HU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Pearls of East of Africa-Best Discovered with KWSS :-)
We are a couple from Hungary and we took part in a 3- week-long safari visiting 12 national parks in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
We got on very well with Mr. Otieno (Oti) from the very beginning; he is intelligent, kind, helpful, flexible and very good, and quick at both oral and written communication.
His staff and partners are also excellent-we can only talk about them in superlatives:Mustafa and Obed in Uganda, Martin in Kenya and Uganda, Clement and Jacob in Kenya, Mike Moshi and Saneh in Tanzania did their best to make us happy. We'll never forget the smiley face of Martin, our advetures with Clement :-), the very informative guidance of Saneh and the way Moshi always served our dinners- he always dressed up very elegantly to serve us wonderful meals on 'silver' plates, which he put on tables beautifully set. All the other groups were jealous of us:-D. We learned a lot of life and animals-especially of baboons, who even had a taste of our car:-)- from Obed and Mustafa. We always tried to go together as a team.
We can also highly recommend KWSS, whose tours are not only excellent but also good value and with whom we managed to put together a safari which lived up 95% to our expectations:-).
IL
20-35 years of age
great experience, the staff was amazing
we had a safari trip with Big Time Holidays Ltd and the trip was excellent! we recommend it deeply.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hike Kili, few safaris and Zanibar
I am incredibly happy I booked with Tanzania Expeditions.
The trip I wanted to be very custom. I had 8 people coming with me from different areas around the world and was ready to have the best experience. I wanted to hike Kili, do some safaris and then jump to Zanzibar for some scuba.
Since we were all coming from different locations, we planned a day safari at Arusha National Park for the first day of arrival before hiking Kili. This was a safari plus a walking safari with an armed ranger in the park. After this we drove around the Big/Small Momela Lake. This was quite the introduction to what we were going to learn about what goes on in a safari. The hiking part was supposed to be about 1.5 hours, we took 3. We had see and learn and a park ranger to show us around. Our safari driver patiently waited while we took the extra time, but he also kept tabs on us and made sure we didn’t just disappear. It was a great way to spend the first day getting acclimated. The next safaris came after Kili. We had a 4 day lodge/camping mix. I figured after hiking 7 days up Kili, we would appreciate a bed one of these safari nights. This is that ‘custom’ part again that Justin was able to work with. The safari drivers took us from Arusha to Tarangire, Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Crater. We saw all kinds of animals. They would politely shut off the cars while we took pictures. For me this helped with less vibrations for long distance pictures. The drivers would also stop for us to buy beer, pee and hop out of the car to climb trees for more pictures. They catered to us for on the spot requests, as well as made sure we were safe. They also kept in touch with the radio to hear where the animal spottings were and brought us to see the best! I think the only thing we really couldn’t get the best glimpse at was the rhino. He knew where the rhino was, he pointed it out and knew at what time the rhino would be waking up and standing up. It was just too far away for us. It really impressive how well they know those roads. The safari was great!
Justin was able to help with specific requests, the Kili hike and Zanzibar after, with a time crunch and and made everything work out perfectly. Whether you’re looking to hike, safari or enjoy the beaches, he knowledgeable about everything. He really has a great staff working for him. My friends and I still talk about our epic trip and how it couldn’t have been done without the help of Tanzania Expeditions.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
We went on a 3 day tour with Kanuth Adveture Safaris and had the same planning as the previous review. And we would defenitely do it again!!!
We really enjoyed the boat safari on the first day and we saw loads of birds, crocos, Hippos and a monitor lizard thanks to our capitain who was good in spotting the animals.
We enjoyed stay at the Hippo camp, found it very nice and beautiful with the river, the staff was friendly and helpful. Also the food was really good and we enjoyed the game drive with Toni, who made sure that we've seen a lot of animals, including a lion having lunch. Also the walking safari was interesting, to make you discover the ecosystem with a closer look on traces and smaller animals like insects. We also liked the landscape a lot, which is beautiful with its lakes, the river, trees and the mountains in the background. The animals were quite shy which made the game drive more interesting, as it didn't feel like in a big zoo (that's what we heard some people saying about Serengeti) but we still saw a lot of them and sometimes very close. All in all we can highly recommend to go on Safari with Kanuth Adventure Tours, they are a very good choice and will try everything to make you get what you expect!
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best company to deal with !
Fantastic response to queries, affordable rates, excellent staff, fulfilled all promises.
Had an amazing time with my family.
Efficient and friendly tour manager - Mr Allan Milambo.
Knowledgeable and friendly guide/driver - Mr Stanley.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Chimp and gorilla tracking in Uganda
What an experience! Uganda is beautiful and we certainly had a great time! Our tour guide and driver, Musa, was knowledgeable, experienced, friendly and eager to tell us about his country. We were most satisfied with his guidance.
We will definitely return to the area probably to do something similar in Tanzania and the parts of Uganda that we missed out on.
I have recommended Matoke to many friends and hopefully they too can have the same experiences that we had. Thank you to Matoke tours for a well planned and run safari trip, the chimp and gorilla experience was phenomenal. The leopard crossing the road in front of our vehicle just outside of the Queen Elizabeth National park was an added bonus.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very nice trip!
We had a lot of expectations about the trip (and all were fulfilled pretty nice) and about the accommodation but there were some troubles in two lodges, but Matoke Tours fixed them well.
We have a very good and professional guide and driver!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional, efficient and delivered in every way
I booked a one week safari in Kenya for two people through Go2Africa, all done by email. A bespoke, varied programme was put together for us which proved to be quite excellent. We stayed in Porini camps in Amboseli and the Mara which embrace the conservancy project which empowers the local community. Our camps and our guides were superb and we were well looked after and saw lots of amazing sights. All arrangements worked well and we were always met at the right times and places by friendly knowledgeable people. I highly recommend Go2Africa and the local company Gamewatchers who were responsible for all local arrangements.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A customized trip with good price
We arribed in Tanzania and we knew what we wanted to do, but we did not contract any agency from Spain because it was too expensive.
So we found Usambara Expeditions, we explained them the trip we wanted. It was a little bit special, because we were 5 people in the group and some of us wanted to climb the meru and some not. But we explained them everything and they planned what we wanted and the price was good (if we compared the prices people was giving us in through internet).
We wanted a low cost trip and we did not need any luxury, and the trip was like this! no luxuries! But it was what we were expecting! they were with us all the moments!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One cup of perfect planning, one cup of great guiding, and a pinch of luck = A perfect Safari
E-Trip Africa organized a mind blowing tour to Tanzania and Rwanda for us this summer. The manager Ben and our Guide Rajai were at the airport to greet us when we arrived and joined us for a welcome dinner in Arusha at Arusha Coffee Lodge, which is a beautiful lodge located in a Coffee Plantation just outside of Arusha. We spent two nights at Arusha Coffee Lodge in order to recover from the long flight. On the “recovery” day, Ben joined us for an outing to Shanga House, where handicapped and disabled people are employed to create a variety of hand crafts, like blown glass. Ben then took us to Plaster House, which is an inspiring project that does surgeries for children whose families can’t afford such medical interventions. I nearly left the place in tears, seeing how strong such young people can be. As a rule, we find a way to give something to the places that we have traveled. I was turned off by the numerous scams that we had heard about in East Africa. But you can see that E-Trip Africa is really involved with the community and they were able to find some real projects to introduce us to.
We started early to get to Tarangire National Park. As a first African safari we really had no idea what to expect. Tarangire is a perfect place to start the journey. Elephants and Giraffe mixed with the huge baobab trees that seem to go off into the horizon. It was not long before Rajai had us driving down a small track near a dried up river bed. There were no other cars in sight, so I naturally though he was taking a short cut or even got lost. But then all of the sudden he stopped and pointed at a Sausage tree. I stupidly assumed he was showing us another Sausage tree, but then we saw her. A beautifully majestic leopard, not even 20 feet above our heads, was taking a nap on one of the large branches. She opened her eyes and glanced at us and then dosed back off. After some time relaxing and enjoying the nature, we continued the drive enjoying the elephants, giraffe, ostrich, lovebirds, beaters, and the grandiose baobabs. We then spent the night at Tarangire Safari Lodge, which as promised has “the best view in Africa”.
The next morning we started the day early slowly working our way out of Tarangire, when we spotted two cheetahs. We still don’t know how Rajai was able to see the animals while navigating the sometimes nearly impassible roads, but he spotted them and then pointed it out to us. Once again we were alone, but this time on a much larger road. He said we should wait to see if they were hungry. And sure enough within 15 minutes they were on the hunt. We crept along as they moved and finally, the burst out after a herd of Thompsons Gazelles. By the time they had caught one they were quite far from the road, but we could still see the action. Then to our surprise two female lions appeared from behind some bushes and the poor cheetah lost their breakfast. By that time several other vehicles had arrived and we decided that it was time to move on.
We gratefully joined the tarmac road again and drove to the south to enter Lake Manyara. Originally our plan did not include this park, but Ben as a Bird Man, said it was one of his favorites and convinced us that we should give it a day in the trip. We are so glad we did. While it was not easy to top the excitement from the morning, Lake Manyara National Park was a splendor in itself. The coexistence of so many different animals all in one area really made me feel that this was a special place. At one point not far from the hot springs, we had 17 different types of birds, along with a huge troop of baboon, giraffe, wildebeest, buffalo, and mongoose all feeding in the same place. We actually spent over an hour there just enjoying all of the interactions, sounds and movements. In the afternoon we drove to Ngorongoro spending the night at Serena Lodge.
Again we started the day very early. Rajai wanted us to get down to the crater floor first thing so that we could see the animals when they are most active. The drive down to the floor was quite impressive. This is where we encountered our first Hyena, of which we must have seen almost 100 during the morning drive. There were also some new birds to see, Crowned Cranes and Kori Bustards were new for us. This time it was not Rajai who had the luck but one of the other E-Trip Guides who radioed Rajai to tell him that two Black Rhinos had been spotted. We then headed off in a bit of a rush. We arrived to find 5 other cars there and the rhinos where quite close. Rajai told us that Jon was an aggressive male that is the father of most of the rhinos in the crater. He has also killed some of his sons once they reached sexual maturity. So the park is thinking about moving him to a better place. Within about 20 minutes there were nearly 50 cars lined up. We left our space for someone else and we then headed off. Near a small stream on the floor we came across a female lion that had 4 cubs with her. She was alone, which meant that the cubs were still less than a few months old.
They were adorable to watch and since everyone else was viewing the rhinos, we had some time to ourselves to enjoy. After lunch it was time to drive out of the crater and to the Serengeti. The one surprise we had was the large numbers of Maasai People and the fact that there are so many cows in the conservation area. I don’t really see how the area can support the wildlife and so much live stock.
From Ngorongoro to Serengeti the road is very bad. I never saw a road this bad in my life before. It was two hours of bumpy, dusty madness. We then spent almost an hour at the entry gate and continued to Nieleze camp in Serengeti. The camp is small with six tents and located near a small hill. The next morning we had a sunrise breakfast on the top of the hill, which was a nice surprise. We then enjoyed two days in central Serengeti, where we saw over 40 lions and 3 different leopards. The highlight though was a mother cheetah with her cubs near the den.
From Nieleze we drove to the northern part of Serengeti which was also long and dusty. The road was not as bad as before, but nearly. Rajai took us on a few loops along the way. And as we got further and further north there were fewer and fewer cars. We spent the following two nights at Bolongonja Camp, which was a bit more rustic than Nieleze. However, it was perfect for the location. The sense of really being in the wilderness was ideal.
Ben & Aurelie had warned us that the migration was very unpredictable and not to have our hopes too high. Seems once again the stars were aligned perfectly. When we arrived there were still some large herds of wildebeest around. We drove by and waited for hours, but they just moved back and forth with no real desire to cross that river. But the second day when we returned, they had changed their mind. There were thousands of wildebeest jumping in the water and two got taken by crocodiles. Rajai said that this was actually a rather small crossing, but it was big enough to enjoy. On our way back to the camp I spotted what I thought to be an elephant, but then I decided it must be a hippo. Rajai laughed and took us down a small track to get up close. It was another black rhino. This time all to ourselves.
The next morning afternoon Rajai took us to the airstrip where we said our goodbyes and then we boarded the small plane to Rwanda. We arrived there to find Ben waiting at the airport with our guide Joseph. We spent the night at the upscale Serena hotel in Kigali.
The next day Ben took us on a tour of Kigali. We started the day visiting the Ivuka Art Studio where children are given the opportunity to express themselves with art. We then drove to Volcanoes National Park. Along the way we stopped at the Gorilla Doctors project which provides medical care for Mountain Gorillas. We then headed off to Gorilla View Mountain Lodge for the night. The lodge was okay, but not quite at the level of those in Tanzania.
The next morning we were up early and of to the park to visit the Mountain Gorilla. The rangers gave us some coffee and then told us a little about the family we were going to visit. Our family was the Susa group, which we were told had 28 gorillas in it. From the ranger station you get very good views of the 5 volcanoes that are inside the park. I did not take pictures here because I thought we would see them better from the forest, but you don’t see them at all.
We drove to the start of the trail and the rangers gave us walking poles. The hike was a bit difficult and it is high so not so easy to breath. We walked about two hours and then the rangers stopped us and told us that we needed to get the cameras ready and to leave our bags. We then walked a few more feet to a clearing where there were several gorillas. The rangers lead us into the middle of the group. In our sight I counted 14 gorillas but I could hear some others that we could not see. The sights, smells, and sounds are all so overwhelming that the 60 minutes passes rather quickly. I still have not figured how to put the experience in words, but I can say it was the highlight of a perfect trip.
I am grateful that we came across E-Trip Africa, as they building this amazing trip for us and where there from the start to the finish. Ben and Aurelie provided useful insight and expert advice. Rajai and Joseph are fantastic guides and passionate people that have a love for wildlife.