ID
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The greatest adventure I've ever had
Hi Kathi. So at last we're home in the mountains. The few days we spent in Singapore were great to wind-down after our hectic trip and helped to get over the dreaded jet-lag before resuming our "normal life" in Bali. Now I'm ready to give you some feed back as promised:
Let me start by saying everything was absolutely fantastic. From the moment we stepped off the plane until Rhys dropped us off back at the airport, the programme went like clockwork. we really don't have one bad (or even average) thing to say about the organisation of our 4 weeks in Africa. Every pick up was on time and conducted by friendly, courteous drivers, every hotel and lodge was top class, all the activities were exactly what we wanted and the guides were superb. Therefore, if in the following comments, we rate something as the best, it in no way reflects badly on anything else. So here goes:
Best overall hotel : The Robertson Small Hotel. This place just balanced the old world charm with modern amenities so well, it was perfect.
Best Overall Lodge : LeRoo La Tau. Sitting on the veranda watching the animals at the river was absolutely breathtaking.
Best Meal : Yanti - Dinner at Savuti lodge, Me - Dinner at Baia, Cape Town
Best Experience - Chasing a cheetah through the swamps at Savuti and Yanti's birthday party at LeRoo La Tau.
Best game drive - Chobe Lodge
Scariest moment - Having a six foot croc swim under our small transfer boat on the way to Okavango camp
Worst night's sleep - the first night on the Rovos. The track in Zimbabwe and Botswana is not good and we would recommend strongly anyone making this trip to take some sleeping tablets or stay up drinking all night.
Best breakfast spread - The V&A Cape Town.
Most unusual - Elephant dung birthday cake at Leroo La Tau
Obviously the highlight of the trip was the mobile safari. I can safely say its the best time we've ever had on holiday. If I had to change anything I would possibly have taken this leg last, because although Cape Town and its surrounds are beautiful they can seem a bit "normal" after having spent ten days chasing game in a Landrover. Our guide Rati, who stayed with us throughout the safari was adorable. Always happy and smiling but beneath was a professionalism and safety awareness that kept us all at ease. Every lodge and all the hosts and staff were brilliant. Yanti's birthday party at LeRoo La Tau was the best she's ever had.
Victoria Falls is a must see and the Vic Falls Hotel is a masterpiece of colonial architecture even if the service was not quite as good as we received in the lodges and other hotels in SA. Our walk with the young lions was a once in a lifetime experience.
The Rovos was great, except for the first night as mentioned above, We loved getting dressed up for dinner and the food on board was magnificent. The chef and his team worked wonders considering the space and logistic issues of preparing food on a train. In my view the standard on the Rovos beats many a "top rated" restaurant I've eaten in around the world. I'm not sure that it's the "most luxurious train in the world" (as per their advertisement) but we would certainly travel with them again.
Magnificent Cape Town and its surrounds. Exceptional scenery, marvelous old towns and villages, superb wines, great weather and the most courteous and jovial guide. We loved the tour. It was just the right pace with no pressure to do this or that, just wake up in the morning and chat with Rhys about what we fancy doing today. Perfect. The only regret is not coming in Spring, but then we had to leave something for next time.
Kathi, that's all I can think of at the moment. Sorry if it's a bit "all over the place". We were absolutely delighted with the whole trip and we will definitely come again and we will definitely use your services again when we do.
All the best Jeff and Yanti
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
In a land of plenty with an excellent tour operator...
We were planning a holiday trip to Uganda but were not able to get good reviews of tour operators who can provide us a tour plan of our choice. I accidently got Safari Wildz contacts and chose them for our trip. To my wonder they made our plan as we wanted, provided a very spacious vehicle with a very nice Driver named cosmos. They even took care of our meal preference (strict veg) throughout the trip. We thoroughly relished our 5 days tour with them. It is an unforgettable experience. Thanks Ruth, Karen and Cosoms for making our trip a great success. Honestly I am recommending SAFARI WILDZ to those who are planning to visit East Africa. You will no go wrong with SAFARI WILDZ. Cheers....
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
4 weeks Tanzania: a great adventure our family will never forget thanks to Afroriginal
This summer we went for a very special trip for 4 weeks to Tanzania. Thanks to the tailor-made program from Desiree our family enjoyed it very much from the beginning to the end. We have seen things we will never forget: the chimps in Mahale, gamedrives in the beautiful national park of Katavi (what a privilege to have a gamedrive for a whole day seeing lots of wild animals and just 1 other car!). The 3-days walking tour with donkeys from Empakai crater to lake Natron was a great opportunity to see an extraordinary landscape and meet the Masai people in a natural way. Visiting a special camp in Serengeti was beyond our expectations and the trip at the Shira plateau of the Kilimanjaro is laid down in our memory. We are looking back to a well organized trip, and a warm welcome in Tanzania. Thanks for the good guidance, nice food, the wonderful journey, the professional approach and above all the personal touch! We can highly recommend Afroriginal to plan and organize a special trip off the beaten path that you’ll remember forever.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The best personalized experience my wife and I have ever received! Philip was simply amazing!
The Wild Wind tours service was simply great and being our honeymoon (we had heard about all the horror stories of honeymoon trips gone bad) and our first time in Namibia we were both apprehensive of this tour to Namibia. Philip of Wild Wind safaris met us at HK airport and from that moment till he dropped us back we enjoyed every minute in lovely paradise called Namibia. Wild Wind safaris service was par excellence and Philip delivered beyond our expectations. He communicated speedily via email and was very accurate in his package communication. The tour thru the vast beautiful country of Namibia is one that we shall never forget -the game drives and the encounter with the bull elephant in Etosha will be etched on our memories forever. The food was great and I especially loved the impala steak :-). My wife went sky diving in Swakopmund and it was an awesome experience for both of us. The boat ride in Swakopmund into the cold waters of the Atlantic was amazing and seeing seals,dolphins and the mola mola fish was an experience. The experience of riding quad bikes in the dunes of the Namib desert was quite something. Philip gave us the most personalized and attentive service we have ever received and we have already decided our first annivesary will be in Namibia. We have sold Namibia to our friends! Namibia is a beautiful country and Wild Wind Safaris made it a most wonderful honeymoon.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Tanzania Tour Company
SED Adventures is an excellent choice for anyone who wishes to plan their own itinerary. We were able to work with the company and plan our own trip, length of stay, lodging options, and even Kilimanjaro hiking route options. Our guides were excellent especially our safari guide who able to answer our numerous questions regarding animals and culture. We have wonderful memories of our trip to Africa. Please consider using SED Adventures for a trip tailor made to fit your needs.
Great safari and fully delivering what they promise
Very prompt response, punctual pick-up at the hotel and drop-off at the airport, pleasant staff (and doing their best to make sure you get to see all of the animals!)
All in all, very much recommended :)
A practical tip - make sure you have all the amount with you in USD cash. The exchange rates for the local currency was really bad at Maasai Mara, Kenya.
Educational, safe, fun!
The guide was knowledgeable and willing to point out both flora and fauna. Will do it again when the opportunity arises. Enjoyed the variety of game drives and courtesy of the guide.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing adventure, magical food!
We were four friends who was booked on a safari through wild things safari and we would not change a thing!
A girl from the Office met us at our first hotel i Dar se Salaam and went throug the basics. The following day we were picked up by our guide and went on an amazing adventure! He had knowledge about everything we asked about and more!
Not to forget- our chef! He cooked us the best food we had in a long time!!
We lived in tents right in the bush. Really nervwrecking but also really cool!
Right we would actually have wanted to change a thing, next time we'll stay more than Five days!
CM
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
with Shian travel I enjoyed a well planed and interesting, relaxed holiday-
Communication: there was some lack of detailed information prior to the safari.
Service: I appreciated how you tried to follow our special wishes concerning lodges.
I very much appreciated your friendliness in the e-mail communications.
I also appreciated the clarity in the financial matters.
The safari tour itself was exceeding our expectation.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service!
I traveled to Kenya and Tanzania with SED. While SED offers package tours, I preferred to customize the entire trip just for me. In sum, it was the BEST overseas travel experience I ever had (and I have traveled overseas a lot, not on tours). Elifasi, the manager, arranged all accommodations and itineraries to my specification, and he personally made sure that I was satisfied while I was there. SED was also very flexible and accommodating about my requests to make changes to the itinerary while traveling, and very honest and transparent about the charges or refunds involved in making these changes. I wanted to do a lot of hiking and see local cultures while I was there instead of just being driven to watch animals, and SED and Elifasi totally made this happen. When I twisted my left ankle during one of these hikes in the mountains, they took me to the hospital immediately, and made sure everything was ok and I was able to continue my travel. All in all, I am completely satisfied with SED, and I'd recommend them to anyone who's traveling to East Africa.