50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Garden of Eden is in Africa
I spent four nights at Mana Pools, in a tented camp overlooking the Zambezi River. During the day we had wild elephants roaming amongst the tents and down on the river flats. Sometimes they swam to mid-stream islands for better grazing. Impala, waterbuck and other smaller gazelles wandered in herds through the bush. At night you could hear the lions roar as they called to each other. Huge herds of buffalo emerged from the bush to drink at the water's edge. And of course the hippos wallowed in the river, or dragged themselves out to graze on the soft grass of the floodplain. All is as one, here in this Garden of Eden.
Sunsets over the river were each unique and beautiful, perfect for sundowners. Just outside the Park you could do night safaris: we saw a lion stalking a herd of buffalo, only to be chased off. One night we came across a male lion on the track. From a handful of metres away we watched as he lowered his chest to the ground and let out a series of roars that took our breath away.
During the heat of the day, in camp, you could sit and waste a lazy couple of hours watching the animals wander by the river on a scene that feels older than time. Everyone should go at least once to Mana Pools. And after you've been once you will want to go again.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exciting day trip to Madikwe Game Reserve
In New Zealand we don't have big game so it has always been a dream to visit a wild game park if I ever managed to visit Africa. That dream came true in 2014 when during a business trip I did a day trip to Madikwe Game Reserve and then in May of 2015 another business trip to Botswana allowed me a return visit, taking along two work collegues. The experience on both occasions was one of total excitement and nervous exhilaration. To sit in an open sided vehicle within feet of large game like lions, cheetahs, rhino and giraffe is a chance of a lifetime. On both trips to the reserve, Franco our guide from Buffalo Ridge was just awesome, his wealth of knowledge about all the reserve's game and animal's habits was truly amazing and then to sit and watch the sun go down with a glass of wine, some nibbles and share a chat, just priceless.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about South Africa by MAK
There is a lot of variety in animals and birds and the guides are all very knowledgeable. The parks are beautiful.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about South Africa by Allen Holmes Wildlife
As a country South Africa is surprisingly beautiful. It's landscapes and habitats are varied and stunning. The roads and infrastructure are much better than you would expect for an African nation and the people are so friendly.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Namibia by susan yeomans
Namibia is a stunning country with a rugged beauty. All camps we have stayed at inside and outside Etosha have offered excellent wildlife viewing.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great 5 day Safari tour
The best experience from Africa!
It was good since the beginning, Michael replied emails immediately with lots of advices regarding travel and getting to Arusha. After that, it was only better. We were picked up from the bus station and driven to the Clouds View Hotel, which was clean and tidy.
Our Safari group consisted of 6 people was selected great.
The Guide was very experienced and knowledgeable. He could spot animals from far away and gave us many informations about them and the national parks in general. He knew the answer to all our questions which was impressing. It was easy to notice that he was familiar with animal behavior and habits.
The food was surprisingly great, we've never expected to have so tasty and varied meals. The Chef was very skilled.
Our camps were nice with showers, tents were big and solid. Every part of our tour was organized very well with big involvement.
As a matter of fact, we had wonderful experience. The group and the staff, we had great social time as well, with lots of laugh during our Safari.
I will strongly recomend Northern Circuit Adventure.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nightmare Safari with EASTCO
Our trip with EASTCO is one that we will struggle to look back on with anything other than frustration. We were stuck with a guide who was rude, unprofessional, unsafe, had terrible communication and clearly cared nothing for us. And we were stuck with a company operating broken down vehicles, run down camps, and that clearly cared nothing for us. We found ourselves counting down the days until we could go home, and by the end of the trip, going along with ridiculous outings and schedules simply because it felt like the path of least resistance and our only survival mechanism.
Our troubles with EASTCO started before we even got out of Arusha when our guide, Melk, arrived 45 minutes later than our agreed upon time from the evening before and then spend an additional 20 minutes preparing the car while we waited. Then before we left the city, the engine started over heating causing him to pull over suddenly. After looking at the engine for a bit, Melk said that it would take an hour to fix. Assuming this was a low estimate – in fact he didn’t get to the crater until the next day – I said that this was not acceptable. Without saying a word to us that he was leaving, Melk then hopped on a motorcycle and road off leaving us in the truck surrounded by several guys that we hadn’t met. He came back after a few minutes and another truck arrived to take us to our hotel. It wasn’t the hotel listed on our itinerary, but it was nice so we didn’t say anything. The replacement driver suddenly stated that he was leaving as the hotel staff was greeting us. We tried to stop him to get more information on what was happening but all we could get out of him was that Melk had fixed the truck, was on the way, and would be here shortly. That turned out to be a lie since if Melk was on the road at that point he would have made it to the gate well before it closed at 6 pm. The replacement driver then quickly jumped in his truck and left before we could get his, Melk’s, or EASTCO’s contact info. We then enlisted the help of several of the staff at the hotel over the course of the evening and the next morning trying to contact EASTCO. The emergency contact number we were given didn’t answer. EASTCO’s number is not posted on their website. The hotel staff talked to folks at the hotel’s central office to try to find out who made the booking. Working with them before and after dinner and despite the hotel’s best efforts we got nowhere that night. The next morning we still had nothing and it was starting to eat into our time in the crater. Exploring Ngorongoro Crater has been a dream of mine for most of my life. I can see it from the hotel but I don’t have a way to get down there. Do we try to hire another company? Are there any guides that can take us into the crater at short notice? Suddenly Melk shows up and says – and this is an exact quote – “Ready to go?” “That’s all you have to say?” “The truck broke down. This happens.” “You couldn’t call the hotel?” “I didn’t have the hotel’s number.” This was an unprofessional and rude response, to say the least. This is a good time to point out that Melk would make 30 – 40 calls during a day of driving. He often claimed they were to the EASTCO office. Here’s five seconds of my time on the Internet hitting the front page of the hotel’s website. Their number is: (+255) 272545555. It is ironic that Melk continually took credit for being the car’s mechanic, and yet complained that it was not his fault when the car broke down.
After 30 minutes or so of awkward silence in the car Melk pulled over to offer a half-hearted apology which he followed with a rebuttal of my complaint that we paid a lot of money for the safari and we deserved to be treated better. Melk said that we may have paid a lot to EASTCO but we didn’t pay him a lot so it wasn’t relevant to him. He also offered that if he was unhappy then he would just follow exactly what’s on the itinerary and we wouldn’t see much game – basically what he did our second day in the crater.
It was clear that Melk had no ability to empathize with us – particularly when it came to us feeling safe. On our way out of Arusha he talked about how safe the city was and that anyone could walk alone any time of day – certainly not matching any other source of information we had heard. He would regularly pull over in villages without explaining, hop out of the car, and walk away with the keys in the ignition. On the way from the crater to Serengeti Horizons he pulled over and we were surrounded by several guys. One of them then jumped in the car with us. My wife asked “What’s going on?!” I said I had no idea. Melk then gave us a detailed explanation of the situation: “We give him ride.” At which point, we proceeded to drive into the desert, off the roads, and away from civilization. With a guide who clearly hated us, a complete stranger, no way of contacting the outside world, and no explanation or even a mention of “the camp is this way.” My wife has stated that she has never felt so unsafe in her life.
The accommodations at Serengeti Horizons did nothing to make us feel better. Our itinerary stated “semi-luxury” and EASTCO’s description of Serengeti Horizons included “full-size stylish wrought-iron or wooden beds with six-inch mattresses and all bedding”. In reality the mattress didn’t even cover the bed frame with the foot of the bed using a rolled pillow and cut up foam to form the mattress. The sheets had holes in them to match the level of quality. EASTCO’s tent “from the golden age of safaris” included a light plugged into a car battery – but no trash can so we pilled the trash in the corner of the tent. I was a bit nervous leaving our bags unprotected as we went off on safari so I made sure I left the zippers in exactly the same place for all bags so I would know if they were touched. When we came back one of the bags had been moved and the zippers were all the way to the other side of the bag. We couldn’t find anything missing so I didn’t bring it up, but what possible excuse could there be for this?
Our itinerary states that “the ecosystem is defined by the annual migration”. The migration was farther north than expected and Melk was apparently not going to take us to it or even bring it up. As he started to drive around the mostly barren plains the first morning at Serengeti Horizons we asked what the plan was. He detailed the day’s activities with “We do game drive.” No information was going to come from him but thankfully another couple at the camp had found out that the migration was in the central Serengeti. When we said we wanted to go there to see the migration Melk said nothing in return. Was he just ignoring us? Unbeknown to us one of his next phone calls was to the head office and they said it was ok but we had to pay the $131 entrance fee to the park. We agreed given that it would be our only chance to see the migration. At the gate we ran into one of the couples from the camp the previous night. They were more successful in their complaints. EASTCO had moved them north to another camp closer to the migration and was paying the park fee. There was no such deal for us though. Inside the park Melk started driving slowly and staring at trees along the main road near the entrance. When we asked he explained that he was looking for cats. If a leopard was in one of those trees right next to this busy road it would be surrounded by cars. When we complained that we wanted to see the migration instead - which is why we paid the park fee – he got mad. After finding the migration we stopped at a picnic site for lunch. When we got out of the car he drove off without explanation. We really weren’t sure if he was coming back.
At Serengeti Horizons we spoke with other EASTCO victims and heard stories about how their vehicles broke down and how one couple had to push their vehicle each time to get it started. We then heard complaints about the lack of radios in cars both for security and game viewing. Our second time into Ngorongoro Crater we were focused on getting a good look at a rhino. Cars started flying by us and Melk went off on one of his lectures about the evils of radio calls. We finally got a view of what everyone was headed toward and it was a rhino. We went over and got an ok view of it though it was slowly headed away. With a radio call we might have gotten a better view. Melk said that just one EASTCO car has a radio and that’s for security reasons. If we breakdown outside of cellphone coverage how does another EASTCO vehicle having a radio help us?
Our second day in the crater didn’t hold much interest for Melk. He drove past the hippo pool lunch spot and when we started getting hungry he sped past most of the second half of the crater. The lunch spot was in the forest near the exit. He parked us under a tree with the roof open. A monkey came down trying to get our food and I asked if we should close the roof. Melk explained “No”. The monkey jumped in the car a few minutes later and my wife and I jumped out with Melk chuckling. The monkey stole some of our lunch and Melk wanted us to get back in the car to finish the rest. I said “No” and Melk finally moved the car away from the tree. Melk was already on the phone again when my wife asked me what I wanted to do. I said “I just want this week to be over.” I’m not sure if Melk heard but when he got off the phone he left the vehicle to pout for a while. We ended up buying our own replacement lunch back at the hotel. Melk certainly wasn’t going to. He drove us the last bit of forest and then turned around to leave. I believe he put lunch near the end of the loop so he could hurry getting us to lunch and then claim that he “already drove all the roads”. My wife – who had continuously gone out of her way to be outrageously nice to him – said that we wanted to spend a bit more time in the forest. Melk replied with an ugly “Do you see any other roads in the forest?” When we agreed to leave after a bit Melk committed what I believe was his worst act of the week. He punched the gas with us standing in the back and wildly drove up the switchbacks no doubt angry at us. My wife sat down first and I was trying to catch a few last pictures of the crater. She had to warn me that a big turn was coming and I barely sat down in time. Melk whipped around the corner and I’m sure I would have been injured without her warning.
EASTCO held other nasty surprises for us to finish out the trip. In Mosquito Town our tour included being dropped in a tourist trap where we were asked to look around because we were their first customers in 4 weeks! We then went to Boundary Hill where we were taken on a nature walk. I managed to get all the way up Kilimanjaro and back without falling but I fell on their trail – as did my wife. She was uninjured but I was dealing with a shoulder injury for the next month. The last part of the climb involved 30 minutes of climbing back up the hill while walking through thick vegetation. The binder in the hotel room states that you shouldn’t walk through plants because they contain ticks and dangerous snakes. Something we seriously doubted our “guides” could protect us against at the pace they were moving. They apparently take every guest on this hike but they can’t cut a path or find one that doesn’t involve being in almost continuous contact with one bush or another.
Panorama Route to Kruger Park
We had a wonderful trip to Kruger Park. Christine was very efficient in getting back to you and answering any concerns prior to our trip. Our guide, Hoppy, was very knowledgable and easy going. He had a great eye for spotting animals. We stayed in some unique accommodations and had a wonderful stay in Skokuza Rest Camp. I would recommend booking thru Wildlife Safaris.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worth your time and expense!
My travel partner and I had a fantastic safari with MJ Safaris. Jackson was a pleasure to deal with and did as much as he could to plan out the 4 day, 3 night safari to suit all requests and needs. He was very diligent about the business and matters at hand. Our guide, Tom, was a joy. Very knowledgable about the surrounding area and the animals living within. Good natured and way going - a good combination for such an excursion. All this combined to create one memorable experience. You can't go wrong booking with MJ Safaris!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Highly recommended
My boyfriend and I went on a safari with Top Africa Safaris in July 2012. Joseph and his staff are highly professional and honest people. We had the best experience ever: our guide managed to spot all animals - thought sometimes hidden in the most remote corners! He was extremely patient, kind, and helpful too! The accommodation was lovely: good-value and comfy. Everything was just perfect. I hope Top Africa Safaris will quickly grow their number of (happy) customers! All the best, Veronica and Martin