Kenya

- Kenya

Sarah and Jean from Lancashire travelled to Kenya’s Lake Turkana and Masai Mara

Dear Mary, thank you so much for organising our trip. Our stay at Kicheche Mara camp was definitely the highlight, the accommodation, food, staff and guides were wonderful. What a brilliant time of year, it really isn’t low season as so many people had told us. An abundance of babies from Lions, Hyenas, Elephant, Gazelle, Zebra and Warthogs – who knew they could be so cute! I do think we may have been very lucky first timers, as not only did a leopard pop down from her tree and wander off for a drink for us but a couple of Cheetah brothers reappeared in the conservancy for us to see (our only bit of bad luck to just miss them bring down a wildebeest calf). We called by the leopard again and she was eating her, rather stinky by now, kill in the tree. We stopped to take a couple of pics and within moments the ‘Acacia’ lion pride appeared and surrounded the tree – again we were the only ones there! Then, on our last day we came back with Wild Dog photos! Now that was an exciting bit of off-roading by our brilliant guide Duncan when he spotted them! So again Thank you!

- Kenya

- Tanzania

Stephen and Caron from London travelled to Kenya and Tanzania

Hi Rob, we had an amazing holiday – one of the best holidays in fact. Mara Toto – we were extremely lucky at Mara Toto – we were the only ones at the camp so were v spoilt. Saw a baby leopard near the camp most days, and with its Mum one day. The philosophy of this camp is fantastic – healthy food, not stodgy at all and very innovative, we had some amazing breakfast/lunches out in the bush. Amy – the manager was great. She used to be a cook and personal trainer in a former life, so was able to influence it in this way. We definitely want to go back. Klein’s Camp – they accommodated all our safari needs – we went out for a full day to see if we could find a crossing and also for 2 night drives – the first night we did not see a lot (except for an amazing bush baby bouncing from tree to tree) BUT the second night we saw 3 kills! There was a pride of very well fed lions that we found just before sun downers – by the time we finished and it had gone dark – they were up and about looking for dessert! They brought down a wildebeest, a big zebra that took ages to die 🙁 and a baby buffalo 🙁 Even the guides were taking photos as it was so rare to see this many in the space of 15mins, let alone one night! The meals at Klein’s were v average and very unlike what we would expect and have experienced from an And Beyond camp. The Palms – was outstanding – and again we had the place to ourselves almost, as only one other villa was occupied for 2 of the 4 nights!

- Kenya

Christian and Fliss from Norfolk were married in the Masai Mara in Kenya

Dear Mary, I just wanted to say a personal thank you to you too for putting such a personal, wonderful wedding and honeymoon package together for Christian and I. You really gave us the best experience of our lives and we have so many fond memories to cherish forever. Africa will always be a part of us now and I know we will be returning!

- Kenya

- Tanzania

Mark, Claudia and family from Switzerland travelled to Kenya and Tanzania on a private guided safari

Dear Bill, our holiday to Kenya and Tanzania was beautiful, fantastic!!! Under Russell’s expert guidance we saw and learned a lot and we are very grateful to him. But a huge ASANTE SANA goes to you and your team as well, as everything went smoothly. We would like to visit Africa again in a few years time and we will certainly contact you again when that moment has come!

- Kenya

Richard and Andrea from West Sussex travelled to Kenya

Hello Mary, Just thought I would send you a quick thank you for arranging our trip and sorting everything out so perfectly. It was our best trip anywhere ever so far! Many thanks for all your help in arranging it all for us. We are planning things for next year now so I will be in touch with another suggested Itinerary for you to sort out for me shortly. Thanks again!

- Kenya

Carolyn and Caroline from London travelled to the Laikipia and Masai Mara regions in Kenya

Hi Michele, we had a lovely time on safari in Kenya, thank you. Kicheche Laikipia was lovely – would highly recommend it and would very happily go back! We were hugely lucky to see two cheetah on a walk, and we got really close too. We had white and black rhino and the wild dogs and loads of lions. Mara House was lovely, and they could not have done more to look after us. We did flip for the front bedroom – Caroline won! – but to be honest, all the bedrooms were nice and the second bedroom was also pretty big. I really liked the fact that everyone who works there is Masai and proud of it, right down to the Masai dress. I think I need to diet after all the great food too! Anyway, we loved it and I can’t wait to go on safari again. Thank you so much for organising it – it really couldn’t have been better. The contrast between the two game reserves was also really interesting. Thanks again!

- Kenya

- Tanzania

David and Pamela from Surrey travelled to the Masai Mara in Kenya and then Katavi and Mahale in western Tanzania

Dear Rob, all the arrangements went well. The Serian camp is in an excellent location and very well managed by Roisin who made us very welcome. Our guide, James, was outstanding, one of the best ever. The game viewing exceeded our expectations. In the conservancy we saw lions (lots), cheetahs, hundreds of wildebeest and zebra, elephants, impala and many gazelles. We saw lots of hyena, packs of over 30, out and about in broad daylight, even with cubs, and clearly frightened of no one. On no occasion were there more than a couple of vans at any sighting: we thought it might be very busy but it wasn’t. Katavi, by contrast to the Mara, was a bit quieter in terms of game, although we did see 4 of the big five in one game drive. We saw more hippos in one drive than we have ever seen before and as the pools are drying the smell was just horrible! Mahale was completely different. The Greystoke camp is very well managed by the departing manager Sasha and his replacements Jeff and Kerry who made us very welcome. Our guide, Robert, was also good. Our first chimping was good. They were only about 40 mins away in the forest hills up from another camp so we went to that camp by boat and had a reasonable climb to find them as it was on the tracks all the way. On the second day two chimps decided to visit the camp just before we were about to go out into the forest. They had come to eat some mangoes which were just becoming ripe. We had about 40 mins following them through the undergrowth until they went off up a steep gradient and out of sight. As we were still entitled to a further 20 mins we set off to find some the trackers had located. This was a climb and a half. We were off the tracks for a lot of the one and a half hour climb (and it was a genuine climb up rocky slopes and through dense undergrowth) and in the end we saw only two chimps high up in a tree. We could hear that the others were not far away but they kept on moving and eventually even the trackers couldn’t go any further. It certainly demonstrated chimp sightings are not guaranteed!

- Kenya

Keith and Kathryn from West Yorkshire travelled around Kenya

Dear Rob, just a quick e-mail to say that we had a fantastic trip- thank you! We will complete & return the requested questionaire in due course but I just wanted to say thank you for organising a great trip. The Kicheche camps really are brilliant & seem to have most things just right. My only complaint is too much food! Thanks again.

- Kenya

- Tanzania

Steve and Claire from Hertfordshire travelled to Kenya and Zanzibar

Whilst this was an expensive holiday we had a terrific time and we both felt it was well worth it. Safari Consultants (and especially Michele) delivered 100%. We would have no hesitation in recommending them to others.

- Kenya

Matt and Taylor from Virginia, USA travelled to Kenya

I just wanted to be sure to take a moment out of my schedule to relay exceptionally positive feedback regarding the customer service Michele provided throughout the entire length of planning/preparations for my recent safari to Kenya. I just returned from the Offbeat Meru and Mara camps (recommended to us by Michele based upon our stated needs/interest) last Friday, and it is safe to say that Michele arranged nothing less than a trip of a life time, and did so in such a professional and considerate manner at every step along the way. She adeptly and patiently fielded my many many questions over the course of months in order to arm my wife and I with the information we needed to make well-informed decisions about the budget, accommodations, timing, and destinations on our trip. And perhaps most importantly she did so without making me feel pressured into any particular option or itinerary that was not right for my wife and I. I have wanted to take a trip like this since I was a child and admittedly dialogued with representatives from numerous tour organizers in an effort to find options that were the best fit for my wife and I in order to plan it. In sum, I couldn’t be happier that I settled on using Safari Consultants after the trip Michele organized for us, and how she went about doing so. Professional, organized, congenial, knowledgeable, flexible and courteous. I am now actively recommending your company to my friends who are interested in possibly taking a similar journey in the near future themselves. Best regards from an exceedingly satisfied customer.