CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical!
My boyfriend and I booked a 10-day trip, which included safari at Arathusa Lodge, a quick stop at Hippo Hollow for an elephant encounter, exploring Cape Town and it's surrounds (Grand Daddy Hotel) and finally a couple of days at the beach (The Last Word Hotel - beautiful!). Justin Perumal built the entire trip to perfection according to our interests and desires. Everything was perfectly organized and he followed up with us throughout the trip to ensure everything was to our liking. And wow - it really was! Arathusa was incredible in every way. The lodges were gorgeous, the staff super friendly and the rangers very knowledgeable. The food was delicious and always served with a view of the water hole and all the animals passing by to have a drink. While in Cape Town we did a wine tour in the Stellenbosch area with Sideways, which was also excellent! Unfortunately, our shark cage diving trip was cancelled due to stormy weather conditions, but Justin found alternative activities on very short notice and we ended up having a great day anyway.
Thank you for an exceptional experience and we warmly recommend PaperJet Travel to anyone who wishes to explore South Africa!
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
2nd Success in a Row with Kerry & Pembury
I first had the pleasure of working with Kerry in 2010 planning my honeymoon. The logistics were so smooth, and the staff we encountered at hotels and tour operators were so warm and welcoming that I contacted her again in February 2016 to plan a vacation for my family.
It was short notice, and required planning for a group of 6 people including a member with special needs for 9 days. All was planned efficiently, communication was always clear and fast, suggestions offered were on point.
The real curve-ball; we missed our flight to Cape Town and although I immediately emailed Kerry about it, I could not tell her when we'd be able to reschedule our flights. She cancelled our immediate bookings but managed to keep all bookings and schedules somehow on standby.
When I confirmed our re-booked flights to her (which was 4 days after original date), she rescheduled everything in a way where we still made the most of all of ours days and without missing any of our original plans. Hotels/lodges usually only have 1-2 special needs rooms so re-working those dates was particularly tricky.
The only additional fee we had to pay was for insisting on a specific date for one of our tours which was a personal preference. Had we been more flexible on that particular date, there wouldn't have been any additional charges at all.
I'd comfortably recommend Kerry to anyone planning a trip to SA, and would happily enlist her services again for myself and family.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic service, highly recommended
Cardboard Box provided me with first class service throughout and I would highly recommend them. They have a fantastic knowledge of the country, the accommodation options, routes and wildlife and gave advice throughout the planning stage that was spot on. Using them certainly made our trip run smoothly and improved the holiday no end.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari with Benson
My boyfriend and I took a 5 day safari with Benson during April. Our first trip to Africa and first safari, he answered all of our questions (we had several), gave us great info, and his staff picked us up from the airport. We saw so many wonderful animals (lions, cheetahs, giraffes, the list goes on..) and our guide was an excellent driver. We visited Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara. We also did a bike tour through a village and a last minute stop at a Maasai village. The jeep was comfy and enjoyed looking out of the pop-out roof.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Serengeti National Park by andrew_john_mason
We came the the Serengeti National Park straight after the Ngorongoro Crater and watched the wildebeest migration. We were even treated to watch a Hyena take down a fully grown Wildebeest and Lions take down a Zebra.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not only can you see the big five in one place but there is so much more!!
Arriving at the gates of the Ngorongoro Crater Reserve is almost like a scene of Jurassic Park. Our guides and their vehicles were amazing. They were very knowledgeable on all wildlife and history of the Ngorongoro crater. We saw a Leopard in the first 5 mins of the drive which was very lucky. When you get the view point up high on the crater, you can actually take in and appreciate how amazing this place is. We started our drive down into the crater and began our checklist with Lions with cubs, Zebra, Buffalo, Hyena, Giraffe, Gazelle and Hippopotamus. Not bad within the first hour. Later on we edged towards the lake and saw more Hippo and saw Elephants, Flamingo, Wildebeest and Rhinos. Thinking that it couldn't get any better, we spotted a Cheetah. Most amazing day in Africa. Not a day we will soon forget.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic Fun on Safari!
Visiting Kruger in early April, we were lucky with the weather as it was dry and warm. Kruger National Park is absolutely huge and I can only comment on the tiny portion I have seen, however I had the opportunity to do both an evening sunset safari and a full day safari and was lucky enough to see a huge range of wildlife.
Guides
The guide for the sunset safari, Rick was brilliant: loads of fun, had a good sense of humour, great interactions with everyone in the jeep and of course was incredibly knowledgeable about the park and the wildlife. The guide for the day safari, Nicky, unfortunately was not as good. She was knowledgeable about the park and wildlife, but wasn't great at interacting with the clients and rushed from place to place without giving us the time to really watch the animals interacting with their environment.
Wildlife
No matter who the guide is, the park still has loads of absolutely amazing wildlife to observe and the best time to see the animals is at the cooler parts of the day around sunrise and sunset. In all my safari's I have been ridiculously lucky and have seen so many different animals, including the solitary ones such as Cheetah and Leopard. In my two safari's at Kruger I had the opportunity to see Lions, Elephants, Cheetah, Leopard, White Rhinceros', Giraffes, Impala, Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Hippos, Buffalos, Zebra, Warthog, , Scrub Hare, Blue Duiker (smallest antelope breed - almost extinct), Nightjar (part of owl family), Kudu, Hyenas with pups, Klipspringer, Water Terrapin, a Water Monitor and Woolley Neck Storks.
Park Facilities
The park is well set up and the roads are all clearly marked. There are toilet facilities provided at set locations in the park and there are also places to stop for food and souvenirs. We stopped for morning tea at Skukuza, which was brilliant, there were a few different food options, accommodation options and a large souvenir store. We spent our lunch stop at Pretoriuskop which was tiny and had very little to offer (we were very unimpressed that this was our lunch stop as Skukuza was so much better).
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Kruger National Park and would highly recommend visiting!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by andrew_john_mason
The people of Tanzania are some of the most friendliest people I have ever met. The landscape and wildlife can not be compared to anywhere else on earth. Truly an amazing country.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Cat
I love the positive happy vibe of South Africa. The people are so happy, friendly and helpful and the country is just absolutely stunning! There is so much to offer people of all interests. There is plenty of nature for the nature lovers, there are loads of adventure activities for for the adrenaline junkies and there is so much amazing food and wine to be sampled.
I absolutely adored South Africa and am keen to return.
US
Kerry Ririe designed to perfect safari tour covering S. Africa, Victoria Falls (Zambia) and Botswana
Kerrie created the perfect vacation for my wife and I. We are seasoned travelers and did not want a group tour but felt we needed help planning a trip in Africa. After listening to what we were looking for and the places we wanted to visit, Kerry put together the perfect vacation. We enjoyed every minute of our time in Africa and could never have planned such a complex trip on our own. Each hotel or lodge was sensational with comfortable lodging, fabulous food and impeccable service. We were able to see the Big Five plus innumerable other animals including rare ones such as wild dogs, jackals, honey badgers, and hyena. Our guides were knowledgeable, competent and delightful to be with. All of the transfers went off flawlessly.
Travel can be stressful but your detailed planning and execution allowed us to focus on absorbing the incredible culture, diversity and wildlife that one can only find in Africa.