AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Felistus arranged our tour on very short notice.arrangements were good n gave us a good deal.
I would say Felistus n the entire team did a fantastic job. And exceeded our expectations, n made Mum n me have a wonderful n memorable holiday. I would certainly recommend Oakland tours to friends n family.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First trip to Africa
Liselle at Sun Safaris helped us with our first trip to South Africa. We were so pleased. Every step of the way it was perfect. Not knowing where to start or where to go we trusted her judgment and we're thrilled with her choices. It was a trip of a lifetime and no doubt we will go back. It was the most relaxing and enjoyable trip we have ever been on. We didn't have to worry about a thing. We highly recommend Sun Safaris! Liselle makes it easy and Simple. We love Africa!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely Amazing
There are no words to truly put to describe the experience Comfort Zone Safaris gave me. It was a childhood dream to visit Kenya and the Masai Mara. The game drives were amazing, the people friendly and experience unparalleled. John made my experience by taking care of me from the minute I landed in Nairobi to checking on me even now that I am back home in Canada months later. I was so pleased to use this local tour company to show and share with me the experiences of their country. My favourite part, which was tailored by John, was getting to meet and do a home stay with the Masai People (Alex) and hearing childhood stories of becoming a Masai Warrior and sharing a meal.
John you are amazing - I miss you and Alex
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unbelievable Adventure!
This truly was a once in a lifetime experience. Seeing the great migration first hand is something I will never forget. Nature at its finest with some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. Amazing experiences of lions eating their kill and taking shade under our vehicle. More elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions than I ever expected to see...and so close!!! Our guides were the BEST. I've never left a trip so desperately wanting to stay longer.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
a Must for elephant lovers
We fell in love with South Africa when we first visited the country in 2011. Since then we returned almost every year. During the last years, we visited a large number of national parks in South Africa. Addo Elephant NP was on our itinerary almost every time, with ever increasing time spent there: the first visit, we stayed only one night, and on our last visit during Dec2015/Jan2016, we stayed 6 nights. The park's main attraction are the elephants, and you will not be able to miss them due to their huge numbers. There are also lions and rhinos, but they are very rare. There a no giraffes. We can spend hours at the waterhole simply watching the elephants interacting with each other. Their social behaviour is very much like humans. We particularly like watching the little ones, and there were always many of them.
The bird hide next to the restaurant is also worth a visit. Lots of red cardinals and weaver birds.
We always stayed in one of the park's chalets. They offer sufficient comfort and you are close to the animals. Although outside the park there are more luxurious accommodation for almost the same price, we always opt to stay in the park, because there is a major advantage: People in the park are allowed to enter 1 hour earlier and leave one hour later than people staying outside (this is because the gates between street and Addo rest camp close earlier/open later than the gates between rest camp and game area). Add the driving time from your accomodation to the park and you can easily calculate that good light for photography is impossible when you stay outside.
A typical day as we organize it looks as follows:
- get up 30 mins before the game gate opens
- have a coffee and some cookies or light breakfast (kitchen available in the chalet)
- enter the park when gate opens (usually at or shortly after sunrise)
- stay in the park (mainly at the waterholes) until 9 or 10a.m.
- return to the restaurant for breakfast
- during the day, get the sleep you missed (aircon available in chalet)
- around 4p.m. start the afternoon drive (some cookies and coffee before come in handy)
- leave park when gate closes
- have shower and dinner at the restaurant (but self cooking at chalet would also be possible)
- sleep
It is advisable to bring in your own supplies, especially if you want to cook yourselves, because the shop has only minimal choices.
Queen Elizabeth national park is beautiful
My first time to visit in Uganda and i visited with my daughter to Queen Elizabeth park for 5 days. I visited the kyambura gorge to see the chimpanzee and also the walk in the gorge where we found many birds. This park has about 606 different bird species and very wild selection of animals. Visit it and enjoy everything
AE
Musa is a very knowledgeable n experienced guide who made the safari wonderful.
Ashnil mara is a beautiful property on the mara river n what makes it stand out are its Staff. Attentive, friendly n hardworking! The food selection was also very good n tasty. It was an experience of a life time we saw Wildlife, up close n personal! Our tour guide Musa knew exactly where to go n view the animals. The weather was a lil crazy with it being too hot when the sun was up. N too cold as the sun set. All the people we met from start to finish went the extra mile to make us hav a memorable n wonderful holiday.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
It was a great experience to visit several national parks in Kenya and get a close view on a big variety of animals such as elephants, giraffes, antilopes, buffalos, cheetahs, zebras, hyenas, lions and many more. Our driver was really helpful and always tried to get us as close to the animals as possible. Also, he was very experienced both with driving on Kenyan roads and with the animals, so I think the trip couldn't have been better. The accommodation that was pre-chosen for us was really great in all cases and the food was also excellent. All in all, there's nothing to complain about. We had great holidays in Kenya. Advice: We were in Kenya during the rainy season which is not that bad. There's short and heavy rainfalls maybe once a day for 30 min but apart from that the weather is great. The good thing is that there are not that many tourists around during rainy season and this often makes you get a much closer look at the animals.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kili Climb + Safari: Safe, Reliable, Comfortable
I recently traveled to Tanzania for a few weeks with my girlfriend and her brother. We did both the Kilimanjaro climb and safari with Materuni Tours.
To keep it short and simple: both were phenomenal experience and no doubt enhanced significantly because of the dedication of Matruni and their staff to making the experience truly unforgettable.
The climb is definitely not for the faint of heart, but you cannot imagine a more satifying personal accomplishment to achieving the summit - and the Materuni climb team, led by our two guides (Makashi and Joseph), were absolutely essential in making it happen. They were our guardian angels on the mounts. Their positive energy and dedication to our well-being were truly appreciated and will be forever remembered.
The safari was fantastic to do as a reward to ourselves after the climb. Our guide (Mkonyi) was an absolute dream to have by our side for three days. He was enthusiastic, fun-loving, positive and very knowledgeable - along with an absolute blast and all-around great guy to hang out with during our adventures.
Looking back, if we had to do it all again (and wish we could right NOW - we miss it so much already), there isn't anything we would have done differently.
Sincerest thanks to Ambrose, Tory and the entire Materuni Tours family. If you're looking for a company to go with, they come highly recommended!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Best Experience of My Life!!!!!!
We booked a honeymoon trip with Ancient Wild Safaris to Samburu, Lake Naivasha, Hell’s Gate, and Maasai Mara because of the very affordable price and because those were the exact places we wanted to visit. Everything went Perfectly!!! From Michael who is fantastic and answered all our questions and requests, to the Wonderful and Experienced Guide and Human Being Joseph, to seeing all animals we could see in these parks (lions, cheetahs, leopard, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, crocodiles, zebras, wildebeest – the migration – elephants, baboons, monkeys, all types of gazelles, ostriches, buffalos, warthogs, and an incredible variety of birds) to the Kenyan lifestyle and the very welcoming Maasai village visit, and to the great camping and lodging, everything went perfectly.
Joseph is a fantastic guide. He is kind, knowledgeable, on time, caring, smart, and generous. We spent a lot of time on the game drives. He is well respected and liked by other guides and we always got tips about where wildlife was. We spent lots of time in quiet, observing lions (we saw 5 the first day on our 2 h evening game drive!!!! and at least other 10 the next days), cheetahs, leopards and all the other animals. We saw them walk, run, sleep, and mate!!!! We saw it all and it exceeded our expectations. We took fantastic photos. Joseph knows very much about all animals and knows the names of all the birds. He is very experienced and drove us exactly to the places where wildlife lives.
Because we told Michael we were on our honeymoon we got the most pleasant surprise – a free boat ride at Lake Naivasha!!! It was one of the most wonderful experiences of our lives. We saw hippos having dinner and then get in the water and play!! It was so much fun. They are very active and interactive. One family was more territorial and snorted water in the air when we approached. It was a blast!!!
Samburu is awesome. It’s a bit warmer there than in Maasai Mara but we saw many animals concentrated together. Lake Naivasha is fabulous. Right by it is Hells Gate!!!! Do not miss Hells Gate!!!! I learned how to ride a bike 5 days before leaving for Kenya so I could ride a bike in the canyon. It was amazing. We were alone with zebras, gazelles, giraffes, warthogs, and wildebeest. And the walk down the Hells Gate gorge is out of this world. Maasai Mara is everything you expect from savanna and more. All the Big 5 and so much more. We spent 3 nights and 2 days there, which gave us enough time to do different things.
Joseph was great with the schedule. Told us every night what time we would start next day (which was earlier than others) and what we will do. He was Always ready before us and the car was cleaned every night! On the way to Lake Naivasha we passed by a private conservation park and we could see about 7 rhinos chilling, which was so unexpected. We also stopped at a rug factory and at Thomson’s Falls which were great surprises. We felt always taken care of and guided to see the most.
We never got stopped on the road by the road blocks and police, which I heard happens for other drivers, and our car was in great condition on all the difficult roads and specifically to Maasai Mara. We never got stuck any where. In fact all other drivers on the game drive knew Joseph’s great car and good nature and we stopped to help other cars stuck in the mud. This was fun because it gave us the opportunity to get out of the car to take more photos and stretch our legs.
We had no problems with lodging. It was all we expected and more. Everywhere we had our own private bathroom and electrical outlets to charge phones, cameras, etc. Food was fantastic at the Maasai Mara camp. The village visit was lots of fun and a life changing experience. We were short on cash but the village people are happy to trade souvenirs for anything you can trade (bandanas, a sweater, raincoat).
I don’t have enough words to say how happy we’ve been with this tour operator and our guide. They even accommodated our traveling plans. We requested an extra day in Maasai Mara because our flight left a day later and that was solved in our advantage because we stayed with Joseph and did not change to a new group. Michael was very responsive and very eager to please.
We will go back to Kenya and we will surely use Ancient Wild Safaris again!! I fully recommend them for the best experience. They may serve budged safaris but they are of very high quality.
Thank you!!!!