Review about Kenya by Kristine
I thought it was great but have nothing to compare it to. I've never been anywhere else in Africa. I suppose there may be other starting point cities better than Nairobi.
Kenya offers a wide range of national parks, each with specific highlights
In September 2014 I visited the national parks (or game reserves) Samburu, Nakuru, Masai Mara, Amboseli, Tsave E and Tsavo W. Samburu is very dry, but offers quite different wildlife (eg giraffe gazelle or Grevy's zebra). Nakuru is nice for Flamingos, but in 2014 it rained too much so there were only few. Masai Mara is clearly the highlight, but also very crowded. Amboseli offers big herds of elephants and postcard shots with Mt Kili. Tsavo W is too bushy to spot wildlife. Tsavo E has big elephants.
PT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
3 days Masai Mara
I did the 3 days Masai Mara Safari with Wild Race Tours. Simon, that was my interlocutor, dring the planning phase gave timely and precious infor therefoe i could plan in a proper way. During the execution phase everything went all right and we had a wonderfull driver/guide that made all the possible efforts to find the difficult leoppard, which we never saw. I am planning to return once more to Kenya for a Safari and for sure one thing i know, i will contact Simon (Wild Race Tours) for that one.
great experience
Wake up very early, but great safari. We saw lyons, giraphes, elephants, mo.keys, buffalos, à lot of impala, hyppos even out of water, but all above we met two lovely citas.... magic !!!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Queen Elizabeth National Park by Debbie Stewart
When we visited half of the Park at Ishasha had been burnt to encourage the regrowth of grass and tree species so it felt a little sparse and barron. We did see plenty of Antelope species here along with Warthogs, Hippos down by the river and lots of different forest butterflies but missed out on the tree climbing Lions as they had gone further out of the park that day. Saw plenty but often at distance.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
These guys were great and happy to organise a trip last minute. The food they provided was EXCELLENT! Only thing I'd say is, if you spot an animal you are interested in, make sure you let them know.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good budget safari tour for three days/2 nigths at the Maasai Mara
We had a great time at the Lenchada tented camp managed by Jocky Tours and located close to one of the gates of the Game reserve. The driver (Peter) was nice and made an effort to come up close to the animals (i.e lions and cheetah). It was a very wet Easter weekend (rainy season) so there were many safari vans around and a good number of them got stuck in the mud a couple of times.
Despite all this, we managed to see most of the "big five" and some other herds of animals. Overall, the camp was good. We paid for budget accomodation so we didn't expect more than the basic necessities. The food was good throughout our stay, no complaints.
The only downside was that it rained for two days straight which made it impossible to do a full game drive as the vans would get stuck in the mud if we tried to come closer to the animals... I would recommend Jocky Tours as they have been in the business for a long time and offer great budget safaris.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Organized, friendly and done a good job for the trip.
The overall trip is very exciting and awesome mountainous view on the way to Mikumi. Henry are safari guide was a kind and genuine person. He kept sharing many points on way like tribe names, culture, weather, place names etc. The lodge was a peaceful and clean place with good food. My family enjoyed a lot; though missed seeing the lion :) We do plan on some more trips in the future.
The amazing feeling you get by standing in the midst of a herd of wild Elephants...
Amboseli is a pretty nice park for game-drives. It is not the park you want to visit if you have to see the "big five", because you won't find any rhinos or leopards here. But if you want to experience the incredible feeling you get when 20-30 huge african elephants silently passes by your car, this park is for you. If you are lucky you may get the oppurtunity to get a glympse of the largest free-standing mountain in the world, Kilimanjaro. The mountain is oft visible in the morning or evening hours. Though Amboseli is several miles away from the top, it still amazes hugely.
As for accomodation I can highly recommend Kibo Safari Camp. This is a luxury tented lodge, minutes from Kimana Gate. The staff, food, location etc. were excellent.
Per March 2015 the park were not overcrowded by cars, but only a few. This is much because of the reduction in tourism Kenya is experiencing. I personally prefer not to be part of a swarm of buzzing Toyotas when on game-drives, but rather have the oppurtunity to feel like in the only man-made creation in sight. This enables one to connect with the wildlife and nature in a special way. Nothing beats the sense of peace you get when the driver switches of the engine, and all you hear is Amboseli herself.