US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
3 Spectacular Weeks of Adventure
Wow! I just wrapped up nearly 3 weeks of unbelievable adventures in Uganda all meticulously and expertly planned by Speke Uganda Holidays. My safari covered nearly every corner of Uganda and everything in between. What I truly appreciated about the team at Speke was that they were keenly interested in what I wanted to see and what adventures would be of interest to me. The planners at Speke frequently consulted with me as they were designing my safari to make sure they were in-line with my expectations. Not only did they meet my expectations, but they exceeded them. My safari was a clearly not a "canned, off the shelf" safari and that it was designed to my likes and ambitions. My driver/guide, Michael, was very courteous, informative, knowledgeable, punctual and easy to converse with. What a gentleman he is. All of the accommodations throughout my stay were perfect and each one was unique in its own way. The memories created on this safari will never fade from my mind and I genuinely look forward to the day I return. Uganda has so much to offer and yet few people know about it.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hwange provided wide open spaces with no other people in sight and only animals as far as we could see.
The accommodations, service and food at Davidson's Camp were superlative. It was more like staying in a fine hotel than in a camp. I have never been so comfortable while being so close to nature. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. When we asked to spend a little longer time at certain places, rather than constantly moving, it was not a problem. The enthusiasm of the staff seemed to reflect a genuine appreciation of the wildlife around them and their dedication to preserving it. At the end of the rainy season the grass was tall and it may have made it a bit more difficult to spot some of the animals, but everything was green and lush providing a beautiful background for what we saw. We saw plenty. We kept returning to one watering hole for sundowners that was surrounded by open savannah with grazing animals all around us as far as we could see. The elephants parading by us in large groups never got boring.
Review about Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park by Jean Rogers
Beautiful with Victoria falls
A really wild and wonderful experience.
We arrived in an overland truck and made it through the muddy road into Wildlife camp on the banks of the luangwa River. Wildlife camp truly lived up to it's name. There were hippos and crocodiles in the river in front of our comfortable hut and elephants, mongoose, monkeys, squirrel, and Impala roamed the grounds. I was pleased to view the abundant bird life around camp and on safari, even seeing a Giant Eagle Owl during spotlighting one night.
There had been some rain so the park was partly flooded, which made it harder for the safari guide to get us around, and the vegetation was thick so it was more difficult to spot animals, but we saw lions, giraffe, Impala, and such. Some of our group saw leopard. The safari guides didn't have radios to communicate sightings so we saw less than in other parks like the Mara where they share information freely between safari groups.
The lush green scenery around the park is beautiful. The pool is refreshing and though it didn't look a nice colour, no one got sick from swimming in it. The only negative was some of our party had money stolen out of their huts when away on safari.
I would definitely recommend this park for its wildlife experience and peaceful setting.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Patricia Bates
Lake Manyara is a beautiful place to stop by for a visit. It is located in a populated area so the feeling of wilderness and isolation is not there. It is however, a very beautiful destination and worth a visit.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wild and Beautiful
The Serengeti is one of the most famous National Parks in the world. The savanna is beautiful and truly special and is the home to a rich wildlife population. You can spend days and days travelling inside the park and you will always see something different and unique. The wildlife is healthy and offers excellent opportunity for videographers and photographers to capture great images.
Ngorongoro Crater is a microcosm of African Wildlife in all its beauty and wonder.
I have visited Ngorongoro Crater twice in my life - thirty years ago in 1985 and then again in 2014. It was beyond my expectations both times, although this past year I took a big long lens and had the time of my life photographing all the magnificent wildlife. It was beyond spectacular with lions stalking zebra, cheetah at the rim, a rhino in the distance, Elephants blocking our path. Our guides - Cheeseman Ecological Safari could not have been more accommodating. I came home with thousands of photographs and self published a book entitled "Tanzania". I would go back to Ngorongoro Crater in a minute.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by Patricia Bates
Tanzania is a beautiful country and actually fairly easy to travel for the first time tourist. The people are very helpful and there is so much to see. The national parks are truly magnificent places both in beauty and wilderness. It's a paradise for photographers. Can't wait to come back again!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Would do it again
Everything was amazing. I came in without expectations and the team at bigtime. Within 24 hours of my inquiry I was placed on a bus with a group and had a great 3-days seeing every animal Africa could offer (aside the rhino and leopard) with a knowledgeable and funny guide\driver who answered every question with patience and had some great anecdotes from past safaris. He has sharp eyes and spotted the two lions stalking the herd of buffalo on our first sunset safari.
The next day, a full day in the park, he drove us around for 120 K's keeping the same patience and level of professionalism throughout the entire day. And that was the day we saw everything. Of course, no animal sightings are guaranteed and we were pretty lucky.
The camp had all the necessary facilities and great food and hosts. The local Maasai are friendly and happy to show you their village and home.
All up, it was a memorable Africn experience that will stay with me until I hit old age and lose my memory.
Thanks Bigtime Safaris!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, Helpful and Informative
We travelled to Victoria Falls with Vayeni. Tara, who was our Vayeni representative was extremely helpful throughout the booking process, she was very informative and provided us with her own views on the various accomodation available throughout Victoria Falls. In addition she had recently visited the various accomodation so was able to provide us with a first hand account of what we could expect.
Through Tara, we booked the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge and it certainly lived up to our expectations. It is very beautiful, the rooms were spacious and very clean with all the amenities one would expect. Having breakfast whilst overlooking the watering hole, was very enjoyable as one was easily captured by the various animals coming to the watering hole.
Vayeni (Tara) also provided us with suggestions as to what to do whilst in Victoria Falls and whilst we did not book any further activities through Vayeni as we wanted to see how we felt when at the Fall, the information provided was very useful once we had arrived.
All told, Vayeni and especially Tara in this instance could not have been more helpful in ensuring we had a fantastic and very memorable time in Victoria Falls.