CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Product and Personality
I just returned from a week safari in Uganda including gorilla trek in Bwindi all booked with Gorillas Homeland Safaris. As a traveller, mist people look for two things... Product and Personality. Gorillas Homeland Safaris excelled on both counts. The scenery was stunning, the animals were fascinating, and the people of Uganda were wonderful.
My personal guides/drive surpassed expectations. From the warm wonderful smiles greeting me at the airport, through our informative game drives, Davis and Meddy made sure I had a great time.
I loved the excitement of seeing the tree climbing lions in the branches right over our vehicle; of seeing all the hippos in the river channel and water holes; of the elephants crossing ahead and behind our vehicle.
The trek to see the gorillas was challenging for me as this trip was scheduled right between two cancer surgeries but I had the best guide and porter in Bwindi and was rescued by a motorcycle drive part way down. Thank you, my knight!
Being in the presence of the gorilla family was both exciting and peaceful. You could see the different personalities in each of them. Enchanting!
I left my heart in Uganda.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our first trip in January 2017 was so great we returned in June and are going back a third time.
When we moved to Swaziland we knew we'd be close to Kruger and we figured we'd make one or two trips before our time in this part of the world came to an end. What we didn't plan on was how much we enjoyed our first trip there (in January 2017). Because of this trip there was a second one in June, and another upcoming trip confirmed for December.
For the January trip, a three night stay, we opted to stay inside the park at Skukuza and we didn't regret this decision. The self-catering accommodation was comfortable, well built, located next to a river allowing for additional sightings of wild game, and secure. The weather was great for two of the days and a bit misty and rainy on the other, but that didn't slow us down. In fact, due to the recent history with the drought we enjoyed a bit of rain.
One distinct advantage of being inside the park is the ability to begin your touring earlier than those looking to come in from the outside. Despite having the option to join a guided tour we self-drove all weekend as it gave us flexibility and our own vehicle was better suited for my elderly father who accompanied us. One benefit of taking a guided tour is they know where the animals tend to hang out and they use radios to communicate.
Despite the fact we blindly drove around for two full days and half of a third we saw a large variety of animals and birds. People asked us, "Did you see the big five?", as if that was the goal. Our goal was to experience the park, see what we could see, and enjoy the memories that came along as a result. We saw four of the big five (missed a cheetah) but my lasting memory will be the two male kudus fighting for territory or a female on the other side of the river as we relaxed at the end of the day. A large herd of elephants crossing the same river the day before is also a lasting memory. On day two we had a young, solitary, bull elephant diplomatically tell us to back up was a bit of a wake up call that perhaps we shouldn't have lingered as long as we did taking his picture. I guess he didn't like paparazzi. These are the memories we went looking for and we found them.
I'm not much of a birder, but after you've photographed the big game, you start looking for something different. If you're a birder there's plenty there. The hornbill sifting through elephant feces remains my favorite from the first trip.
It's difficult for me to be enamored with the scenery at Kruger because I've been to places that are much more scenic. You don't really go to Kruger for the scenery, you go to see wildlife. The topography is unremarkable when compared to other parts of Mpumalanga Province.
Lastly, we had the opportunity to engage with other tourists and we found several who had a similar mindset and outlook about the pace as we did. In fact, everyone we spoke to was pleasant, relaxed, and willing to engage. You will meet people from all over the world there, and there's a reason for that, it's simply worth going to see.
LT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Karolis Kaminskas
We saw Big 5. Driver was amazing and nature is unforgetable. One of my top experiences. Highly recommended.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Mbabane Mike
I don't have enough time in other parks to rate them. In fact I haven't been to any of these listed below...yet. But we do love going to Mpumalanga province for vacation. The scenery is fantastic.
LT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safaris are great, cities are not that exciting.
Wildlife safari, was one of the best experiences in my lifetime.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wildlife & scenic beauty mixed in a blend
Our trip to SA was hassle free. From booking till we departed it was easy convenient & satisfying. Primarily we went for wildlife & we saw all the big 5 just in the 4 hrs of drive through the jungles of kruger. I was a bit annoyed with our guide because he was not giving us much time to click pictures & he was rather interested in showing us as much animals as he can. He was right in his own way, but our trip was primarily a photographing the wildlife. But it was still ok for us because we spotted almost everything.
I thank staff of Safarbookings.com as well as staffs of the lodge Sabie river bush lodge who we very hospitable during our stay. Our safari guide was unique he made us spot many animals, special thanks yo him
UA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
everything was great!
We all really liked it. I'd like to travel more. I'd like to see other parks
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic safari, everything perfect organised!
This was our second safari with Makasa and again we had a fantastic trip. Thank you Selma for the pleasant contact and your good suggestions for our trip. The tented camps in the Serengeti were a great experience. Also many thanks to Humphrey, our driver/guide. With him we saw the wildebeast crossing and two Leopards mating. We will never forget it. We can recommend Makasa to everyone!
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a magic experience. We saw a lot of animals and the guide was really fantastic
We are satisfied. We like the places where whe were during the safari, expecially the camp in the Serengeti
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic. Once Mama Savana, Always Mama Savana!!!!
We get all the information we need . Nice people with much experience. Our guide spoke good English. He was a very kind person, always well disposed and punctual like a Swiss watch. All expectations were exceeded. The hotels were good but fastastic were all the camps and all their staff. We will Never forget this Safari . Thank You very much to all of you.
Jambo...Jambo Bwana
Habari Gani...Mzuri Sana
Wageni, mwakaribishwa
Tansania Yeto...Hakuna Matata!!!!