ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was an amazing experience and a very good organization
We was so well all the time and enjoyed a lot in this amazing country. The guide, Twaha was very kind and polite, he was always looking to do the best with us and with the activities. We recomended to do it and ask for this guide.
US
Experience level: first safari
dope
Darren and all his guides were very knowledgeable and accommodations were excellent even for the fussiest of travelers.
CH
Exceptional Gorilla Safari Experience in Mgahinga forest
I had a great gorilla trekking experience in Mgahinga forest in June 2017 when I booked a gorilla safari tour with Walmark Africa Safaris Uganda. Irene was simply the best tour consultant have ever meet.She was positively in every thing and responded to each and every mail I sent.I had only four days but she advised me to explore lake Bunyonyi after my Mt Gahinga hike some thing I did and enjoyed beyond my expectation.Would surely recommend this company for any one heading to Uganda for Gorilla tracking holidays.Request for Martin to be your guide he is informed and amazing.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience, competitive on price with no compromises on quality
We have been looking and analizing different companies for months prior to decide for AAA.
We selected this company for both the Kilimanjaro climbing and the 4-days safari. Key elements for the decision have been the kindness of its owner, Jalala, that was always ready and happy to answer all our (impossible) questions and the competitive prices.
But reducing price is sometime easy if you reduce quality, but this was NOT the case of AAA.
We got incredible experiences, excellent staff, guides and organization.
I do reccomend AAA.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience going up Kilimanjaro with these people who are funny, loyal and serviceminded
Great!
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I had fun.
My name is Kova and I am 5½ years old. My Grandma is helping me type this about Tanzania and Breakdown Safaris because I had such a great time on Safari with Kathy ad Fan.
The very best thing that I liked was when I saw the two male lions. One was lying beside the Alpha truck when we were looking for animals on a riverbank and we didn’t know he was there in the first place. It was only when we were about to leave that we saw him lying there. He was very tired and he stayed asleep the whole time we were watching him. The next male lion we saw was lying with his head up, under a tree right beside the track. He was big and had a big mane.
Another good thing that I did one time when we stopped to have breakfast that came in a box, was climb big slippery rocks with Fan. It was fun. We saw lots of baboons climbing and jumping all over rocks and the young baboons were tumbling on top of each other. It was very funny to watch. The other thing that made me laugh was the hippos making a noise like they were laughing, and their ears would go round and round and splash water everywhere. We saw some baby hippos with their mothers.
One time in the Alpha truck some elephants came right up close to us. We had to be very quiet so that we didn’t scare them away. There was a baby one. Other animals that we saw were hundreds of zebras, hundreds and hundreds of impala, they are the ones with the MacDonalds M on their bottoms, and giraffes. My uncle says you have to see a giraffe drinking and to see one running, because they look so funny. And we did.
When we got home, I took some photos to school for “Show and Tell” for my friends to see.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful safari
We booked with Tanzania Wildlife Safaris/Climbing Kilimanjaro for our honeymoon, who organised our personalised Safari trip to Manyara, Ngorongoro, Tarangire well and were very helpful and kind. The trip was operated by Leopard Tours. Husseni Hassani was the best driver imaginable. He provided great knowledge, had excellent driving skills and was very enjoyable on a personal level. He always made sure we had a great time. And he speaks English, French and Spanish. Make sure you go with him (also other parks and like Serengeti) and you will have an amazing time! Highly recommended!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Trip of a Lifetime
With Jane Goodall as my super hero, I greatly desired to go visit Gombe National Park while in Tanzania on study during the summer of 2017. Finding Nahum Joshua’s company, Gombe Track Safaris & Tours online allowed me to do so. I got in contact with him easily and was lined up for my dream trip on the dates I desired, which came very soon after my reservations were made. My payment to Gombe Track Safaris & Tours covered everything including ground transportation, plane tickets to and from Kigoma, boat service, park fees, meals made by a personal chef, housing, and wonderful tours given by very informative guides. The only further money I needed to spend during this safari was in tips to those for who I saw reason. Because of Joshua making all of the detailed plans for me, there was no stress or uncertainty on my part, giving me the true sense of an enjoyable vacation.
On day one of my safari, I was picked up by Joshua’s staff from Dar es Salaam and dropped off at the airport for a 6AM flight to Kigoma. Upon arrival, I was taken on a boat down Lake Tanganyika from Khiziri Port to Gombe with views of various tribal communities, agricultural lands, and waterside wildlife along the way. Immediately upon arriving at Gombe, I was greeted by Hussein Kengwa, the park guide who Joshua had assigned to me. Hussein has been a part of Gombe for many years, knows the land extremely well, has connections with all others who work at the park, and is very knowledgeable of the individual chimpanzees who call Gombe their home as well as the rest of the primate species, wild animals, and natural florae on sight. Hussein took me for my first forest excursion in Gombe National Park that day at 10:00 in the morning. It was a mountainous, hot, and thickly vegetative area to trek, difficult but extremely exciting because chimpanzees were quickly found, who I then joined for the morning. I saw chimps from the families I have gotten to know through Jane Goodall’s stories including Faustino, the grandson of Flo, the chimp that made me fall in love with the species. Also present were Golden, Gosama, and Gland all descendants of Gremlin, a very long studied chimp who is still living today. The current researchers were observing their wild subjects with me there, and because chimps here are so used to human visitors, I was ignored and could enjoy simply being a part of their day.
Returning in the afternoon to the base camp of Gombe, I was served delicious food made just for me by the cook Joshua had sent along. I took a swim in Lake Tanganyika, shared the beach with baboons, and charged my camera batteries during hours electric was available in my cabin. Sleeping in a base camp on research grounds, I depended on my flashlight to see anything after dark because the electric there is not continuous. Clear view of the tons and tons of stars in the sky were the reward of living in the dark.
Day two in the park for me included waking up to find a baboon looking in at me through my cabin window, meeting a group of Tanzanian women on a tour with Roots & Shoots, finding researchers from the University of Minnesota in the forest recording chimpanzee calls, and being beside the daily life of Gombe’s chimpanzees including Gremlin and her family of six, Nasa holding onto a red colobus monkey skull showing off his group’s hunting skills, and the good-looking male trio of Faustino, Dier and Duke grooming and napping on the forest grounds together.
Day three included hiking through the park to Jane Goodall’s key locations including the lookout point of the mountain where Jane went to listen for the calls of chimps to identify their locations. I also cooled off and refreshed myself with the splashes and deafening flow of beautiful Kakombe Waterfalls. It was during this hike that Faustino seemed to invite Hussein and me to follow him. Faustino would walk past us on the ground, step ahead, and turn to see if we were coming along with him. Upon seeing us follow, Faustino continued his route leading us to Nuro and her youngster, Nyota whom he then joined with, eating figs from a giant tree.
Leaving the island and returning to Kigoma, I was taken to visit Dr. David Livingstone’s Memorial Center and then stayed the night at the Coast View Resort enjoying a hot shower, air conditioning, and 24/7 electricity. It was here that I appreciated hanging out with Joshua, getting to know him, the person who provided me with my trip of a lifetime. I was transported back to the airport after only three days of a tour, but those three days fulfilled me with wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. I could not have asked for a better time in Gombe unless of course Jane Goodall would have been there herself which is not often, at all anymore. I strongly recommend the service of Gombe Track Safaris & Tours to anyone planning a visit to Gombe National Park.
Friendly, knowledgable and the most accommodating tour company in moshi
Communications: The communications were fantastic, we (we were a 2) and booked quick quickly on arrival to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Naick the tour operator was only too accommodating in regards to price as well as in regards to the fact that a few other people pulled out of the group but it was still arranged for the climb to occur. On arrival we were greeted at the bus terminal and then taken to the hotel.
Tour itself: Kibobo our tour guide was abasolutely fantastic, tales of the mountain, taking us at the pace we required. The rest of the staff were also great organising every prior to getting to camp most days so that everything was ready as we walked in. All the support staff do a fabulous job.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The 14-day Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania tour was a once in a lifetime incredible experience
My fiance and I did the 14-day Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania tour. Our guide through Uganda and Rwanda was Alfred, and we thoroughly enjoyed him. He was an excellent driver, we felt safe and comfortable the entire trip, which is important as we shared several, lengthy drives together. He shared a lot of information and answered any questions we had regarding culture, wildlife, etc.
Uganda
We enjoyed the view in our first accommodation, Cassia Lodge, and if we had to rate it on a scale from 1 (below average) to 5 (above average) we would rate the overall experience there a 3. The food was good, but the service and interior room accommodations (bed, bathroom) left a lot to be desired. From there our lodges appeared to increase in beauty and comfort. Getting to travel through Kampala with a guide who actually lives in the area is an experience that is unmatched. We were in awe throughout our entire trip through Uganda’s breathtaking countryside.
Kibale Forest Camp was our next stop, in which we were surprised and delighted to be instantly greeted by black and white colobus monkeys. We would rate our overall experience here a 4, our tent was comfortable and clean and the service was good. We especially enjoyed the restaurant area on the upper level of the main lobby and we also liked the fact that we could explore the grounds with a self-guided tour. We awoke bright and early for the chimpanzee habituation tracking, which was a great overall experience and then Alfred picked up a ranger and took us on a quick game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we were able to see a good deal of wildlife including lions and elephants and were even lucky enough to spot a python killing a baby kob.
The Marafiki Safari Lodge was great. We would rate the bungalow itself a 4, but the staff and food definitely deserve a 5. Everyone was extremely friendly and the meals were outstanding. We enjoyed getting to spend extra time with Alfred during our stay here. We were quite pleased with the balance of alone time meals and meals we had with Alfred. Our second chimpanzee tracking experience at the gorge was one of our favorite moments of the trip. We had an incredibly enthusiastic guide named Robert who lead us to a small family of chimps within the gorge. This was followed by the boat safari, which was also fun and filled with wildlife.
The next morning was hot air balloon day and that entire experience was fantastic from start to finish. The breakfast in the bush was so special and charming and we especially enjoyed the water jug and soap provided to wash our hands before eating. The drive to Lake Mutanda was breathtaking, which led us to our favorite lodge in Uganda, the Mutanda Lake Resort. We would rate our experience overall a 5 from our room to staff to food. The view from this lodge was incredible and it was clean, comfortable, and intimate. Gorilla Tracking was a once in a lifetime experience and it was nice to have downtime at the Mutanda Lake Resort, where there is so much to see and explore. It was a great finale to our overall Uganda experience.
Rwanda
This day we had a lot of downtime, almost too much. We were driven right to Le Bambou Gorllia Lodge, which was our least favorite lodge of our entire trip. While there were some available activities at the lodge, it wasn’t enough to fill our time and we also weren’t thrilled with the room and bathroom in terms of cleanliness and comfort. We would rate this a 2, though the food and staff were great.
We did the golden monkey tracking while we were here, which was another fantastic experience and then drove to Kigali. Alfred took us to the Rwandan genocide museum, which was sobering and informative. Alfred then drove us to our final Rwandan stay at the super luxurious Flame Tree Village. While this was more of a hotel and less of a “lodge” it gets a 5 as well for cleanliness and comfort.
Our overall Uganda/Rwanda experience was unmatched. We were overall thrilled with the entire experience; our only complaint is that we were unclear about what meals were included and which ones weren’t. Often times it didn’t match what the itinerary stated and we found that more meals were included than we originally expected, which was a good thing—we just were left questioning things a lot of the time.
Another thing we wanted to mention is that we also didn’t realize how often US currency is preferred over the local currency, and had we known this ahead of time we would have brought more US currency. And although it is stated on the website that US dollars have to be produced from 2006 on, it might be helpful to reiterate that to US travelers prior to their journey.
Tanzania
Our first driver was Lawrence. He indicated right away that he was just driving us to our first lodge and we would have someone different for the remainder of our trip. Lawrence was also great! He was pleasant and informative and had a great sense of humor. We stayed at Ilboru Safari Lodge, which gets a 5+. The food was delicious, the staff was friendly, the grounds were beautiful, and our bungalow was perfect and clean. The next day we met our guide for the remainder of the trip, Rama. Rama was also great, he went out of his way to help us spot a Leopard and also taught us a lot of Swahili. He also helped us track down some nice souvenirs before we left for the United States.
We both loved the cultural tour through Mto Wa Mbu—what a unique and fun experience! The food at the end was delicious. Our Lake Manyara game drive was fun. We stayed at Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp, which was another beautiful location. We would rate this one a 4—it was comfortable and the staff was friendly. Our packed lunch from this place was our favorite overall, filled with lots of options, though we really did enjoy each and every packed lunch we received throughout this journey.
We then drove to the Serengeti for a game drive for yet another unique and once in a lifetime experiences. We stayed at our absolute hands down favorite location of the entire trip, the Tortilis Camp. It was luxurious and our tent was huge. The staff was beyond friendly—so accommodating and full of enthusiasm. This place gets a 5+ as well.
The next day was Ngorogoro Crater day, which again was fantastic. Rama was a great guide throughout both of these adventures, spotting tons of wildlife and getting us great views of the animals.
Our last stay was at the Country Lodge Karatu, which we would rate a 4 overall. It was comfortable and clean and the food was fine.
We cannot say enough wonderful things about Matoke Tours and our entire experience. Our expectations were far exceeded and the beauty of Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania blew us away.