US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Accurate and prompt to questions
This trip was great
All communications were prompt and accurate.
We were picked up at the first hotel and informed about the coming days.
Our guide was great with lots of information, being very knowledgeable about history and animals.
It was not cheap but if you have the means then it’s absolutely recommended.
Perhaps it would help future customers to inform them of alternative activities.
Overall a great trip.
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, unforgettable experience
They picked us up at our hotel and dropped us off there too, which was really convenient. They were very friendly and attentive, both our driver Sunny and our tour guide Petrus. Petrus is really funny and knowledgeable. He is attentive to our needs as to when to stop, he knows how to find the best spots for pictures, he even rushed so we could get to see the leopard which is rarely seen. Food was also nice. Definitely an amazing experience getting to see so many wild animals so close.
PE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical
Unforgettable trip. Tanzania has to offer everything in one place. Wildlife, beaches, history, and great and friendly people. Out tour operator Nature Excursion was just amazing.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Namibia has some of the best and varied scenery and Etosha had amazing wildlife
After a luxury, customised Safari across Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, we did a 19-day self-drive Safari around Namibia. All of this was organised through Wayfairer Travel, who were fabulous. They also worked inside Namibia with ATI Travel who organised the car rental, customised map and navigation directions for us. All of this worked really well.
We drove around the bulk of Namibia in a clockwise direction starting from Windhoek. We chose mostly luxury accommodation and we can recommend the following (with occasional relevant comments):
Kalahari Red Dunes Lodge Tented Chalet was the most beautifully appointed place we stayed at in all of Africa. No expense had been spared here. The attention to detail was extraordinary and the facilities were extensive; including a pool, huge, luxurious bar and dining areas (indoor and out). All chalets look out over waterholes and feed areas for the animals that come in for this. (Don’t stay only one night)
Fish River Lodge Chalet is situated on the very edge of the massive canyon which gives you an extraordinary view of it. (It is however, an extremely long drive over some rough gravel and sandy roads to get there. The optional activity of driving around the canyon is actually a day trip to the bottom of the canyon, and is not worth the price or the five hours of discomfort to get there).
Klein Aus Vista is hard to find, but the pool area and relaxation areas around and overlooking it were terrific; and great for sunset watching. (The rooms next to this may be okay, but the Eagle's Nests Chalets we stayed in were almost 9kms of gravel road away from the above amenities, and they are built almost directly under a cliff face of massive boulders that have obviously rolled down from above at some time in the past, and will logically continue to do this again at some point. The cabins are also almost side by side, so you can’t enjoy the isolation you might expect that far out. Unless you like climbing large rocky hills, I don’t see the point of these remote and very basic chalets).
Desert Hills Lodge Chalet near Sossusvlei is an amazing architectural feat. The chalets and huge main buildings have the most beautiful thatched roofs, and there is a large pool area and extensive dining deck; all with an expansive view overlooking a huge, beautiful, vast and rocky desert area. Each chalet has a private and uninterrupted view of this.
Okaukuejo Camp is conveniently located well inside west Etosha National Park. Whilst the cabins are not by any means luxury accommodation, staying in the chalets right beside the waterhole meant that you were immersed at any time of day or night in the experience of almost every type of animal up close and personal.
Mushara Bush Camp Tent near east Etosha National Park was very nice and quiet, and it had a pool, and a beautifully designed lobby, bar and dining area. Unlike Okaukuejo Camp, it is just a little way out from the park though, so you need drive about half an hour to get to any of the waterholes.
Ai-Aiba Rock Painting Lodge Chalets are beautiful and cleverly built. The chalets and huge main building have beautiful thatched roofs, and there is a pool area and an extensive glassed-in dining area; all with an expansive view towards the Erongo Mountains. Each chalet has a private and uninterrupted view of this.
There is however, about 48 kms of winding, hilly, gravel road just to get there from the main highway, so unless you love climbing around rocky outcrops and intend to stay at least two nights, I don’t know that it is worth it.
Also the chalets here are also built almost directly under a cliff face of massive boulders that have obviously rolled down from above at some time in the past, and will logically continue to do this again at some point)
Activities that I can recommend include:
Climbing to the top of Big Daddy sand dune near Sossusvlei (be aware it is too tough for some)
Lie-down sand boarding down huge sand dunes (at speeds up to 70 kph) at Swakopmund
Most of the highways in Namibia are very good. The bitumen roads can legally be driven on at up to 120 kph, but most of them have no dividers between each side of the road, so some may prefer to drive at lesser speeds.
There are some very long stretches of gravel roads which are mostly being constantly graded, but it can be tiring watching almost every section of road for potholes, small ditches or loose edges.
Regardless of the road types, much of the scenery is just stunning in terms of geology, mountains, gorges, desert area and changes in vegetation. Depending on where you are, there is often a lot of wildlife to see along the way.
The weather was perfect the whole way around, and we felt quite safe everywhere; even at night. Of course, there are some national parks where you cannot wander around at night, due to the proximity of wildlife.
The country had been suffering from drought for some time before we arrived, but we still saw quite a lot of animals around. Many waterholes are fed by water 24/7 from boreholes, and some lodges bring in feed for the animals. Etosha was by far the best location for large herds of elephants, zebra and wildebeest, and we saw many giraffes and a few rhinos. We even saw cheetahs here, and we hadn’t seen these anywhere else.
Swakopmund and Okaukuejo at west Etosha were the best places we found for some great souvenirs.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic tour operator with local knowledge
My mother and I had an excellent experience and time with Liyu. They responded super quickly and were very reliable. I asked for customisations to one of their trips, which they were happy to organise for us. The whole trip, which inluded many domestic flights, was organised very well and all guides at each location were excellent. We had a fantastic time visiting the local sights, learning about the history of the country and meeting its lovely people. Would definitely book with them again!
CZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He was prompt to answer, helped us with everything and his organisation was super smooth.
The value for money was by far the best we found. The operator was fast to respond, even checked up on us during the trip and everything was organised smoothly. The guide was a professional and went above and beyond to care for our safety and experience. We saw so many beautiful animals and the nature was breathtaking. When anything went wrong you could always just sit back and everything was resolved in a heartbeat. 😊 Overall I highly recommend this company. It was a sublime trip and all thanks to them.🙏
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic weekend safari
Fantastic weekend with Kima Safaris. We had a day and a half of game driving. We had the chance to see so much wild life up close. Our driver Issa was great and knew all the best spots to take us. Accommodation and food in our package was great. Picked our group up directly from our accommodation in Dar. Absolutely great value for money too
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Funny guy
The Safari was great! We saw all the animals we wanted to see and we got really close to them! The driver also brought a music box, so the vibe was very good.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience with amazing guide! Thank you Eric!
I can’t fault anything about Kima safari. Everything ran on the planned schedule, the guides were so knowledgeable and got us so close to the animals without making it feel like we were disturbing or distressing the animals. The vehicles were comfortable and gave great 360 views while in the park. I would not have any doubts with booking future experiences through Kima. Thank you especially to Eric and Isa.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Issa is a wonderful guide, with a lot of experience and knowledge!
The safari with Kima safaris was great! The entire tour was arranged with great detail. We where picked up from our accommodation and after the weekend we where dropped of again. The communication with the organization was great, if there were any problems we could tell the Issa and he would make sure it was fixed. The safari itself was magical, Issa made sure we saw a lot (almost all) of animals from up close. We got beautiful pictures and he would explain some things about the animals. The lunches were great and well organized. You got great values for your money! I would definitely book this safari again and would really recommend booking it yourself! Especially with Issa as a guide!
