CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime!
We had an absolutely amazing and unforgettable 5 day safari with It Started In Africa. From the moment that we first spoke with the company to begin the process of booking, we knew they would go out of their way to make our safari an experience of a lifetime. We were blown away with the dedication of the staff. When our flight had an unexpected last minute change and flew into a different airport, they quickly made arrangements for a driver to come and collect us there. When our luggage was lost in Switzerland on route to Africa and didn't arrive to Arusha until a day after we started our safari, our driver Elia, added a 3 hour drive back to to the city, after a day long safari drive, to collect our luggage and bring it to our lodge. An unbelievable act of kindness that enhanced our trip further by having our belongings with us!
Our first day in Lake Manyara National Park was a brilliant start to our 5 day adventure. Seeing baboons, monkeys, zebras, giraffes, buffalo, wildebeests, and hippos on our first day was more than we could have ever imagined. Each day after, we were sure that it couldn't top the previous day, but with each day, our expectations were surpassed and our safari experience became a life changing experience for our family of four. Our driver, Elia, made it his mission for us to see the "Big 5" as well as many other animals, and he delivered! He was so patient with us and never rushed us needing to take one more picture of an elephant or lion. He would stop at the request of anyone in our family and was quick to point out interesting sights that we had not spotted. He was pleasant, engaging, knowledgeable and great with kids. He taught us so many things about African wildlife and had a knack of finding hiding animals. On our way to the Serengeti National Park, we stopped to explore a Maasai Village and were entertained by their mesmerizing dances and songs. We also had the opportunity to bring food and school supplies to the village and purchase items made by Maasai women. Our two days in the Serengeti National Park saw a cheetah searching for her babies, herds of elephants grazing the fields, millions of wildebeests flooding the savannah, a male lion killing a hyena, a newborn gazelle taking its first steps, hippos battling, and a leopard lazing in a tree. Staying in the luxury tents in the middle of the Serengeti is an experience I highly recommend. Waking to zebras outside your tent and falling asleep to the sound of animals in the distance was something I will never forget. Our final day in the Ngorongoro Crater offered the last of the "Big 5" as we spotted one of 14 rhinos left in the crater, in addition to warthogs, and baby hippos to name a few! That night we camped under the stars and were treated to a surprise visit from an elephant drinking from the camp reservoir just before sunset. Our children were awestruck by how close they were to an elephant in the wild. We watched a beautiful sunset before retiring to our tents for a wonderful sleep to end an experience of a lifetime. The next day we returned to Arusha for our final night in this city before heading to Zanzibar for a beach holiday.
The final part of our time in Tanzania was also organized by It Started in Africa. We were keen for our children to visit a school and to donate much needed supplies to students in Tanzania. It Started in Africa is affiliated with a school in Dar Es Salaam and arranged for the principal to meet us and take us to the school. Our children both raised funds prior to leaving Canada to purchase 40 soccer balls and $600 worth of school supplies to take to this school. It was fantastic to see the joy on the faces of the children when they received these gifts, and equally pleasing to see our children become global citizens helping those in need. We feel so fortunate to have been able to go on a safari in Tanzania with It Started in Africa and to have the opportunity to visit and volunteer at a school in Dar Es Salaam. I highly recommend It Started in Africa to anyone who wants an experience of a lifetime at an affordable price! Thank you It Started in Africa!
Many thanks for everything!
Karrie, Mark, Ben & Lily
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professionally organized, superbly executed and friendly & knowledgeable guides
Tremendous credit to Amanda who is extremely patient and diligent working with us. We started as a family of 4 and slowly it increased to 9 members and Amanda patiently worked with us to finalize the itinerary. She also helped us to sort out a bizarre problem with an airline booking which I had made on fastjet.com (All the passenger names appeared same as mine though I entered it correctly) and they refused to change it. Amanda was able to get a contact in their head office in UK and helped me to get the names corrected.
We had two jeeps/guides (Themba and Kefa -- I hope I am spelling it correctly) and both were fun to have around. They were knowledgeable and friendly.
I highly recommend African Scenic Safaris and would be happy to answer any pointed questions.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Pilanesberg Game Reserve by Coco
The Pilanesberg park is great you you leave in the area but don't have the time to go to the Kruger. It's smaller and closer to Joburg so it's more crowded but it's still a very nice place.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Kruger National Park by Coco
Amazing place, unique in the world. It's so huge, so beautifull !! You can spend weeks in it without using the same tracks twice. So many crazy animals.
The facts that you can drive you car yyourself changes everything. landscapes are amazing too. For me it's THE place to gove for safari.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Karoo National Park by Coco
Our morning in the Mountain Zebra Park was great, there is not as many animals as in the north of the country but I was surprised to see so many.
There is less animals but there is also less tourists, we went in November and we were nearly the only ones in the park which was a much appreciated luxury.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Camdeboo National Park by Coco
The trecking in Camdeboo was amazing because of the breathtaking landscapes but it's not a safari destination, it's more of a scenery and cliff destination.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very nice isolated park
Our morning in the Mountain Zebra Park was great, there is not as many animals as in the north of the country but I was surprised to see so many.
There is less animals but there is also less tourists, we went in November and we were nearly the only ones in the park which was a much appreciated luxury.
We did the cheetah walk and once our guide found the cheetah we walk until we were 10 meters from it and while looking for it (by car, not foot) we saw all the other animals so it was really great.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Coco
I did safari also in Kenya and Tanzania, places are also beautifull in these coutries but in south africa you can drive your car yourself and that changes everything...
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very nice and joyful holidays
My friend and me decided last minute to do a Safari to Kidepo valley NP starting from Kampala. The Karumuna team did a great job in managing all the bookings and organisation though it was high season and we started two days later. The hotels were quite nice, though we booked budget-they were classier than expected. Richard and Isaac gave us a wonderful time, they are so friendly and funny and very experienced- they managed to show us so many different aspects of this stunning nature. They really want to show their guests all the beauty of Uganda!
Totally recommended!
Thank you for that trip.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent safari experience from beginning to end
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour, "5-Day Ruaha Immersion". Kathy and Fanuel replied immediately to our booking request, and were willing to customize our package to begin and end in Iringa instead of Dar Es Salaam, making it a three day tour. All communications with Breakdown Safaris were clear and timely. A few weeks before our safari, we received a helpful document with packing suggestions and Swahili phrases, as well as confirmation of our pickup location and time in Iringa.
Kathy and Fanuel picked us up right on time at our hotel, in a very nicely outfitted Toyota Land Cruiser, with a pop-top and plenty of room for ourselves and our voluminous luggage. Bottled water for the whole journey was picked up on the way to Ruaha National Park, a ~two hour drive from Iringa. After a brief stop at the park gates to obtain permits, we saw our first elephant within minutes. The abundance of wildlife in Ruaha was astounding, as was the scarcity of other visitors. We could drive for hours without seeing another vehicle! I imagine the Serengeti is far more crowded.
Rainy season had just started a few weeks earlier, so the park was a beautiful, green background for our photos. We saw elephants, impala, kudu, storks, crocs, hippos, giraffe, many species of birds, lions, zebras. mongeese, monkeys, baboons, lizards, warthogs, waterbuck, rock hyrax, and even a herd of Peace Corps Volunteers! The highlights were the pride of nine lions napping together near the road. A couple lionesses came up to the road to drink water and were a few feet from the Land Cruiser. We also saw a one-day old elephant baby who was very wobbly.
We immediately had a great rapport with Kathy, being a fellow Coloradoan, and Fanuel, whose knowledge of plants and animals was encyclopedic. He had many guidebooks and could quickly find the photo, description, names (common and Latin) for every species we saw. We were provided breakfast in the vehicle, so that we could get out in the park right at sunrise. Granola, milk, tea, and coffee – we had everything we needed. Lunch was served buffet style by the park staff, and dinner was at our lodging, from a menu. The New Bandas were family cottages with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and kitchen - very roomy, clean, and comfortable. We had solar power and could charge our gear for part of the evening until the battery ran out.
All of our expectations were met or exceeded on this tour, and we had a fantastic three days. We highly recommend Breakdown Safaris for your visit to the Tanzania Southern Circuit.