ON SAFARI
- Zambia
Stephen and Caron from London travelled to Zambia
Hi Rob, we had an amazing time. We thought this may be our last trip to Zambia for a while as we thought we may be getting bored with it BUT within 48 hours of being in Kafue, Steve was planning our next trip! We loved Musekese – what a great place. The camp location was great overlooking the lagoon. We saw lots of elephants, Lions walked past camp one morning and it was great seeing bush pigs (in the distance) for the first time. Phil was an excellent guide, we loved his passion for conservation and his ideas for the future of this area. We had an amazing time at Mwaleshi, We tracked lions and came upon them by surprise. We also saw a black mamba snake in a tree, were lucky to see wild dogs by the river and a large pack of hyenas. Nkwali was a nice camp – lots of elephant and giraffe around plus 2 sightings of leopard. We had a new experience of crossing the river on a pontoon which was interesting, especially when a hippo jumped out from underneath the pontoon as we were crossing and startled the guys pulling on the levers. It was great to see Kanga again. We loved the fly camping at Mupamadzi – the tents were excellent, better than we expected. The walking was excellent too and the guides fantastic. We saw lots of game – we were charged by buffalo quite a few times! We found 3 lioness/cubs, saw lots of elephants, a big herd of Roan and were even charged by a warthog which was quite funny. Thanks!
- Kenya
- ZambiaAndrew and Nikki from Lancaster travelled to Zambia and Kenya
Hi Michele, Sorry we are a bit slow in getting back to you since getting home from Africa! Thank you so much for your help in organising our trip we had an absolutely fantastic time! We loved everywhere that you organised for us and were treated so well by all the staff at all the different camps. Everything we saw we thought was amazing! A few of our highlights were seeing a herd of 100 elephant up close, watching two cheetahs hunt a poor little baby Thompson gazelle, spotting the elusive leopards, seeing two brand new baby lion cubs to the Mara pride on a night drive, the smallest river crossing of 4 wildebeest and staying at Elsa’s which was by far our favourite lodge! Thank you again with all of your help organising the most amazing honeymoon that we could have hoped for!
- Botswana
- South Africa - ZambiaBrian and Diane from Hampshire travelled to Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe
Hi Frances. The main reason we decided on Safari Consultants was the attention to detail given in your responses to our quite thorough brief and the confidence given by the local knowledge of all of the options we were offered. The choice of Mashatu Tented Camp was perfect for us to experience the feeling of being in the bush without actually camping out. An amazing experience hearing the wildlife close by through the night. Watching the elephants at the waterhole whilst having dinner was magical. The setting and the people at Mashatu made for an authentic intimate Botswana experience. Kambaku again was perfect for what we were looking for. The thatched villas were luxurious and very well spread out over the grounds. A real sense of space. Of course Kambaku is a different experience to Mashatu, it is South Africa and not Botswana. The game drives were excellent. Some of the sundowner stops at Kambaku were stunning. The night skies at dusk were breath taking. In fact with the help of lions visiting over dinner, we saw the big five in the first afternoon and evening. What can we say about Victoria Falls. There is a very good reason it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. To experience the power and beauty was very moving. Clive was brilliant and made this a memorable experience. The Zambezi sunset cruise was a marvellous end to what was a trip of a lifetime. The boat was excellent and staff brilliant and the sunset, unforgettable. With the benefit of hindsight would we have changed anything?…..No, and I think that says it all. So a very big thank you to you Frances and everybody at Safari Consultants and your African partners. It is quite remarkable that such a complex schedule went without a hitch. A compliment to all involved.
- Zambia
Tim, Dee, Thomas and Andrea travelled to Zambia
Dear Rob, thank you for organising an absolutely fantastic holiday for us to Zambia. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Both the houses lived up to and surpassed expectations. Sometimes pictures on websites can be a little misleading but this was not the case. The houses were gorgeous, clean, comfortable and in superb surroundings. Wildlife did literally walk by and I can say that I have never been anywhere where I have been lulled to sleep by the sound of hippos munching on grass outside my bedroom “window”! The food at both houses was always first rate. Really delicious, creative, fresh – I don’t know how they do it especially when you consider their location. The staff in both locations were always helpful, friendly and attentive. At Chongwe River House, Alan and Nicci were superb hosts – lovely to chat to but discreet to leave us to family time too. A really great start to the holiday. Alan was a superb guide – we concentrated mainly on birds with him and he took on the challenge to get us to 100 birds whilst we were there with a great sense of fun. The bush camping experience was truly amazing and definitely the highlight. We all learnt so much and special thanks has to go to our guide, Kanga, who was absolutely first rate. He was always happy to answer questions, was really in touch with all that was going on around us and was happy to do extras. He accompanied us to Luangwa house and Jen and John enjoyed his company and expertise too. I think they said he was the best guide they’d had. So thank you and everyone involved for making this trip so very, very memorable.
- Botswana
- South Africa - Zambia - ZimbabweIan and Paddy from Buckinghamshire travelled to South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Thanks again Michele for organising such a wonderful and memorable trip for us. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
- Zambia
Stephen and Jean from Norfolk travelled to Zambia
Rob, happy to report we are safely returned from a great trip. Many thanks for organising this safari at such short notice. It all worked excellently: the charter flight down to the Lower Zambezi linked up effortlessly with our international flight; we were in Chiawa in time for an evening drive. Chiawa was outstanding, amongst the best (if not the best) lodge we have stayed in. Old Mondoro was as we remembered it from eighteen months ago; quiet and rustic and very close to nature but with all the creature comforts. At both camps the game viewing exceeded expectation; four excellent leopard sightings at Chiawa and about six more at Mondoro, enough lions at both lodges and wild dog at Chiawa. Yes, the game viewing was more challenging at this time of year but it was great to see the bush so beautiful and green, a completely different perspective to normal. We both thoroughly enjoyed this trip and are already plotting our return to Zambia.
- Kenya
- Rwanda - Tanzania - ZambiaStephen, Julie, Samuel & Lauren from Australia travelled to Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia
Hi Michele, I have been meaning to write to you since we got home, to THANK YOU for an absolutely wonderful experience. It was quite a complicated itinerary, but the connections and contacts with guides and local representatives was seamless. The tented camps were fantastic, particularly the Kicheche camps due to their location. We were blown away by the level of service, attention to detail and the high quality of the meals provided by the lovely staff at all camps. Islands of Siankaba was also a fantastic change of pace and end to our trip. Our guides were wonderful – Jackson in Tanzania, Bernard in Rwanda, Peter at Ol Pejeta and George at Mara North. Their easy going personalities and knowledge of their country’s geography, history and wildlife made the trip so much more rewarding than we expected. The access they provided to the wildlife was amazing. Thanks again to you, Josie, Bill, Rob and the team. We had a wonderful trip and would highly recommend Safari Consultants!
- Zambia
Joy, Warren, Leonard & Elizabeth from America travelled to Zambia
Dear Rob, we had an amazing trip and we fell in love with Zambia. I think the highlights were Old Mondoro Camp – every day we had elephant overload – it was amazing. The varied activities were also a plus. We loved Kaingo camp – the camp managers were really great and the food was superb! Lastly, we loved ending at Tongabezi. Thanks for all of your help on planning this and you did a fabulous job on recommending the camps.
- South Africa
- ZambiaTimothy, Elizabeth, Lucy and Maxwell from Surrey travelled to South Africa and Zambia
Dear Michele, we had a fantastic time. The staff at Nottens Bush Camp and Waterberry were fab. Special mention to Gift at Nottens. Thank you for an excellent holiday.
- Zambia
Kevin and Lynne from Kent returned to Zambia
Hi Rob, Tafika – it really is a lovely camp with nice friendly people and atmosphere, the food was excellent as well. A couple of nice Leopard sightings, on daytime in a tree and one night time under spotlight. Kaingo – we were lucky to be assigned Patrick (again) as a guide – he is very good, knows the area and the animals like the back of his hand and being interested in photography himself, was good at placement of the vehicle on sightings. Game viewing was excellent, Leopards galore and good sightings of everything else. Remote Africa Air’s direct transfer down to Lower Zambezi was fantastic, we met quite a few people who had spent a whole day travelling between the two areas and they were gutted they couldn’t/didn’t do what we did, and when you look at it we definitely did it right compared to theirs, so thanks for hat – worked out really well. Amanzi – provided the perfect wind down at the end of the holiday for us. Lovely appointed camp, really nice and very quiet and relaxed, again lovely food and we were well looked after. All in all another great trip. We saw lots of great wildlife, met some lovely people, were looked after really well wherever we went.