20-35 years of age
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Dudley
Lake Manyara was quieter than the other parks we went to in Tanzania. The bush vibe was more evident as a result. I really liked the terrain, which was far less open than the other reserves and led to a better chance of coming across animals unexpectedly, as we did with a group of elephants. It also has a great hippo pool.
Wildlife viewing wasn't quite as good as elsewhere, but in part that's down to luck. Had we seen a large cat or two it would probably have been my favourite of the parks.
20-35 years of age
Beaten track, but beaten for a reason.
Unfortunately we missed the migration at the park, but it was still busy with tourists. The landscape is open and expansive, meaning you're not constantly surrounded by other vehicles - unless you come across a pride of lions, in which case expect a steady build up of tourists.
There's a great number of animals to be seen at the park, and you'd have to be pretty unlucky not to come away with several decent sightings. Being driven around certainly makes for a relaxing tour, and there are plenty of extras to consider including camping or staying at a hotel within the park and balloon tours.
Our guide was interesting, we really liked him though I would imagine more professional ones are available. He was good at spotting wildlife but wasn't overly knowledgeable about each species. He compensated for this by being a fun and hardworking guide. The food provided was ok - not exactly fine dining, but we weren't expecting that anyway.
The weather during our time there was good - hot but not too hot, and sometimes cloudy. It didn't rain.
The highlight was probably the lions, as we saw them close up and with the male, who came and lay down right next to our vehicle. Just as we were about to leave a female arrived and called to her cubs, who arrived through the long grass. They were very cute. I also loved the hippo pool, where there was loads of activity.
All in all we had a fantastic time at the park, and would thoroughly recommend it to others who have an interest in wildlife.
20-35 years of age
Review about Tanzania by Dudley
Loved Tanzania. The people we met were friendly and fun-loving, it felt very much like the cliched postcard view of Africa but was none the worse for it. Plenty to see and do there and, as you would expect, a tried and tested tourism industry.
IT
50-65 years of age
real wild Africa
I went to Selous with my wife in March when the rain season was about to begin:the scenery was amazing and very different because of the green of the grass and the leaves on the tree.The rain wasn't a real problem for the safari and not too frequent.
We stayed in the Lake Manze tented camp, a little but comfortable camp fully immerged in the wild: elephants, ippos and buffalos wondered through the camp during the day and the night.The wildlife and the birding are really great in Selous: you can see hundreds of animals everywhere (there was even a Puff Adder within the camp). In conclusion I can recommend the Selous to everyone who loves Africa and wildlife.
IT
50-65 years of age
Review about Tanzania by 8giancarlo
Tanzania is a great place for safari because of the amazing scenery and the abundance of animals.
under20 years of age
Tranquility at its best.
I visit, every year and it holds a special place in my heart.
under20 years of age
Review about Zambia by Luke Steyn
Zambia ia mostly untouched by the tourist footprint, and is therefore one of the few places regarded as genuine, true Africa.
20-35 years of age
Gorilla Tracking Day at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
The day started very early at our campsite on the border of Bwindi Forest. Around 4am we were guided towards one of these Toyota people carriers, Hiace. Not very comfortable, but heey, it was only going to last for 1 hour or so. The reason we needed transportation is that the Gorillaclan we were tracking (something you don't decide yourself, you get assigned to a group of Gorilla's) were on the North-Western side of the Forest (close to the Entrance Gate) and we were lodged on the South-Western side. The name of the clan we were about to meet was Nkuringo.
Now, the forest is only about 10K wide and the quickest way around was clearly through DRC, this being far too dangerous and the forest being "impenetrable" (a 6 hour hike), we had no other option then to go all the way round in what later became known as the "torture Toyota". All the way around a park which is an estimated 20K wide, couldn't take much longer than 1, maybe 2 hours. So after 3 hours of incredibly windy and headbashing dirt gravel roads on a seat that made your bum sleep, we started asking where we were going. The answers were served in true african style: "we a almos the", "just a littel bit furder"... Anyway, it took more than another hour to get there! So after this we were convinced that we had to rewarded with something incredible, something that would far exceed all expectations.
At the entrance we were briefed and asked to put our trousers in our socks to avoid termites and to use mosquito repellant. The whole entrance area has guarded by military men. We set off with a few trackers / guides and carriers into the impenetrable rain forest. It was absolutely astonishing to enter a microcosm full of birds, flowers and trees. We saw other monkeys high up in the trees and listened to several very special birds. The news came that Nkoringo, our Gorilla hosts for the day, had been seen not very far from where we were (I assume the eye that saw this, circles somewhere around the earth). Soon enough the guides halted the group and we were let very close to them to take some pictures. Family Nkoringo did not pay much attention to us as they were feeding. Circling around the big family feedfest, we found an older Silverback on the border of a small creek resting after his lunch, together with a baby gorilla that clearly was in playmode, amazing spectacle. Anyhow, as tourists can't stay longer than 1 hour we had to make a move, and seemingly the gorillas were doing the same. Most of them had left the feeding site and were waiting on the path we came from, when a few older boys and a Silverback that had stayed behind join up with the group! Whis particular scene can be seen in the video. The guides said we were very lucky to catch this.
Fully Recommended, including the car-ride!
Nick
Etosha is a beautiful wild space where you can quickly get really close to nature.
Everyone in our group loved Etosha. The scenery is stunning particularly out round the pan and the facilities were excellent to return home to. Even though it was the wet season we saw lots of game and the highlight was seeing - and videoing - a cheetah kill on the edge of the pan, where a mother winged a springbok so that her cub could make his kill.
20-35 years of age
Review about Uganda by nickvp
Uganda is not an obvious Safari destination. It's variety in scenery, people and wildlife makes it an truely recommended and unique travel, especially for someone who has already seen the big game Safari in Kenya or Tanzania. In Uganda you can see tree hanging lions in the morning and Mountain Gorillas in the afternoon, there is no other country in the world that has that. We went with drifters, a tour operator that uses very comfortable trucks (instead of jeeps) for groups up till 16 people. In my opinion, the trip was such a great experience because we camped almost every night and we had the most fantastic guide Anthony Washford to drive the truck, cook the food and plan all the excursions such as the astonishing Gorillas at Bwindi.