US
Beautiful, Densely Packed With Diverse Wildlife (and people)
Ngorongoro Crater was absolutely beautiful. The view from the rim down into the crater was great, and the diversity and density of wildlife in the crater was stunning. Climbing down the crater wall you see out across the fields of the crater and there are herds of antelope, wildebeest, zebra and buffalo as far as the eye can see. It was incredible to see all of the animals flourishing in such close proximity to one another; at any given point when we were stopped to view some particular animal there were countless others we could see from the same location.
The only downside was that with this density comes also a density of people; there were cars simply everywhere. It did not detract from the experience overly much but it was certainly crowded.
Close to being the finest National Park in Africa
South Luangwa National Park is one of the very finest National Parks in Africa .It's superb in every way; the scenery is beautiful and varied, there are huge amounts of wildlife, the night drives are superb,and so is walking.
It also has a superb wilderness vibe. The guiding is uniformly excellent. Many of the camps have a superb bush feel to them. I've already been there three times,furthermore,I'll be returning again next year.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience
I recently booked a safari with Time 4 Africa with my friends from Dar Es Salaam to Arusha and finally to Zanzibar. The experience was better than I had expected. The entire team are extremely professional, kind hearted, reliable and efficient and I cannot thank them enough for making this a very memorable experience for me and my friends. Good job guys...!!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Adventure of a lifetime!
In September of 2014 my wife Claire and I went to South Africa for three weeks. We spent nine days in Kruger National Park. We flew from Gainesville, Florida, USA to Johannesburg and the next day we flew to Phalaborwa, just outside Kruger, where we rented a car from Avis (a Honda CRV). We did all our bookings online from car rentals to the places where we stayed in Kruger. At Kruger we stayed at the rest camps run by the South African park service (Sanspark). WE did our own drive and the only game drive we went on was a night drive (you can't drive at night so that was the only option to look for animals at night). We entered Kruger through Phalaborwa Gate after getting supplies at a local supermarket (great wine for about US$5 !). We first stayed at the Letaba Rest Camp then moved on to Talamati Bush Camp and then to the Lower Sabie Rest Camp. Wildlife and birds are abundant throughout the areas we visited and birding is particularly good at the camps because of the abundance of trees and water. The park is beautiful and the scenery is surprisingly varied with different types of vegetation, rivers, hills and even mountains. In early September it was still the southern hemisphere winter and even though it was quite warm during day the evenings were very pleasant and mosquitos were absent from the camps. In the Talamati Bush Camp you have to cook your own meals and the cottages have equipped kitchens. At the Rest Camps there were restaurants but the food was not great, not bad either, just unremarkable, thus we preferred to cook our own meals since we are vegetarians. In both Letaba and Lower Sabie the restaurant had river views (great at Lower Sabie with a fabulous deck overlooking the Sabie river) making it a great place for an early evening drink! Kruger is so beautiful and with so much going on that even if you are the worst photographer in the world you will come back with some great photos and videos. A visit to Kruger is a must for anybody interested in nature!
Ideal June safari
David at Vacay Holiday Deals was absolutely great to work with in planning our ideal safari this June. He was accommodating of our requests and responsive to all our inquiries. We had a wonderful safari - from the flight to the Mara to the hotel and food to the spectacular game drives. What a wonderful way to see this beautiful country! Thank you to David and his team.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Birdwatching In Murchison Falls
We visited Murchison falls as part of a 12 day bird trek with a firm "Avian Safaris" Overall this was an excellent safari and we both enjoyed ourselves immensely. Crammy was an excellent bird guide and taught us a lot.
We stayed 2 nights in the Paraa Safari lodge.
On the way into the park we visited the top of the Murchison waterfall. The power of the water as it plunges down the narrow gorge is breath taking. As I was gazing down the abyss a black and white colobus monkey was gazing at me from the other side.
We caught the ferry over the river at around sunset to arrive at the lodge in the evening. The accommodation was comfortable and the buffet style meals, including a range of traditional East African dishes, were filling.
The following morning we did a game drive through the park. Crammy was stopping continually for birds. The other drivers drove straight past, showing no interest, looking for the big five. I can't believe that there are only 5 animals to see in Africa! In the end we saw a heap of birds, plus a lion, Rothshild's giraffe, Elephants, Buffalo, various buck and antelope, wart hogs, a monkey. The sighting board at the lodge did not indicate any other sightings for that day. We had seen it all and the birds as well. Perhaps the birding highlights were a Griffon vulture that alighted in a tree right above our heads, the African Grey and ground hornbills, 3 species of bee-eater, and various Goshawks and Kestrels.
In the afternoon we took the boat ride to the falls. We were treated to a feast of hippos, including babys that would fit in our bathtub at home. In the earthen embankments of the river were nesting holes for bee-eaters and the pied kingfishers. Elephants were grazing on the floodplains as were a lot of the larger animals from the park. Crocodiles rested on sandbanks with their wide yellow mouths open. Purple and Goliath Herons waded in the shallows. The passage up the river to the falls is blocked by a small island which the boat berths against. The boat operator motioned me forward to photograph a pair of rack pratincoles on the rock before the other passengers climbed off to take photos with the falls in the background.
We were sorry to leave the following day. On the trip out of the park we spotted a couple of saddle billed stork in a small road side swamp.
I would thoroughly recommend a stay at Murchison Falls. (Not to mention that it is the historic meeting place of Stanley and Livingston).
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Plenty of animals - even in 40C weather in Moremi Game Park
I traveled to Moremi Game Reserve with my husband, 5 year old son and my parents as part of a private game tour. The weather during the November trip was very hot - over 40 degrees C (100F) each day. Our trip included driving to the game park in the morning, stopping just outside the gate for a picnic lunch, and then driving through the park slowly to reach our camp for a sun-downer and some snacks. After an additional sunset game-drive we returned to camp for dinner and camping. We got up at 5am the next day for a sunrise drive before brunch at camp and a final game drive on our return trip to Maun.
The game sightings were incredible - we managed to spot a pride of lions including a glorious male, about 6 females and countless cubs. As luck would have it, our guide, LT, managed to find this same pride on each of our outings and we could observe their different behaviors at each time of day - absolutely amazing.
The tracks we followed were often very faint which made it feel like we were really in the wild. This gave us the opportunity to see many rare birds and animals in their natural setting.
Sunrise and sunset in the park were the most magical times when the animals are often most active and the lighting is soft and warm. This is only possible to observe if camping within the park - which was an experience in itself - we had cute tents with sleeping bags and an outside bucket-shower which was also fun - and we even had some camp visitors during the night - a honey badger and a hippo, snuffling through the camp.
Despite the heat, this trip was an incredible experience - and one to tick off the bucket list - I still can't get the grin off my son's face!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
USA student touring team
What a great experience. Our team was treated with professionalism and the staff where very helpful.
Will definitely do it again
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Holiday of a lifetime!
This was indeed a holiday of a lifetime and although I was initially apprehensive when I arrived in Tanzania I need not have been concerned at all. Everything was well organised by Elias from the airport pick up throughout the whole safari until the airport drop off. The accommodation was fantastic and was everything we had expected. Our driver Robbie made the whole safari a pleasure. He was so eager to show us all the various animals in their different environments and he obviously loves his job. His enthusiasm and professionalism could not be faulted. I had a lot of problems with the internal flights I had booked online with Precision Air. Robbie and Elias helped me with this stressful experience and Robbie would not leave the airport until my flight problems had been sorted. Thank you Robbie and Elias for making our safari a wonderful experience. If I am lucky enough to go on another safari I will definitely book through World Air Travel and Tours and have already recommended them to several friends who are considering a safari holiday.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent safari!
I loved the company! Did the 4-day Serengeti, Manyara, and Ngorongoro Crater. At Manyara, a herd of elephants literally passed right in front of our vehicle - we could have touched them! Ngorongoro had a beautiful landscape. Serengeti was the best! We saw just about everything and ended up in the middle of a pride of sleeping lions on one occasion. We saw just about everything on this 4-day: zebras, giraffes, lions, elephants, hippos, and even a cheetah. Our guides were very nice and put up well with all of our questions and would tell us information about the animals. They would also accommodate our specific requests - I wanted to see a lilac breasted roller bird and a sunrise... and he got us there for both! The cook that came with us was super nice and made us absolutely delicious dinners at camp each night. He'd chat with us and tell us stories. The company brings all the camp gear, food, cooking equipment, etc. All you need are clothes and toiletries!
A word about the person who owns the business, Loth. He became a good friend and helped us out twice free of charge on a moment's notice when (1) we had a medical emergency at our home and needed to transport one of our volunteers to the hospital ASAP and didn't have any other phone numbers of people with cars, and (2) when we ended up on the wrong bus back from Dar es Salaam to Arusha and ended up at a scary bus stop at 1am he came straight to the rescue and delivered us safely home. He used his personal vehicle and refused payment. Not only was the safari great, but the owner of this company cares about people and I trust him. I whole-heartedly recommend this expedition. I'll go again if I ever make it back to Tanzania!