PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Africa is not Europe, you will love it or hate it:)
1. We had our 3 weeks trip to Kenya organised by Orongai in cooperation with Bonfire. We visited Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo West, and Diani Beach.
2. Our first an owerwhelming experience: Africa is not Europe or US. Things work differently, and you must accept it or your trip will be ruined.
So for the things we were surprised with, and which could ruin our trip if we did pay too much attention to it:
- changes in the itinary which were not consulted with us. This was the major annoyment, but since we were 3 weeks in Kenya after a week we were used to it. To be fair: we had a hotel for each night, the hotels were between 3-5 stars, we had our Full Board meals, water and our guide to help us. The itinary kept changing from the first day till the last one, but we did not inquire why. Since everything was going rather more than less according to plan we were happy. However, for 80% this will be unacceptable, and Orongai must change its approach if it wants its customers to be satisfied.
- the car: at first we felt that the car is a mistake - a very old Toyota. We have seen a number of newer and better cars on the road and for the first few days we were a bit upset. However and it is a big however, the car was very comfortable. When you are on a safari you will get dirt, you will be tired of the road, you will want to just throw you things wherever you want to: this car was very good for this, and quite frankly, we think that for this trip it was much better to have it than a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser.
- hotels on the Diani Beach - don't expect that a 4 star hotel in Kenya is really a 4 star hotel. But it's not Orongai fault.
- Terms and Conditions, Agreement, Invoices..... well this is Africa, don't expect any of this, we had seen and signed none. However, the trip cost almost exactly the same amount as indicated when we booked it. No hidden costs or tarrifs. Find me a European tour operator which does that:)
- One more set back - for 22 out of 23 days our car was always on spot when we needed it. It is a pity, on the last day somebody forgot to arrange our transport to the airport (sic!):) It cost us 30 USD, but we made it:)
3. What was amazing and why we loved it:
- The driver: a real game-chaser + Formula 1 master. I could never have expected that a car may go to and through places and things ours did. We would only hope he spoke better English. But except this, he did an amazing job.
- Communication: Martha was always there to help us. Sometimes the issues needed time to be resolved, but all of them were and that's what counts.
- The trip: well planned. Animals amazing, parks even better, weather - Kenian:)
- Safety: from time to time, we noticed that safety is an issue in Kenya. All of our drivers/guides were very vigilant for any suspicious behaviour and did not allow anything bad to happen to us.
- All the things we described in point 2, for as constituted a specific "African flavour" - and this is a part of the experience. It was our first time in Africa, and it exceeded our expectations. We are happy that this was a case and not the other way around.
4. Conclusions
- first timers in Africa, we have no comparison.
- Africa is not Europe. This is why we gave Orongai 4 stars. If the trip was done the same way in Europe by a European tour operator we would rate it 3.
- our best advice: when things don't go the way you planned, try to relax and go with the flow:)
5. Tips and tricks
- Safari: buy yourself a good pair of binoculars 40x40 or 50x50. Its much more important than a photo camera. In other case, don't go at all.
- If the sacurity in your camp say you are forbidden to go out of the tent at night - they are right. You're lucky if it's only a Zebra feeding grass next to you tent and not a Hyena or 10 of them.
BR
M&M
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great budget company!
The experience of doing a safari in Kenya was incredible! I did a five nights safari: 2 in Masai Mara, 1 in Lake Nakuru, and 2 in Amboseli.
Rose is very nice and answered all our questions. I just think that the communication could be better, specially right before and on the first day of the trip. I was a bit lost.
Our guide/driver, James, is very experienced. He knows where to spot the animals. We saw the big 5 in one day!
Really loved the experience!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very good and reliable communication and handling
Communication excellent Safari Tour with good Driver All lodges were good
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari was amazing, but the roads were terrible!
We booked our tour through Skywide Tour and Travels, Nairobi, a travel agency recommended by Safari Bookings. We live in Melbourne and were a little bit nervous about using a company in Nairobi, but all our plans were listened to and booked and all went very smoothly.
The scenery on the way to the Maasai Mara was magnificent, especially the Great Rift Valley. The weather at this time of the year was quite mild and in fact we needed a light jacket in the early mornings and evenings. The accommodations range from 2 to 5 stars and there are plenty to choose from. We were on a budget so we used 3 star accommodation and it was quite satisfactory. The food was international and well presented. It is also good to try the local cuisine. The most unpleasant part of the trip was the roads. There is a sealed road for most of the way but the last 30kms is on a gravel rd which is so full of pot holes etc that you have to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid doing damage to the car. If you suffer from car sickness, I would recommend that you take a small plane flight to the national park. The tracks in the national park are also very bad and you get tossed around all over the place! We had our own driver for the 2 of us and it was wonderful as you could ask him to stop for photo's or animal viewing as much as you wanted.It certainly is very exciting to see so many animals in the wild, and it was very exciting to see the lions just lying around. They are hard to find but your driver/guide is expert at finding animals. There are quite a lot of safari vehicles in the parks and they all keep each other informed of all sightings. We were lucky enough to see 3 of the big 5 in the Maasai Mara. We arrived just at the tail end of the migration but saw lines of Wildebeasts and Zebras, as far as you could see. We stayed at Ol Moran Camp which is a permanent tented camp just out side the national park and it was basic but nice. It was a surprise to us that all the places we stayed at in the national parks run on generators and the power is only on from 6-10pm and in the mornings 6-9am so make sure you take a torch! My husband uses a cpap machine so he was unable to use it. Always check the electricity availability if you need it overnight. I think all the lodges and hotels may have restrictions on electricity.
Skywide also booked the Tanzania and Victoria Falls component of our trip as well. All was perfect.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the best experiences I have seen in my life
We could see many wild animals,close and in a safe way.the food and accomodation was not bad at all.we had a van as our transportation and max as our guide and driver...dificult roads,but he drove well and gave us information about places and animals.very good in quality/price.mark,our assistant in Nairobi,helped us a lot....thank you very much.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Ramona de Niese
It was all very exciting to be there and see all the animals in the wild. But there were not as many animals as I thought there would be. Your guide has to really work hard to find the cats for you to view and you might not see all the species. I can't help feeling that because of the large volume of safari vehicles that the animals have taken to hiding away. Our driver assured us that the animals are used to all the cars as they have been in the parks for so many years now. This probably is correct as the animals were not that concerned about the cars stopping to view them.
The tracks are so bad,that you get tossed and buffeted around in the car, so much so that we call it the African massage!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by Whitney Crofut
See most all the animals in one place - although kind of feels like cheating after Serengeti.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Basic but great!
The communication with Rose our contact was very efficient, everything ran very smoothly, for the price the tour was amazing and the wildlife viewing was incredible. If your priority is to see amazing wildlife at a reasonable price, this tour is definitely for you. Our tour took in the Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli over 6 days. I have traveled all over the world viewing wildlife and this was definitely one of my all time best experiences. Accommodation, food and transport were highly functional, but I do not go wildlife viewing to be pampered I wish to feel the experience in the flesh not from inside some luxury cocoon. Our guide James made great efforts to ensure we saw all the amazing wildlife that Kenya has to offer and overall I was very happy with the experience. After the 6 day safari, Rose organised a 2 day trip for me to Mount Kenya, which was also incredible, got to see a genet but you do not a reasonable level of fitness for this trip. My guide on this trip was Jimmy and I had a great two days discussing life in Kenya with him as we climbed the mountain, admired the scenery and observed the wildlife.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Worth it
My mum and I had a really good experience. On the morning of the safari we woke up late but they kindly waited for us. Everything we needed to know was explained to us before hand.
ES
Amazing experience.they gave us the chance of having an excellent adventure.
Okoa tours has covered my expectations in general.good communicatios,excellent service.Mark,our assistant in Nairobi was very helpful and nice,very worry about our needs.we could watch many animals thanks to our guide max...good driver in those difficult roads.good quality/price in general.thank very much...this has been one of the best trips in my life.