Reviews

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 11-20 of 206 Reviews
Stian & Anja   –  
Norway NO
Visited: September 2011 Reviewed: Jun 12, 2014

20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Three weeks we never will forget
5/5

Thank you so much for the three greatest adventures weeks we have had. We traveled through South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

We saw every animal we could ever dream of. Beautiful sceneries, places and fantastic national pearls.

The guides from Wild Planet Safari, Thale and Ryan, made the trip unforgetable. The knowlage about every animal, flora, fauna and places were explizit. Ryan could spot a animal from a great distance and Thale would make up the best dishes. Since the trip was a personal trip with the only two of us, we were able to take full advantage of our guides and were able to stop when we wanted, get the game drives we wanted and last but not least get the photos we wanted.

The food was delicious, variated and tasty. We still talk about all the different delicious sausages we had every day in addition to dinner. We had all the great camping sites with comforting tents. We espesially remembering the campsite at Mapungubwe where the bushbuck walk next to us whilst we had breakfast, and the monkeyes with some cheeky monkey business.

If you want a tailor made and personal trip, with guides that have the knowlage we would love to recommend Wild Planet Safari with Thale and Ryan!!

Thank you so much for the tour.

Karl & Martha Kirkman   –  
United States US
Visited: May 2014 Reviewed: Jun 20, 2014

50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

An extremely satisfying safari
5/5

We found Wild Planet Safari on the internet, but got really interested when we read the reviews here on safaribookings.com. They sounded too good to be true. Should we dare take a chance on this? We did, and we were more than totally satisfied with the entire experience.

As we thought about it, we began to realize that a 3-4 day tour of Kruger Park was not going to be nearly enough, especially considering the cost of flying to South Africa; a long-enough tour was needed to make it worth the cost. Ten-day tours sounded interesting, and when we contacted Ryan and Thale about it, we worked together to custom-design a 13-day private tour for the two of us.

We can’t say enough about how easy Ryan and Thale were to work with. They helped us figure out what we were wanting in a safari experience, and then they designed the trip around that. Whenever we had questions, they were ready with straightforward answers that were proactive, answering our follow-up questions without us having to ask. They were always a step ahead of us in working everything out. They thoughtfully accommodated all of the special situations that accompanied us, and went out of their way to make everything work out just perfectly.

The safari itself was a dream come true. We had been planning to do something like this for many years, so we had plenty of imaginative ideas about how great a safari should be, but our experiences with Ryan and Thale far exceeded them all. Every detail of the safari was perfectly planned. Ryan and Thale work together extremely well and make everything happen just like it should. Our days were organized as efficiently as possible, to maximize the amount of time we could spend on game drives. It’s hard to imagine a bush guide that could be more knowledgeable than Ryan. He’s got an incredible knack for finding animals. He knows how they think and behave, and his explanations are both amazing and easy to understand. He understands how the “bush” works; how all of the plants, trees, insects, and animals are interrelated. We were spell-bound by everything he had to tell us. There was nothing we could ask him that he couldn’t explain to us perfectly well. You’d expect that the Kruger Park guides would be even more amazing, but that’s not the case; Ryan out-shined them all.

The accommodations were great. We spent some evenings in tents, one night in a bird hide, and some evenings in bungalows. The food was terrific. Thale’s cooking expertise really showed in the evening meals. Everything was cooked over an open fire, and we enjoyed long conversations over delicious suppers. Even though they were the tour operators and we were the guests, most of the time it just felt like we were camping together as friends.

Beyond the safari, Ryan and Thale helped us plan the extra time we had available in Johannesburg. They arranged for some extra tours, accompanied us at meals, and even had us to their own home for meals and to meet their family and friends.

If we ever go back to South Africa, it’s a slam dunk that we’ll be signing up for another tour with Ryan and Thale.

Bjørn   –  
Norway NO
Visited: July 2014 Reviewed: Aug 9, 2014

35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Most amazing experience i have ever had in my life
5/5

A fantastic 13 day adventure trip. Ryan with his outstanding knowledge of the wildlife, plant life and the knowledge about the entire African continent, and Tale with her service and has also become a very good tour guide. Thank you, i give my best recommendations.
Best regard
Bjørn Farstad

Runa T. Farstad   –  
Norway NO
Visited: July 2014 Reviewed: Aug 9, 2014

Email Runa T. Farstad  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Exellent
5/5

My family and I have been on our most exciting tour with Ryan and Thale. We have been well received. We saw the big five, and have seen loads of other exciting animals. I am impressed by the knowledge of everything from trees, grass, rocks, animals and history. We had 13 days of good food and good stories and many great experiences. This can be highly recommended. Thanks Thale and Ryan that you made ​​this an experience of a lifetime.

Kristine T. Farstad   –  
Norway NO
Visited: June 2014 Reviewed: Aug 11, 2014

under20 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The trip was amazing and really great.
5/5

It has been a pleasure to travel with wild planet safari. It has been 14 incredible fun and pleasant days. I have learned a lot. I did not know what I looked forward to, because I did not know anything. But the journey and everything was really great. I would recommend Wild Planet safari to anyone who wants to go on a safari.

Jan-Petter   –  
Norway NO
Visited: July 2014 Reviewed: Sep 17, 2014

Email Jan-Petter  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Excelent safariexperience and well planned roundtrip with Wild Planet Safari.
5/5

We were two families, four adults, four youths, travelling with Wild Planet Safari 14 days in Eastern South Africa. First time in SA, first time on safari, so we were curious in what to expect.
We had a fantastic tour with Thale and Ryan, a tour showing us much of the variety in this huge country.
When we look back, the most fascinating part was at the start, in Kruger, where we camped at Skukuza. We went for both early morning drives, starting at daybreak, and afternoon trips.
We saw all possible animals to see out there, including big five, like lions with fresh catch (buffalo).
It was good to have Ryan there, spotting animals from long distance, hiding in the vegetation. If Ryan didn’t spot animals, well, then there where none there.
After Kruger we went to Royal Hlane in Swaziland. This park was less impressive than Kruger, but as the camp was situated near a waterhole, we had good view of animals like rhinos, elephants and impala.
Besides knowing everything about wildlife and nature, Ryan has very good knowledge for history, culture and sociallife of the areas visited, information shared with us, broadening our minds and giving another dimension to this wonderful experience.
Let me also mention the delicious food prepared by Thale and Ryan – most nights prepared on open fire outside. Very good meat served with different vegetables, meat and vegetables many of them new to us.
One thing to remember for those of you traveling this time of year, July/August; Bring warm clothes. Fortunately Wild Planet Safari did supply us with blankets while traveling the open safarivehicle early mornings.
We also visited St Lucia for hippos and crocs, the Durban area for some relaxation, and had a good stay in Drakensberg with two good hikes.
The best part of the trip, very well organized by the guys at Wild Planet Safari, was Kruger – spend some days there !

Andy and Angela, Southend, England.   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: May 2014 Reviewed: Sep 30, 2014

Email Andy and Angela, Southend, England.  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Two week round trip from joburg up to Limpopo, through Kruger, Durban, zululand, draakensburg,return
5/5

Undoubtably the most memorable two week journey we've experienced. Cute loved up guides, Ryan knows his subject, Thale great bush cook. Personally tailored service from guys who love the job, plenty communication prior to setting out. Mostly camping ( cos that's what we asked for) with a few nights in cosy accommodation. Dawn to dusk game drives, plenty game, astounding scenery. God's own country. Particularly enjoyed arriving and leaving at the home of Ryan's folks who made us feel like we'd known them for years. Loved the whole experience and would do it again tomorrow.

JocelynH   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2014 Reviewed: Oct 28, 2014

Email JocelynH  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Experience of a lifetime!!!
5/5

I cannot rave about our safari with Wild Planet enough. Ryan and Thale were absolutely phenomenal. They were extremely knowlegeable and they did an excellent job locating and tracking the animals, and they were able to answer any question we had about each. Additionally, they were really friendly, laid back and flexible and made the entire experience very enjoyable. We were a little hesitant about wiring money to pay for the safari ahead of time, but it was a totally seamless process. We really could not have asked for a better safari experience from beginning to end. Go with wild planet, you will not regret it.

Jingjing-RTW   –  
United States US
Visited: October 2014 Reviewed: Oct 31, 2014

Email Jingjing-RTW  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Our dream comes true and beyond!
5/5

We love Ryan and Thale, we're having a 10 days family tour with them right now. It's been amazing and super lucky. They went out of their way to arrange everything to make sure we're pampered。they even arranged our flight, resort stay and pickup/drop off before tour started. We've two kids 8 & 6 and they adore Ryan & Thale. They're not only super aknowlegable as guides, also a super cook, playmate for our kids. They made our dreams come true. Kids are convinced Ryan can talk to animals and he can make them to show up.

We also got to meet their family and they're all very warm and fun. We've been traveling around the world, South Africa is definitely our highlight. Thank you Ryan and Thale!

Marianne and family   –  
Norway NO
Visited: December 2014 Reviewed: Feb 18, 2015

20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

An overwhelming Christmas- adventure
5/5

We had the best time of our life with Wild Planet Safari christmas 2014
We went on a 11 days tour from J.burg-Hazywiew- Merloth-Swaziland-St. Lucia- Durban- J.burg. And would do it all again tomorrow without any hesitation.
The knowlegde of both Ryan and Thale made our trip complete, and with the patience for our four children (5,8,9,10) it was absolutely phenomenal.
Travelling with Wild Planet Safari is highly recomendable, and you will get the best service, food and experiences of 'em all!:)

Average User Rating
4.9/5
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