20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The perfect Safari
We had a great Safari with Lilac Adventure. The vehicle was good, the driver / guide was incredible ! I recommend lilac for your Safari without any doubts.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Safari Experience
I won't be able to write a review that speaks strongly enough about what a great safari experience we had with Makasa and our guide, Humphrey.
The great experience started with some last minute planning on my end - I hadn't committed to a set plan until about 1-2 weeks before we would be in Moshi, but Selma was understanding the entire way and helped me plan out a complex itinerary that involved meeting my sister in her study abroad location (a small village named Rhotia), a week-long safari, and driving my girlfriend separately back to JRO to catch a flight back to the States for an internship that had to cut her experience short. Even during the safari, Selma was flexible and responsive - could completely count on and trust her and Ngomi to ensure we had a great experience.
Our itinerary consisted of trip from Moshi to Rhotia, a day in Ngorongoro, 3 days in Serengeti, and then a drive back to Karatu/Rhotia and an excursion to Lake Manyara before being dropped off in Mto Wa Mbu to meet some other friends of my sister for the remainder of our trip. Humphrey was our guide and I cannot speak more highly of the experience we had with him. My sister is a zoology major who studied in Tanzania for four months under the guidance of well-renowned zoologists that led her on multiple game drives and she couldn't stop saying how impressed she was with Humphrey. He was the perfect combination of encyclopedic knowledge (impressive to my sister), a great personality (friendliest guy), and an extremely competent guide/driver/guardian over our 7 days. Not only was he easy to get along with, he was simply phenomenal at his job, spotting everything we wanted to see (Big 5, Ugly 5, tree-climbing lions, cheetahs eating their caught prey, multiple leopards,etc. and a ton of these viewed all alone without lines of safari trucks beside us), consistently navigating his way around like the professional he is (particularly in Serengeti), and sharing his knowledge in an unassuming and unobtrusive way. Even more impressive was his respect for the parks and people - never speeding down the dirt roads, being wary of going off the road, respecting the animals, etc. Couldn't have lucked out more with having Humphrey as our guide.
Obviously cliche, but it really was a "trip of a lifetime" - the care and attention provided, the wonderful lodges we stayed at (K-Lodge, Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge, Sopa Serengeti, Karatu Simba Lodge), the great food we had, and of course, the experience of being in a breathtaking setting with wildlife you only dream about seeing.
I can rave about our experience with Makasa and Humphrey to no end, but suffice it to say - this is money well spent and an operator well-picked. If you want flexibility, reasonable pricing, extremely competent guides and owners, top-notch service, and the ability to give back to the country you're a tourist in (all lodges have some conservation/giving back to the community benefit), you cannot go wrong with Makasa Safaris.
SE
Review about Buffalo Springs National Reserve by Ellinor Johansson
I would highly recommend going to Buffalo Springs National Reserve! There were so many breathtaking moments during our long weekend there that it exceeded my expectations. Most notably, there were so many elephants in the park that at one point our car was in the middle of a very large herd (more than 100 elephants) walking past. It will be one of my best memories from all the national parks!
At another point, we came around a corner and saw a small family of elephants right next to the car. There were several baby elephants and one of them pretended to attack (it was playing, the mother remained calm - making noises, running towards the car with ears out). It was the cutest! We stayed with the family for some time and saw the baby elephants feeding, trying to throw dirt on themselves like the mothers etc.
The roads are not as good as in some other National Parks (ex Amboseli where you have proper flat roads) but I only appreciated that because it made it feel more natural. Even though we had a 4WD, there were some parts of the park where we could not drive and needed to turn back. In either case, I would recommend paying to go on a game drive. We did both (i.e. self-drive and game drive) and not only were we able to go to parts of the park that we could not go on our own, the experience was much better with a game drive as the driver was able to find spots and animals that we could not have found on our own.
Buffalo Springs actually does have a spring (not just a name) where you can go swimming. We brought towels from the hotel one evening and went for a swim - it was a nice experience and rather warm water. Even though I didn't try it, I would recommend going to the spring towards the evening since I assume that several game drives go past the spring during the day. When we were there we had it all for ourselves, could not even see a car around.
Several of the lodges are located along the river (recommended) which means that animals usually come very close to the lodge. Where we were staying, we could sit on our balcony and see several elephants walk past just a few meters away.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A variety of wildlife in a beautiful environment
Murchison Falls National Park is a large, beautiful park in Uganda. I visited the park for my first safari and I had a wonderful experience. I saw a variety of wildlife, experienced the stunning landscape and relaxed at night at a wonderful lodge. I hired a guide to take me into the park and guide me through it which worked nicely. My favorite part of the experience was seeing the elephants. We were even chases off at one point by an elephant. The park staff are lovely, the falls at amazing, and it seemed like a very good place to experience the wonders of Ugandan wildlife.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Pilanesberg Game Reserve by crafty1tutu (Ann Cameron)
It is a much smaller park than Kruger, so the animals are more confined and easier to spot, especially if your time there is limited.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A magical holiday
We have been to South Africa a few times and on three occasions have spent time in Kruger National Park. On our last trip in 2014 we booked a cottage in Marloth Park for 10 days and spent each day in Kruger driving ourselves around. We saw many and varied animals and the thrill of the day was searching out new animals. We normally travel in the cooler months as it is more pleasant and comfortable being in the car and the animals are more active. We also find that the dry foliage also makes it easier to spot the animals. Although most of the eating areas have been taken over by commercial businesses, there is no trouble finding a place to eat (it had more atmosphere before when run by smaller businesses). A lot of people may feel safer travelling with a guide, but we have always enjoyed driving ourselves around without any problems. You just have to be aware that there are wild animals about and be alert and not get too close to them, so that they feel threatened. It is a magical trip - one that everyone should strive to do at least once in a lifetime.
SE
Review about Kenya by Ellinor Johansson
Kenya is a beautiful country with a lot of nature! I have lived in Kenya for half a year (normally live in Sweden) and really like it here. Kenya is often portrayed as being unsafe making people reluctant to travel. As long as you follow travel recommendations, you will feel as safe in Kenya as you do elsewhere. I would definitely recommend anyone seeking a genuine African experience to come to Kenya! I'm glad I did and couldn't have wished for a better time!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about South Africa by crafty1tutu (Ann Cameron)
It is a wonderful place to visit and see different cultures and animals in the wild and not confined in cages.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely amazing safari and experience in Tanzania
I’ve just returned with two friends from Tanzania after the most amazing safari experience with African Scenic Safaris. I choose African Scenic Safaris after my sister highly recommended them to me based on a safari she did with them a few years ago.
First and foremost, our guide, John, was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely professional, always informative and accommodating to our needs, friendly and fun, excellent at spotting the animals, and importantly a great and safe driver. He really looked after us from the moment he picked us up.
Our chef, Charles, was also fabulous, providing us with outstanding delicious food every day in abundance. The quality, quantity and variety of food throughout the trip was exceptional.
We did a 5 night 6 day trip which felt like the perfect length. We spent 5 days with the animals and the final day with the bushmen up at Lake Eyasi. We got to see the big 5 up close and learnt so much about the animals from our guide John whilst observing them. Amanda was so helpful with organising everything with us, as we were changing dates, deciding itinerary, and changing numbers of those going etc. She helped us with organising accommodation around the safari also.
I was highly impressed with everything with the trip from start to finish, from ease of organisation, the quality of the jeep and tent, the high standard, volume and tastiness of all the food to the professionalism and craic of our guide.
It was a truly amazing experience that I will never forget, and hope I will get to experience again in the future.
Geraldine
Ireland