20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wouldn't use again
I did the 52 day Southern Safari trip with Absolute Africa traveling from Nairobi to Cape Town. Highlights include rafting along the Zambezi river, Spitzkoppe and of course all the amazing animals we saw on safari (Serengeti, endangered rhinos at Matopos, Etosha). Some driving days were long (we covered a lot of countries in 52 days), tent equipment was good quality and food was usually plentiful (unless people in your group want to eat breakfast before breakfast time and they don't save you enough food). For the first 10 days our tour leader Kip/Edmund was great, he had a positive attitude and he was really patient. Then we joined another group and had Martin as our tour leader. Whilst Martin was really informative in the beginning about the daily itinerary, with time i felt he became less informative. It was also clear to some people that Martin favoured certain individuals in the group. I understand that there will be people (even tour leaders) that get on with certain people more than others but as a professional i expected him to treat the group as a whole and listen to us as a whole, taking control of the group during more difficult situations when needed. There were certain situations where Martin acted quite childishly to certain members of the group, a few times he did not respect people's confidentiality by talking to certain members of the group about other people. One particular incident he publicly ridiculed someone in front of the whole group during dinner for not helping cook dinner one night because she was tired. You wouldn't expect this from someone who's been a tour leader for 20 years.
Some of the optional activities i did i felt like it wasn't worth the money, for example we spent 3 days in the Okavango Delta and one day had 9 hours of free time where we had to stay in the bush camp or swim in a pond. Our tour leader didn't tell us this so some people didn't bring things like books etc. Absolute claim that they send you the most updated information (itinerary and optional activities list) however they included activities that haven't been running for years or they don't even run. We went to Antelope Park, Zimbabwe a private reserve home to a lion conservation programme with the aim of breeding lion cubs from captured lions in order to release them into the wild. Since 2005 they haven't released a single lion. I read articles by National Geographic and Africa Geographic that questioned the ethicacy of the programme and there was also speculation about whether the park involved itself in Africa's lion industry (look up Blood Lions for more info). Animal conservation should never involve animal-human interaction or breeding and these do/use to do both these things e.g. cub handling and lion walks.
Correspondence with Absolute prior and throughout my trip was thorough and professional. After giving feedback about my experiences there was an obvious lack of accountability and ignorance. Overland tours are a great way of traveling to so many African countries and overall i really enjoyed most of the activities i did and the people i traveled with. However there are quite a few African overland tours and I am unlikely to use them again.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
awasome team....they do everthing to make u feel comfortable...their guides r excellent.....excellen
best ever i had...good team..nd amazing place...love the guides. nd wanna mention the person robert muhale...amazing...wl b back soon...juat try it guys...worth of money
It was awesome!
The scenery in South Africa was so beautiful and unbelievable!There were really good sightings of this peculiar bird.I really loved it.The routes were great and amazing.The weather was fine though it was a bit windy and sunny.I encountered some of the best hotels and suites in there which made me enjoy my trip to the fullest.The pay for that trip was worth it,i enjoyed it.
Utterly wonderful!
Well organised safari companies, knowledgeable guides, and wildlife galore!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Wildlife Tour!!!
An African safari is usually a once in a lifetime experience. You want it to be amazing with long lasting and vivid memories. Rest assured, if you book with Wild Discoveries, you will have each of your safari desires fulfilled.
Although our trip was a year ago, it feels like only yesterday that my friend and I were bumping along the roads of Uganda, getting our “African massage” as we travelled from one incredible park to another. We did our tour “backwards” from most people which was no problem for our talented and welcoming guide Blackie. He was completely flexible with our itinerary, picking us up in a smaller city in southern Uganda where we had been visiting friends, instead of the typical meet up in Kampala or Entebbe. He arrived with a broad smile and quickly loaded our belongings into the clean and comfortable van, affectionately known as “clickie”, and we were off!
We began with a tour through Lake Mburo National park to see the Ankole cattle and zebra. Both of which were accommodating and met us on the roadway as we made our way around the park. From there we journeyed on to see the gorillas in Bwindi Impenitrable Forest National Park. This was a life altering experience that still brings chills of excitement to recall. We were guided by one of the more senior trackers in the park and saw a large family group of gorillas, with three silverbacks and two babies. The encounter with these incredible beings was truly astounding. If you have the opportunity to incorporate this into your safari, do not miss it.
Our next stop was Queen Elizabeth National Park where we saw so many elephants we taught Blackie, who was quickly becoming a good friend, a new acronym- “TNTC - too numerous to count”. We also noted numerous babies in the herd, a theme that would continue throughout our trek. We had the pleasure of viewing babies of all of the following species, cape buffalo, giraffe, baboon, chimpanzee, black and white colobus monkey, hippo and even a baby rhino to fulfill our “Big Five” species check list. The most charming babies we met were the tree climbing lion cubs who appeared as if conjured from the tall grass, following their mother to a large Acacia tree. It was simply adorable to watch as the entire brood of 4 cubs and the mother made their way into the branches to rest in the shade. This experience was followed closely by an even more amazing event. Still smiling and chatting about the darling “kittens”, we were on the road heading out of the park when Blackie made the signal to be quiet and pointed to the right of the van. Initially, we saw nothing but grass until we crept forward and suddenly there was a leopard standing so near we could almost touch it. We were stunned into silence and managed to get one photo of the magnificent cat before it dashed away to procure its dinner. These close up experiences with two of the most majestic cats of Africa earned our friend his new moniker - “Lucky” Blackie. Again and again, we admired his talent for finding the game we sought out. From birds to mammals, Blackie provided us with knowledgable local guides or used his own tracking skills to ensure we had a terrific experience each day.
We felt like honored guests on our two person tour. The welcoming and friendly nature of the Ugandan people was demonstrated at each of our lodgings. As we arrived, we were met with smiles and a cool beverage. Our tents or cabins were clean and well appointed and the food was delicious. The Murchison River Lodge was a particular stand out on our tour with a large swimming pool and delectable fresh fish served on their expansive veranda.
While staying at the lodge, we also enjoyed a personalized river tour up to Murchison Falls with our cheerful and knowledgable river guide Boscoe leading us right up to the riverbank to view multiple birds and animals. This was topped off by a vigorous hike up to the falls themselves with numerous photo opportunities along the way.
We concluded our trip with an overland drive back to Kampala and then Entebbe. We made our last animal viewing stop at the Ziwa Rhino & Wildlife Ranch. There we saw a family of rhinos, including a very shy baby, taking a siesta in the shade. Back in Entebbe, Blackie introduced us to his friends at the African Roots Guest House. As he departed, we planned to stay in touch and he even offered to provide us a ride to the airport when we left a few days later. We eagerly accepted his offer and had a wonderful send off including dinner and a dance party in the airport parking lot to keep us laughing and smiling on our return home.
Our safari memories will last a lifetime. You are well cared for from beginning to end. Blackie is outstanding in communication during the planning and preparation, a safe driver and miraculous guide. It is clearly the aim of Wild Discoveries Safaris to ensure you will be provided a friendly, well organized, comfortable and visually stunning tour of the jewels of Uganda, its National Parks and incredible wildlife.
If you would like more details about our entire journey, including photos, here is a link to my blog www.stuganda2017.blogspot.com
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My experiences were very good with Benson.
Our jeep-driver did know a lot about the wildlife and he explaned everything very friendly. He also was a good driver on the bad roads in the parks. I did see much more wildlive than I expected.
We visited Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Three beautiful parks.
We slept in three accomodations : Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Mbugani Migration Camp (Northern Serengeti) and Serengeti Tortilles Camp. The last two were camps with big tents with toilet and shower, two persons in one tent.
We did hear a lot of animals in the night-time. Very special!
The highlight was the river crossing of a big caddle of wildebeest.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 days in Kenyan paradise
We had an UNFORGETTABLE 3-day safari with Antony and our driver Charles!
The communication and the organization (round trip from Nairobi included) went perfectly, we enjoyed every minutes of the trip.
We stayed at Ilkeliani Mara Camp which is a wonderful place and had a tent in front of the river, waking up with monkeys and mongooses.
We highly recommend Antony and his team!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall great experience and would highly recommend to anyone going on a Safari
Communication with Belen was great and super responsive which is important when booking overseas and she made sure to meet with us to answer any questions we had before we started our safari which was nice. Safari tour was amazing. Our tour guide Steve knew where to look for animals and pointed them out to us if they were really far and did an awesome job at getting us as close as possible to take pictures. We never felt rushed and being on a private tour was a nice surprise.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fantastic 'Holiday of a Lifetime' thoroughly planned and executed by East Cape Tours & Safaris
This holiday involved travel and transfers in South Africa ( Kruger - Sabi Sands ), Zambia ( Victoria Falls ). Namibia ( River Lodge and Zambezi Queen ), Zimbabwe Hwange Park ( 2 lodges ) and a 5 star boutique hotel in Johannesburg. All accommodation was of the highest standard, all transfers were arranged and executed flawlessly. The high standard of the holiday as a whole and all of the travel in between went to make this an unforgettable experience and it was all put together by East Cape Tours, our greatest thanks go to Colin and his team, especially Lynn for ensuring everything went off without any issues and for suggesting such top class locations.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 Nights Cape Town with Car Rental and 4 Nights Safari in Sabi Sabi Private Reserve South Africa
Kathi at African Welcome Safaris did an excellent job in creating a 5 star itinerary, it was a great introduction to South Africa. Living in Canada and dealing with a travel agent in South Africa came with a few reservations. However, this was quickly dispelled as communication by email or Whats App was prompt and efficient. Everything was looked after from pick up at the airport, car rental drop off at the hotel, all the information regarding places to go and see in Cape Town and surrounding areas was provided and transportation to the safari lodge. The accommodations were 5 star, Cape Royale in Cape Town and Sabi Sabi Little Bush Camp in Sabi Sabi Private Reserve Kruger National Park. This was a such a wonderful experience, we were able to go at our own pace in Cape Town, drive through the famous winelands and the roadways to some of the most beautiful coastal settings. We also did 8 safaris and saw the “big five” and more with the same tracker and guide each day. I have travelled the world and can say the safari lodge we stayed in was the most beautful place I have ever stayed in, the food, service and game drives were 5 star plus. I would highly recommend Kathi at African Welcome Safaris as she delivered exactly what I wanted and couldn’t be more pleased with their service and follow up.