US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari --> Capetown --> Wine Country --> Plett
With substantial thanks to Nikki & the SA360 team, my wife and I had the trip of a lifetime to South Africa, and will be going back in the near future without a doubt.
We started with 4 days and 3 nights in Krueger National Park at Lukimbe Safari Lodge- the suite was huge, beautiful, intimate, and the food and staff were just as satisfying.
Capetown was the second, where we stayed in Camps Bay and had a blast in both Camps Bay and central Capetown where we hoofed it over 20 miles in 3 days, always finding new neighborhoods and sites to check out. I was surprised at house cosmopolitan Capetown is, perhaps not on the level of New York or London, but quite similar .to our home city of Philadelphia. In renting an auto we were also able to make a very simple day trip to the southern most point of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, and also spent quality time with penguins at Boulder Beach!
For the third leg we spent 3 magical days in wine country, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. With Nikki's guidance, we spent a bit of extra money per night to stay at La Petite Ferme in Franschhoek during our wine touring and this vintage French boutique became our single favorite hotel stay of our lives (Stay here, stay here, stay here).
For the final leg of our two week journey we headed Northeast towards Plett where we visited several coastal towns and were able to partake in some absolute world-class hiking loops. As it was December and the beginning of holiday season, we were fortunate to meet and mingle with many South Africans travelling to Plettburg Bay for end of year festivities and holidays.
Amazing amazing trip and - Eat ALL of the Springbock and all of the meats and veggies... goodness, I want to go back just writing this!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superior Communication!
I first contacted Clare in April to help me plan a Kenyan safari. From the very beginning, she was extremely responsive, helpful and friendly. My partner had been extremely picky so Clare and I corresponded, I would say, almost 100 times via email to create the perfect itinerary. Throughout the whole process, Clare showed the utmost patience and was sincere in her desire to create the perfect trip for us. Unfortunately, we had to cancel last minute due to an unexpected personal matter and Clare continued to show compassion and understanding throughout the cancellation process. When we are ready to reschedule the trip, I will definitely be contacting Clare. She is a true pleasure to work with!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A home away from our home!
The journey to Uganda was our first big trip outside from Europe. We flew with Emirates from Frankfurt via Dubai to Entebbe. We were 8 people on our trip, family and friends :)
At the airport we were picked up by Didan (the chief from Loving Hearts Helping Hands), Crystal (his lovely wife) and Stanley (another driver). We also met Monica from Sweden, who was also set to spend about 4 weeks at the wonderful Lake Bunyonyi.
A long drive to Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi lay before us. It’s important not to drive in the dark, so we made a half way stop in a motel and continued the drive on the next day as we had arrived at the airport in the late afternoon.
The drive was long, but never boring. The first impressions of Uganda, the landscape, the cities and the people, along with the different smells were very fascinating for us. During the drive we saw zebras, cows and many other sorts of animals in the wild. We also stopped at a pineapple plantation. Since then we know that pineapples do not grow on trees. :D
On our trip we wanted to get to know the country and the people, and as well our sponsored child Melia. Melia goes to elementary school at the orphanage of Loving Hearts Helping Hands which Loving Hearts Uganda founded. Since February 2016 we had been supporting Melia.
Didan and Crystal founded this Loving Hearts Uganda which operates the tours, the school, and a hotel: Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers with the aim of helping care for and educate orphan and needy children in the community.
First I would like to report about our accommodation Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers.
Our hosts Didan and Crystal: They are very kind and attentive hosts. For them it’s very important that you feel good and comfortable. A big thank you for the organisation and the support of our trip. You both do a wonderful job.
Staff: The staff is funny, casual and very attentive. Thank you Ellia, Bosco, Junior and all the other wonderful staff, which made our stay unforgettable.
Rooms: Our room was small, but very clean, simple but decorated lovely. There was everything you needed. The bathrooms have Europeans toilets. The view over the lake is breathtakingly beautiful.
Food/Catering: We had full board… Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food always was fantastic, tasty and lovely and appealing presented. A big praise to the chefs!
Bar: It is very comfortable to sit in the evenings with African music at the bar. It even has wifi.
Climate at the time of travel: Mostly it was between 23 and 28 degrees. It could happen that it rains 2-3 hours a day, then it gets colder. But on some days it did not rain at all.
Activities during the journey
School visit: The days at school were wonderful. The children are so grateful and so happy. We were greeted with dancing, singing and many hugs. It was very emotional. We brought some donations. Before visiting we had raised money for the Primary 7 classroom. The construction of a classroom began immediately upon our arrival. The community helped. The cohesion and the courage of the people to life is wonderful. Some of the visitors from our group gave lessons, while others were playing with the children. The joy of the children should be experienced once by everyone.
Safari to Queen Elizabeth: With our 3 sponsored children we drove to the Queen Elizabeth Park. It was nice to see the landscape and the animals (elephants, baboons, zebras, hippos, a lion ...). The children's reactions were very emotional and heart-warming. We had a lot of fun and have/got lots of new impressions.
Boat ride on Kazinga Channel: The boat trip was very interesting. We learned many things about the life of the animals and the landscape.
Boat ride on lake Bunyonyi: On the last day we took children from the school to a boat ride on Lake Bunyonyi. While these children live close to the lake they had never been driven by a boat before. It was very exciting for the kids!
For us adults it was very nice to get to know the lake from a different perspective. There are more than 200 bird species on the lake. The lake has 29 islands, each with its own history. It was very interesting :)
Baptism of Melia: Our sponsored child: Melia had been abandoned in a field and taken in by a family who then brought her to Loving Hearts Uganda. We decided to a baptism party for when we visited to officially become her Godparents and to let this sweet child know she will always have a family with us. The baptism of Melia was one of the most memorable moments on this holiday. The baptism ceremony in the church was colourful, loud, cheerful. A ceremony in Germany is unimaginable. It was a lot of fun.
Afterwards the party took place at the school. There were certainly 400 people there. Everyone was invited, a cow was slaughtered, all were satisfied.
There were two cakes for all the guests. A moderator led through the program. It was danced, laughed, sung ... It is unimaginable if you did not take part yourself.
The last evening with our sponsored children: At the last evening our children were staying with us in Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers. There was a barbecue and tilapia fish, as well as lots of other delicious things to eat. We had a nice and fun evening with the kids. At which some children fell asleep. It was very sad to know that we had to go the next day.
Conclusion: Visit Uganda !!!!! Learn to know and love the wonderful and open-minded people and the beautiful landscape. Take some of the joy of life and satisfaction of the Ugandan people home. And then come back ...
We will be back, to Didan, Crystal and our children. We have gained a lot in our lives! A home away from our home!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great couple of days
I went with a group on an excellent overnight stay at a safari park whilst in Tanzania. Organisationwas of the highest standard and it was excellent value for money.
We went out both the evening and the following morning and we're lucky to see all the animals, in fact in the morning we saw them all in the same place. It was magical.
BR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful
My friend and I have had amazing days doing the safari. It was better than we've had expected! The booking with Christine was very organized, and the travel with Susan Wilson and one more guest was perfect! The food, the car and the accommodation were very good! I have no complains, and I have a lot to thanks to Sue, who was very organized, gently with us and specially patient with us, that couldn't understand very well the english, to explain us about the animals, the birds and the plants of the bush. We've learned a lot!
CZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Botswana Wilderness
Our 12 days private safari in Botswana and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe was organized by "Southern Africa 360 - Luxury Holidays". Botswana is not a cheap country if you want to visit best places and have a good services but we have developed together with Nikki an excellent itinerary. Communication was perfect, everything was smooth and I suppose in a very reasonable price. We did many safaris in many African countries but I can really recommend Botswana and particularly when it is organized by "Southern Africa 360 - Luxury Holidays".
IE
3 day safari: Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara
Following a lot of research, and contacting most of the Arusha based safari operators listed by the Tanzanian Tourist Agents Licensing Authority, we opted for a safari that suited our time and budget. We choose Easy Travel as, in addition to positive reviews here, they were really helpful and responsive on email, were happy to accommodate our specific itinerary requests (limit drive times, include Oldupai Gorge), and offered lodge accommodation (at the fabulous Olea Africana Lodge) at a really reasonable cost. Also, they facilitated secure credit card payment through an on-line system. Our guide, Deo, is local to the area, and has decades of experience both as both a guide and driver and made the safari for us; he was able to locate and point out animals we never would have spotted; he has in-depth knowledge of the animals and their environment, and was able to tell us a lot of the history and culture also. I would have no hesitation in booking to book our next trip with Easy Travel.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very nice experience by the mountain gorilla's!!!
We had a trip for three days we started from Kampala and came back to Kampala. The accommodation was realy great we saw a elephant by our lodge. The food was realy great and the staff was realy kind! In one word Amazing! Thank you Grassrootz Adventures to give me this opportunity! I am looking forward to the next trip!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
To the top in borrowed underwear
My journey started of just great, because my luggage didn't arrive. But luckily enough Magda was at the airport to pick me up, so she started immediately to arrange everything with the flight company. I had to climb Mount Kilimanjaro the next day, but the flight company promised me my luggage would arrive just in time. Magda and Adam didn't trust that so they made a back up plan. Eventually the next day my laggage didn't arrive either, but I am Magda and Adam so thankful, because I could borrow a lot from them and they rented the rest for me. So the next day I could climb Mount Kilimanjaro and I made it to the top!
The whole experience was amazing, I had a guide who speaks perfectly English and really knew a lot about the nature and the history of the mountain, what made it even more memorable.
All in all, I would definitely recommend this trip with flash safari to everyone!!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Top class as always
This time we asked Mark to find us a last minute package for two days. We wanted to go to Sabi Sands, as the game viewing is always of high quality but we are also aware that it can be extremely expensive. To some extent it is fair to say that the game viewing is the same irrespective of the cost of the lodge/fixed campsite and we were on a budget! Mark came up with Idube Lodge but we could only stay for one night because they were otherwise booked out, so we also went for a night to Lukimbe Lodge (their sister lodge in another concession in the Southern part of Kruger.
Both places were lovely but for different reasons. Lukimbe is a 5 star resort with excellent food and a luxury room, but the game viewing is slightly harder as the bush is thick. Whilst one may not like it, Sabi Sands also has the advantage of many vehicles on the lookout for game and has a wider network of radio communications, whereas Lukimbe has only their own vehicles in the area.
Idube lodge has lovely rooms they are not very rustic which may be an issue for some when in the bush. The rooms however are very nice and have all that one needs for a wonderful stay. The game viewing, whilst not always quantity, is very high quality and one certainly gets up close and personal with the animals which is really why we were there. We had some great sightings of leopard and also wild dog. Brogan (guide)and Ronald the tracker were great, again they can make or break a trip like this. We enjoyed it so much we added on another day!
So all in all another success for Taga Safaris: thank you so much Mark for your endeavours and for getting back to us so swiftly.