The Amazing Shadows of Africa Guiding Team!
Shadows of Africa
- Offices In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $1,500 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
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
"The trip of a lifetime was a safari with Shadows of Africa," says this cynical traveler.
Was this safari my best trip ever. This jaded, cynical, well-seasoned traveler says a resounding "absolutely!" It was in no small part due to Shadows of Africa. I'm so glad I booked it with them after researching a safari with several companies. I wanted a customized, 4 day intense experience with just a driver and me. Oh did I have one! Natasha, the owner of Shadows of Africa and Richard, the manager, planned and executed every requested detail perfectly. All went smoothly from beginning to end.
A guide-driver, can make or break a trip of this nature. I once had an adventure tour company. I know what to look for. Mine, Moody, was a gem. When we met there was an instant rapport. There was more beyond his prompt nature, extraordinary knowledge of English, flexibility and most importantly, convivial personality. Moody was a combination zoologist-environmentalist-animal lover as far as this retired anthropologist is concerned. He fielded any questions I had about my experiences in layman's language. It enabled me to mentally digest and understand all that I was seeing in the extraordinary natural world in which I was immersed. He had a sharp eye to spot the quasi-hidden animals and lead me to where they were up close. And oh, were they! I never expected to be able to see them in such away. That moved more than my intellect. It reached my soul.
We spent a night at a tented camp in the Serengeti with David, the Maasai manager. Lions, hyenas and elephants were nearby. No worry. It is safe. Here, thanks to booking this place for me, I learned more about the animals than just through seeing them. David could lecture on environmental or anthropological issues about the symbiotic relationship the Maasai have with wild animals as well as their cattle. All live in balance. How the modern world needs to learn how to do that and soon. Elst not do just the Maasai lose their culture, but the animals become extinct and we humans with them.
Thank you Shadows of Africa for helping me realize that more than ever we need to protect these creatures everywhere they still exist. You did it without preaching. It was done through showing me their world in as intimate way as possible. We destroyed their habitat. We need to expand it to save them. For now at least, those which remain are relatively safe at Lake Manyara, on the Serengeti plains and in the Ngorogoro crater. A lion and I gazed at each other at close distance in the crater while he rested. In my mind's eye he mouthed "save us."
There are safaris and there are safaris. You know with whom I'd do a repeat.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super great safari with Shadows of Africa!
My husband and I did a safari of 5 days and everything was arranged perfectly from beginning to end. Everything was beyond expectations, thanks to Natasha and our guide Silvester and cook Abdul. The communication with Natasha is excellent, she responds very fast and knows exactly how to put a nice safari together, as well as give tips about Tanzania in general.
We went to Lake Mayara (1 day), Serengeti (2 days), Ngorongoro (1 day) and on our last day we went hunting with bush men (nomads), all was just amazing! Thanks to our guide we've seen the most amazing animals, he knew exactly where to go and spotted them from very far. The food was also very good, you will not miss anything!
We did the budget camping and slept in tents, which I would definitely recommend as you are more connected with the nature and during the night some curious animals could come to visit you, which is a very nice experience!
Thanks to Shadows of Africa we had an amazing safari! Thank you Natasha!!! :)
HR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best time we ever had on vacation
I have done safari and tribe tours with Shadows of Africa about a little less than a week ago and overall adventure turned out one of the best of our lives. We have been before to parks in South Africa, but nothing can be compared to vastness of Serengeti and uniqueness of Ngorongoro crater and Lake Manyara. Safari driver Anthony was amazing with all information and was able to answer all our questions during the trip and also gave as an insight of daily life of Tanzanian. Spent four days on safari with my family. A visit to Hadzabe tribe with local guide was also specially memorable as we were invited to have lunch with them and boys were trying the hunting with bow. All in all from start to the end of safari, all went well, Natasa and office staff are still in contact with us as we are still in Tanzania ending out trip on Zanzibar. Without a doubt if we return back, we choose Shadows of Africa again!
SI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great adventure
Me and my friend had an amazing private 4-day camping safari with Shadows of Africa through Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. The cook was excellent, the food was delightful, mix of fish, vegetables and meet. Driver/guide was very knowledgable on wildlife and where to spot animals, he showed great patience in stopping for us to enjoy watching animals and picture taking. I think best way to enjoy safari is private safari, where you can stop as much as you want. Everything went smoothly from first day, so we could really enjoy beautiful landscape and wildlife. For use was camping great adventure, despite cold on Ngorongoro crater, animals around the tent by night :)
SG
Email Joshua Yeo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Virgin Safari Experience with Shadows
Planner: Chris Walker
Local Staff: Ben / Joyce
Guide / Driver: Jackson (with Nick being the driver who transferred us from the airport to our first accommodations)
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TLDR:
Pros - (1) Staff was responsive and did their best to accede to our requests. (2) Actual safari experience was great with Jackson being an experienced guide (17 years under his belt), ability to spot animals and knowledgable enough to answer all the questions that we had about the culture, wildlife and Tanzania.
Cons - (1) Could have better advised us on certain locations / activities that we have decided on (i.e. weather conditions, things to pack for certain activities and plausible experience with the location / activity). (2) Last minute changes which we have agreed to but would have been a better experience if this was avoided altogether (nitpicking here but just to explain why it was not a 10/10 experience).
Overall - 9/10
Our Itinerary - Arusha - Taranguire National Park - Lake Manyara National Park - Ngorongoro Conservation Area / Crater - Lake Natron - Northern Serengeti
Period and duration that we went for - September (Dry Season, mornings and nights can be cold but day time will be hot) - 8 days
Full Review:
Just a day or two before our trip, we were informed that there will be some changes to our accommodations due to availability which we have agreed to. Though this did not affect the entire experience but could have been avoided.
Our virgin Africa safari trip finally happened after 9 months of planning and anticipation. Our first interaction with Shadows of Africa ("SOA") was with Chris who was really helpful and responsive to all the queries and requests that we had. After going through all the quotes from the different agencies and the suggested itineraries based on what we were looking for, we found SOA's offerings and pricing to be the most ideal.
When we first arrived at the airport, just having this trip as our virgin trip to Africa, an unknown place for us, we were relieved when we saw Nick holding up a sign that indicated that he was there to pick us up to bring us to our first accommodation. Overall, the transfer experience here was great as Nick was able to engage us throughout our ride and shared many interesting facts about Tanzania and the people in Arusha.
Fast forward, in terms of our accommodations, we really like Olerai Lodge (which we later found out to be owned by SOA), Acacia Farm Lodge and Mara Luxury Tented Camp. We found the other 2 accommodations (Rift Valley & Lake Natron) which were offered by Africa Safari Group to be sufficient but we were not blown away by the aesthetics, food variety and reliability of electricity.
For our experience at each location, our advice will be to skip Lake Natron altogether given the experience of the activities there, accommodation options and most importantly weather (hot throughout the year). If you are really pressed for time, you could consider just doing Northern Serengeti for the great migration and wildlife (you will pretty much see everything here except the Rhinos which is more likely to be found at Ngorongoro Crater). Even though we really like Ngorongo Crater and Lake Manyara National Park
Just highlighting here that we could have been better advised by Chris for Lake Natron, to make sure that we would have the best experience.
Activities wise, we have visited the tribe (Hazadbe) and had a Masaai guide to bring us to Lake Natron and the waterfalls. In our opinion, we feel that these activities even though it was not all bad, can be skipped once again if you are pressed for time.
In terms of communication, on the actual day for the start of our safari adventure (Day 2), we felt that communication could have been done better as we were left stranded for quite awhile before being informed that we will be transported to the office for our briefing.
For transport, if your budget allows for it, we would recommend taking the domestic flight options for a better travel experience especially after many days of safari in which you would have to wake up quite early every day for.
All in all, even though it just fell short of a perfect experience, we definitely enjoyed our virgin safari experience with SOA and would recommend it for others to try.
US
Email Mary McNeal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spectacular Safari Experience
I can't say enough about our spectacular trip to Tanzania with Shadows of Africa! Jake and Stacy helped our group of 8 plan our ideal adventure and handled every detail expertly. It really exceeded all of our expectations. We visited the Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater.
As requested, we stayed in a variety of accommodations from tented camps, lodges and luxury hotels. All were impeccably clean, comfortable, unique and beautiful. I was nervous about the food but it was fresh and delicious. Imagine a hot lunch in the Serengeti amongst giraffes and elephants!
We saw so many animals (including the big 5 and wildebeests crossing the Mara River) and were educated by our two AMAZING guides Dickson and Lomayani. I miss them already. Honestly, Dickson and Loma are what helped make the trip so special, as well as the hospitality shown to us by literally everyone in Tanzania.
There were so many highlights but staying at the Africa Amini Life Maasai Lodge was truly an experience that has stuck with me. I can't stop thinking about the whole trip. I would recommend it to anyone. Worth every penny!
US
Email Kim | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They listened to all of my preferences and made my bucket list trip an amazing reality.
I found safari bookings and spent several weeks looking over different itinerary options and asked for quotes from a few different companies. I found I wanted a few changes from a normal itinerary and started asking questions from all the agencies. Karen from Shadows was extremely helpful and patient and I wanted to learn as much as possible before deciding. Karen answered all my questions thoroughly and was flexible when it came to booking. After booking, she was great with checking in to make sure I knew what to pack, how to prepare for the trip and to make sure I didn't have any questions.
The trip itself was amazing. Once our guide picked us up, they handled everything regarding transportation, meals and lodging as well as providing us with 3 incredible guides along the way. My husband and I loved the private game drives and the lodges went above and beyond helping me to celebrate my upcoming birthday (much to my embarrassment ;)
I will highly recommend Shadows of Africa to anyone wanted a trip of a lifetime!
US
Email Sowmya | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect planning, perfect execution, perfect trip!
We just got back from an amazing trip to Tanzania and Rwanda. Jake and Stacy from the Shadows of Africa USA office were very responsive, and accommodated all our preferences and even last minute changes. Emanuel (in Tanzania) and Ziwa (in Rwanda) were excellent guides, knowledgeable about where to find the animals. Emanuel gave us an amazing up-close view of the wildebeest river crossing migration. All local travel/flights were smooth and efficiently handled. The accommodations were all high-end and very comfortable, with attentive staff and careful consideration for our vegetarian requirements. Thanks Shadows of Africa, for a once in a lifetime experience that we’ll remember forever! It was one of our most expensive vacations but totally worth the price!
US
Email Megan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!!
We had such an amazing trip to Rwanda and Tanzania! Before leaving Jake was amazing helping us curate the perfect trip, gave tips for booking flights and securing visas, and helped with all our questions along the way. In Rwanda, Paul picked us up at the airport and was with us every step of the way. He was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed learning about the history and ecology of Rwanda. We were sad to say goodbye, but upon arriving in Tanzania we met more amazing members of the team. We had the best time talking with Esther who picked us up at the airport and drove us to Olerai. The next day we met our guide, Eliamani. He was also wonderful! We wanted as much time on game drives as possible and he was more than willing to get up and go each day from sunrise to sunset. He taught us all about the animals and the environment! We can't say enough about how wonderful everyone in this team is and how well thought out their itineraries and lodging selections are. 5 Stars! Highly recommend! Look no further!
US
Email Sidney | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent guides, itinerary , and value
The staff at Shadows tailored our itinerary perfectly, including a relaxing stay in Arusha, 5 amazing safari days in Tarangire Nat'l Park, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater, and a night to experience the Massai life. Guides Dickson and Loma are encyclopedias of knowledge, incredibly safe and efficient drivers, and helpful and thoughtful.
Asante sana.
