The Wild Wings team - Loving Every Moment!
Wild Wings Safaris
- Located In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- SATSA & ABTA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $236 to $2,020 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Jeff | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply the Best
First off, I did a lot of searching finding a place that would help me plan something with budget in mind, yet still quality. Look no further. Gavin is absolutely the best. He took the time to carefully put together a 2 week stay in southern Africa which included Victoria Falls, Chobe, Kruger and Capetown. He planned all of the hotels, activities, plane trips, transportation and of course the safari which is also run by Wild Wings. Simon was the safari guide, and you couldn't find somebody funnier, more knowledgeable, helpful and a great cook!! The other tour operators used by Wild Wings were top notch also. I highly recommend contacting Gavin and seeing what he can put together for you if you are planning a southern or central trip to Africa.
NL
Email Elbertse | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great help from Madi and an amazing Kruger safari with Simon!
Wild Wings (Madi) organized based on our wishes a 24 days trip to S-A (J'burg - Pilanesberg - Garden Route - Cape Town - Kruger). We stayed in very nice lodges / guesthouses on great locations with very nice owners / staf and service. Our holiday ended with a 5 day Safari (Sakuza & Satara) with Simon. Simon is the absolutely the best! Enthousiastic, large knowledge from animals and from S-A, a great cook, a nice guy and most important an awesome animal spotter. Another advantage for us is that he speaks Dutch, which was very nice for our 2 boys to ask him questions of all animals.
Madi, Simon & Wild Wings Safaris many thanks !!!
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Email Jason & Shelby | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wild Wings Safari Absolutely Delivered
We worked with Madi at Wild Wings Safari to organize our trip to Africa. Madi was amazing in helping us customize our itinerary to suit our plans, and we were absolutely blown away by how seamless everything was executed once in Africa. We booked all of our flights, but Madi arranged for all of our lodging, tours, transfers and even some meals. Our trip included 3 different countries (6 different cities in all) and every transfer went off without a hitch. The professionalism throughout was very reassuring, and we will definitely contact Wild Wings Safari for our next visit to Africa!
NZ
Email Leon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top class experience!
Incredible experience staying at the Greenfire Game Lodge in the Greater Kruger National Park booked through Wild Wings Safaris. The whole trip was a 1st class operation from the accommodation (which were stunning modern bush cabins looking out onto a large river bed where we had various wild animals coming to drink from everyday - herds of wild elephant, buffalo and numerous deer/antelope) the staff who were extremely friendly and helpful, the food which was outstanding, varied and cooked taking into account my wifes diet allergies and the safaris were amazing where our tracker did a great job in finding us all the animals and also taking us on a lovely 'on foot' guided walk as well. The transport was also all arranged through Wild Wings Safaris and this was very good as well taking the Ashtons Shuttle bus from to and from OR Tambo airport.
Firstly I would highly recommend booking through Wild Wings Safaris and staying at the Greenfire Game Lodge!! And secondly staying on the Greater Kruger National Park was an unforgettable experience and something that myself and my partner will always treasure!!
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Email Judith Robinson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Can't imagine how to top this vacation
We decided in February to go on our first safari in June to celebrate our birthdays, and MadI at Wild Wings made it happen with some quick planning. Admitting we have no comparisons, we can't imagine how this experience could have been any better from beginning to end. MadI worked with us to tailor the itinerary to our desires and shared advice to keep us on the right track - being prompt and clear in our email correspondence. She was great to let us book our own airfare and some hotels using travel points to reduce some of the cost, and where she made the choices we were more than satisfied with accommodations. The guides that Wild Wings contracted were exceedingly professional and knowledgable - perfectly suited to our travel personality.
In the end, we were exceedingly pleased with the overall variety and quality of our tour and the value provided. We whole-heartedly recommend Wild Wings and heard similar recommendations as we traveled.
Email Phil & Margaret | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fabulous experience, with no issues, because of excellent attention to detail by Madi.
This is the second time we have booked through Wild Wings and it has been wonderful service, the accomodation was great, we stayed at Elephant Plains Lodge, and saw lots of wild life and hospitality was excellent, would stay there again. We also stayed at Chobe Safari Lodge in Botswana and could not fault it again plenty of animal sightings. On our way to Elephant Plains we stayed overnight at Chestnut Country House, in Hazyview, it was beautiful, we were well looked after by host Christine, it is in a beautiful setting with tasty home cooked meals. Could not fault any of our holiday, and would choose to have Wild Wings organise our safari again. Thanks Madi.
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Email Keith | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A perfect first Safari the one that makes you come back for more
I wanted to personally thank Gavin at Wild Wings Safari for all the help in organizing our holiday in South Africa. I don’t believe this trip would have turned out as spectacularly as it did without your precise attention to detail and personal assistance to our needs.
From the start, when Simon picked us up in Johannesburg he proved to be a wealth of knowledge in Kruger Park and South Africa in general. He was not only a fantastic guide but he was as interested in the animals as we were!
It can’t be normal for any safari guide to take myself and my wife as his only guests out for the first afternoon for 5 hours (after driving 6 hours from Johannesburg), and then 12 hours for the second day, and 6 hours for the third and final day before driving us an additional 4 hours to our next destination.
Simon’s knowledge of the Kruger Park animal life could be summed up in just one of the many encounters we experienced:
As we were driving over a bridge, in which many other trucks and vehicles had crossed over that same day, Simon stopped and was listening to see what the excited monkeys were chattering about. Simon explained that he was looking to see where the monkeys were literally pointing out as if it was danger. As we gazed in the monkeys’ direction, Simon (and my wife) spotted in the horizon a leopard sleeping on the banks of the river. We appeared to be the only ones to have spotted this sleeping leopard. It was our second sighting of a leopard in just 30 minutes. Remarkable!
Nthambo Tree camp was another recommendation that you gave us, and it was a truly amazing experience that was just as professional and remarkable since it was conducted on a very personal level. Matt, Alex and Nadia of the base camp were attentive to our every needs while we were in the bush and in the camp. The comradery at the camp between the small group of guests and staff was much like it is in a family. (We guests even ‘friended’ each other on Facebook.)
The guides in Zimbabwe were everything we had grown accustomed to having during our trip: both warm and engaging. We will never forget the magnificence of the Victoria Falls, and the unique experience of riding those royal elephants for our Elephant Safari.
For the duration of this entire 2 week vacation, with the exception of the 1- 2 hours of clearing customs in Zimbabwe, everything went according to plan.
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Email Jacqueline | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect! Excellent! Exciting!
We could not be happier with our safari experience, it was honestly the time of our lives. We loved that we decided to spend half of our time in Kruger Park and the other half in Greater Kruger Park. Both were very different experiences and both had so much to offer. I really recommend that you offer this combination to anyone that wants to have the most well-rounded safari experience. In Kruger we saw the Big 5 in the first 1.5 hours. Simon, our guide, was so passionate about his job and really had every intention to show us as many beautiful animals as possible. We saw leopards and cheetahs and lions fighting over a buffalo kill. It was incredible! The food he prepared for us was efficiently made and very delicious. Off-roading in Greater Kruger Park was a whole different experience! Tracking and following paw prints was very exciting. Our driver Carl (Karl?) and tracker Lucky were amazing, informative, and very exciting. The accommodation at both camps was so beautiful! And the staff was friendly and helpful.
TH
Email Mary | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Safari
Firstly, I have never responded to an individual review before, but I must. I happened to be on the same safari as the person who wrote the previous one star review. All I can say, is that sometimes there is no pleasing some people. Anyone going on a safari must go with an open mind and the desire to learn from the experts without preconceived notions. This is not a zoo, it is real life, kills happen- it is part of the animal kingdom.
Simon is an experienced, knowledgeable, and most of all, passionate guide. My husband and thoroughly enjoyed our time with Simon, from the breakfast he cooked in the morning through to the dinners he cooked at night. In between, we searched for sightings with Simon and it was always fun and very productive. Our safari with Simon was one of the highlights of our month long trip to this beautiful country. Wild Wings support staff were there to answer every email and did an excellent job of organizing everything for us. ( we did a number of things through them.
I would highly recommend Wild Wings and plan to send my sister on this trip!
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Email Donna P | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Choose ANY other company!
The guide Simon is a tourist who moved to South Africa to do tours and it shows in his arrogant, opinionated, disrespect of the South African people (he made fun of the way they talk), disrespect of the animals (he was gleeful at the thought of witnessing a kill in stark contrast to how the local guides respectfully handled the same situation and he even defended poaching saying "poachers are just people trying to feed their families") and his disrespectful comments about americans which he repeatedly made. Kruger National Park was amazing, the South African people were wonderful-- do the tour, just do it with ANY company but this one!
Reply from Wild Wings Safaris
Posted on Apr 5, 2016Hi Donna,
I take great pride in my job and in offering people the best safari experience possible. I am, therefore, greatly disappointed that you feel your safari didn’t live up to that standard. I am also sorry for the way that you feel about me as a person. I am passionate and enthusiastic about the Kruger and its wildlife. This shows up in the fact that I get excited about the animals and their behaviour. I always try and get close to the action and position the vehicle in the best possible way for the guests to see and photograph. If that is considered gleeful, then I’m guilty as charged. Most guests realise that this puts me in stark contrast to other guides, for whom guiding is merely a job. For me, this is my life, and I love seeing animals live and act in their natural environment, and showcasing that to the guests who come on my safaris.
Conversation around the dinner table often turns to relevant issues such as wildlife management, conservation, poaching, hunting and culling. I never condoned poaching and never will. It’s one of the more serious issues that we are currently struggling with. Perhaps you didn’t quite understand the context of my poaching statement. I mentioned that poachers are often killed in Kruger, to which you responded: ”Great, I hope they shoot more.” I continued saying that shooting poachers is not the real solution, many are merely doing it to feed their families. The fight of rhino poaching is much bigger than merely eradicating poachers. I’m not quite sure how you interpret this as me defending or condoning poaching.
I’m baffled by the fact that you think I’m a “tourist” when I have in fact been born and raised in South Africa and have lived my whole life here. I am also not quite sure what you are suggesting by saying that me being a “tourist” shows in me supposedly being arrogant, opinionated and disrespectful. What does that say about other tourists?
With regards to making fun of people, I do like to look at the lighter side of life. Most people refer to it as having a sense of humour. I guess it takes two people with a sense of humour for a joke to work. I can’t quite recall where I made fun of the way South Africans talk. After all, I am South African and I talk like them. I might talk funny, but I’ve learned to live with it. I have had many Americans on safari before, and most of them don’t take the things I say so literally or personally. I’ve made the same jokes before without anyone ever getting offended.
In the end, I still tried to make the safari a success, as far as possible. I went out of my way to cater to your vegetarian and gluten free requirements (unfortunately I was not told in advance that your husband also does not eat other things like onions or garlic). It appears my best efforts were perhaps not enough, or not appreciated by you.
We were lucky to have many great sightings including various predators such as lion (even the rare white lion), leopard, cheetah, wild dogs, etc. By sightings alone you were very fortunate, but it is a pity that normal and natural predator behaviour was disturbing to you. I also purposefully did not go to sightings that I knew would get you upset, like the lions feeding on a buffalo kill. For the sake of the other guests, I also tried to keep things light-hearted. I believe I had some success in giving them a great experience, despite the tension caused by your obvious displeasure, as can been seen in their review of the same safari (by Mary, dated 4 April 2016).
I leave you with the same words I said when I dropped you off, “I know this safari might not have been the best experience for you, but at least I hope that you can take some good memories home with you.” I always think one should hold on to the positives, rather than the negatives.
Personally, however, I do not think going with any other company would have made the experience any less miserable for you.
All the best for your future.
Regards,
Simon Vegter
Wild Wings Safaris