US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Spiritual Adventure with Popote Africa Aeventure
We are a couple of 71 who summited Mt. K. Sabino and his crew went out of their way to accommodate us in every way possible. We had two guides and ten porters in the mountains who guided us safely to the top. We couldn't have done it without them. I can write a book about them. What an experience we had in Tanzania! They arranged our safari as well as a trip to Tanga area (mountain area and beach). We stayed away from touristy places, as we wanted to experience some local scenery. We did some hiking in these areas as well. Sabino took care of everything; he knew exactly what we wanted. He can make your dream come true. I highly recommend this young company. Their price is reasonable, so we were able tip everyone generously. If you want a local company, this is the best.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Thank youfor the once in a lifetime experience visiting the gorillas and the excellent tour guiding
Arranging a tour through the internet is always a bit risky so I was more than pleasantly surprised by the excellent and dependable service with Rwanda Eco Company and Safaria. We were picked up from our hotel, and escorted on our organized and very exciting trip that had been personally set up to meet our needs and interests. Thankyou for an amazing experience!
Greatest Wildlife Diversity in a Single Location
Of course I missed the Wildbeast migration, but I didn't miss the stylish giraffe walks and lion-gazelle live hunts that I only see in the National Geographic series. The accomodation, food and transportation was all catered for by my travel company, Helinas Safaris. And the memories with the amazing guides are bound to remain intact for the next century or so.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Elephants and hippos galore!
Recently we went to Queen Elizabeth (QE) for the second time in eight years. It's one of Uganda's classic parks and a staple of wildlife tourism. Although my experience of the park is highly suggestive, I can give a perspective. I've been to Murchison, Mburo, and Kidepo several times, and each park has its strengths and weaknesses.
We approached QE from the south where you get a breathtaking view of the park from atop the escarpment. From there on, though, the road deteriorates severely. The tarmac main road through the park toward Kasese is liked a bombed-out runway, really disappointing for Uganda in general. My thought was that those responsible should be ashamed at how they've let the place go downhill. Another example of that is the tourist center inside the park. It's old. It's outdated. It's kind of pitiful. It looks like the park authorities haven't invested a dime in the place since it was built decades ago. Meanwhile they have made millions of dollars off it. That doesn't bode well for the management of the park. This makes me really sad. President Museveni boasts about making Uganda the 'Switzerland of Africa' but his government can't manage to maintain one of its greatest natural resources.
We did one game drive, in the morning. When we got to the gate, there was no one there. I honked, yelled, and looked around to no avail. So we opened the gate ourselves and started our game drive (we later paid at the tourist center but could have easily done our drive and left without paying!). In terms of animals, we didn't see much variety: hippos, elephants, warthogs, and waterbuck. That was about it in the wooded area that we were in. But we did see some cool things like three hippos running across the road in broad daylight, and later a hippo soaking in a mudhole, also in broad daylight. Almost every loop we turned down, we came across elephants. It seemed like they were everywhere. This made me a little jittery as I've been charged a few too many times.
Mid-morning we went to Mweya peninsula where we paid our dues and took tea at Mweya Lodge, which by all appearances is a very lovely place (too bad we can't afford it!). Even as someone who just goes in and out of amateur birdmanship, I could tell that the place was teeming with bird diversity.
Our lodging was the The Bush Lodge, a very pleasant luxury tented camp on the south side of Kazinga Channel. We were pleased with almost every aspect of the place. Lots of birds around. We saw a giant forest hog among the tents on the first evening and heard hippos around the clock. The food and accommodations were very much worth what we paid. One downside was that the local town was just up the channel, and its sound carried down to the camp for much of the day and night. So our experience of hippos and hyenas was mixed with discos, Muslim calls-to-prayer, and the incessant noise of heavy trucks crossing the bridge.
Later in the day we took a boat ride from The Bush Lodge, using local boatsmen instead of the companies. I really like injecting money in their pockets instead of the wealthy tour companies. The flipside is that the boat itself was a bit of a clunker, emitting noxious fumes for two hours that gave me a terrific headache! But our guide was knowledgeable without being annoying, and even the driver was a pleasant chap who also knew his birds. We saw hippos and hippos and more hippos, around every bend in the river. We also saw buffalo, elephant, bushbuck, warthogs, and several dozens species of birds.
So all in all it was a mixed-bag type of safari. Some animals we saw lots of, others none. The park has no zebra or giraffe, which is kind of a bummer. Lions were around but we didn't see them, nor leopards (much to my chagrin as the leopard is my 'holy grail' of wildlife). It was disappointing to see how neglected the park seems to be, from the condition of the main road to that of the park facilities to the fact that no ranger could be found at a main gate. It's like they are taking the park and what is provides for granted. That cannot be sustainable. Still,it's a lovely place, and any time one gets the chance to see those great animals and the teeming birdlife in the wild, it's a privilege and one I'd never want to complain about (apart from minor human-related quibbles).
Review about Kenya by Joseph
The animals are so many for my eyes, I can't get enough time to see all of them. And the green environment, perfect place for lovers of adventure
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Uganda by Terrill
Uganda is disproportionately diverse for its small size. You find snow-capped mountains and sweltering swamps, cool savannahs, and dense jungles. The big five megafauna here here, as are nearly 1500 bird species. Add to that several dozen ethnic groups and around 45 languages from three major language families. You are free to travel anywhere in the country (even Karamoja is safe, despite information online). Uganda is amazing.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magnificent Botswana
My wife and I and adult son had an 8 day safari tour organised by Cuan at African Ubuntu Safaris. We started with an overnight stay at Victoria Falls at the amazing Victoria Falls Hotel. The afternoon was spent at the falls, followed by a cruise on the Zambezi River, and an evening at the Boma.
The following day we travelled by mini bus to Botswana where we transferred to our boat for 2 nights on the Chobe river. Everything was organised for us, the boat was excellent, as were the staff. Food, drink, and river safaris were fantastic. In particular our guide/Captain Martin was unbelievable. His knowledge of the area and animals made this part of our trip memorable. We saw hippos, elephants, buffalo, giraffes, baboons, Impala, and the elusive Leopard.
From Chobe we travelled to the Okavango Delta to Kanana Lodge. This too was a great place to stay. Glamping at its finest. Terrific staff, food, morning and afternoon safaris, plus many more activities. an abundance of animals to see, and it was here we saw our first lion. We stayed here for 3 nights, before transferring to the Central Kalahari region.
We stayed at Deception Valley Lodge for this part of our safari. Accommodation was nice (perhaps not 5 star as previous, but still very good). The food here was excellent, the best we had. At this lodge for 2 nights, with the highlight being the tracking of Lions. 3 prides were in the area, and we managed to find them all. Another great 2 days.
Cuan from Ubuntu Safaris organised our whole trip. 3 different safaris for 3 completely different experiences. Everything went off as planned, light aircraft flights, transfers, all went perfectly to plan. I would highly recommend going through Ubuntu Safaris for a tailor made safari experience.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic trip to South Africa - Tammy handled all the details beautifully
Almost two years before our trip to Johannesburg and Madikwe, I contacted Tammy Harding at Pembury. I let her know the type of experience we were seeking for hotel and lodge, our preferences and our budget. She pulled together an itinerary with several lodges in our price range and offered advice that only someone who knows the area can. We'd been to East Africa on a tour, and wanted a more customized and less frantic itinerary. I'm an obsessive travel planner, so it's difficult for me to trust someone with a big trip that's really special. But while I can put together a US or European trip on my own, I wanted an expert for South Africa.
I'm so pleased we decided to work with Tammy. All the elements of our trip (airport pickup, hotel, lodge, road transfer to lodge) went exactly to plan. We rested in Johannesburg for a few days after the 15-hour flight, spent five days in Madikwe, and one more night in Jo'burg before heading home. It was a vacation that will always be with us.
On top of her expertise, Tammy was a pleasure to work with, and I didn't feel like I was bothering her by asking lots of questions. And when I had to cancel our originally-planned trip because of illness, she took care of the details. Once I was well again, she put the trip back in motion.
Highly recommend working with Tammy for your South Africa travels.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review
I really enjoyed the Safari, I felt like the service was exceptional. The food and overall hospitality was very good. The whole team did a good job in making the experience memorable. The car was very comfortable. I felt like the only thing I felt could have been a little better is enthusiasm of the driver, I felt like at times he could've done a better job explaining what we were seeing and given us more information about the sites, but he was very good overall.
US
Safari to Tanzania - including visit to Ruaha River Lodge
Amazing experience, and incredible customer service all through the entire process. I recommend Ubon Safari. They worked with our group to set up the perfect itinerary. The communication was clear, timely, and precise. And they delivered! The trip was fantastic.