35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Superb
Had a wonderful 2 night safari with Kalahari breeze. Chris, George and the rest of the team were brilliant. Cannot fault the service they provide. Everything was well organised and met all my expectations. Thank you so much.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Do not do business with African Paradise Safaris
I bought a 7-day 6-night group safaris from African Paradise Safaris. It turned out there was no such safaris.
They subcontracted my safaris to Africa Natural Safaris, which does not have a license to operate. I was shuffled between 4 different safaris groups in seven days. It was a disaster. Do not do business with this company
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A LIAR AND CHEAT
Below is my letter of complaint to Mr Viktor Ketansi of Tanzania National Park Authority against the fraud, cheating and lies perpetrated by Mr Edgar Sirikwa of Jiwe Adventures:
"Dear Mr. Ketansi,
I am an established explorer and author, Fellow of Explorers Club USA Fellow of Royal Geographical Society, and Editor of Indian Mountaineer. In 2006, when I was leading the Gondwanaland Expedition - a scientific mission and a 25,000km motoring adventure from Indian Himalaya to Cape Agulhus, the southernmost point of Africa, we were provided excellent support in Tanzania National Parks Authority and all our vehicles carried their logo during the course of the three-month expedition.
This is to bring to your kind attention fraud and deceit perpetrated by Mr. Edgar Sirikwa, proprietor of Jiwe Adventures in Moshi.
The facts of the matter are as below:
1. In 2016, I had engaged the services of Jiwe Adventures for my Kilimanjaro climb. As he had provided a reasonable service, I engaged them for my forthcoming visit to Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara with my wife.
2. Edgar agreed to provide the following services:
- pick-up from Arusha airport and drop off at Serena Manyara
- hotel booking at Serena Manyara for two nights
- half-day safari at Lake Manyara on Day 1
- full day safari at Lake Manyara on Day 2
- transfer to Serena Ngorongoro on Day 3
- hotel booking at Serena Ngorongoro for two nights
- half-day carter safari on Day 3
- full day crater safari on Day 4
- transfer to Moshi on Day 5
- hotel booking at Moshi for one night
- transfer to Kilimanjaro airport on Day 6
3. Edgar wrote that he would send me the hotel booking confirmations as soon as he received an advance of US$335.
4. The deposit amount was sent to his account by bank transfer in January 2018.
5. After confirming receipt of advance on January 18, Edgar stopped replying to my emails and to my Whatsapp messages. I finally called him, and he assured me that he would send the hotel vouchers within a day. However, nothing came.
6. After checking directly with Serena Hotels, I was informed that a booking had been made - but for the wrong dates. Edgar apologised for the mistake.
7. Since February 13 I had been writing to Edgar to confirm if the dates had been changed and a fresh booking made. He did not reply for a month!
8. On March 13, I sent him the following email:
Dear Edgar,
I called you three days ago and you promised to send me the hotel confirmation vouchers by the evening.
Further, you had said that the bookings were made under "Edgar".
Serena Hotels has already confirmed that there are no bookings under that name.
I have forwarded you their email.
As I feel that I am being deceived by you for a long time, I am CANCELLING my visit.
I do not get a good feeling about this - and due to this sad and frustrating experience have no desire to visit Tanzania.
You are requested to kindly return the advance of US$ 335 that I transferred to your bank and acknowledged by you.
Incidentally, after receiving the advance you have not replied to a single mail of mine - I must have sent you over twenty of them. You answered the four phone calls I made to you and each time you promised to email the hotel confirmation vouchers. Sadly, you never kept your word. And, moreover, never made the hotel bookings.
In view of the above, please transfer the amount of $335 to my bank.
Look forward to your early action."
Threatened with cancellation, Edgar replied saying everything will be ok and I should not worry.
9. Meanwhile, Serena Ngorongoro was full on the days we wanted. Edgar suggested, on March 15, we revise our itinerary and first visit Ngorongoro and then Manyara. I agreed. However, he did not send any hotel vouchers - but assured on phone that everything was done.
10. Another couple - Mr and Mrs Ravinder Jain wanted to join us on the trip and transferred US$ 330 to Jiwe Adventures as advance deposit. The payslip conforming transfer of funds was emailed to Edgar on March 30.
11. On March 31, Edgar informs me that we can only do one full day crater drive!!! I sent him copies of his emails of January 15 and March 15 - in which he had confirmed one-half-day and one full day crater drive. That is how the tour was priced. Now he was not honouring his agreement.
12. On April 4, Edgar sends me a Whatsapp saying that since Serena Ngorongoro is full, he will book us at Sopa Lodge - to which I agreed. He said that Sopa had been booked. When I checked directly with Sopa, they said NO booking had been made.
13. On April 12, Edgar Whatsapps me saying Sopa is fully booked and he will now book us in Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge. I checked with Sopa again and Ms Innocent confirmed that they had rooms available for the days we wanted. Again and again, Edgar had been lying to me, misleading me.
14. The same day I wrote to Edgar saying that it seemed beyond him to make the hotel bookings for us - so I offered to make the hotel bookings myself directly with the hotels - and he should provide only the ground services - and we would adjust the deposit paid to him against that. Edgar agreed to this proposal.
15. Accordingly, I made the bookings directly with Serena Manyara and Sopa Ngorongoro.
16. Between April 13-26, Edgar again did not respond to my emails and text messages.
17. On April 27, he again texted that we would go down into the crater only once - again retracting on his agreement.
18. As he had been consistently lying, misleading me, not keeping his words or honouring the agreement - I felt uncomfortable dealing with him and informed him on April 28 that I did not wish to deal with him and he should return the deposit amount totalling US$665.
19. Edgar kept insisting through Whatsapp messages that he will provide the services and see us at the Arusha airport on May 26.
20. My last email to him was on May 4:
Dear Edgar,
As I have cancelled the arrangements with you, as you have not adhered to our agreement and have been consistently misleading me about the arrangements, you are requested to kindly refund the deposit amount of US$ 635 paid by Mr Ravinder Jain and me. This amount may kindly be handed over to Mr. Donald (Tel: 78*****81).
If this is not done in the next three days.ie. by Monday, May 7, 2018, I will be reporting the matter to Mr. Victor Ketansi at the Tanzania National Park Authority.
I look forward to your early and positive response.
Best wishes.
21. He has not responded after this. Meanwhile, I have arranged with Mr Donald of Friendship Adventures to provide the ground services.
In view of the above, Tanzania National Parks Authority may like to take appropriate action against Jiwe Adventures and assist me in getting the deposit amount back, so I can pay Friendship Adventures.
Mr Edgar Sirikwa's mobile number is: +255 75***1075
Many thanks and regards.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hiking through fields and villages along Kivu lake and inside Nyungwe forest
A tailor-made circuit, following all my whishes,
excellent suggestion to complete the tour with a visit of Butare museum and Nyanza king site,
guide (on Congo-Nile trail) and driver both very professionnal, well informed and considerate,
easy contact with the agency, rapid and clear answers,
I recommend!
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, Transparent, Reliable
My dad and I went 3N4D tour with It Started in Africa.
Especially I would like to mention two persons ; Bernard, the reservation manager was very agile and flexible to my request and David, the driver/guide was very knowledgeable and experienced in the endless plain.
Even though there were some hassles in payment process, since their local bank had in problem to clear my Pesapal payment, Bernard transparently & frequently shared what's going on and my tour was well done without any discomfort or concern.
As many communities said, It Started in Africa had hard time due to their oversea agent problem in 2017, however, now they are doing best to rebuild their brand and reputation. I highly recommend to ask quotes to them and take a tour with them in Tanzania!
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
unforgettable, amazing, beautiful team!
we left early June with snow africa adventures for the ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro and for a safari in three parks : Nogongoro, Serengeti and Lake Manyara.
We had unforgettable moments on sunny days. A great team, kind, attentive, listening to us all along our journey, anxious to provide us with maximum information on their culture, their biodiversity. A team we will never forget.
In short, we were pampered. We both arrived at the top of Kilimanjaro with just amazing meals, with a wonderful sunrise with our guides Julius and Hussein and thanks to the whole team Joshua, Johnny, Sylvester, Ayubu, Sebastian, Stevi, and all other...
During our safari, with Lorry, we saw a multitude of animals with a special mention for the herd of elephants that stopped right in front of the car. The choice of lodges was perfect: quiet, comfortable and in beautiful places!
Thanks to Florent, the boss, for the whole organization and for his daily investment: daily calls to find out if everything is fine and coaching back and forth to the airport!
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional Safari Company in Tanzania
I cannot say enough about Rupia Adventure's.
My husband and I traveled to Africa for 5 weeks, and booked the 8 day Tanzania portion of our trip with them.
We visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, The Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti and Arusha national park with them.
Mathias, who planned the trip with us did an excellent job listening to our requests and our budget constraints. They were very flexible with tour options, managing to fit in everything we wanted to see, included a quick stop over at the Olduvai gorge, a walking safari, and a canoe trip in Arusha.
The price was reasonable. They listened to our request about caring more about the game viewing then the accommodations, and found great lodging options in the medium price range for us. We decided to book with them.
When we arrived in Arusha, we were met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. The next morning, we met the man who truly made our experience unforgettable, our tour guide Miraji. He was outstanding. He listened to our interests for what we wanted to see (which was everything, not just the big 5), he listened to our concerns about my husband's back problems and roads and he made sure that my husband's special dietary needs were taken care of. He had an incredible body of knowledge, and went out of his way over the days we were with him to ensure we saw everything we were interested in, no matter how big or small the animal was. He was extremely patient as we took literally 1000s of pictures in all the parks we visited with him, and only prodded us to move when he knew there was something important we wanted to see ahead. He really worked hard with the staff at the different camps to ensure that my husband's lunch box was gluten and egg free, which wasn't always easy. Whenever he had to get the paperwork done at the park entrances, he ensured we found something interesting to do while we waited for him (walking the nature trails, taking pictures of the baboons at the Ngorongoro gate, etc).
He helped us identify everything we saw, whether plant, bird, four legged creature etc. He had a great sense of humor. But what impressed us most was when our flight form the Serengeti was cancelled (NOTE this was booked directly by me, not Rupia Adventure so this was in no way their fault), he and Janniken at the office ensured we got out on another airline, and made sure we weren't left stranded.
The lodges and camps were excellent value, our favorite was the Serengeti Bush Camp.
The animals...., I don't know where to start. I think our favorite viewing was the lions in the trees at Lake Manyara, but there were just so many highlights. We joked with Miraji that we didn't see just the big 5 ,we saw the big 500.
A quick note on the flight, I booked it through Chase Ultimate Rewards with Precision Air. Apparently they stopped flying to the Serengeti in November of last year, but I never received any notification or refund, and neither did Chase. In fact the day of my flight my reservation still showed as confirmed online. Luckily for us, when we met at the Rupia office the day we started our trip, Janniken asker for the information on this flight and told me he would check with Precision Air to ensure the flight was not delayed. When he found it was cancelled, he presented us with a couple of different options. This extra effort turned what could have been a major problem into only a minor nuisance. Thanks to Janniken and Miraji so much for their help.
We spent 4 more weeks travelling in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and while we met some other great guides, none were able to meet the benchmark that Miraji set for us.
Thanks so much for such a great experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great tour!
Almost perfect.
Better food and accommodation then expected.
Only caveat: the guide uses talkie-walkie all the time to get tips on where to find animals. People on the talkie-walkie literally talk all the time so you have background voice during the whole safari. Impossible to make a video which was disappointing.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
He knows how to find all the animals. I saw everything in a one week safari, also a rhino. Sleeping in a tent outside the serengeti was a magnificent experience and with a torch me and my friends were safety. All 4 of us enjoyed that trip very much. Thanks and maybe cu again