CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized, accomodating, knowledgable and fun
We are a family of 4 with children 11 and 13 years and went on a 12 day camping safari through northern Tanzania with Easy Travel. During the planning, Easy Travel was helpful and always quick to reply to our e-mails and many requests. All the details were taken care of for the safari from the pick up at the airport in Arusha to dropping us off at our next destination in Uganda. The safari itself was amazing - we saw tons of wildlife and, thanks to the sharp eyes of our guide Adriano, we witnessed a cheetah hunt a gazelle up close. Just incredible. It was the trip of a lifetime for us and we will always remember it fondly.
under20 years of age
Review about South Africa by Daybreak96
We visited South Africa for just over two weeks, spending five days in Ulusaba, Kruger, five days at Hluhluwe-Umfolozi and four days down at Durban and one day up at Sodwana bay to do some diving. The weather while we were there was great overall, we only had bad weather one day when we went out diving off a boat from Durban, but that was more the sea breeze.
The people were so hospitable, everyone was asking if we were enjoying ourselves, etc. Both game parks provided good food and places to sleep, bathrooms, etc.
The beach, sea and reef were amazing at Sodwana bay, 7 mile as it is known was beautiful and there were loads of fish around generally.
Review about South Africa by El-Ria
What can I say, South Africa is my place of birth, you can't get any better anywhere else!
CA
20-35 years of age
Review about Bwindi Impenetrable National Park by Brian
The mountain gorillas are the only real reason to visit the park, but on their own they make it an amazing destination.
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.
35-50 years of age
Game Viewing on demand
When we arrived at the airstrip in the Selous and met our guide for the weekend, he asked, "what do you hope to see while you are in the Selous?" Being a veteran game park visitor, I aimed high...my response...wild dogs. He laughed and said, "we don't see those very often." We sent off for the camp, intending to do a bit of game viewing en route.
About halfway through the trip to the camp, we saw some vultures circling and thought we would follow them to see if there was anything interesting. Soon we came across a pack of 4 adult wild dogs who had just finished eating their share of an impala they had brought down. They were engaging in all their post feast rituals (wild dog aficionados will know what I mean), while a nearby hyena took over the carcass, continuing to force the vultures to wait their turn. We watched this game-scape play itself out for a while- the hyena got fed up fending off the large birds alone and eventually tore off a hunk of carcass for himself, and left the bulk of it behind for the vultures to fight over. I am not sure how long we sat there- could have been a few minutes, could have been all afternoon- we were mesmerized. When the dogs were gone and the hyena was gone, it seemed time for us to move on as well. Our guide then, with a grin on his face, said, “okay, I found some wild dogs for you, what would you like to see next.” Without skipping a beat, I responded, “mating lions.” He laughed, and off we went.
We probably drove only another 5-10 minutes when we came upon a pride of lions- 3 adult females, each with cubs; a total of 7 cubs, of varying ages. Wow, this safari was only getting better. For quite a while, we watched these cubs frolic and play, as their mothers dozed, but it was getting late and lunch was waiting, so we pushed on to the lodge.
As we approached the lodge, not more that 300 meters from the gate, we came across the mating lions. It was spectacular. We watched them for nearly an hour, forgetting all about lunch. The remarkable anthropomorphic behavior- she nudges him, “come on dear”, he grunts, gets up, walks around her, mounts, nuzzles her in the ear, she complains, he gets off and flops on the other side of her, in a state of exhaustion and she rolls over on her back, as if to say, “if I put my legs up in the air like this, I think I am more likely to get pregnant.” It was fascinating!
And all of this was just on our way to the lodge!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent from Beginning to End
The best thing about Equatorial Wild Safaris is that they take the time to get to know you and understand what you want, your budget, and your schedule and then help to design a trip that is exactly what you want. From begining to end the service, accomodations, and itinerary were outstanding. They provide top notch guides which is essential to making the trip a success. I had an amazing trip and saw everything I was hoping for and more!
65+ years of age
Review about South Africa by Wim Spronk
South Africa must be the top country in the world when it comes to Wild Life and is a mecca for birders. All game reserves are well organised and do everything to make visitors comfortable.
US
under20 years of age
An all-around African experience.
Landing on a dirt airstrip is a great way to land into this beautiful reserve. Immediately you are greeted by your personal guide, who takes you first thing on a game drive to your lodge, or in my case, the Manze Lake Camp. My experience went as follows: we told our guide that we wanted to see wild dogs. 20 minutes later, they were there laying in front of us. The lodge itself was excellent, you have a personal chalet, the food was served family style and tasted great. The next day we told our tour guide that we wanted to see mating lions. Again, 10 minutes later, they were there in front of us. This whole idea of seeing anything you want, sums up Selous Game Reserve. It is a magical place with great wildlife, food, and hospitality. If I could suggest one thing, it would be to go in the month of june, july, august, when it is colder there, any other time is very hot.
Safari - Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater - The Shadows Of Africa Way
Me and my girlfriend just returned from an awesome, 4 day camping private safari trip. Before we decided for Shadows of Africa, we searched and searched on the internet for the agency. At last, a friend of ours recommended us Shadows of Africa. We emailed them and they responded right away. We were searching for a low budget safari. They offered us a lot of information and helped us organize the whole visit in Tanzania, including Zanizibar. The driver/guide was amazing. He knew a lot about the animals, nature, culture ... His english was very good, his patience for our questions unlimited and good mood refreshing :) And then, there was the chef ... His cooking was incredible, serving as well (considering, we were on a camping safari in the middle of nowhere). Every day we had a cooked meal. Pancakes, eggs, bread, jam, fruit, coffee, tea etc for breakfast, lunch was usually packed in advance in a lunch box and we ate it on the way (we didn't want to miss a minute of this fabulous trip ;) ) In the evening we had cooked meal with soup, salad and main dish. My girlfriend is a vegetarian and he always prepared her something special without meat. Everything was very well organized and the trip passed by in what seems a blink of an eye. In the end of review I would like to note that the owner of Shadows of Africa agency personally came to welcome us and was always reachable for any questions or help that we needed.