Craig doing what he does best...spotting animals!
Nandzana Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- Field Guides Association of Southern Africa
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $110 to $163 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Alan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Days of our Africa Trip
I give Nandzana my highest recommendation. My wife and I travelled from the US for our 4-night, 5-Day safari with Nandzana as part of a larger Africa trip. I dealt with Alison via email to tailor our safari to match the window we had available. She came back with a terrific proposal that included our flights to and from J'burg, all our drives with Craig, accommodations, a night safari and a bush walk. Very friendly to deal with and we were lucky enough to meet her in person during the trip.
Craig picked us up at Skukuza airport and it was a short drive to Skukuza Lodge - the first of the two lodges we stayed at and the largest in Kruger. It had terrific amenities and restaurants and a beautiful view of the river with animals passing below.
Being January, it was a very pleasant time to be in the park - off-peak season, so crowds were smaller and just after the rainy season, with lush greenery. However, this makes it a little tougher to see the animals than in the barren dry seasons when water is a rarer commodity and the grass and leaf cover are thin. We didnt mind that trade-off at all. And we had Craig.
He designed a great tour route for us each day and we ended up seeing everything - big five, wild dogs, amazing herds of buffalo, hippos, crocs, hyena, zebra, giraffe, cobra etc.. Couldn't have asked for more. We spent all of our trip towards the south of the park, a long way from where Craig is based up in Phalaborwa. So thanks again to him for making the long drive south for us. The second lodge we were at was Lower-Sabie - again a beautiful location with amenities way beyond our expectations.
Each day was like being a kid again, looking for the animals on our drives and grabbing the animated picture booklets to check which antelope or bird we were looking at. Thanks to Craig, we also developed a keen interest in the amazing bird species at Kruger. Not only that, but the history, geology, flora, anti-poaching efforts etc. Each day was fun, unique and relaxed.
We stayed out as close to dusk as the curfew allowed and were the first at the gates in the morning (at 4.30am) to sample the a bit of the nocturnal and dawn bush - a really special time of day. Craig also knew some amazing hill-top look-out spots that were empty of people, but offered amazing views of the bush below with binoculars.
Unfortunately it had to come to an end when Craig dropped us back at Skukuza airport. We want to come back and explore another part of the park with him.
NL
Email Vincent | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Another great day safari
We had a great safari last year with Craig. This year we went back to South Africa and we arranged our schedule so that we could have another day with Craig. A very good decision. Again we had a great day. We went to the north and had great sightings and views. We really liked the giant Elephants can only be seen in the North. Largest I have evers seen. On our way back we saw a Leopard catching flies.
Definitely recommended.
NL
Email Marguerite | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent guide, excellent organisation, lots, lots of fun!
Nandzana Safaris was recommended by a friend. Communication via email was perfect, lots of humour and everything was possible! My expectations were sky hi, but the trip was even better....
The safari was one of the best experiences in my life, my mom and I loved it! We allready made plans to do another trip with Nandzana Safaris next year!
I recomend Nandzana Safaris to everybody who want to have the perfect safari in Krugerpark!
Thank 's again Craig!
NL
Email Anniek | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Highly recommended
I really enjoyed the many safaris in the open Land Rover with Craig. And I would like to advice anyone to join at least one of Nandzanas safaris. The bush becomes so much more interesting with the knowledge that Craig shares with you about the animals and surroundings. Learning from a safari with Craig is also helpful when you're going to drive by yourself. But still the open Land Rover really gave me that extra special adventurous and free feeling, and I felt blessed to experience the beautiful National Kruger Park in this way. It is also fun to see that Craig still gets excited over special sightings and he really is the most pleasant and funny guide.
Email Annie Railton | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My first African elephant and yellow rivers and hippo ears!
Craig communicated everything especially around the safety aspect of our game drives and game walk very clearly. We were asked what we would most like to see and I got my wish within twenty minutes of the start of the walk, the beautiful matriarch of the group of elephants gracefully lifting herself out of the river. Craig's knowledge of Africa is incredible, it is shared with the guests with charm and humour. On our final morning we went on an early morning game walk, came across water buffalo, which caused a bit of a stir, but made it to the river for a gorgeous sunrise with a pod of hippos starting their day........slowly? These experiences and my feeling that I was sharing some of Africa's secret moments gave me memories I will never forget and will ensure I will go back again.Thank you
NL
Email Vincent M. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A great full day exclusive safari
We had a great full day exclusive safari with Graig. Graig was was exactly on time early in the morning. After a short drive to the gate he offered coffee and we discussed how we would like to spend the day. Graig planned the day accordingly. We spend some time in the morning in the area of Phalaborwa. We went up north, spend enough time to see the behavior of the animals. Graig told us a lot of things about the animals and the Kruger. He has deep knowledge about the Kruger and the animals and is able to share this making the trip very interesting. Graig has other involvements in the Kruger, this adds depth to his explanations.
Nandzana is a private company owned by Graig and his wife. The website seems to good to be true, but after having experienced the safari we found out it is true. It is really great.
Some tips for a safari starting in Phalaborwa:
Ask to go to the North. When you come from Johannesburg you have probably already spent some time in the south of the Kruger. In that case I would definitely recommend to spend time in the area of Phalaborwa and the north of Phalaborwa. This way you will see another part of Kruger that has it's own charm. (For example, in the south you will see most animals together with loads of other cars spoiling the atmosphere, in the north you will see animals alone). Up north we saw a beautiful river full of crocodiles even though the other parts of the park where very dry. In the area of Phalaborwa we saw a lioness with cubs (alone, no other cars).
Ask to take it easy. It is better to spend time slow driving having a relaxed safari. This way you will have a better day and see more.
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Email Steve | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant Safari!
We arranged two full day private safaris with Nandzana Safaris on our stay at Silonque Bush Estates in Phalaborwa and were highly impressed by our guide, Craig. He was friendly, incredibly knowledgeable, highly experienced, patient and helpful. He went to great lengths to help us see all the wildlife we had hoped to find in Kruger National Park and was amazingly skilled at sighting animals and especially at hearing and identifying lots of birds. He was a fountain of information and based on what we explained we were interested in seeing or doing, he did his best to accommodate us. During our drives we had the chance to discuss lots of topics, such as such as politics, religion, culture and thoroughly enjoyed Craigs's company and definitely benefited from his wealth of knowledge and friendly connections. We learned a lot about the wildlife of Kruger—both big and small and the people and life in this amazing country—for which we are very grateful.