Team Wild Planet Safari
Wild Planet Safari
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- SATSA & FGASA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $410 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
Email Alex Massey | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic 10 Day Big 5, Bush and Beach Safari
We booked the 10 day bush and beach safari as our "once in a lifetime" family holiday and chose Wild Planet Safari based on all their positive reviews. We were not disappointed! Even before the trip they really looked after us with regular updates and messages. Our guide Ryan and his assistant Benjamin collected us from our hotel at exactly the appointed time and looked after us fantastically from then on.
We spent four days touring Kruger Park, travelling from north to south and staying at Letaba, Orpen and Berg-en-Dal. En route we saw all the Big Five (Big Six if you count Black and White Rhino separately!) as well as many more birds and animals. Ryan guided us excellently throughout, telling us not only about the wildlife, but also the geology and history of Kruger. He really knows his stuff and answered all our questions patiently, as well as regaling us with many stories over a glass of beer in the evenings! As a birdwatcher, I was pleased to find that Ryan is one too and he really helped me increase my life list, even stopping for the "small brown jobs" from time to time! We recorded over 100 bird species in Kruger alone. Ryan certainly has eagle-eyes and some kind of special intuition for when and where to find the wildlife. He helped us connect with some of the more unusual creatures too, such as porcupines, honey badgers, and a rock python.
From Kruger we travelled south through Swaziland and spent one night at Royal Hlane, where you get close-up views of White Rhino in particular at the waterhole there. We then continued south and spent two days in Hluhluwe, staying at Hilltop camp, where we saw plenty more rhino, as well as lots more other birds and animals.
After seven days on tour we ended up at Greenfire Lodge on the beach front in Umdloti, near Durban, where we spent two days relaxing by the beach and unwinding. There is wildlife there too - vervet monkeys in the town, and whales and dolphins in the sea, which we watched from the balcony of our room - fantastic!
We had an absolutely fantastic holiday - truly a "lifetime" event - thanks to Ryan and his team, and hope to repeat it again one day. We cannot recommend Wild Planet Safari enough - book your tour with them and like us, you will not be disappointed!
NO
Email Ragnhild Kolshus | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Marvellous days in Kruger!
Some fantastic days in South Africa this summer!Spent one week in Kruger, visiting camps I did not find time to visit last time I was in this wonderful park, and also a re-visit to some camps from which I have very good memories. All the time under the fantastic guidance of Ryan, and enjoying the company of his whole family and Wild Planet Safari customers from the USA. I loved the delicious food, and appreciated all the personal service. And I also was very happy with the closed vehicle on the cold winter mornings. Already looking forward to my next visit. It wo'nt be long!
US
Email Victor | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 4 day at Kruger
Ryan was a great guide. He exceeded our expectation. We are a family of five, youngest 13 year old. He answered almost all our question and we had many. Wealth of information. Ryan was prompt and very attentive to our needs. Thale cooking was wonderful, second helping was the norm. We saw more than we could imaging, even a rare white lion. Highly recommended
BE
Email Nicholas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best. Week. Evaaa
Me and a friend went on a six day, camping only, safari tour in Kruger national park with Ryan and his assistant Lungisani. As it is already pretty clear from the previous reviews, both Ryan and Lungisani were tremendous to hang out with and really know their stuff about every wildlife and flora you can possibly encounter at Kruger. Ryan is a fantastic guide and a great guy with storytelling abilities around the braai to die for and a pair of eagle eyes which can even spot the smallest bird a mile away. Pair that with some quite amazing cooking skills as well and it's safe to say we made the right decision of booking our safari trip with Wild Planet Safari. After three days his assistant Lungisani joined us and made the trip only better. He is a really fun guy and always happy to help with whatever, plus his spotting skills are not too bad either... Overall we had the best time with Ryan and Lungisani. We saw a bunch of different animals, had the best food imaginable, had some good laughs and we were able to do it with two great people. It really was the trip we were hoping it to be thanks to Ryan, Lungisani and Thale and we really recommend going on a safari with Wild Planet Safari.
US
Email Paola | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Trip , very knowledgeable guide
We had a wonderful 6 gay Safari in Kruger. Ryan the owner, guide us through the park and kept us amazed with his story telling and his in depth knowledge of the wild life. We saw everything, including black rhinos, leopards, and lions. Many many elephants, up to 60 passing by one early morning. Camping was fun and food was good...best was the company. We recommend , you will have a very nice time.
Email Sheree & Sally, Brisbane, Australia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrific experience, Terrific value
We booked this tour to go on a professional safari & also to get ideas on how to do our own self drive safari. Ryan was very informative with all of the safari's he took us on & then very helpful with lots of information for us to do our own safari's afterwards. We booked as only two people online & were really pleased to find that weren't going away with a big group. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves & loved all the meals that were provided & our accommodation at Kruger, so we totally recommend 'Wild Planet Safari' to anyone interested in booking one. It was a very exciting experience & worth every cent!!!!
Email Alison | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent, knowledgeable, cheery, uncomplaining guides with sharp spotting eyes showed us so much.
First class communications. Prompt, friendly, helpful replies at all times and alterations made to personalise our tour including re-booking accommodation caused bt the BA flight problems. Coming from so far we tried to do too much. We would have preferred to have spent longer in each location with less time on the road so we will just have to return with more time. The bush walk in the Kruger was memorable as were the. Iews in Berg en Dal. We preferred to leave out the shopping trip to Durban as we had come looking for animals and birds and shopping malls are the same the world over but a quiet day relaxing near the beach was rewarded with a whale spouting. The trip to Rorke's Drift was an extra well- worth doing and the accommodation there something really special with San cave art a bonus. Animals at the Golden Gate were almost non- existent as the gates are now open and unmanned but the geology was impressive. The geology of the Drakensberg is simply breathtaking but you need to be fit. Just sitting watching the sunrise and set on the Cathedral was special In short: a first rate tour company which we would certainly recommend.
US
Email Amanda | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Authentic and Personalized Experience!
My husband and I did the 7 day, 6 night Kruger safari with Wild Planet, and they really surpassed our expectations. We had the best time! Thale was so helpful when we booked, especially with the wire transfer, which was nerve wracking and not entirely straightforward due to South African banking rules. We picked Wild Planet because we wanted an authentic and personal experience, and we felt we got exactly that. I cannot even convey the wealth of knowledge Ryan has about every plant and animal. He knows every inch of Kruger - where specific animals hang out and tricks to help increase your chances of animal sightings. We felt like they respected the park, its rules, and its wildlife. It felt like we had an insider's view of the park, which was awesome! The entire safari was built around our interests and desires. It was truly an authentic and personal experience - something you don't get with the larger safari companies. We wouldn't hesitate to send any of our friends and family to Wild Planet and we plan to book with them again in the future.
AR
Email jose dominguez | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excelente aventura. Guia muy experimentado. Viaje entre 20/05 y 27/05/2017
La atención de Ryan, Thale y sus ayudantes fue muy buena. El es un experimentado hombre de campamento. La familia nos ofreció su tienda para comer y nos hicieron probar en varias oportunidades el vino local, que es muy rico. El safari cubrió nuestras expectativas, aunque debo reconocer que no poder bajar del vehículo en ningún momento fue un poco cansador. No obstante ello, quiero mencionar algunos puntos que tienen que ver con la información y satisfacción del cliente, entendiendo que le puede servir a otros viajeros:
-Nosotros, probablemente por una cuestión de marketing, y de mirar los capítulos exitosos de Animal Planet o de NatGeo, no estábamos bien informados de la dinámica de Kruger, de que “no es un zoo” como nos manifestó Ryan, y que los felinos pueden aparecer… o no. Hay que estar preparado para ello.
-No somos asiduos viajeros de aventura, ni de safari, pero hemos recorrido bastantes lugares del Caribe y America del sur; y como turistas internacionales nos sorprendió un poco no poder decir cuántas veces quisiéramos que se detenga de tal o cual forma para sacar una fotografía… teníamos que aceptar el criterio de Ryan, como si estuviésemos haciendo su safari y no el nuestro…
-De acuerdo a lo manifestado en los correos previos mantenidos con Thale, en ningún momento se nos dijo que la bebida no estaba incluida en el precio… ni siquiera el agua. Se mencionó que la comida estaba cubierta, menos dos almuerzos y una cena, pero nada más. Tampoco el almuerzo del dia de salida estaba cubierto. Nosotros supusimos que la bebida si, porque se nos pidió indicar en formulario previo de adhesión nuestra preferencia por el tipo de bebida, y esto nos creó confusión…. De todos modos, reitero que Ryan nos invitó con vino en varias oportunidades. Para evitar la confusión sugerimos que quiten del formulario previo la mención a preferencia de bebidas y que agreguen, en cambio, una mención muy clara indicando que la bebida no está incluida en el precio.
-En una parada del camino de regreso, Ryan se enojó con nosotros por regatear el precio de algunas artesanías, manifestando que esa gente pobre tiene días y días de trabajo sobre cada artículo, y que no es moralmente aceptable ese regateo. Pues bien, luego de abonar una obra casi U$40, encontramos exactamente la misma en Johannesburgo por la mitad de precio. Asi que como le contesté, Ryan debe dejar a los turistas ser turistas y limitarse a opinar sobre su actividad de guía, que es lo que conoce.
-Tomen los servicios de Wild Planet Safari y al finalizar, recuerden solicitar el pen drive o la memoria prometida con las fotos tomadas por Ryan o por Lungisani. Se les olvidó entregarnos la nuestra.
The attention of Ryan, Thale and his assistants was very good. He is an experienced camp man. The family offered us their tent to eat and we did try the local wine several times which is very rich. The safari met our expectations, although I must admit that being unable to get off the vehicle at any time was a bit tiring. Nevertheless, I want to mention some points that have to do with information and customer satisfaction, understanding that this can serve other travelers:
We, probably because of a marketing issue, and looking at the successful chapters of Animal Planet TV or NatGeo TV, we were not well informed of Kruger's dynamics, that" it's not a zoo"as Ryan told us, and that felines may appear ... or not. You have to be prepared for it.
We are not very adventure travelers, nor safari, but we have visited many places in the Caribbean and South America; And as international tourists we were a little surprised not to be able to say how many times we wanted to stop in some way or another to take a picture ... we had to accept Ryan's criteria, as if we were doing his safari and not ours...
According to the previous emails maintained with Thale, at no time told us that the drink was not included in the price ... not even the water. It was mentioned that the food was covered, minus two lunches and one dinner, but nothing more. Also the lunch on the day of departure was not covered. We assumed that the drink would, because we were asked to indicate in our previous membership form our preference for the type of drink, and this created confusion... Anyway, I reiterate that Ryan invited us with wine on several occasions. To avoid confusion we suggest that you remove from the previous form the mention of beverage preference and instead add a very clear mention stating that the drink is not included in the price
At a stop on the way back, Ryan was angry with us for haggling over the price of some handicrafts, stating that these poor people have days and days of work on each item, and that bargaining is not morally acceptable. Well, after paying a work almost U$ 40, we find exactly the same in Johannesburg for half the price. So, as I said, Ryan must let tourists be tourists and just comment on his guide activity, which is what he knows.
Take the services of Wild Planet Safari and at the end, remember to request the pen drive or the promised memory with the photos taken by Ryan or Lungisani. They forgot to give us ours.
ES
Email Sara and Javier | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome three day safari
We are so happy of choosing this company to do a three day safari at Kruger. I think it is the best option because of the price and all the good experiences that Adriaan and Benji have given to us. A big thank you for them!
We will repeat in some years for sure.