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35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome first safari experience
My husband and I did not participate in the process of choosing Earthlife Expeditions or the specific itinerary for our safari as we, on short-notice, joined a friend's already planned trip, but I commend her for making the choices she did, and Earthlife for making our trip an awesome first safari experience. Once we decided to make the trip, both Catherine and Deo were very responsive in answering our questions via email. Our guide, Aggrey, was great, very knowledgeable, polite, professional, and was wonderful with our friend's two daughters, 10 and 13. He seemed as excited as we were at every animal sighting which made the safari fun for us - it was like we were out with a friend everyday! He could spot a leopard in a tree hundreds of feet away! We saw things we never dreamed of seeing like 3 wildebeest crossings in one day and a group of 3 lionesses get up from a nap, hunt down and kill 2 zebra right in front of us then watch as over 20 lions in their pride come join them to eat. Needless to say, word got out and Aggrey was the man in the Serengeti after that! At our camp that evening, we had a conversation with a fellow traveler who had experienced numerous safaris all throughout Africa, and he said he had never seen that! Our itinerary was perfect- a great mix of safari and cultural with a visit to the beach in Zanzibar. The accommodations chosen by Earthlife were first-rate, far exceeding any of my expectations. As someone who has very little experience staying in a tent, I actually loved staying in the tented camps! The sounds of the animals at night were thrilling (and a little terrifying)! Earplugs helped me sleep - didn't completely block the sounds, but helped a lot. We were able to take many beautiful pictures and have wonderful memories to match! I would (and already have) recommend choosing Earthlife for your safari in Tanzania.
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent tour guide and beautiful lodging.
Everything was absolutely beautiful and makes me eager to come back again.
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
I had an unbelievable experience both with the ease of booking and the resort/safari. People were wonderful and my time in the trip was top notch. Would recommend to anyone looking for the experience of a lifetime.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Rich Vliet
The Masai Mara was the highlight of the Kenyan portion of our safari. The wildlife was unparalleled, from lions, cheetah, leopards, zebras, elephants, hippos, rhinos, impalas, gazelles, wildebeest, an amazing variety of birds, and several other animals. The scenery was breathtaking, and we never tired of driving through the park taking in all of the amazing animals and locations. We also visited a Masai village, and that was remarkable. We stayed at the Mara Leisure Camp, and that was very nice as well - the "tents" were amazing - yes they were canvas tents, but the size of the rooms and bathrooms rivaled any lodge we stayed in during our trip. The food was very good. I highly recommend it.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Rich Vliet
Lake Nakuru was very unique - this was the only park we visited with a lake as big as Nakuru. We saw a diverse range of animals, and the flamingos, storks and other water fowl were beautiful. The lunch we had at the lodge inside the park was very nice and it overlooked the lake, providing for a very relaxing and scenic meal. We stayed at Kigio Wildlife Camp while we visited the Lake, and that was a very nice location. We were able to take a nature hike, and walked amid a family of giraffes one afternoon - that was truly memorable!
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Aberdare National Park by Rich Vliet
In Aberdare, we stayed at the Ark lodge. The ark is unlike anywhere else we went to - once you arrive, you are locked in until the next day. The lodge is surrounded by wildlife, and there are several viewing decks from which to see them. I'm glad this was the first location we went to - I think it would not compare to the parks we went to later on in the safari, but for a first night outside of Nairobi it was a lot of fun. The food and drinks were very good, and the wildlife viewing was very good as well - you can get very close to the animals on the lower level of the lodge. A good first night - I would recommend it as a way to start a safari.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lots of elephants and views of Mt. Kilimanjaro at Amboseli National Park
Amboseli had a very large number of elephant herds in addition to the scenic backdrop of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Fortunately, the mountain was clearly visible each afternoon we were there, providing some great photo-ops with the wildlife in the foreground. While not the largest park we encountered in Kenya, it was still very big and provided a fairly diverse range of wildlife (from elephants, hippos, zebra, hyenas and lions) as well as topography. We hiked up Observation Hill for a very nice view of Kilimanjaro. Our accommodations were at Amboseli Sentrim Camp which was very nice for both our room and food. Our Kenyan driver was fantastic (provided by Vintage Africa Tours), and his knowledge of the area was extensive.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kenya by Rich Vliet
We had a fantastic trip to Kenya. Our tour operator (Vintage Africa Tours) proved to be fantastic. Our guides/drivers were all top-notch in both their knowledge of wildlife and the areas we went to (which were fairly extensive, from Nairobi to Aberdare, then to Lake Nakuru / Great Rift Valley, then on to Masai Mara, back to Nairobi, and finally to Amboseli). Each evening they provided us with detailed itineraries for the following day with a brief explanation, and if we had any problems at any camp or lodge, they straightened it out for us. The wildlife and scenery we saw were absolutely amazing, and if we wanted to stay and watch impalas leap around while the sun was setting, or watch lion cubs play with each other and their mothers, they were very accommodating - they let us dictate the pace of the tour rather than the other way around. Of course they knew which areas of the parks to head for a good chance to see specific game - and that is what we relied on them for. They also arranged our lodging, and I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised with each place we stayed at. Overall, I can't say enough about the tour operator and the amazing things we saw in Kenya!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent
Stephen and his colleagues dedicated so much attention in tailoring our trip, and the result was outstanding. Perfect service, with a very friendly spirit.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
fantastic holidays: interesting mix of beautiful gameparks, brilliant nature and lovely coast!
Tailor Made Safaris designed our trip with us, advising on driving distances, places to visit, accommodations to choose. The safari pre pack is absolutely brilliant: you get prepared for the holidays and you also have all practical info together in one book once you're in South Africa. Although part of the tour consists of ' building blocks' that can be chosen from the website, the whole trip really is tailor made. We had some special requests for trips outside the Elephant Coast and that was also organised for us. I would book again with them for sure!