DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Mpila Camp Rest Huts: Rustic feel with a great view
I have been going to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve Mpila Camp Rest Huts every few years since I was a child. I love the relaxed and rustic feel of the camp.
The camp is unfenced so all sorts of wildlife visit the camp at night. I've never had to face a lion on the way to the ablution block after dark but Elephants, Giraffe and Rhino are common visitors.
In the reserve in general have seen Elephant, White Rhino, Giraffe and Buffalo on every visit and Black Rhino, Cheetah, Crocodile, Hippo and Lion on occasion.
The bird life is excellent as it is in all of South Africa's reserves.
I have taken part in the guided walks and night tours and I can strongly recommend them.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by JohnMacdonald
South Africa has a world in one. They have a vast park system that is accessible, well maintained, well provisioned, and friendly. SA is especially good for the first time visiter to Africa.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The best hides in Africa
uMkhuze Game Reserve is a little visit reserve with possibly the best hides in Africa. There is one particular hide that is in the middle of a water hole. Instead of driving all around on dusty roads looking for wildlife, you can relax at a comfortable hide and watch all the animals come to you. What was most interesting was listening to the wildlife. The hide allows you to be quiet and unseen so that you can observe more nuisances of the animal's behavior. We didn't stay in the park, however, the parks staff were very passionate about the park and took very good care of it.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve by JohnMacdonald
This is one of my favorite parks. Like Mkuze it has great hides. We saw a pack of wild dogs nearly take out an Impala.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park by JohnMacdonald
This is an amazing desert park. This is very unique to SA. The bush vibe is extraordinary. There are some good hides here too, especially at the camp grounds.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Kruger National Park by JohnMacdonald
Kruger is top class but gets a lot of people visiting. The facilities are excellent (almost too good).
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
MF NP is breath taking, with beautiful and stunning nature with abundance of wild life
In 2007 during Easter period we rented a guide together with 4x4 vehicle. We started our trip from Kampala and on our way to the Murchison Falls NP we had lunch in Masindi. Our guide Ronnie King was really good, reliable and ready to fulfill our requests at the same time following prescribed safety measures. Actually we were planning our game drive together with him.
Firstly we were accommodated in Paraa Lodge and afterwards we spent 2-3 beautiful nights in Red Chili camp under the tents. Inside of the camp numerous warthogs, our first neighbors, were knelling while grazing grass. Sometimes even during night hours they were sneaking around and checking our tents like a frisky kids.
One of the highlights of our trip was Victoria Nile cruising towards Murchison Falls gorge. We saw numerous birds, lizards but mostly hypos and crocs.
Weather was calm, nights bright and often full of stars. During night time we could hear distant roaring and other sounds coming from animals. All in all it wasn't disturbing or reason for a sleepless night. From time to time it was pleasant to hear silence and experience not polluted part of the world.
Upon our arrival back to Kampala we spent one night in Speke Hotel and next day we were boarded on a plane to Sudan. Some of my photos dedicated to this safari were posted in Panoramio and Google Earth.
On this occasion I fell in love with African colors, especially with red and orange, present in soil and stunning sunsets.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Big, flat, tan, and wonderful
My 3-day stay at Mikumi National park was a wonderful break between two sections of intensive training in community-based healthcare. I was dead tired when I showed up after a six-hour drive through dusty roads, and I collapsed on my bed (thick mattress on top of raised stone dais) in the little banda that I shared with some teammates. I soon grew restless and walked through the common area onto our unenclosed "porch".
Our hut was situated in a long line of such buildings, named after various wild beasts of the savannah (I think that we were the cheetah), with the main lodge, dining area, pool, and shops at the far end. We could look over at our neighbors on their porch about fifteen meters away. I was in a team of ten people, so it was wonderful to be together.
The lodge is surrounded by park. We were totally cut off - the only electricity was to the main building for refrigeration (and the pool, of course). Even our huts had no lights. The savannah stretched out forever, a long distance of brown and tan with green splotches here and there. It was then that I noticed that we weren't just "at" the park, we were "in" the park.
Fifty meters in front of the porch where I sat, a group of zebras were rolling around like mad in a dustbowl. Further afield, a small herd of water buffalo milled around a watering hole. There were no fences. We were sitting in a safari.
A late lunch was served at the main lodge. We ate outside at a long table and dined well. I'm a vegetarian, and every effort was made to accommodate me, which was well-received. As we ate, a large grey elephant made his way to the watering hole just a short walk from where we sat. It was majestic. Here I was sipping fruit juice while this monster mammal sipped water right next to me.
After a lazy afternoon spent reading and talking on our porch, we returned to the lodge for a magnificent candlelit dinner. There's something very exciting about sleeping in a place surrounded by wild animals. Their noises helped me off to sleep.
The next day, we took off in two Land Cruisers on our safari. It was a wonderful way to settle the breakfast that we'd just finished. It seemed that we had driven forever when we spotted our first group of elephants, animals that until the previous afternoon I had only seen in zoos. But here they were, and plenty of them!
We found zebras, wildebeests, and plenty of very strange-looking birds. A group of giraffes proved too far a drive around some very steep-sided creek beds, so we watched from afar. For all of its flatness, Mikumi National Park boasts an impressive hidden landscape that you have to be inside to appreciate. Small trenches and treestands provide vantage points, and an easily-accessible, though terribly bumpy network of paths provides plenty of freedom to approach animals from a variety of directions. We even found ourselves a sleeping lioness, although she was clearly too tired to do anything "interesting" for us. :)
The last (and by far most fascinating) stop on our LONG drive through Mikumi was the accidental discovery of a hippopotamus-filled lake. We were driving along and suddenly found ourselves at the edge looking down. After a short drive along the edge, we came to a place where we could park the trucks just a few meters from the water. Hippos are outstanding animals, and we hadn't expected to see them, so it was a real treat. Lucky for us, they stayed in the water, swimming about quite lazily and not destroying us.
We returned to the lodge to eat and sleep, and followed up the next day with another short game drive on our way out of the park.
Although it is a bit of a drive, the hidden treasures of Mikumi National Park are not to be missed!
Review about Kenya by Lisa F.
Kenya has it all. Cosmopolitan cities, beautiful wildlife reserves, friendly people, and a host of wonderful accommodations. I look forward to returning to the area one day soon.