50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Etosha National Park by Julia
Fantastic wildlife day; no local life though.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Namib-Naukluft National Park by Flitz
Beautiful dunes
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Astonishing scenery, a well-organised burgeoning tourist industry, and lovely, LOVELY people.
The wildlife and scenery was amazing. There are so many miles of absolutely nothing. Elsewhere in Africa, if you need to go behind a bush, you will find 50 children waiting for you. In Namibia, you'll be lucky to find a bush! But if you do, there will not be 50 children. There won't be anyone. You can stand on top of a hill and see the road for 200 miles, in an almost straight line - with nothing. No village, hut, pylon. Nothing!
We did compact game drives with knowledgeable guides. The scenery from desert to dunes to game park with pans and rock art thrown in - is incredible.
As reasonably experienced travellers in East and West Africa, this was our first trip to southern Africa. I had expected to feel quite intrepid.
Far from it: we stayed almost entirely in Gondwana group hotels, with other B&B in Windhoek and one non-Gondwana tented camp on our itinerary. All were amazing - so varied and interesting, each in their own right. This is not chain-hotel experience. We don't normally do 5*, so perhaps I don't really know how to rate this, but it was way above what we would normally expect to do elsewhere in either Europe or Africa.
By way of example: I wished that I had started a "view from the loo" photo collection early on. From quirky bathroom fittings at Kalahari Anib Lodge (towel rail and loo roll holder all made of copper pipe) to an al fresco toilet experience at the Spitzkoppe tented camp, with the loo roll tucked into the stonewall; to sand dunes, passing rhino and oryx, viewed over our own private plunge pool and a pink fridge at the Desert Grace near Sossusvlei. (Please, PLEASE - if you go to Desert Grace, stop at the view point on the road in. It is well worth clamber up the rock!) ... Elsewhere - towel origami in shape of elephants; chocolates on the pillows ... I could go on.
Special mention: our game driver, Ronald, at Etosha, said we would be out for about 6 hours - but he knew where the animals might be, found them, spent the extra time, and delivered us home after 12 hours. He must have been exhausted, and had it all to do again the next day. But we were happy. And Etosha Safari Camp is just lovely, with its live music, idiosyncratic furniture, and relaxed atmosphere.
Above all, we never felt threatened anywhere. Wandering round Windhoek and Swakopmund was the closest we came to normal life - we didn't see local village life at all, I'm afraid. But everybody we met and talked to, even in the towns, was so very, very friendly and welcoming.
A small point: we would have appreciated better guidance on tyre pressures for different roads - the car hire company simply gave us the wrong figures!
Thank you, Namibia.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience
For some time constrait and because I amo not exactly an animal enthusiast, we chose a 4 day option that brought us also to visit the Blyde river canyon. I was not exactly impressed by the canyon ( save for the alpine vibes of some bits), notable exception Burke's Luck Potholes; that place is just beautiful. Getting to see the canyon from below during a boat trip on the dam was great and added another dimension to the experience and you get to see hippos wich is a great plus. We spent 2 nights in Kruger, did an evening bush walk, 2 mornign drives and an evening one and were extremely lucky, managed to see all of the big 5 plus dozens of other animals including some bidrs of the most astonishing colours. The landscape is varied although during winter it can appear a little boring because of the lack of green grass and leaves on the trees, everything looks pretty much dead even if it is not. Obviously under this conditons animal sightings are easier because grass and trees do not offer cover. Weather was perfect, sunshine, pretty hot but totally bearable, nights are very cold, like wishing you had your ski gear with you.Morning drives are especially chilly and on one occasion no blankets were found in the vehicle used, it could be a smart move to take one of the extra blankets found in your accommodation. We stayed in Skukuza camp in the self-catering rondavels, basic accommodation but with everything you needed, beds comfortable, you get towels and soap. Kitchen and fridge is actually on the little porch, must be carefull with the monkeys always on teh look out for unattended food. each rondavel also has its own barbecue. No 'street light' in the camp so remmebr to have with you a torch or head lamp. Did not have time to explore the whole camp, heard there was a pool but did not see it. Second camp was berg en dal, beatiful place, we stayed in a self catering 'cottage' a lovely red brick building with a very large patio. Bathroom on the very small side when compared to the rest of the accommodation ( bathroom was small in skukuza as well but it was proportionate to the room). The camp sits along a river but it was totally dry, In the wet season it must be spectacular, there is a trail that runs around the camp and borders the river, I guess that the right time one can see a lot of animals there. It is to be noted that some of the big cats sightings all happened very close to this camp, even leopard.
Rangers varied a lot from the very knowledgable and engaging to the one who was merely a driver but on average we were happy because after a while everyone tells you the same stories, so you do not miss being given the same information over and over again.
The guide we had was incredible, he knew million of things about animals and nature in general, we definitely learned more from him than anyone else. He also had a sort of super sight, ho could spot animals and birds we hardly saw ^_^ The whole safari was very well planned and we were extremely happy the service of red Africa Safari.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful scenery but specific tour was a disaster
Scenery of dunes was amazing
Weather was not that cold for desert and for wintertime , warm during the day
We didn't receive lunch on first day, other days the food was very little, others bought food .The vegetarians and vegans had much more limited options too for barbeque
Guide was not informative and we hardly received any info about sights we visited.
Transportation was a broken down game drive vehicle , some bumping there heads on the roof when we visited Deadvlei .Our specific vehicle broke down in middle of the desert without a spare tyre .
Camping facilities basic and okay
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent custom 11 day trip
I would highly recommend anyone considering a trip to Africa (Tanzania) to use Earthlife Expeditions as their provider. Every day we wondered what might be better than the previous - only to find out that we were amazed by the next day. By custom we mean we choose not only the 4 national parks (including the Ngorongoro Crater) but also several special trips such as a hike along the rim, night drive, to several cultural exposers like a walking trip through Mosquito River Village and a Maisi village. All seamlessly handled by Earthlife. But the single item that "made" the trip for all 6 of our group was the terrific guide/driver Daniel Balela. His knowledge of plants,animals,birds, and animal behavior was amazing. And his ability to convey that to us in his non-native language (English) was superb. What a great story teller! His communications skills are excellent mainly because he is a great listener - tailoring each day to what he heard we were interested in and responding to our questions.
I don't know what we would leave out if one opted for a shorter trip. That would be difficult. Staying in tents for 6 nights was fun, convenient, much nicer that expected, and probably saved a lot of money. I think flying around to different countries or even locations within Tanzania would be much more expensive, troublesome, and waste time. I believe Tanzania is the epicenter for all the unique African animals and birds.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great time!
My sister and I wanted to visit South Africa for a safari. From the beginning, Fleet Foot Safari was the most communicative of the Safari companies I emailed. They answered my questions very quickly and were very professional. They followed up with additional confirmations as well as a final itinerary and when I arrived, a day before we were to start, they sent a welcome email as well!
Our guide was Elmor and he was great! He took care of everything. We stopped for lunch on the way to the first Safari location, had breaks and coffee, etc., too. He introduced us to biltong (South African beef jerky type) and answered our many questions.
The accommodations chosen were really nice as one was a a small private camp and another was in Kruger frequented by South Africans. In the later, it had a kitchenette, which Elmor prepared our meals.
I can not imagine having a better experience than the one we had. It was fantastic and we saw a lot of animals. I can't wait to go again! Fleet Foot Safari provides a worthwhile and memory filled experience.
US
Trip of a Lifetime
Jambo Rafiki (Thank You)
Thank you Earthlife Expeditions and a huge thank you to our guide-Daniel (Balela)
We like to travel and comparing this adventure with others----it was outstanding!!!
It was more than we anticipated. It opened my eyes and gave me a new awareness to nature and humankind. The excitement and thrill of seeing black rhino, cape buffalo, cheetahs, leopards, and lions(to name a few) changed my perspective on life. This was accomplished by our guide. Daniel's knowledge, eagle eye, guidance, communication, kindness, and listening skills led us to our successful trip
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
Faraji received our request in less than five days but managed to arrange for us a superb safari to Ngorongoro and Serengeti as well as accommodation in Seronera Area. This gave us a chance yo spot not only the big five but also the wildebeest migration while at our lodge. Special thanks to our Guide Mr. Terrence for his careful driving experience and knowledge about the park where we were able to sport animals few meters from our safari vehicle. We kindly recommended Emperor Adventure & Safaris for incredible safari in Tanzania.
