50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Holiday of a lifetime
Our pre holiday expectations were all about seeing the animals but our Ubuntu Safari holiday delivered so much more.The Chobi river cruise and the 2 safari camps we stayed at delivered genuine “up close experiences “with a wide variety of wildlife.The camps we stayed in were superb and their staff and guides went beyond normal levels of service .The natural beauty of Victoria Falls,Table Top mountain and the African coastline was a real WOW.The African people are welcoming ,friendly and genuinely pleased you are visiting their country.It was truly a holiday to remember and we are already planning to return.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our perfect 1st Safari planning and experience.
We are still in awe as we reminisce about our short 6 day safari in the beautiful country of Botswana. Almost last minute, we decided to add a safari to our travel plans to South Africa and were referred to Ker & Downey. What an exceptional experience we had working with Emma. After several idea changes and many inquiries she narrowed down an intinerary to fit our sense of adventure and interests. Our many airport connections, organization of storage for our extra luggage and delivery to our final hotel, meetups with airport personnel to navigate customs was incredibly efficient and occurred without one flaw. We were astounded with the level of detail organization Emma orchestrated. We also worked together with Razaan and she picked up right where I left off with Emma. The communication between the two was continual and I never had to re-explain my desires or inquires. The detailed itinerary was easily downloaded and followed; it was ALOT of information and even more helpful as I re-read it afterwards having “lived” it.
I have fallen in love with Botswana, what we learned and experienced; interacting with the Botswanian people and children, the beauty of the land were life changing. I hope that another African adventure will be in our near future. I won’t hesitste to seek out Emma and Razaan at Ker And Downey. We graciously thank you Emma and Razaan for your expertise and for taking in our “personalities” into account to make this adventure one for Life’s chapters.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
THE BIG 4!! Can't ask for much more than that!!
Carlson and Bartho are the guys running Wakanda. They could not have been nicer and more helpfull. From arranging (and included in the safari price) accomodation (night before and night after) , picking me up at the airport (such a relief not having to think about that one!) helpfull tips before I set off, everything!! In all fairness I didn't have a great budget, and it was 22h and I was trying to go on safari the next morning, and they still managed everything perfectly for me!!!
Six of us set off in a jeep, we all had window seats, which doesn't really matter because all the jeeps have hatch tops, so the minute you see something everyone is standing anyway. Bottled water was included in the price (which isn't the norm, so keep an eye out).
I had chosen 1 day in Tarangire, 3 in the Serengueti and 1 in Ngorongoro. We did 1 night at a lodge and 3 were in camp sites, which was great because of wild life walking around at night.
It's all super safe, our guide knew where to go and we saw more animals than we could of ever asked for.
Carlson and Bartho kept in contact with me, which is kind of impossible, but when we passed through the gates of the parks we got a few mins of wifi and a message from them. And of course they were there to receive me on arrival.
As a tip, defo bring binoculars (or rent there), always use local currency when travelling, but I think in this case it's best to travel with us dollars for the payment of the safari (they will apply the correct and up to date exchange rate) (and not old bills, best with recent date on bills). Everything else we payed in shillings.
Wakanga have a load of different options for different budgets. You get what you pay for and I always ask people not to try and haggle prices way down, since the park fees are high, and the team has to be payed.
I would suggest to contact Carlson and Bartho for any queries, because they are just so lovely they will help you with anything they can!!!
Good luck travellers!!!
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
John is great man,this safari was awesome,I recommended to everybody,we saw almost all wild animals.
Everything was perfect,John and his brother are really professional in this safari. Accommodation was very nice in big tents in the protection area inside the park.Food we got was fresh and very tasty. They really wanted showed us all possible animals and it was almost done. Almost beacuse unfortunately we didn’t find rhino,but guys made all possible to find it. I belive next time we can find.I will back to them next time for sure. Thank you guys for great adventure.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good price/ quality
The friendly manager Diana was very helpfull and responsive when booking the safari. The price of our budget safari was the cheapest we could find among competitors online and safari was well worth it. Friendly guide with animal-spotting capacities. Overall a perfect trip for the money spent, well recommended.
2 minor issues:
- When we booked the safari, we transferred a deposit using the transfer tool the company suggested. Diana then told us she received 30 dollar less than the amount send (even though we paid additional fee for the transfer already). We emailed about it for weeks, in the end Diana offered to split the costs. We didn’t mind the 30 dollar, but were a bit worried about the credibility of the company beforehand (which luckely turned out to be okay in the end).
- water is included but we ran out of water after half of the trip and had to buy our own.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely an amazing tour saw lots and well organised
Communication prior to the trip was great, Accommodation was excellent all the way round - no power at the Hlane Rest Camp Swaziland which doesn't help if you need power for medical reasons . Would have to be one of the best holidays I/we have had with what we saw. Plenty of game lots of young being born so good time of the year to go mid September to mid October. Magic scenery from Golden Gate down through the Garden Route to Cape Town. Food cooked by the guide was excellent and well catered for. Weather was great not much rain, most days temps were mid 30's to early 40's. If you want to visit South Africa then I recommend Masihambe Afrika as a company to book your tour through.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply the best attention to detail with care and consideration for the customer.
Compass Odyssey made our dream of an African adventure come true. Attention to detail, follow up, care and consideration was the best we have ever experienced. Their patience with our very specific requirements was admirable. The accommodation recommendation, destination and guides were matched exactly to our personality and style. We couldn't have asked for anyone better to guide us on our holiday to the magical destination of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Upon reflection, now that we have returned, it was definitely a dream holiday come true. All our wish list fulfilled. Can't recommend Compass Odyssey highly enough.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
An excellent tour in all respects.
This was a great experience from start to finish. Things were very well organized. The tour guide was excellent...very knowledgeable and went to great pains to make this a successful trip.
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Serengeti National Park by Maurice Clément
Serengeti is a world famous park, I didn't see the migration of the wildbeest but I'll come back..
The scenery is really amazing...
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by Maurice Clément
Ngorongoro is an extraordinary and particular site located in a volcano crater which concentrate all kinds of animals and birds , predators and preys...