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Email Deanne Cricks Smith | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Can’t wait to see you again
I don’t even know where to begin. Our trip to South Africa was life-changing. We can’t wait to go back as we never wanted to leave. This was the trip of a lifetime for us. We made several great new friends, from several different countries, including South Africa. Our safari guides were the best and our guide at CapeTown and Winelands was also the best I have no complaints at all.
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Email Andre van Staden | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Diverse
Hospitality staff friendly. Just a mindset that you need to watch your belongings.
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Email Liz | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful scene
Even though I visited South Africa between (their) winter and summer, it was still such a beautiful scene! I only got to see 4 of the big 5, but I saw so many other animals. It is definitely worth a visit.
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Email Esther Sanchez | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing holiday destination
I would totally recommend to travel to South Africa. The country is amazing, and you can find everything is one place, from coast and beaches, to gorges and mountains, to waterfalls and animals. I totally recommend the Garden Route, Stellenbosch, Cape Town, Addo Elephant Park and of course, the Kruger. Get to see the animals so close is something I will never forget. I travelled solo and never had any issues in SA, and this is my 6th time!
Email Rebecca | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Easy Way To Get Out Of The City And See The Big 5
I live in Johannesburg and was hosting family members from the United States. After several days taking in the sites in and around the city, we wanted to get out of town to see some wildlife. We booked an all-day game drive in Pilanesberg with transportation to and from our residence. This was my first time visiting Pilanesberg, and I was not sure what to expect. We saw almost all of the Big 5 -- lion, rhinoceros, elephant, and even a leopard! However, we did not see a Cape buffalo. Impressively, we did get to see some interaction between elephants and lions when the elephants chased the lions away from a shady area.
The game drive vehicle was one of the largest I've seen, sitting at least 20. That wasn't ideal, but we sat in the front so we could hear the very-knowledgeable driver and it didn't feel like we were crammed onto an amusement park safari ride. During the lunch break, giraffes and other wildlife (mostly birds) visited the restaurant located inside the reserve. The restaurant itself had a nice selection of food -- even given the fact we had the limited menu created specifically for the game drive guests. The establishment was totally full, so the service was a bit slow.
Norman Muchacheni with Nhlalala Travel Agency provided transportation to and from the reserve. He was friendly and knowledgeable about the area and sites we passed. He arrived promptly for pick up and provided refreshments for the ride. Plus, the van was very clean. It was overall a great day and game drive experience.
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Email Bostjan Krajnc | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
trully amazing country
Great game safari, we loved Kruger park, we loved Cape Town, food, open market
Email Mary | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beautiful country with so much to offer tourists
On our second visit to South Africa we stayed a week in Franschhoek in the Winelands area. This is a lovely large village with many excellent restaurants, a fabulous Saturday market with lots of craft and local food stalls, and of course many local wineries to visit. We absolutely loved our time there and felt very safe walking to and from restaurants in the evening. We then moved on to Hermanus on the coast to do some whalewatching. This is a much larger town but again with many good restaurants and safe walking at night. it was coming to the end of the whale season but we saw several, firstly on a trip with Southern Right Charters who we would recommend, and then from the clifftop walks which are very accessible.
The food in restaurants is really good and extremely reasonable, aided by the favourable GBP/Rand exchange rate.
From Cape Town we then flew up to the Timbavati Game Reserve for a 4 night safari arranged by Indigo Safaris, who we would also recommend for their organisation of our trip. Timbavati is at the edge of the Kruger and is home to the Big5 all of which we saw. Have only given the Wildlife 4 stars though as animals were rather scarce we felt, but as I have said, we did see all the Big 5 and a lot of other animals too as well as some beautiful birds (though we are not birders). Everywhere was very dry while we were there, but they had had a few days of heavy rain just before we arrived and the rainy season was about to start when apparently the rivers would be full, whereas we were driven along the sandy river beds!
Everywhere we went in SA we were impressed by the smiles on the faces of all the local people, who were very friendly and welcoming.
We can't wait to return, in hopefully two years time.
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Email Cathy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An adventure everyone should do!
South Africa was more than we had expected, absolutely beautiful! This was a bucket list trip and South Africa did not disappoint us.
Umkumbe Lodge was very nice and the people who work there were very nice and accommodating. The safari tour guides were extremely knowledgeable which made the trip even better.
Email Pearl Beynon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I went on a Safari for 3 nights to Kruger National Park - budget package
Everything was well organised- Big 5 spotted
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Email Lisa B | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful, must see
Awesome experience! Our guide Hoppy was the best guide we could ask for. He was knowledgeable, thoughtful, fun, and cared about the wildlife. We got to see the Big 5 in just three days. Loved our stay at Sabie Bush River Camp, the open jeep drives were great. If you book a safari request Hoppy, he made the experience excellent.
