Review about South Africa by Amy
We found South Africa to be more beautiful, friendly and scenic than we expected! It is truly a great destination for safari, and other travel experiences!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Zimbabwe by Nicole
The national parks in Zimbabwe are set in different geographical locations which offer bush, lakeside, cliffs or mountains and makes it very interersting and varied to visit. Its low level of tourists keeps safari very wild and the guides are usually of great knowledge. Birding is wonderful, with over 650 species of birds recorded in the country. Besides, there is the cultural heritage which is worth a visit too, like Great Zimbabwe, or ancient bushman paintings to be found all over the country.
35-50 years of age
Review about South Africa by Glenda Hall
I loved South Africa, and I will definitely be back. September was a lovely time of year, not too hot. Loads of wildlife and birds (all beautifully coloured). A photographer's dream!
Review about South Africa by Andy
There are so many beautiful places to visit in South Africa you will want to go back again and again!
Review about South Africa by Sue
With wonder and joy, we were able to see the animals and birds in their natural habitat and enjoyed learning about their behaviors!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Zimbabwe by Julie_L
Zimbabwe is a great place to visit. 20 years ago it was on the beaten track, then with 'the troubles' people stopped going. The wonderful places are still there - minus the tourists (at the moment!). Get there before everyone else does.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Knowledgeable helpful and friendly safari organiser with that bit of extra
Isaac, Safari guide and organiser listened to our wishes and gave us an amazing experience. Extremely knowledgeable with birds especially. The trip was tailored to our needs with boat trip in sunset, prob inflight to chat to locals and much more. If you love nature and love finding out more about it you'll love Ecobushman.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Africa experience
It's already been two months but still fresh in my memory. An unforgettable Africa experience; a 20-day group safari combining Uganda, Tanzania and Zanzibar. So much to see in basically little time, with the highlight for me the gorilla trekking. Information beforehand was abundant, the experienced safari guides - Sam in Uganda and Adrian in Tanzania - knew all the right places, accommodation and transportation were excellent. All in all a trip to never forget. Definitely going back for more, with Matoke Tours!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari Legacy were fantastic
I felt I had to write this review of Safari Legacy having read the only other review which gave them 3 stars. Especially as my experience was almost the opposite!
Safari Legacy came highly recommended both by a tour operator here in the USA and friends who used them last year. In particular, we requested Norman as our guide 6-months ahead of time. Norman exceed expectations. He was very knowledgeable about animals (I am a zoologist), and he adjusted our itinerary once he saw we had 3 serious photographers in our party and were more interested in game drives than using the luxury of the camps. Norman knew enough about photography to try to position the vehicle so the sun was positioned correctly. More importantly, we wanted to capture the golden hour so most days we left the camps before sunrise and returned after dark. Told you we were serious about game drives. Norman also filled us in about life in Tanzania and the different tribes, languages etc. This was really helpful to have an understanding of Tanzania and its history.
We preferred the more rustic tented camps compared to the couple of lodges we stayed in. The tents while rustic had toilets, hot and cold showers and electricity so they were by no means 'rough accommodations'. Kikoti Camp at Tarangire was very close to the Park, despite what the previous review said. Further we saw plenty of animals driving from the park to Kikoti. At Kikoti we were awakened both nights by animal activity. The first night it was a giraffe grazing in front of our room not 20 feet away. The second night it was a large animal that we heard underneath our hut. In the morning I discovered very large leopard prints around our hut. Hence why the camp provides guards to take you to and from the main lodge after dark! It seemed overly dramatic at first until you see a large predator's prints. Also the second night an elephant had eaten one of the trees on the grounds of the main lodge. Further, we went on a night drive while at Kikoti. This was probably the highlight of the trip for my wife (I wasn't as impressed because I couldn't take photographs) and we saw a significant number of animals.
On this trip we also did Arusha NP, Ngorongoro and Serengeti NP including the Western corridor and Grumeti River.
Another thing about Safari Legacy, the owners are very involved with anti-poaching. They are quite outspoken despite receiving threats from poachers. This information came from locals not the people of Safari Legacy. Safari Legacy also supports a school that we visited on the banks of Lake Victoria. So they are well respected in Tanzania as a professional safari organization and helping the communities.
The one negative I would give them was the quality of the Toyota Land Cruisers. Our vehicle had seen significant wear and tear. Norman told us they were getting new vehicles in July.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Safari Njema ! An Adventure we will never forget !
It all started with a dream that my two uncles had been sharing already for a Long time. It was about one of the most outstanding and incredible sights of the world you can visit - Mt. Kilimanjaro. Either one of them had not managed to take this journey on his own but once at Christmas I have brought both of their ideas on one table and made it a deal for the new coming year 2014. As we had set our Goal it was not hard to find the rest of the Group that would join us for the trip. For myself it was like coming home but now with a bunch of Tourists on my heels including me. I had spent 2 years of my life in Tanzania working as a pediatrician in a small Hospital far in a very remote Area of Tanzania and it became my second home...somehow it revealed my hidden African personality. I know Benson already for a Long Long time and he became more than just a friend to me but for our trip I could not have imagine trusting somebody else to organize it all for us. And our expectations for the adventure did not get disappointed. Theresa, uncles and friends as we recalled our Little crazy wazungu German Mountain climbing Group arrived at Kili - Airport in Arusha , like I had done a houndred times before already and spent our first African night at Ilboro Lodge in Arusha, a beautiful and Relaxing place to be. Benson was alreay awaiting us at the Airport personal and I felt like I had never left Africa. Next Morning after a good night sleep and good breakfast we got a brief introduction in the rules and secrets of how to successfully climb the mountain. One guy from the Group was missing one of his suitcases the one with all his moutain gear and Benson, exactly as I know him ;-) , did not stop communicating with the Airport and me to get it in time before leaving the next morning....Unfortunately this time the bag was vanished somewhere on the way. But as I have also learnt during my time in Africa : There is always a plan B. And Benson came up with the rescue plan of providing the Bag-less man some climbing shoes, jacket, sleeping bag and the Basics that were needed to survive the first days of climbing and after he put us on the bus, farwell, and off we went. We had an amazing climb, taking the Coca Cola route, you can´t imagine the Beauty of the fast changing Environment while you are ascending step by step. This place is magical. We were sleeping in Little huts and were provided with delicious Food that non of us had expected all the way up there in the mountain. While we were enjoying the climb, all had forgotten about the suitcase...Benson did not stop to phone and call around and the more surprised we all were when it suddenly appeared on our second camp base in the evening with a big hurray to the porter who had brought it up to us!! We pushed ourselfes to our physical and personal Limits, some of us even crossed it and we all reached the top just in time for an breathtaking sunrise abough the crater rim. I was a Moment nobody of us will Forget when we were Standing there together after we all had gone through the same physical challenges of the last days and we could celebrate our success with this Special Moment. On the way down we have tried to give a Special thanks to all the staff and we practised a Little Performance with Kili-first German wazungu men´s choir performing the "Jambo" song with me leading the singing Group :-) it was hilarious. The second part of our journey after a day of recovery was leading us on a Special Safari to see the big five on the trail of the old German Bernhard Grzimek. This time we were travelling in luxury big Landcruisers. Most of the Group had never seen that kind of wildlife in real so the excitement with the first elephant and Lion was incredible. We were lucky to find all of the big five including the so much endangered rhino. The evening was for the "big Boys" than with a cold "Kilimanjaro Beer" sitting on top of rock behind our Little private guetshouse watching the sunset abough the Serengeti Feeling untamed and free. Myself I preferred a cold Savannah instead :-):-)
In the end it was a journey that in the beginning started out with a Group that had seen each other for the first time for some of us and left us as friends that are still sharing this Special Memory. Thanks to Benson for this wonderful trip. I highly recommend Benson Safaris to everybody planning to come and visit Tanzania and that is looking for an unforgettable experience.
The second