US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A breathtaking experience
First of all, I would like to thank our amazing driver and guide mr Raymond. because of him we had an incredible safari and very close up experience with the big five. Not only is Raymond very knowledge of the park, but he is also very well connected with his colleagues and as result of that we were in the front row and saw a lot of animals. we were able to take great photos too. This safari has been years in the making for me and my family and Raymond made it the best most memorable experience. I would highly recommend Karibu safari in Kenya.
CA
Experience level: first safari
Rock, Rattle and Roll
I have to say that Wildebeest was a disappointment for sure. Communication before our trip was excellent. I checked references and all was great. However, following our trip, and before writing this review, I gave Noah, the owner, a chance to respond privately to my concerns and he said he would look into it, but I have not heard anything.
1. Itinerary
My instructions about what we wanted was the Big 5 and the Migration. We did not see the Big 5--missed the rhino. We understood that seeing the actual crossing of the wildebeest is not guaranteed. However, I think that too many days were scheduled to try and see the crossing both in the Mara and the Northern Serengeti. We would have been better off remaining in the Mara for another day, rather than spending a day travelling to the Northern Serengeti--essentially wasted time. We saw thousands of wildebeests, but they did not cross when we were there. It was a very expensive part of the trip and I think, having had the experience, we would have been happy with just the Mara and skipped the northern Serengeti. As i said, it took a lot of travel time, and waiting around for hours on end, for the second time, became a bit boring. The other animals were not plentiful, the accommodations were not good. It also have been better spending more time in the central Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We had less than one day of viewing in each of them and in Ngorongoro we paid extra to extend our viewing in the crater as we were only scheduled for 3 hours. It was very badly planned in this respect. Also, I would recommend staying a second night in Ngorongoro, despite some extra costs. Again, we felt that we had too much wasted time travelling to a second lodge.
2. Vehicles
We had a number of concerns about the vehicles used. The first one, in the Mara, was okay, but the seats were permanently reclined--so not wonderful, but it was only a couple of days. The second vehicle which we had for 6 or 7 days was not up to par. We rocked, rattled and rolled---and though we did survive without a breakdown, the vehicle was below standards. It was old and literally rattled all the time so it was impossible to hear the guide unless you were sitting beside him. There were no seat belts in rear seats--which we believe was not legal. The windows did not operate well and were old and blurry--not good for viewing. The walkie talkie was not fully operational--and we think this had a significant impact on communications resulting in less viewings. We will never know! There was no cooler and water supplied was in huge bottles that got warm and were covered in dust. I had inquired from Noah about an air conditioned vehicle and was told it was not necessary because it was not the hot season. This was not correct. There were parts of the journey that we would have definitely closed the windows to avoid the dirt and dust, and this was not possible without the air conditioning, which was not working in the vehicle.
3. Accommodation
Our accommodation were all very nice except the Northern Serengeti where we were lodged in the Angata Migration Camp. The facilities were a bit too basic--not even an hand towel in the public bathroom and only tissue with no waste basket--kind of ridiculous in a place that was billed as "luxury". Also no hand towels in the room, rough floors, and extremely poor lighting. But most significant was that the bed netting was poor, it had holes and was dirty. This is in an area of the Tse Tse, so I spent 15 minutes every night re-arranging the netting. Food was okay at most places, but lunch boxes were not the greatest.
4. Guide/Drivers
We had two different guides. Eustice, in Kenya was very personable. knowledgeable, helpful, but very strict about rules, which we cannot hold against him! In Tanzania, our guide, who was a contractor, was very knowledgeable, but we had to ask questions to get the information. He was quite serious in personality and our main concern with him was his extreme confidence in himself which we felt prevented him from getting information from others. He also, without informing us, decided not to go to see some rhinos that were reported spotted, thinking they were too far away. He did not consult us and others at our camp were able to view them. He told us after we were back in camp! In the end, we never did see the rhino, and we do have some resentment over this. We would have said to go to see them for sure.
BR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
excellent planning and support service
I am very impressed with their professionalism and responsiveness. I got helped during the planning (6 months before) and the keep up following in all the steps. Also very good respond of all my inquiries during the time I was traveling.
US
The only way to experience the bush and animals!
My husband booked us into 2 Essential Destinations camps: Mdonya Old River in Ruaha and Lake Manze in Selous Game Reserve. It was an amazing adventure. I did not want an experience of crowds, competing for sights and space, high maintenance group concerned with material things and appearances, or a setting of disrespect for the environment. These 2 camps were amazing offering us our own flush toilets and showers, lovely tents, romantic candles and lanterns, companionship if wanted and privacy if wanted, incredibly creative and delicious food, and the best views of animals ever. The staff at both camps were friendly, kind, caring, walking encyclopedias of knowledge and they tailored our game drives to what we hoped to see. We learned an amazing amount about every animal, plants, the basics in tracking, identification of similar species and gender, and even droppings. I loved that just my husband and I were in the vehicle with a driver and guide (although the drivers are most likely also guides-not sure but very knowledgeable). Two sets of trained eyes are better than one. I was thankful for the open vehicle. I saw other game drives from different camps and noted that they were sweltering in a closed vehicle with only a driver (one set of trained eyes who is also driving) and had to stand up and look out of the roof to see, not my idea of a good experience. I loved the sights and practical and entertaining info. Leave your windows open to see and hear more animals in your cozy and lovely tent.
We loved every minute.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome safari, with afterwards an ok stay at Zanzibar
We went for a 6 day safari to Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and the Ngorongoro crater. Aferwards, we stayed at Zanzibar for about 6 nights.
We had an awesome safari with Shemeji! Our guide Harun and cook Isaack were both excellent at their jobs. Harun drove perfectly, told us a lot about the parks we went too and the animals we saw, put us (the customer) as his first priority (he stopped everywhere we wanted), has a very good sence of humor, is excellent English speaking (also very important!). Just. Awesome. Isaack was able to cook anything, breakfasts where good, lunches always nice and the evening dinner delicious. And the hamburger on the last day with some fries, yum. He was also a very cool guy, had a very good sence of humor, also excellent English speaking and always helpful. The parks were very beautiful, the animals so awesome and Harun and Isaack very cool guys. We wouldn't miss this trip for the world and thank them once more for the amazing safari!
However, the Green Mountain Hotel (overnight stay at Arusha) was ok. Don't expect luxury, just basics. Our time at Zanzibar was also very nice. Beautiful white beaches and a very blue sea. Mbuyuni Beach Village had lots of places to hangout and the lunch / dinner menu was always different. However, don't expect luxury here also, but just the basics. Some things could be much better, like the bed, sheets and some other things. The personnel however was always friendly, helpful and fun. Unfortunately, the same music is played every night and the food isn't always that good.
So, overall we had a good experience with Shemeji. The safari was awesome, our stay at the hotels ok. I would recommend Shemeji (and especially Harun and Isaack) to anyone! However, maybe choose your own hotels when you need some more luxury. Otherwise, these ones are just fine. Shemeji, thanks once more!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Self-drive trip to Namibia
We have just returned from a 2 1/2 week trip around Namibia organised by Simon at Native Escapes. The holiday exceeded our expectations in every way. Right from our initial conversations with Simon about what we'd like to do, Native Escapes gave us a range of flexible options and patiently went through each location in terms of accommodation, things to do, travel between locations etc... Emails were always promptly responded to and no question was too much trouble. All the documentation, itinerary etc. was very clear, the route and maps were very helpful and the on-the-ground agent, ATI, was v helpful providing local mobile phone, first aid kit, and even a cool box and ice blocks. One of our party had a specific dietary requirement which was recognised at every point from the airline flights to each lodge we stayed in. Finally the overall cost was very competitive when compared to some of the other big brand operators who offered exactly the same package (we know coz we met some of their clients at the lodges we stayed at). So thank you Simon and Native Escapes for a brilliant holiday and all your help in organising it.
Very helpful and timely
Communications with us were very good .A couple of minor points to make it even better.
1.The "local payment" requirement by the tour operator Jenman and its $Aust amount was not highlighted and should be added into the base cost.
Service to us was excellent including sorting out gluten free meals for flights.
2.Unfortunately our guide had not been informed despite our application clearly stating the allergy.Not sure if the failure was with the tour operator.
Tour certainly lived up to expectations with a great itinerary,excellent guide and wonderfull experiences.
A fantastic experience .Thanks .
TR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great team to organize safari and holiday packages in East Africa.
I have just return from a safari tour package including Kenya & Tanzanya safari parks and Zanzibar I bought from Kenya Walk . It was really really a beautiful experience . The tour was well organized and we did not live any problems .We enjoyed every minutes of this tour. Kenya Walk is a trustworthy and responsible company .I would like to thank Mr.Otieno who helped us to organize this 15 days itinerary and made all the changes according to our needs and demands .Also Mr. Peter , our driver/guide in Kenya and Mr.Ramadan our driver/guide in Tanzania did their best to make us happy and comfortable in our safari trip .Really a great team .I strongly suggest this company .
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional company and Robert was very happy to explore options for us.
Wild Africa was a very profession friendly company to deal with. Robert promptly attended to our enquiries and investigated issues he did not immediately know the answers to. The trip was an amazing experience and well organised.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What a trip!
Hi Liselle,
I would like to thank you for organising a fantastic trip to South Africa. We all had an amazing time. The hotels in Cape Town and Franschhoek were great. Great staff and wonderful rooms. And the safari at Umkumbe was out of this world. Saw everything we wanted to except for a rhino. But that’s not a problem, as it gives us incentive to do it all again someday. The guides at Umkumbe were brilliant. So knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. This was a family holiday we will never forget.