Christine Sales Office
Wildlife Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 1971)
- Member Of:
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $211 to $236 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Jill and Michael Scholtens | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Completely organized; knowledgeable guide and animals, animals, animals!
This was a long-delayed adventure from the 2020 COVID days. Over those years, Christine and the staff of WS kept things together and continued to reassure us that our dream would eventually be realized. We had planned the Kruger 5-day Panorama Tour and through the years that continued as our sole focus.
In 2023, the bush camps and resorts perhaps changed a bit but the essence of the trip remained intact. Our guide picked us up as scheduled in our Joberg hotel and immediately immersed us in his knowledge of everything we were seeing along the way to the Sabia River Bush Lodge immediately adjacent to Kruger Park. As a matter of fact the Kruger fence line runs along the back of the property so there can be any number of changing collections of wildlife on the other side of the fence. How delightful it was to spend late afternoons and early mornings with the Hippos currently in residence - 3 adults and 3 children!
Our other two Bush Camp/Resort experiences differed but were equally enjoyable. Throughout, our guide gave us insights and willing/knowledgeable responses to our many uninformed questions. We had no idea that the Park is teeming with wildlife of all sorts or how varied the geology and vegetation is. The only constant in a Kruger multi-day visit is the changing panoramas and wildlife combinations.
In the end we saw thousands of animals and must admit that the highlight was the sunset drive from the Satara Rest Camp. We spotted a pride of 8 lionesses directly beside the road and 5 males in various stages of sleep/rest along the way. And we surprised a young elephant in a family at rest beside the road which immediately put the senior female into an aggressive state along with a very audible warning to bug off! Exciting and humbling!
We'll never forget these and other memories of our time with our guide and Wildlife Safaris in Eastern South Africa!
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Email Margaret & Kevin | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organized
Our first safari and it was amazing, saw lots of wildlife. I found the skukuza camp accommodation a bit tired. The sabie river camp was lovely .
The guides were very informative and knowledgeable. The tour vehicles were not huge and not crowded do that made the safari a bit more enjoyable.
Going in the South African winter is great as there is not a lot of foliage so this makes spotting animals easier and it was not that busy. I felt the value of the safari was great for what was included. I would highly recommend them
Email Siobhan King | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely Amazing!!
We had such a great experience on our safari tour. We did the 5 day tour including the panorama route. We went end of May-June. We stayed in 3 different lodges, and spent most days in Kruger national park but we stayed in one private gaming reserve for an evening and morning drive. Each place offered different things, Kruger was a closed vehicle and often busy but our guide was great at finding spots and allowing time to absorb and also spot the animals. We ended up seeing 4/5 big fives on our first day in Kruger national park. The private game reserve was amazing in its own way and you got to experience off roading to experience more “wildlife”. Here we went through a herd of elephants and saw lions drinking from a water hole. Weather was nice, a bit cold in the morning and evenings drives, but all the lodges provided blankets so it’s not an issue. Our guide, Simon was absolute amazing. He stayed with us pretty much the entire time and made our trip a once and a lifetime experience. He was very knowledgable and was also asking for anything specific we wanted to see, but often we took his guidance. The organisation of this tour was very easy and it was highly customisable depending on extras you wanted to add. I would highly recommend this company, SIMON as your guide and this experience as a most do when doing your safari experience.
Email Karen Thomas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly,Efficient and delivered exactly what they promised
We highly recommend Wildlife Safari's if you are planning your safari trip. They are extremely helpful and efficient and provided all the information we required from planning our trip right up to arrival in South Africa and linking us up with our guide. The service throughout our 4 day Kruger Park and private lodge was excellent. It was certainly great value and our guide was reliable and his knowledge of the bush and South Africa made our trip. Our guide was Nik, he collected us on day 1 from our hotel, at this point I would recommend that after you arrive in South Africa you leave 24 hours before you commence your safari. We found this gave us time to recover from the flight and relax, as the schedule is quite intense and you are up early and have 4 full days ahead. Then wow what an experience we had, right from our drive to our first nights accommodation. We had no expectations and I think that is the best way to be as the bush is full of wonderful delights and if you are patient will share its amazing wildlife, birds, scenery and stunning sun rises and sun downs. We saw so many animals and fulfilled the Big 5 easily several times. Nik was an excellent guide and we would highly recommend him, he made our 4 days informative, exhilarating and was great company. He gave us the best experience and we thoroughly enjoyed his company. All the 3 nights accommodation was adequate and comfortable, where your days are so full after a shower and dinner your bed was welcoming. The Private Lodge with its stunning back garden view of the bush was breath taking along with its welcoming and extremely friendly team, we will certainly return. Overall great value for money and we can not wait to return.
Email Liam | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dream come true
This trip was a dream come true! Wildlife Safaris did an amazing job from start to finish, and our guide Simon was a huge reason why the trip was so successful. From the first day, he made us feel welcome and was a joy to be around. He taught us so much, not only just about the animals and nature, but about the history of South Africa and how it shaped how/why things are done today. He is brilliant at spotting animals on game drives and helped us get better at it too. He always made sure that we were having the best experience.
The accommodations we stayed at were Sabie River Bush Lodge, Mohlabetsi and Hippo Hollow. All of them were great in their own way and I would stay in them all again. The food at each was also very good, beds were comfortable and showers were good (these are important to me). Pickup and drop off from Johannesburg was simple. The airport hotel they recommended (Premier Hotel OR Tambo) was also an excellent hotel to use.
We felt that the value for money was outstanding. For a 5-day tour, everything met or exceeded our expectations. Communications in the lead up was slightly slow, however when we followed up they responded quickly.
I cannot recommend Wildlife Safari’s enough, especially Simon. This is an experience everyone needs to have once in their lives.
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Email Betsey | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A life changing experience with Wildlife Safaris
Our safari was amazing! Our guide, Hoppy, was SO knowledgeable about everything in Kruger — getting us to the right spots at the right time to see incredible animals. On the first day we were able to see 4 of the big 5 and found the 5th on the third day! We felt protected, secure, and well-looked after the whole time. The places we stayed were in beautiful spots with simple but comfortable and clean accommodations and friendly staff. Everything ran SO smoothly that we were able to just enjoy our trip without having to worry about anything. I would definitely use Wildlife Safaris again.
FR
Email Leslie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A very good experience with Wildlife Safaris
We had a wonderful safari. We appreciated very much the quality of the communication, very accurate and reactive. We had a great time with our guide Hoppy. We enjoyed the Sabi River Lodge, the localisation in front of the river, the rooms and most of all the quality of the “home made” meals.
CA
Email Sheryl | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nick is an excellent guide; knowledgeable about animals, great driver, considerate, on time.
Safaris were spectacular! Trip was excellently planned and executed on time. So many interesting facts were shared, after finding so many interesting animals. Nick is an Amazing guide- full of facts and looked after us well! I liked the mix of car with Nick because it was tailored to us. Also liked going on the high Range Rover tours. The first place we stayed , Sabie River Bush lodge was ideal for comfort and seeing the funny hippos! Sun sets were fun. Pool was very refreshing. Meals were pretty good to excellent. Skukuza accommodation was simple but the beds were comfortable. Food excellent. We were thankful to have Lee along she knows all the animals, and she taught us how to barter. We had a lot of fun laughing with the two of them. Thank you to all, the trip was planned so well. Everything was smooth and relaxing, which was what we needed!
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Email Heather Friedt and Sydney Friedt | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Henry was the kindest man and so knowledgeable about our safari
We had the best time with our group. Our tour guide, Henry, is the kindest man who really cared about making our experience memorable. His local knowledge was greatly appreciated when we traveled to restaurants, towns and villages. We had a group of five plus our tour guide. Having a small personable group made the experience so much better and we made friends of a lifetime. Highly recommend this group for your safari tour. Doing the panoramic route along with the safari did not disappoint and is a MYST see!! Trip of a lifetime!!! Thank you
NZ
Email Karina Goldsmith | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely attentive to guests needs and well organised.
From the moment we got picked up at our hotel to being dropped at the airport in Johannesburg our 4 day safari into the Kruger Park was superb. Our driver/guide/daily organiser, Barney, was friendly, knowledgeable, and keen to ensure we had a memorable time. Being an ex-Park Ranger, he knew a lot about the animals (including how to find them), the birds, and the flora, and fauna. We were happy that we got to see 4 of the top 5 up close with just the elusive Rhino being the only one we didn't see in the park - unfortunately most likely due to the ongoing poaching! The accommodation was comfortable and the meals great. It was great to stay in the park for a night and do a twilight safari as totally different to daytime viewing and no crowds! The company communicated with us well from the time we made an initial booking enquiry and provided us with all the information we required. We would definitely tour with them again! Thank-you Wildlife Safaris for a very memorable experience!!
