Team Wild Planet Safari
Wild Planet Safari
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- SATSA & FGASA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $410 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
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
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.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An extremely satisfying safari
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.
Email Noelene Cole | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An awesome, informative,wonderful experience. Best holiday ever.
Planning of the trip was excellent. Our expectations were more than met. The knowledge of wildlife, fauna and birds from Ryan is exceptional and we learnt and experienced so much.
Highly recommended tour operator and guide. Every detail was taken care of.
US
Email Fred | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life Changing Experience Due to Tour Guide Chris
My partner and I enjoyed the 4 day safari in Kruger with Chris and Hopesol of Wild Planet Safari. Here are some takeaways:
1. We tented at two different campgrounds. For both Hopesol set up our tents and cots, sleeping bags and fan. The campgrounds had a fence around the exterior but we still were able to see jackals and honey badgers at night. They just added to the experience - no concerns.
2. Each day, Hopesol cooked different meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner over a fire. Delicious. Included were an English Breakfast, pancakes, fruit salads, steaks, sausage (including ostrich), lamb, chicken roast - basically more than you can eat and still be so satisfied. Hopesol was so friendly and really wanted to know how our tour was going and how to improve it. It's hard to express how much we enjoyed the four of us talking about the day and other life events while enjoying those meals at dusk.
3. Chris drove the open air jeep for several guided tours each day, morning, afternoon and early evening. Everything that any review has said about Chris being a superior guide, friendly, welcoming and funny merely approach the truth. He made our trip what I consider the best vacation/experience of my life. My partner really wanted to see as many birds as possible and Chris would stop and point them out as we crossed paths. In the end we were able to count 78 new birds! Amazing. He recommended getting an Animals of Kruger Park picture book of what we might see and it helped us keep track of what we encountered as well as looking for others to scout. In the end, Chris takes such pride in what he does and he told us he is meant to work in the bush - we could not have had a better guide.
4. Value for the money? You could not have a better experience on safari - we were able to be on our own with just Chris and Hopesol, without a group that would require us to be distracted by others needs, wants, ways. We also went on a night trip led by a Kruger ranger, on which about 20 people crowded onto a jeep. While we were able to see some nocturnal animals like huge owls, a civet, some honey badgers and also lions just lying on the road in front of us, the crowd of people was almost painful after being with just Chris on a guided tour. We also went on a a guided walk of eight in Kruger with two armed rangers; that was fun to experience the animals and so extensive land from a ground perspective. We did see zebra and wildebeests moving up close.
5. Just Go. Experience the vastness of Kruger. You will be so happy you did this. We still say, "I wish we were on safari right now."
Thanks, Wild Planet Safari. Thanks, Hopesol. Thanks, Chris. Chris, you have found something to do that makes others so happy. Not many people can say that.
US
Email Teresa Schmit | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience!
Thale was great staying in touch and coordinating all aspects of our tour. We thought we knew what to expect but the entire trip exceeded our expectations.
The transfers from/to Johannesburg worked great and gave us an opportunity to see a bit more of South Africa.
Upon arriving at Hazy View Eric quickly greeted us and we were off to explore. Quickly realizing we were not on a drive through zoo experience of just pointing out different animals. Eric would stop and allow us to observe the animal’s behavior. The buffalo herd moving across the riverbed, giraffes continually coming from the trees, hyena crunching bones while chasing off the young, lions waking as sun was rising, elephant bathing at the end of the day, rhinoceros quietly grazing, leopard relaxing in the tree, warthogs scurrying through the grass, moments forever etched in our memory. Seeing the Big 5 twice in a day was so much more than we could have ever asked for but seeing so many different species was extraordinary!
Eric is a remarkable guide, so knowledgeable about the wildlife, Park and culture but also a fantastic chef. The meals were plentiful and delicious, a great way to relax and recall all the magical moments of the day.
Staying in the rest camps was a huge bonus! It was extremely comfortable and clean all while staying in the surroundings during the entire safari.
After the excitement of the safari, the final day we enjoyed the panoramic route through Blyde River Canyon. The beautiful scenery was a relaxing way to wind down and see more of the beautiful country of South Africa.
We were a bit concerned about going in February, reading that it would be more difficult to see the animals as the grass is longer and the animals did not necessarily need to go to the watering holes. This was not an issue at all. The wildlife was plentiful, the weather was gorgeous, and the views were amazing.
MARAVELLOUS
Everything goes fine from the beginning. Thale helped us in all the organisation, helping to decide the route and planing everything. Once we arrived Eric was the most amazing guide that I could imagine. Eric was a passionate bird lover, a very good driver, an amazing chef, an incredible storyteller in a summary the best guide we could imagine.
I recommend without and doubt the safari we did.
Wildplanet pick up us on the Tempo Airport in the early morning arriving to the Hoedspruit at mid-day entering the krugger park the same afternoon having our first game drive on the way to Satara rest camp, here we see many animals including one Leopard. We stay 2 nights in the satara rest camp. The only experince that we will not repeat is the nigh game. After the 2 nights we went to skukuza rest time for 1 night more.
I recommend the safari and I will repeat in the future.
Thanks to Thale and Eric
Email Priscilla | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Small operation with knowledgable guides and comfortable arrangements!
Chris, our guide from Zimbabwe, was very knowledgable and eager to show us the best that Kruger has to offer taking us to different parts of the park to try to catch a diversity of animals. He was patient and easy to connect with. Being a private tour, we were happy to be able to have the freedom to stop and continue on as our schedule allowed and it allowed us to find what we were most interested in. We saw 4 of the Big 5 on our 3-day tour which is really 2 days with the transfers from Joburg taking half a day each way.
We didn't realize that the driver and guide were one and the same person but this seemed to be the norm at Kruger. Our chef was lovely and made delicious foods but we would have appreciated being given different options beforehand to select our menu from.
Thale from the head office was not very responsive regarding the booking after the initial engagements were made. He doesn't seem to be on the ground with his guides and so may be a bit out of touch with the goings on.
Reply from Wild Planet Safari
Posted on Feb 5, 2024Hi Priscilla,
thank you for the review. I just want to clear up what might be a misunderstanding. I am in contact with my guides every step of the way as well as the transfer company. I made sure you were on the transfer and that my guides were there to pick up when you arrived. I provided them with all the guest info, booking info for the tour as well as a menu for all the meals, based upon the info you provided in the booking form. I know how important staying in contact before and during a safari is, and will always do my very best to stay on top of communication.
DE
Email Ralf und Kati | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lots of animals and good care all around
We had a 6-day safari and were able to see a lot of animals. We were able to see 4 of the Big Five on the drive to our first lodge. In the following days we were always lucky and saw lions, leopards, rhinos, wild dogs and much more. We were particularly impressed by a huge herd of elephants with animals of all sizes that ran right past our vehicle.
Thanks to Chris' good eyesight, we saw many animals that we would have driven past on our own.
Many thanks to Chris and Hopeson, who took good care of our physical well-being and for the good all-round care.
US
Email Lisa Krzan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Chris was the perfect guide. So knowledgable. So kind.
Our experience could not have been any more perfect thanks to both Chris and Hopeson. We saw all the animals thanks to Chris' sharp eyesight and his ability to spot the most hidden animals. Hopeson made us the best food. Every meal was delicious, healthy, and filling. They took good care of us and we were able to see all the animals that we wanted. We left this safari completely satisfied with our experience! Great company and great people :)
CH
Email Stefano | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
No bad weather can spoil youir Safari if Chris, from Wild Planet Safari, guides you!
First Safari for the whole family, parents just around their 50s and kids of 12 and 15 years old.
we were not lucky with the weather as it rained almost every day; yet the experience was unforgettable!
Thales was super-helpful in organising the tour and, at the end, we can say her recommandations were spot-on!
During the trip every effort was made to give us the chance to view as much as possible; the guide expertise proved so helpful to spot different species, even the rares ones (the big 5, 4 of the ungly 5v - only missing the crocodiles and many more..) and even when they were so far. He tought us so many things... and with a bit of luck, when we asked for Rhino on the last safari... we saw 18 of them!!!
Camps are easy and clean; the chef always made something different and delicious.. even thought he couldn't cook under the stars as planned, due to the rain (hats off for how he managed).
to cut a long story short, we would not hesitate to pick Wild Pülanet Safari again!
