BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They won a contest
Why did I choose Cheetah Safaris? If you seek a list of tour operators on Uganda Wildlife Authority website you will see almost 140 companies. I accessed all sites. Out of those, I selected nine with more reasonable, feasible and complete information about Mt. Elgon. I would like to spend an one-week trekking there.
I sent e-mails for those nine companies and received replies from four of them. I selected the best and more attentive two answers. I requested an evaluation of prices and Cheetah Safaris gave the best price.
I promptly receive all sort of information before the trekking. And after that, I was requested to fill in a form where I could put my comments. I recommend their services. Everything worked out very well. We even added a trip to Murchison Falls after Elgon and Robert and Jacqueline, the owners of the company, were our very friendly guides.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A 'get away from the routine' was a wonderful experience
The trip was well planned out and co-ordination was good. However, the camping facilities at the park were quite basic; for instance electricity for only 4 hrs in the evening and no charging points in the room.
The itinerary, though packed, was fun filled - with lots of time spent inside the park.
Worth recommending to friends.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Out of the world
It was the best vacation of my life. Right from landing at the airport, where we were received by David and briefed, to the journey to Lake Nokuru with our driver Zak. The beautiful safari in the park the next morning with the magnificent flamingoes. The journey to Masaimara camp was a bit tiresome but once there we were enthralled by the ambiance of the camp. We had a lot of fun the next two days and we managed to spot every member of the big five including the elusive leopard. Thanks for everything.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful african safari experience
We used to know about it from the NatGeo and Discovery. But this time I saw them with my own eyes. It was truly a wonderful experience.
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
very good. excellent director
We had a very good time with David Maro the director. We saw beautiful places and animals.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Lots of Birds - and Animals, too
We had a great trip with Nature Travel Namibia over New Year 2015, seeing a huge number of birds as well as lots of antelope, cats, and other animals in only one week.
Three years ago, we took a group tour with a different company to the other, more famous leg of Namibia - the Namib Desert, the coast at Swakopmund, Damaraland and one day at Okakuejo in Etosha - and had such a good time we wanted to do the other leg which, as we hoped, is quite different.
We had only seven and a half days, and we wanted to fit a lot in. After discussion with Nick and Janeke, we worked out a stripped-down backwards version of the '10-Day Etosha, Caprivi, Chobe And Victoria Falls' trip which they offer. We flew in to Victoria Falls at noon and did a three-hour tour. This short visit was great as the falls are more spectacular than any photo can show, and it completely revived us after thirty hours of travel from our home. Then we went straight to Chobe in Botswana (2 nights), after which we crossed into Namibia and went along the Zambesi/Caprivi Strip via Camp Kwando (1 night), Mahangu (2). We stayed at Mushara (1) on the east of Etosha followed by a full day crossing Etosha to Okakuejo (1), then a final couple of hours in the park before driving down to Windhoek for the last night before flying out. This worked very well. Of course, the extra days of the full trip would have been even better, especially for some birds that we heard or saw briefly but didn't have the time to follow up on.
The accomodation was well-chosen and of high quality, and all the places had all the facilities you could want, and good food (and wine).
We arranged a private trip for just the two of us because we had been to East Africa four times, as well as our previous Namibia visit, and we had seen a lot of the basic birds and animals already - not that we didn't want to see them again, but we also wanted to spend time looking for some things, birds especially, that Africa beginners in a group might not be so interested in. It wasn't cheap, but in our opinion it was great value for money, everything went smoothly, and we were completely satisfied. (And, obviously, the price per person comes down if there are more of you.)
The trip had a great balance between land and river, birds and animals. We did three boat trips on the rivers (and all three were quite different). And we also saw lots of the spectacular Namibian skyscapes and sunsets. It was the rainy season in theory, but actually there was some cloud but little rain (nice for us, not so good for the local farmers).
Nick wasn't available, but we had another specialist bird guide who was very knowledgeable, and also great company. We saw over 220 species of bird in the week, of which 60 were new for us, and about 50 more were 'first decent photos'. Given our time constraint, we were very happy with this. Highlights for us on the river were great close-up views of Slaty Egret, Black Egret, Purple Heron amd Pygmy Duck. Our guide knew a spot where we got good sightings of Souza's Shrike and Tinkling Cisticola. He also had a spot for Little Jacana, which was a bird we especially wanted to see, and Sharp-tailed Starling. We saw Blue Crane in Etosha. On the trip we also got 23 accipiters and falcons, mostly with decent views.
We also wanted to find the local antelopes, and we got beautiful views of Sable, as well as Puku, Red Lechwe, Southern Reedbuck and Greater Kudu, as well as Common Duiker, which were all new for us. We saw seventeen antelope species in total, and I think we would have got Roan if we had an extra day at Mahangu.
We had seen Hippos before, of course, and Elephants, but we were surprised by how moved and impressed we were by the large groups of both that we saw. And the other regulars were there of course - Giraffe, Zebra, and so on. We also saw Lion and Cheetah, and our eagle-eyed guide found a well-hidden Leopard.
One special highlight was the huge Black Mamba that we saw clearly (and photographed) moving through the trees, and which our guide found because of the alarm calls of birds which had spotted it.
All in all, this was a great trip, organised and run by professionals, and which we happily recommend. And if you want to shorten or lengthen it, or do more in one place and less in another, or add a side-trip to somewhere not on the main plan, just ask!
And if you can time it to fit in with the great riverside New Year party with live music at Mahangu Safari Lodge, as we did, then go for it. Just avoid the Jägermeister!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our Safari and tour was everything and more than we could have possibly dreamed of.
This safari was absolutely perfect! Agoi Hosking, the tour director and Victoria had a flawless plan in place with wonderful lodging at the Fairview Hotel, Oltukai Lodge, Aberdares Country Club, Sweetwaters, Maili Saba camp and Mara Serena Lodge. We visited too many place to mention! Amboseli National Park offered so many opportunities to view the elephants, giraffes and baboons! Agoi and Bryson made sure we always got the perfect shots with Mount Killimanjaro as a backdrop. At Sweetwater we managed to witness a lion dig and kill a warthog only to be followed by a visit to the wild dogs! Can you imagine being at the right place at the right time! This was possible because of Agoi's guidance and expertise.
With every day there was a sense of excitement that was never disappointed. At Masai Mara Game Reserve we witnessed two wildebeest crossing. That is totally unbelievable! Yes, again Agoi had you at the right place at the right time. We saw prides of lions, servals, giraffes, zebra, buffalo, impalas and much more.
This was all beyond my wildest dreams and the photos we have are just spectacular!
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Every company should be like Nature Friendly Safaris with Outstanding Services, Outstanding Support
Every company should be like Nature Friendly Safaris with Outstanding Services, Outstanding Support, Outstanding Business Ethics...Every company should follow these guys. WELL WORTH THE MONEY!
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
my experiennce with inclusive was just awesome and as per my expectation
Communication, service was excellent they new my expectations and they made my travel great. Thanks to all the crew and inclusive.
Excellent / great value
Transtrek fulfilled a lifelong dream for me by being totally affordable. We were looked after from the moment we landed until we left and everything in between. The hotels / lodges we stayed at were fantastic we felt like we were living in the lap of luxury seeing some of the most spectacular wildlife during the day and night. Sitting in the bar at Kilaguni with a gin and tonic in my hand overlooking a waterhole seeing the most wonderful wildlife made me feel like a king. Being taken around in comfortable vehicles around the parks was just amazing. I couldn't recommend them enough.