Best ever visit to this wonderful place of red dunes and its wonderful denizens!
Wildlife - saw nearly everything including a cheetah chase/kill and nearly every day cheetahs for the 1st 8 days. Brown Hyena and Honey Badget accommodating for good images.Birding was great with good in flight photography opportunities. Had a bit of rain - bagged Lanner Falcon and Gabar Goshawk bathing in the road. Cheetahs drank in the road after the kill. Magical photography opportunities. I love the scenery, the landscape, the place - but then I am born in Africa and was raised in this type of dry, hot, beautiful country.
The accommodation in the three main camps are great to adequate - Twee Rivieren, Nossob and MataMata. The best is Twee Rivieren. Some of the Nossob accommodation is hot and cramped but it is still better than camping. There are also the wilderness camps, quite a few and some really remote that have a bit more luxury and is normally small but well kept and maintained. Be warned, it is hot and the gas fridges cannot always cope fresh food may go off quickly.
Summer can get >45ºC in the afternoons and winder is below zero at night. But the place makes up for this with its wonderful wildlife and photographic opportunities. There is an adequate shop at Twee Rivieren selling the basics. Be aware the park is 250 km form Uppington, the largest town in the area and one should come prepared and stocked-up with what you need. Take your own water as the water in the camp tastes funny to horrible, depending on your palate. It is clean and potable, it just does not tastes nice. Roads needs to be taken with patience as it is very corrugated. They pull a tyre grader behind a tractor on a regular basis but rather come in a 2X4 and not a normal sedan vehicle. Long stretches of the road, especially between Melkvlei and Nossob, runs in a deep rut which makes it nearly impossible to see anything adjacent to the road. We never make use of guides because we are citizens and do our own driving. Please note the following about open vehicle driving - it is charming, but it is dusty and can get quite cold. You cannot necessarily stop as long as you want at what you want to, especially if you do photography. The dust is a real problem - do not try to changes lenses!
Al this said, we always have a great time. This is the place to see the Cape Fox, the Bat-eared fox, honey badger and brown hyena. Cheetah and lion is nearly a guarantee and this is one of THE places where you may see a cheetah kill. We have seen two cheetah chases ending in a kill and numerous cheetahs at a kill. Then Kalahari lions are THE king of the lions with their black manes and large feet. There are also resident raptors and other birds that are more readily approachable if you do photography than what you will encounter elsewhere in SA. Overall. as we say : I f once the red sand of the Kalahari got into your socks, your will always want to come back. This is one of the best safari destinations in the world!
Review about Botswana by Eilam Gil
Botswana has it all. Excellent wildlife, wonderful people, and the ability to get away from hectic life.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
very full on
Dear Tribes team,
I have just got back from my Tanzanian trip which I must say certainly was more challenging than the last couple of trips you organised, as I battled to survive an attempt on my life (Uduzungwa), a series of bold robberies (Selous), and a potentially embarrassing international incident in Sadaani.
Impala camp in Selous was lovely in all respects. There was plenty of game in the immediate vicinity, and I had giraffe, bush babies and hippos around my tent most nights. The view in the evening from my wooden verandah as the sun set over the Rufiji river was absolutely wonderful. However, I suspect the camp at the absolute epicentre of game viewing is still Lake Manze and we had a longish drive to see most of the “serious” animals. Once we did so, we saw plenty of lions, a pack of 15 wild dogs and even a leopard which strolled right up to the vehicle which first spotted it (not mine, sadly- I only caught a few minutes as it disappeared into the deep bush). Hippo, monitor lizards and crocs on the river beneath my tent were commonplace and the birds were as I remembered them from my last two trips, spectacular. The robberies themselves were certainly very bold - vervet monkeys descended on my early morning tea and biscuits and left devastation in their wake; weaver birds ganged up to deprive me (successfully) of my breakfast cereal; and in the evening the bush babies distracted my attention and stole the delicious bread rolls from my plate.
Sable Mountain Lodge was an unusual place. It was very nice and comfortable, but there were relatively few birds or animals in the area, and it was surprisingly quiet in the jungle around the lodge. I had it pretty much to myself, which was a shame for the staff who were attentive and helpful. Abdullah, who has been at the Lodge since it was built, is absolutely charming.
The drive to Uduzungwa was very tough. It was fun to see the little villages and the women going about their routines (the men were sleeping, mainly), but it took about 9 hours and the roads for the most part, were ghastly. The last 30 k up to Hondo Hondo camp took over 2 hours and at times the road was indistinguishable from the bolder strewn streams which we crossed on the way. Fine for the more intrepid traveller, but I would say definitely not recommended for the casual tourist.
This is a shame because Uduzungwa and Hondo Hondo camp are certainly to be recommended for the sheer jaw dropping variety of unusual animals, birds, plants and insects. I saw five different primate species in the space of an hour around the camp within a few minutes of my arrival. It was also lovely to be welcomed by Belle and Ginger, two of the best turned out and well cared for donkeys in Africa, whose main duty (apart from welcoming guests) is to keep the grass down efficiently. Worth mentioning too, because I like to think I know a fair amount about European mycology, were the fungi, which were astonishing in variety and weird beauty, most of which I could not even begin to place in general families, much less identify as species.
The camp was the most basic I went to, and could possibly do with a quick Health and Hygiene visit, but was perfectly nice, and the staff absolutely lovely. I suspect that they obviously struggle with the heat and humidity (as did I), and mould stuck the pages of books together and pervaded the tents. I got severe diarrhoea and since another (non hiking) guest did too, I am not sure it was just the exertion of the hiking which was to blame. I also fell down a waterfall and ended up having to do a makeshift dressing with loo paper, which may have aided rather than stopped the bacterial infection which followed. Since the place is too remote to have a Duka La Dawa (chemist) anywhere close, it would have been advisable to have taken a much better First Aid kit with me.
Of course it was the trekking which nearly killed me. I had imagined that the distance and timings in the publicity were for the benefit of the “chubbier”guests (after all - who takes 4-5 hours to do a 6 km walk?), but they were not. I told my guides that they were trying to murder me on the longer Hidden Valleys walk, and they laughed, but my goodness I did find it hard. I had two guides and a ranger with a gun (I can perfectly understand why this was necessary, as we scared a leopard off its kill by one remote stream) and they were marvelous, solicitously carrying my haversack, then my camera then my hat, as I divested myself of everything remotely adding to my weight on the 8km relentless climb up. On the 8km climb down I was ready just to curl up in a ball and allow myself to be rolled down. Was it worth it? - goodness yes, but I am sure I would have enjoyed it more if I had not been hallucinating.
One quick word about prices, because I see a theme of complaints about the cost of the park fees and guides on Tripadvisor. I think the guides are $20 a day and I tipped each on top of that. They were great, although their knowledge of the flora and fauna could be better. They were out with me for a full day (9 hours) which works out at a little over $2 an hour before tip. That is not a high price for any Western tourist to pay, frankly. Likewise the Park fees are absolutely justified having regard to the sheer scale of the park management tasks which they cover. Of course locals should not have to pay those sort of fees and they do not, but visitors from Europe, America and Australia are incredibly privileged to be able to afford to travel the world to see such beautiful places, and should not feel resentful about the cost. London and Paris are no different – try visiting London Zoo with children, for a real wallet busting experience.
The drive from Uduzungwa to Sadaani took 9 hours and even the so called "good" non Tarmac road through to Sadaani was gruelling. Maybe it was just an age thing, and I am sure my bottom was much more resilient when I was younger.
Sadaani is quite a different experience, and although there was a lot of game to be seen, we had to work much harder to find the few individual zebra, giraffe and elephant and the birds. Lions are in the park, and the previous guests saw 10 of them. I saw none, but the driver told me that near Sadaani village they have become man-eaters, the last person served up as dinner, was only as far back as December last year. The warthogs are to be found in the middle of Sadaani village grazing happily with the goats and chickens. They are not stupid, and have worked out that it is perfectly safe to hang out in a non pork eating Muslim community, which will probably also keep an eye out for lions.
Tent-with-a-view is very nice and quirky, and the beach was by and large completely deserted. I did get to talk to the fishermen, who were friendly and laughed a lot. The food was good and baobab ice cream is really very nice. Hassam does a hilarious Del Boy Trotter impression - “lovely jubbley!” - how did that happen?
The drive back to Dar es Salaam was fine until we got within 10 km of the airport - that last bit took almost as much time as the rest of the 150?km journey. I would not willingly undergo that experience again on a full bladder.
Oh, and the international incident was when the male park guards tried to sell or even give away their very large female colleague to me. Olivie (for that was she) roared with laughter as my Swahili only just managed to keep pace with the most obvious innuendo and rudery. I am sure my wife and family would have been thrilled (not) if I had brought her home as my second wife. Mind you, there was plenty of her to go round.
All in all a super trip, but I now need a little lie down.
Tanzania is a very full on safari experience, but incredibly rewarding for anybody who is prepared to be a bit forgiving. The people are charming and have a great sense of humour, and thrilled if you tell them how lovely the country is . It needs more visitors - we in the West ask a lot from the Africans to care and manage the heritage of their wildlife, but we have to realize that it comes for them at a huge cost – in not many parts of the world do the major tourist attractions (think British Museum and Buckingham Palace) destroy your crops and eat you, so we have a duty to support them as much as we can.
General misinformation is also to blame for the current dearth of visitors – apparently the Ebola scare has decimated the numbers despite the fact that Tanzania is at less risk of an outbreak than Europe.
Now, about my next trip...
With very many thanks
Marcus
Review about South Africa by Wild Images
I am born and bred here. Our Tourism Board has promoted Sa for a long time as a world within a country. We have everything from beaches to mountains, forests to desert, a wonderful climate, a weal rand for overseas visitors which make SA an affordable destination. The general populace is friendly. We have over 900 recorded bird species, over 200 mammal species, the Cape Flower Kingdom with the most species, beautiful skies, stars, weather. Some areas like the Garden Route in the Southern Cape is renowned worldwide for it beauty and scenery. Table Mountain, the Drakensbeg - so many biomes, and all with a beauty of its own. This is the place where you can see the big 5, and the small 5 and so many other critters in between! The private game reserves adjacent to Kruger National Park are the best place to see and photograph leopards, that most beautiful and elusive enigma of the African bush. Our life list of SA birds is >530 - I photograph them - I'm not a twitcher. We have wonderful birds, beautiful birds, elusive birds and many endemic birds. However take care that recorded species is never the same as how many species you may encounter at any given time, place and season!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great advice, flawless execution = an awesome holiday experience!
It was really nice to be able to take our time, do some research and consider all of our options .... without feeling any pressure to "make a booking". We felt that Remarkable Africa had OUR best interests at heart during every stage and that they sincerely wanted to help us make this a truly memorable "lifetime holiday experience" for our family.
Our holiday was totally awesome! We only wished we had stayed a little longer. We got to see a lion kill on our very first drive out of the Chitabe camp and spent 2 wonderful nights at Xigera - a really good combination of game viewing and water activities. The amenities at both locations were 'WOW!' and exceeded our expectations in every way (the food was sensational).
All in all, our trip went exactly as planned and we never had to worry about a thing (except the hungry lions!). Excellent advice, great communication and outstanding customer service from Alex and Tammy. Highly recommended!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Newer Company. Good People.
First off, I will add that I did not personally go on a Safari or Trek with Barafu but I did meet one of the owners during my trip to Moshi, Tanzania this past Fall, and have stayed in touch with him since. This is a newer company full of guys that have been in the business for a very long time that decided to branch out on their own. From a character standpoint, I am certain the Barafu staff will go out of there way to make sure you feel safe, comfortable, and have a great experience. I would not hesitate to book with them.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Just Excellent Service
We booked our recent holiday/safari with Wildtrek Safaris and we were certainly not disappointed! From the starting moment of our enquiry to the detail and personal attention to detail we couldn't have asked for more. We were met at the airport in Nairobi dropped off at our hotel and the next day we had a personal excellent driver and tour guide to show us the sights and there are no surprises. What was promised to us was what we got and more with personal recommendations on our safari to the Masai Mara.
I can't thank them enough for their personal attention to detail in making sure we were not just happy but delighted! We will commend and definitely recommend this company to all friends and corporate friends!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Go2Africa by Roy & Beth Keith
Emma was a real pleasure to work with and from the House of Waine to the safari's was truly amazing. She will be a friend for life and I HIGHLY recommend her if you are planning a trip to Africa.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The very best of Africa
Five years ago I booked a trip with Steffi to visit the Okavango Delta. I did not know Steffi at the time, the service and the detail put into planning the trip was very good, and I was not disappointed. It was superb. This year myself and two other family members wanted to visit Chobe so I wanted to book with Steffi and Gondwana Tours . It was Steffi who recommended that we spend the three nights we had on one of the Ichobezi houseboats, as we would be able to see the bird life and animals at the water’s edge whilst gently journeying along the river . It was an excellent choice, and a privilege for us to be on the river viewing so many wonderful creatures in the tranquillity and sheer beauty of this most magical of Mother Nature's havens, the Caprivi.
Steffi was aware that one of the family members was a very mobile and active 85 year old and this was always at the forefront of any recommendation made , the care and attention given on the boat too was exceptional.
If it is TV and music you want, then this is not the holiday for you, but if you want to enjoy the serenity and the sounds of this part of Africa , we would highly recommend a few nights on one of the fantastic houseboats. Steffi and her team put their clients first, the word “no” just does not feature, absolutely everything we asked to do was arranged for us, with so much care and kindness.
Thank you Steffi, this was one of our best trips ever!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A magical trip indeed!
There were 11 in our group including our own naturalist guide, and we had the most amazing experience. The driver/guides have a preternatural ability to spot wildlife. We watched 45 mammal species (a hundred lions! Hundreds of zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, warthogs, baboons, elephants, impala! And leopards and cheetahs!) and 182 birds species (check out the crazy "secretary bird", "kori bustard" and the ubiquitous and beautiful "superb starling") resting and feeding on the silent plains, usually quite oblivious of us. I wasn't a birder before, but I think I'm going to be one from here out. Zooming through the landscape in an open air land cruiser was breathtaking. The accommodations were very comfortable ("glamping"; imagine a double bed, a private toilet, and a hot shower INSIDE A TENT), and the food was delicious, plentiful and fresh. Me, I can't wait to go again!