US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Botswana by Caitlin
Botswana was definitely more remote feeling and wild that what I'm used to (and I grew up in rural America). I saw animals all the time while I traveled Botswana. The people were really kind as well.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lion Sands Game Reserve was an unforgettable experience!
During February 2011, I stayed at the Lion Sands River Lodge. I had no particular expectations, having never been on a safari trip, but this destination turned out to be one of my absolute all-time favorites! I was amazed from the moment of arrival. The Lodge is beautiful and fits perfectly into the surroundings. The private villas are luxurious yet give you the feeling that you are right out among the animals, which in fact is true, as the Lodge is not fenced in. The staff set the high mark for personal service and spoiling guests. The food was delicious and attentively served by our personal butler, whose desire was to provide us with just what we wanted. In addition to a personal butler, we were also assigned a night guide (for seeing us safely back to our villa after dark), a ranger (for the game drives), and a game tracker. The morning and evening game drives were exciting. Our tracker and ranger knew just where to find the animals and when possible, tried to give us not just a sighting but a fuller experience. We saw the "Big Five" in the first day, plus so many more fascinating animals, right down to the not-so-small Golden Orb spiders. We had the unique experience of following a female leopard for an hour as she walked about, sharpened her claws, stalked prey, and seemed virtually unaffected by our presence. Throughout our stay, the staff did things to surprise and delight us. As an example, on an evening game drive we stopped unexpectedly in the bush to find a gorgeous white-tableclothed bush dinner set up for us under the stars around a bonfire. Another example, our ranger and tracker pulled an impromptu bar from the Land Rover and served us mixed drinks along the riverbank, while we watched the hippos lazily playing in the water as the sun went down. Lion Sands was an unforgettable experience and I can't wait to go back!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Honeymoon in Timbavati
My wife and I stayed at Tanda Tula Safari camp in Timbavati nature reserve for our honeymoon last April.
To give you some background as to what I benchmark Timbavati against i worked in a Safari lodge in Kenya in the past and have been on Safari in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The abundance of wildlife in Timbavati is exceptional and we saw the 'Big Five' twice over during our four day stay and plenty of plains game and birdlife. The food at Tanda Tula was excellent, particularly the bush breakfast. Our guide spoke perfect English and was extremely knowledgeable about the area and its wildlife.
For safari first timers that want to see the 'big five' this is without a doubt the best area I have ever been to. However, for people who have seen a bit of Africa you may feel that you are slightly part of a 'machine' and that the guides feel an obligation who need to 'tick off' the big five for each and every guest. The guides radio to each other constantly when they find game which means that you absolutely will get to see the animals. They have a 'queuing system' to see them as they maintain a policy of only two jeeps viewing at any one time to minimise stress on the animals (an excellent policy). This is not true true African wilderness and so i suppose the bush vibe cannot be expected to be 100% authentic but it was the only slight negative for me. My wife had been on safari once before and i think felt it slightly less than me.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about South Africa by Jo H.
My rating is based on Lion Sands, having not been to other destinations in South Africa.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by guybaxendale
Vast country with a huge variety of wildlife and varying landscapes
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tsavo East National Park by Mark Hancock
Not as much wildilfe as Samburu or the Masai Mara but quieter, with less safari vehicles.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Mark Hancock
Lake Nakuru was much better than I had expected to be. I knew it was justly famous for it's birdlife but hadn't realised there were so many other animals there. I have given only 2 stars for 'Bush vibe' because it did feel a little like we were in a commercial safari park like the ones in the UK.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Shimba Hills National Reserve by Mark Hancock
OK for a breif excursion if you are staying nearby but I wouldn't choose it as a main safari destination is there isn't much wildlife to see.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Mark Hancock
What else is there to say? The 'daddy' of safari destinations with lots and lots of wildilfe spolit only slightly but quite a lot of safari vehicles, which is understandble.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fanstastic experience which exceeded our expectations.
My wife, 14 year old son and I stayed at Samburu Intrepids camp and were treated like royalty from the moment we arrived to the moment we boarded our safari plane to leave. I cannot think of anything we didn't like about the camp. We had a safari jeep and a guide, whose name was Jelly, all to ourselves. Jelly was excellent and went out of his way to find the animals for us. Before every game drive he would ask if there was any particular animal we wanted to see and he never failed to find the animals we mentioned. The scenery was beautiful with hills and escarpments and the wildlife was plentiful but we often felt like we were the only people on safari there. Usually only when there was a 'special' sighting would we see other safari vehicles and we sometimes had these special sightings all to ourselves. Like the time we watched 3 cheetahs from the same family behaving aggresively towards another lone cheetach, a video of which is on YouTube. I have rated every aspect of the safari as 5 stars apart from the wildlife which I gave 4 and that is only because we also went to the Masai Mara where the wildlife was even more plentiful.