US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Mburo National Park by Barbara Osmundson
Only place we saw zebras. The only reason I did not give 5 stars is that this park is missing 2 apex predators because of neighboring cattle ranches. I don't know what the solution is. The guide here was excellent.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kyambura Gorge by Barbara Osmundson
This jungle habitat is amazing!! Lots of birds and monkeys to see.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kibale National Park by Barbara Osmundson
The old growth jungle habitat is wonderful, and besides chimps, there are a lot of other monkey and bird species to see. Guides were very good.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Drive on the Wild Side
The Namib-Naukluft National Park is one of the most impressive places I've visited in a life full of travel. The wildlife, the stunning desert scapes and dunes, the Sesriem area, Sossussvlei and The Dead Vlei, Kolmanskuppe with its houses being reclaimed by the desert, the coastline with its profusion of birdlife. Klein Aus Vista and all the accommodation we stayed at was comfortable and even more than that, incredibly beautiful. I didn't expect its wild beauty. My guide brought us expertly to what we had come to experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience, rough around the edges
My wife and I are Americans in our late 20s who spent a week in July 2019 in Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park.
Overall, we had a wonderful time. Everything was very safe, the people are quite friendly and helpful, and the wildlife and falls were spectacular. Travel here takes a bit of planning, however, as cash and fuel are in short supply and power cuts are somewhat frequent (twice during our stay). In this part of the country I wouldn't worry about safety, I would just make sure to make as many arrangements ahead of time as possible.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing trip from beginning to end!
We recently came back from an amazing customized tour with Africa MCflash tours in July. From start to finish everything went very well. We were pleased with all of our accommodations, the food, Safari vehicle, and the wildlife was incredible! I would highly reccomend a private tour with this company.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
After dreaming of Africa since I was 7, it was everything I hoped and more.
Wildlife was incredible. Children were incredible and so friendly! Murchison Falls was amazing!!! The jungle habitat in Kyambura Gorge was amazing. It is too bad that at Lake Mburo Natl Park, 2 apex predators are gone because of poisoning due to next door cattle ranching--missing lions and wild dogs. I know these ranchers are trying to make a living with their cattle, but historic poisoning of lions and other predators is so disturbing. Gorillas were amazing and the highlight of our trip! Protection for mountain gorillas needs to continue, and allowing locals to participate will help preserve them. It is awful about the displaced Batwa people. The government needs to give them land, and provide educational opportunities so they can make a living and not live in poverty. The government needs to provide clean drinking water from taps!!!!
Of concern is the fact that Ugandas' population is supposed to double in the next 30 years. Not enough cropland to support this, and worry about potential loss of gorilla habitat. I am also worried about the Chinese interests in oil and gas. Lots of road construction to provide infrastructure and allow their interests to exploit the oil and gas resources of Uganda. I look at Uganda, and see the greatest resources to be the wildlife, scenery, and the children!!! I think the Chinese are motivated by profit, and do not really care about the people of Uganda.
Our accommodations were excellent--we especially enjoyed Bakers Lodge, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, and Mihingo Lodge, and Mt Gahinga Lodge. Mt. Gahinga and Mihingo lodges were our favorites. Food was good, and we looked forward to our meals, especially at Mt. Gahinga where we shared the table with other visitors. Staff at all facilities (except at Ishasha Jungle Lodge) were extremely professional and attentive. At Ishasha Jungle lodge, the performance of orphanage kids was exceptional and I wanted to hug each child. It is a very good idea and way to bring donations into orphanages, and kudos to Ishasha jungle lodge for allowing them to perform for guests. Kudos to Edward and Elle at Nkuringo. At both Nkuringo and Mt. Gahinga--the fires in our fire places and the hot water bottles in our beds were so so nice.
Our guide Edwin was for the most part very attentive to our needs, and went out of his way to help us. He actually was able to recover forgotten camera chargers and batteries for both my husband and I. That was incredible how he knew all the other guides including those working for other companies, and was able to network and retrieve our lost chargers. He was knowledgable about the wildlife, and very informative about Uganda. We enjoyed it very much when he joined us for meals.
My only complaint about Edwin was driving too fast and too close at times when people were walking on the roadside---especially young children, and an impatience for livestock on the road, as well as an apparent dislike of boda bodas on the road. Edwin drove a lot of miles!! for us and we certainly arrived at our destinations in one piece and on time. Edwin was a skilled driver, and was able to drive in a variety of situations, including heavy traffic near Kampala, to off-the road game drives. I would recommend Edwin as a guide, but would want him to show a little more respect and consideration for people, livestock, and boda bodas also using the roads.
I absolutely fell in love with Uganda---its wildlife and people. I think I left part of my heart there, and would highly recommend it as a travel destination. We mainly went to see wildlife, but actually learned more about the people and culture. It seems like we rode a lot of miles from site to site in the land cruiser, and did get sore and stiff in the process, but we got to see many villages and people in the process of living that we would have missed had we flown from site to site. Kudos to Matoke Tours for setting up this life-changing trip for us. And thanks to Edwin for making our tour possible. We couldn't have done it without him.
BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The trip was awesome! I had support of all Skywide members, and our guide Mr. Watchanga was so Nice.
We stayed 4 days at Sekenani, and all was perfect.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
16 day Uganda primate ,game and cultural tour!
From start to finish the trip provided by Encounter was amazing surpassing all our expectations. Chris in the office was always quick to respond to any questions we had- even if it was at 2 am Ugandan time! Chris provided us with copies of all our chimp and gorilla permits which gave us confidence. We had reservations about paying from the UK but the payment process was very simple and easy.
We would highly recommend our guide Alex who was extremely knowledgeable about Ugandan life and wildlife. He was easy to get on with and happy to join our family games of UNO in the evening. We would definitely recommend asking for Alex to be your guide.
All the lodges chosen by Chris were comfortable and welcoming offering juice and hot towels on arrival. Elephant Hab is a must! This tour gives you a great insight into Uganda – a great mix of game viewing, chimp and gorilla trekking and stunning scenic drives. The optional extras we would recommend adding to this trip to make it even more spectacular are: 1) The lion tracking in Queen Elizabeth NP- this allows you to go out with a tracker which enables you to go off the main tracks to find lions. 2) The crater lake drive in the Queen Elizabeth NP.
We were so impressed by the whole trip we decided to visit Chris and the rest of the team at their office in Entebbe to thank them before flying back to the UK. We cannot recommend Encounter and this trip enough.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly people and wonderful safari experience
We are a family of four with two children aged 15 and 11. We had a fabulous and memorable safari arranged by Mohamed and Carlson. David Simba was our English and French guide, he was great. We went to Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, and the Ngorongoro Crater.
The accommodation was wonderful. We particularly liked the tented camps in the Serengeti where we saw an amazing range of wildlife including the 'Big 5', birds, and many other animals. David Simba was the best guide we could have wished for - he is extremely knowledgeable, a fantastic driver, and was very patient and accommodating to our family needs.
Mohamed was very helpful via email. He was quick to respond and provided various safari options until we decided which one was best for our family.
I truly recommend Travel Africa Agency to anyone traveling in Tanzania.