under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the most amazingly diverse countries on Earth, yet not adequate for safari/larger animals.
Wildlife and scenery - spectacular wherever we went
Food - some western foods, obviously, but there was traditional foods also available; some delicious, some not so.
Transportation - No coaches, buses were more Transit vans with seats. Nevertheless we still managed to get around safely and in reasonable comfort.
Highlights - Lemurs, rare species of Gecko, and the spectacular views at Andringitra NP
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari is beyond amazing.
Everything was perfect and amazing. It was a wonderful trip. Professional guide/driver. Accommodations were surprisingly very nice. Transportation was comfortable. Food was very good.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The safari was Amazing!
The wildlife was great, our guide was great about spotting animals and pointing them out, the accommodations and food was good. We had a great time.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
once in a lifetime safari
I was investigating for more than 3 years how to organize a family Botswana Safari trip and chose in summer 2018 to put my trust in Moonstroll Vantage Expeditions. We wanted to offer our 2 kids (after finishing their university studies) a unique experience before flying out of the family nest. And what a unique experience it became!
The trajectory that we chose (after many interactions with Monametsi) was Maun - Makgadikgadi - Maun - Chiefs Island - Khwai - Savuti - Chobe riverside - Kasana (+ transfer to Victoria Falls). Monametsi quickly understood that we wanted to combine a variety of 'off the beaten track ecological experiences' with a private Safari experience and sufficient comfort. The trip formula we agreed on was to combine the private experience of camping in nature parks (1 night Makgadikgadi, 2 nights Chiefs Island, 1 night at Savoti, 2 nights at Chove rivers side) intermitting with a bit more comfort at affordable B&B lodges along our way (2 times 1 night at Maun, 2 nights in a container lodge at Khwai). The campfire dinners of the cook that joined us during our trip were also much appreciated. The cook really made the best out of the limited supplies he had available - ... - even succeeded in cooking a birthday cake for my daughters' 23rd birthday.
Monametsi chose to involve Teenage as a freelance guide for our family trip. He had quickly understood that we wanted to get accompanied by a guide with strong ecological experience (our son is a Biologist) who could also share with us all he has learned about the fragile balances in the wildlife and nature in general.
As a guide, Teenage was a fantastic match with the profile we had been looking for. He is an experienced guide, driven by nature preservation and he left no effort to match our expectations. Teenage really pushed himself each time up-to the end of the day to maximize our satisfaction. We also appreciate he joined our dinners, telling us about Botswana history, how satisfied he is with the recent evolution of his country etc.
As our trip really went in crescendo all along our trip we have been joking with Teenage about 'his challenge for the next day to surprise us even more'. And yes indeed, each day again we were really amazed. In taking up our challenge, Teenage systematically checked with the other tour-guides that crossed our path and made sure that we always were on the right spot at the right moment. His maneuvring skills were truly exceptional - we were always positioned in the optimal shooting position to take the best photo's - even if other jeeps would make it more difficult. With my 'big mama' lens (500mm mounted on a D850 camera) I now have a set of fantastic photo's from very closeby.
Some highlights of our Safari
- day 1 at Makgadikgadi: a cadaver of a giraffe with vultures, jackals & marabu feeding on it ... awesome as first impression during our trip
- day 2 at Chiefs Island: Elefant sights during our mokoro trip & crossing our path during a late Safari walk, one elephant shaking a coconut tree
- day 3 at Chiefs Island: traces of a hypo sleeping at & lions passing our camp + an unforgettable Safari walk with locals, and late evening mokoro
- day 4 arriving at Khwai: our only leopard sight; Teenage maneuvered our jeep through the bush so that we could follow it at just a few feet
- day 5 at Khwai: a barking hypo at just 5m from the jeep, and our first 2 hyena during a night safari
- day 6 starting the day at Khwai with 2 lions hunting for impala, ..., arriving at Savuti with a close sight of lions with pups (3 of 2 wks; 4 of 2 mths)
- day 7: we failed to find (the only 2) Cheetah or other lions in Savuti, and spend rest of the day crossing the landscape towards Chobe
- day 8: a Hyena as the first sight of the day, followed by lions mating along our path to a Chobe river cruise
- day 9: on our path moving out of Chobe park, still enjoyend some last lions
All along during our Safari, next to 23 lions - 1 leopard - 3 hyena - between 5 or 10 jackals - too many to count hypo pools, crocodile, vultures and marabu, sea eagles (on with a cath) many other bird types like spoon birds etc. We also passed many big herds of buffalo, elephants, zebra, gnu, .... and much more I here forget to mention here. We only seem to have missed cheetah, wild dog and rhino (these do not reside in this region) on our trip.
What an experience we received. As the locals were singing at Chiefs Island: 'we will never forget'
Teenage, many thanks for making this a trip of a lifetime!
(ps for others planning to go on this route : if you plan to take the same itinerary, I would recommend taking a day more at Makgadikgadi (combine with NXai pan ?) and at least one or 2 days extra at Savuti + to also travel from west to east to make sure the wildlife sightings improve as you move further on your safari ...)
DE
Perfect
Our family’s first safari experience and what a memorable one. Thanks to Shemeji.
Superb management, no loopholes in service. Everything was perfect. Special thanks to Emma for her super efficient service and our guide Elemesi.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Everything about the trip was perfect.
Beacon Safaris did an excellent job of communicating with us leading up to the trip, providing comfort that everything would be taken care of while we were there. We were drawn to Beacon since they were offering private, customizable luxury tours and that's exactly what we got. Our guide, Antony, picked us up at the airport and was with us the duration of the trip.
The entire trip lived up to expectations, and there wasn't a single thing that went wrong the entire time. We went to Amboseli, Mount Kenya, Samburu, Ol Pejeta, Nakuru and Masai Mara and loved that each place had its unique feeling, scenery and range of wildlife. We were lucky enough to see the entire Big 5, and though it was technically the rainy season, barely had any rain over the 9 days.
The hotels were luxurious, Beacon's service was impeccable and the wildlife viewing was second to none. Antony knew everything there was to know about the plants and animals as well as about the towns we drove through as we went from park to park. He was a great driver and a great guide - Antony not only got us in perfect positions to see the animals, but he also knew where they were going, which allowed us to track them well rather than trying to catch up to them.
Overall, our 9 day trip to Kenya was perfect. We'd like to thank Antony and Beacon Safaris again for an unforgettable trip - we would recommend Beacon to anyone!!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An excellent overall experience of wildlife and community life in Uganda
We found the whole tour to be a well organised one. We stayed in lovely camps providing excellent facilities and food. We
were fortunate to see plenty of wildlife and the thrill of the gorilla trek. We also enjoyed the cultural experience of Uganda that the tour provided.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best Safari ever!!!
We considered many options to bring a group of 6 on safari on a budget, and we are happy that we chose Axis. The driver was very skilled at driving difficult terrain and finding animals. We were able to choose a tented camp that suited our group needs well. Axis associates communicated with us to arrange the tour while we were in the United States and also to finish the arrangements once we arrived in Kenya.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our tour operator Malini gave a package to suit our family (UAE) with mixed age group 5-74 years
An amazing African experience with Mwema safaris. Our tour conductor Malini Samaga operating from UAE customized our eight day tour to suit our family with young children and senior citizens as well with good pricing.
There were no hassles with booking and communications.
The drivers went out of their way to make sure we got the best of sightings. Our driver Mr. Anthony, a very knowledgeable guide kept the children highly entertained yet well informed!
I highly recommend the hot air balloon.
The road leading to Masai Mara is dusty and tedious and under construction. That was the only difficult patch.
The journey back from Masai Mara to Nairobi is loaded with traffic and the timing has to be well planned to reach airport on time as traffic is very heavy and unpredictable.
US
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
12 Day Tour of Uganda Left Us Wanting More!
Matoke Tours was recommended to me years ago and my sister and we are so glad we took the recommendation. Our expectations were exceeded! This was our first visit to Uganda (my sister's first trip overseas) and we loved it. Anna and Pleunie are very responsive and accommodating. We appreciated their advice and suggestions offered as this was our first visit to Uganda and were unsure how to structure our time. We were able to plan for as much or as little activity we desired, and were pleased by the accommodations (except for Marafiki Safari Lodge). Overall, the itinerary that was put together for us (customized to our requirements) gave us a wonderful overview of the country and left us wanting more.
Our driver, Musa is wonderful! He's an excellent driver, very professional, and we felt very safe. We learned a lot about birds (he's an avid birder) and the native species in general through our conversations during our drives.
We were treated most hospitably by our lodging hosts Magdalene at Papaya Lodge, Nick and Merlin at Mihingo Lodge, Darius at Enjojo, and Ann from Bwindi Lodge. We enjoyed ourselves and found Uganda to be a beautiful country with beautiful, welcoming people.
