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:
- $212 to $237 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Geoff Dyke | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic
From pickup to drop off, our tour guide was fantastic. He was so informative throughout our week together and had everything planned. He spent most spare time confirming plans, reservations and ensuring we received all aspects of the itinerary and experiences. We not only enjoyed all the planned activities and sights, but the guide gave us a history lesson and background information during transfers, driving through towns and regions and on all aspects of South Africa. He would make a great history teacher and newspaper editor.
Will be going back and ensuring we travel with Wildlife Safaris with Simon Taylor as our guide.
CA
Email David Inhaber | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very knowledgeable and professional
Thank you Hoppy for a great tour and experience. He really took care of us from beginning to end.
US
Email Matt | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
These guys know how to do it right!!! 5 star experience every step of the way!
We knew we wanted to do a 5 day and from the start of planning several months before our trip and I could tell that Wildlife Safaris was going to be my choice from the first email response. Christine and Jonathan answered all of my questions in a timely manner and provided some comfort with detailed descriptions of how our travel would be with a kid and how the overall trip would unfold. I contacted four other operators and between delayed responses, poor descriptions of what it would be like for a 9 year old girl, and short quick unthoughtful responses, I decided to go with Wildlife Safaris. Best decision ever!
On day one we were picked up by our guide Hoppy right on time at our hotel in Sandton (I highly recommend the Hilton in Sandton). We immediately fell in love with Hoppy during the long drive to Kruger. He had an answer for every question along the way and was able to provide excellent conversation throughout. Anytime we needed to stop or were hungry he made it happen. The van was comfortable for the long drives and roomy. Throughout the five days we were able to spot the Big 5, the Ugly 5, but we missed out on the Small 5. Being just a few feet away from most of the animals was incredible!!!
We stayed at the Sabie River Bush Lodge, Skukuza, Mohlabetsi, and the Sabie River Sun Resort. No planning was required on our part. It was push button with all lodges ready to take us in upon arrival. All lodges were fantastic and the food was amazing. All of them had a full bar so we were never thirsty. Our favorite was the Sabie River Bush lodge . As soon as we got there we were greeted by a large bull elephant across the river and then swam in the pool on the side of the river sipping drinks while watching about a dozen hippos play and fight. Unreal experience!
I think the only issue we had was being tired from constantly being on the move. 4 lodges in 4 nights with a 9 year old were rough, then add in early mornings and late nights... It was exhausting but totally doable, you do get some time to nap in the afternoon but we always opted to hit up the pool for a swim after the morning rides. You can sleep when you get on the plane heading back home!!
One thing I was told when I was shopping around was to only book with an operator that does game drives that are in the Kruger or a private reserve that connects directly to the Kruger. There are many privates that border the Kruger but are separated from the main park with fences. This restricts the animals from truly roaming freely and have lots of dependency on humans to survive. When you go to the Kruger or a reserve that is attached with no fence you get a better chance of seeing truly wild animals that are living their life freely with extremely limited human interaction . Take this into consideration before you book as many other listings here go to these private “farms”. Also, you may experience very long drive times to get into these private reserves as opposed to being right up close with the animals from sunup to past sundown. In Mohlabetsi you are right in the middle of it with animals everywhere around you and only minutes before the game drives get very exciting.
If I could change one thing about the entire trip it would be to not do the Panorama Route. It was great to see the highlands with the viewpoints and waterfalls but for us we would have rather spent two nights in one spot with a slower paced day and additional game drives over a day in the car sightseeing. Just our personal preference and it would have helped with the kid catching up on some rest.
Lastly, we had one additional day in SA after the tour and Christine linked us up with Simon who gave us a full day tour of the Cradle and Sterkfontein Caves. He was an excellent guide and we learned so much about the surrounding area.
It was the greatest holiday we have ever been on and cannot recommend booking with Wildlife Safaris enough!!!
CH
Email Ana Cristina Lopez | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience!
They responded fast after we enquired about the prices and options. We love how flexible they were and the fact that they work with small groups. We chose the 5 day safari which included the panoramic route. We were incredibly lucky to have Hoppy as our guide. He set a high standard! He has so much knowledge about the animals and its always excited to share it. We were able to see the big 5 and while there's a lot of luck involved, I'm sure Hoppy's experience was a key factor. We were very happy with all the organization of our tour and we made so many great memories. We couldn't visit Blyde river canyon because there was a strike going on, it was a shame but it was beyond anything they could do. I will 100% recommend them and if we come back, we would certainly use their services again.
Email Grace | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service, great experience
We had the best time with Wildlife Safaris and our guide Hoppy, who made our trip.
The tour itself was well organised, with a good variety of accommodation and activities. For the price, we stayed in some excellent places and we’re fed really well.
Hoppy’s experience, knowledge and love for animals shone through - thanks to him we managed to see the big 7!
We’d thoroughly recommend Wildlife Safaris
ES
Email Juan Rivas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Inspirational
It was impressive, the service and everything. They pick us at Tambo Airport and we went all the way to Sabie River Lodge where the personnel welcomes you with a great smile and always trying to make yourself comfortable. The foods are incredible and abundant, all included. We saw 4 of the big five because de Rhinos are so difficult to find nowadays. And at last but not least is Anthony, our driver and tour guide. He always have a smile, always helpful and he was always trying to chase the big five. He gave us interesting tips about the animals in Kruger National Park. The tour and the experience is worth it.
BE
Email Marianne de Wilde | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best safari experiance
5 days of the best Safari experiance. We didn’t saw the big 5 but we saw the BIG 7 and so much more. The occomadation is so nice and very good food for dinner and also for breakfast. Our guide Hoppy did everything to make us happy. I will do it again.
DE
Email Jacky Bamann | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable, friendly and courteous
We were surprised (and happy about) that there were 5 game drives. Everything went perfectly fine and everything was as stated in the description, which justifies the price for us.
Our tour guide was Hoppy and he was always courteous and knew a lot about tha animals and the nature.
Communication was reliable and fast.
DE
Email Magdalena and Rafal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Big 5 in the Kruger Park
We had a fantastic time time with Wildlife Safaris and we recommend this operator to anyone. The guide, Simon, was very experienced and knowledgable, genuinely wanted to show us as the Big 5 (and succeeded), and was very likeable and fun to talk to. The tour itself was very well organized. Communication during the booking and payment process was flawless.
NL
Email Lara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and well organised/planned
The guide that we had, Simon, is absolutely amazing at his job, which for us really made our trip unique and memorable. I think the quality of the tour would depend a lot on the tour guide but in our sense it could not have been any better! The accommodations were value for money. Also, everything was well organised and stress free. Would definitely recommend (and especially to go with Simon to learn to love the world, nature and animals even more after your trip). Amazing!!