DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Kibale National Park by Victoria
Chimpanzees and monkeys galore in Kibale! The trekking here isn't as tough as Bwindi and seeing the chimpanzees in the wild is such a fun experience. They're fascinating to watch.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Challenging Yet Rewarding Adventure
When I decided to visit Bwindi to track to the mountain gorillas, I expected it to be fairly challenging, but as luck would have it, it was much tougher than anticipated. We stayed at Lake Mutanda Resort, a small camp about a 90 minute drive from Bwindi's southern Rushaga gate. The camp - which involved staying in wooden huts with an astonishing view over the lake and the Virunga volcanoes - was lovely, but staying so far out from the forest meant a very early start to drive on the 'African massage roads' to get to the track briefing point for 8am.
During the briefing, one of UWA's rangers explained to us how the gorilla trek would work, what we should expect, and what we should do when we faced the gorillas. We were also warned that if they discovered we were sick with any airborne illness, we'd be taken back down the mountain, as the gorillas are very susceptible to human illnesses. Each gorilla family has eight permits a day, and on the day we were there, they were completely full. We were assigned to track one of the 'further away' groups, the Kahungye family. This group has 18 members including 3 silverbacks, but would involve a hard hike. We were driven the 25 minutes to our trail starting point and then had to walk up the side of the mountain for an hour to reach the edge of the forest. The views were remarkable. Inside the forest, we walked for about an hour more and then we reached the gorilla family. The hour we spent with them was magical. Just being able to quietly observe their behaviour as they sat, eating leaves and picking insects from each others' fur was breath-taking. It also felt quite adventurous, with our rangers hacking at the dense vegetation (and it really is dense) to get us closer to various family members. At one point, a silverback mock charged us to show his strength and we were left in no doubt about who was the boss!
The walk back was equally as challenging because by this point, we were out of energy and my legs were feeling sore. The guide gave us a 30 minute lunch break to refuel and recover before we slogged back through the rainforest. As we came out of the trees onto the side of the mountain, we were greeted with a stunning view of the Virunga volcanoes. The weather for the entire trek was warm and sunny, although it was humid in the rainforest and the ground underfoot was slippery in places. On the way down the mountain, we stopped for a mini award ceremony with our guide to receive our certificates and play a hilarious game of 'gorilla charades'.
Our guide was very knowledgeable about the gorillas and the forest, but also very good at reading when the group was struggling and needed a rest. As I was the slowest, he put me at the front so everyone had to walk on my pace. This may have frustrated some of the athletes behind me, but it meant I made it there and back. I also hired a porter, a lovely young girl from a local village, and she carried my bag with all my camera equipment and pulled me up the particularly steep and slippy parts.
All in all, visiting Bwindi was a once in a lifetime experience (although I wouldn't rule out a second experience one day!) Although the hike was tough, there are easier families to access, and if you're prepared, it's certainly achievable. And in any case, the hour you spend with our gorilla cousins is something you will never forget.
US
Review about Kenya by Emma Willium
Kenya has variety of parks and reserves even if you miss something you are eager to see you will definitely find it in another park or reserve
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience!
Our driver Jose was an excellent person and very professional. We really liked the company and its knowledge and culture.
I want also to say that the organisation and the servises provided were satisfying and well scheduled.
All the accomodations were fine, clean and in good proportion of quality/price.
We really liked the Kibo at the Amboseli park.
The only suggestion I may say is to overnight at Lake Nakuru instead of lake Navasha. It would have been a better solution in my opinion also for logistic reasons.
Nevermind we did it great, it is just a personal suggestion for the future to come.
I will reccomend your agency to my friends and if we come back or visit other places closed to Kenya I will ask you for a safari trip organisation.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Uganda by Victoria
Uganda has an abundance of wildlife - from the gorillas in Bwindi to the chimpanzees in KIbale, and then big game in other national parks such as Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls. It's also called the Pearl of Africa for a reason - the scenery is surprising in it's beauty, many parts of the country are so green and lush and the south-western corner around Lake Mutanda has some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. We stayed in a some camps that really gave us that wild 'bush' feeling, complete with hippos and hyenas outside the tent.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
One lekker holiday
We ended up booking our holiday quite late and were lucky enough to find that explendor tours still had time! Best thing that ever happend to us! Stephen and Emily were the best guides we could have wished for! They put in all the time and effort to make it the best holiday we could ever wish for! They were both such a laugh and we genuinely had a fantastic time! Honestly it was like being on holiday with a group of friends! It was a sweet lekker lekker time! We are already thinking about our next trip with Stephen and Emily!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience in an amazing place
Bantu Pathfinders and especially Patson made our trip to Africa an amazing experience. We were able to see the town of Livingstone and explore it, including a visit to the local museum which has some very interesting exhibits, and of course a tour of Victoria Falls which was a definite highlight. Victoria Falls is absolutely beautiful and the locals definitely have a sense of pride about it which you can feel when you interact with them. Then we went on a walking Rhino safari in Mosi-oa-Tunya national park and this was really a once in a lifetime experience. The tour guides were so friendly and knowledgeable and really quite funny. Our day trip to Botswana included a boat cruise safari, lunch, and a game drive safari. All of these were wonderful and again, the tour guides made everything so fun and educational. Everyone on Bantu Pathfinders staff made sure we were comfortable the whole time, so all we had to do was sit back and relax. All of our transports arrived on time. Our hotel (Royal Livingstone) was fantastic. All in all I highly recommend Bantu Pathfinders to anyone who wants to experience this part of the world.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, always on time, a joy to interact with!
All of the guides (Antony, Peter, and Johnson) were wonderful to talk to! They were very knowledgable about all of the animals on the safari as well as things to do/places to eat in the area. Every day they were on time and we arrived at the expected time. We even asked to go visit some special places and they took us there without a problem. In addition, our group had several people going to the airport at different times. Sweet Africa Safaris took us all separately...even one in the middle of the night! Very friendly and hospitable. We even got a welcome bag with a safari hat and a Mesai blanket. The trucks always had bottled water as well.
DK
Super service!
Dickson is the best safari guide and we are so happy for the safari. Charles and Newton gave us the best service!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Peaceful romantic trip
Our travels with Msafiri Travels was great. Our guide, Samuel, was super and the Lodge, Butembo, was ours entirely since we were the only guests ! I recommend this agency since it is 1. local, 2. their customer service is simply amazing. Leina will make sure everything is in order and up to your expectations. Strongly suggested !