20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful 2 days visit to Maasai Mara National Reserve
I recently visited Maasai Mara National Reserve with my workmates at this prodigious company. Undoubtedly, it will remain a memory of remembrance to my colleagues and me. What made this safari distinguishable were the services we received from this company where the meals were delicious and we were able to see the big 5 animals. We were free to take photos. Our tour guide was friendly and informative as he made sure that we enjoyed our visit. I therefore highly recommend Bencia Africa Adventure & Safari.
GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Gentle and helpful
We had the daily tour in Akagera National Park. Everything was amazing! The experience was incredible thanks to our guide Mr. Taufique and his professionalism. Definitely worth the money!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jean Claude was fantastic!
Jean Claude was a fantastic guide who was so helpful and informative! Our family had an amazing time! We always felt safe and trusted him immensely!
Thank you!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Gorilla trekking Tour
I had wanted to hire a car and drive through Uganda, but after spending over a month trying to secure gorilla tracking permits to no avail, I was told that often the Ugandan Wildlife Authority are uncooperative with individual groups of tourists as they are paid of my tour companies, whether this is true I’m not sure but I tried contacting them by both email and phone for over a month and received no correct info and was just led around in circles with false email addresses etc...
If you are situated in Uganda it’s a different ball game and it seems it’s a simple process to obtain the permits from the UWA office in Kampala. Seeing as I didn’t want to risk arriving and there being no permits left I decided to give up and book through a tour agency. In the end I’m so glad we did, we booked the permits and a driver to take us from Kampala to Queen Elizabeth National Park for a safari, on to Lake Bunyonyi for a night, down to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to track gorillas and finally across the Rwandan border to Kigali.
All the booking and communication was done through Jackie from Katona, who was extremely helpful and answered all of my questions, gave great advice and put together multiple itineraries based on each new request, for us to look through.
When we arrived in Kampala we found the office easily and paid the balance and made some final arrangements which all went smoothly. (It’s worth noting that USD notes printed before the year 2000 and which are smaller denominations than $50 are not accepted anywhere in Uganda).
We met our driver the next morning and he was quiet but helpful throughout the trip. Overall the value for money was amazing and we got to see so much more and got a lot more packed into the time we had there. You are read about our experience in Queen Elizabeth National Park and our experience tracking gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest here, we never would have seen so much wildlife both on the safari and on the drive without our driver’s sharp eyes. We also had baggage missing from our flight when we landed and the company arranged for it to be driven down and meet us the day after the tour started, they took away all the worry and did this all completely free of charge
Nice place to see African wildlife
The Zulu Nyala game lodge was a nice place to see many different African wildlife. One thing we noticed early on was that after going into the park a couple of days, we had pretty much seen all they had. We then needed to go to other parks and areas to see different wildlife. The food was excellent. The rooms were just ok, though I'm sure they were fine by African standards.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Other Outstanding Safari
We flew into Nairobi in March this year for a safari in Tanzania. We stayed at the Fairview Hotel, a lovely setting where you feel like you are in the country, not in a large city.
We had a private transfer organised by EASTCO to Namanga. One of my travelling companions wanted to buy Kenyan cricket jumpers for his sons, so Amina, who travelled with us to the border with her driver, organised to take us to a Nairobi shopping centre. When we finally set off for Namanga we were caught in Nairobi’s traffic jams! Our driver set out to avoid this by driving down the back streets of Nairobi. It was amazing, busy colourful markets , small tin shop fronts, lunch being cooked up by side of the road for passersby. A great start to our day.
We were met at Namanga by EASTCO and after quick customs formalities we were on our way to Arusha. The first thing I noticed this time was how green the country side was. I have travelled to Tanzania several times before but this was the first time in March after some rain.
We spent the first two days around Arusha, shopping! I noticed how many more motor bikes there were now. A great sight: Masais in their traditional shukas zooming around on motor bikes.
Then we went to Arusha National Park looking for colobus monkeys. It was green and lush, a lovely way to start our safari. We ate lunch from our lunch boxes at a picnic spot at the top of the hill and watched the rain clouds moving across. We saw flamingos in the lakes, zebras, buffalo, giraffe ,bush buck, duiker and many baboons of course.
As we were heading out through the forest, our last chance to see the colobus monkeys, we were not disappointed. In a clump of trees beside the road we saw at least ten colobus monkeys moving amongst the branches.
Next day we headed to the Ngorongoro Crater. The countryside once again was so green, the young Masai goat herders stood out wearing their red and blue shukas, a special sight. On the way we stopped at Mto wa Mbu , where we wandered around, bought some bananas and some Masai shukas. They make great gifts and my daughters use them as picnic blankets.
We spent two nights at the Wildlife Lodge on the edge of the crater. I was looking forward to the lovely view of the crater from my bedroom window which I enjoyed so much last time. On our first night here, we had three buffalo munching on the grass right outside our bedroom windows.
We spent the whole of the next day in the crater. My travelling companions did not want to leave the crater till the gates closed. The crater was so picturesque, so green and there was much water around. We were looking for rhino and we saw five not too far from the road.
As we had asked for the full day in the crater we were able to enjoy the beauty of this remarkable place and its varied wildlife, on most occasions without any other vehicles around. Later in the afternoon many more vehicles arrived for an afternoon drive.
As we were heading to the gate of the crater, one of my companions, always on the look out for animals, spotted a serval cat . This was his ninth trip to Tanzania and this was the first time he had seen the serval cat - it just added to our fantastic day.
Next day we drove to Ndutu, we were advised by EASTCO this was the best place to see lots of animals as it is just after calving season. They were right!
Of all my safaris I have never seen so many animals as this time.
We stayed in a tented camp site for two nights . The first night we had zebras wandering through our campsite. In the morning as I was having my hot shower I looked over the canvas wall of my bathroom and saw a lone zebra checking out what I was doing. The next night we had many wildebeest wandering for several hours through our camp. Everyone should camp for at least one night to experience the animals in this kind setting.
On our first day driving through Ndutu I was amazed at seeing so many wildebeest with their young, as well as zebras also with their young. We stopped at Ndutu Lake for more than a hour watching a line of wildebeest with their young crossing the lake. They were grazing on the bank of the lake and when each ones turn came to cross the lake off they ran with their young behind to join the thousands of wildebeest on the other side of the lake. As we watched we wondered if some of the very young would make it across the lake. Some calves had difficulty so their mothers turned around and they returned safely back to the bank. An incredible sight, difficult to capture in a photo but a wonderful memory.
We also saw a herd of about 100 elephants making their way to a watering hole nearby.
Our guide Bernard parked at the side of the path the elephants were taking. Within minutes there was a group of at least 12 vehicles around the elephants. They parked in front of the elephants.
Maybe radios should be banned! What happened to the adventure of looking for animals yourself. One my travelling companions would yell out to Bernard our guide,” STOP”, checked with the binoculars,” NO, NOTHING, KEEP GOING”.
Then next day not far from our campsite we found a pride of 8 lions. As we were observing these lions we noticed we had a flat tyre, much to the distress of Bernard as he had to change the tyre within close proximity to the lions. We removed his bag from the front seat and opened the door for a quick jump in if necessary. So as we kept our eye on the lions for any movement Bernard nervously changed the tyre. Fortunately they were all well fed and were content to just laze in the morning sun.
I read many complaints about vehicles and flat tyres. My husband recently travelled in outback Australia up the Birdsville Track, five flat tyres later! All part of the adventure.
We then headed to the Serengeti plains. The wildebeest were just heading to the edge of the Serengeti and as far as I could see in every direction there were thousands of wildebeest. The grass was quite long so it was a little more difficult to spot animals. As we had seen many more animals than we imagined we would we were able to relax and appreciate the vastness of this amazing place. We did see many eland in the distance .
We were on a mission to find leopards and cheetahs. We found two leopards in trees, the tails hanging down from the branches a dead give away!
Then we came across a cheetah with five young sucking as she lay in the sun. As we were enjoying this unique experience along came the vehicles, the radios were calling! Many drove and sat far too close to the cheetah, once again a great photo opportunity and happy tourist but not enough respect for the cheetah family or other tourists.
We were staying at Seronera Wildlife Lodge, another favourite. On our way to the lodge we passed a hippo pool with many hippos giving a great photo opportunity.
As we headed out of the Serengeti the next day , Bernard never stopped looking for lions ,cheetahs and leopards around the many kopjes while keeping an eye on the clock as we had to be back at the gate on time.
We came across two very shy African wild cats, a very rare sight.
Just as we thought we had seen it all, on a nearby kopje we saw a group of lions, a mother and five cubs relaxing in the sun . Below by the road there was a male lion keeping a very careful watch over his lioness. A great way to leave the Serengeti and yes we made it to the gate with 5 minutes to spare!
On our drive we stopped at Mt Wa Mbu, we bought bananas and sat in a local cafe and soaked up the atmosphere.
We spent the next two nights at Boundary Hill Lodge, a very unique lodge. We drove through Tarangerie National Park and saw many giraffes ,a male lion virtually straight away and many, many other animals. On our second day at Boundary Hill Lodge we had a most relaxing time enjoying the privacy and wonderful views from our rooms.
As we drove back to Arusha we stopped at the Kisongo market . So many people, so colourful, so many food products to buy. We asked Bernard if we could stop at local restaurant to try a local lunch, so we stopped at Makuyuni and tried the local lunch nyama choma, roast goat and banana.
Just outside Arusha we called into the snake farm and also visited the Masai museum, both well worth a visit.
We had a most amazing and memorable safari.
EASTCO were extremely good, were very flexible and were happy to accommodate all of our requests.
I was impressed with Bernard our guide with his fantastic knowledge and his genuine concern and interest for his environment.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The trip has exceeded our expectations
From start to finish, the staff at Safarihub were the most dedicated, friendly and professional group of safari professionals me and my wife have ever dealt with. They tailor-made our Tanzanian safari to exactly suit our needs. We visited the Selous where we were amazed by the amount of animals we saw and especially elephants. We stayed at Rufiji River Camp, where the river is animated by many and different species of animals. It was phenomenal experience.
I cannot say enough about the excellent team in Safarihub who took care of us from start to finish. The safari guides were amazing. In fact they have become our friends. We had an excellent holiday and are both starting saving up for our next safari!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Dishonest Management
It's a long story, but in summation we paid extra to stay in nicer accommodations but were taken to another location without being told or asked. We had to confront the company before they would admit the mistake. Management made multiple excuses with a story that changed each time then promised a refund for the difference between the two places. We contacted the company multiple times for this refund and have yet to receive anything.
At the end of the day, there are so many great safari companies, why use one that you can't trust?
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent trip with Eastco from Lake Victoria to Udzungwa
My wife and myself returned to Tanzania last January for a 16 day safari with Eastco. This is not my first or even second trip, but we decided that this would be our grand adventure. We first visited way back in 1984 and did a Tracks pink truck camping safari through Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti, before heading off to explore southern Africa on the Tazara Train and then north through the Sudan to Egypt.
We flew into Dar Es Salaam on Qatar from Melbourne and caught the evening Fastjet flight to Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria. The Fastjet flight was actually very very good, nice new plane, lots of room and very friendly staff. Food had to be bought but the beef and gherkin roll was very tasty, steered away from the chicken!
On arrival in Mwanza we were met by Joseph, who was our Eastco guide here in Mwanza. Tonight was at Ryan’s Bay Hotel, which was very very comfortable and perfect to recover from the flights.
We woke late this morning and Joseph took us down to the National Park docks and the ferry across the lake to Saanane Island. It was great to get out and stretch our legs, the guide, Musa, was excellent. The most striking thing was the rock formations here. Spectacular!!
In the afternoon we headed with Joseph for a short city tour and ended up at Tunza beach resort for a few cold beers. Amazingly there were waves breaking against the sandy beach, only a foot or so but something unexpected. There were a few locals swimming here, obviously a popular place for a few beers and a swim after work. We then went and had a Chinese dinner at Yon Long Restaurant. This is also a hotel, and the restaurant was right over the water. We sat and watched the ferries leave from across the bay, back and forth and the lights on the far hillside. Overnight again at the excellent Ryan’s Bay.
After breakfast Joseph collected us with picnic lunches and we head along the lake shore. Our ultimate destination was the western gate of the Serengeti. But we were in no rush today, visited the Wasukuma Museum en route, apparently the largest tribe in Tanzania. This was very very interesting! We had our picnic lunch on the shore at Speke’s Gulf. We tried to imagine what it was like 150 years ago when John Hanning Speke was the first European to see Lake Victoria.
Wilson our guide was waiting for us at the Ndabaka gate when we arrived about mid afternoon. On our last safari Wilson was one of the camp staff at Eastco's Serengeti tented camp, so it was really great to see him again and to know of his advancement. He mentioned over the course of the safari that he has now been with Eastco for over ten years, starting young as a mechanic, then camp supply driver, then camp staff and guide and finally after doing some courses had been given the chance to guide. He had already been through Kenya, Uganda and much of Tanzania in those years, and mentioned he was heading to Victoria Falls later in the year. His excitement was palpable, especially when we described our experiences from 30 years ago.
We spent four nights in the Serengeti, two in the western corridor in a bush camp near the Grumeti River and two near Ndutu in the Serengeti Tented Camp. Two totally different contrasting areas of the Serengeti. From what we had read we thought the western corridor might be a bit wildlife depleted, but in the planning stages Simon told us that there is a large resident population along the Grumeti area, and also so of the wildebeest head out to the plains here during the migration. The drive in certainly confirmed that statement! Lots of zebras and wildebeest as soon as we left Ndabaka, then as we got closer to the camp and the change in scenery to floodplains, and hills there were buffalo everywhere and passing herds of elephants.
We arrived at our bush camp, this and the staff had been dropped off by Wilson earlier in the day, all carried by a trailer! Costa the camp cook met us with cold juice. Another old acquaintance, his enthusiastic greeting was overwhelming. Hot showers under the stars before a dinner of fresh baked bread rolls, onion soup and pork chops. Amazing considering where we were and what Costa had to work with.
The days in the Serengeti were just as exciting as our first visit, although now being on a private safari, we enjoyed the flexibility of being able to spend as much time as we wanted whenever we wanted! Highlight probably leopard in a tree with kill, no one else around. Standing up stretching with the sunset in the background.
We spent a night at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge just to relive the view. As memorable as our first trip. We did not go into the crater this time but went for a short walk with a guide before heading to Manyara for game viewing. No lions in trees, or rhinos like we saw on our first trip in 1984, which was a sad reminder of how much has changed. The township of Mosquito creek no longer a collection of small dukas, but campsites, small motels and lodges everywhere, and obviously an important tourist stop. We left late afternoon and head towards Naitolia Camp for the night. Large massive beds, surrounded by nets and canvas. Outdoor shower and toilet which was fun! Heard elephants feeding during the night, breaking trees branches and the growl of a lion but obviously far away.
The pre dawn chorus of birds was what I will always remember from our stay here. We were up early with quick cup of tea and light breakfast as we were walking towards Boundary Hill Lodge. Being hot and humid during the day we wanted to do this as early as possible, and headed out with the Masai guide Sanagar and Allano. We walked for about four hours and made it towards the banks of a sand river. Wilson was waiting here for us with the land rover which was a relief! It was good to get out an walked though, saw some terrapins in the water holes by the side of the road, evidence everywhere of the elephants that had passed through during the night, giraffe and zebra not too far away. The tracks of hyenas and bat eared foxes in the soft sands. Flowers and greenery everywhere.
Boundary Hill was just as we remembered it, views still as spectacular as ever. Costa had taken over the kitchen at Naitolia and was also here taking charge at Boundary Hill. Obviously 20 plus years of seniority has its perks!
We had two nights here, and the first morning we were woken by gentle knocking at our door and a morning cup of tea with biscuits. This was just before the sunrise, and my wife was excitingly pointing off in the distance. Once we woke up a bit I could see why she was so excited, Kilimanjaro stood low on the horizon between Mt Meru and another closer mountain which I cannot remember the name. We sat on our balcony and watched the Snows of Kilimanjaro change from apricot to pink to white as the sun broke above the horizons. Finally losing sight completely as the clouds covered the peak. Memorable!
We left Boundary Hill, driving through the park on our way to Lake Babati for the night. Tarangire was so green, elephants everywhere, lucky glimpse of a couple of lions and a cheetah on an anthill in the distance. We arrived at lake Babati late afternoon and headed straight out on the lake in a dugout canoe. The object this afternoon was the hippos here. As we got closer the guide would hit the paddle on the side of the dugout, and sure enough in the near distance a hippo or two would raise its head and investigate this strange sound. Then disappear back beneath the waters. Lucky enough to also see some pied kingfishers here as well as the beautifully coloured Malachite Kingfisher. We stayed the night at the Trinidad guesthouse, clean and comfortable. No meals so we ate dinner at a nearby bar and restaurant.
After an early breakfast of a egg on bread (no toast!) with a boiled beef frankfurter on the side we headed south towards Dodoma for the night. Lots of roadwork’s on the way, but fascinating trip through forests and open countryside. Closer we got to Dodoma there was rocky hills. We stayed the night at the Simba Motel.
Another long day which we had planned on as we headed south towards Udzungwa National Park. A lot more traffic around to what we had been experiencing and arrived late afternoon at the park rest houses. Very comfortable, very new and large rooms. First night meal was a bit bland so we convinced Wilson and Costa to take over the meal plans for the next two nights!
We woke early the next morning and headed off to the park for a day of trekking, butterflies everywhere, lush greenery, birds and some monkeys hiding in the canopy. Lunch at the waterfall was a relief as it was hard going today! Returned to the park resthouse, and glad for the showers! Costa and Wilson had performed miracles and enjoyed a delicious meal in the open banda with a cold beer or two.
Our second day was spent down in the Kilombero swamps, we took a dug out canoe, and spent half the day exploring the area, no special bird sighting. Another superb home cook meal at the park resthouse.
We had a long day of driving ahead of us, so we went to bed early an up before dawn to get on the road. We were heading to Dar Es Salaam and took the scenic route through Mikumi National park, well the only route in reality. Even though we tried to reach Dar before peak traffic it still took us a couple of hours to work our way through the traffic here. Wilson and Costa dropped us off at the best Western Coliseum, a few emotional farewells. They were going to stay the night just outside of Dar before the drive back to Arusha the next day.
We had most of the day in Dar before catching our flight. Went to the Hilton Double Tree for dinner overlooking the ocean. Taxis in Dar are not cheap though, I think it was 40,000 TS, about $30 AUSD each way! But wanted to catch a sight of the ocean before we left.
Overnight at the Best Western was very comfortable very friendly staff.
Went looking for the New Africa Hotel to see what changes had been made since the cup of coffee we had here 30 years ago while waiting for the Tazara train. Massive changes everywhere in Dar Es Salaam.
Headed to the airport early, as traffic jams apparently a nightmare here, even though we were staying on the airport road!
So ends another fantastic experience, and can’t thank Simon, Wilson and Costa enough for leaving us with more memories.
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Safari experience
We (4 persons), ent on a safari tour with Siafu Tanzania Safaris February 2016 and we enjoyed it very much. The communication and customer service of Siafu Tanzania Safaris is top notch, and this was a trip of a lifetime. We were able to see the animals at a close distance and the tour guide, Emmanuel was patient and made sure that we were able to get good pictures. Every thing was amazing right from the lodges, food, and safaris. I will definitely recommend Siafu Tanzania Safaris to my friends and anyone looking for an excellent safari tour! This was one of the best experiences of my life!