CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Namibia is a country of natural beauty and beautiful, friendly people
I loved my trip to Namibia, from the ease of my arrival at the airport to getting my 4x4 car rental and then driving on the other side of the road, everything went well for me. I felt very safe. I planned a 4-day self-drive trip to Sossusvlei. It was magical with wonderful sunny days and cool nights with big starry skies. I stayed the first night at Little Sossus Lodge and the next two at Sossus Dune Lodge because it was located inside the park gates; this way I could access the park before sunrise and an hour after sunset providing me with enough time for some great photo opportunities at Deadvlei or climbing dunes. The staff at the lodges, the park staff, and the locals I met along the way were all very nice and made me feel welcome. I liked the independence of driving on my own. There were plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities along the road as well. Next, I booked a 4-day safari to Etosha leaving from Windhoek with a pickup and drop off at my hotel. What a great trip. I had a personal driver to take me to Etosha and look after everything while I was there. Etosha was a mix of sitting by a water hole and game driving. The amount and diversity of wildlife around the waterhole were incredible, I particularly liked it when a herd of elephants or rhinos would visit. That was it, short but sweet.
I look forward to my next trip to explore more of Namibia with my friends.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Elephants' swimming pool
I stay in CNP in september 2015, during my 16 days tour in Southern Africa with kiboko Adventures.
Chobenationalpark was the very first place where I finally saw wild animals in my life, expecially hippos, my favourite guys. It was an amazing experience, as I was very lucky. In fact during two days and three game drive I saw lions (a family with puppies), Leopard, elephants, hippos, baboons, giraffes, crocs, vultures, marabous and several species of Birds. Our guides allows us to take fantastic pictures, thank you guys! I think the only bad think was the huge Number of vehicles and boats during our game drives. It seemed to stay on a hightway...By the way I came home with Africa in my heart...and I ll come back as soon as possible.
GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable memories
Our company chose Safari Bookings with Lark Journeys to organize our 16-day self-drive safari. I highly recommend Namibia as a travel destination. The overall experience, natural beauty, wildlife, local culture, and accommodations were all exceptional.
I captured remarkable photographs and encountered extraordinary desert-adapted animals.
Claire and Gregory from Lark Journeys provided invaluable assistance and expertise throughout the planning and execution of our safari.
US
Review about Tarangire National Park by Ronnie
We stayed at the Tarangire Safari Lodge--It was our favorite place to watch the animals at the river and around the tents. In addition the food was the best of all of the camps and lodges on our trip. The variety of animals as well as the trees made for interesting photography, One experience in particular deserves recognition. As we sat watching a lone of elephants cross the road, one suddenly turned and charged the vehicle and sunk both tusks into the grillwork. Our guide reacted immediately, powering into the elephant, thereby causing it to disengage. His expert actions surely avoided what might have been a disaster; we are deeply indebted to him.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Booked a 4-night stay at Chobe Safari Lodge via Falcon and had no problems.
Firstly, the 4-night stay at Chobe Safari Lodge was absolutely fine - excellent accommodation, meals and facilities - no problems at all. Transfers to and from Kasane Airport on arrival and departure were smooth and well organised - not sure how much of this was attributable to Falcon Safaris or Chobe Safari Lodge itself.
The package included several Game Drives and River Cruises and all of these were well organised and thoroughly enjoyable. On arrival at Chobe, I also booked a 1-day Fly-In to the Okavango Delta (Pom-Pom Camp) via the Lodge's own Activities Centre. This also was well-organised and well worth doing, though I did feel the cost was a little on the high side.
As I had already booked my own flights from Johannesburg to and from Kasane, Falcon's main involvement was the accommodation package at Chobe Safari Lodge. The booking process was handled entirely via e-mail between myself in the UK and Falcon in Victoria Falls. Replies to my various questions in the early stages of booking were handled courteously and promptly and enabled me to reach a decision about the booking without hassle.
In my view, the weakest part of the booking process involved the rather slow responses after money had been transferred. On a couple of occasions, I had to send an email chasing confirmation that the money I had sent had been received and requesting an updated invoice recording the payment. Where money is involved, and particularly an International Transfer, I think Falcon should be more acutely aware of the importance of reassuring the client(s) that their payment(s) has been safely received. It should not be necessary for the client to chase confirmation. Closer liaison between the Admin and Accounts people would help to ensure that the client is kept fully informed of his/her booking's status.
In my case, nothing went wrong and there were no problems, but I still needed to know as soon as possible that the money had arrived safely, without having to chase a response.
Overall, falcon handled things well and my trip was a great success - the comments above are (hopefully) constructive and will enable Falcon to fine-tune its procedures to provide an even better service to its customers.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mt Meru Hike: An amazing and reasonably challenging experience
Visiting Tanzania and climbing Mt Meru was an amazing experience and one of the highlights of my summer. Our trek was booked through Travel Africa, and our guide, Emanuel and his crew of porters did a great job, and even did some quick on the fly adjustments to ensure we had the right gear. The key to succeeding in Meru is preparation and knowing you physical ability. Our group was young and fit, so we completed the hike in 3 days. However, for most group who may be older, summiting is definitely achievable, but much easier under the 4 day program. Definitely achievable for most adjust, and the view of Kilimanjaro makes it all worth it!!
US
Review about Serengeti National Park by Ronnie
It was here that we saw cheetahs, as well as lions hunting but our most memorable site was watching two giraffes boxing in slow motion with their heads! The Katikati Camp was very nice in all respects. Amusing having the elephant right outside our tent door and not an inconvenience that he broke the plumbing. I especially enjoyed seeing the hyena's eyes while being walked back from dinner.
Our final sunset in the Serengeti displayed extraordinary God's Rays. Many of the animals had already migrated so the numbers were down, but there was a variety and they were easy to spot with the low grass.
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
US
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Ronnie
The drive to Lake Manyara took us through some scenic villages and there were 2 areas with lots of interesting waterfowl, but the flamingos were too far away to be seen. The Manyara Serena Safari Lodge is very beautiful, has good food and the pool well located for watching the sunset; but lots of smokers make that area off limits to nonsmokers. The entertainment also happens in the smokey area. We also went to Lake Eyasi and stayed at the Kisima Ngeda Camp. The staff was very engaging and the grounds were good for bird photography, but our bed had little bugs in it and right before we went to bed they spayed with insecticide which made breathing difficult. The food was adequate, but there was no selection.
While there we vivisted with the Datoga tribe with a knowledgable and friendly local guide. The tribe members were very welcoming. That was worth a visit!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Using African Ubuntu Safaris made a first time trip to Africa worry free and very enjoyable.
The communications and service provided by African Ubuntu Safaris were both excellent from the time of first contact. Queries were answered promptly and the itinerary offered fitted budget and what I had hoped for. Visited 3 camps in Botswana and finished at Victoria Falls. All the camps were very comfortable, terrain beautiful and the staff helpful and professional. Guides and trackers were excellent. Wildlife sightings were outstanding. Couldn't have enjoyed myself more, absolutely loved it. In Zimbabwe had a lovely room at the Vic Falls Hotel and the tour of the falls was definitely a highlight.
As this was my first overseas trip for many years (first time to Africa) and I was travelling solo, I was quite nervous. I needn't have been. African Ubuntu made it very easy, organising all the bookings (including an extra activity in Vic Falls) and transfers which all went very smoothly. I'll be using them again for the next trip and would recommend them to anyone else thinking of going on safari in Africa.