35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Kruger National Park by thewildlifephotographer
Kruger is fantastic for wildlife but becoming too crowded and hectic to enjoy the experience. It's a good place to visit for first-timers but tick it off your list and head somewhere more adventurous next time.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lifetime safari memories that will last forever
With my husband, I did a week's safari in February 2016 and ended up being one of the best trips I have done. I can without any hesitation recommend African Sermon Safaris. Daniel was very quick at replying my enquiries. He put together a safari package I was very pleased with. We had Steve who was a brilliant driver and, but a great companion for the week. We visited the famed Maasai Mara Game Park, Lake Nakuru, Naivasha and finished with Amboseli which is at the foot of the giant Mt. Kilimanjaro and truly we had a fabulous time. Steve is a great game spotter, safe and responsible driver and more importantly resourceful. He was very knowledgeable of the scenes, wildlife, culture, and looked after us every step of the way. Time and funds allowing, I hope to return for another trip in the near future. Kenya is an incredible country and African Sermon Safaris made the experience memorable. Many thanks!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Elephants and hippos galore!
Recently we went to Queen Elizabeth (QE) for the second time in eight years. It's one of Uganda's classic parks and a staple of wildlife tourism. Although my experience of the park is highly suggestive, I can give a perspective. I've been to Murchison, Mburo, and Kidepo several times, and each park has its strengths and weaknesses.
We approached QE from the south where you get a breathtaking view of the park from atop the escarpment. From there on, though, the road deteriorates severely. The tarmac main road through the park toward Kasese is liked a bombed-out runway, really disappointing for Uganda in general. My thought was that those responsible should be ashamed at how they've let the place go downhill. Another example of that is the tourist center inside the park. It's old. It's outdated. It's kind of pitiful. It looks like the park authorities haven't invested a dime in the place since it was built decades ago. Meanwhile they have made millions of dollars off it. That doesn't bode well for the management of the park. This makes me really sad. President Museveni boasts about making Uganda the 'Switzerland of Africa' but his government can't manage to maintain one of its greatest natural resources.
We did one game drive, in the morning. When we got to the gate, there was no one there. I honked, yelled, and looked around to no avail. So we opened the gate ourselves and started our game drive (we later paid at the tourist center but could have easily done our drive and left without paying!). In terms of animals, we didn't see much variety: hippos, elephants, warthogs, and waterbuck. That was about it in the wooded area that we were in. But we did see some cool things like three hippos running across the road in broad daylight, and later a hippo soaking in a mudhole, also in broad daylight. Almost every loop we turned down, we came across elephants. It seemed like they were everywhere. This made me a little jittery as I've been charged a few too many times.
Mid-morning we went to Mweya peninsula where we paid our dues and took tea at Mweya Lodge, which by all appearances is a very lovely place (too bad we can't afford it!). Even as someone who just goes in and out of amateur birdmanship, I could tell that the place was teeming with bird diversity.
Our lodging was the The Bush Lodge, a very pleasant luxury tented camp on the south side of Kazinga Channel. We were pleased with almost every aspect of the place. Lots of birds around. We saw a giant forest hog among the tents on the first evening and heard hippos around the clock. The food and accommodations were very much worth what we paid. One downside was that the local town was just up the channel, and its sound carried down to the camp for much of the day and night. So our experience of hippos and hyenas was mixed with discos, Muslim calls-to-prayer, and the incessant noise of heavy trucks crossing the bridge.
Later in the day we took a boat ride from The Bush Lodge, using local boatsmen instead of the companies. I really like injecting money in their pockets instead of the wealthy tour companies. The flipside is that the boat itself was a bit of a clunker, emitting noxious fumes for two hours that gave me a terrific headache! But our guide was knowledgeable without being annoying, and even the driver was a pleasant chap who also knew his birds. We saw hippos and hippos and more hippos, around every bend in the river. We also saw buffalo, elephant, bushbuck, warthogs, and several dozens species of birds.
So all in all it was a mixed-bag type of safari. Some animals we saw lots of, others none. The park has no zebra or giraffe, which is kind of a bummer. Lions were around but we didn't see them, nor leopards (much to my chagrin as the leopard is my 'holy grail' of wildlife). It was disappointing to see how neglected the park seems to be, from the condition of the main road to that of the park facilities to the fact that no ranger could be found at a main gate. It's like they are taking the park and what is provides for granted. That cannot be sustainable. Still,it's a lovely place, and any time one gets the chance to see those great animals and the teeming birdlife in the wild, it's a privilege and one I'd never want to complain about (apart from minor human-related quibbles).
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Tsavo West National Park by mwangee
Tsavo West is quite vast. And wildlife is scattered making it not easy to spot. Shetani Lavaflows and the nearby extinct volcanoes make the trip there worth it.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Kakamega Forest National Reserve by mwangee
Apart from monkeys and birds, you won't get to see a lot of other wildlife. In the right season, butterflies fill the forest with colourful beauty.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Waterberg Plateau Park by Nicholas Olesen Photography
Waterberg Plateau Park has beautiful scenery, but wildlife is difficult to spot without staying at a private reserve. I only spent one night here and, having been to Etosha National Park, I was there for the scenery and not for the wildlife.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Damaraland by Nicholas Olesen Photography
Damaraland is very interesting culturally as you can learn about the Damara people and how they lived. There are also beautiful landscapes, the Grootberg plateau being one of the highlights on my trip. There is also some wildlife, however relatively scarce due to the dry terrain.
QA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Went in with apprehension - came out with happy memories
We had friends who had an amazing experience through this company so we booked with them. Just before we left, we had other friends who toured with them who had a nightmare experience with this company. Through reading all the reviews, it looks like it is very hit and miss whether your experience is good or not. Simon, the operator, was extremely friendly and helpful during the booking phase, but as soon as we had paid the deposit, he then dropped off the face of the earth when we tried to bring up our concerns over our friend's tour. He also didn't respond to our friend's attempts to communicate their disappointment. We eventually got a little bit of reassurance, and as we had already paid a hefty deposit we decided to go ahead. In the end we were glad that we did. We had an amazing time.
Safari:
We loved their guide James. How could you not. He is an amazing guide who we got to know fairly well due to his lovely friendly and open nature. He has excellent English and a good sense of humour. We really appreciated his relaxed approach to our family dynamics and he was happy to make the experience whatever we wanted it to be. He is obviously a knowledgable and experienced guide who knows how to give tourists what they want. We learned many, many things about the animals, the country, the people and the language (as well as sharing family stories!) We were really happy with the whole safari experience and were delighted that we had no problems with the landrover vehicle as the terrain gives these vehicles quite a beating! The shock absorber did fall off on the way to the airport on the last day but James dealt with it quickly and efficiently. The fact that he has mechanical experience would be a huge plus in these circumstances.
We had absolutely no issues with permits or paperwork (which we were concerned about going into the holiday) and we were extremely thankful that our safari experience went without a hitch. If you are booking with them, ask for James by name.
Communication:
As you know we were concerned with the sporadic communication (after we had paid our deposit because leading up to that time all of our enquiries were answered extremely promptly). I was a little put off by being asked for payment within hours of making the tentative booking (and being reminded by Simon twice over the next few days i.e "Hi , have you made the paypal payment yet?") This is probably what compounded my concern over communication stopping after I made the payment. There turned out to be extenuating circumstances around this particular time but in reading through other feedback on the site, this is not something that has been a one off. Many people have commented that this has been a problem in the past and for future bookings, it may be worth Simon putting the time into changing people's perception of his trustworthiness and reliability. This would surely help his reputation and give people more confidence in booking with him in the future.
Accommodation:
Was lovely . We were super impressed with all of the accommodation. We really appreciated having separate rooms to sleep in from the children - a bonus that we weren't expecting for the entire trip.
The first night in Arusha was good except there were dogs barking all night long (somewhere near the lodge) and we got very little sleep.
The lodge looking over the crater had the most awe inspiring view and the staff at all of the places were really helpful and friendly.
We were pleasantly surprised at the standard of the camping experience. As by this stage 3 out of 4 family members had upset tummies (!) we really appreciated the inside, flushing toilet. Hot showers were a bonus
Our last night in Manyara Lodge was just breathtaking. We were one of only a few guests (as we were in all of the places) and the staff looked after us really well. The family loved the beautiful pool area in such an outstanding setting.
I think we were incredibly lucky to have had no big issues during our experience. For anyone looking to book with this company, I would say 'may the odds be forever in your favour'.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari, terrible management
Our safari with "It Started in Africa" could not have started in a worst way... We had booked a 5-day safari in Serengeti and Ngorongoro (plus 2 nights in Arusha, one before the safari, and one after it). When we arrived at Tanzania we had to pay the remaining 60% of the safari. A driver took us from the airport to our hotel in the outskirts of Arusha and told us that a representative of the company would visit us at the hotel for giving us a briefing and for telling us at what time would the guide pick us the next morning.
At dinner time no one had appeared, so we sent an email to the company using the WiFi of the hotel. They apologized and told us that there was a problem with the person that had to visit us, but that the next morning at 8 a.m. the guide and a representative of the campany would appear at the hotel so we could pay the remaining amount directly to him/her and start our safari right at that moment.
The next morning only the guide appeared. No apology and no explanation given. He took us to the office in the center of Arusha and we payed the remaining amount. While we were at the office, I saw by chance that the accommodation that we had chosen for the Serengeti was not the same that was written on the paper that was given to our guide. We had chosen Serengeti Heritage Migration Camp (not the Serengeti Heritage Seronera Camp), but they had changed it for Ndutu Savannah Camp. When we asked why, the office employee just told us that "it was better". As Ndutu Savannah Camp was not even an option for accommodation when we booked the safari, we had no idea if this was true, so we had to accept it and continue the trip.
Based on our stay and the internet reviews, now I can say that Ndutu Savannah Camp was of similar category that the one we had chosen, and that the location was probably better. But we spent the whole first day thinking that we were being scammed, because no one had tolds us that our accommodation had been changed, and we only learned it by chance.
Our guide (Elia) was good but maybe not great. He is a polite and nice person, a careful driver and a very experienced guide. He always found the perfect spots for wildlife watching and he was probably more experienced than most of the other guides. Also, one day, while we were returning to our accommodation, he saw some lions and we stopped to watch them. After some waiting, we watched a hunting scene while he patiently waited. Finally, we arrived at our accommodation almost 2 hours later than the agreed time, and he never complained.
On the negative side, he is not the most talkative person. When he sees an animal, he usually just points at it and says one or two phrases. If you want to know some details, you always has to ask. Not a big deal for us, but may be for others. Also, on the Ngorongoro day, when we asked him about the lunch inside the crater (as was clearly written in the contract). He said that it was not possible because of the 6-hour permit (we have passed the entrance gate at 7:15 a.m. approximately, so we had to leave before 1:15 p.m.). We asked him to have our lunch in the viewpoint outside the crater instead, but he said that it was not possible either, because we had to leave earlier. After finishing watching the wildlife of the crater, we passed the exit gates at 11:50 a.m., with more than hour left before the permit expired, and we had lunch on our way back to Arusha. Again, not a big deal, but then, why does the company write it in the contract if there is no easy way for the guide to comply with it?
Before returning to the hotel in Arusha, we were taken to the office to fill a customer survey about the guide and the jeep, while the guide and one office employee looked over our shoulders. Not the most comfortable moment of our safari. Also, as we were in the office, we asked at what time would the driver pick us the next morning to take us to the airport. No one knew that we had already booked the transfer, even as it was written in the contract, so they arranged the transfer at that moment.
While we were accommodated at Ngorongoro, a manager (Silvia) called me by phone to tell us that he wanted to meet us in Arusha. We thought that maybe she wanted to explain to us the problems previously described. After arriving at the hotel in Arusha, our guide told us that she would visit us at the hotel. Again, at dinner time no one had appeared, so we sent an email to the company. They apologized again but no explanation was given. We left Tanzania the next morning but she did not appear.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari
The drivers were very nice, and the team very helpful. I wish you could have been less in the car, because we were coming from a 14 hours flight, plus the time difference. I had a child with me, so he was exhausted. Rather than that it was perfect, I wish I could have stayed longer, and I will definitely come back. Thank you for this memorable moment.