DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic experience at Tarangire and Arusha NP
We are very happy to meet Andrew & his team and the trips they arranged for us were beyond our expectations. So we selected them twice, for an overnight trip to Tarangire NP, which was really amazing to stay in a tented camp and so close to all the sounds of the night. The next day we had a tour through the game resort and saw a lot of the wildlife, even lions. The 2nd trip was a one day experience inside the Arusha NP and it was brilliant but so different in terms of nature and wildlife. If you ever planning a safari, we could recommend jackpot and will do so ourselves for the next time.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing trip from beginning to end, the gorilla tracking was an experience of a lifetime!
Matoke Tours exceeded my expectations for the gorilla tracking trip, from the driver that took us from Rwanda to Uganda, the beautiful scenery along the way to the gorilla guides and porters and the lodges we stayed in. All the people we dealt with were friendly and knowledgeable. The places we stayed in were clean and comfortable and the food at Lake Mutanda Resort was delicious! Great trip, couldn't have asked for anything better!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful Uganda
Uganda has a rich variety of landscapes. Its people are very friendly and helpful. It has hands down the best birding watching of any place I have visited. Murchison Fall National Park has to be the number one game drive location in the country - the abundance of wildlife and landscapes within the park are breath taking. I would recommend Murchison Falls National Park over Queen Elizabeth National Park as it had less wildlife (although more birds). The landscapes in the north of Queen Elizabeth National Park aren't as dramatic as in the southern Ishasha sector. If I were to return I would focus my time and game drives in the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. In general Uganda would have to be the most beautiful country I have visited - I have never seen such a diversity of landscapes... savannah, mountains, tea plantations, rainforest, mixed arable, lakes, on and on, just amazing. I would recommend Uganda as a birding and safari location. We had very close encounters with many animals and often we were the only ones spending that time with the animal/herd.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An exceptional value for a mid-range price
From the knowledgeable, friendly staff throughout all phases of my trip (booking through putting on plane home), I felt safe and in competent hands. The facilities arranged for my party and the food served was better than expected (don't pass on on the soups!!). I don't know why anyone would book with anyone else.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An adventure with Erasto is absolutely a life changing experience.
We traveled with Erasto Mollel, of E&H Blessed Safaris twice, in 2010 and 2012. We are looking forward to doing it again soon.
There are no words to explain the incredible life experiences Erasto brought to us. Each day was an adventure. We never knew what we would see for sure, but excitement was a certainty. We would ask, “Erasto, how do you find these animals day after day?” He would give us his ear to ear beautiful smile and say, “I am Maasai.” It is certainly based in the roots of his Maasai youth, embellished by his university studies in Wildlife Preservation and topped off by his innate charm. His knowledge of the flora and fauna is immeasurable. We would sit at dinner and listen intently as he reviewed what we had learned during the day, and what we would likely see the next day.
Safety is always first and foremost. It became apparent that he would never allow us to get into a situation that could be dangerous, but there was still had plenty of excitement. His respect for the animals and the environment was obvious. His goal was to have the animals see us as “an iron elephant with round feet", so as not to alarm them. This brought many rewards of being able to get very close and share some intimate moments with the animals. Not many people have had a mother cheetah walk to within 20 feet of their vehicle, lay down, and nurse her five week old cubs. This was nothing short of amazing!
Every detail is attended to perfectly. He makes it appear so totally fluent. If there was some scrambling going on behind the scenes, we were never aware of it.
Erasto is beyond fabulous. His tours are "Simply The Best". He has become a dear and cherished friend.
Bruce and Lynne Joseph
Bakersfield, CA
Arusha to Serengeti in 7 Glorious Days
We experienced the adventure of a lifetime during our 7 days travelling from Arusha in the east to the Serengeti in the west. Erasto Mollel was a fabulous guide who is well educated in the culture, wildlife and flora of Tanzania. He arranged the itinerary and accommodations for our private tour but we modified it to see other interesting things that we discovered or to adjust timing in a location. We were there at the beginning of the rainy season (low season) and Erasto knew the best spots at each location to find animals. It took some time but with Erasto’s persistence, we saw three black rhinos at Ngorongoro Crater, which was high on our list of animals we wanted to see.
We stayed in clean, upscale lodges with good food and traveled in a Land Cruiser, which is much more comfortable for the dirt roads than a van. We often took different paths than tour operators traditionally take and were well rewarded. If you are open and adventurous, Erasto will introduce you to Africa in a unique and personal way.
I recommend E&H Blessed Safari's for the trip you will remember for a lifetime.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Small tour, excellent guide, and mix of national and private parks & experiences.
Exceeded expectations. Variety of accommodation always with ensuite facilities. Comfortable eight seater vehicle. Masihambe have good alliances with knowledgeable individuals and tourist operators. Any questions answered before and during tour. Good mixture of activities, parks, experiences, accommodation and meals.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Efficient booking service
Bookings were as requested and the coupon was issued by email in a timely manner. The Royal Livingstone had our reservations in hand on arrival.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Issac Ouma an amazing guide
WE met Isaac in Kenya. We were interested in Birding as well as animals but had little budget.
Ouma's knowledge of not only the birds we wanted to sight butactually where each specimen could be sighted amazed us. Everytime we saw a bird he would flip the page on our bird book and thus give us posetive identification. We walked amongst many animals with his guidance.
In ten years of doing nothing but looking for the world’s birds Isaac Ouma is the most dedicated birding and animal guide we have enjoyed. He is as capable of organising a 3 country all inclusive luxury safari with air-conditioned vehicles, the best hotels or , chefs, food and wines as he is in organising a budget four day safari.
His only wish is that his clients return home glowing with knowledge of his Kenya and its wildlife.
We highly recommend him. Now we will return to Isaac in 2014 with our grandchildren
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best of All Possibilities for a Safari Trip
I have to say that I did a lot of shopping around before picking Vic. He was the most reasonable with the pricing of our 4 person and 4 night package (from Mwanza to Arusha) and he not only delivered on what he promised, but he exceeded it. We were able to have a boat ride in Lake Victoria thrown in, he put us up in very nice lodges (the one in Ngorongoro has an incredible view of the crater!) Our guide was great- he wanted to make sure we were able to see all the different wildlife and that we did- over 20 elephants in Serengeti NP at one point, over 10 lions, even 2 rhinos in Ngorongoro Crater They cannot promise such sightings and it'd be unfair to ask of them for a guarantee, but they sure put in the effort to make sure practically that you do! The safari Landcruiser truck had 2 outlets in the back row that made it convenient to charge our cellphones and use them during down time. And the pop up roof top is a must. Having a water cooler was great for all the fruit we bought on the way. The only thing that could use improvement is the couple of lunch boxes that we had- but this is standard fare across all the safari companies. And we had hot lunches half the other 2 days at the lodges.
Before going w/ Vic, I wanted to make sure I could trust him enough to wire him a deposit, so I had asked for references. He gave me 4 different ones from different parts of the world and they had nothing but good things to say about him. Now, that my parents, wife and I had such a great experience through his company, I can see why! Thank you Vic!