FI
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Definitely a 5-star experience
Madi's kind, patient and professional attitude was amazing. All questions during the booking phase were answered swiftly and in detail. All our arrangements worked out as planned, we faced no hick-ups along the road at all. Our safari guide, Simon, was truly special. The game drives were great and Simon's inspiring attitude made our visit to the Kruger national park truly special. Last but not least, he can cook a great meal as well. We can recommend Wild Wings Safaris to anybody who's looking for that special experience in South Africa. We will certainly not hesitate to book with them again on a next occasion.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
professional knowledgeable great company!
The communication services and the tour itself was amazing ... coming back again but will fly to the mountains next time... would have liked to spend more time in the mountain s and less time driving... otherwise spectacular.
PH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The whole experience was fantastic. Highly recommended.
It was great and very easy. No hassle and everything was organized properly.. Beyond my expectations.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great and wonderful experience
Karibu safaris has been incredible in helping tourist for arranging tours, accommodation and etc. I have witnessed how Dan our tour guide sorted out professionally for best tour and have gotten him back on tract. Karibu Safari exemplified professionalism, quality & integrity. Dan deserves a high five as well as Karibu Safari... And Highly recommended for my friends and family when I go back to Dubai
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I HAD AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE
The service providers did well to make sure I was comfortable and I got my moneys worth. I hope they can expand their business to other parts of the country because it sure will be so much easier to have them plan my future trip. thank you. Asante Sana TOUCH THE MOON :)
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Total comfort and enthralment as we explored the many mysteries of the African bush.
What a great experience our Botswana safari was. Our guides infatuation with the bush and love of the animals was contagious. Their knowledge and respect of the animals was evident in everything they did. Their attention to detail and the way they organized the safari was simply perfect. When we decided to do a safari in Africa we couldn't have imagined how amazing the experience could be? A trip we will never forget.
Highly recommended.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceptional Kilimanjaro Trek and Northern Circuit Safari Honeymoon
My husband and I started planning our honeymoon adventure in Tanzania well over a year in advance. We ended up spending 5 weeks in Tanzania of which about 3.5 weeks were planned by African Scenic Safaris. The first part of our trip was to be an attempt at summiting Mount Kilimanjaro - I started my search for a tour operator by initially looking through the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project website to ensure fair treatment for the staff who would be guiding us up the mountain. I further narrowed my search by Tanzanian owned/operated companies and sent a few emails out to see what kind of itineraries/budgets would potentially work. I hoping to use the same operator for a safari, but it all depended on how logistics/quality worked out.
From the very first reply I received from Amanda I knew we would be booking our trip through African Scenic Safaris. She made the process seamless and was amazing about giving me different ideas of what would work within our budget and time frame. We ended up booking a 9-day trek up the Northern Route of Kilimanjaro and a 10-day Northern Circuit safari with them. Amanda planned everything to near perfection and was so responsive through the whole process with all of my silly questions. It was an absolute pleasure to work with her and her staff. It is always a little scary to send over big deposits to a company you find on the internet, but I felt so comfortable with Amanda I never really questioned it. If you have any concerns please feel free to message me on here so I may personally vouch for what an incredible company you are booking with.
KILIMANJARO: We decided on the 9-day Northern Route as we were hoping for a less crowded climb and at the time we were living at sea level so were concerned about our ability to acclimatize. Our Kilimanjaro climb was led by head guide Antipas and his assistant guide Juma. To be honest, I do not know if I would have made it to the summit with any other group. The level of expertise and leadership these two showed was beyond exceptional. I will say we were by far the slowest group on the mountain, but while every other group was taking lengthy rest breaks every 30 minutes we were steadily moving past them without losing our breath once (until summit day!).
Antipas is not only a wonderful guide, but he treats his porters/staff with such respect while also expecting them to all do their jobs well. I’ve never heard a group of porters talk more highly of their leader or of their employer. Both Antipas and African Scenic Safaris as a whole are such supporters of their staff from the ground up through encouraging further schooling and setting them up personal savings accounts. They are truly interested in making the porter’s lives better and it shows through their enthusiasm to be the best at their jobs. It was a wonderful thing to see.
In regards to the climb itself, each day was new gorgeous scenery and varying terrain. Our trek started at Lemosho gate and the camps on that side of the mountain were much smaller than the ones we saw heading down the other side. Our hike started in the rainforest which was full of stunning flowers and colobus moneys. The moorlands, or low alpine region, was my favorite with the low vegetation, but beautiful scenery and unexpected colorful flowers. I will say for the ladies it got increasingly hard to find a good bathroom rest spot once you got into this zone though! The high alpine zone turns a little more desolate, but the views of Kibo are astonishing particularly first thing in the morning. It may be frigid outside when you get out of your tent, but the cloudless peak of Kilimanjaro is completely worth those freezing moments. The beauty of those mornings are something I’ll never forget.
Summit day is by far the hardest day and probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever done. We left early, around 11 pm, so we could go our slow steady pace up the mountain. The vertical switch backs are insane and your muscles are screaming from lack of oxygen, but that all goes away when you make it to Gilman’s point and you are staring down into the crater. It was still a good walk from there, but so much easier. At first I was actually a little disappointed as I thought we would end up summiting in the dark because we left early, but true to Antipas’ superb expertise we literally approached the summit as the first shimmers of the sun swept over the crater. It was a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
Summit day does not end with summiting though and quite unfortunately on my way down I succumbed to a stomach bug, though at the time we thought it was altitude related. Antipas if you’re reading this now we know why I had such a hard time! I in no way blame the group for my stomach bug – you try to be as sanitary as you can on the mountain, but you never know what germs you’re touching and it could have been something as simple as a high five to someone who didn’t wash hands properly. Regardless I cannot stress hand sanitizer enough. It was the painstaking descent that showed the true colors of this staff – they cared deeply that I make it down safely and although had to push me hard at times it was out of true concern for my well-being. It pains me to admit this, but two people at a time had to literally help me go down one under each arm pit. Nearly all of the porter staff took turns helping me down, but allowed me to walk into camp unaided to save my wounded pride. They are all absolutely amazing human beings. In all, you could not pick a better Kilimanjaro trekking company from planning/logistics to the actual execution. I cannot vouch for the other guides African Scenic Safaris employs, but if they are anything like Antipas and Juma you certainly know you are in the best hands possible. You will be so glad you booked with them.
SAFARI: After resting for 4 days in Moshi we headed off for my most anticipated portion of the trip: our Northern Circuit Safari. Our guide for the trip was Rasheed and our cook was Omari. With the length of our trip as a whole we opted for a budget camping safari which was such a great experience. I will note the travel times between parks can sometimes be very long and hot, but seeing the scenery between destinations is just as much a part of the journey and gives you a real sense of the realities of people’s lives in Tanzania. We visited Tarangire, Lake Eyasi, Ngorongoro, Ndutu, Serengeti, and Lake Natron. Tarangire and Serengeti were certainly my favorites, but each place was special in their own rights.
Rasheed, our guide, was the most amazing naturalist! He knows more about animals than anyone I’ve ever met which is saying quite a bit I can assure you. Anything we asked him he had a solid answer for and you can see how much he truly loves wildlife. In multiple situations he was able to anticipate the movements of animals and get us ahead of all the other vehicles. I am an amateur photographer and Rasheed was absolutely essential in my getting some amazing shots on this trip. He knows exactly how to position the vehicle for the optimal light and angle. If you are a professional or amateur photographer, Rasheed is your man hands down. Look no further than specifically asking for him! You will not regret it.
Omari, our cook, was extremely skilled at what he does and we always looked forward to our meals from him. You can tell he has a passion for cooking and takes a lot of pride in his work. We had been in Africa for 5 weeks prior to this safari and I can without a doubt say Omari made consistently the best meals of our entire trip. Considering he was cooking over an open flame at camp sites instead of in a fully stocked kitchen you have to see how talented he is. I mean the guy literally made a flan and pizza for us from scratch in the bush. That’s spectacular.
Over the course of the safari we saw nearly every animal we were hoping to see and some. The big cats of Ndutu were incredible and getting to be in the mix of elephants in both Tarangire and Serengeti was a once in a lifetime experience. We even got to see 2 rhinos in Ngorongoro -which was all thanks to Rasheed’s quick response to a radio call. Otherwise we would have missed them completely. The diversity of the wildlife in Tanzania will truly astound you and you will not find a better company to design and carry out your trip than African Scenic Safaris.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very friendly and professional
From the first contact the staff was very quick to respond to emails. The staff is highly knowledgeable, excellent interpersonal skills. Touch the moon made my holiday beautiful and without any stress. They sorted out my hotel booking as well as activities. I was truly impressed with their services. I will definitely work with them on my next holiday .
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A safari to remember!
Dancing Zebra was extremely helpful when arranging our safari in Tanzania. We had multiple locations and schedules to arrange and Jessica Matthews managed it all. We stayed at Dunia Camp in the Serengeti and Gibbs Farm near the Ngorongoro Crater. Both properties were magnificent. The Camp was beautiful, comfortable, and provided a wonderful place to return to each night after days of exciting game drives.
The camp is managed by women and their attention to detail for meals, service and accommodations was superb.
Gibbs Farm was beautiful and charming. The tour of the gardens, farm and coffee plantation was a wonderful addition to our safari schedule. Meals were delicious, prepared from fresh produce from the farm. The "cottages" were well appointed, complete with a fireplace that provided a cozy ambiance each night.
We cannot say enough about our guide Alfred. He was professional, expert and engaging. I am sure that everyone thinks that their guide is the best, but Alfred truly was! He could spot game from what seemed like a mile away, was knowledgeable about plants, animals, the skies, and customs. He was patient, allowing and encouraging us to linger, watch the behavior of the animals and not simply check off the animals in our viewing book. This was our third safari experience in Africa and the first time we had the same guide for multiple locations. We all agreed that it was the best experience.