NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A beautiful holiday in KZN
Thanks to TMS, we have an amazing journey in KZN. The information booklet, the written-out program, the phone and the navigationsystem were important to the success. Also the guidance of the staff was excellent.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
What a wonderful experience!
We had such an amazing trip! Our lovely driver Tolbat was so informative and friendly, we had such a lovely drive out to the Lake, followed by a life changing encounter with the incredible Gorillas. So glad we found this company to facilitate this beautiful experience! Thank you so much!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience - safe and awe - inspiring
I was hesitant at first. A small company with so many other big ones with (presumably) better facilities and more experience. How wrong was I?
Java is headed up by Catherine who is a fount of knowledge - she's lived there for years and knows everyone. She knows how to make things happen, where to get the best experiences, the great drivers, the most beautiful views. She's smart, sassy and well-connected and hugely respected by the locals. I was literally blown away by the entire experience in Tanzania.
I was ill on the trip (nobody's fault - just really bad migraine) - and she made sure I was looked after, got the meds I needed and even managed to tweak our trip to ensure I didn't miss the highlights. We spent the day in the Ngorogoro Crater, and another at Tarangire, I lunched at Crater Lodge, stayed at Gibbs Farm, where we saw bush babies in the grounds - heavenly! The itinerary was perfect - brilliantly timed between go, go, go and rest periods in beautiful places to recover. The food was heavenly everywhere we ate too. Can you tell I loved it - lol! Book with confidence - and much excitement!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
2 days weekend masai mara trip
For a two day trip I was amazed at how much we were able to do and see including the big five. Tom was an excellent guide whose knowledge and kindness truly enhanced the entire experience! will always recommend you to all the UN foreign staff working in somalia
BT
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
a top of the bucket list experience.
Lots of open communications with catherine before hand, which made for agreat trip with only good outcomes.
Her choice of safari parks, and accommodations, just kept getting better, along with the copious amounts of great food, and smiling happy kenyans,
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The most amazing safari experience.
Right from my first enquiry for a quote until the end of the trip, Elias was always in email contact and helped us so much with flight problems which were not his responsibility. ( Don't use Precision Air. They make up the flights and destinations as they go along)! Our booking was a bit complicated as I had to meet up with a friend from Australia, but Elias understood the situation perfectly and helped us to put our holiday together. I was so grateful that he advised us that it was the rainy season and booked us into beautiful lodges rather than tents.
Our driver, Robbie, was fantastic! He did the airport transfers too, and after a long flight it was lovely to be met with a smiling face. His driving was very good. I felt completely safe whether on main roads or on wet tracks. How he managed to negotiate all those ruts and pot holes and spot distant animals and birds at the same time was completely beyond me! He let us look at the animals for as long as we wanted but also made sure that we had time to see everything he promised he would find for us. It was lovely to be met by a smiling Robbie each morning, ( he was always more punctual than we tried to be), to go off on our adventures. And the animals we saw were amazing, often so much closer than I imagined they would be. My highlight was elephants crossing the road in front of us and practically brushing against the jeep to get to the forest on the other side.
So a big thank you to Elias, Robbie and World Air tours for the most perfect safari holiday. I would definitely recommend the company.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing and exceeded our expectations (which were low, admittedly)
We had visions of really roughing it if we go on safari.
The private game reserves have refine the safari experience so that people of all ages and conditions can enjoy safaris in relative safety, and in a way that preserves the natural environment.
Sabi Sands game reserve is a well stocked private game reserve. We saw the big five (elephant, lion, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard) in two game drives, one evening and one morning. We stayed for three nights, and on the subsequent drives had time to see more of the big five, as well as giraffes, hippos, many different types of the deer family, hyenas, zebras, wildebeest and smaller creatures, and even had time to do some bird watching. The only missing animals were cheetahs and crocodiles. We even saw some monitor lizards.
Our guide and tracker were both excellent. On one drive we tracked the dominant resident male leopard out on his evening hunt for well over twenty minutes, and one another drive we got up close to a pride of three male and two female lions who had just crossed over from Kruger. The males looked like they had been in a recent fight and got the worst of it. Being out of territory and not familiar with our guide and tracker, they were very nervous and skittish, and there were tense moments for a while.
Drives were done in relative comfort, in an open 4 wheel drive with up to six passengers with the guide and tracker. Morning drives start pre-dawn, and evening drives finish in the dark, so we can observe game behavior both in darkness and in daylight. This gives about 4 to hours for relaxation in late morning and after lunch.
The Sabi Sands game reserve is located by an artificial waterhole (filled by ground bore water), like many other reserves. We love sitting on the porch of our standalone one bedroom villa and watch the animals come to drink at the waterhole during the day. Accommodation was five starred, ad we love the outside (but private) shower!
All in all, it was a phenomenal experience, and we would go safari again in a heartbeat.
Thoroughly recommended, and June was a great time to go, no summer undergrowth, so no snakes and other creep crawlies!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Kenya by Heather
Kenya has a wonderful, diverse wildlife and a number of different parks and reserves in which to go on safari to view the wildlife. The landscape within the parks is truly beautiful and mostly untouched by man.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about South Africa by Steve
South Africa is a great destination, with experiences to suit all different tastes.
Cape Town is a beautiful city, the Cape Peninsula is a fantastically scenic area, as is Stellenbosch and the Cape wine country just outside of Cape Town. Johannesburg is different altogether, and students of apartheid will have a first hand experience of the legacy of apartheid and study it close up. We did not go to the bustling commercial melting pot of Durban, but would love to do so. We did go to Sun City, but did not go on any game drives there.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
enjoyable and flexible, perfect for my trip
I was traveling alone and michael helped to organize my trip via email. He respond always very fast and answered all my questions. As well, he was super flexible in organising my trip, a part which i liked very much. When i arrived in nairobi the driver waited for my and it was good to "know" already a person. My guide also visited me in my hotel to explain me everything about my hiking trip and answered all my questions. The hiking it self was awesome! The guide and cook (very nice food! :-) ) took care of me all the time and left my time and space for my self as well. The accomodation was okay as well. You might share your room with 7 other people or you are lucky as me and have the room for your self :-) I decided sponteanously to spend one more night at the mountain and i was thankful that they organised it. I would highly recommand this company and michael and his guides! It was an awesome time and they made it possible! Thanks!