CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded our expectations in every way
Everyone we dealt with conducted themselves in a professional, courteous and helpful manner. They were very helpful in providing a first quote and then adjusting it until we had fine tuned it exactly to our liking. All of the accommodations were excellent. Anthony was our tour guide in Kenya and he was very good. Paul was our tour guide in Tanzania and he was something special. We could tell that he was one of the most experienced guides in Tanzania because many of the other tour guides were consulting with him and he was treated him with a great deal of respect everywhere we went. Both of our guides had excellent knowledge of how to be at the right place at the right time to have the best experiences. We were able to photograph and take videos of many scenes that would be worthy of a TV documentary (We have put together a 45 min slide show and video presentation and we have had amazing reviews from our family and friends. We have seen the presentation many times and never get tired of reliving these experiences of a life time).
Hallmark gets top marks and we would not hesitate in recommending them for your safari.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The superb Wild Dog Safaris organised everything we asked them to and nothing was too much trouble.
Wild Dog Safaris organised a fantastic safari for us in October 2013. We had our own Guide who was brilliant - his English and knowledge of Namibia and all the animals he found for us was excellent. Nothing was too much trouble for Wild Dog Safaris, from all the numerous arrangements and planning before we arrived, to collecting us at the airport, finding all the animals we wanted to see, taking us whenever and wherever we wanted to go and to ensuring that our accommodation was all absolutely 5 star! We could not fault Wild Dog Safaris and will definitely be returning to Namibia for another safari with them as soon as possible!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Everyone says their guide is the greatest, but unless they're talking about Brian, they're wrong.
What a fantastic 15 day adventure with Brian and Ecological Wilderness Adventures. He recommended and we tweaked our stays in Tarangiri, Serengeti and the Crater. Here, almost a year later, our memories are sharp, vivid and unforgettable. In large measure, due to the friendliness, knowledgeability and humor Brian shared with us. Animals were fantastic, but the variety and beauty of the birds was astounding. And Brian was our constant, attentive educator and friend. If you safari to Tanzania, go with the best. It will dramatically increase both your pleasure and understanding of this amazing Africa.
CA
Andrew was superb!
Andrew is very knowledgable and entertaining and accommodating!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
World air had a fantastic package of safari that realy met my expectation of a Memorable safari.
I believe that world air has the best arrangement in terms of Quality, my 6day safari with them was superb,
My driver guide made sure that we were informed in every place we visited not to mention his capacity knowledge of the entire Eco-system from Birds, wildlife to communities. talking of our expectation ovarall indeed it was a fantastic life time Safari with world Air Tours.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect !
We loved too much our trip.
Freddy was really fantastic to find with us every kind of animal.
We have seen: Manyara, Eyasi, Ngorongoro & Serengeti.
thanks a lot for your kindness
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Walk with the elephants in the company of Zimbabwe's most experienced guide
Mana Pools is my idea of heaven. Goliath camp is a collection of seven guest tents, bar, open-air dining room and braai/seating area overlooking the fast-flowing Zambezi. Simply furnished, each tent boasts a flush loo and wood-burning shower. A far cry from my earliest memories of camping with my Dad in Tanganyika, where the showers were from buckets and the loo a hole in the ground, or better still, the open air. In those days, my dad would build a little fire in the park, and do a great fry up…such memories fuel my great love of the bush and Mana, a world heritage site where you can walk, seems to approximate my recollection of a carefree childhood more than anywhere else
This is the fourth time we have stayed in Goliath camp, with living legend tracker and guide Stretch Fereirra, a huge man with a laugh like a hippo and a mane like a lion, who is best known as an elephant whisperer. The Stretch ‘experience’ consists of ‘moments’, as he calls them up, closer to elephants and lions, not without some risk and excitement. One such shared moment, when we were charged out of nowhere by One Tusk, Stretch says is up there with one of scariest he’s had…
The typical day starts with drums at 4.45, tea and porridge by the fire, then a scramble into the landrovers to see what tracks are fresh. Stretch and Reuben, the other guide, noses glued to the roadside, will say things like ‘fresh leopard/lion/wild dog here, only an hour ago,’ and we will disembark, don water bottles and set off for our early morning walk through the bush.
On the second morning we were lucky to find the local pride, the Spice Girls and their two litters of young cubs, plus their five adolescent males; the Back Street Boys were absent on a mission. You never approach a lion in a straight line, so we zig-zag from anthill to anthill until we get close enough to be able to sit and watch them quietly. The next day they kindly stopped by the road for us! ‘Cheap lions’, that’s called.
Coffee and cake under a tree at about 9 am, beside the river, by a pan or in a shady spot. On the second day we had been tracking the wild dogs in the Wilderness area, and as we sit down a tray of bacon and avocado sandwiches arrive as if from a local take away! On another, as we sat at Vundu point, a man appeared from nowhere, toting an MK47. ‘Do not be scared’, he said, ‘I am human.’ He was a ranger, part of the anti-poaching squad whose job it is to patrol the park and ‘shoot to kill’. He spoke excellent English and we learned a lot about the career path in National Parks!
After brunch we might go for a swim in the Zambezi with a glass of wine; the Zambezi mud is an excellent exfoliator, and if you stay in the shallows the risk from crocs and hippos is minimal. Elephants and hippos splash in the distance, the carmine bee-eaters and fish eagles swoop and call to each other, the pied kingfisher hovers and dives.
In the late afternoons we set out again, often on foot: searching for buffalo; the elusive Boswell, the old bull who stands on his hind legs to reach the acacias, but who on this trip remained elusive; lions and elephant ‘moments’.
Canoeing and fishing are other afternoon activities. Rick and Diego caught two huge Vundu (catfish), the largest weighing up to 40kgs. They were returned, of course, being protected.
Each time I visit Mana I visit the spot, an island mid stream, where we sent [our daughter] Louise’s ashes on a final journey to the Indian Ocean. This time Siraaj, one of the camp guides, had prepared a beautiful driftwood boat, loaded with flame-red combritum and fragrant white caparis blooms. As a small croc slithered into the water, I waded in to launch our boat, which bobbed merrily downstream, catching the fast current. As we paddled on, we could see it in the vermillion sunset, like an ancient Viking coracle going to its Valhalla.
Sundowners await us on return to camp, or by the river bank. One evening we went and sat by Mochumi pan, sipping chilled white wine while elephants and baboons frolicked in the murky water. Sometimes the cows and calves – the most dangerous of elephants as the mums are extremely aggressive – are a bit close for comfort .
Dinner is a delicious braai with Stretch doing the honours, or a civilized sit down affair round the huge wild mango table. Flo, co–owner of the camp, and now a good friend, has trained the two camp chefs, Richard and Nicholas, and the food is delicious. Sarah, a delightful Zimbabwean girl, is our hostess and looks after us beautifully
This visit we had taken over the whole camp and filled it with friends, many of who were celebrating birthdays. Quite an undertaking planning a trip for 14 people, chartering planes from the hugely efficient Executive Air, booking hotels, pick-ups, restaurants, briefing the team on essentials…and trying to enjoy the holiday as well!
But enjoy it I certainly did, and can't recommend the Stretch experience highly enough.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
2 day birdwatching trip from Nairobi to Naivasha.
On a business trip to Nairobi I had a 2 day midweek break, and I requested a car and driver to spend the time in Naivasha birdwatching and visiting places i used to go as a child.
Erick came with his comfortable Rav 4 and we spent 2 excellent days pottering around Nairobi and Naivasha. Erick was excellent company and good fun to spend time with. Nothing was too much trouble - from locating my old primary school in Nairobi from 35 years ago, to 6.15 rises to go on a hunt for vultures in Hells Gate, to locating medication for my unexpected migraine. It was like travelling with a friend. However he was also sensitive to those times when i needed to have some privacy or time with others. He is also very knowledgeable about bird life, the areas we visited and Kenyan life in general. I really enjoyed my time and i would book with him again. Indeed, even if i didn't have time to go on a trip, I would probably still seek him out for a catch-up beer if i was in Nairobi again! Thanks Erick.
A unique, awesome and breathtaking safari experience.
Goliath Safaris' camp in Mana Pools sits on the bank of the Zambezi River. The day starts with some porridge by the camp fire as the first light of the day colours the Zambian escarpment on the other side of the river, turning it through a range of reds and pinks to its mid-day blue. In the evening the setting sun inflames the western sky to the guests' left as the hippos stir and grunt, ready for their night of foraging.
Stretch Ferreira hustles his guests to finish their morning tea and coffee and it is off to see what has happened overnight and to find where the wildlife has chosen to settle down for the day. Stretch guides, striding out at the head of his small group of guests, but he is so much more than a guide. I have been to over forty sub-Saharan safari camps and so feel qualified to say there is no one who equals his talents, skills and intuitive sense of how the wildlife is thinking and going to behave. It is a sense that brings his guests to the wildlife's very feet, time and again and with an unerring accuracy and consistency that is unnerving.
I have no idea how he does it - all I know is I return every year to benefit from his instincts and tracking skills, and that speaks volumes because amongst all my very regular travels, there is nowhere else I return to annually. For a wildlife photographer, the Goliath experience is sublime and unique and I shall be back.
If any reader is looking for adventure, with close and safe encounters with completely wild animals, I would start and end with Goliath - no point in going anywhere else as Goliath will have spoiled it for you.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent price/quality ratio and excellent organization and staff availability
The service was very good, high quality accommodation and campsites. Thanks to our guide that in addition to being professional and kind has provided us a lot of information. I definitely recommend Savannah Explorers for both itineraries and the excellent price/quality ratio.