20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We went to Tarangire National Park. We went camping with about 10 others.
We had a wonderful time at Tarangire National Park in Tanzania with Dusty Roads Adventures & Tours. These were some of the highlights:
1) Our guide drove safely. He had good English and was easy to communicate with- friendly and thoughtful in conversation. In addition, he could teach us some things about the wildlife in the park, which was great.
2) The food was good. Simple, yet delicious.
3) We arrived on a Friday afternoon. On arrival at the camp site, we drove by a herd of elephants that was in sight of the camp site. That was really cool! Then, we went on a game drive. When we returned, our tents had been set up for us at the camp site and food was ready for us :). We then had dinner and went to sleep in the tents.
4) We saw lots of animals- lots of elephants, big and small, the shy dik-dik antelopes, zebra, wildebeest, antelopes of different varieties, and many beautiful birds.
5) We also felt that this trip was reasonably priced.
BY
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A mixed experience
We opted for a 5 days private reserve tour + Panorama route with RedAfrica.
Overall, we have to highlight that it was very pleasant to spend time in Jaco’s company: he is a highly dedicated and motivated person eager to do his best to share his passion of nature and his knowledge. We greatly enjoyed our exchanges with him throughout the trip and his respectful attitude towards us.
The first part of our tour – the gorgeous landscapes that we saw along the Panorama route – was just great.
However, the private reserve part of the tour was unfortunately disappointing: the area, which was described as located in the Greater Kruger ecosystem and thus hosting the same animal and bird species, was highly affected by the recent draught, which forced the animals to migrate elsewhere; a factor which we were not aware of prior to our trip. During our stay in the private reserve, we thus saw extremely few animals. Moreover, the information and time management by the reserve staff was not entirely satisfying, which added to our overall frustration.
Afraid of leaving Kruger disappointed, we requested Jaco to change the plan for the last day of our trip and spend it in Kruger proper instead of the private reserve. Luckily, Jaco was flexible and accepted this last minute change. This last day trip (although a rushed one) enabled us to see almost all of the Big Five in one day and somehow compensated for the frustration related to the impossibility to see animals during the previous days.
NZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent gorilla tracking trip
Fantastic experience with awesome staff! As a student, encounter safaris was the only operator who was able to offer an affordable price for the gorilla tracking trip in bwindi penetrable forest. Chris, the man we dealt with though the internet was speedy with his replies and provided all the required information. When we arrived they went above and beyond the call of duty by booking us an extra nights accommodation for no extra charge instead of letting us sleep at the airport as we had planned to save costs! Joseph our guide was fun and hilarious and even spent an extra day with us showing us around Entebbe while we waited for our flight. The accommodation at broadbill camp was excellent with great food, and Emmy the owner, an expert birdwatcher gave us a free walking tour to find chamelons and bee eater birds. All round an unforgettable one in a lifetime experience. Thank you so much encounter!
SA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent and enjoyable
African Budget Safari is very responsive to all my questions before the trip. During my trip, the staff were very courteous and professional. They ensured our safari experience were enjoyable and safe and made sure we get to see all the animals. I could not ask for a better experience.
Their services before and after the safari were excellent. I highly recommend them.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
One of my best safari experiences ever!
Considering the fact that i had arrived at the end of the wet season, i did not expect to see too many animals. My main objective was to enjoy the lush scenery which i had not witnessed in this area of Africa before. We had barely reached camp and we saw elephants trundling quietly through the bush. When we reached camp, i was greeted with a stunning view of the Luangwa river. It was filled with hippos and i even saw a huge crocodile floating with the current as if it was a log. There were vervet monkeys and birds of all varieties inside our camp so i was amazed at how rich this area was for flora and fauna. I even saw pugmarks of big cats around the edges of our campsite. Indicating just how close we were to the African wilderness. This campsite was facing the national park, which was just a few hundred feet away across the river. We were amazed to see hippos climbing out of the river at dusk and come into our camping grounds! They stay closer to shore until we are all inside our tents, and then they can be heard munching grass right next to our tents! A hair raising experience for sure. The next day we went on two game drives, one of which was at night. And we saw so many animals that it was almost impossible to keep a track of all of them. We saw elephants, zebra, monitor lizards, all sorts of birds, lions, giraffes, hippos, hyenas, puku, impala, warthogs to name a few. We were lucky to get very close to some lions who posed for our cameras on trees. There was also an interaction between a hyena and lion, where the hyena unknowingly walked right up to a young male lion and then bolted for its life. But the real highlight was 4 separate leopard sightings on the evening drive! The first sighting was at dusk as we watched a leopard attempting to catch an impala. It got to within twenty five feet but still did not pounce. The Impala suddenly saw it and gave off its alarm call. The leopard stood up and walked off with its tail raised high. The other three sightings were in the night. In one instance we were watching a leopard relaxing next to a bush, when suddenly a huge lion appeared a hundred yards away roaring. The leopard disappeared in a flash. Even our safari guide was shocked and said he had never seen so many big cats during a wet season drive. At least for me, South Luangwa had lived up to its reputation for being the best leopard spotting game park in Africa. There were no rhinos here, though our guide told us it was only a temporary thing. And that they planned to reintroduce them into the park in the future. Another great selling point for South Luangwa was the relative isolation of the place. We never had more than two or three safari jeeps around an animal sighting at any one time. I have been to some of the more famous parks in other African countries, and you can easily have up to twenty vehicles around a popular animal. Our camp was more than good enough for me. Hot showers available at any time, good toilets, clothes washing basins, swimming pool, well stocked bar and plenty of space. It was also good to see electric plug points placed around the campsite. Safari jeeps picked us up from right next to our tents and dropped us back in the same place. Overall i was left feeling very satisfied with my experience here.
BM
The only thing ever on my bucket list, everyone should go!
The Kruger was everything I had dreamt about, and more. I stayed with god friends that live in Jeffrey's Bay and have been several times. We stayed at the Mopani Rest Camp. The accommodation was spotless and even though your neighbors are close, there is plenty of natural bush between them that it is still quite private. The restaurant at the dam has some amazing views. Sunset there is incredible!! Was lovely to just sit there in the evening and watch the birds and look out for other wildlife. We did a night drive, a sunset drive, and a game walk. Amos was our guide on all three (the walk also had Able) he was amazing, funny, informative, professional, polite.
We did self drives days, this was incredible. We saw so many elephants, water buffalo, zebra and all so close. The birding is incredible, not a major birder but getting into it, and coming from Bermuda every bird in South Africa was new. The Kruger helped my bird list reach 118 species spotted! Many of the raptors were easily spotted. We saw jackals and hyena but no big cat, but that didn't impact the joy I got on my trip!
We did visit Letaba for a little while, the river, the different landscape, it was awesome. The fact that you can drive around and see different types of terrain, dry areas of scrub brush, to lush plains. This experience is the best of my life! I hope to return one day and visit more of the Kruger!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Zambia by Shivakumar
Relatively few tourists compared to other African countries
Game viewing easily matches the best parks on the African continent
BM
Review about South Africa by dstylebda- Herb Marshall
We drove from Jeffrey's Bay to the Kruger, I saw so much, it was all so beautiful!
20-35 years of age
5 stars, amazing trip!
I highly recommend Elisha and his team to anyone wanting a great African experience. He is extremely knowledgeable and taught me so much about East Africa as well as making our trip very fun.
Seeing the mountain gorillas in Rwanda was an experience of a life time and I am very grateful for the opportunity to get so close to these amazing animals.
As a solo female traveller i felt completely safe the entire time i was on the trip and was made to feel very welcome. There is so much to see and do in Africa and I would recommend Orange adventures to anyone wanting to make the most of their time on this beautiful continent!
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari
We experienced with Routes Kilimandjaro Adventures the best travel of our life. We travelled in family during two weeks with our guide. Excellent driver, multi languages (English, french, swahili, ...), good kownledge of the wildlife. Each of our demand has been reached. Resultat: unforgetable souvenirs ans photos. Concerning car, no problem, well installed, cold water, coffee, the, electrical plugs for cameras and smartphones. With RKA, we have experienced contact with masai tribute all along the roads of the parks. We have also taken all the time we need to observe the wildlife. Most of time, our guide fund good view angles, quiet place without people. In one word: Excellent. Thanks you for your professionnal !