35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing South African Safari thanks to African Welcome Safaris
We recently returned from a 3 week safari in South Africa booked with the assistance of Kathi from African Welcome Safaris. I cannot praise Kathi highly enough - she designed a custom itinerary for us which included a complex array of transfers, flights and accommodation and everything went very smoothly. During the booking process, she gave excellent advice on itinerary choices and was incredibly prompt to get back to us with any information or bookings we requested.
This is our second time booking through African Welcome Safaris (fourth time travelling to Africa), and as an Australian I would encourage Aussies to consider booking through a local operator - we were able to save a very significant amount of money compared to when we have travelled with an Australian based agency, plus Kathi's local knowledge was far superior and made the transfers/itinerary far more efficient than we have experienced in the past with other agencies.
Because we had specific animals in mind on this trip, we went to Phinda Forest and Mountain Lodge in Kwa Zulu Natal, and Ngala Safari Lodge, Kirkman's Kamp, and Arathusa in the Kruger area. The lodges and staff in all locations were absolutely fantastic and I can highly recommend them all. There were pros and cons to the game viewing in South Africa- the density of game was very sparse compared to Kenya or Tanzania, however being private reserves, we were able to go off-road and get very close to the animals we particularly wanted to see (Leopard, Cheetah, Black Rhino and African Wild Dogs). So we were able to get great photos of these animals which we are very thankful for, but we did miss the sheer volume of the other animals (zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, elephants, various antelope etc) that we have seen on other safaris.
Overall we had a fantastic experience thanks to Kathi at African Welcome Safaris and highly recommend her, along with &Beyond lodges.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible value, friendly service, and a vacation I'll remember forever!
I just came back from a three-day Masai Mara safari operated by Safe Ride. I had selected them mainly on price, and was originally a bit worried that it would not be a comfortable or "authentic" safari experience. These concerns were completely misplaced - it was wonderful!
From beginning to end the entire experience was completely professional. Every email was answered clearly and promptly. We were picked up at our hotel right on time. Paying was easy, our driver Joseph was extremely friendly, and knew all of the animals. Actually, Joseph was incredible - 20 years experience on safari... a real pro, with a friendly attitude and nice laugh!
The tent-style accommodations at the Manyata camp were rustic, but clean and totally adequate. Basically, it's a concrete floor with thick canvas walls, and a roof canopy that goes over the canvas tent roof and provides plenty of shade and protection. No water leakage in spite of torrential rains overnight. The in-tent showers were hot, the beds were comfortable. Actually, I would feel like kind of a phony to be in one of the luxury-type places on safari. (Come on... you're doing this whole thing to experience the wilderness, do you really need high thread-count sheets and a polished brass washbasin?) The food was simple but hot, filling and plentiful.
There were four in our group, and we were matched up with a group of three other travelers, and one solo. We really enjoyed the extra company, especially because some of the other travelers were native Kenyans who helped us to bargain hunt for souvenirs.
We were especially grateful that safe ride operated a four-wheel-drive vehicle, because several of the other companies did not, and they got stuck in mud that arose due to rainy conditions. The vehicle also provided excellent views of the wildlife -- it had a pop-up roof that seems to be the norm among the other vehicles we saw in the park.
In conclusion: our experience was worth every penny that we paid. The kids loved it, we were well looked after, and I highly recommend the experience.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ecellent Best of Kenya Safari Eperience With apersonal touch!!
Want the best of safari experience that meets your desires and delivers to your expectations? Then superscript Africa safari and her team of excellent professionals is the company to walk you to the wild for an excellent wildlife safari experience.
We are a group of 42 students taking our research at edgerton university and then decided to have a taste of the African/kenya has to offer. We Gore to Simon milanbo through recommendation from my two great friends from Netherlands who had a safari experience with this mighty company.
Simon was very helpfully in array gong our 6days best of kenya luxury safari,vety swift in his mail responses giving detail by detail,flexible and most importantly the safari cost is very pocket friendly.
The massive Mara accommodation at the solar lodges was excellent and our guide phanuel and Derick were the best guides we could ever had for the entire trip. Very flexible, have great passion and love for their job. Very knowledgeable and explained everything into details leaving nothing untouchable from insects, birds,trees and animals. At some point we felt like we were taken back to the lecture room that was very much I.portant to us as it was online with our research topic.
We were the first to get to the animals,have best shots and then derick would communicate to the others to come have a shot too.
We saw almost all the big five just in one day and the rest of the day was just like a bonus. Each and every day we did get to learn something new.
Trip to lake nakuru/Naivasha was excellent,the accommodatio ns were excellent and located right at the heart of the park, we got so close to the Animals on foot in lake naivasha on a walking safari,bicycle ridind and more amazing part of it was the boat ride to the crescent island which is a paradise on its own.
The trip was amazing,excellent,very much accommodating team of staff full of great sence of humour.
Wildrace Africa exceeded our expectation and sure will always recommend this company for their kind and excellent work.
Keep it up Simon, when we get back home, we will send you our group in April 2016.
God bless you and your entire team till we meet again.
Cheers!
KW
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and Fun
We just finished a 5 days-4 nights safari including Norongoro, Serengeti and Ndutu areas. We loved our experience. We were 5, including 2 children (9 and 14). Our guide-driver, Edgar, was absolutely outstanding. He was knowledgeable, friendly and caring. The owner, Richard, was also dedicated and strives for excellence in customer service. We strongly recommend this operator for taking care of your safari. We have lovely memories, because we could focus on the purpose of our stay. We were also impressed by he professionalism of this operator
CA
Review about Tanzania by Elaine
Tanzania has so much to offer as a safari destination and visitors have the opportunity to see so much wildlife and bird life. The landscape is more beautiful than I had imagined, with the lovely shaped acacia trees to the more exotic looking baobab and euphorbia trees. Sunrises and sunsets are incredible. We were also very fortunate to be able to see the wildebeest crossing the Mara River.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip ever !!
My husband and I just got back from a 10 day Safari In Tanzania. Shadow's of Africa was the company we used and we couldn't be happier. They were very professional and always there for us when we had questions. This was our first Safari and definitely not the last and I would book with them again, they were so helpful in finding something that was good for us , making us feel so comfortable through the whole process. We enjoyed everything about our trip, we saw amazing wildlife and a lot of it , our guide was fantastic,the food was good everywhere and the lodges were all amazing. We had been wanting to do A Safari for a long time and this was above all expectations. Don't wait and book ur trip !!
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Excellent trip organized by Kenya Walking Safaris.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was Amazing To have them With Us
These Guys were amazing throughout the tour of Safari. they Did what they promised to do, A very Warm Hospitality we got from them. I am very happy with Otieno and The Guide Sammy(WOW) the best guide i ever had ;) amazing . Guys May you have a wonderful Future and i promise to have you on board whenever i visit Safari again and want Sammi also as a guide ... Wuhhu..
GOD Bless you
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
One day in Tarangire
I spent a night and a day in the Tarangire National Park in late August. The park is very beautiful and rich in animal species. Countless are the presence of species of birds, in particular, I noted the inseparable black face. Also thick is the presence of elephants and wildebeest. And 'here, after so much time in Africa, I observed a pair of cheetahs. To note the beautiful view from the picnic area with the background of the Tarangire River at sunset. Must see.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a fascinating experience, with a great variety of wildlife to photograph and admire.
Addo Elephant National Park, is a must see park on any visit to South Africa. It may not hold the Big Five, but it provides visitors the ability to see a huge variety of resident wildlife in a superb setting. Getting about inside the park is easy, on well maintained tracks open to all visitors and other private tracks for use by park staff, who will guide you see the stars of the park, in open backed vehicles.
On our trip there, we had three game drives, two in our own vehicle, which was superb as we were able to go anywhere we wanted, on the public tracks and able to take as much time as we wanted in one place. The third game drive we did in the evening as the sun was going down and was in one of the open backed park vehicles. Our guide CJ was fantastic, a very funny guy with a great knowledge of the park and it's residents. He introduced us to Melvin and Gibson, two adult male Lions, who were snoozing off a large meal they had recently eaten, a wonderful experience. Part of this drive included a picnic, set up by the driver/guide who got us close to Elephants to watch as we tucked into our food and drinks. I would highly recommended this organised game drive, worth every penny.
They have a super restuarant, shop and area explaining what you might see in the park.
The scenery is amazing too, vast expanses of grass and scrubland to drive around, with plenty of contours to allow different views.