65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best holiday ever!
It was a lifetime ambition to visit Okavango and we had a bewildering choice to make. In the end we went for Rob as we had known him years before and I know his father-in-law. From the start Rob arranged everything so well including the best time to visit. The combination of dry 3 nights at Xini in Moremi, 2 at Motsiri for makoro and boat and then back to Khwai with the team was perfect. On arrival Killor our guide said we would not be joined by others! The tent and bed were very comfortable and the dawn and evening and some night drives worked well with a rest after lunch and then a shower. The food thanks to Bishop excellent and Joseph looked after us so well. We were incredibly lucky to see leopards including a mother with her cub chasing off an eagle (wow! David Attenborough eat your heart out), 15 lions, wild dogs, roan, bush pig, jackals, serval, etc. Wonderful birds and trees and everything was explained so well. Understanding our tiny place in the whole of creation and how it all works together was truly uplifting. At Motsiri I went against my resolution not to walk in the bush (I grew up in Joburg) and so glad I did as we saw elephants across the river in complete safety. On arrival at the Khwai camp we watched elephants from our tent as they crossed the river so close by - amazing! Killor was expert in finding wildlife and the 2 lionesses eating a zebra foal and the 4 lionesses with a playful cub on the main road will always stay with us. But it is not all about big cats. You cannot have elephants without plants and frogs! I did slip getting off the vehicle and grazed my leg but Killor had cream for that and it was dressed at the clinic at the Victoria Falls Avani hotel. We had 2 nights there and were able to go on the train, helicopter (awesome) and river cruise. I cannot stop raving about this trip - we have been all over the world but this was just fantastic. We will definitely return - start saving now!
CY
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari with an excellent company!
Gosheni was highly recommended by a friend, and my husband and I are very happy that we followed her recommendation. We started planning our July 2017 Safari trip in February of the same year, and from the very beginning it became apparent that Gosheni is a top notch company focused on customer service, ensuring delivery of a high quality experience. The planning stage went very well, with Pendo (sales & marketing of Gosheni) being very responsive to all questions with timely and clear emails and quick and thorough responses. After the exchange of more than 60 emails (!) a private 6-night/ 7-day safari trip was developed as well as our transfer and 1 night in Zanzibar. Our itinerary included Lake Duluti, Tarangire NP, Serengeti NP (central and north), Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara. We even got a free short visit to Arusha on our first day where we were met by Peter (owner of Gosheni).
Our guide, Enock could not have been more professional, experienced, courteous and knowledgeable. Throughout our time with him, we felt safe and well looked after. He was patient, gentle and had a good sense of humor. His excellent eyesight, knowledge about animals, plants and local culture amongst other things, is remarkable. He worked incredibly hard to make the safari an experience none of us will ever forget and we are truly grateful to him for that. His caring reactions to incidents such as, moving to safety an exhausted baby gazelle who was standing in the middle of the track, unable to move and at risk of being run over or hunted by predators was amazing, as well as the looking after of a sick young student girl, who couldn’t walk home and was lying at the side of the road, were absolutely precious!
Although he couldn't guarantee we would see specific animals, we did see lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, elephants, hippos, giraffes, buffalos, baboons, gazelles, a very large number of birds and lots and lots of zebras and wildebeest!! We were warned that we may not manage to be on the right spot at the right time to see the wildebeest migration, so we were not disappointed to just see the gathering in the wide green fields of hundreds of them in preparation for the river crossing. Gosheni’s motto ‘Discover the Unexpected’ could not have been truer as there really was a surprise around every corner. While driving through an otherwise barren and not so interesting area you come up against lions asleep in a tree’s shade, a leopard and her prey high up on a tree and so many other surprises! The visit to the Maasai village, despite being obviously planned and presented for tourists like us, was still quite a cultural experience.
It is important to recognize that there is a lot of vehicle time on this type of trip. We had an excellent new Toyota Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, but prospective visitors should know that there are still many hours spent driving within the Parks to locate animals. Roads within the Parks are not paved and 8-10 hour game drives can be tiring and taxing. The drives were long, the days started early, but although we are a mature couple we were able to do and see all that we hoped. Our vehicle was reliable, clean and comfortable, there were always refreshments water, tea and coffee and Enock made a special detour to the supermarket to buy fruit juices for my husband.
We stayed at two different 'tented camps' but only one of them was wonderful (I'll be reviewing all our accommodation choices separately). The movable camp (Chaka Tented Camp) was disappointing but the Maramboi Tented Camp was excellent. We also stayed at three of the Serena Lodges (at Lake Duluti, Serengeti and Ngorongoro) and absolutely loved the Ngorongoro one situated on the rim of the crater. We were sorry to hear that Gosheni had opened its own tented Serengeti Acacia Camp sometime after we made our bookings for 2 nights at Serengeti Serena. Had we been told about this earlier we would have asked to change.
The only thing that fell through in an otherwise absolute organization was that, at Tempo Hotel in Stonetown, Zanzibar, they could not find our booking. As it turned out Gosheni had made it through a Zanzibar local agent and had not informed us accordingly. After a few panicked phone calls the matter was sorted, however, in general Tembo Hotel did not meet our expectations. Situated at a great location on the beach but not very clean, with indifferent staff and very high beds (I had to ask for a stool to go up and down the bed – not an easy task in the middle of the night!).
In conclusion, we are very satisfied with this trip and with the personalized services Gosheni provided, so we would 100% recommend Gosheni and Enock to anyone who wants to have a dream safari trip!! All in all, an excellent company!
Great Job! Assante sana to all of you!
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Efficient, responsive and trustworthy
My wife and I travelled to the Masai Mara for the Great Migration and had the most wonderful time. Clare was most helpful in her timely, responsive and accurate advice. We stayed at Kichwa Tembo and had an amazing experience. The entire safari trip went very smoothly and although it was our first time in Kenya, we felt completely safe due to Clare's planning. Our transfers were smooth and went without a hitch. I would highly recommend Kibiko Safaris, and expecially Clare, for anyone looking for a stress-free holiday.
NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable Experience in Kenya and Tanzania with Seven by Far
In Jul-17, my husband and I completed a 14-day, 13-night safari in Kenya and Tanzania with Seven by Far Travel.
Our itinerary was Nairobi (1 night), Lake Nakuru (1 night), Masai Mara (3 nights), Serengeti (2 nights), Ngorongoro Crater (2 nights), Lake Manyara (1 night), Amboseli (2 nights), Nairobi (1 night).
We enjoyed every minute of it. We saw so much .... Leopard feasting on its kill up a tree, black and white rhino, lions feasting on wildebeest, tree-climbing lions, many close encounters with lion, leopard, elephant, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, hippo, Impala, various gazelle, and birds of all types and size. A fantastic experience!
Our communications with Sylvester Sala, manager of Seven by Far were impeccable. We had many, many questions which were always answered overnight or earlier with great patience. We were met at Jomo Kenyatta Airport by Sylvester even though he was married the previous day and should have been on his honeymoon. From then on we were looked after by Seven by Far until they dropped us at the airport for departure.
Ours was a private tour ... Just the 2 of us in a 4x4 Landcruiser with our driver. This suited us just fine as I am a keen photographer and we could spend as long as we liked at each sighting. This is consistent with Seven by Far's motto "touring for like-minded people". I'm sure we were the envy of those packed 6-8 in lodge or camp vehicles. The land cruisers, though not always the newest, were the best option (better than a minivan I'm sure) as we spent many hours negotiating bumpy, dusty dirt roads.
We had 3 drivers ... Pascal for Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara; then Cosmos for the Tanzanian section; and finally Moses for Amboseli and back to Nairobi. All were different personalities but all were very good spotters and extremely knowledgeable about the animals, birds and flora. We learned a lot ... Thanks guys!!
For our level of tour all the accommodation was very acceptable and the service outstanding ... The 5-star Sarova Stanley at Nairobi, the Sopa Lodges at Lake Nakuru, Serengeti, Ngorongoro; the Serenade Lodge at Lake Manyara; and the de-luxe tented camps Ilkeliani at Masai Mara, Kibo at Amboseli. We found Seven by Far to be flexible as far as accommodation offered ... Within reason one can choose between budget up to to quite luxurious accommodation.
Overall I have no hesitation in recommending Seven by Far for a safari tour in this part of the world.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Yellow Zebra planned the honeymoon of our dreams!
My husband and I had never worked with a travel agency, until Yellow Zebra. As we began our research to plan a 2 week trip to Africa for our honeymoon, we were inundated with information which made it difficult to make decisions and feel confident in those decisions. Then, my husband found Yellow Zebra. Within 24 hours of submitting an online request, Kirsten reached out to us via email to set up a brief call to discuss what we wanted to do and see during our honeymoon. I really wanted to go to Tanzania and Kenya, but Kirsten advised against it because we’d be going during the rainy season. Not what I wanted to hear, but it’s what I needed to hear. Previous travel agents we reached out to all said great and never shared any concerns with us. And at that moment I knew I could trust Kirsten because she wanted to make sure we had the best trip possible, by giving us all of the information to enable us to make an informed decision. Because of our work schedules, our travel dates were not flexible, but we wanted to stay at a certain lodge in Sabi Sands. Unfortunately, that lodge didn’t have availability with our then-current itinerary. Fortunately, Kirsten worked her magic to rearrange our itinerary so that we could stay at the lodge we wanted.
We live on the east coast of the USA, so I was a little hesitant about working with a travel agency located in the UK because of the time difference, but it wasn’t an issue because Kirsten was always so prompt with her responses. After we booked the lodges, Kirsten helped us fine tune our itinerary with excursions, tours, and dinner reservations. Kirsten also worked with the lodges to make my husband’s birthday extra special while we were on safari.
We felt taken care of by YZ as soon as we landed in South Africa. In Johannesburg, there was a travel guide who greeted us at the airport to take us through immigration and security and made sure we got to our departure gate for our final flight to Cape Town (where we would officially start our honeymoon). Kirsten and the YZ team planned all of our airline connections and car/boat transfers with reputable companies. We worked with Kirsten over 6 months, and she was always lovely, professional, thorough, and knowledgable.
Thank you Kirsten and the YZ team for planning the honeymoon of our lives! We’re still suffering the post-safari blues, so we can’t wait to plan our next safari with you soon!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic trip and superb help and organization from Barak
A long held dream to climb mt. Nyiragongo came true thanks to the fantastic assistance and services of Barak at Congo discover safaris! I have traveled with other safaris companies in Uganda and Tanzania, but Barak and his crew surpass the rest. Barak is extremely flexible and supportive and very punctual. In addition he and the rest are incredibly friendly and willing to go out of their way to help you arrange your trip and have the best possible experience. I look forward to traveling more in the DRC with Barak and highly recommend Congo discover safaris to anyone planning a trip to beautiful Goma and DRC! You will have a wonderful time!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safaris and Kilimanjaro trek exceeded our expectations
Our family spent three weeks in Tanzania and went on two safaris and climbed Kilimanjaro with Snow Africa Adventures. The trip was flawless thanks to Florent's attention to detail. We went on two safaris to four different parks. We stayed in unique camps and lodges that exceeded our expectations. Our guide was excellent - very knowledgeable about the parks and the wildlife and was a lot of fun. We climbed Kilimanjaro with our group of nine, including four teenagers. It was great! The guides were patient, friendly, safety conscious and took excellent care of us. The food was very good and the porters and cooks were excellent. I highly recommend Snow Africa Adventures.
US
The best trip our family has ever taken!
Snow Africa gave us the trip of a lifetime. They were better than we could have ever imagined. Cheeba our Safari guide became one of the family. Julius the Kilimanjaro guide is a mystical figure who got all of us up the mountain. Florent the owner of the company is attentive, warm, and extremely professional. I can't speak enough about their services and the quality of people they have working in their company.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Top service - efficient, reliable, professional and friendly
We just came home from a 3 weeks’ trip to Namibia. We went to the Naukluft Parc (Olive trail, Namib dunes), Walvis Bay (Pelican Point), Swakopmund, Spitzkoppe, Opuwo, Epupa Falls, Van Zyl’s pass, Marienfluss, Etosha and Erongo. We travelled on our own with 5 family members (2 adults, 3 “kids” of 20, 18 and 15 years) and two 4x4 cars (as recommended by our travel agent for security reasons when you go to the Van Zyl’s pass and Kaokoveld). We slept in lodges, tents and in our car roof-tents.
It was an unforgettable trip : a real adventure where everything went well – no single problem, a lot of excitement !! No flat tyres although roads were frequently rough. All bookings had been done as announced, food and accommodation were very good. The fact that our trip, which we set up on purpose as an “adventure”, was such a positive experience is greatly thanks to Rachael from Cardboard Box Travel Shop who gave us invaluable advice about accommodation, places to see and to avoid, difficult roads, things to take with us…. As regular travellers, we never received such a personalised and attentive service as we experienced with her. We recommend everybody intending to visit Namibia to contact Cardboard Box Travel Shop (ask for Rachael !!). They will provide you with a tailored and friendly service, organising you a unique experience.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My experience with Wild Africa Safaris
I had a non-adventure tour of the Chobe National Park with Wild Africa back in February. My impression with Rodgers is that he is highly gifted and very much alive with nature issues and tourism in general. Gentle, jolly and committed to the trade. The operator’s equipment, from vehicles to tents are magnificent and unique in the market. Highly recommended.