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50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great and memorable trip thanks to Roger at Safari Lifestyles!
Roger is knowledgeable, responsive and a pleasure to deal with. We looked forward to receiving his thoughtful email replies with information and recommendations based on his personal experience.
Roger provided well thought out options for us and clearly explained the differences between them. Our itinerary included a good mix of camps, each with its own memorable features. He also tailored the dates to get us reduced rates at very desirable locations.
We appreciated Roger’s patience with our additions, changes, and many questions and requests – spanning from my initial inquiry through to the time we were anxiously packing for our trip and even after reaching our first camp in Botswana. He was always ready to assist us.
He customized our itinerary, such that besides the camps in Chobe, Linyanti and Okavango Delta; Roger also booked our stay in Victoria Falls, a private river cruise on the Chobe and all transfers in between. Everything went very smoothly. Several camp guides mentioned that we had booked an ideal series of camps.
Safari Lifestyles has a comprehensive website with beautiful photos, a number of which Roger took himself.
It was a wonderful travel experience – comfortable, beautiful accommodations; delicious food with a nice selection of dishes; friendly attentive service; and most of all amazing wildlife. We feel lucky to have selected Safari Lifestyles and Roger Turski!
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable trip with many great surprises!
My wife and I found this safari company by searching TripAdvisor for safaris in Kenya. We compared prices and tour options for the top ten rated companies and found Natural World had the best-value offering for us. We took the 3-day (2 night) tour from Nairobi out to Masai Mara. We elected to stay at the Mara Engai camp.
Upon inquiring about tour options and pricing I was put in touch with Esther. Others on this site have noted but it bears repeating: Esther is top-notch. She is fast to reply, very detailed, and aims to please. After we agreed on an itinerary, I was naturally nervous to send money to a foreign country, but Natural World offers a credit card option for no extra charge. I fired off our deposit payment with the comfort of knowing that I could always contest the charge with my card issuer if any issues were to arise.
Fast forward to 6 AM at our hotel in Nairobi on the morning our safari begins. Our assigned guide, Dik Dik (Dickson Wamanji) is at the hotel on-time and ready to begin. We knew who to expect because his picture is on the company's website. He greets us with a smile, reviews the itinerary, gives us a bottle of water, and lastly ensures we're buckled up. This was a great first impression. Just as we're about to depart, he also gives us a gift from Natural World's headquarters: two Masai tribal garments that are traditional wear for the area that we're going to safari in. We then drove out to Masai Mara park, and went onward to our chosen camp Mara Engai. The camp was awesome: service was wonderful, food was delicious and safe, and the high elevation meant no mosquitoes. Especially important is the great value you get by booking the luxury camps through Natural World. Look the camps up on any travel site and see how much the nightly rate is, then compare that to the value you get from a Natural World tour that includes the lodging, driver, vehicle, insurance, security, etc.
On the first day of our safari, Esther called our safari vehicle and spoke with me directly to ensure the trip was going well. This company goes out of its way to ensure you are comfortable and that your expectations are exceeded. The jeep upgrade is the absolute way to go, by the way. 90% of vehicles on safari that you'll see are the full-size jeep vehicles. Touring in the default van looks a bit amateurish and does not give you nearly the same vantage point on the wildlife. The van windows slide open left-to-right for limited access, and the pop-top isn't very high off the ground. Pay for the jeep supplement to get a serious vehicle with spare tires, a second gas tank, a very high vantage point, and all-around roll-down windows (not sliding windows) that give you full access to the wildlife for viewing and photos.
I can't emphasize enough that this tour company has a no-nonsense reputation in Kenya. The company has arrangements with all the stops on the way to the camps. We stopped several times for bathroom breaks, meals, souvenir shops, etc. Most stops had security guards that were writing down license plate numbers and keeping an eye on everyone. Not once did anyone approach us or hassle us. This was an enormous relief. You don't have to worry about your bags or suitcases in the safari vehicle, the bathroom facilities are functional and clean, the food is safe, and vandalism/theft are non-issues.
As we were about to be dropped off at our hotel near Nairobi airport, Dik Dik dialed up the owner of Natural World named Mr. Humphrey. He wanted to be sure that our safari experience was excellent in every aspect and welcomed honest unfiltered feedback about every aspect of our journey.
Before our trip I searched Natural World reviews on TripAdvisor for our guide Dik Dik to see what we could expect. All the reviews said he was fabulous and I'm happy to report that he was a stellar safari guide for us. He has decades of experience as a professional guide and knows customs/languages from around the world which make all guests feel welcome. During our 3-day tour, he greeted numerous other safari-goers in a total of five languages and he had a great rapport with the other safari drivers. That rapport shouldn't be understated--it's actually quite critical that you have a guide who is on good terms with the other driver guides. If you have any issues (flat tire, get lost, searching for specific rare animals like leopards, etc.) then having a popular guide like Dik Dik will be enormously in your favor.
The first day of our safari tour was meant to be driving from Nairobi directly to our Mara Engai camp. You can take main roads (which are bumpy) or you can take the Natural World route which takes you through the Masai Mara game reserve. This turned out to be a huge benefit for us. Once we entered the reserve, Dik Dik turned on his long range 2-way radio and immediately caught wind of a leopard. Leopards are exceedingly rare in the wild but he was able to make a 6km detour and spot us a beautiful leopard sitting up in a tree eating something. It made for an incredible photo op that we didn't expect to have on our 'boring' drive out to the campsite. By the time we got to camp, we had already seen 4 of the Big 5. I was absolutely stunned by how much wildlife Dik Dik found us in our first few hours in the reserve.
It is 100% worth investing in an SLR/DSLR/mirrorless camera if you don't have one. A cell phone camera will not do justice to the gorgeous wildlife and you will feel extremely let down that you didn't bring a serious camera. Think about when you take a picture of the moon with your cell phone; the moon comes out tiny! The same thing happens when you take a selfie with a herd of elephants. Your big face obscures the beautiful wildlife in the background which is teeny and barely recognizable.
Over the 3-day tour we saw everything we could have hoped for. Dik Dik found us hundreds of hippos, giraffe, and elephants; 2 groups of female lions, a group of 4 male lions, a cheetah, a leopard, 2 black rhinos, ostriches, zebras, wildebeest, gazelles, topi, buffalo, crocodiles, mongooses, all of the Big 5, and countless fascinating species of colorful birds. Our lucky break came on May 30 as we were leaving the Masai Mara reserve: we spotted the front line of the Great Migration. As far as the eye could see there were thousands of zebras and wildebeest. This year the migration came a month early which gave us the views of a lifetime. Dik Dik did an amazing job of getting us up close with the wildlife. He really went out of his way to give us the experience of a lifetime and we can't thank him enough. Dik Dik: Thank you again for your great work and excellent game spotting; you gave us an unforgettable experience.
Safety: I was worried about personal security and food safety before embarking on this trip. As it turned out I had nothing to worry about (a huge relief). Natural World is top-rated for a reason. For personal safety they have all the pit-stops arranged (see above) with security. In the reserves we saw park rangers all the time and never felt any concern for our personal safety. At the camp there was essentially a small army on guard. Most critically, the jeeps all have long-range 2-way radios that can be used to reach rangers and other guides instantly in the event of any issue. As for food safety, we felt very well taken care of at the Mara Engai camp. The all-inclusive (food) at the camp was top-notch--for example our arrival lunch was sirloin steak and fondant potatoes with soup and salad. We ate everything the camp offered and had zero stomach problems. The free wifi was an incredible feat too.
To summarize, Natural World is a Kenya-owned and operated company that legitimately takes pride in its work. Dik Dik is a wonderful guide that you should request by name. We can't thank this company enough for its organization, scrutiny with respect to selecting guides and staff, and overall value for safari tours. Thank you Natural World. We look forward to the next adventure.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Ulusaba Game Reserve by Michele
Incredible service, food, rangers and trackers. Saw all the Big 5 every day.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Timbavati Nature Reserve by Michele
This area is a little dry so the landscape is more sparse than Sabi Sand. Loved our accommodations at Kings Camp, amazing service, trackers and guides. Saw all the big 5.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Sabi Sand Game Reserve by Michele
By far our favorite. Saw all the big 5 almost every day, the leopards are amazing and tons of elephants. Guides were awesome.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kruger National Park by Michele
Saw lots of wildlife but it is very crowded and people can just drive their cars through. I like the private reserves better.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tsavo East National Park by Christopher Hume
Larger park but not guaranteed to see all the big 5 as you are in the Masai Mara
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Christopher Hume
Saw all the big 5 and more
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Christopher Hume
Good for scenery white Rhino's and birdlife.