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
US
Email Katarina | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not suitable for a couple's getaway
My fiancé and I booked a 6-day Kruger safari with Wild Planet Safari and we were so excited! Unfortunately, we were disappointed and ultimately, I do not recommend this company.
I will say that the safari guide was super knowledgeable and was able to answer all of our questions regarding wildlife.
I think the biggest problem we had is that we went as a couple, and it was not specified that all three meals would be eaten with the guide and his assistant. We were looking for a more intimate experience at dinnertime under the stars with a bottle of wine.
In general, we also had problems with the included food; the “friendly coffee gatherings” – as to quote the day-by-day itinerary– in the early mornings, for instance, consisted of instant coffee served in tin cups. (All coffee drinkers will agree that instant coffee is terrible). I had pictured sharing a hot thermos filled with freshly brewed coffee. There were coffee shops at the camp sites, so this could’ve easily been arranged.
Some of our food and drink requests (which were approved prior to the safari) were not met; and there were no crackling fires and bonfire glows at nighttime, as to quote the safari description. The owner (who was very defensive when I emailed her afterwards) told me that because of a cold front (which only started at the end of our safari), it got very windy and they could not risk lighting bond fires. She also said our opinions were molded by the cold weather when we had packed long layers, gloves, jackets, etc. just to be on the safe side.
Whoever wrote the safari description is a fantastic writer because we didn’t even think about asking questions re: coffee and fires (etc). I really fell for the beautiful, idealized descriptions of the itinerary.
There were a couple of other little things, such as a missing bottle of wine, some terribly overcooked steaks (I find that mind boggling, because the cook asked us how we wanted it prepared and we said “rare” and “medium”, yet everything steak came out identical); and I still don’t know what happened to a dinner salad that supposedly went bad. I eat TONS of fruit and veggies, so yes, it was THAT important to me.
They do get 5 stars for providing us with great wine in the evening though :).
So if your heart is set on visiting Kruger, I strongly urge you to choose another company.
Reply from Wild Planet Safari
Posted on Oct 31, 2024Hi Katrina and Marc
Thank you for joining Wild Planet Safari on your 6 Day Kruger Safari, I am terribly sorry that we were not able to provide you a 5 star experience.
I am glad that you were happy with your guide, Chris, and that overall your wildlife sightings were very good and it seems that you did enjoy the Safari part of the trip.
It is unfortunate that you did not enjoy the parts of the trip that you were not on safari. With regards to your biggest problem that you went as a couple, and it was not specified that all three meals would be eaten with the guide and his assistant. This is one of the most important parts of the safari and one of the things that our guests enjoy the most apart from viewing the amazing wildlife. It is such a big part of what we do as a company and guests really enjoy getting to know their guide and listening to all his stories and the guides really enjoy learning about our guests and hearing their different life experiences. In 14 years of owning and managing Wild Planet Safari this is the very first time that we have received this complaint and to find out it was your biggest problem comes as a shock to us. There are hundreds of reviews where guests have specifically mentioned how they enjoyed sharing meal times with our guides and the chef.
We will certainly not be changing this and for anyone that is reading this review, please be assured that while on Safari with us your guide and chef will join you for all the meals that they prepare and you will all get to enjoy this experience going forward. One more point on this, if you had mentioned to Chris that you would prefer to eat your meals on your own, I can tell you with absolute certainty he would have accommodated this request, and your biggest problem would have been sorted. There is nothing we can do or that your guide can do after the trip has concluded.
I apologise the coffee we supply was not up to standard, we try to supply top quality instant coffee, in the range of Jacobs and Douw Egberts. Going forward we will get a stainless-steel French press for each vehicle and provide top quality locally manufactured filter coffee as well as instant coffee options. The friendly coffee gatherings occur at 5:30 in the morning and at that time the coffee shops at the camps are not open.
We operate mobile Kruger Safaris and we carry all our equipment with us, we have to have equipment that will withstand the bumping and bashing that happens in the trailer on safari, for this reason we cannot possibly have anything that is made of glass, porcelain or ceramic and we have to use items that are stronger like stainless steel coffee mugs.
Your safari was operated at the end of the dry season and there is higher risk of fires spreading at this time, all the roofs of the accommodation units are thatch and made from dry thatching grass, these roofs are very vulnerable to fires. Your guide, Chris made a call that it was too windy to make a fire for you to sit around, he made a fire to cook on, but decided a bonfire was not appropriate. Just 3 weeks after you were on safari with us, 3 accommodation units in Kruger were set on fire from people making fires that were too big. I stand behind my guide and his decision with regards to this.
I am sad the chef, Goodwill, over cooked your steaks, I will provide him with more training on this and get his standard up going forward. The guide and Chef were both told to provide extra vegetables and fruits with every meal as you requested, unfortunately they did not carry out this request, I do apologise for this. I wish you had asked, they would have provided you with any extra fruit or vegetables that you they had, and they were sent with additional supply.
With regards to your heading `Not suitable for a couple's getaway`, a big majority of our tours are private tours for Couples and nearly all of our reviews for these couples tours are 5 stars. We have had so many couples on safari, even loads of honeymoon safaris, we do not market Romantic Getaways or anything in that range, I believe this was a very unfair heading for your review and we strive to be the best option for a couples getaway to Kruger National Park.
Best Regards
Ryan Ker