CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Safari was an amazing African experience
My visit to Arusha National Park was an amazing experience and a great way to start off my trip to Tanzania! My full day safari in Arusha National Park was one of amazing landscapes and views, as well as incredible wildlife! We witnessed many different species of animals from Blue Monkeys and Baboons to giraffes and numerous birds. One of the highlights of the safari was visiting the Momela Lakes where we viewed thousands of pink flamingos. Even though Arusha National Park doesn't have the large cats such as lions and cheetahs, there are many other amazing species to witness while you are there. An amazing national park to visit for sure!
PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lake Manyara is a perfect place for birdwatchers and a gentle introduction to safari for others.
We've seen lots of Elephants in the Lake Manyara National Park. Really, lots of them. And they were so close! We didn't manage to get so close to elephants in Serengeti as we did in Manyara.
It's also a terrific place for bird-watching. We were not a great birds enthusiasts but seeing so many flamingos at one place was a wonderful experience.
If you are not a birdwatcher I would recommend visiting Manyara before entering Serengeti. It's just a great introduction to Safari. You can also spend a night near Manyara in a comfortable lodge instead of campsite. Lodges are much cheaper here than in Serengeti or Ngorongoro.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Kruger National Park by romicom
The best of it all is the Kruger: good restaurant, excellent facilities and dedicated knowledgeable staff.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A day in Addo Elephant Park
Living in Port-Elizabeth, we decided as a family to go spend a day in the park. The drive was quite longer than initially expected as we took the freeway and got from the Southern entrance. The initial irritation of being a bit lost was quickly gone when we got into the park itself. The drive was amazing as you really feel as if in another world from the city setting. There are different areas for bird viewing. From the road, we were lucky to have a beautiful view of the elephants and zebras. We had a glimpse of lions in the distant. But the beauty of the place was mainly due in our eyes by the magnificent sight of elephants playing, mothers protecting their offspring.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My first visit to South Africa, my first Safari.
Just to put things in perspective my holiday was actually called "Butterflies of South Africa" it was a four centre holiday starting at Wakkerstroom then uMkhuze, Saint Lucia and finally eShowe, only 2 nights were actually spent in the game reserve.
The main entrance to the reserve was flooded due to recent heavy rain, so we made a detour to another gate. Even at this one there was plenty of water about. For the remainder of my visit we never had any problems with floods, and the tracks and roads around the reserve were dry and in good repair.
I was provided with a tent. It had all modern conveniences, shower, flush toilet, electricity. Beds had mosquito nets. Unfortunately I was never at ease in the tent and didn't have a minutes sleep on my first night. I missed having a solid door! There are chalets on the site so if I went back I would definitely stay in one of them.
Butterflies and birds were our main objective, but we still had plenty of time to drive around the reserve to see much larger wildlife. It is hard to explain just how thrilling it is to see antelope, rhino, giraffe, zebra in their natural surroundings. We were actually in two minibuses, window seats were at a premium. Generally, my fellow travellers were considerate to others needs, and there was much moving around within the vehicle so everyone had a chance to get a good view and take some photos.
I have to mention our guides: John Davies and Bert Palthe of Lawson's Birding Safaris. They were very friendly, resourceful, and had a totally awesome knowledge of the fauna and flora of the region. In short they were totally amazing, and this added greatly to an already amazing experience (please remember this was my first safari)!
Some highlights of my visit were:
An early morning walk in the reserve searching for butterflies. The chief warden with his rifle made this particularly memorable, it also proved very rewarding in terms of butterflies seen.
An early morning drive to a viewing tower in the reserve. John and Burt supplied tea and "rusks" while we gazed over a panorama of the reserve. Mainly zebra sighted, but still rewarding.
An evening barbeque, where John and Bert cooked the food. A bright light shone on a white sheet attracted many insects. Another member of the group was wearing a white shirt and a gigantic dragonfly landed on it and stayed their for quite a while.
Finally I would just like to mention the drive into the reserve. It was particularly striking due to the enormous number of vast spider's webs on view. Large Golden Orb spiders were clearly visible on many of the webs.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by JD~PHOTOGRAPHY
Tanzania has some of the best national parks in the world and numerous species of animals can be found quite readily in many of its parks.
PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tanzania by TK
Tanzania is simply beautiful! Breathtaking! And people are so nice and hospitable. You will definitely fall in love with Tanzania. Believe me.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about South Africa by romicom
There is a huge variety of wildlife facilities, the infrastructure is excellent too.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about South Africa by Jetzipops
The guides are amazing‼And it's a very beautiful country.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Africa, Tanzania and a totally awesome Safari experience
Where do I start? I’d looked at taking a safari for quite some time but never quite gotten so brave as to book, but as time goes by you realise with our rapidly dwindling animal population it’s something you’re going to have to do sooner rather than later. After looking for a while at the various companies, along with studying some reviews I thought I’d give Java Safaris a whirl so sent off an exploratory email to see what they could offer me.
Their reply was both prompt and courteous and after a few more emails we had the skeleton of a plan (Safaris do take a bit of planning) armed with this I decided to book a 10 day safari. Java Safaris organized everything for me, going through lots of options of parks and accommodation styles and Catherine at Java Safari took plenty of time to answer all of my questions and allay any concerns that I had.
I was still a little apprehensive about such a big trip with this being my first time to Africa but from the moment I stepped off the plane at Kilimanjaro Airport until I stepped back on the plane everything was amazing. Java Safaris met me as soon as I have got my luggage and took so much care of me throughout the whole trip, giving me lots of information and making me feel totally at ease. Tanzania has so much to offer, it was beyond my expectations. All the accommodation choices were perfect and I was made to feel like a VIP throughout with amazing staff and excellent food. The game viewing was beyond words and the driver guide, Nixon, was just incredible with such animal spotting skills and vast knowledge, not to mention quite a sense of humor.
I cannot stress enough how impressed I was with Java and how professional they are with such attention to detail. Now that I have the taste for Africa 'll be going back, may visit Kenya or Uganda and would not hesitate in going straight back to Java Safaris.