Asseri the founder with clients at Ngorongoro
Orongai Africa Safari
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $145 to $750 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
NL
Email This & Esther | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater
The safari tour was amazing and the service of Orongai was perfect. They picked us up from the airport and brought us back to our guesthouse in Arusha.
The tourguide (Witson) was very kind and skillfull. He knew a lot about the wildlife in the 3 parks we visited.
The selected lodges (Serena Hotels) have high standards of quality and service. The views of our rooms were amazing and the food was great after an intense day of gamedriving.
We highly recommend this tour operator and especially Witson as a guide! He was perfect for us :)
DE
Email Sabine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
fascinating and relaxing
East Africa - Those who have been there once will be fascinated. No image or video can reproduce the infinite expanse of Tanzania. You just have to experience it for yourself - the sun on your skin, the unique scent of the country, the fantastic flora and fauna and last but not least the hospitality of the people. Everywhere there is something new to discover and enjoy. The different national parks, from Serengeti to Arusha National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater as well as the tanzanian culture were definitely worth the long journey from Germany. If you want to escape the snow in December and enjoy the turn of the year in the sun like us, then Tanzania is the right place for you. We met Asseri as a reliable and friendly safari driver who liked to make a little fun and always smiled. In addition, Asseri is happy to respond to individual wishes when planning your trip. For example, there is the possibility to pet giraffes in a lodge and make dreams come true (like the one from my mother). Another conclusion of this trip: During the 2 weeks vacation I experienced only 5 minutes before the turn of the year people who were running around hectically, because everyone should have his sparkling wine. Every now and then I remember it back and I try not to rush through the city centre. Rather open the door 2 minutes later and enjoy the day with its little things. I think that's the way to enjoy life. That's why I think Africa still has a lot to teach us. If you want to embark on the adventure to get to know an enchanting world in which everything is a bit different than in Germany, you should make your way and book your holiday as soon as possible. Sabine Germany
DE
Email Kilian and Anne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience for a lifetime!
In December 2017 we were looking for a safari. Since we wanted to contact a company in Arusha directly - instead of hiring a travel agency in Germany - we wrote several emails and tried to find a company which meet our demands. This is really hard as there are soooo many! Once you are on safari you will see all the different logos on the spare tire. Everyday we saw a company we haven't seen before.
ORONGAI is a rather young company. It started their business in October 2017. When we contacted them in December 2017 there weren't many reviews online. Still, the few reviews available were really good.
Martha (email contact of ORONGAI) always answered immediately and tried to satisfy our wishes.
We told Martha all our plans, wishes and price range. After all we booked a safari for 7 days and 6 nights, beginning in February 2018, with a mixture of tented camp and lodges:
- night 1 & 2: Haven Nature Camp
- night 3: Seronera Wildlife Lodge
- night 4 & 5: Ndutu Safari Lodge
- night 6: Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge
On day one we visited Tarangire Nationalpark. On day two we saw Lake Manyara. Day three was a bit traveling all the way to the Centre of Serengeti (Seronera). Day 4 we did some game driving in the Centre of Serengeti and drove to the Ndutu Lake after lunch. We stayed there for day five and the morning of day six and did game driving in the southern part of Serengeti. After lunch on day six we drove to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We did game driving in the crater on our very last day, where we also finished the big five with a rhino.
We had a privat car with our guide. Therefore we were able to decide everything. The speed of traveling in the Nationalpark, wether to move on or stay at some place to do more game driving and observe big herds of elephants or sleeping lion.
This really was the PERFECT SAFARI for us! We had a combination of different parks and different campgrounds and lodges. We really enjoyed the campground because it was really quite, the food was great and we sat together with our amazing guide Isaac. In the lodges the guests and guides sit separately. Something we found strange...
We were super lucky with our Guide Isaac. Isaac is super friendly and funny. He laughs all the time, sings and really is full of energy. We enjoyed every day with him and are super grateful for his amazing job! Also, he is a really experienced driver and guide!
He knew that we wanted to keep up with the park rules and stay on the roads. While other tourists and guide rush all the way through the park and leave the tourist roads we wanted to respect the nature and animals. And for sure we did not regret this choice because we saw 43 lion, 4 leopards (one baby leopard), several Cheetahs and thousands of elephants, zebras, antelopes, giraffes...
The nature and parks are super different. While we saw sooo many elephants in Tarangire Nationalpark, we only saw five elephants in Lake Manyara. Therefore we didn't see any zebras in Tarangire but saw a lot of them in Manyara. Therefore I would not want to miss out on one of them! We would definitely recommend to visit all the parks as the wildlife and vegetation really depends on the weather which can change quickly. Before booking the safari we did some research as we wanted to watch the great migration which - at that time of the year - was supposed to be in Ndutu area. But as we were in that area we realized that there was much more wildlife in the Seronera area because it had rained there a couple of weeks before. Had we focused solely on the Ndutu area, we would probably have been disappointed.
We saw really special things like a leopard in action, a hunting lion etc. Without Isaac we never would have seen all of this. He always knew where he would need to go!
Thank you Isaac and ORONGAI for our amazing safari!
We will never forget this experience and will highly recommend ORONGAI to everyone we know who wants to do a safari in Tansania!
Important advise: take binoculars with you! ORONGAI has some but they aren't too good. We took our own with us and we super happy about that! Even our guide Isaac always searched for animals with our binoculars. Also, bring cash for the payment as there charge you extra if you want to pay with credit card!
Email Desmond | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The amazing tour guide defines the tour. Overall, great tour and nearly perfect.
My girlfriend and I went on a 4 day tour covering Lake Manyara, The Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti NP. Overall, the trip was amazing and the company left an extremely positive impression on me and my girlfriend, although it wasn't perfect. To get the negatives out of the way, there is room for improvement in areas of communication during the planning stages of the trip. When we arrived in Tanzania, we were informed of floodings in our booked accommodation in the past week, where we had to relocate and some pricing adjustments were made. Given that this was not previously communicated to us, we were caught off guard. Given that we were able to confirm the unusual severity of the floods this year in Tanzania from extra research and other local sources, we believe there was no malice involved but it was genuine miscommunication. I suggest that if you do book a tour with Orongai, it is very important that you regularly reach out to the tour company about itinerary changes and pricing. It should also be noted that even after the pricing adjustment, we found the price to be extremely competitive for the level of hospitality offered.
With that out of the way, the tour itself blew our minds. The guide, Charles, was extremely friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. He went out of his way to accommodate some special requests we had (we needed medical attention at some point due to a previous incident unrelated to the tour) and the connections he had with other guides meant that we were always able to spot the right animals at the right time. Although we only went for four days and it was during low season (May), we spotted all the big 5, including a whole tree of lions in the Serengeti and a rhino at a far distance (admittedly, we got very lucky in general as the weather was great for the season). He also had an impressive knowledge of local animals and gave the right amount of context to the beasts we were spotting. The level of accommodation and food offered were at and exceeded our level of expectations and definitely worth the price we were paying for. The company representative also met with us after the tour and was genuinely interested in our feedback regarding our experience, which we felt was a great touch. As with all tours, understandably, there were times when we were gently suggested to shop in some areas, but this was not done in an aggressive or forceful way.
In general, I am very glad to have Orgonai to be the guide to my first Safari and my third time to Africa. I would not hesitate to recommend them to my friends and family should they want to do a Safari in Tzn one day (with the emphasis on the communication part).
NL
Email Hans Marck | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great tour operator and great service during our trip.
Thanks to our excelent tour operator the safari was living up to our expectations. Even more than that because of the great tour guide Noel who guided us to the most beautifull places and scenes. Could tell us a lot about the wildlife. Our overnight stays in the different lodges where very well chosen. Great accomodations with great hospitality.
FI
Email Esteban Soto | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 amazing safari days camping in the bush
I really can't recommend Orongai Africa Safari enough. We booked a private safari for me and my wife leaving from Arusha and finishing at Lake Natron. We wanted to see Tarangire, Ngorongoro and stay 2 nights in the Serengeti NP. Not only Orongai with Martha (our main contact), their driver/guide Charles and chef Dvd met our expectations but totally surpassed them. We had an amazing experience, Charles was extremely professional, amazing driving skills and his knowledge of wildlife and the whole area was incredible. Dvd's food was also super delicious and you will hardly get something better than that if you want to taste real Tanzanian food. We had a tight budget so camping was our only option, the tents, sleeping bags and mattresses were very comfortable and we slept always well. Martha was always helpful and helped us arrange our safari with the requests we had for a very competitive price. We not only saw the big 5 but hundreds of animals including about 100 lions (not kidding!), we saw hunting and stampedes, crocodile and cheetas, a trip of a lifetime. Charles had great communication with all the surrounding guides and we were on the right spot all the time. We made great friends in Tanzania and as I said before, I can't recommend Orongai enough. Definitely book with them.
AR
Email Emily | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
Everything was wonderful. We had a really delightful time, highly recommended.
Email Cesar G | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari with Orongai!
Everything was perfect, Martha answered very quickly to all our questions before the Safari. Once there everyone very helpful and nice. Our guide Frank was one of the best points, he knows a lot about animals and bush in general, so it was great. When we come back we will repeat the experience with Orongai.
AT
Email Andreas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Orongai Africa Safari gave us an awesome experience
I booked our 5 day Safari via Internet with Orongai Africa Safari. From the first time I was corresponding with Martha I had a good feeling that I can trust the company. Everything with the payment worked. On the airport we were warmly welcomed. Then we had a meeting were she told us what will happen the next days. Our guide Frank was very very nice and friendly. We could ask him everything and he had to nearly all questions an answer. Frank has a very good knowledge from Serengeti. So we were lucky to see a lot of animals without other cars around. And we saw the big five!
From Orongai Africa Safari everything was organized very well and we have nothing to complain about! We can recommend this company to everyone who is interested in a Safari in Tansania.
NL
Email Kristi T | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent customer service and focused on my personal wish list!
I traveled with Orongai Africa Safari for 2 weeks in June/July 2018. They helped arrange everything on my wish list which included tours and diving in Zanzibar followed by safari on mainland, Tanzania. Martha is fast and thorough in her responses and always worked for my interests versus a set agenda/plan. Her warm personality sets the tone for the company and makes you feel like you are a friend and not just a customer. The logistics of the trip were all organized and at an excellent pace. The vehicles were reliable and perfect for the terrain and a special shout out to drivers Azizi (Zanzibar) and Noel (Mainland) who were friendly, professional and highly knowledgable! I learned so much about local culture and the animals. Accommodations were excellent throughout the entire trip. I could rave on about the trip and everything I was able to do and see! It was a trip of a lifetime and I thank Orongai Africa Safari for arranging all of it. It was everything I wanted and even more. They even surprised me with cake, champagne and beautiful flowers on my birthday! It is the thoughtful approach and personal touches that set Orongai Africa Safari above the rest! I highly recommend you contact Martha and her team at Orongai if you want to experience Africa your way! :)
