Meet the Team - eTrip Africa
E-Trip Africa
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ATA, IATAN, IGS, KPAP & CODE
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Patty F | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A delightful family Safari in Kenya
My family and I had a delightful trip to Kenya in early August of this year. We traveled with E-Trip Africa, who came highly recommended from one of the teachers at my daughter’s school, Mr. Jennings. Turns out his son owns and manages E-Trip. Since it is a big investment for a safari, we did compare many companies to be sure that we got the most out of our budget.
We were met at Nairobi by our guide Moses and the manager Ben. Since the flights were so long it made sense to spend two nights in Nairobi to get used to the time zone. During the first day we took our first game in Nairobi Park and then visited Sheldricks Elephant Orphanage. It was so nice to see the little guys come to take the milk. It is extremely sad that people are killing their mothers only for the Ivory. We then went to the Giraffe center and fed Giraffe.
We then went to Lakes Bogoria and Baringo as my husband is a bird fanatic. We had a great trip around the lake with a guide named Cliff. He was able to tell us so much about the birds and we had a nice walk around some cliffs to find different owls. Two days in this area was not enough, but we were anxious to see the animals.
Then we went to Nakuru. This park was very nice but the lake is very full and there were only a few flamingoes. We did get to see Rhino’s, which was one of the main goals of the trip as there is a good chance that they will disappear during my children’s lifetime. Also this was our first time to see Lions in the wild. They were just lying around, so it was a little disappointing. We then went to the Sleeping Warrior Camp, which was amazing. The night game drive was a real exciting experience and we saw an aardvark, which I guess is extremely rare. The next day we hiked to the crater and enjoyed the Hyrax around the camp.
Our trip finished with 4 days in Masai Mara. It was like a scene from a National Geographic film. The wildebeest were all over the place. We got to see lions hunt some down, which was amazing but I don’t know if I could watch it again because I don’t even like the sight of blood. The experience could not have been better. We stayed at a tented camp called Mara Eden Safari Camp. All through the night you could hear the animals, it was really a full experience. The camp managers were a riot and we really had a nice time by the campfire with them.
We returned to find the Nairobi airport nearly burnt to the ground. Ben had everything worked out and the whole process was rather smooth. We got on our flight back to civilization, with the fondest memories and the desire to one day return.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My expectations were high, but E-Trip far exceeded them.
For years I had dreams of an African Safari. In 2009 I started doing some research to plan the trip. I was put off a bit because the prices were so high. So I took an extra part-time job to save up the extra cash needed to make it a perfect trip. Then in 2012 we started doing the research again and it took us a while to find the right company, we sent emails to some 50 safari companies we found on this site and on TripAdvisor. We told them the parks we wanted to see, the dates and our overall budget. In the end E-Trip Africa was able to organize the trip at luxury camps and still stay within our budget. Several of the companies told us we would have to settle for a camping budget trip, which surprised me. Others told us they could not do anything within our budget.
When we arrived at the Nairobi Airport it was a little crazy, because there was a fire. The manager, Ben drove from the office in Arusha to meet us and introduced us to our Masai Driver named Joseph. Joseph was wearing Massai cloths the whole trip. Not only did he share a lot about his culture, but he was very friendly and never left a dull moment during the long drives. Ben and Joseph took us back to the hotel, where we had a briefing about the trip and he gave us a local telephone to borrow, which saved us some money when calling the folks back in the states.
We set-off the next morning and Joseph gave us plenty of good information during the long drive to Samburu. Driving past Mt. Kenya was amazing and then it was very dry in Samburu. The wildlife was nice as it was the first time to see Elephants outside of a zoo. We spent two nights there before heading to Lake Elementaita and Lake Naivasha. The Rhinos were so cool and I can't imagine people are killing them left and right to sell the horns to China. We stopped in Hells Gate to take a bike ride, which was nice as we had been spending too much time sitting in the car.
Then we went to the home area of Joseph. The Masai Mara... It was perfect to see the millions of wildebeest. Joseph had a very good sense of the wildlife and he could tell us what they would do. You can tell he really enjoys spending the time watching the animals. Twice I was a bit confused, because there were lots of cars around a kill and Joseph drove and parked about 300 feet away. Then all of the sudden the Lions got up and walked down to the water and shade near us, we had the best seat in the house.
The first two days we did not see any Cheetah. I was a bit down as I wanted to see them. I now understand that they don't like to be around all these other animals. So Joseph took us on a two hour drive to the middle of no where. And then all of the sudden he said look. We were alone, not another car in site. He said look very closely and there was a cheetah walking towards us. We sat for a few hours watching him. Then all of the sudden it bolted towards a small group of antelope taking one down. It was just like on Discovery.
The next day we headed back to Nairobi where we met Ben another time. He was really excited to hear our stories and Joseph was telling them even better than anyone. You could sense that Ben and Joseph also have a very good personal relationship. The next morning we were back to Nairobi Airport and then on our flight. A special thanks to Ben, Aurelie and the rest of the team at E-Trip Africa for organizing the trip. And an enormous thank to Joseph, who I now think of as my Massai brother.