FI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The friendliest camp in Africa!
Zikomo Safari is on a beautiful stretch of the South Luangwa river in the Nsefu sector of the park. The chalets, campsite, restaurant (serving delicious food) and pool all have fantastic views over the floodplain and it's wildlife. The Nsefu sector sees much less traffic than South Luangwa proper, and has just as much wildlife. Seems the camp has everything going for it but for us the winning attribute was the friendliness. As self driving campers we are usually sidelined, but Zikomo welcomed us like part of their family. Nothing was too much of a bother for them and they went above and beyond to ensure we had the best possible experience. I have visited 3 camps in the area - If I am in the area again there is absolutely no contest as to where I will choose to stay at - Zikomo!
US
Your recommendations were spot on
I wanted to send you a quick note of thanks for your help in planning a fantastic honeymoon. Your recommendations and information were spot-on.
Beho Beho and Baraza were fantastic. During our time at Beho Beho, we had the good fortune of meeting Sarah Bailey, wife of the late Christopher Bailey who originally developed the safari camp as a retreat for family and friends. She was full of stories and added immeasurably to the experience there, where it felt as if all guests were welcomed like family. The quality of the guiding at Beho Beho was excellent, and we enjoyed getting to know the guides and staff better by sharing stories during meals and relaxing in the common area over a game of snooker. We also enjoyed the variety of activities – from the walking safaris to numerous game drive destinations (Beho Beho River, Lake Manze, etc.) and the day trip to Lake Tagalala. We had the distinct pleasure of tracking and, ultimately, spotting a black rhino in the bush while on walking safari with Walter and Saning’o. Other guests had great things to say about their night out at “The Treehouse.” The staff at Baraza also went over and above to make sure that our time there was relaxing and enjoyable. In particular, the beach lunch was a wonderful treat. The experience at Baraza was a great taste of luxury after “roughing it” on safari.
Each location did a great job of trying to address Lynne’s dietary restrictions and was otherwise ready and willing to cater to pretty much any request, reasonable or otherwise.
Coastal Aviation is also to be recognized for their efforts. The flights ran smoothly, but what deserves additional comment is their help on ground transfers. Upon our arrival in Dar es Salaam, we were informed by the staff at the Royal Palm (now called the Serena) that they would be unable to accommodate us due to some government dignitaries who extended their stay. After dropping us off, the representative from Coastal checked back to make sure that check-in went smoothly. Seeing that there was a problem, the driver spoke with the front desk to ensure that alternative accommodations had been arranged and then transported us to the other hotel. Similarly, upon arrival back at Dar’s domestic airport from Zanzibar, the baggage attendant was quick to point out that he had called the shuttle bus driver for us so we didn’t resort to over-priced taxis for the transfer to the international airport.
In general, we were impressed with how seamlessly all of the transfers were handled, including those on Zanzibar. The drivers there took good care of us as well. One thing to note: Zanzibar airport requires paper tickets (or at least a copy of your itinerary) to move through security. The driver helped us get documentation from the Coastal Aviation office, but it might help to have copies of the confirmation from Coastal Aviation for travelers in the future.
All-in-all, Lynne and I came back from Tanzania with memories that will last a lifetime and have already begun thinking about our next safari holiday!
SA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Tour
Throughout every step of the way, Kruger Flexi Tours made the experience enjoyable from the time I sent the first email until after our tour ended. The tour lived up to our expectations and Dave was a friendly guide. He did his utmost to make sure we saw all we wanted to see and more. I can recommend Kruger Flexi Tours without hesitation.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Kruger Park Tour
A personal tour for my wife and I. The aim was a hard-core photo safari and Wild Planet provided exactly what we wanted with plenty of pleasant surprises on top. Thanks to it being a personal tour we were able to see more species, get closer and take better photos than we have in any previous trips. Both the food and service was excellent throughout but the highlight was probably the night we spent at Shipandane Hide, where we had Hippos fighting in the river, Lions close by and a night time visit from a Gennet - it was pure magic.
We traveled in a customised VW Transporter Van so we had plenty of room to spread out and to take photos. The tents were surprisingly large (I could stand up in ours) which made camping easy. Because there was only the 2 of us we were able to take full advantage of our guide's encyclopaedic knowledge of Southern African wildlife so when we took a Park Service night drive it felt really "dumbed-down" compared to the wildlife masterclass we were used to. Overall we got exactly what we wanted and a whole load more for a very reasonable price.
We have already made a provisional booking for next year as after 10 years of visitig Africa no other trip we have taken even remoteley compares.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great times with Wild planet safari
It was very good!! The guys who had the safari really cared about what we wanted to do and listened to us.
They showed us a lot of cool stuff and we saw a lot of animals! they also knew very much about the animals and also
a lot of the trees and other stuff in the nature. Loved the food we had every night and had some cool nights beside the bonfire.
Really recommend this company!!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
5 months in the harsh but beautiful Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
I have been volunteering in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park for the last 5 months with the charity Elephants for Africa (http://www.elephantsforafrica.org/) so this review might be a little different from others. I arrived in Makgadikgadi at the end of May. Having visited other national parks one of the first things I noticed was the harshness of the environment. Around the Boteti river which has only started flowing in 2009 after 20 years of being dry there is some green vegetation but the further you go into the bush the drier to gets to the extent you start to wonder how anything can survive but out in the grasslands you can see gemsbok, steenbok, ostrich and the elephants and zebras making their long trek to the river. The river is where everything happens with large herds (sometimes up to 30 individuals) of male elephants playing in the river and cooling off. Since I have been here we have started seeing female herds moving into the area but they are very nervous around vehicles and tend to move off very quickly.
Lions can be herd at night and there is a local pride in the area but you have to work hard to see them. Early starts down at the river trying to pick up their trails are your best chance but like any safari it can come down to luck like when we bumped into two cheetah in the middle of the day. Wild dogs have also been seen in the area as well.
I'm not a birder but there is plenty of action down at the river in this department with fish eagles, lappetfaced vultures, tawny eagles and a mix of other birds to be seen.
The road network in Makgadikgadi isn't very extensive and if only here for a short period focusing time around the river would be the best use of effort. If you start heading North after the river or too far South of the Khumaga gate you just end up following the national parks fenceline. If you are staying for longer it might be worthwhile travelling east towards the pans and the open grasslands to get a feel for the harshness of the area. However, if you do this you need to be very self sufficient as there is not a lot of traffic in the park so if you get stuck you need to be able to get yourself out.
I stay in the parks area where the SKL office is but have visited the SKL campsite where they have a very nice ablution block where you can get hot water for showers and wash up after a busy day in the field. The SKL guys are also really useful. If you ever get into difficulty they have a vehicle and are willing to go and help you if you get stuck anywhere.
4wd is a must in the park as it can get quite difficult to drive in the sand.
In terms of weather it was warm back in May during the day and cold in the evening but now in October the temperature has really increased and has got up to 40 degrees celsius during the day and still warm during the nights.
In this park you really have to put the time in and if you are expecting to see lions and cheetah left, right and centre this is maybe not the right park for you. However, when you do get these sightings it makes it much more rewarding. That said I might be biased on this but there is nothing better than seeing a herd of elephants playing in the river in the afternoon and makes for some very scenic views.
Also something I forgot to mention but at the moment at the Khumaga gate because of the Boteti river flowing and vehicles being unable to cross there is now a small car ferry that charges Pula 130 each way which often tourists don't know about.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Always excellent. Bliss.
Always excellent. John is a great asset to the company he goes far beyond what other travel agents give. He advises and knows exactly the type of holiday my husband and I enjoy. Would always use John and have already recommended him.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
As always perfect organized
After three previous tours with Matoke to Uganda/Rwanda/South Tanzania this time to North Tanzania. This private tour started in Arusha and then to Serengeti for 5 nights, 1 night at Lake Manyara and back to Arusha. The tent camps and lodge where perfect located. Transport was very luxurious for only the two of us and we had a very good driver/guide who spotted a lot of animals. After being on safari many times before this tour is one of the most memorable. In the past we started mostly before breakfast and went back to the lodge for breakfast and did the end of the day another safari. This tour had most of the days a complete day safari so we spend the maximum time in spotting animals.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We have done two safaris with Wild Things in the north and south and enjoyed them both
Wild Things responds to emails very quickly with suggest itineraries and are happy to let you change and procrastinate as muh as you like to design the best trip. We found the service of their staff very good, and the same of the lodges they recommended. We first did a safari on the popular northern circuit, and saw everything we wanted - incliding a lion kill, so the 2nd trip we went to the the south where we also, somewhat surprisingly, saw almost as much, and several species we didn't see up north.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very well organized, very service oriented and reliable
We got competent answers to all our questions and suggestions and Andre von Flotow our Guide made sure that we always received more than we expected to see.
To our advantage was that we travelled in the low season, so we had most of the excursions and activities arranged all to our selves.
We can advise anybody to travel with Impala Tours Namibia.
However we do advise fellow travellers to bring along the necessary time to explore Namibia.
By the way, the food that was served has always been excellent.