CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Timbavati Nature Reserve by Ashley
We stayed at Simbavati River Lodge (part of Timbavati) and were blown away by the luxury of our rooms, the amazing service (they catered to our every need), the food (we are vegan, and they totally accommodated!) and the knowledge of our guide (Mbongene) and tracker - who took risks for himself by tracking on foot a pride of lions, just so we could see them up close. I highly recommend Simbavati to anyone, and would love to return with our son for more safari!
NO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Selous Game Reserve by Tor Arne Fallingen
The park displayed a lot of what I feel African nature is like, it has dense vegetation areas and sparse vegetarion areas. It has the common animals, but you may not get to see the more rare ones. As our guide said, Selous you might not see everything, but you get close to the animals you see. In Mikumi you drive in hills and mountains, you may see more, but need good spectacles to make out what animal it is. This is 2 reserves easily accessible from Dar es Salaam, its not Serengeti og NgoroNgoro, which I understand is something completely different in many ways. But when we visited, there were 1 other car in the park, we saw it at the gate going in, so we didnt drive in a Safari convoy, this I appreciate.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best vacation of my life so far!
In South Africa, we started our voyage from Capetown, on to Franchoek (wine region) and then onward to Kruger National Park and then through Johannesburg on our way back home. The country of South Africa is like no other I have seen - it is so diverse, with a very westernized city like Capetown with amazing food and scenery, and then the wine region which was like Napa Valley or Okanagan (Canada) on steroids - it was THAT good - the buildings were designed beautifully and the wine was fantastic. And finally, the unbelievable wild animal life in Kruger National Park! It really was a dream trip and South Africa is an amazing place with many secrets that unfold for the tourist! Our private lodge, Simbavati, was beautiful, high-end, amazing service and food. Our guides and trackers made our trip, by teaching us so much about the animals, the terrain and the foliage. We loved every minute of our trip and have been highly recommending to anyone who will listen.
CA
Best vacation of my life so far!
In South Africa, we started our voyage from Capetown, on to Franchoek (wine region) and then onward to Kruger National Park and then through Johannesburg on our way back home. The country of South Africa is like no other I have seen - it is so diverse, with a very westernized city like Capetown with amazing food and scenery, and then the wine region which was like Napa Valley or Okanagan (Canada) on steroids - it was THAT good - the buildings were designed beautifully and the wine was fantastic. And finally, the unbelievable wild animal life in Kruger National Park! It really was a dream trip and South Africa is an amazing place with many secrets that unfold for the tourist! Our private lodge, Simbavati, was beautiful, high-end, amazing service and food. Our guides and trackers made our trip, by teaching us so much about the animals, the terrain and the foliage. We loved every minute of our trip and have been highly recommending to anyone who will listen.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip ever
Thornybush lodge was terrific, with knowledgeable and friendly staff, great wildlife -saw everything, and not too crowded.
NO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It looked like we drowe into a Jehovas Witness poster.. Into their vision of paradise.
First of all, we went to Selous during the wet season. During the wet season roads may be difficult to impossible to drive and animals are more widespread, the watering holes have become lakes and rivers. Food and water is plentyful, so animals will be more widespread, predators will be harder to spot (we did not see lions). But the guides speak to each other so if one finds a flock of elephants, he will notify the others. This is one of the benefits of joining a tour instead of goind on your own. We did see a lot of impalas, giraffes, zebras, wilderbeest, bamboos and wild pigs, plus a few more. I honestly care more for the birds than the animals, we saw a lot of vultures, but the small colorful birds are the most beautiful sight.
Even though we went on safari during the wet season, we didnt see rain every day. During our 3 day/2night tour, we had rain overnight once. The accomodation was great, they called it tent, but basically we had a concrete room with shower, sink and wc, then a frame covered with tarp and palm leaf roof with 2 beds (mosquito net too) room. All this on a raised concrete foundation with a porch where you could sit and look at the view. This was one unit. We stayed at Ngalawa camp, the camp was basic, electricity for 2-3 hours at night and sometimes an hour in the very early morning. At night you lie in bed listening to the bush babies making a ruckus in the trees outside. No AC. The food was good, the service was good. Our guide was great, this man man did his best to please us, but what I admire the most is that he wanted us to leave nature untouched, we were not allowed to feed the animals neither in camp nor on tour, and this is such an important attitude if we are to safely watch nature close up. Ive seen so many horrible examples of feeding bread, fruit and even plastic to get animals close. Also, going back we had a severe breakdown of the car. The guide made sure we were as comfortable as possible while he tried to have the car fixed. When he knew he had to go to Dar es Salaam (we were stranded in Kibiti) for parts, he made it so we found a driver to take us up together, instead of waiting yet another 3-4 hours for the company to send a car to pick us up. Than way we were home before midnight, late, but justifiable so. We were also stopped in a road block going out of the bush, some youth had organized this. Our guide tackled this very well, talked to them and so we passed without paying (important, because these things should not pay off). I dont remember the homepage of the company we used, but their email is [email protected]
The guide was decent in english, and we ended up spending a full night just talking about life, there and back home for us. To me its extremely important to have good communication ability.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing adventure!
My friends and I went on a 6 day safari. Henry was our customer service consultant. He did an amazing job helping us to decide what options were right for our group and arranging all of the details. Once we were on the road, our guide James was really incredible. Always upbeat and calm. He was really excited to see the animals too and had lots of interesting information to share about the various species of animals and birds. His driving skills really shone when we encountered some unseasonably strong rain that washed out a bridge on our route. He navigated the situation really smoothly, getting us across the river safely with minimal delay (a lot of jeeps were stuck in the mud, so this was no small feat!). Personally, I my favorite accommodations was Tanzania Ndutu Bush Camp. It was really remote and very special, and shockingly luxurious - I really wouldn't call it camping at all. We had an amazing trip because of Henry hard work. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an exciting and safe safari adventure with an experienced guide.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Rwanda and Uganda Tour
I did this 12 days Rwanda golden monkeys, Congo mountain gorillas, Bwindi gorilla trek, Queen and Kibale Safaris on February 12th, 2018, with Trek Gorilla Safaris.
Our driver and guide, Wilson, was amazing. He was very knowledgeable, friendly with a great sense of humor, punctual and professional.
A lot of driving was involved but he helped to fill the long journeys with many interesting facts and historical information about the areas we were driving through. He kept the group interested and laughing with his stories and jokes. Mountain Gorillas were the highlight of our trip.
The golden monkeys in Rwanda were stunning. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi, though hectic, was really a good experience. This was a highly memorable trip where I checked off several items from my bucket list.
I recommend this Safari for anyone planning to visit Africa.
US
Unforgetable Safari with Outstanding Company & Excelent Guide!
Because there is more park it going and they safe and good hospitality
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well vested with his job.
Their communication skills are very good.They explain to you very well in any activity you want to take part and make sure that you are comfortable. Will always trust them when it comes to planning my vacatio.