Almost perfect
As a group of three people we visited Tarangire National Park with a professional guide. Before we were in Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater but Tarangire was the greatest experience. We didn't see as many other cars as in the two other parks (we visited in low season, maybe it's worse in high season) and only at lunch we've seen a lot of other visitors at a central place.The nature was beautiful and like you (or at least I) imagine it when you think of Africa plains. Although the dominant color was sand-brown, there're a lot of gigantic trees and the Tarangire river as the central line. We've seen a lot of elephants at close and in high season you should be able to see a lot more of the so-called "big five".
PR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unbeatable experience! No enough words to describe it!
It was our first trip to South Africa and we were really excited about our Safari Experience. Our trip was arranged through Go2Africa and I have to say Kapama Southern Camp gave us the most amazing experience. We stayed there for four (4) days and by the last day we did not want to leave. We saw all Big 5s, it was great!
The chalets and the surrounding areas are truly amazing! You will have animals roaming around the camp and you can even see Kudus or monkeys outside your room. The camp is so peaceful that between games you can spend some time by the pool reading a book. Food is great! You will have plenty of options to chose from during breakfast, lunch and dinner and even during the snacks.
I guess we were really blessed since the beginning of our trip! The day we arrived we did not made the usual check in process because we were rush to the restaurant so we can see a herd of elephants (fist of the big five’s) playing at a sort of lake located at the back of the camp.
Our Ranger Aneen was very knowledgeable; she knew every flower, bird, and animal and their “story” and she even draw a story for us in front mirror of the truck. Our Tracker Muxe, was spectacular. He was so respectful, attentive and sweet that we did not want to leave him by the end of our trip. The combination of the knowledge of Aneen and Muxe was impressive.
This is not a Zoo, is a real “bush” or “safari” experience. You will find yourself very close with all the animals. For example we saw an old male lion and he decided to stand mere two feet from our truck looking in my direction, I was scare, but at the same time I felt safe because I knew Muxe was there. Now, that is one of the great stories and pictures I can share with friends and family.
We saw lots of giraffe (my favorite!), Impalas, Warthogs, Kudu, Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalos, a Pack of Male Lions, a Cheetah, an Old male Lion and his lioness eating a warthog, among other animals. We also interacted with another Ranger, Janri, because he was the one who transfer us to the Endanger Species location and to the Spa. He was sooooo nice! In our way to the Endanger Species location we saw a male lion with two lionesses, a herd of elephants, two rhinos and buffaloes and all of them really close, no binocular needed. Definitely, we will be going back to some of Kapama Camps in the future.
Recommendations: If you are not that young, ask for a room not too far away from the reception area. Take with you a bathing suit, you will have time to chill out. Visit the Endangers Species Project. Use comfy pants and clothes and take with you a hat and sunglasses.
Elephants, so many elephants!
Imagine your favorite animal: An animal that you've only seen on television or zoos until today. An animal that maybe was one of the reasons for you to go on Safari. An animal that you can't see enough of. And now imagine seeing it everyday from just a few meters away, so close you can almost touch it. That's Chobe.
I love elephants and I've seen so many of them in Chobe that - truth be told - at the end I was kind of sick of them. It was glorious.
Magical Chobe
We visited Chobe in the offseason (February) and I would recommend this time to travel for everyone! The weather was outstanding, perfectly warm with little humidity and clear blue sky! While the vegetation is high and makes animal viewing a bit more challenging, it is just that much more rewarding when you do spot something awesome or out of the "ordinary". We truly felt this gave us the ultimate safari experience and did not feel like an animal park or zoo. With that said, we're talking about the cats mainly, because there are big animals EVERYWHERE! Elephants, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, antelope of all sorts, hippos, crocs, Pumba and birds surround you as you enter the park from the Kasane side. We were able to do both an all day safari where we got about 60 miles into the park and the expansiveness and solitude become more apparent and a river cruise to give different perspective. There is nothing quite like seeing elephants play in water. Visiting during the off season also meant that we had very little traffic in the park and had nearly private game drives from our lodge. It was also baby time! Lots of young animals- especially baby elephants which may be the cutest! The park seems to be well managed and guides are respectful of the land and animals- we had such a wonderful, wonderful time in Chobe.
It was an excellent trip, the best that my wife and I went on.
The trip was made pleasurable as we were ferried about by our guide Bernhard Bekker and he was very knowledgeable and showed us the big 5 in day! We saw lots of impala, elephants,birds and giraffe.The park looked well taken care of and the scenery was excellent! Our guide was kind enough to take us to the Kruger gate where we had coffee with the elephants and buffalo.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First Stop on our Safari and we saw it all!
The Masai Mara reserve was the very first park we went to on our two week safari and it was more than we could have imagined! Although we were prepared to have to be patient and pace our sightings throughout the trip. We saw 4 of the big 5 animals on our first game drive! Whether it was an early morning, evening, or day time drive, we continued seeing amazing animals including: giraffes, wildebeest, gazelles, zebras, lions, and even baby leopards. The views were everything we wanted and to top it off, we visited with the Masai tribe. This was a once in a lifetime experience.
US
Experience level: first safari
Fantastic park!
The animals were abundant! We were there during the migration and saw thousands of wildebeest and zebra. Our guide was phenomenal at spotting animals. I don't think there's one species that we didn't see. The park wasn't too crowded. Sometimes there could be 10-15 vehicles in one spot, but most of the time we felt like we were alone out there. We saw elephants charge lions. We saw lions eating a zebra. We saw hyenas eating something dead. It was a wonderful experience! We took a hot air balloon ride which was nice, but we honestly saw more wildlife on the ground. We didn't even need binoculars. I would definitely recommend this park!
Etosha - Great First Visit
We visited Etosha at the beginning of July and for a first time Safari experience, it was a great one! We were on a self-drive tour and the park is incredible easy to navigate. You also do not need to venture far off of the main roads (or venture off them at all) in order to see some great wildlife. We stopped at about 3 water holes while cutting across the park from east to west and were never disappointed. We actually spent the longest amount of time pulled over on side side of the road watching an elephant pick a tree apart, piece by piece, for his lunch.
I understand you may see more variety and volume in some of the deltas (Botswana, etc...) but for an easy, introductory visit, I cannot recommend Etosha more.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful place
When I headed to Kibale Forest NP my main interest was the chimpanzee tracking: the forest is said to be the best place in East Africa to spot them so a visit there was due. But I wasn't prepared to everything else Kibale has to offer: a beautiful rainforest, stunning scenery, lots of other monkeys (red tails, black and white colobous) and THOUSANDS of butterflies. Whenever walking in Kibale, be it from the lodge to the tree house or during the chimp tracking, I was followed by a multitude of colorful butterflies of different sizes: it felt like a dream!
Even without a guide it was rather easy for me to spot quite few red tails and a couple of colobous; in the afternoon, on the other side of the pond in front of my tree house, I could hear crushing sounds and could see the trees shaking: apparently there were a couple of forest elephants lingering in the area. Given the thick vegetation I couldn't really see much of them but it was a cool experience. At night, I could hear a group of monkeys coming onto mthe roof and deciding that it was a good place to rest! Fantastic, and it was only my first day!
The chimp tracking was demanding since it was in the afternoon and not in the morning: it took almost three hours to track the group but when we managed to find them, it was unbelievable. The females and the babies were in the higher tree branches, while the alpha male was keeping an eye on us. At a certain point while the group started to move, the male came down the tree and started to walk on the ground in the opposite direction, almost trying to attract us away from the females and babies. No wonder they are considered the most intelligent animal in nature. I managed to take a lot of pictures, but best of all were the countless memories I have.
All in all I'd return to Kibale in a heartbeat, even among Uganda highlights I think it's underrated: I'd put over Kibale only the Rwenzori mountains and Bwindi NP.
Too little time..
Arrived straight from some of the magical spots in Kwazulu like Ithala and Cape Vidal so had high expectations. The park was great - very scenic and great accom at the Mpila? camp. Saw rhinos and lots of other stuff on a morning self drive. Only 'downside' was a pretty drunk honeymoon couple on a night drive but even that was entertaining in its own way...