Shayona Safaris & Tours

Reply from Shayona Safaris & Tours

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are genuinely sorry to hear that your experience did not meet the standards we strive to provide, particularly as we understand how much a safari of this nature means to our guests.

That said, we would like to clarify a few points for the benefit of future travellers reading this review.

Ndaki is one of our most experienced guides and has been with us for many years. He is a highly experienced, multilingual guide who speaks fluent English and German, as well as French and Mandarin. He has received numerous positive reviews from guests for his knowledge, professionalism and ability to make safari experiences enjoyable. We were therefore particularly concerned by the comments regarding his communication and immediately discussed the concerns with him.

Ndaki also shared with us that, during the safari, there were occasions when he felt he was being spoken to kindly, while at other times he felt the behaviour towards him became aggressive. We mention this not to create further disagreement, but to provide a balanced account of the experience from both sides. Our guides spend several days travelling closely with guests, and mutual respect and communication are important in making the experience enjoyable for everyone.

We were particularly surprised by the comment regarding an unpleasant odour from Ndaki. Our guides have always maintained a high standard of personal hygiene. When this was brought to our attention, Ndaki immediately checked the vehicle to investigate the source of the smell. He found that a bag of prawns, which had been purchased by you during the safari, had been left inside the vehicle and forgotten. This was the source of the odour. We appreciate that an unpleasant smell inside a safari vehicle can make a long journey uncomfortable, and we regret that this affected your experience; however, we felt it was important to clarify the actual source of the smell.

Interestingly, when we subsequently explained that we had raised the matter with Ndaki and asked him to confirm what had happened, we were questioned as to why we had informed our own guide about the complaint. We find this difficult to reconcile with the subsequent questioning of our company regarding the organisation of the tour and the services we provide. As a tour operator, it is our responsibility to investigate concerns raised by our guests, speak with our staff and establish the facts. This is precisely what we did in this instance.

We take the allegation regarding unsafe driving especially seriously. The safety of our guests is always our highest priority, and our guides are instructed to drive responsibly and within the conditions of the roads and parks. The approach into the Ngorongoro Crater includes steep sections, narrow roads and numerous sharp bends, which can understandably feel uncomfortable, particularly from inside a safari vehicle. However, our guides are professional drivers and would never knowingly drive in a manner that puts our guests at risk.

Regarding the length of the journeys, we would also like to clarify that a detailed itinerary and day-by-day safari plan were provided in advance and were confirmed with your partner before the safari commenced. The safari was therefore planned according to an itinerary that had been reviewed and agreed upon beforehand.

It is also important to understand that Tanzania’s national parks and conservation areas are vast. Accommodation is intentionally located in different areas, often considerable distances apart, in order to limit development within the parks and preserve the feeling of being immersed in nature. Travelling between different parks, areas and lodges is therefore an inherent part of many safari itineraries. We always try to structure our itineraries as efficiently as possible, but some driving is unavoidable when visiting multiple areas.

We also acknowledge that your itinerary involved a considerable amount of driving. Unfortunately, part of the original safari had to be adjusted because you were not feeling well during the trip, which affected the schedule and resulted in some longer journeys. We understand that this may have made the travelling more tiring than anticipated.

Regarding the vehicle cooler, it is important to clarify that the cooler provided in our safari vehicles is designed to keep items cool; it is not a freezer. Ice and dry ice are also not consistently available at properties and camps within the national parks, which can make maintaining very low temperatures throughout an entire game-drive day difficult. Nevertheless, we appreciate your feedback and will continue looking at ways to improve this aspect of our service.

We have been operating safaris for over 10 years and have welcomed guests from all over the world during this time. We are therefore disappointed that your experience did not reflect the standards we aim to provide. At the same time, we believe it is important to provide this context, particularly as several aspects of the review do not reflect what we found when we investigated the concerns raised.

With over 365 reviews on TripAdvisor, the overwhelming majority of which are from guests who have rated their experience as Excellent, we remain very proud of the service our guides and team provide. We do, however, take every criticism seriously because every guest deserves a safe, comfortable and memorable safari.

We sincerely regret that we were unable to provide that experience for you on this occasion and appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention. We wish you all the best in your future travels.