Maurice, Your Personal 24hrs Safari Consultant
Africa Safari Classics
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, ASTA, NTA & FTA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
DE
Email João Mata | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari in Kenya and Tanzania!
My wife and I had an amazing Safari experience in Kenya and Tanzania and we couldn't be happier about it! Not only did we easily spot the Big 5, but we had a fantastic time in both countries and got to know a lot about the people, the culture, the land... We definitely recommend Africa Safari Classics and would certainly plan another trip together with them again!
We started by looking up a suggested itinerary from Africa Safari Classics found on safaribookings.com and together with Maurice Nzwii made some adjustements that made our trip unforgetable.
Since the first email right until our departure back home Maurice was very engaged, always available and with all his experience gave us very valuable tips.
We booked a 11-day Safari, with 1 night in Nairobi, 1 night in Lake Nakuru, 2 in Masai Mara, 3 in Serengeti, 1 in Ngorongoro/Lake Manyara and 2 in Amboseli.
Additionally we stayed one night in a private concervancy near Masai Mara where we also did a Night Safari and a Walking Safari. Both of them were spectacular and offered a whole new Safari experience!
Among the highlights we saw from very close a cheetah hunting and eating a gazelle, several lions with their cubs, leopards and their preys on the trees, millions of wildebeests and zebras taking part in the Great Migration, hundreds of elephants in all sizes, black and white rhinos with cubs and also some animals mating (such as lions, crocodiles and hippos)
During our trip we had 4 guides: David in our first part of the trip in Kenya, Abdul in Tanzania, Jones in our last part of the tour in Kenya and Samson in the private conservancy near the Mara.
Every single one of them was very friendly, helpful, had great experience and knew the parks like the palm of their hands. If it wasn't for them we wouldn't have seen the half of what we did and we surely wouldn't have learned so much about the wildlife and the two countries. To them a very very special thanks!
We stayed in very beautiful and luxurious tented camps located at scenic spots in the parks, such as the Eagle View Camp, Basecamp Masai Mara, Kirawira Serena Camp and Tanzania Bush Camp in Serengueti and Kibo Safari Camp in Amboseli, where all the local people were extremely welcoming and always made us feel at home. And the food was delicious!
We definitely recommend Africa Safari Classics to anyone who is considering doing a Safari in any or both of these countries! We were extremely happy with the services provided by Maurice and all his attention! It certainly was the trip of a lifetime!
CA
Email Bruce | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful guiding to several parks with many exciting wildlife settings.
I booked a safari for my wife and me in Kenya through Africa Safari Classics starting in late January. I started with a suggested itinerary on its website and made some modifications, based on our interests and helpful suggestions from the manager Maurice Nzwii. Our safari included 2 nights in Tsavo West, 2 in Amboseli, 1 at the Ark at Aberdares (with its lighted waterhole), 2 in Samburu, 1 in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, 1 at the Sunbird Lodge at Lake Elementaita with an evening game drive at Nakuru, and 2 in Maasai Mara, before returning to Nairobi. Except for the 2 lodges, we stayed in very comfortable tent camps that all provided good to excellent meals. Our enthusiastic driver/guide Tony was wonderful. He was excellent at spotting and identifying game, and was able to quickly get us to prime sightings reported in Swahili on the short wave radio; he is highly familiar with the maze of roads in all of the parks. Tony was adept at positioning the vehicle for prime photographic opportunities.
We normally had 2 game drives per day and had plenty of wonderful sightings. The camps were all located at scenic spots providing opportunities for animal and bird viewing. Among the highlights were about 10 cheetahs spotted up close (including 5 brothers), several leopards including 2 with small cubs, many lions including a lioness with 4 cubs who had just killed a zebra, 5 rhinos at Ol Pejeta including one white, and lots of birds. We saw a broad range of terrains and habitats in the various areas of Kenya. While all the parks and reserves provided good scenery and some dramatic wildlife sightings, we especially enjoyed the density of wildlife in lush green settings at Amboseli and the Mara, as well as the excellent birding at Lake Navaisha. This was an ad-on to our initial itinerary suggested by Tony, based on our interests. We also added a visit to a Maasai village, which was interesting, but there was a lot of pressure to purchase handicrafts. We had also added a balloon ride over the Mara at sunrise. It was an interesting experience an we saw some wildlife including elephants, a lion, a huge herd of buffalo, and a hyena den, we more enjoyed our closer wildlife encounters on the ground. The balloon ride did provide a good opportunity to see the topography, including the many wildlife trails.
We arrived in Nairobi at 4:00 AM. Maurice had arranged for us to be transported to a hotel near the airport for breakfast, where we met him and our guide to begin our safari.
Maurice and Tony were in frequent communication by cell phone during our trip and we always felt we were being well looked after. There were some long distances between camps and sometimes challenging driving conditions that Tony managed well. Those drives provided opportunities to view the diverse terrain of Kenya (including views of Mounts Kilimanjaro and Kenya). It also provided opportunity to observe village life. At the end of our safari, Maurice arranged for a driver to take us to local sights of interest near Nairobi. At his suggestion, we had upgraded our safari vehicle to a Toyota Landcruiser rather than a Toyota van. This allowed access to more remote areas, especially in the Mara. In summary, we were extremely pleased with the wonderful service provided by Maurice and Tony.
CM
Email Antonio | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Air&Road Trip
Everything perfect! Above expectations.Professionalism, dedication, and sympathy. I recommend.
US
Email Alda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrific 9 day safari in Kenya
My 21 year old daughter and I went on a 9 day safari trip in Kenya in December 2018 and it was wonderful and memorable. We saw the “Big 5” animals and so much more.
Maurice did a superb job of organizing the trip, which included 5 game parks, and was exceptionally responsive to emails regarding details prior to the onset of the trip. He even made a special effort to see us at our hotel in Nairobi the day before the safari started to ensure the details were clear and kept in contact with our driver, Muli Jones, and with us throughout the trip.
Our driver, Muli Jones, was tireless and enthusiastic, even after a full day of game drives or driving us on the heavily trafficked roads between the parks. His love of animals and for Kenya was clear. He had an amazing eye for lions and cheetahs, and, on several occasions, saw a lion walking far in the distance and did his best to take us to see it. He also did an excellent job of getting us out of Amboseli after a heavy rainfall turned the only exit road into a flooded and raging river, arranging for a Land Cruiser to tow us out. The water of the river reached up to our vehicle doors but we were one of the few vehicles to make it out of the game park that morning so we could continue our trip. He was a safe driver as well and never seemed to let traffic congestion or slow downs frustrate him.
Our lodging was also excellent. It included both tent camps and lodges. I would like to make special mention of Severin Tent Camp in Tsavo West. The food was truly excellent with 4 course meals. Also, the Ark Forest Lodge in Aberdare had a wonderful viewing area where one could sit and read or relax and the animals would come to you. They had a buzzer that woke you at night if certain animals came, so we were able to see the group of 4 elephants who were protecting the baby from the hyenas at 12:45 am. We both wished we could have stayed there another night or two.
I recommend Africa Safari Classics without hesitation and hope to travel with them again in the future
US
Email Jordan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience!
My family and I had an amazing safari with Africa Safari Classics - 7 night 8 days with three lodges including two parks and on lake, fish eagle. I recommend them without hesitation. Our safari trip was made all the more fantastic, comfortable and manageable due to Maurice and John who made many alternatives, arrangements, met us at the airport and in the morning at hotel and our guide, driver and friend, John. Both went above and to met obstacles and challenges we presented from dietary restrictions (traveling with my husband and 75 yr old father), changes in itinerary, and kept an energy and positive attitude that made the trip fantastic . We came out with smiles on our faces and happy as heck. We saw hippo, cheetah, lion, zebra, elephant, giraffe, many bird species etc, went to a Maasai village and Shopping! We were able to enjoy both luxury and the real safari experience, had the vehicle to ourselves, wow! and crafted bargaining skills and were overall amazed with Safari Classics, Kenya, the safari and hope to go again in the future...
Email Phill & Jill | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari
We recently returned from our 10 day Kenya safari and we have to say it was amazing and exceeded all our expectations.
Maurice organised and booked the whole tour and nothing was too much trouble. He accommodated and tweaked our itinerary until it was just what we wanted.
We visited 5 different parks, Tsavo West, Amboseli, Aberdares, Samburu and Maasai Mara and on a day to day basis everything flowed seamlessly. The accommodations in the Parks were great and many had fantastic views of the watering holes and the wildlife visiting them. They were all spotless and all the staff were fantastic and friendly. The food was good mostly being on a buffet basis offering various options. We travelled by road between the first 4 parks which gave us the opportunity to see Kenya, but we took an internal flight, Safarilink, from Samburu to Masai Mara which was great as it reduced the travel time to 2 hours. It was fantastic to see the landscape from the air and also the trail of Wildebeast spanning across the area.
The game drives, early morning and late afternoon, were remarkable. We saw so much wildlife it was wonderful. We went hunting for the animals we particularly wanted to see, i.e lions, cheaters and leopards and managed to see all of these up close. It was marvellous.
Our Guide, Muli, was fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble for him. He collected us from our hotel in Nairobi and stayed with us up to our flight to Maasai Mara. He made sure we had everything we needed and went out of his way to hunt down the wildlife we asked to see. He was a fountain of knowledge and answered all our questions easily. He was incredible.
Overall Kenya is a beautiful country, the wildlife we saw was beyond our expectations, what we thought was going to be a trip of a lifetime turned into a totally mind-blowing experience.
We would totally recommend Africa Safari Classics to anyone thinking of planning a safari, they were the best.
US
Email Bill | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Maurice planned a perfect trip for us after we told him exactly which areas we wanted to visit.
We recently returned from an 11-night (13 counting air flights) Kenya safari, visiting 5 lodges. We had contacted Maurice at Africa Safari Classics with a list of the areas we wanted to visit. He quickly organized an acceptable trip that the four us were very happy with. The wildlife was fantastic, the lodges were memorable, the two drivers were knowledgeable and capable, and quickly adjusted to our wish to be able to identify the bird life as well as all the mammals. We saw 42 species of mammals, a tortoise, a large snake, a variety of lizards, and over 200 species of birds. Every day was an adventure! The best part was interacting with the friendly local people.
Thank you so much, Maurice, Muli, and Francis. We highly recommend you to anyone who wishes to visit Africa!
US
Email Mickey Ribera | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely Profesional with outstanding service
What a great Company! They are professional in every way with great communication. I will admit I was a bit concerned that they were not a USA based operator but with the communication with Maurice the director all my worries faded quickly. Maurice explained everything clearly and simply. Everything was simple and seamless from deposits to end! Our Driver/guide Muli Jones was a great ambassador as well as a Great guide and very experienced and very personable he is a great asset to the company. We were able to see and photograph the big 5 with the eagle eyes of Muli being essential! his knowledge of the names of all animals and birds is amazing!! This was such a nice trip im still amazed! the accommodations were all very good Moderate lodges and tent camps with very good dinning choices and amenities. To all Us travelers I would recommend using Africa Safari Classics without thinking twice! Absolutely no problems with booking or on our trip. Thanks you to Maurice and Muli for providing us with the trip of a life time!!
Email Beth | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was a trip of a lifetime that was so well organised we felt relaxed as soon as we landed in Kenya
Communication was excellent. It was a special trip because it was my husband and my 25th anniversary as well as my sons 18th and 21st. My husband was emailing Maurice regularly for 3 or so months with questions, changes and requests and nothing was too much bother. He was so accommodating and helpful. We even had an issue that my older son might not have been able to join us and Maurice was able to change pricing for us.
We were delighted to meet Maurice on our arrival in Nairobi and he stayed in constant contact with us and our driver throughout the whole 3 weeks. Also all the pickups organised by Maurice went like clockwork.
Our safari itinerary was great and tailored to our requests. We had 1 night in some camps and 2 nights in others which was perfect and allowed some down time from travelling. It was generally early mornings which suited us fine and we travelled between parks in the morning arriving by lunch normally to be able to settle in and enjoy the park and camp.
All the camps and lodges were wonderful. We all had different favourites for different reasons. I loved Basecamp Mara because the setting was beautiful and we had our breakfast looking over the river to the national park. Our balcony also looked over and we saw warthogs, giraffes, monkeys and elephants walking by. My oldest son loved the Kibo safari camp in Amboseli because the food was good, the rooms beautiful and he enjoyed the friendly atmosphere in the bar sitting around the fire telling tales of animal sightings. My youngest son thought Ashnil Aruba Lodge in Tsavo East was best because we had rooms that looked over to the watering hole and saw hosts of animals and at night we were luck enough to have 2 lions sitting about 10 meters away (on the other side of an electric fence). My husbands favourite was the Lions Bluff because of the spectacular views and the relaxed atmosphere. In fact all the lodges/camps were fantastic and we felt we always got the best rooms/tents available. We were also treated to cakes, special dances and our bed decorated with petals because Maurice had told them it was our anniversary.
The hotel we went to in Diani also lived up to expectations. The Papillon Lagoon Reef was a very well run and clean hotel. The food was very varied and tasty and the staff were very accommodating. We enjoyed relaxing there and exploring the near by area.
We also had a few nights in a lodge called the Swara Acacia near Niarobi before we flew home. This was a great place because we were able to walk out onto the private reserve and get very close to the animals. It was very laid back and very quiet. On one night we were the only people there. It is in the process of being renovated but it didn't case for disruption to our holiday.
Our safaris were all very good. We visited seven different parks/reserves and each had different merits. The Mara certainly had an abundance of animals but we also enjoyed all the other parks. We saw the big 5 as well as some other amazing sights such as a fishing-eagle swoop down to take a fish in Navasha during the boat trip organised by Maurice. Not to forget, watching at least 25 hyenas swimming out in small groups to feed on a deceased hippo.
Our safari driver Muli was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable about the animals and different parks. He quite obviously loved his job and could spot animals in the distance. We called him the Magician because he could conjure up all the animals we talked about. He asked us what out top animals were and then he ensured that we got to see them. He would take us on much longer drives than other drivers which was fantastic for us and we had 2 picnics out in the parks so we could go further afield. He would always check with us what the itinerary was for the next day and made sure everyone was happy. Even driving between national parks was entertaining and he kept the lads busy by asking questions and getting them to test him on his knowledge of animals. We became very fond of him and we were all a bit weepy to say goodbye in Diani.
All in all I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Africa Safari Classics Ltd and Maurice to organise your trip of a lifetime.
NL
Email Jurgen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly recommended!
Our safari with Africa Safari Classics started at the end of February and lasted 7 days. After that we loved Tanzania its people and its wildlife. Maurice advice helped us to plan the safari to our needs. Our driver guide Athumani was very, very good. We like birds and Athumani helps us to spot them and his knowledge of birds was very useful to help us to determine the species. Also his experience with the national parks and the animals was amazing: we saw al the animals we wanted. We love to come back some time and then again we would use Maurice and his team. Highly recommended!