DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by sixthofdecember
I'm basing this on my first visit to Manyara in 2012 because we inexplicably didn't see a single animal this year. The wildlife in Manyara doesn't seem as varied to me as it is in other national parks, but the elephant population is a joy. I also love all the trees, which Lake Manyara NP seems to have more of than any other national park out there. This makes it a lush, green space even during the dry season. It's fairly touristy, but not too much so.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A good place, parks are nice, wildlife viewing was excellent, people were nice and very accommodating
Good place, nice people, good food and culture experience. Parks are very beautiful, game sightings excellent
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about |Ai-|Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park by Andrea Giuseppe Sanfilippo - Photographer
Amazing landscapes. Aside the solitary treks, the place is often visited by crowds of tourists.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The heart of the Namibian wildlife
The park lies in a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Kalahari Basin in the north of Namibia. The park thus has a unique combination of landscapes (spanning from waterholes to stretches of salt) and wildlife, in particular elephants, lions, zebras and birds. The park is very wide, as compared to other parks in countries like Botswana, so, in order to spot wildlife rangers often needs to communicate via radio devices.
The weather in winter (July-August) is relatively dry and days are mostly sunny.
Regarding the accomodations there are a few options just outside of the park, which are comfortable, cosy and often green. Inside the park, lodges put you very close to waterholes, where you can easily watch animals assembling.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dry and hot, but worth to see. Few animals at this time but nevertheless awesome.
Elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, impalas, okapi, dikdiks, baboons, cheetah, ostrich, different birds... to see!
Hot and dry but great weather. Sentrim Samburu camp very nice (warm welcome, friendly people, nice food and accomodation). Umoja women camp not be recommended (unfriendly people, very basic)
Nice game drives, very nice driver, sunrise...
US
Very interesting location - but very crowded with aggressive safari operators
The scenery was awesome - and there were a ton of animals, however after coming from the Tarangire, I was disappointed with a few things. First, there were more people in this small crater floor than there were in the entire Tarangire national park. Second, the safari operators on the floor were very aggressive with the animals. People were driving after lions as they tried to cross a road - blocking them from their prey. At one point a lion tried to move to a watering hole, and cars kept moving in front of her to get pictures until she turned around.
I don't think this is a problem with the crater specifically - just the number of people allowed in at once without any ranger support system to keep them in check leads itself to an environment that is not centered around what is best for the animals.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dry But Beautiful
This reserve abuts Kruger National Park. It's fairly barren in August before the September rains come but filled with wildlife. A railroad runs thru the reserve, but what's surprising is how wild animals accommodate that (and the damage elephants can cause to man-made structures). There was no need for a jacket since it was dry… didn't even get that cold on the night safaris. Also has the Olifant River running thru it giving a great perspective on wildlife around watering holes and the river.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Samburu National Reserve by sebastian brandner
We stayed at the Saruni Samburu Lodge, which is more upmarket that the Offbeat Meru. It is located on a rock, overlooking the plains. Guests come from all continents. The rooms are spacious, with electricity and a weak wifi, which is good enough to download the occasional email, and browse the web. The accommodation and the main dining and entertainment areas are separated by 200m concrete paved trail making is easy and safe to walk between the two places. Shower was not sufficiently warm, making it a bit unpleasant to shower in the morning or evening. However it was a special experience to shower outside at night overlooking the vast valley and watching the starry sky. We have however not complained about the cold shower so the management may not be aware.
The overall service was more upmarket and the food was higher quality and more refined than on Offbeat Meru, and comparable with Ol Seki in the Mara Naboisho. We were really fantastically entertained by Tom, a young British Camp Manager, and he looked after all guests very well. We had relatively junior drivers, who were familiar with the wildlife, but explained less and we had the impression we saw less wildlife than in Meru. The vegetation is hilly shrub land an there is one large river, where lions wait for a catch. The red terrain makes it a great photography area for landscapes. The drivers had less experience dealing with photographer, but still we were able to make a few excellent photo-shots
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by sebastian brandner
Ol Seki in Mara Naboisho
This was the last part of our Safari. The accommodation is very upmarket, in robust tents, embedded in the middle of the wilderness. It is a 10 min drive from the airstrip, and it is located in the heart of the Naboisho conservancy.
Run by a British Manager, this place is spotless, clean, very well looked after and the Manager (Melinda) looks after all guest very well. There are 6 tents, and all guests meet for breakfast, lunch and Dinner, depending on the safari arrangements, but if preferred the meals can be brought to the individual tents. Whilst we were here, all other guests were British and all were on honeymoon. This may alienate guests from other countries. There is electricity all day and decent Wifi to upload images. There is excellent hot shower (with extra boost in the evening).
Wildlife is excellent, we sighted a cheetah with a fresh kill, crocodiles, of course lions, giraffes and elephants and all the wildebeests, impalas, and gazelles. We had a one-day excursion to Masai Mara, which was to watch the large migrations, mainly zebras and wildebeest. David our driver was very experienced, and had lots of stories to tell. He knew the spots for photography and made stops when requested.
Overall this place was best for luxury, great food and service, great for wildlife, but less impressive for scenery than Meru.
Note, the masai mara has much less of a bush vibe than the Naboisho conservancy, where our lodge was. We made a day trip to the actual masai mara, which was full of minibuses, loaded with tourists and there was no feeling of solitude. The three stars for the bush vibe relate to that park, The Naboisho conservancy instead gets four stars for bush vibe!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good experience and value
We did 4 days/3 nights in the Serengeti and the Crater. Richard's business is operationally excellent. He is quick to communicate with customers before and during the visit. The company does what it says it will do, sticking to a tight schedule to pack in as much as possible in 4 days. I never worried he would run away with our money or that we would be unsafe while on the safari. I know for many other folks with other tour groups we overheard or talked with in camps at night, this is not always the case. We got what we expected with Richard and that isn't always the case. Our guide Frank didn't detract from the experience, but he didn't add much either. He didn't share a lot about the animals with us - I think because he didn't speak English that well more than not knowing anything. We also had some long drives without a ton of expectations-setting in terms of time in the car and broader plan. That said, Frank knew what he was looking for once in the crater and Serengeti and we often found ourselves watching animals at the right time and place. That stuff doesn't happen entirely accidentally. The food is really good and there is plenty. Sokafour (I'm sure I'm spelling his name incorrectly) was kind and both he and Frank extremely hard working in terms of keeping us fed, setting up camp and driving us around. The trucks are a little old and don't have plugs for camera batteries, an important thing to note. Overall a really good experience that met expectations, but fell a little short in terms of being great. For the cost though, it was an excellent value. You might be best to read up on some of the animals before you head out on the safari.