US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Jamie Foley
Solid option for a 1-day stop. Lodge was right in the park, and views from the rooms were absolutely spectacular.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Breathtaking
Professionally organized and carried out safari. Great accomodation with wonderful view, sunrise and sunset... Enjoyed the huge Ruaha NP on game drives (seeing many different animals, many really close by...) and walking safari along the river. Would do it again and again!
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most magical safari I have ever been on!
Just a short note to say thank you so much for organising our safari , from start to finish we had the most amazing time! We booked through Madi - she was extremely helpful and professional and answered all our questions promptly and thoroughly!
We were lucky enough to have our guide Nicky and the open vehicle all to ourselves which made our honeymoon even more special.
We managed to see the Big 5 twice and then some. Nicky was a wonderful guide who did everything in her power to provide us with the most wonderful sights , her knowledge of the area and the animals was so interesting, we learned a lot from her. The accommodation at Lower Sabie was just perfect , and the food cooked and provided by Nicky was fantastic.
The only problem with our safari was that it was too short and we wished we could have stayed longer!!!!
Thank you so much again , you were fantastic to deal with. I will highly recommend Wild Wings to all our family and friends. Please pass on our thanks to Nicky!
AE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Quick response, hospitality and professonal operation.
Quick and responsive communication for inquiry and booking was comfortable for the trip arrangeent.
Service starting from airport pick up, transportation, safari was good as expected but the safari car was rather old and more complete car maintenance should be secured. Safari tour itself was quite enjoyable and exciting but it depends upon the experience and the capability of the driver. As many safari tour companies are competing in the same market with similar services, it seems difficult to differenciate with others.
How Wildebeest Safari can maintain the good driver guides will be important to maintain the service quiality.
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great and well organized tour with an excellent and friendly guide
We booked a private (5 people) 5 day, 4 night tour in Blyde River Canyon and Kruger National Park with Endless Summer Tour for the begining of August 2018. It was a wonderful experience!
Our tour guide was Brett, who collected us from Johannesburg on day one. We visited Blyde River Canyon in the late afternoon, especially the sunset at Bourke's Luck Potholes was amazing. Excellent accomodation at Mogodi’s Lodge.
We then passed three days in Kruger Park with a very good accomodation for the first night in Berg-en-Dal rest camp where we have seen Buffalos, Rhinos and Elephants passing close to our bungalow in the evening!
We spent the two following nights in Skukuza rest camp. We saw many Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffe, Zebra, Lions, African Wild Dogs, Buffalos, one Leopard close to our vehicle and also beautiful birds! The sunset safari and the night safaris were great experiences. In August, the sunset safari was the best one for us since it begins during the day and it ends at night.
Brett is a good cook and a very nice and friendly guy! Above all, he is an excellent guide, very knowledgeable about wildlife and highly recommandable for people who want to make pictures since he was always looking for the best viewing angle.
We highly recommend Endless Summer Tour.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Next level safari experience
We had annexcellent safari. Special thanks to Karlijn from the Office she arranged everyting for us. IT was wonderful!!! Trip of our life. You Will see us back in Tanzania!
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice staff
Nice and trustworthy staff. Always in a good mood, always making sure the customers are happy and satisfied. Good car for transporting. Would definitely use them again.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not as expected
Had to pay in cash in USD, reason given, that all park fees had to be paid in cash USD. Some on the tour had paid online, but using another company. Would be great if Karibu accepted online payment.
Supposed to be 7 passengers, with window seat for all. Day one we were 9, of which 2 kept us waiting after lunch to join up. Lunch was in Narok town not at the camp. We were delayed for the 7th to 9th passengers. One insisted on seating next to the driver and was accomodated after lunch, so all had a seat. No game drive after lunch as promised, but we managed to see some animals on the way to camp. 4th bed added in a 3 bed tent, no mosquito net. Lights from 6:30 to 10 and from 5:30 in the morning. Bathroom basic but functional. Towels provided. Second day, we were promised 2 would be left at camp. Did not happen. Very uncomfortable full day safari with 9 in the van. The promised water was distributed at midday. 6 bottles per person at one time, quota for the whole tour. This after correspondence with Karibu. Guide was not informed on the first day, so we bought our own water. He was very good on the safari, trying to get us the most out of it on this day. Night was spent in another camp close to the Masai village. Horrible, 3 beds touching each other in a 2 bed tent. No mosquito net. Had to squeeze between a bed and the wall to get into the bathroom. No towels or toilet paper provided. Not polite people running the camp either.
Day three was mostly spent on driving around dropping people off and picking others. Morning was an optional 10$ Masai village visit and evening was an optional 20$ boat ride at lake Naishava. No game drive. One stop at a souvenir shop and lunch at a road side restaurant. Unhygienic place, flies in the buffet lunch and impolite wait staff. 2 unpleasant lunches here.
Night was Hotel Citymax in Nakuru. Nice people, comfortable hotel, internet worked. I could not see AC or fans, but the weather was pleasant and mosquito net available. Meals were basic, served at the table, but adequate.
Day 4 started good early game drive and then long drives to swap people. Car supposed to do that at the lunch stop didn't turn up. Our driver was driving like crazy, quite a lot off the road to beat the Nairobi traffic. We reached Amboseli after dark, but safely. Day 5 was good in Amboseli, only 5 in the bus, much more comfortable than being cramped up like before. Guide was also in a less stressed mood. Camp was better, shared hut with a female, but she didn't mind for 2 nights, so all well. Nice camp workers too. Got stuck in the swamp, but guide handled in quite well.
Day 6 morning short game drive on the way out of the park, back to Nairobi. One couple had to catch the 10 am bus to Mombasa. Luckily mount Kilimanjaro was visible.
Driver/guide did the best he could, much appreciated. Poor organising and not enough support given to him. I feel the answers to my messages were less than honest or uninformed. As a courtesy to your co passengers please come to Nairobi a day early and leave a day after the safari. This way others are not waiting for your flight to turn up or hurrying back on day 6. Just carry the baggage you need. Excess baggage in the cab is uncomfortable. Snoring at night, with strangers in close proximity is not going to make you friends.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very hospitable staff, very competitive rates and the whole experience was just wow.
I had the best experience with Gilmag dealing with them for the first time after being to Tanzania on several occasions. Everything about them was just perfect, and trust me I had one of the most eye-catching tour ever with perfected timing to be able to see even the most discreet animals ,kudos Gilmag.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good in planning and organizing - but the guide was terrible and too many lodges were changed
I joined a 17 days taylor-made safari planned for another lady (2 people being the minimum needed to have the tour going), so it was the two of us + guide (a free -lance, first time working for Blue crane Safaris, named Ronnie).
The booking part was really easy and Traudy very helpful and fast in giving information and answers.
1) The other lady (who over the past 2 years had been organizing this Safari with BCS had been confirmed that we would have a Bluecrane guide, and only the day when she arrived she was informed that we would have a free lance instead; I was told by Traudy that this guy was working for them for the first time, but came highly recommended; I told her it was not a problem for me, as long as he was a good guide.
Sadly, he wasn't; not to bother you with a long list of smaller events, I will just mention 2: Sussusvlei Dunes, he started climbing Big Daddy running like crazy (I am very sportive, a marathon runner and fit; the other lady was none of this) for 10 minutes, without even turning his head to check if we were ok (knowing the other lady would surely have problems); then, when he saw she couldn't breath (she had to call him and ask him to wait) he said "well, maybe it's better we don't climb the dune and go down to take pictures to the deadvlei; I WANTED to climb the dune up to the top, and asked him how much time I would have to do it. He gave me one hour to climb it, come down, and go and see the deadvlei, and finally go back to the parking site. I asked him: are you sure that is at all feasible? and he said "it depends on how fit you are". Well, I thought then I could make it and I did arrive half way without stopping, and saw already 30 minutes had gone - so I said to myself there is no way I can make it up there and back in 30 minutes. Not even Usain Bolt could do that! I had to give up, quickly run down to see the deadvlei, take some pictures veeery fast, and run to the parking. I was more than 10 minutes late, and breathless for the run, and mad for not being able to enjoy the most iconic site of Namibia.
All of this rush to do what? to be at the Lodge at 4 PM doing NOTHING!
Second episode: at Swakopmund he tried to book an activity for us, asking 2000N$ for an activity which cost 1200 N$ (and telling us he had got "a very special price...SURE it was SPECIAL); I checked prices on the internet - telling him - and when I found the prices without adding any comment I just told him "Thank you, I have found it at 1200N$ so we'll book ourselves, no worries".
And there would be many more episodes; the most annoying thing is that, even when you caught him doing something really wrong, HE would get mad and say we were wrong, and he never did those things. It's all "misunderstandings" (and I have to say it was pretty annoying, after sending me feedback to BCS, to be told that "they were all misunderstandings". Well I am old enough and an extremely experienced traveler, for work and leisure... I think I can tell a misunderstanding from something else)
The only good thing I have to say - to be fair - is that he was a very good driver and organized in terms of documents/diesel filling/ practical things like those. As a guide, the only days when I saw him really passionate (and willing to use the whole day instead of cutting it short) it was in Etosha, doing game drives. However his English (I think it was a language problem, although I am not sure) was not very good, so many times if you would ask you questions you would not be able to get answers.
And he was complaining all the time this tour was very hard on him, lots of km, the program was wrong, etc etc etc..
A good Guide is the most important thing on a Safari, he/she can make it awesome or poor... I understand it was just 2 people on the Safari, but it was 17 days and we had paid a good amount of money, so...
Then, it was also very annoying that MANY Lodges were changed from the plan, and we had no information until the day we started the Tour (Sussusvlei one not even at that point - we found out during the tour)
- Camelthorn lodge has become Anib Kalahari Desert
- Sossusvlei Lodge has become Namib Desert (Sossusvlei being INSIDE the park gates, Namib Desert being ONE HOUR AWAY - so, no sunrise or sunset on the dunes since only who is INSIDE the gates can enjoy those, due the closing times of the gates)
- Palmwag lodge has become Khowari (2 nights): Palmwag being right AT the gates, Khowari one hour away (so, 2 hours drive added in the day JUST to go back and forth)
- Epupa Falls lodge has become Opwo Country Lodge (again ... hours wasted in the car and all the activities mentioned in the initial program -rafting, birdwatching, sundowner) DISAPPEARED
- Epacha lodge became Eagle (these two might be similar)
This is not my first Safari, and I know that it MAY happen that ONE/TWO Lodges may have a last minute problem and need to be changed (but should be changed to an EQUAL Lodge); however, since we had booked in February and were asked a 25% advance payment (needed to block reservations at Lodges), and we only paid the balance in July - I think there was plenty of time to inform us about the changes (if the Lodges were full) and have prices RE-ADJUSTED accordingly before we paid the balance.
So, I am sorry but I cannot say I am fully satisfied, because I really think that there were several things that were not fair and quite annoying. I saw many excellent reviews (which is also the reason why I chose BCS) and I am sorry having to say that my experience was different.
All the above being said, Namibia is so wonderful, that I loved it anyhow; I always try to see the glass half full and do not let external events take away my smile, so I focused on how lucky I was to be there and was happy for that. Nonetheless, concerning how high the cost of these kinds of Safari are, I think it is fair that I share my experience so that visitors are informed, and BCS (whom I had already sent me my feedback) can improve (if they want) their service.