CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I was mostly interested in the Kidepo Valley landscape - not the wildlife - and enjoyed every moment
I had been wanting - but that’s another story - to visit Kidepo Valley National Park for decades but the PLO Entebbe airport hijacking in 1976 put paid to a first visit. While I did visit Uganda in the early 1990’s our trans-Africa itinerary over six months between Tangiers and Capetown did not permit travel to the far north. Finally, in 2019, it WAS possible. I looked into various group tours but could find nothing that suited - most tours were more interested in gorilla tracking - wonderful I’m sure - and Uganda’s south west. I had ‘done’ my gorilla tracking years earlier in Rwanda and Zaire, and had seen ‘all’ the wildlife elsewhere during various visits. I was interested in the Kidepo landscape and walking through it. Finally I looked at several companies offering a ‘driver and me’ type of travel. After a number of widely varying quotes I settled on Grassrootz, a Ugandan/Dutch company and I could not have been happier with my choice. Quite expensive as far as my bank account was concerned but Apoka Lodge, where I spent four nights, was never going to be inexpensive, even during the low season I was there for. ‘My’ driver Bob Asiimwe picked me up at the Guinea Fowl, a very comfortable guest house near Entebbe airport (Guinea Fowl did not complain when I reached them just before sunrise due to my flight from Ethiopia being briefly diverted to Kigali due to bad weather) and we, well HE, drove through the day to Apoka. We were expected and Apoka immediately made me feel at home. Kidepo Valley National Park, and Apoka, were wonderful. A morning drive by an Apoka driver, generally a very professional James, with other guests before breakfast and a late afternoon walk for just myself and a Kidepo Ranger Andrew, driven to and from a drop-off point by James - who even signalled all his turns when going from one dirt track to another. Andrew and he were both very, very good about spotting things I was completely missing. They seemed to have a good rapport and while not from the Kidepo area, were from the same other part of the country. I could not have had better company, so kudos to whoever is responsible for them being there. Since a first visit to Africa in 1971, my rural accommodation has almost always been in a two person tent or under the stars so, for me, Apoka was very comfortable and if they were missing something - don’t know if they have ‘wellness’ facilities, but those would represent no value at all to me - I don’t know what it could have been.
Lots of elephant and buffalo, usually at a distance, but Apoka knew I was not there for the wildlife. The walks were wonderful. Meals were all very enjoyable.
My return to Entebbe involved two nights at Sipi River Lodge, on the side of Mount Elgin. A wonderful drive down from Kidepo. Before and after Kidepo the road was not always the smoothest - though nothing like Zaire and other countries to the west - and Bob would weave back and forth to avoid bumps and pot holes. Having spent a year or two on similar roads / tracks elsewhere in Africa, and Asia, I tried second guessing for awhile where Bob would go - right, left, straight ahead. Gave it up. Bob was far, far ahead of me.
My cottage at Sipi River Lodge was within sight and hearing of the falls. A very enjoyable stay. During the day I went for walks with Bob, and local guide Chebet Juma, and learned about the production of coffee, from planting it to grinding. I made the mistake of pitching in when it came to the grinding bit, with mortar and pestle. Wrist has not recovered four months later - apparently I didn’t do it properly, though ‘my’ coffee tasted just fine, to me.
All in all, my Grassrootz experience, both in Uganda and with Zander in their Holland office can’t be faulted. My memories of 1993 Uganda and 2019 Uganda are quite different, not surprising after a quarter century away.
Were I to return to Uganda for a similar journey, would be the first people I would contact. Would I stay at Apoka again? If I wanted that level of comfort THERE, I’m sure I would. The landscape alone would make another visit worthwhile, as would being in the company of people such as James and Andrew.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Spirit of Africa
If you want to experience the african spirit and you do not have lot of time, this tour is simply perfect. I took part in a shared tour and, even if it was not possible to follow the scheduled plan, the staff was able to manage the inconvience and fins a solution: to be honest spending two nights in Serengeti instead of only one was worth it!!
For my part everything (communication, service, food, etc) was really good and I will strongly recommend.
Special mention to the driver/guide mr Salehe, who was really nice and helpful not only with our group. He managed to let us see all animals, specially the big Five including Rhinos...
If you are travelling with mr Alid Tashidi, ask him to prepare his famous soups, very tasty!!!
After this tour I really felt in love with Africa more than before!
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Knowlegible Professional caring Company
We were introduced to Namibia Nature Travel through a friend, best days work we ever did. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Windhoek until we returned 16 days later after a round trip that made a holiday for us that we will never forget . Our tour package was handed to us at the airport which contained everything we needed, our itinerary , phone numbers of every lodge, contact numbers , maps etc. which were all invaluable.
Namibia is a stunning country, the scenery people, hospitality, lodges, tour guides all second to none, can't wait to go back.
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
attention to every detail!
We did a 4 day tour (Nyiragongo volcano and Gorilla trekking)
We had just finished tow tours before this one, so we were expecting average, but we were wrong.
Cate had every detail sorted out and even a present for us.
Godfrey picked us up, awesome driver and great companion, our trip to Rwanda border was super nice and the food included was 10/10
specially at Kibumba camp.
they volcano and the gorillas are spectacular, so if you are looking to go there Prime is an awesome company, we did a midrange tour and it felt luxury to be honest.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve by Brian Nelson
amazing!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible experience from start to finish
We booked a 3 day safari at Black Rhino Lodge through Traipsing Africa and had the most amazing time. The lodge itself is beautiful, the rooms are huge! And so nicely decorated. We are far too much food while we were there but it was all so good it was hard to refuse! The restaurant has a deck overlooking a waterhole so we were able to watch the wildlife as we ate. The game drives were wonderful, our guide was very knowledgeable and had this amazing ability to spot wildlife from miles off! We loved every minute of it, would recommend to anyone.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable experience!
Loved every second of it! You definitely get a lot of value out of the trip!
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our already high expectations of our 2.5 month long trip were exceeded! Thank you Compass Odyssey!
To say that our recently completed 2.5 months in southern Africa was a roaring success would be a huge understatement. Darryn, and his Compass Odyssey team, did a remarkable job of planning and organizing our 4 days in Johannesburg, our week in Kruger National Park and our 8 days in Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park and the amazing Okavango Delta. In addition, he gave us lots of invaluable advice and suggestions to help us plan, and bring to fruition our 7 week independent road trip through large parts of South Africa. Through the pre-travel planning process, Darren was exceptionally prompt in responding to all my questions and always provided detailed answers based on his extensive knowledge of sourhern Africa. During the trip, Darren routinely ‘checked in’ with Sue and I to make sure that all was good and that we weren’t encountering any problems en route.
Our Jo’burg and Victoria Falls guides, Chic and Mortimer/Ruth, are members of the Compass Odyssey team and were very helpful, interesting and exceptionally knowledgeable about their locales. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them. Thank you Chic and Mortimer and Ruth!!
Toward the end of our trip as the world was changing daily because of Covid 19, Darren was very helpful in communicating with us any information regarding our onward travel plans back to Canada. THANK YOU!!
We will be returning to southern Africa and will definitely be using Compass Odyssey’s services for our next African adventure. In conclusion, if you are looking for a South African based independent travel company to plan some or all of a trip to southern Africa, look no further than Compass Odyssey.
MX
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything we expected and much more
We booked a 10-day tour in Kenya and Tanzania. We started in Masai Mara, went on to Lake Victoria, Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Tarangire and Amboseli. In Kenya our guide was James and he was superb. Always cool under pressure, it a was real pleasure to have had him. In Tanzania, our driver Jeff was very good as well; a fun guy who knew his stuff and knew how to repair the vehicle (as a matter of fact, if there is one thing we didn't like it was the vehicle in Tanzania; it eventually broke down 30 km from the Kenyan border). The Sopa hotels we stayed in in Kenya were nice, and they had some thoughtful details for Christmas and New Year. But for us the highlight were the tented camps in Tanzania; having zebras and gazelles grazing in front of the tent was so exciting. Hearing lions roar in the night was also exciting, but maybe for different reasons. During the 10 days we saw so many animals (but not leopards), and Serengeti was so amazing, looking over the plains and not seeing but wildebeests and zebras. The people from Natural World, from the very beginning, were absolute pros. Booking and payment was very easy and during the tour we were in constant contact if something came up. Many thanks to Duncan for everything! If you are looking for a great experience and peace of mind, this is a definitely a tour operator I would strongly recommend. We will cherish those memories forever. As these COVID-19 times are so very difficult, I wish everyone good health and stay safe!
