Review about Kruger National Park by A. J
It's South Africa's most famous national park for very good reasons. It's huge so you can spend weeks exploring it. So many animals and birds to be seen. The rest camps are very well established, well run and well supplied.
Review about Zulu Nyala Game Reserve by A. J
Very touristy, but a good place for close encounters with wildlife. The tented safari camp is great!
Ruaha's Wildlife: The real deal.
I've visited Ruaha National Park as part of a field trip for Biology Students.
We got a very unique camp site at the side of the Ruaha River. The view was absolutely stunning. During our siesta's at noon, we could even see groups of elephants passing by and 2 huge fish eagles had their nest on the top of a tree on the other side of the river.
The weather was perfect. Warm, but not too hot, and cool (but not cold) at night.
The park is huge an you can drive for hours trough the beautiful nature without bumping in to another jeep. Some places of the park are really green, while others are more savanna-like and very dry.
Most of the time we had our own guide, but one day we had a guided walk by a park ranger. He knew a lot about the animals and their tracks and dangers. Very interesting! We even walked along the river revealing many kinds of bird species.
So, in short. Ruaha National Park is really worth a visit!!
Ruaha - wild, remote, and undiscovered
Ruaha in August was fantastic. We opted to go to Ruaha as we wanted to get away from the hordes of tourists in the northern (serengeti) parks. Yes it took longer to get to, but the drive out to Ruaha was part of the experience. The scenery was breathtaking, and it there were animals wherever you looked. I think for us was the fact that in many cases we felt we had the park to ourselves. We spent hours alone watching a pride of 24 lions. At one point we just spent an afternoon watching a herd of elephants bathe and play all around us. When we counted there were more than 80+ elephants in the horizon, and no other safari cars to be found. Our tour operator, tanzania adventure, was fantastic. Our driver new all the right spots, and was extremely experienced, and knowledgeable. All in all, Ruaha was the highlight of all the parks we visited in Tanzania.
NL
20-35 years of age
Amazing experience
I've lived in Iringa town, just a 2 hour drive from Ruaha National Park and I've been to Ruaha multiple times. You can stay in a luxerious campsite or go for the Government Bandas, just 20 US dollars a night. It's basic and you need to bring your own food, but there is a decent toilet, shower, nets and some bandas where you can chill and drink a nice Tanzanian beer with a view over Ruaha River, and if you are lucky, some elephants. There is no fence, so during the night you can expect animal visitors, but there is an armed guard. Close to the bandas there is a campsite too, where you can camp with your tent at your own risk, since there is no fence too.
The scenery is beautiful, with hills and so much variety. The park has over 10,000 elephants, so it's easy to spot them, esp. in the dry season. Hippos, impalas and girafes are easy to spot too. If you are lucky you can spot lions and cheetas. In the wet some of the roads are not accesable, but the scenery is beautiful; so much green and it's a great season for watching exotic birds. If you are going with your own transport you can 'hire' a guide in the park or you can arrange a driver/guide in Iringa town. There is a couple organisations who arrange safaris.
I would recommend this park to everyone, although I hope it will maintain quiet with tourists now, so you really have the feeling you are alone in the park like you have now.
Big game, bigger sky
The CKGR is a magnificent park! Right in the heart of Botswana, this enormous reserve is home to the finest of southern Africa's wildlife, and provides an unparalleled bush experience.
My fellow travelers and I drove down from Maun, and left the grid and pavement behind very quickly. With limited paved roads and power lines, it's a real pleasure to arrive at a beautiful lodge nestled into the softly graded terrain. Botswana's national emphasis on quality over quantity is abundantly apparent in their approach to tourism, and I felt that my money was very well spent.
I saw my very first lion hunt in the CKGR, and am inspired to return again to enjoy seemingly endless game drives under the enormous sky - bright day, or brilliant night.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Nkasa Rupara National Park by Pierre
Wild and beautiful. In the season we were there, the waterlevel was quite high and we had to camp outside the regular camps. So we were really face to face with nature and wild animals. Hippos and elephants sounded as if just under our cartent. 2 days we were all alone.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Namib-Naukluft National Park by Pierre
Great landscape and desert driving. Some animals and lonely feeling.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Etosha National Park by Pierre
Really a lot of animals that you can aproach easily. Sometimes a lot of tourist are around but there is a lot of place. You feel like in a television reportage!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Life Changing
My experience at Dulini was amazing!! We spent 4 days there and our group was incredibly lucky to see many babies- including but not limited to baby giraffes, rhinos, hippos, elephants, cheetah cubs (super rare!), and adolescent lions. We were also able to see numerous hunts/kills including but not limited to a pride of lions practicing hunting techniques on a group of african buffalos, hyenas hunting, and cheetahs dragging their kill up a tree. It definitely brought a whole new meaning to the phrase "the circle of life" to me.
The scenery was expected. We went in Late August when the bushes were still kind of dead to avoid bugs and avoid the rainy seasons. Once the bushes blossom, there will be more bugs and our group was very bug-phobic. So it was perfect for us.
The accommodations were amazing. The only time I was worried was when I woke up in the lodge to see an elephant looking straight at me through a window trying to bump his tusks at the window trying to get through. I quickly ducked somewhere he couldnt see and after awhile he went went away! But besides that one worry about the window holding up against an elephant, everything else was 5 stars for sure.
If it wasnt for the 18hr flight required to get to south africa from california, I would definitely try to go again. The 18hr flight is definitely a killer. Next time I'll probably plan cut up flying to 2 parts and pit stop at another country for a day or two first.
Oh, did I mention our jeep rides, our group was chased by 3 elephants for a good 3 minutes? haha... Every single experience was pretty amazing there.
Some of my trip videos can be found on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/changm55)