20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Impressive
When you are going to a place you have never been, you need someone to prepare you psychologically about where you are going, what to expect and what to do. This was made possible from the time I made an inquiry, I confirmed reservation to the time I was being dropped at the hotel. Good job.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Did not meet expectations
After a year delay due to the pandemic we finally made out trip to South Africa. I would first like to say that the Go Touch Down staff were friendly and accommodating. We started our tour at the Seasons Resort and Spa, we would not rate this as a five star resort there were many small maintenance issues that needed to be corrected, from loose door knob, no wash clothes for 4 days, towels not replaced, animal droppings on the miniature golf course playing area, bricks sticking up on with walking path. The restaurant on the property (only one) had a very limited menu offering and than a lot of the items were not available. The elephant sanctuary tour was fantastic, would highly recommend, also enjoyed the hot air balloon ride. The drive from Seasons to Dullstroom for the panoramic route was long however the sights were very beautiful. It started with a grab and go breakfast to enjoy while driving, ( a cheese sandwich, hard boiled egg and an apple) , not a usual American type of breakfast. Made three stops along the way. The Dunkeld Lodge was very nice, we had a late lunch in the 1883 dinning room, in the evening we had an outdoor fire with a dance performance and retreated into the bar area to enjoy the bbq that was prepared. Was a cool temperature for the time of the year but the fireplace in the room kept it warm and cozy. Next morning we left for Humala River Lodge, stopped in Dullstroom, would have enjoyed a longer stop in town, only had 30 minutes to walk around. than a long drive. Once we got to Humala we had to transfer from the van to the game jeep for a 45 minute ride from the entrance out to the lodge. The lodge was everything we expected it to be, little cold as it got down to 39 degrees one night, the game drives we great. The only negative might have been at there is no menu , you get what the cook prepares. For us luckily it was all good and we enjoyed everything but for some people it could be a problem .
Humala was what you expect Africa to be. We again had an outdoor bonfire and Swaziland dancers did a show. Since this is a game reserve the amount and type of animals are limited. Than a long drive back to Seasons Resort. with a stop at Lion and Safari Park. The animals here are in large fenced in areas that you are driven through, have a good variety of animals but it is a captive situation. Next day it was drive to Pilamesberg National Park. again we had grab and go breakfast to eat in the car (tuna sandwich which no one ate) at the park we choose the open jeep and had a very good guide. Highlight here was watching the parade of 17 elephants going to the water hole, the restaurant at the park was closed so we ended up at Blimpies a fast food hamburger restaurant. Next day it was off for the hot air balloon ride which had been delayed from day to until the next to last day. We originally received a very detailed itinerary for the trip, it was however in constant state of flux as tours changed, and due to the pandemic some tours were cancelled or only parts of them were available.
Overall for the cost you get a lot with the tour, meals, transportation in country, some tour guide local tours it is not a high end tour but it is a good tour, more detail to the property maintenance at Seasons and what US visitors are expecting could be improved. Expect to spend a lot of time driving 6 people plus the tour guide in a 2 row van.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly and customer oriented
I booked a two day, one night, lightning tour from Dar Es Salaam to Mikumi National Park through a third party and was connected with Gamily Tours. Gabriel and Peter were both good fun on the long 8-hour drive there and back, and I was lucky enough to see lions on the safari. Accommodation was basic but sufficient.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The complete Safari experience
Great Safari
My guide Patrick was very knowledgeable and his elle eyes spotted all the animals around
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Helpful and so appealing
Warm knowledgeable staff working well with us to make sure we had value for money. Well planned trip.Obuya our driver made us feel so valued with the company and made sure we saw all the big five animals.
NG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very lively and nice guy. He understood the terrain very much and took me round to my satisfaction
My experience is beyond my imagination.
It worth the money spent on it.
It was home in the forest and i really had a nic time.
The operator/ instructor or guard communicate fluently in a friendly manner and able to educate us on various animals we came in contact with.
We had a good tent as accommodation well equipped and the meals were delicious.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Terry
I got to experience a lot while there
GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly professional and organised worth every minute of safariing !
Operator Amani, our driver Juma and the cook Peter were ready from the very beginning to make us feel relaxed safe and excited. They gave us from before, every information we needed and they really sticked to the program ( even though things could be flexible if we asked them too). We chose the 5 days safari so we could see as much as possible and so we did. Our driver Juma (happily whistling swahili songs) spotted the animals easily and patiently was waiting to catch the action. We saw the "big five" as expected, many times! Due to our low budget two nights we spend camping outside in amazing campsites with super warm tents and sleeping bags. The other two were in beautiful simple two bed lodges with amazing view and friendly happy stuff ( like most of Tanzanian people!) They provided us three rich meals per day and lots of water. We were treated like friends and not clients and this is why i totally recommend this to people who want to feel adventurous but spoiled at the same time.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Be Prepared
The best statement I can make is that you really need to be prepared for your adventure. The biggest challenge I found was that I was not expecting the amount of travel time that was going to be required based on the itinerary. Because the infrastructure in Kenya is really not good outside of Nairobi, traveling from one park to the next often took 7 or 8 hours and in one case took 12 hours. Had I been advised of this ahead of time, I might have chosen to book smaller adventures, with a re-charge break in Nairobi, rather than stringing one park to the next next. I booked the budget safari, so I was not expecting a whole lot, and that was pretty much on point. I was OK with that, because that's what I booked. My guide James was fantastic, and really knows how to track animals. Because of him I saw the Big 5. A good guy and deserved every ounce of appreciation. Although I booked a shared tour, I was the only one in the group, so it made for long boring rides. I have no problem recommending this company for Safari, but just be prepared for long days, and early mornings, and consider shorter safari trips to different parks, rather than tying them together.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Super friendly and knowledgeable guys
We stayed a night with the guys at African Bushlovers Hide Inn Campsite in Maun, Botswana. They are still finishing a few things off, but are really nice, considerate and accommodating. Their knowledge of animal species etc is very impressive. We really enjoyed the visiting bush baby that comes most days in the late afternoon/evening.
