Axis Africa Expedition & Safaris

Safari... not what I expected... maybe...

First of all, I don't blame Axis Africa if my safari was less than ideal. I think for the price, I got a great deal. I saw lions, cheetahs. leopards, lots of elephants. giraffes, zebras. Pic-up, drop-off, camps and game drives were exactly as promised. I guess I really came with little experience and expectations. I was in a (nice) pop-up van with a bunch of foreigners (like me). The guide spent most of the time on a radio with other guides. We could guess when he spoke a lot and we say all the vans heading in one direction it was a lion or something "big". It did kind of feel we were harassing the animals, even caging them in with vans. Only once did our driver seem to participate in this (on the last day, he gunned the van to try to get a rise out of a cheetah, who did not respond-- and several of us let him know we didn't think it cool to do this-- but we did notice other vans harassing animals, shouting at them and trying to provoke them. I did get the feeling that the guides on these "budget" safaris would do "whatever" they thought made the guest happy and earn more tips. We clearly went off-road when it was marked. I also had a bad experience at the camp when a driver from another safari made sexual comments and reached into his pants and (well whatever) while speaking to me. (He asked it I was in a tent alone --I wans't) and then I just left.. I probably should have taken his name or photo-- but I was in shock! Anyway, this was not the fault of my company, but it did mar my experience.

In my further travels in Africa, I did another game drive in Botswana that was actually cheaper and more professional. We didn't drive as close to the animals but that actually felt better,

I did feel Axis Africa gave me what they promised in a budget safari. That said, I am not sure what i got what what I anticipated. I did see a lot of animals. They were mostly wild and free, except that we caged them in with our vehicles (and they did seem OK with this). Our guide, while not particularly knowledgeable ("there ix a big elephant and a little elephant") was pleasant enough. I hope this post alerts other women who may be harasssed to take a photo and report it as I wish I had.