A dream come true; the place I left my heart.
My fiance and I stayed at one of the luxury lodges in Sabi Sands Game Reserve and it was way more than we could've ever expected. I've been a life long animal lover, watching National Geographic and all sorts of wildlife shows and documentries since I've been at least 4 or 5 years old. South Africa has always been a dream of mine; specifically to see elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, african wild dogs and hyenia. We were lucky enough to see all of those, along with hundreds of other mammals, birds, reptiles and insects. Coming from New Jersey (northeast United States), the weather was perfect - during the time we stayed the temperature ranged from 60-80 degrees; even though it did rain one day, I still enjoyed every minute in the busch. Our accomidations were absolutely amazing - in fact, our lodge over looked a waterhole where hippos and crocs hung out all day and night - in fact, you could hear the hippos grunting all night. Our ranger Stefen, and tracker, Rodney quickly became like family to us - in fact, it was a teary goodbye for me at the end of our trip. It was as if we had known them for our entire lives. The highlight of our trip was the siting of about 50 elephants who surrounded our safari vehicle, including babies, young elephants, young adults and older females. Two of the females even approached our vehicle to check us out - the one was about a 3 feet away and looking straight into my eyes. Also, one of the local prices of lions (Tsalala Breakaways) were 4 lionesses about 3-4 years old who recently broke away from their mother's price (Tsalala's); we saw these beautiful girls almost everyday. The day we left was bitterswweet - I could finally say that my dream came true but it was heartbreaking to leave such a paradise. I may live in NJ, but I left my heart in Sabi Sands. Until we meet again :)
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Private Safari, Beautiful Country & a Very Nice Driver
I've been to Uganda before & fell in love with the country, it's people & nature. I wanted to experience this with my girlfriend so Matoke Tours adviced us to go to Kidepo Valley ( North Uganda ). A hell of a ride, however, what you see & experience along the road is amazing. The north of Uganda is not yet touristic so you get the best Africa experience value for your money. The scenery is beautifull and you won't find a lot of other tourists in the Parc. The accommodation is this parc is basic but perfect.
After Kidepo, we went to Murchison Falls ( 6 hrs drive ) and stayed at Nile Safari Lodge. If you are a romantic person, check it out! Small, personal, nice staff & a beautifull view over Murchison.
Matoke tours did it for me again!
Thanks again.
Ps. Our driver was Sam and i recommend him
ATI Holidays is simply superb!
ATI Holidays think of everything. Every little detail is taken care of. From booking the accommodation, car and activities to restaurants and taking care of special details like birthdays and anniversaries. And when something does go wrong along the way, they have a 24-hot line. They do their absolute best to keep their clients happy.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent quality for a reasonable price + family friendly!
My family (2 adults + 2 kids age 7 and 9) went on a two-week desert-safari in Namibia with CrissCross Namibia in Jan 2013, with a stop-over in Livingstone to see Vic Falls. We have been planning to go on a trip like this for a while and since we live in Ethiopia and had already done safaris in Tanzania and South Africa we wanted to focus exclusively on deserts in Namibia. We searched the web for tour operators that would provide us with the best fit and the best deal. By far, out of close to 10 companies we contacted, the most responsive and accommodating was Thinus, the owners of CrissCross. Not only was he listening to what we wanted (!), but he also gave us very good ideas where to go and stay (so that it was good quality but not overpriced), was flexible (and there were many changes in flight schedules), accommodating (we changed the order of activities many times on the road depending on the weather and kids’ wellbeing) and never “pushy”. Therefore we went with him, which turned out to be an excellent choice. The trip was what we have expected and much more. We would not change a single thing about it if we were to do it again (well maybe just add a few more days if we could :) It was perfect - the places to visit, lodges, hiking trails, the pace, activities, etc. Staring with Sosussvlei gave us all, urban creatures, an unforgettable feel of the desert starting early in the morning (at 5:30am!!!), in the middle of the day when the sand must be about 50C to sundown at the dunes. Few days in Swakopmund filled with activities in the morning (e.g., quad biking, sandboarding, catamaran, 4x4 desert tour, living desert tour) and lazying around the beach in the afternoons were great. Cross Cape Lodge is a beautiful place and I wish we could stay there longer. Finally Damaraland with so many places to hike, explore, learn was a real treat for avid hikers like us. Having said all this, I do want to emphasize that without Thinus the trip would not have been the same – his knowledge of the country, sense of humor, kindness - were essential ingredients to make our trip unforgettable. I would recommend CrissCross to anybody who wants excellent quality for a reasonable price. Thank you very much Thinus!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The perfect blend of roughing it and refinement
The trip was outstanding. Most important: the guiding. The owners of Letaka are funny, intelligent, encyclopedic in their knowledge (especially of birds), and skilled at creating a coherent social group in a short period of time. The wildlife was spectacular. And the G&T's on the mud-spattered hood of the jeep at dusk, made me feel like a lady explorer of the 1930's. The rudimentary tents and cots provided just enough comfort by night, the meals were amazing, cooked over the campfire but rivaling restaurant fare. We wanted raw experience deep in nature under canvas, but not separated from it by platforms, fences and guards. But we didn't want to spend half out time pitching/striking camp, washing and cleaning. So having lovely camp hands to do those tasks was the right balance for us. Could not recommend this outfit more highly.
Great Experience
I stayed at Amakhala for 4 days in March, 2010. It was pretty hot, but the game drives were quite comfortable (the "Landis" have canopies on them). The guides were very knowledgeable and loved teaching the guests about each of the animals (plants, too). Each drive included a nice little 'snack break' where we'd get out of the vehicle, stretch our legs, have a drink and some snacks...and there was always a nice view.
The amenities were great; the staff were helpful, and there was plenty of privacy.
There are certainly larger parks and reserves, but we never felt restricted here. There was always a rush of excitement while looking for the animals, especially the lions.
It was a great experience that I'll never forget. I'm proud to say that a few of my photos were used on this site, too!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible first safari experience
Visited Honeyguide Mantobeni camp for about a week in February 2008. Our guides (Lyton & Eres I think) were very friendly and impressive in their knowledge of the varied wildlife, tracking and spotting. Despite hours and hours of exploring we rarely saw other safari jeeps (never private vehicles) and it often felt like we were the only people on the reserve. We saw just about every animal I can think of, with the exception of one very elusive leopard. The food was great and freshly prepared, and we watched monkeys, elephants and giraffe wandering by camp during meals. In the mornings and evenings we could hear baboons, lions and more wildlife nearby from our tents. The bush was beautiful, and the weather was just right - chilly mornings, warm days. Hoping to visit again someday!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A personal, friendly and experienced tour operator specialized in Uganda
My trip to Uganda was great! Fantastic country and travel experience. We stayed in hotels and they were good. Matoke Tours arranged all transportation and that was comfortable. A professional car driver and tour guide showed us all the highlights of Uganda and explained a lot about the country. They knew where to go for dinner and special places to visit. Food is not impressive in Uganda, but good enough. I was impressed by Queen Elizabeth national park. Great wildlife and nature. But the other parks were beautiful as well. I can recommend to visit Uganda. Friendly people, beautiful nature and great weather. A great Africa experience!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Customer Service and superb tour!
We were recommended to use Basecamp by fellow travellers and it was the best piece of advice we had on out trip. We were looked after superbly by Achmed Philips (the Half German/Half Brummie co-owner), who must be one of the characters of Africa. They were happy to create a safari that catered to our lowish budget, but even so the company policy was not to mix groups so we got our own driver/cook and guide and 4x4 to ourselves. Awesome!! We heartily recommend using Basecamp if you want a great safari in Tanzania.
A remote park
If you are in the area, it is well worth a trip to Ruma National Park. You will probably not see any large carnivores, but it is the only park where you can see Roan antelope. We saw plenty of roan antelope, topi, impala, giraffes, monkeys (vervets and baboons), some pretty birds, and zebra in the park. There is a nice camping area. You must have a four wheel drive vehicle as the roads get muddy and it's easy to get stuck. We ended up having to push our landrover out of some mud. But! We were the only people in the park, it was peaceful, there were not huge groups of landrovers surrounding the animals. For that BIG reason, I highly recommend it. It's probably great for birding as there aren't tons of loud people around! If you an get there, I highly recommend it.