50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Queen Elizabeth National Park by Val and Simon
We stayed at Mbewa Lodge and Ishasha Camp. Highlight of our whole trip was a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel seeing so many water birds and elephants. Tree-climbing lions were amazing in Ishasha
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This is an enchanting, small park, with a wide variety of animals and birds, easily viewed by car.
Quite small by South African game park standards, the Mountain Zebra NP has a wide range of wild animals and birds, easily viewed from a good road network. Although there are a small number of Lion and Black Rhino, which one would be lucky to see, we saw large numbers of Red Hartebeest and Cape Mountain Zebras, also Kudu, Springbok, Buffalo and Wildebeest. There is also a special walk available to track Cheetah. The birdlife is varied and quite beautiful, generally quite easy to spot and photograph, either from the car or on walks around the camp.
As a spectacle, this is a peaceful park, perched in the beautiful mountain areas of the eastern Karoo. It has a unique beauty, which is not spoilt by humans, as the numbers of visitors are limited. There is a variety of accommodation types. The two bedroom chalet that we stayed in, near the main reception building, was comfortable and well equipped for self catering. There is a restaurant and small shop in the main reception area, which was well patronised when we were there. As we were self catering, we did not have the opportunity to sample the fare. We walked around a well maintained camping site, with a large ablution block, so campers are well catered for.
The fenced camp is quite extensive, with two short, but enjoyable mountain side walks and a large swimming pool, which was well patronised when we were there.
All in all, a wonderful natural location for a peaceful 2 or 3 night break.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Bird Brian
This is an enchanting park, located in an arid mountain location, with a wide variety of animals, easily viewed because of the low vegetation and excellent road network. The accommodation and other facilities are of a high standard.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great trip, very flexible and accomodating
Ask for Steve to be your guide and you will have an amazing experience.
Unique safari destination, unlike any I have seen earlier!
Hell's Gate national park deserves a couple of days at least, unfortunately I had just one. Its a destination where you can do multiple things & get something out of it. This is one park where you can rent a bike outside & cycle through it. I understand you can also camp onsite here.
The safari drive through Hell's Gate national park is surreal - the scenery is spectacular with craggy mountains on either side. Easy to spot lots of deer, giraffes, zebras, wild buffalo, boar, birds, hyenas etc
Then I took the trek through the Park's ravine - a spectacular place; make sure you go all the way to the end where scenes of the Tomb Raider movie was shot. Its a good 2 hour hike, with wonderful photo-ops on along the route.
The park also has a geothermal station, wish they would allow tourists there too, I got only a peek from outside.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Locally owned tour company that works hard to create a customer's ideal trip.
We did a 3 day gorilla trek with them. Locally owned tour company that seems to work hard to fulfill the customer's needs and wishes. Their communication prior to the trip was good but not excellent. I had to follow up once or twice myself to confirm some details and while they provided a good amount of information prior to the trip I still had to ask additional questions to make sure I knew 100% what was going to happen. The I equipment was in good condition and very comfortable. The driver was very experienced 15+ years driving and went out of his way at times to fulfill requests that weren't necessarily part of his job (ex: buying a local newspaper for us, stopping many times in an attempt to find a seasonal food, etc). I would use them again!
Great scenery, few tourists
The landscape is really wonderful at Mountain Zebra National Park. It had the most beautiful scenery of all National Parks we have been in South Africa. Few tourists were there so it was relatively calm and a nice atmosphere. We made a game drive ourselves and saw of course Zebras, Red Hartebeests, Blue Wilderbeests, Springboks etc. The park is generally not cramped with animals but you'll get quite a few nice sightings. We also did a cheetah tour which is definitely worth the money. We drove with a guide and his assistant around in a safari vehicle until we got a good signal from the collar some cheetahs wear. Then we got out of the car and walked outside until we found it. I would have never found it without a guide. I stood quite a few meters aside from it but I did not see it until the guide exactly showed me where it is lying under the bushes. Their covering works really very good ;) The guides do also have signals of the lions that are living in the park. If their signal is too close then you can't get out of the car. They care very much for your security. Our guide was very good. Not only he showed us the cheetah he also told us a lot of interesting things about it and the other animals we saw during the driving part. All in all I can very much recommend the park with it's amazing scenery and especially the cheetah tour.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Arid but beautiful.
As South Africans and having never visited the Northern Cape province of the country, my wife and I decided to take a trip which included the Augrabies Falls National Park. This turned out to be a good decision because the arid beauty is spectacular. Bearing in mind that this is not a game park as such, the "game" viewing is limited to smaller mammals such as the rock hyrax, baboons and a wide range of reptiles mainly in the form of lizards. So if you are looking for the big 5 this is not the park to visit. Birding is good if not spectacular, and many of the birds have become quite tame and can be viewed from quite close up. There are not many trees in the area so this is going to limit the potential for a wide variety of bird life. But this is not what you visit the Augrabies Falls National Park for. The main attractions are the falls and the spectacular scenery which is unique to the area. The falls are not huge but the raw power of the water surging through the canyon is a sight to behold. A very well built walkway is available to allow close access to the falls for most people. The walk is not very strenuous. The best time to visit the falls is at sunrise when the sun peeks over the horizon lighting up the spray and forming a spectacular rainbow. It is also quiet at this time of day and we had the falls to ourselves which was great because you want to be able to get the sound of the falls without noise around the place. A visit to Moon Rock, which is also in the park, is essential. This huge single rock can be climbed. The climb is quite strenuous but the views from the top are spectacular. Don't miss this. One of the advantages of the Northern Cape is all year round sunshine. It is unlikely that you will have an overcast, cold day regardless of the season. The accommodation is basic but comfortable and clean. The staff are extremely helpful and will go out of their way to make your stay a pleasant one. For a National Park with a difference Augrabies is a must visit.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
friendly people and very nice trip
I've been travelling with Africa Flash Mc Tours several times (Masai Mara, ol pejeta, Samburu etc) with different kind of packages (budget and luxury), sometimes I joined one of their groups, and other I asked for a tailor made private Safari. Every time I was very satisfied with their services and most of all with their flexibility, friendly drivers and customer care orientation. yes of course some times we had some little problem with the vehicle or a delay in clearing with the Hotel but this can happen in any safari with any agency. The important is that they've always done their best to fix the issues and make us happy and relaxed.
for the long weekend of 1st may I went with a group of 6 friends to Aberdares and everything was just perfect! It is the rainy season so not the best period to visit parks due to the poor conditions of the roads, but thanks to the patience and availability of Edward (the driver) we managed to do all our programs and to visit what we wanted to see.
I would really recommend this agency so give it a try!
CI
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great half-day trip from Nairobi
I went to the park without expecting to see the Big Five, but hoping to have a nice, short, manageable experience in the outdoors on my first trip to Africa. My hotel organized a guide for me, but I only had the afternoon available, which isn't usually ideal. My guide was not terribly knowledgeable about the birds, but he was very good at finding the animals, and we saw all kinds of things. It started slowly, with glimpses of some hippos in a pond (so he said, I wouldn't swear to it), then some giraffe, then ostriches, several different types of gazelle (some quite close), zebra, wildebeest and warthogs, secretary bird, white-eyed eagle (?), a couple of Black Rhino ambling under the acacia trees, and finally, as the grand finale, an adult male lion sitting just beside the road watching the zebras, and eventually crossing just in front of the jeep.
By all accounts this was a pretty exceptional day at the park, but even without the rhino and the lion, it was a beautiful spot, especially in the evening, and a really delightful way to spend a free afternoon in Nairobi. Definitely exceeded my expectations.