Reviews of Goliath Safaris
(90%) From 2 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Walking safari was exhilerating
This is a much more simple camp than we had previously stayed in. With a one temperature shower I wonder how that works in the cooler months?
A limitation is that the lights go out at 9pm and despite the early starts I would have liked to stay and sit out later particularly as the tents were very hot.
The camp was full and frankly I don't think walking with 12 other tourists worked well at all. It was simply too many. It was concerning how long it took others to understand and stick to the basic rules when walking in the bush. This worried me and detracted from the overall experience.
It didn't help that they were all travelling together with there own guide and initially it made us feel on the periphery. Eventually the group decided that we were their new best friends.
That said walking provided a wholly new way of thinking about the animals we so enjoy seeing. The experiences were exhilarating and at times nerve racking when faced with a very unsettled lioness, lion and cub. Their power was unmistakable!! This is not a camp for the faint hearted.
We also had the pleasure of animals wandering through camp. It was very hard to sit still as an elephant brushes past your table to drink from the river, but I sat like a statue!
I would love to do some walking again but will look very carefully at the arrangements, so that I feel as confident about safety and enjoyment as you can from this kind of experience.
Perhaps there needs to be more emphasis on potential guests understanding what will be expected of them which is revisited before going out on the first walk.
Despite the above we loved it here. Mana is a lovely area and the camp is in a beautiful spot. The guiding was very good, the camp relaxed, plenty of good food, the staff were all delightful and did everything they could to make our stay a good experience.
Fantastic Experience
Not for the faint hearted!
This was a great and altogether unique experience. Sitting at the feet of a large bull elephant while he hoovered up seed pods from below a Winter Thorn Tree, crawling up to a pride of lions and later crawling along a river bed to get close to a pack of Wild Dogs. Each experience different and each very memorable. All due to Stretch Ferreira, whose empathy for and knowledge of the animals is legendary.
He is a wonderful host and each day we spent there was a joy, despite the heat. His business partner Flo keeps Stretch grounded and is a major part of the success of Goliath Camp. The other members of staff, Stetch's trainees - Siraj and Steven, and Reuben the guide all contribute to the close knit family" atmosphere of the camp.
Accommodation is relatively basic, but the food is excellent and plentiful. Goliath is certainly somewhere we want to go back to.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
