IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent driver but problems with agency
Our guide was really nice and made us able to appreciate Masai Mara park. We were able to see most of the expected animals. I have only a concern with the agency who asked us an extra of 45 euros not planned. They said the payment provided from my bank was less than expected. Verified with the bank and it was not true (I don't know if the fault was on their bank or on the agency but my bank showed me the amount of money trasferred and the taxes paid). Never use again this agency also if the guide was fantastic.
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari experience! Highly recommend !!
- Communications: Kennedy was always on the phone! Very easy to reach him
- Service: Very great. They were all nice and did all of our requests :)
- Expectation: They met all our expectation!
- Safari tour: Anderson was amazing. He was very nice and complied with all our requests.
Thank you again AfricanChallenge!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unsafe, unprofessional and extremely expensive - do not use!
We paid almost as much for an overnight trip to Hwange as we did for a 10 day trip with Nomad and got little for it, as it was little more than 29 hours all up. You would be better to hire a car and drive to the park, as it is quite safe, and use the safari options at any of the lodges in and around the park.
Our issues started from at pick up. Mr Moyo emailed he would pick us up, then sent a young driver who was lovely, but no tour guide, and he did not seem to know what was happening or when (but was keen to find out how to get a girlfriend - and visa - in Australia)!
On arrival, our safari truck was broken down and the contracted provider was clearly struggling. A replacement was found after an hour, but both vehicles had clearly been in significant accidents / rollovers. We cancelled the safari the following morning trip as my partner (a mechanic who owned a garage for 15 years) said the vehicle was too unsafe. Pic avail.
The guide was also lovely as was the lunch, but he was an inexperienced driver and needed more training in guiding. Unlike our highly professional Nomad tour guides and day trip guides, we generally stopped where the guide could see the game but our view was obscured by bush! Each time we had to ask for him to move the vehicle, which resulted in a lot of revving and an overshoot back and forth. By the time we could see, the game had often left! We were also rushing to a schedule, and not following the game. On three occasions we left a spot with game and went to another empty waterhole and waited.
To top it off, we also found that dinner had not been specified, and had to get the hotel to call to get this sorted. All up, it was a truly disappointing and very expensive experience. Given the professionalism of all of the other operators we dealt with in a month in Africa, this was definitely an outlier. Go somewhere else.
Hidden Gem
The park is marvellous.
Less traffic means more time with animals and birds.
Weather is moderate though does get hot most of the year.
Best time to travel is July or August as its cooler then.
Elsa Kopje is the best place to stay and for the budget people the KWS self help bandas are sufficient.
Patience is the key thing in Meru NP as it does get dusty most of the times and also the heat can take its toll.
Chances of seeing Lion or Cheetah are not as high as Maasai Mara but are often seen. Other animals like Elephants, Rhinos, the rare Kudu, Somali ostrich, Giraffes, and many more are abundant. So is the bird wildlife. Great place for Birders.
Need a minimum stay of 3 nites to enjoy and understand this park.
I would definitely recommend this park to those who are looking for real safari.
TH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Gib
The only reason I gave only 3 stars for bush vibe is because some areas of the park can get really busy, especially if there's any rare sightings (ex. leopard, river crossing, hunting). Some tourists don't know safari customs (and their guides are too polite to tell them) - talk very loud in the safari. We witnesses a hunt by a group of hyenas and some people were just screaming and talking so loud -scared them away.
Otherwise, the wildlife is abundant and very beautiful.
Madagascar with Great Island Adventure Safaris
We just spent three weeks in Madagascar with Bakoly Razanamiarantsoa the owner of Great Island Adventure Safaris as our guide. Travel to and from Antananarivo via Paris from the US and four key areas visited - Rainforests in Andasibe/Mantadia and Ranomafana in the East, dry forest and coast at Mahajanga/Ankarafantsika in the West, and the spiny forests and coast around Ifaty and Toliara in the Southwest with stops at Isalo and Zombitse on the way. Air Madagascar cancelled a flight which meant us missing a trip to the Masoala peninsula rainforest in the Northeast. Transport during our tour was by private 4WD and two internal flights.
The country is heavily deforested with most of the population depending on charcoal for cooking, however the remaining forest ecosystems in the national park areas visited still hold the unique wildlife that Madagascar is famous for. September is just before the peak birding months of Oct and Nov, but we saw every species available to us, with over 190 birds, 25+ species of Lemur, and many Chameleons, reptiles, frogs, insects and invertebrates and plants and trees. Eighty percent of every living species on the island is endemic, and many can be seen fairly well in the right habitats. Photography opportunities were excellent, and whilst in September, not all species are highly active as the Austral winter ends, the vast majority of creatures were easy to see.
Friendly people throughout, and for a developing country, great accommodation and eating choices available in all but the more remote rural and wilderness areas. Local food and French style cooking was excellent throughout.
The country offers many options for adventure in addition to the unique wildlife with wilderness camping, trekking, canoeing and rafting all available. Not a traditional African style safari destination, but a fantastic experience nonetheless.
I can highly recommend Bakoly and her Great Island Adventure Safaris for any style or length of adventure.
www.gias-madagascar.com
She and her guides were excellent, expert in the wildlife and culture, and spoke excellent English and French.
A unique destination that needs to be visited before the pressure on the ecosystem and wildlife becomes too great.
TH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Saw all the big 5 + the great migration + a herd crossing river and got eaten by a croc! So amazing!
Great wildlife and scenery! We stayed at the northern part of the park so it wasn't as crowded as the other parts which was great! Great accommodation - clean, spacious, attention to details, great & friendly staff. Excellent and skillful driver/ safari guide - knows the park and animals very well - worked longer than he had to to satisfy our needs! Very service minded! Best trip ever!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
If I could rate this tour 0 stars, I would
We traveled with Discovery for a 3 day Sossusvlei tour in Namibia. This was hands down the worse tour I've ever been on in my life. Right from the beginning the tour was riddled with problems. There was a cockroach infestation in the truck. We weren't served breakfast or lunch on our first day. After being picked up, we spent 2 hours handling logistics of the tour (signing papers, picking up camping gear for other travelers, stopping for groceries). These were the least of our problems. They set us off on this tour in a car that had terrible mechanical problems. We drove through 6 hours of gravel road on shock absorbers that were not working causing headaches and three blown tires. Our tour guide left us on a stretch of deserted road (in the car) for 2.5 hours to go get help. Definitely not what anyone would want on their vacation.
BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience! We loved evey minute of it.
Everything was perfect in out trip. David was great, the rangers (Philip and Eric) were amazing and the entire staff of the Kurula house was very caring. I REALLY RECOMEND THE AGENCY AND THE KURULA HOUSE!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
MOST AMAZING guides, spectactular scenery, loads of animal herds seen up close and personal!
I went with 10 friends and it was to say the least, a once in a lifetime adventure! The company's owner Praise helped me plan the trip from a far and replied promptly to all my questions/inquiries. He gave us lots of options, with full details prior to booking and we decided on the 2 night, 3 day safari visiting Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park. 7 of my gang opted to sleep over in a campsite and myself and four others choose the luxury accomodations at Gnorongoro Luxury Farmhouse and it was breathtaking! The campers loved their accom too. The safari vehicles were in good shape, the drivers were knowledgable and spoke excellent english, had great senses of humour, were professional, yet fun, adding to our overall experience. Although we were in two separate vehicles, we were able to stick close by each other and get similar experinces and FANTASTIC photographs. We never felt rushed, our boxed lunches were excellent and we had as much bottled water as we needed. I recommemd you take your own pillow to lean against the roof top bars or even to sit on as the days are long and roads are bumpy and my pillow was a Savior! Highly recommend Nyange Adventures and I will book with them again when I bring my family back. Nyange Adventures is more than just safaris, they also provided transportation and guides for our day trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro base camp and back, as well as other tours. Book with Nyange Adventures and you will NOT be disappointed! Praise and his team are top notch and will keep you entertained, safe and well informed about your Tanzanian surroundings! The whole trip would not have been the same experience without them! Stop hesitating, book with Nyange Adventures and you will have the most unique, life long experiences while in Tanzania!
