Andrew will take you to remote places
Wildebeest Safaris
- Located In:
-
China
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1997)
- Member Of:
- ETT & TRA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email jotravels | Experience level: first safari
Rock, Rattle and Roll
I have to say that Wildebeest was a disappointment for sure. Communication before our trip was excellent. I checked references and all was great. However, following our trip, and before writing this review, I gave Noah, the owner, a chance to respond privately to my concerns and he said he would look into it, but I have not heard anything.
1. Itinerary
My instructions about what we wanted was the Big 5 and the Migration. We did not see the Big 5--missed the rhino. We understood that seeing the actual crossing of the wildebeest is not guaranteed. However, I think that too many days were scheduled to try and see the crossing both in the Mara and the Northern Serengeti. We would have been better off remaining in the Mara for another day, rather than spending a day travelling to the Northern Serengeti--essentially wasted time. We saw thousands of wildebeests, but they did not cross when we were there. It was a very expensive part of the trip and I think, having had the experience, we would have been happy with just the Mara and skipped the northern Serengeti. As i said, it took a lot of travel time, and waiting around for hours on end, for the second time, became a bit boring. The other animals were not plentiful, the accommodations were not good. It also have been better spending more time in the central Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We had less than one day of viewing in each of them and in Ngorongoro we paid extra to extend our viewing in the crater as we were only scheduled for 3 hours. It was very badly planned in this respect. Also, I would recommend staying a second night in Ngorongoro, despite some extra costs. Again, we felt that we had too much wasted time travelling to a second lodge.
2. Vehicles
We had a number of concerns about the vehicles used. The first one, in the Mara, was okay, but the seats were permanently reclined--so not wonderful, but it was only a couple of days. The second vehicle which we had for 6 or 7 days was not up to par. We rocked, rattled and rolled---and though we did survive without a breakdown, the vehicle was below standards. It was old and literally rattled all the time so it was impossible to hear the guide unless you were sitting beside him. There were no seat belts in rear seats--which we believe was not legal. The windows did not operate well and were old and blurry--not good for viewing. The walkie talkie was not fully operational--and we think this had a significant impact on communications resulting in less viewings. We will never know! There was no cooler and water supplied was in huge bottles that got warm and were covered in dust. I had inquired from Noah about an air conditioned vehicle and was told it was not necessary because it was not the hot season. This was not correct. There were parts of the journey that we would have definitely closed the windows to avoid the dirt and dust, and this was not possible without the air conditioning, which was not working in the vehicle.
3. Accommodation
Our accommodation were all very nice except the Northern Serengeti where we were lodged in the Angata Migration Camp. The facilities were a bit too basic--not even an hand towel in the public bathroom and only tissue with no waste basket--kind of ridiculous in a place that was billed as "luxury". Also no hand towels in the room, rough floors, and extremely poor lighting. But most significant was that the bed netting was poor, it had holes and was dirty. This is in an area of the Tse Tse, so I spent 15 minutes every night re-arranging the netting. Food was okay at most places, but lunch boxes were not the greatest.
4. Guide/Drivers
We had two different guides. Eustice, in Kenya was very personable. knowledgeable, helpful, but very strict about rules, which we cannot hold against him! In Tanzania, our guide, who was a contractor, was very knowledgeable, but we had to ask questions to get the information. He was quite serious in personality and our main concern with him was his extreme confidence in himself which we felt prevented him from getting information from others. He also, without informing us, decided not to go to see some rhinos that were reported spotted, thinking they were too far away. He did not consult us and others at our camp were able to view them. He told us after we were back in camp! In the end, we never did see the rhino, and we do have some resentment over this. We would have said to go to see them for sure.
CA
Email Kevin | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They tell a better story than they can consistently deliver.
We did two safari's with Wildebeest. Masai Mara was awesome with a great guide (Andrew), vehicle and accommodations. The second one a few days later had likely their worst vehicle (doors and windows that were hard to open and dirty inside) and a guide that really did not seem to know or was unwilling to share much about Amboseli - including getting some of the animals wrong. They had many excuses (other vehicle broke down, busy time of year, no previous complaints for that guide, etc.). At least the accommodations were good. So be careful when you book with Wildebeest - you simply don't get consistent quality.