Ecological Wilderness Adventures
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TALA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $2,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Chris & Annabel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An awe inspiring experience
Time to heap yet more praise on this wonderful company. We recently enjoyed a 6 night Northern circuit with EWA and as other reviewers have noted, this is a company committed to ensuring a good time...
We were met at Arusha Airport by Baraka (the office manager) and Amir (our guide) and taken to our overnight hotel - a nice and relaxed vibe from the pair of them.
Our Safari encompassed Lake Manyara, Serengeti (both Seronera and Kogatende), Ngorongoro and Tarangire, Despite the distances involved, Amir maintained a calm, careful and cheerful manner. A word or two about Amir - he is a wonderful guide who is always willing to share his vast knowledge of the game and birds on offer (of which there are so many). We feel that in the week we spent with him we became friends, and gained much insight into his life and country. He truly has a knack for sniffing out where particular animals are to be found, using his "Big Machine" (his nose)!
Whilst on Safari it was a pleasure to meet Brian (the boss) and Gerard (another guide), and we were so impressed with the way the outfit was run, especially the tented camps owned & run by EWA.
The quality of accommodation and food was high - we spent 4 nights in tents (with plumbed in loos), in 3 of them your shower water is manhandled by your tent manager and loaded into a tank behind your tent - so welcome!
We will review the camps and lodges separately - we stayed at Zawadi house in Arusha, Bougainvillea Lodge near Lake Manyara, Serengeti Savannah Camp, Serengeti Mara River Camp, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge and Tarangire Safari Lodge.
In conclusion, this is a superb company with wonderful customer service, friendly, interesting and engaging - you need look no further when considering a Tanzanian Safari..
We will be back! Chris & Annabel
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Guides, wildlife, food=ALL GOOD
I have been in southern/eastern Africa before, but this 3+ week safari exceeded my expectations. Brian and Jerry were excellent people-persons, great 'eyes' for wildlife and thoroughly enhanced the entire safari. The food was excellent, varied and plentiful. Brian's camps and staff were superlative throughout. The Parks selected offered a wonderful variety of animals/birds/terrain and it was a great time of the year to be in Tanzania.
As much as I'd like to complain about some aspect of the safari - I can't!! If you have any doubts - sign up and GO!
US
Email Colleen & Mike Keyes | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best adventure ever!
On our way back from a wonderful 2-week adventure in Peru with friends in October 2013, we started talking about our next trip. Going on safari in Africa was high on the list - someday. Three months later we got a call from our friends and the planning began in earnest. After perusing the websites of a few of the hundreds of safari tour operators in Tanzania, we selected Ecological Wilderness Adventures - and it was the best choice we could have made! From the first email to owner Brian Meng'oriki to the final farewell at Kilimanjaro airport, it was a travel dream come true. Not only were Brian and his staff prompt and professional in all of our communications, they were a real pleasure to work with - and as enthusiastic about our trip as we were! We sent them a wish list of the eight wildlife parks we wanted to visit (including the remote and off-the-beaten-path Lake Natron) and various cultural activities we'd like to experience. Brian and Baraka created a 2-week itinerary that fulfilled our wish list - and more. The pre-trip conversations with Ken (the US/Canada contact) were invaluable; he graciously answered our million questions and shared his own trip experiences with EWA.
From the moment we stepped off the airplane in Kilimanjaro and were met by the welcoming smiles of Brian and Sammy, our guide for the trip, until we were dropped off at the airport two weeks later with farewell gifts in hand, all we had to do was enjoy the incredible journey we had embarked upon. Every meal, every accomodation, every park entrance, and every cultural activity were taken care of by EWA, as well as some serendipitous side trips provided by Sammy. The delicious food, the comfortable tented camps, and the genuine hospitality we received at every venue - we couldn't have wished for better.
But the highlight of any safari is the wildlife! Lions and leopards, zebras and wildebeest (aka gnus!), baboons and monkeys, giraffes and antelopes, warthogs and hippos, cape buffalo and elephants, jackals and hyenas, and the birds! Flamingos, crowned cranes, ostriches, storks, vultures, eagles, francolins, bustards, plovers, bee-eaters, hornbills, weavers, and my favorite - the lilac-breasted roller. But the highlight of our many wildlife encounters was sharing the road with a black rhino in the Ngorongoro Crater. We had spied him in the distance most of the day (looking like a hump of rock in the grass) and had just about given up hope of a close-up view, when he stood and headed our way (Sammy had stopped the vehicle between the rhino and the stream). He casually sauntered across the road right in front of us! Cameras clicking like mad, we watched him until he disappeared in the grass.
I could go on and on, but the bottom line is - you will have the trip of a lifetime going on safari with Ecological Wilderness Adventures. Brian and his team have the experience, the expertise, and, most importantly, the enthusiam to ensure an unsurpassed travel adventure! Asante sana, EWA!
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Educational above expectations.
From the start till the end we learned so many things, and that wasn't unimportant. In any way. You can go to a safari and se animals, or you can go to safari and learn something, we did the later part. Most people don't, but if you want, to learn something, go with these guyes. If you dont, try any leapord-colored truck, it might serve you...
US
50-65 years of age
An awesome once in a lifetime experience that greatly exceed expectations!!!
If I'm fortunate enough to go back for a second Safari, no question, I'm going with Brian and his team at Ecological Wilderness Adventures. He and his guides are all fabulous people who know how to find and identify all the animals and get you in the right spot for the photos while avoiding the crowds. The food and accommodations where fantastic. Great trail breakfasts and lunches, gourmet dinners, wonderful campfires. We slept in great lodges and tents in the wild.
Brian's very knowledgeable and experienced about all aspects of the safari. He enjoys working with you to prepare your custom safari. I always refer friends and they ALWAYS have a GREAT SAFARI.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable. Great guides and great accommodations.
The guides - William and Jerrod - are to be singled out as amazing. Kili is not an easy hike. It is important to have someone set your pace and make the experience fun. William was awesome. Pole ! Pole! And no one can match the skills of Jerrod (Gerald?) as he with a hawk's eye and the knowledge of wildlife entertained, identified and taught about nature. Absolutely undescribable. especially as I download and view 1500 photos. The places in Zanzibar were out of his world. And Ras Nungwi and the hut I stayed in set the bar for the best hospitality and comfort I can remember. Not to mention the sashimi.
To die for. As well as snorkeling with the dolphins.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A life changing experience!
Cannot recommend Brian and his team any higher. They're very responsive to emails and are flexible with one-off requests - we had a birthday during our safari and I asked Brian if he could do something special and the entire camp ended up coming out singing birthday songs for 20 minutes and providing cake - it was amazing. The safari itself was incredibly. Sammy is quite the character and an extremely knowledgeable and capable guide. The week flew by! Would definitely recommend Ecological to anyone looking for an amazing wilderness experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari!
We went on a 4 day trip with Ecological Wilderness Adventures in 2009. The trip was fantastic, easy to plan, great guide, great camps, great food, and best of all great wildlife. Even though the great migration was further north in the Serengeti, our guide found a huge range of animals to see, and then finished off our trip with a one day stop in Ngorongoro Crater so we could see the wildebeest and anything else we might have missed. We even saw a Caracal and baby Leopard. I'd highly recommend a trip with Ecological Wilderness Adventures.
US
Email Alice Alban | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Still can't top this experience
Best trip we've ever taken. Our guide, Brian, MADE our experience. Very knowledgable, personable, felt 100% safe all the time. Still daydream about the trip. Accommodations were excellent, he never stopped "teaching". Excellent experience-cannot say enough. Top guide, but even more, top person.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Personalized safari with a great guide
Brian helped us to plan a fantastic trip with a wonderful mix of locations that allowed us to experience the diversity of Tanzania's preserves with just the right mix of game drives and down time. In line with our request, the accommodations ranged from basic to luxury, with some lodges and some tented camp time. Our guide Tryphon Kappia was incredibly knowledgeable about the wildlife and the areas we spent time in and was great company. The birthday cake they made for my husband's birthday at the tented camp is just on example of the thoughtful, personalized service. When our son was ready to go on Safari, we sent him to Brian and Ecological Wilderness Adventures, knowing that he too would have the trip of a lifetime.