NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great help from Madi and an amazing Kruger safari with Simon!
Wild Wings (Madi) organized based on our wishes a 24 days trip to S-A (J'burg - Pilanesberg - Garden Route - Cape Town - Kruger). We stayed in very nice lodges / guesthouses on great locations with very nice owners / staf and service. Our holiday ended with a 5 day Safari (Sakuza & Satara) with Simon. Simon is the absolutely the best! Enthousiastic, large knowledge from animals and from S-A, a great cook, a nice guy and most important an awesome animal spotter. Another advantage for us is that he speaks Dutch, which was very nice for our 2 boys to ask him questions of all animals.
Madi, Simon & Wild Wings Safaris many thanks !!!
NO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Uganda - Pearl of Africa!
We went on a 16 day trip to Uganda, and fell in love with the country! Thanks to Intek, who did an amazing job in organizing our trip, from the first contact to the end of our trip. All staff has been amazing, the office, our drivers - everyone. We would at anytime recommend Intek to anyone travelling to Uganda and other Eastern African countries for safaries, they are the BEST!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely outstanding in every way
Our experience was amazing we are a mature couple who have done quite a bit of travelling before although this was our first safari. The communications with Ilse beforehand to customise the trip for us were all timely and very helpful. We were collected promptly from our hotel and then guided expertly and knowledgably by Emanuel, first to Tarangire N.P., where we saw zebra, lions, elephants and more. The lodge was superb and the people and food were lovely. From there we went to Serengeti N. P., again with our wonderful guide who found crocodiles, a cheetah with her cubs, lions with their cubs and even 2 leopards, as well as many elephants, ostriches, buffaloes. We stayed in a lovely tented lodge right in the park where we were very well looked after. From there we went to Ngorongoro, another wonderful experience, where we saw a rhino in the distance and some hippos up close. Our final stop was Lake Manyara, a smaller park on the way back to Arusha. I cannot recommend Matoke Tours and East Travel, their partner in Tanzania, highly enough. Everything went very smoothly and all the accommodation and food was excellent. The trip far surpassed our expectations and we will certainly go with them again. Thank you so much, Matoke Tours.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Experience
Amazing new friendship and experiences of a lifetime ♦♦♦♦♦
We really had a fantastic time and enjoyed every minute of the tour. Being a small group of just 4, made it even better our guide was really great and ever so helpful and very knowledgeable too. I think the Meserani Camel ride and the Maasai culture we visited were the main highlights for me. All in all I just loved Tanzania!!!
I can assure you that we would use your company again, should we consider another tour.
Many thanks once again for all your help and great organization!
US
A dream come true
I have always wanted to go on safari!! Choosing Northern masailand safaris was the best thing that ever happened to me. From the pick up at the airport, the amazing service, the experienced tour guides and the talented chefs. All this made the 8 days on safari a dream!! My 8 friends and I couldn't be happier :)! I will definitely be booking with henry again come January, and recommending him to friends and family. This company is very reliable and I highly recommend him to anyone who wants to have and exceptional safari experience.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
4 days / 3 nights in the Masai Mara
We spent 4 days with African Hartebeest Safaris in the Masai Mara. It was a wonderful experience starting with the professional and individual setup of our tour. We were picked up at the airport, brought to a Nairobi Hotel and started our tour in the morning of the following day. The 250km distance to Masai Mara was managed safely by our driver. Entering the Masai Mara our driver could explain all the different species we discovered. The Base camp where we spent 2 nights is a nice place with good and comfortable tents situated directly at the Talek river being the border to the Masai Mara reserve. We had a lot of game sightings during the next days - obviously because our driver knew the right places! We spent the 3rd night in the eagle view camp which is an unfenced camp with only limied access of cars. The camp is located on the top of a mountain and offers avery nice views to the conservancy. The personell of this camp took very much care of us and took us also to some game drives - we never saw so many lions in one place!
In general it was a very nice safari experience managed and executed professionally by the Afrcan Hartebeest team (office team in Nairobi and our driver!) and the teams in the camps. Thank you for this nice time!
RO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Insightful, organized and reliable all the way
We worked with The Safari Source in organizing a trip from Botswana to Zimbabwe and Zambia. Monika was there to help us, patiently and promptly, every step of the way. She has been solid perfection from start to finish.
As the company is also based in Zimbabwe, they have the great advantage of knowing first hand the best accommodations, the most reliable operators and they understand how to best work and communicate with the locals. Which is very important because you need to know you're in good hands when traveling so far from home.
We discussed extensively about what kind of trip we wanted to have, what we wanted to see, what activities we would like to do, so that we can have a fully tailored itinerary. She then handled the bookings and put every piece together in a booklet with a fully detailed itinerary (dates, booking confirmations, accommodations, services, contact details and descriptions for each activity and place, instructions, directions, emergency contact numbers etc.). Moreover, we also kept in touch during the trip, so that they can make sure everything is going according to plan (And it did).
All the suggestions Monika made were excellent, the planning was impeccable and the whole experience was wonderful, beyond our expectations. We highly recommend working with The Safari Source in planning a memorable experience in Southern Africa.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari Experience
My significant other and I did a 5 day safari thru Worldwide Safari.
The booking process was very professional. Ernest guided & accommodated our various requests and the price was fair. He was also upfront about the potential VAT that was proposed and approved before my trip began. I was even able to pay with my credit card which gave me peace of mind.
Danford (Dannyboy) was a great guide. He was knowledgeable about the animals and the locations and went the extra step of fulfilling any request that we made. Ernest & Dannyboy even helped me with a surprise celebration for my girlfriend's birthday.
Thanks for the great experience. I will definitely recommend you to my friends.
US
Our first African safari was a blast, thanks to Bright African Safaris
When we started to look at safari trip to Africa, we looked at Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. We chose Tanzania because of Serengeti (for the great migration), friendly people, and peacefulness. We were amazed in all three accounts. Tanzania has a more sustainable model for Safari and is not blindly going after mass tourism market - thankfully.
We chose Bright African Safaris (out of five tour operators based in Arusha) based on high ratings and praises here and also because Msangi and his crew were very prompt in responding to my initial inquiries and were extremely patient with giving various options and explaining the differences. If he has a recommendation, he does so in the interests of giving us best experience.
Since I am into photography, I asked Msangi beforehand if he can provide bean bags. He pleasantly said yes. When we were greeted by our driver/guide at the airport, he immediately told me that he has two bean bags prepared for me. That is great service!
BAS's car also is equipped with electric outlets for charging phones, laptops, cameras etc.
Like many other people commented here, we were a bit concerned about wiring money for deposit and paying up the full amount ahead of the trip, as it is an uncommon experience in US. Everything turned out very well for us in the end. Wiring to Tanzania does seem to take longer than usual, and we were a bit late on wiring the last payment so by the time we arrived in Arusha, BAS still had not received the money in their bank account. But Msangi assured us all lodgings were properly booked for us and told us 'no worries' and we were ready to go on safari.
Without knowing what kind of camps or lodgings we'd expect, we chose to have a bit of everything from beautiful luxury camps in serene surroundings to simple public camping grounds (where a cook from Bright African Safaris cooked for us for two days). All great experiences for us! In every lodging location, staff were extremely courteous and service was far above the business hotels in US. Everywhere we went, people were genuinely happy to see us and were eager to help us have a great experience.
Our driver/guide Junga is an amazing naturalist for our safari, and a wonderful cultural guide to Tanzania. Since we didn't quite know what to expect, he quickly observed our interests and adapted the game driver accordingly. We have two teenagers and they were fully engaged and immersed on the game drive thanks to Junga (and didn't pull out iphones once :-) - he would quiz them with questions before giving out answers. Junga has books of birds and animals that he apparently had studied and spent a lot of time on. He also has an app about birds and animals on his cell phone. At one time, in a quiet spot in the woods on our morning game drive, he played a bird song with his cell phone connected to my daughter's portable speaker via bluetooth, and a bird (an African Fish Eagle, I think) echoed back! It was amazing! My kids were delighted! Junga would tell us that Safari is so much more than just BIG FIVE. So many colorful birds are also eye catching. He is so right!
For those of you who are thinking about going to safari for the first time, I can say for sure that the experience of seeing these amazing animals in their natural habitat up close is absolutely unforgettable and there is no substitute. Everyday at dinner time, Junga would ask everyone's most favorable moment of the day. Now with a few weeks passing by, I could still vividly remember:
- the first glimpse of a herd of zebras and giraffes in Arusha NP, with green Mt Meru as background, so elegant and peaceful. The scene reminded me of Jurassic Park (just substitute dinosaurs with giraffes :-)
- a lake full of flamingo birds at Momella Lake in Arusha NP. I got beautiful bird-in-flight pictures here.
- surrounded by a HUGE herd of 40+ elephants passing right by our car to across a river in Tarangere.
- the breathtakingly beautiful lilac breasted roller bird in Tarangere.
- a nice walk to the shore of Lake Manyara escorted by a Masai warrior. Saw beautiful flamingo, stork, and other birds. And wildebeest and gazelle.
- the troops of baboon jumping up and down a big tree in Lake Manyara NP
- a leisurely hike down to the floor of Empakaai Crater, accompanied by an armed park ranger. My son was into macro photography. It was on this hike where he took the most beautiful pictures of insects and flowers. The ranger was informative and patience, telling us to 'pole pole' along the way.
- beautiful view into Olmoti Crater after a short hike to the rim, accompanied by the same park ranger
- a freshly killed zebra lying by the road on Ngorongoro Highlands, with the predator nearby but no where to be seen.
- the moment entering Ngorongoro Crater floor was a sensory explosion
- Ngorongoro Crater floor did not disappoint: tons of buffalo, wildebeest, gazelles, zebras. We also spotted hyenas, jackal, hippo, and a rhino (very far though), thanks to Junga's keen eyesight. In the late afternoon, saw our first BIG CATS: four lions napping and yawning.
- got inside the home of a Masai family and a classroom of Masai kids on a visit to a village
- two couples of ostrich dancing on the plain, as elegant as ballet dancers, not long after entering Serengeti
- spotted two white rhinos (out of 40 or so total) in Serengeti in open space right after picnic lunch on top of a kopjes;
- nine tree climbing lions in Serengeti; a lioness ready for hunt;
- a pair of cheetah; three leopards on trees, once with a prey (an antelope) on a nearby branch.
- sensational sunset at beautiful migration tent camp in Serengeti. Knowing that we are into photography, Junga made the effort to talk to one of the staff so that he can escort us to go out of the camp into open plain so that we can take better pictures. The pictures turned out to be the best sunset I have ever taken!
- vast amount of wildebeest and zebra on migration route in northern Serengeti. The terrain is vast and nothing like I could have imagined. We saw wildebeest kills along the way, and vultures scavenging on the bodies. The ultimate danger of migration!
- the camping at Lobo public campgrounds; the comfortable tents, beds, blankets, sleeping bags and pillows BAS prepared for us; the delicious meals our chef cooked us; the chat with fellow campers, from three different countries, two of them from less than 20 miles from where we live back in US!
- the scenic ride on a small plane from northern Serengeti to Arusha to Zanzibar. The plane was delayed for about two hours. Junga patiently waited with us and even took us for a quick drive to a nearby sight before boarding. He and the chef also prepared us boxed lunch for the day, which was must appreciated later as we only had about 20 minutes when transferring at Arusha.
- many many more
We did ran into some car problems. One was a small accident on the very narrow road between Ngorongoro crater and Lake Empakaai in the highlands; it could be a real accident but we were lucky. It's not our driver's fault but that is a small road with many blind turns. Another time some debris broke the cooling fan and we had to leave the Mara river to find help. Junga contacted BAS in Arusha and they were able to get a replacement part flown in to a nearby airstrip and had it fixed by a mechanic at a balloon tour operator in the afternoon. While waiting for the part, Junga was able to drive us along the river looking for wildebeest crossing with frequent watering to keep the car cool enough, but we missed seeing the crossing that day (due to interruption of game drive looking for help). That's a small disappointment for us.
We find the national parks in Tanzania well preserved, not overwhelmed with tourists, and very clean. The rangers are very friendly too. We had two walking tours with rangers along the way and we liked the experience of on foot, to feel it more directly and see other things (like a beautiful chameleon) you cant see in a Land Cruiser. The only complain we had was the long wait at the entrance of most National Parks. It seems there's endless and inefficient paperwork.
All in all, the Safari trip in Tanzania was a blast for all of us. We are grateful to Junga, our cook, Msangi, and Bright African Safaris and have wholeheartedly recommend them to all my friends and family.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
what a wonderful Gorilla Tracking Experience
We have just finished our 3 days gorilla tracking in Uganda. Mr peter had arranged everything in order and all went smooth as we expected. It was life time experience