NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
10 out of 10 for a fantastic family trip!!!
What a GREAT journey with Christmas and New Year included!
We also had the special honor of having both Nick and Freya on tour with us! It’s crazy how life is, one moment your sit at your hairdressers, talking about possible next holiday destinations and the next moment you’re driving around South Africa! A long and in depth preparation via emails paid off to ensure that the whole trip from beginning to end was exactly what we wanted. A long journey via Dubai brought us on Christmas Eve 2011 to the private lodge in Hluhluwe iMfolozi where the decorated Christmas table was waiting for us. Nick had gathered Christmas decorations and gifts which was wonderful. We then spent 3 days doing game drives and walks with the lodges guides who were very competent. We were lucky because on the first day we saw lion, hyena, a lizard and a herd of more than a 100 elephants. During one of the game walks we even saw a lion in a tree. So we could have gone home after that….I don’t think so, we were just getting warmed up! And the photography course provided by Nick had to be put into practice.
We then travelled to Kosi Forest Lodge in Kosi Bay for the water element of our tour. Here we took beautiful pictures of tropical fish (snorkeling safaris), water lilies and tropical birds during our canoe tour and a loggerhead turtle laying eggs on the beach during our turtle - tour. That was really impressive and indescribable. And there was always a big lunch, served on a nicely set table, on the beach or on that wonderful vantage point.
On New Year's Eve our “fireworks “were from very energetic, traditional Zulu dancers in Tembe Elephant Park . The commitment of the staff, the guide there and all the dancers was very special. For the real "die- hards " there was another game drive ( at 05.00 ) on New Year’s morning and Nick and Freya were back in action !
Our last pit stop before we went home was the heavenly home of our host and hostess; St. Lucia Estuary. There we combined the bush and beach, including a hug with a baby crocodile, a cuddle with two elephants and one with a CHEETAH! During the whole tour we took over 3000 photos, you name it we saw it, apart from a leopard, but we did see a leopard-tortoise and that was wonderful!
The photos remind us of our first visit to South Africa, but we are infected with the South African safari virus. It was memorable and we will definitely return in the foreseeable future! Hopefully back to Nick and/or Freya, because they were great!
C u again soon :-)
Madaraka Day Holiday Safari
We booked a 3 day safari through Segein adventure Safaris I must say our guide Sam was fantastic his wealth of knowledge and experience was fantastic and he was very accommodating, we got to see the best of Masai Mara as a local Tourist and Segein had charge us ksh 13,500 for the 3 days all inclussive and will definatly return to Masai Mara on Mashujaa day on 20th, October, 2014 again we had a truly magical time and cannot recommend Segein Adventure Safaris Enough. So Kenyans its affordable twendeni tujienjoy
AMAZING TOUR
We had amazing experience with Africa Zim Travel & Tours. a warm welcome and some extra personal services and yes, my husband and I enjoyed every bit of everything. Thank u Blessing and your team. keep up the standards. we will definitely come again.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you letter from Veldhoven
Already home for 4 weeks now, back in the rhythm of daily life. Every evening we sit down and discuss the day’s events and often we come back to talking about our experiences in South Africa and the great times we had there.
How we enjoyed this holiday!
We found Tailor Made Safaris through word of mouth and were told that it would offer us great trips at a reasonable price.
We then contacted the company and told them what we would like to plan for our holiday. We talked about the budget straight away so that there would be no false expectations.
Within a few days we had a wonderful proposal for a trip of 16 days through Kwa Zulu Natal, together we tinkered with some of the final details so that we were a 100% happy with the itinerary. This was a great start and we were very excited, but were cautious that things sometimes look better on paper than in real life.
With high expectations we flew with 7 people, via Johannesburg to Durban where we were picked up by Geert, waiting for us dressed in his ranger outfit! And so the adventure began.
The first few days we spent in various wildlife sanctuaries. The striking thing about this was that you encountered few tourists allowing you to get the real sense of Africa. In these parks, we experienced not only beautiful scenery but also a great variety of animals (including the Big Five). The enthusiasm which Geert and Freya showed from morning to evening was great. They took care of everything to perfection. They shared their knowledge with us in a pleasant way, and we have really learned a lot about nature and animals.
Every day was a new adventure with a variety of activities from snorkeling, boat trips, just lazing on the beach with a fabulous lunch, excursions to traditional fish traps, more beautiful wildlife parks and game drives, days to relax , whale watching, visiting a Zulu village, feeding elephants, petting a cheetah and a horse ride between wildebeest and zebras. The pace at which we gained new experiences was perfect. Not too fast so that you had time to enjoy everything. Also, the travel times between the various accommodations was not too long so that you still felt like you were on a relaxing holiday.
The accommodations ranged from good to very good. Each venue had its own charm such as beautiful settings, great hospitality and very tasty food so we could not say which the best one was at the end of the journey.
Geert asked us which activity we enjoyed most, but we failed to choose just one as there were so many great activities.
Some of our party had already done a trip by bus through South Africa with a large tour group. In itself, this trip was pretty fun, but now that they have experienced the journey with Geert and Freya they noticed the difference. The bus trip was a lot of traveling time and enjoying brief moments. Geert and Freya showed us the real Africa.
In short, highly recommended! We will definitely be coming back.
Bart , Karin , Jaga , Cor , Rob , Marieke , Bert
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful safari
Before the safari, we had a good contact with Beena who advised us very well. the safari tour itself which took 4 days was great. The guide was kind and available, professional. The accommodations were beyond our expectations (sopa lodges at seregenti and ngorongoro for example). We were lucky to see many animals and to witness two lions' meal. It was amazing.
We do recommend Gazelle safaris
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The skeleton outline is there... you see animals, but in my opinion the service is pretty bad
So I will start this review with you will see a lot of animals. It has nothing to do with the guides they use really, the route they take never go far off the beaten path and once a guide finds something interesting all the other landcruisers and landrovers will soon be there. Just the same, by going to these areas you will see some amazing things. I would just advise you use another company. This group incorporates other names, perhaps in an effort to disperse bad reviews around to different groups. MJ safaris is one group that uses or combines with Trans Kibo.
This really regards the service provided by the company. It was a budget safari so initially I chalked up most of what you are about to read as related to that. However, on meeting several other people who took budget tours from Arusha it became very clear the service was sub-par even for a budget tour.
1. Our guide was non-talkative. He did not point out many animals and it took us prompting him to get him to speak. There were other passengers who were rude to him but he did not talk much.
2. The food was the same for four people as it was for two people. We noticed this cause two of us were alone the last day and the food was the same and much more filling. Multiple times we were hungry in between meals those first two days.
3. The big deal was how much we waited. We waited for many hours to enter the park with excuses like our bank is not transferring money, our credit card is not working still. This also applied to leaving one of the campsites. We waited every morning while other tours left. We were regularly the first to arrive in the afternoon and the last to leave in the morning. This amounted to at least 5-6 hours less drive time for a four day tour then other budget operators.
All in all, just really poor service. When a component of your tour is a bank, and they consistently mess up, the answer is not to blame them but find another group who doesn't F-up all the time.
After I contacted my operator and never received any response. So now I'll just recite my story here.
CA
Impala Tours was awsome! The trip thru Botswana was amazing.
Our trip to Botswana was amazing, and all the details regarding the transfers, bookings, etc., were right on spot and very organized from Joberg through Botswana and finally ending bak in Joberg from Victoria Falls. Email communication, the guides, the flights, the lodges were all excellent. Highly recommend using Impala Tours for your Botswana experience!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An organized safari operator
I completed a mission trip in Kenya in 2012. After the mission our group completed a safari and had Raphael coordinated our flights, accommodations, park permits and taxi's. Our experience with Raphael was fantastic. It was smooth , convenient and organized. Next time I am in Kenya I will book with East Africa Exotic Safaris.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
If I had to rate only based on our tour guide I would give it 5 stars.
This was our first visit to Africa and there were a lot of concerns ranging from safety to housing. In addition, I had my concerns regarding transferring large amounts of money (price for our safari) to a bank account in Africa, however I must admit I was very impressed with Mr Otieno's. He was kind enough to speak with me over the phone which gave me a lot of re-assurance. Overall, me and my wife were very satisfied and would like to return again, this time we are planning to visit Uganda.
I think the only reason I have given 4 stars rather than 5, is because when we booked our trip to Nakuru I specifically mentioned that I wish to see flamingos and we were not told that there are no flamingos. We only got to know about flamingos when we came to Nakuru and our guide (who was amazing btw, see below) told us that flamingos haven't been at Nakuru for past 2 years... They have moved to Kisumu and other places.
I would like to add that if you do decide to chose Walking Survivors Safari, I cannot stress enough, you must ask for Sylus Bala. I think if it wasn't for him we would not have enjoyed our tour as much. He loves what he is doing and as a result the whole experience is just much more pleasant. Also, he knows some gems like an island in Naivasha where you get to walk with the animals (unlike safari where you are always in the car)... If I knew him before our trip, I would have let him to plan it all...
Either way do visit Kenya it is beautiful country!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional - Extremely Knowledgable - Customer Service Oriented
This was the trip of a lifetime for us and I can not imagine anyone that could have done as much for us as Deo and Earthlife did. We customized our tour to maximize viewing and minimalize lounging by leaving the hotel at sun up and not returning until sundown every day. He helped us plan each day's activities and not only was he ready and excited to get under way, but our lunches and drinks were packed, the safari vehicle was prepped, and the arrangements for passes or other day trip requirements were already completed.
I did a great deal of research before booking with Earthlife because, as I said, this was a trip of a lifetime. People talk about going on safari and seeing the "big five". We not only saw the "big five" time and time again, but we saw and experienced so much more. This trip surpassed anything I ever expected and we owe it all to Deo.
Deo is extremely personable, well educated and conversant in several languages. Wherever we went, he was well known and it was obvious he was well respected by everyone we came into contact with - the hotel staff, other tour operators and guides, the Maasai and locals. His knowledge of the wildlife, terrain, foliage and history was nothing short of incredible. Deo is a guy that loves his job, loves people and it shows in everything he does. And, he has amazing eyesight and taught us how to search long distances for wildlife.