hundreds of tour operators offering all types of packages, consider yourself fortunate if you have discovered Galloping Safaris; book with them if you are looking for your trip of a lifetime.
Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions.
GR
Email Maria Apostolos | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A truly Honest Review about Galloping Safaris
Well, overall we had a very nice and memorable experience with Galloping Safaris.
We highly recommend this tour operator for any safari trip in Tanzania, especially to couples who are looking for a private luxury trip.
If you are seriously thinking of booking your trip with Galloping Safaris, we suggest you to read this long but very honest and detailed review.
It was our first time in Tanzania and our first safari trip.
Doing it as part of our Honeymoon trip, we wanted a private safari for the two of us with a private guide/driver and we wanted to stay at the most luxurious lodges of Ngorongoro Conservation area, Serengeti, Lake Ndutu, Lake Manyara, Arusha and Kilimanjaro.
We started doing some research on the available Tanzanian Safari tour operators back in October 2018. We discussed over whatsapp chatting and video calls and dozens of emails with at least 6 operators. We needed to be sure as it is a common secret that there are many unprofessional companies that would cheat you in every possible way.
We ended up to Galloping Safaris and to Walter personally as he sounded very certain about what he was promising us. He was very responsive and he did his best to secure for us everything we asked for within the budget we had available.
There are also other operators appearing as experts in luxury private safari tours. But guess what...They are far (even 3 times) more expensive that Galloping Safaris without any extra service of what you will get from Galloping Safaris.
With Galloping Safaris we secured the best deal we could as we manage to spend the amount we had initially in mind while we stayed at the most high-end lodges of the area like. To mention some of them:
&Beyond Lake Manyara Tree Lodge
The Highlands Asilia Ngorongoro
Lake Ndutu Luxury Lodge
Kubu Kubu Luxury Lodge
Walter is a very promising professional, he is a hard-selling guy that will earn your trust. He is very well connected to all the Hotels and Lodges Managers. He will try to satisfy all your requests and needs.
Most of the times, he will succeed to do so.
Walter kept for us the best Safari driver, Joshua, a 37-year old guy with a 17 year experience on game-drive in Tanzania. Very adventurous, excellent english speaker, very knowledgeable about everything regarding the area, seasonal trends, animals, plantation, people and tribes, safari secrets. We visited the Maasai village where we had an amazing experience there. We had a very good time with Joshua as we were discussing with him throughout our trip spending with him at least 6 hours per day. He was very fun but also very careful and cautious at the same time. He was an amazing driver with an outstanding instinct about where we should be driven in order to see lions, cheetahs, hippos, wildebeest, elephants, zebras, giraffes etc.
We spent with Joshua the first 4 days of our main safari trip in Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Ndutu.
Over the last 2 days, visiting Lake Manyara, Arusha and Kilimanjaro for hiking, we had another guide/driver named Kennedy. He was very kind and helpful and fun but he didn't have the excitement and the instinct of Joshua nor he was such a good driver.
One negative comment is that although we have asked for 2 pairs of binoculars to find inside the Safari 4x4 truck and we received a written confirmation about it, there was only one pair and in a very bad condition. So, when we came across to animals that were far away we could not enjoy them not even with binoculars.
Apart from the Safari trip, we planned to spend 5 days to Zanzibar prior to safari. We asked Walter from Galloping safaris to make a research on 5-star beachfront resorts. The truth is that by the time (beginning of November 2018) we started looking for hotel in Zanzibar, the best resorts seemed to be already fully booked for the period of New Year's eve.
Our options were extremely limited. Walter managed to reserve a room at Neptune Pwani Beach Resort and spa which was a 5-star resort. We asked for a Sea front Ocean View Room and we received a written confirmation from Galloping Safaris about it.
However, when we arrived at the hotel, the front desk personnel had no idea about the room we had booked and pre-paid the 35% amount of it via deposit.
Unfortunately, the room was terrible and it did not correspond to a 5-star accommodation. We wouldn't rate it not even as a 3-star.
No adequate light blocking when the curtains were closed as the fabric was not blackout. We could not stay in bed and sleep after 7 am. We managed to stick some black plastic bags on the windows but again the problem was still there as there were other windows high enough that we could not close.
Another aspect of the poor accommodation and room amenities was the bathroom and toilet. In fact it was open space with the remaining room and the bedroom as there wasn't any wall or door to close only some wooden grilles with open gaps in between the wooden components. As a result, it was impossible to have any privacy inside the bathroom or the toilet. Not convenient at all for newly married couples...
The breakfast and the food in general in every single restaurant of the hotel was simply terrible, extremely salty and not what you would expect from a 5-star resort. We had paid for an all-inclusive package for alcoholic. However, they charged us for the wine we had over dinner.
The personnel was over all uneducated, not speaking english. Some of them were rude but there were also a couple of exceptions.
In general, our accommodation experience in Zanzibar was terrible and although this was not a Galloping Safaris' fault, we would expect that they would have protected us from experiencing such a terrible stay especially during our honeymoon and new year's eve period.
The positive aspect of Zanzibar was our butler/private guide there named Mussa Hassan from "Zanziplanet Tours & Travel". Mussa is a Galloping Safaris' external colleague who is taking care of the customers visiting Zanzibar. He is an amazing guy in every single aspect. He is very well respected in Zanzibar, very well connected to Hotel and high-end restaurant managers, very adaptable to customer's needs and last minute changes.
We believe that if Galloping Safaris had introduced us to Mussa Hassan and Zanziplanet Tours and Travel early enough, at the time we were searching for our accommodation in Zanzibar, we wouldn't have ended up to Neptune Pwani Resort and Spa as we are sure that Mussa, who lives and operates to Zanzibar, would have found a better solution for us.
CH
Email Elisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
The lodges and tent camps were just perfect. Nothing could be better.
Jerry, our guide, is such a nice person. He turned this trip into an amazing experience. We will for sure come back to Tanzania to live this adventure again. We will also recommend this company tour to everyone.
KR
Email Eunjung | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
unforgettable experience!
I have done the game safari in Serengeti couple years ago with my friends. But this time I went with my mom and it was her first time. Our game drive was for 3 nights and was with a private guide Laurence, and the experience was completely different than the last time not only because of the luxurious hotels we stayed in (like four seasons) but also because of the amount of various animals I was able to spot. Laurence was extremely knowledgeable, very nice, and made sure we experienced the best of the best for those days. I saw more animals in one day than altogether last time, including cheetah and leopards. One time we saw more than 10 lions together in a group, once mating, once with their cubs, and altogether I think we saw lions almost 20 times during the trip. I took some videos almost like national geographic films too! We were also fortunate to do balloon safaris and catch the migration of wildebeests and zebras. It was endless scenery of them from the balloon, was able to see all their trails, also spotted a lion from the top. I think we had the best weather and timing to do the balloon safaris, it was certainly worth it.
Upon returning, my mom is already wanting to go back second time and recommending her experience to all of her other friends. Thank you all!
Email Gordon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fantastic trip, really special experience
We are just back from an 11 day safari in Tanzania that we booked through Galloping safaris. Essentially this was a trip through 5 national parks staring in Arusha and ending with Ndutu plains and the central Serengeti, with a personal guide. We had high hopes for the trip and it more than exceeded them. I think we saw virtually every type of animal and bird we could see. That included plentiful sightings of cheetah and leopard which were highest on our list. We have been on safari in 4 other countries but the abundance of animals in Tanzania made it our favourite. Seeing the wildebeest come together in Ndutu for calving before the migration starts was something that takes the breath away and hard to fully take in even if you have seen it on TV beforehand.
We can’t thank Laurence, our guide for the trip, enough. He not only managed to find so many different animals for us but he made a real effort to understand what we wanted from the trip and helped us enjoy the whole experience. Not an easy thing to do if you are looking after a group for 11 days. You’ll be very lucky if you are paired up with Laurence as a guide.
Galloping safaris and specifically Walter made the process of deciding what itinerary we wanted to undertake, plus the selection of accommodation, very easy. We stayed in excellent camps which more than matched our expectations. Walter was very responsive to our questions and very flexible as we aimed to personalise the trip we were organising. The trip itself was flawless, everything happened exactly as planned.
I was initially wary of going direct to a Tanzanian safari company but I am now so glad we did. Firstly the cost was at least 40% lower than using an intermediary and the direct engagement with Walter who had local experience was a real plus. I wouldn’t hesitate to do this again and likewise would absolutely recommend Galloping safaris to anyone thinking of doing a similar trip.
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Email Rafi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An outstanding operator
I had the pleasure of a 5 day safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater with Galloping Safaris. While I usually do not write reviews, the extraordinary experience with this company has prompted me to do so.
The reality is that most of the safari operators are similar-we go to the same places, see the same animals, sleep in the same hotels and eat the same food. It is when things go wrong that a mark of a true quality operator can be seen.On my last day, we were supposed to drive from Ngorongoro to Kilimanjaro Airport for my flight home later the same day. On our way we were stopped at a roadblock to find out that the previous night the rains have washed away the only bridge linking the two places. This left about 50-100 safari vehicles stranded on the wrong side of the river with so way to cross.
My driver contacted Mr Tenga, who is the manager of Galloping Safaris, over the phone, and within an hour he had arranged, at his own cost, to book me a seat on one of those tiny planes that fly from a small airport at Lake Manyara to Arusha and thus cross the river by air.At the airport, as I had expected, there were already about 50 people scrambling for a flight out, yet those planes only seat about 10 people. This included customers of some well known very expensive safari outfitters. Yet, the plane lands, the pilot approaches the terminal with a passenger manifest, and the first words out of his mouth is "Galloping Safaris". I was the first person on that plane and safely made it on time for my flight out at Kilimanjaro Airport. Frankly, I was amazed.
This experience, where Mr Tenga went truly above and beyond when everything was falling to pieces, in my books earns this safari operator the highest possible recommendation.
My driver/guide Laurence was also terrific-friendly, outgoing, very good at animal spotting. He ensured that I got to see every animal that I wanted to on this trip and it was a pleasure t spend those 5 days with him.