US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tarangire National Park by RoninRtist
Absolutely splendid visit. Notable scenes were the large family herds of elephants just within reach of our Landcruisers. We were able to see a line of zebra stretching from horizon to horizon as they meandered down to the river for a drink. A single file line of zebra about 5 miles long! The view from the overlook rest stop is truly a Kodak moment.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by RoninRtist
Utterly breathtaking! You have to see it to believe it. The crater rim vista is jaw dropping gorgeous. The drive down into the crater is a 360 degree scene of wonder. A multitude of wildlife to be seen in the basin.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by RoninRtist
A wonderful park on the north side of Lake Manyara. The lake is a shallow salt water lake that is home to tens of thousands of flamingos, countless pelicans and storks and a multitude of other birds. The more heavily forested areas of the park are home to elephants, baboons, etc. A great destination for avid birders.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond Words.
Serengeti National Park is truly a sight to behold. All of my previous years of watching National Geographic specials, Planet Earth, Wild Kingdom, etc. really did not prepare me for what was to unfold. I booked my safari through Augustine's Adventure Africa (AA Africa) whom I cannot recommend highly enough. Such a great experience with this outfit. Super nice and knowledgeable guides. They planned and executed everything on our itinerary to the letter for my 11-day safari. My itinerary included full lodging, meals and transportation. AA Africa took care of everything from the moment we arrived at Kilamanjaro International Airport to the minute we were dropped off on our return flights. We planned my safari to coincide with the great migration of wildebeest during the start of the dry season in the south Serengeti towards the Masai Marra in the north, with excursion to some of the other nearby parks. The weather was extremely nice; averaging in the mid 60's F to the 70's F. Luckily, the cooler weather kept the mosquitoes and tsetse flies away. The Serengeti's scenic vistas are just mind-boggling immense. There is no IMAX screen large enough to truly render how magnificent the scenery is. The varying terrain just added to the awe. We entered from the west and came through the Rift Valley to enter Serengeti National Park, drove through the vast short grasslands and into the forested habitat as we approached our lodging in the central Serengeti at Kubu Kubu Lodge. The lodge is really nice, clean and well maintained. Staff is super nice, attentive and helpful. The views from the lodge is breathtaking complete with an outdoor shower. I stayed 3 days in the Serengeti before visiting the other parks, but could easily have spent the whole trip here. The abundance of wildlife is astounding. As an avid photographer, I was flabbergasted by the shear amount of subjects to photograph. When we caught up with the migrating herd, it was just a mass of roaming fauna. The migration herds numbered in the tens of thousands. Standing up from our Landcruisers with the top open to see the panoramic vistas of the landscape amid a massive herd of wildebeest was pure insanity. I heard the theme song to "Dances with Wolves" playing in my head while Sir David Attenborough was narrating everything to me. The videos just pale in comparison to the real thing. Interspersed were herds of zebras, ostriches, warthogs, elephants, giraffes, etc. just mere inches away! My camera had it's work cut out for it to say the least. All-in-all, a truly astounding experience. One which I will gladly wish to repeat in the near future. I highly recommend putting Serengeti National Park on your Bucket List if want to create some remarkable memories.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tanzania by RoninRtist
There is just too much to see for just one visit. It will take multiple visits to truly see everything. Tanzania have three main safari circuits that you can book. One in the north, south and west.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4D / 3N Masaai Mara and Lake Nakuru safari
The thing that impressed me the most about Africa Flash MC was the ability to enquire about the trip via email and actually getting a response. We contacted several companies to enquire about pricing, itineraries etc. and Peter was one of the few that actually came back with a response and did so in good time. From there on it was smooth sailing and payment was easily done with a small c/c surcharge. We chose the budget option and in my opinion it was anything but - the accommodation was more than comfortable and did the job just nicely.
Once we were in Nairobi I was happy that the expected "Africa time" feature I knew so much about turned out to not apply here, in fact Peter arrived at our hotel 10 minutes ahead of time and was ready to roll out as soon as we checked out. That was just a sign of the good things to come! We were originally going to be doing Maasai Mara first and then Lake Nakuru, but Peter advised we'd switch them around so that it meant my other half could spend her birthday in the Masaai Mara instead and he also arranged a really nice birthday cake for her, fantastic!
The first part of the trip we went via Lake Nakuru and had the whole van to ourselves which was very cool. It was there we met our guides for the tour Richie and Dennis. Whilst at Lake Nakuru we got our first taste of Giraffe, Buffalos, White Rhinos (a rare sight!), Zebras, Flamingos, Warthogs and countless more and so our quest to see the big 5 begun. We then spent the night at Lanet Matfam Resort which was comfortable with a decent sized bed, buffet lunch and dinner, a pool (although we didn't use it) and a bar with nice cold Tusker for sale to sit under the trees and enjoy in the sun.
It was then time to move on to the Maasai Mara where we met up with the rest of our group and spent the next 3 days / 2 nights. We were again treated to a great selection of animals and rounded out seeing the rest of the big 5 including more Rhinos (black this time), Lions, Elephants and Leopards amongst other animals. Our highlight of the trip was Richie's driving - there was nowhere he wouldn't go and nothing was too much of a challenge! A true pleasure, exciting and great fun to be a part of. We went on an evening safari drive the first day there (capturing a nice sunset), a full day drive the next day (with packed lunch) and then finally a morning drive (seeing the sunrise) on our final day there. Just the right amount in my opinion after having also had the afternoon drive in Lake Nakuru.
Finally, our accommodation was the Rhino Tourist Camp which was a big tent (2 beds, 1 double and 1 single) that backed off to a proper shower and toilet. Hot water wasn't an issue at all. Pure (budget) luxury. The meals were great and the cook was a friendly chap. To cap it all off, Peter had sorted out a really nice birthday cake for my other half which I surprised her with on our final night there and it was the perfect end to a great trip.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good experience
This company run by a brother of my dearest friend Anna will provide you with the best safari experience in Northern Tanzania. Friendly and helpful, Henry will organize the perfect route considering habitats and all the details. As a person who did Northern circuit and felt in love with this country, I can say that this is very important to do it with a right operator. I highly recommend this company and believe you will not be disappointed.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent adventure with kind and knowledgeable driver, Eddie! Loved it!!!
The safari was phenomenal! Once we met our guide and driver, Eddie, we felt completely at ease and knew we would be taken care of! There was not a thing we had to worry about once the safari began, all out meals and excursions were well planned and thrilling! The accommodations were all excellent and the service was at each place was far above our expectations! Eddie took the time to show us all the animal hot spots and made sure we were comfortable and happy the entire trip! On a day our daughter wasn't feeling her best, he took the time to stop at multiple rest areas and was very concerned for her well being. She was completely fine the next day....but his genuine caring and attention to our needs was wonderful! He took as much time as we wanted when we spotted an animal and knew so much about their habits and truly taught us so much! The trip to Zanzibar was so relaxing at the end of the safari and we were glad to have some down time after our adventures to catch up and discuss all we saw!!! Also the us rep, Amy Shaffer is amazing and we are very thankful for her help with this trip! She really knew how to put us at ease! Thank you to the whole staff of northern masailand safaris and we hope to come back again sometime soon!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic trip every time.
For the second year in a row I booked a group Safari with Sun Safaris. Natasha has been my contact and she has guided me through every aspect of the trip. Everything was perfect and all aspects of planning and enjoying our Safari was beyond my expectations. If you choose Sun Safaris and Natasha and you are guaranteed a fantastic experience.
AE
Highly recommend Safari Care!!!
We arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport to Arusha and were greeted by Kamal and our guide Wilson to take us to The Ahadi Lodge, about an hour from the airport, for an overnight stay and morning breakfast.
Following breakfast, we met Wilson to kick-start our safari beginning with Tarangire National Park. We spent the whole day on game drives with lunch in between and got to see lots of gazelles, giraffe, elephants and even a leopard here.
Following the afternoon game drive, we left for Boundary Hill Lodge which was a long and uncomfortable ride with not much to interest you along the way in terms of animals in mid-November as they have already migrated. The lodge itself was in a great location, the food was excellent – the service was decent but the overall quality was probably the lowest of all the places we stayed. That is a shame because at Boundary Hill Lodge we woke up to a sunrise view which we’ll remember for the rest of our lives – just for that one hour in the morning alone this place was worth the stay. Our room had wall to wall undisturbed views of endless plains stretching far into the horizon.
The next morning we set out for Lake Manyara National Park and got to enjoy some views of the Great Rift Valley wall from a distance. Although Manyara is famous for its tree-climbing lions, we did not see any here. However, the park had lots of beautiful bird life as well as elephant, giraffe and hippos. Following Lake Manyara game drives, we headed to Ngorongoro Farmhouse which has an amazing vibe, extremely spacious rooms, and is a really enjoyable place to stay. The food was decent, with beef, chicken, and vegetable options – it will fill you up even, though it’s not finger-licking by any stretch of imagination!
Although our original itinerary was to head out to the Serengeti, our guide decided to instead take us to Ngorongoro Crater before heading north to the Serengeti – we didn’t know it then but this was a great decision and I can’t stress how important it is to have a guide that knows what he’s doing. Ngorongoro Crater is a caldera with truly breathtaking views. The crater walls are forested but the drive is refreshing in the early morning with beauty all around you. Ngorogoron Crater is a world of its own and has all the animals – lion, elephant, wildebeest, buffalo, gazelle, zebra as well lots of birds– though we weren’t lucky enough to see a rhino. You cannot help but fall in love with this place called Ngorongoro Crater – we’d want to spend at least two days here when we come back and would thoroughly recommend others to visit and spend as much time here as possible.
From Ngorongoro onwards the trip got really fun for us – we left the crater in the late afternoon to make our way to Serengeti National Park where we arrived around sunset but got to enjoy the ride up to Serengeti Kati Kati Tented Lodge seeing elephant, giraffe, gazelle, and hyenas on the way. As you get to Ngorongoro and then travel up northwards towards the Serengeti, you really start to feel the wild African safari experience because you get into the heartlands. The drive up to the camp from the entrance of Serengeti National Park makes you feel you’ve really arrived – it’s vastness, size, serenity and natural beauty is truly remarkable and you actually feel transported to another world. The tented lodges change your experience entirely – staying within the parks, amidst the animals. The tents are very strong but you feel the atmosphere – they’re luxurious inside coming fully equipped with electricity and lights and though you sleep on comfortable beds like any good hotel you do feel like you’re camping somehow. The food here was really good which was served after a small bonfire.
We left morning around 7.30am to explore the park and continued our game drive until lunch, seeing all the animals you could imagine (apart from the rhino unfortunately! You really need to be lucky to see one), seeing lions, cheetah, leapord, giraffe, etc., from close up and afar. Drive where you want, there’s all sorts of animals in the habitat. We shadowed some lions on a couple of occasions that unsuccessfully crept up on prey and though we didn’t see them kill we saw them feeding off carcasses they had hunted earlier. But even watching an unsuccessful hunt attempt by lions is truly fascinating – it’s a real game, and played much more slowly than you would think, so it keeps you very engaged.
We ended our first day in the Serengeti National Park after 5pm, and were happy with the distance we’d covered exploring its central areas and later began moving northwards to spend the night at Serena Lodge. This Lodge was also tented but higher up and felt further away from most of the animals, though lion, hyena, and leopard apparently roamed around. The tent was very big inside and had a balcony with tables and deck chairs – again, it had all the luxuries. The food here was a tasty set three course meal though portions could have been more generous. The place had great ambience. We left again early in the morning around 7.30, and spent the morning exploring the northern part of the Serenegeti a little more, which was dry given the November season so there were not many animals left here. We headed back to the central part and did game drives in different areas, seeing all sort of animals again.
Of course, we cannot mention everything we did or put our experiences into words. Safari Care did a top job and Wilson became a great friend – his experience of over two decades shows and when we go back there is no doubt we’d want to have Wilson be our guide again. The car was great too, it was new and we had no problems – and that’s a massive plus when you read all the other reviews. The first two places we stayed were based on requests given research we had done – all the others were recommended by Kamal at Safari Care and they were indeed highly recommendable. It’s really important to find a safari operator you can trust, that is genuine, has experience, knows what they’re doing, and seriously want your satisfaction at the end and not just the money.
Going to Tanzania was a brilliant experience, and we simply cannot wait to go back.
When deciding what rating Safari Care should be given, we considered whether anything was missing or could have been better and the honest answer is no. Safari Care exceeded expectations and they truly do deserve 5 out of 5 stars!! Thank you Safari Care, in particular Kamal and Wilson!!!