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Email Martin Sim | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Captivating Scenery and Exhilarating Safari Trip!
It was a perfect trip for my wife and myself. Once we have decided on the safari tour recommended by Sonja from Kruger Park Tour, we know we are in for a once in a lifetime experience. She was detailed, organized and extremely prompt in answering some of out queries. This must be the most seamless booking we've done thus far.
The transit from JNB to Tydon Safari was smooth and we had a stopover for toilet break and lunch before reaching the camp. We fell in love with Tydon the minute we step foot into the camp as everyone there was super friendly and hospitable and made us feel so comfortable throughout the stay. We had 4 nights at the Safari Camp near Sabi Sands. We dropped our luggage, had a change of clothes and off we go for our very first game drive into the Sabi Sands. As this is our first time trying a game drive and hence without any expectations, we were completely blown away by the beauty of mother nature and the animals we saw (elephants, rhinos, gifarres and leopards)! Point to note for travelers, do go with an open mind and not every game drives provide you with the big fives, don't miss out those other animals who are also part of the beautiful nature in the safari.
Upon returning from the game drive, our guides gathered us around a bon fire for delicious dinners prepared by our awesome chefs. They made sure that we have the opportunity to try different African cuisines every nights and we enjoyed and appreciate all the meals presented to us at the camp throughout our stay.
The next few days continued on with an early morning game drive at 6:30am, hearty breakfast at 10am and then lunch at 1pm before heading out again for our afternoon drives to Kruger National Park. We were really blessed to witness a big mane Lion, a lone leopard, herd of elephants, cape buffalos and rhino crossing all within a day!!! It was such an exhilarating experience and so out of this world!
July is actually a pretty nice period for the safari tour as it's quite cooling in the day except that you really need to wrap up quite a bit in the wee hours of morning as well as during the night as the temp can drop to between 4-10 deg. The wind from the open top drive can be gruelling and I was freezing due to being ill-prepared for the cold.
Overall, this is my BEST holiday ever and I absolutely love Africa for the abundance of beautiful nature and the people are so amazing. I want to give a special shout out to our beautiful guide and spotter - Seonaid from Tydon Safari for being the most positive and patient guide to us.
Email Karl Scholl | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari's and a great organization leading us around South Afrtica
Having spent months planning a "bucket list adventure" wildlife trip to Africa we were getting confused over rates, dates of safari's, and how we could add in all the events we wanted and what was available. Thus, ended up looking for trip providers who could assist in our planning. We ended up with Siya Phambile Expeditions (Benjamin Wilson, Director and tour leader), mainly on his tour suggestions and providing a more focused and personal tour. However, saying this all the other providers did give some good ideas but never seemed to understand what we wanted for our "bucket list adventure" which did not include wine tasting, penguins, and events we can see and do in Australia. Our original pricing for the trip was a bit different compared to the trip Siya Phambile Expeditions provided. Overall it turned out a bit more expensive compared to my original plan as I was trying to keep cost down, But, Benjamin did add in a few fantastic 4 and 5 star accommodations, being our driver/ guide in some safari's and giving us pointers on what to see and do, which actually turned out better in the long run.
We ended up taking many safari's in a large area around north and north eastern South Africa (including Eswatini <Swaziland>) and found that while wildlife/land/events differed, it worked perfectly for us to see and do so much in 4 weeks.
With my birthday on the last few days of our trip Benjamin organised a superb accommodation with the staff included singing happy birthday and baking a cake. Not to mention the Champagne breakfast in the morning before the early safari...
The only down side I had was trying to get booked onto the trains to and from Johannesburg and CapeTown, but in the end the trains we desired were cancelled and not a fault of the tour guide. For that matter, I would complement Benjamin for his speed and planning to make this work for us and actually enjoyed the safari's more.
Locations visited:
Pilansberg Game Reserve
Mapungubwe National Park
Kruger National Park (traveled north, central and south)
Hlane Royal National Park. Eswatini
iMfolozi Game Reserve to start the wilderness trail
Hluhluwe Game Reserve
Ithala Game Reserve
Royal Madikwe Lodge
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Email Odra L | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent experience.
Safari bookings did a great job of connecting us to a child friendly safari lodge. Very nice drivers and transport to and from hotels/airport and quality service at the lodge.
FR
Email Matteo Dell'acqua | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional and wonderful
Exceptional from the beginning to the end. Our 12 days in South Africa were magical. Everything was perfectly organised by Jumbari, hotel, transfer, private tour, …
We spent 4 days at Ulusaba Lock Lodge for our safari. This was amazing. The hotel is on top of a hill and offers an extraordinary view of the bush. Service is excellent, rooms are large and splendid, delicious food all over the day, wonderful diner and exceptional safari with top ranger and tracker.
We hope to be able to come again
PT
Email Paulo | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Astonishing and rich experience
This was a perfect experience. Accommodations accordly to expectations. Very diverse and good food, both in quantity and quality. The hosts, drivers and guides have always been outstanding in their competence, availability, organization and friendliness.
NL
Email Mrs. Ria van der Wagt | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
South-Africa, a short visit
I had a great time in South-Africa. Impressed about the accuracy of both SafariBookings and Viva Safaris. The accomodation was fine, food was good, people very nice and helpful. The only thing about my accomodation was that, because I was single and had probably the ensuite of a family-room, there was no tea/coffee arrangements and no bottles of water in the room. And I dearly missed a chair, hooks to hang some cloth. The chair I asked for and was supplied immediately.
The fact that it was very cold in the morning and not always blankets in the cars made the travelling on and forth sometimes unpleasant, but allover I had a pleasant stay!
RO
Email Tudor Popa | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wildlife spotting at its best
We had a great time in South Africa, me and my wife. It was her first time in Africa and we both enjoyed the wildlife there. Such an amazing trip in Kruger Park, saw the Big 5, did the Bush walk which is an amazing experience. The people are so amazing, welcoming and outgoing. And the landscape beautiful despite the fact that it was still winter, dry season. Highly recommended
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Email Marilyn Monarch | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the most magnificent adventures of my life.
Naledi Bush Lodge and the entire staff were helpful, gracious and knowledgeable.
IT
Email Virginia Cella | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
great experience at Entabeni
We drove to Entabeni reserve, about three hours from Johannesburg and we slept for two nights at Wildside Camp. The Camp is not that easy to find but the personnel is very kind, so if you contact them, they are available to guide you by phone. The scenario is incredibly nice, with a characteristic landscape dominated by Hanglip Mountain. There is one game drive in the morning and one in the afternoon, lating three hours each. The guides are nice and experienced. We spotted a pack of lions from very close, cheetahs hunting, elephants crossing the road and rhinos from the distance. The reserve is not so much populated (often the guide drove even for one hour without seeing any animal) but there's a good chance to see the animals from a very short distance. The food at Wilside is very good and the rooms are clean and spacious.
SG
Email Agnes | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great tour and an excellant guide
We joined the 4-Day Safari to Kruger National Park via Panorama Route. Our guide, Hoppy, is friendly, courteous and very knowledgeable. We were lucky to see the BIG 5 on this trip. The air-conditioned van was clean and exceptionally comfortable especially in the cold mornings. The whole tour including the drives, accommodations and meals was well-arranged and good. We highly recommend Wildlife Safaris (Pty) Ltd and Hoppy.
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