Kajie Safaris Director Ronald at Ngorongoro crater
Kajie Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2014)
- Member Of:
- AUTO, USAGA, UTB & UWA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
RU
Email Dmitrii | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Safari in Uganda was magnificent, but there were some organizational shortcomings
Overall, the safari went very well and the country was magnificent, but unfortunately there were a few minor issues on the organizational side.
I will start with the positives. During the booking process and afterward, communication with the manager was excellent. The company provided all the necessary information, reminded me to apply for a visa, informed me about the introduction of the health declaration due to Ebola that had to be completed before the flight, clarified the details of my flight, and so on. The airport pickup went according to plan, and I set off on the safari right away. Uganda’s parks are magnificent - the gorillas, chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Murchison Falls.
Nevertheless, there were several shortcomings that I unfortunately have to mention.
First, the lodge in Murchison Falls was changed from Pakuba Safari Lodge to Bamboo Safari Lodge. Bamboo Safari Lodge is a good lodge, but unlike Pakuba, it is located outside the park. Although it is formally situated right next to the park entrance, in reality it takes about 20 minutes to get to the area where the main game drive begins. Even if that road is inside the park, it is mostly an asphalt road with almost no animals around, while the main game drives take place in the Pakuba area.
Second, I missed out on the game drive in Lake Mburo National Park. The original plan was that I would arrive, spend the night in Entebbe, and the next day go to Lake Mburo, where I would have an evening game drive. When I provided my flight details and said that I would arrive at 11:15 AM, the company said that “since you arrive early on the first day, we can start the safari immediately” and suggested slightly changing the plan so that I would go straight from the airport to Lake Mburo on the first day for an evening game drive. I agreed, but it turned out that this plan was not feasible. The drive to Lake Mburo, taking traffic and congestion into account, took so long that I arrived at Lake Mburo only around sunset, and the evening game drive in this park did not take place.
The third issue was on the first day in Queen Elizabeth National Park. According to the plan, I was supposed to have two activities that day: Afternoon - game drive in Ishasha, and Evening - game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park. In my view, this should have meant that the first activity would start around 12:00–13:00, but the guide had a different understanding of this. I spent half the day at the lodge, and only at 15:00 did the afternoon activity begin, which consisted of a very short game drive in one area. Then at 16:30 the evening game drive in Queen Elizabeth already started. At the same time, the guide claimed that evening game drives in Queen Elizabeth begin at 16:00, but I asked the staff at the park entrance and they said that an evening game drive usually starts at 15:00.
I cannot say that these shortcomings seriously spoiled my overall impression of the safari, but I prefer to describe my impressions honestly, and perhaps this feedback will help the company take these points into account and avoid such issues in the future.
Email Rhonnie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ronald from Kajie was great but not a good experience with our guide
Ronald at Kajie Safaris was so wonderful in preparing a great itinerary for myself and my mid twenties daughter. He was quick to respond to questions (and there were many) and he was really flexible even when we had to make a late change to our dates and perhaps if he had been our guide our safari would have been better. Our guide (more a driver than a guide) was Wycliffe and he was awful. He was rude, unhelpful and didn't tell us information we needed for different game parks. We would arrive and then he would tell us we needed certain things which we had back at the camp, he deliberately didn't tell us things until it was too late. We had to ask him for information about what we were doing the next day he would just tell us to be ready at a certain time without any reason such as we need to get a 7am ferry! He seemed to have a set against us from the beginning he didn't even step forward at the airport or hold the sign up (that he had in his hand ),we had to ask if any of the drivers there was Wycliffe. We had to write to Ronald and tell him half way through it was that bad and after a phone call to Wycliffe his behaviour did improve but that shows how deliberate his actions were. When we were on game drives with the roof off, he would leave the motor running (which is not normal as you want to get rid of the vibration when taking photos) and then roll forward and hit the brakes so you would fall forward. He took off when he was ready, never asking if we were ready again something I have never experienced with our previously expert guides, they would always ask right to go? I have been on 4 safaris and about 10 game drives so I think I can compare and we have never had anything but wonderful treatment from our guides. I don't blame Ronald or Kajie Safaris so don't punish them just make sure your guide is not Wycliffe before you book.