US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Okavango Delta by Ross
The Okavango is a beautiful place, and there's nothing like a boat ride through all the twisting waterways where crocodiles lurk and elephants munch the fibrous stalks on shore. I think the high season (July-August) is probably not the best time for birders to visit here -- I imagine there's more bird life during the migratory seasons.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Makgadikgadi Pans National Park by Ross
Let me qualify this review -- I went to the pans in the winter (July) which is not the height of its wildlife season. If you can get there in the African summer when the rains are falling and animals are bearing their young and the birds are migrating, I think it would be a very different experience.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most visited National Park in Uganda, definitely deserves a visit
Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most visited National Park in Uganda. Located on the Western Region, the Park occupies more then 1,900 square kilometers. I started early morning with a Game Drive in the plains. Beautiful scenery and I had the chance to see some lions and lots of monkeys. I strongly recommend a visit to Kawe village were Salt mining is done for centuries. The highlight of the day was the cruise where you can see all kinds of wildlife. Elephants, crocodiles, rhinos, the list goes on...If you visit the Western area of Uganda, don't miss this beautiful National Park.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Saw 3 of the Big 5
We went through the tour company Quality Touring Services (http://www.qualitytouringservices.co.za/index.htm). The guides were very knowledgeable and professional. We first drove through the park in a small bus that holds about 30 people. We saw a lot of wildlife right away: warthogs, red hartebeests, an eland, a black-backed jackal, zebras, helmeted guinea fowl, elephants, male and female ostriches (and their eggs!), kudu, leopard tortoise and another small one I can't remember, and black-headed heron.
I highly recommend taking the open air vehicle tour because they can go off the main roads, whereas the personal cars cannot. That's where we got to see two male lions very up close and personal! It was awesome.
The restaurant told us they were only serving breakfast, which was very delicious, however, we saw that the table next to us (also with our party), were able to order lunch. That was a bit disappointing!
Go into the interpretation center to read about Hapoor the elephant. Very interesting story.
Overall, it was really great. Many of the watering holes are on the side of the roads so we were able to see many animals. That's the only part that seemed a bit artificial. Oh and we stayed along the edge of the park for some of the tour so you can see fencing and also electrical towers, etc.
CA
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Arusha National Park has beautiful landscapes and unique animals
My father and I spent one day in Arusha National Park prior to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival, we weren't expecting to see much as the park is close to the city of Arusha, but there are many different species of wildlife visible in the park. Our tour guide knew all of the park areas and took us to his favourite spots. We saw giraffes, zebras, monkeys, baboons, hippos, flamingos, plenty of birds, and even a few elephants!
The location of the park is great because we were able to see many animals within close proximity to the city. As a photographer, there were many opportunities for closeup photographs with elephants, giraffes, and zebras. I would recommend the park to anyone because of its size and ability to see a large variety of animals.
While staying in Tanzania, I stayed in Moshi. The national park was less than a 45 minute drive. The transportation was great and our guide was very knowledgeable. Visiting in July was great. The weather was good. We were only able to see Kilimanjaro during dusk because of the quick weather changes in the mountain areas, but it never rained and was fairly sunny throughout the day.
I would recommend a visit to Tanzania and Arusha National Park. It was an incredible experience and I wish to go back!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ithala with greate nature
the Ithala Game Reserve has a beautiful landscape with hills and woodland. It is not so easy to see animals everywhere, but it is more a fun to search for it.
There were no so many tourists, what makes also the self-guided tours very nice and we saw a lot of animals near the roads.
Althought the Ithala game Reserve don't have all the big 5, for me it is a great Game Reserve to visit. I love the landscape.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
These guys were great and happy to organise a trip last minute. The food they provided was EXCELLENT! Only thing I'd say is, if you spot an animal you are interested in, make sure you let them know.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Balule Nature Reserve by Beenie Photography
This was the lesser of our two stays. The overall density of wildlife was less in Balule than in Sabi Sands. That being said, we actually had our best sighting of our trip during our final drive at Gomo Gomo. A mother leopard and her cub walked right out in front of the vehicle, not more than 10 meters away.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good budget safari tour for three days/2 nigths at the Maasai Mara
We had a great time at the Lenchada tented camp managed by Jocky Tours and located close to one of the gates of the Game reserve. The driver (Peter) was nice and made an effort to come up close to the animals (i.e lions and cheetah). It was a very wet Easter weekend (rainy season) so there were many safari vans around and a good number of them got stuck in the mud a couple of times.
Despite all this, we managed to see most of the "big five" and some other herds of animals. Overall, the camp was good. We paid for budget accomodation so we didn't expect more than the basic necessities. The food was good throughout our stay, no complaints.
The only downside was that it rained for two days straight which made it impossible to do a full game drive as the vans would get stuck in the mud if we tried to come closer to the animals... I would recommend Jocky Tours as they have been in the business for a long time and offer great budget safaris.
A Must See for Wildlife Lovers
Kruger is a wonderful National Park whether you are experiencing it with a tour or on your own. Roads are good and the accommodation is a welcome oasis after a day of game viewing. It's also the perfect place to meet up with other people and swap stories of the animal encounters of the day. Every day can bring something new from seeing a family of elephants enjoying the watering hole to following a lion on a hunt. A night drive is also a good way to see other animals that usually don't make an apperance during the day, such as a new hyena mother with her baby cubs enjoying the cool night air. Kruger National Park was a highlight of our travels through South Africa.