BE
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great park for a quick safari
If you are in Nairobi and like safaris/wildlife, don't miss the opportunity and visit the Nairobi National Park, even if it is just for few hours.
The wildlife is rich considering how small and how close it is to the Kenyan capital.
During a 1-day visit, we spotted several rhinos, antelopes, a large group of buffalos (probably 100+ buffalos), lions, ostriches, giraffes, impalas, hippos, monkeys, zebras, wildebeests, boars, baboons and kudus. The landscape/vegetation is nice.
The guide told me that the wildlife was a bit more abundant during that particular time of the year because of the start of the Great Migration, which crosses the park. I am not sure how the wildlife is during other times of the year.
Considering the proximity to the city, the park is quite crowded with tourists.
I visited the park with a private guide/compact car.
In general, it was fine because the vegetation in large areas is grass, so you can see spot the animals from distance even in a compact car. A 4x4 or a taller vehicle would allow you to take some dirt roads and see farther, still the experience was great.
You can stay in Nairobi, as the park is really close to the city - from my hotel it was just 40min by car.
NG
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
very customer focused with attention to detail
apart from some very minor glitches, the overall experience was what I wanted - to see the wildlife of Africa and that is what we achieved. the tour was well managed, the guide knowlegable and we would do it again.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
Did the 4 day safari and visited 3 different parks. The safari itself was amazing, the animals were fantastic, and the guide would drive us around where other safari cars werent so that we were really isolated and it felt like a personalised safari. Slept in tents which wasn't too appealing and was quite expensive for what it was.
BE
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari for starters
Pilanesberg is a great game reserve option if you are in Johannesburg and a limited time for a safari (1-3 days), with rich variety of wildlife. In a 5-6h tour, we spotted giraffes, elephants, wildebeests, antelopes, zebras, boars, ostriches and jackals.
Although relatively small, Pilanesberg is in a transition area, so the landscape, vegetation and wildlife quickly changes from one part to another of the park.
I only visited the park, in a 1-day trip from Johannesburg, arriving early morning and leaving by late afternoon, it was a still an enjoyable experience, though a weekend would be certainly better. It is possible to visit the park with a private car and a guide, roads were excellent.
The tour with the park truck is probably a better option to view the wildlife - just be aware that there are limited rides (especially during the low season).
FR
35-50 years of age
Great experience
Augrabies Falls National Park is not the most well Know National Park, bit it is very nice. The canyon si incredible. And the falls also. Even if there is not a lot of water when we were there
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Chobe National Park by hjreitsma
Lots of hyppo's, elephants and other wildlife (verry close to the hotel)
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta
Henk Reitsma
Some years ago my wife and I made a roundtrip through a number of countries in Southern Africa. We travelled with a group from Cape Town to the Victoria Falls. The absolute highlight was our visit to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. It was March, so in the wet season with the Delta completely filled.
We slept two nights on a houseboat placed on the edge of the Delta area.
We departed in the morning to the Delta and first had to drive a few kilometers with a truck (Photo 1), passing a small village with rondavel huts (photo 2). Along the road laid the carcass of an elephant (Photo 3), probably shot by the village people to protect their crops.
There were 10 boats (mokoro’s ) and 10 guides (Photo 4) waiting for our group with 20 participants and subsequently we started our tour over the Delta through high grasses and reed. In each mokoro two persons were sitting. The guides were very careful to avoid the hyppo’s and asked us not to make noise. We heard elephants in the distances and saw a glimp of the herd when standing in the mokoro. However I almost lost my equilibrium and almost fell in the water.
After two hours we entered a small island to have lunch (Photo 5) and subsequently made a walk (Photo 6) over this island guided by two guides. We found the remains of a buffalo, probably killed by a lion (according to our guide), which reminded us again that we walked through a terrain with wild animals.
On our way back we saw some deer in the distance. After 1 ½ hour we arrived at our point of departure. It was a splendid tour through a wonderful water world. Even after a couple of years I still have vivid memory of our visit to the Okavango Delta.
FR
Review about Skeleton Coast National Park by Auriol Langen
The Skeleton Coast Park is flat, stark, desolate, but has a fascination of its own.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Queen Elizabeth National Park by Jeroen
When you are floating close to the shores of the big lakes you'll see lots of beautiful birds. We saw many elephants, some lions and big number of Uganda cobs. Although the bush vibe and the scenic beauty are a bit less because of the road running through a part of the park.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A multiday adventure in Namibia
When visiting Etosha, try to plan your stay for several days. the park has multiple camps (with bungalows and tent places) from where you can discover the wild life of Etosha.
The Etosha N.P. has several waterholes which, during drought, are roamed by zebra's, giraffes, lions, rhino buffalo, leopards and so on. All these waterholes are near the roads making this is almost a guarantee to see a great variety of animals.
I was in Etosha for 4 days and stayed for the first days at the Okaukuejo camp. On the campsite is a large swimming pool and small stores where you can buy food, drinks and books about the park and animal recognition.
During the day I joined various safari's where you follow the dirt road at slow pace and hold at every waterhole.
This campsite also has its own waterhole. My advice is to visit it after sunset. Its easily accessible and the spectator area is on a rocky hill giving a beautiful overview of the waterhole and area.
This was our first encounter with a leopards who came for a drink.
My second destination was the Halali-camp which also has its own large waterhole. During the day I (obviously) went on safari where we found a pride of Lions. In the evening we went on a 3
5-hour night safari where you go off the road with jeeps and red flashlights.
Overall I enjoyed my stay and will go there again in the future.
