Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"It was a thrilling adventure. Ellie and Expert Africa were very helpful in planning this trip for our group so we had a good idea of what to expect.

We were picked up at the Kigali airport by a representative of Primate Safari who went over everything with us and then introduced us to Bernard who was our driver and Rwanda guide. He was fabulous!! We all got along fabulously. He took very good care of us!! His english was perfect and he was very, very knowledgable of Rwanda and had much to tell us about his country. When I told him my stomach was queazy and had not been able to find any ginger around, he had the kitchen come up with some for me which helped a little. After trekking he took some of the group up to the twin lakes one day, another day found where my son could rent a bike and on the next to last day made arrangements for my son and another to get a guide so they could hike up one of the volcanos. One of our group had been to Kigali before and previously visited a young girl in an orphanage and wanted to find her. Bernard was able to find her new stepfather so we spent the last afternoon visiting with her, taking her shopping and then took her to lunch at the hotel in Kigali.. Bernard helped organize this whole afternoon. He was fabulous!

It was enjoyable to experience the mountains and then Kigali. The first night it seems the lodge had double booked and our accommodations were not available so we were put up in another lodge which inconvenienced us somewhat but we made the best of it. Gorilla Mountain View Lodge was perfect for what we needed and after that everything went smoothly.

The whole gorilla experience was handled very efficiently by all involved. It was thrilling to see the Golden Monkeys and then the Mountain Gorillas. On the second day to visit the gorillas I stayed behind because my back and knee were bothering me. I only wish I could have been able to get my money back for not using my permit. $750 is a lot to give up! All in all, a wonderful experience." Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 5 on a Rwanda safari

"I arrived in Ndutu the day before Valentine's day and was picked up by my guide at the air strip. I was a little concerned that I wasn't going to the right camp as all the guides approached people saying just the name of the camp they were from. I thought I had got it right, but I wasn't sure. I would have felt more relaxed if the guide had addressed me by name.

We set off straight away for a game drive which was brilliant after being cooped up inside small aircraft for about 4 hours. I was asked what animals I would like to see and my request to see a cheater was met. A nice surprise on the way to the camp was that we stopped in the middle of nowhere to celebrate a 60th birthday with champagne and cake and other camp guests. This was a great way to break the ice and meet fellow campers. The staff were very attentive, topping my glass and plate up as soon as it was empty and bringing me a blanket when they saw I was shivering a little. I enjoyed a pre dinner drink around the camp fire and then dinner under the stars. I was little anxious on retiring to my tent that I would be cold as the temperature had dropped and the wind was getting up and I had not brought pyjamas or any thing warm. So I was delighted when slipping in to bed to find a hot bottle which kept me as warm as toast.

The next morning I was awoken with coffee and heart shaped biscuits and a greeting of 'Happy Valentine's day'. It was 5am and the sky was star studded, it was mesmerising. We set off to the hot air balloon site, but as the sun began to rise so the fog descended. I was devastated when our pilot told us we would not be able to take off and he would have to cancel the flight. Then after 10 minutes or so hanging around despondently he shouted out 'all aboard' and we were off gliding higher and higher in to the sky, the fog of just minutes before a distant memory. The visibility was amazing. We saw some wild life, but just the feeling of floating in the sky over vast expanses of nothingness was incredible.We were in the air for an hour and a half and then landed to be offered cold champagne before moving on to our breakfast spot. A temporary kitchen had been set up in the middle of nowhere and our table laid under the shade of a tree. We were offered tea or coffee, fresh fruit juice, a selection of fruits, freshly baked bread and a full English breakfast plus more champagne nicely chilled.

Once breakfast was over I was transported to join the rest of my group and although a little disappointed that I had missed seeing the birthing of many baby wildebeast, was consoled when we stumbled upon the migration, thousands of wildebeest as far as the eye could see. think this was my best Valentine's day ever. I would say to those travelling alone that although many people think of safaris as being for honeymooners they are perfect for single travellers. You never feel alone, you are treated like royalty and in the intimacy of the jeep all barriers are broken down.

The next morning I had one last short game drive before catching my flight, I had no particular expectations, it was just nice to be out in the wild a few hours longer. Then an amazing thing happened, we came upon a lone baby wildebeest, only hours old with low life expectancy as easy prey for lions and cheaters. It attached itself to our jeep for protection and together with two other jeeps we tried to lead it to the safety of a herd of adult wildebeest. It followed behind us skipping and jumping, running fast until exhaustion took over and it all but gave up. We stopped to allow it to rest and got out of the jeep for a couple of minutes to stretch our legs. The little calf come up to me and began nuzzling my leg and butting me. At that point I knew if we didn't save it I would be heart-broken.

We set off again, and then, in the distance, like coming upon an oasis we saw a small herd of male adults with one female. What happened next I will remember for ever. The herd saw the calf and lifted their heads standing stock still and alert, then in unison they began to canter towards the baby, surrounding it with the protection of their bodies. It played with the male adults butting them and being pushed over and then suckled on the female. We had done it- the baby was safe.

I can without doubt say this has been the experience of a lifetime. If I were to give any advice at all to any one venturing on their first safari, it would be to have no expectations, don't go looking for anything in particular, just slowly meander through the bush, enjoy the wide open spaces and any animals you come upon and wait for the 'wild' to surprise you. I didn't see a 'birthing' but what I did see and experience was unique and unforgettable.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I think clients should be told about the possibility of cold mornings or evenings and encouraged to bring something warm.

I think, for the inexperienced, it would be helpful if the guides explained what animals were typical for the time of year or for the park and made suggestions. I was at one point with a group who just wanted to see elephants, so we set off at top speed looking, unsuccessfully, for them and went speeding past cheater that no on but I saw." Read full review: 2 nights in Africa; 2 on a Tanzania safari

"An unbelievably fantastic holiday, perfectly possible to do 4 nights safari and a night in Nairobi on arrival without feeling as if your short holiday is rushed. All plans worked like clockwork and my 10 year old loved Naboisho Camp as much as me. Communal dining in the evening worked very well and was like one big dinner party. The school visit was a particular highlight with my daughter having a Swahili lesson with the local school children. The Naboisho Conservancy had the feel of a private safari, with very few other vehicles around. A real treat having had a different experience in the past in the Masai Mara. We spent a day travelling to the Mara which was also wonderful for game viewing. Tim, our driver and guide had an uncanny knack of finding the best game viewing and perfect picnic spots (we had a bush breakfast most days overlooking pods of hippos or giraffe herds). Thank you to everyone who made our holiday so special." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 5 on a Kenya safari

"Our trip was a wonderful experience and the quality of the guiding and accommodation was outstanding.

Richard asked what we wanted and gave us choices based on his expert knowledge.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I can't think of anything! Expert Africa has now put three trips together for us and hopefully will do so again in the future." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari

"The whole trip was well organised, especially with having to relocate due to flooding.

We enjoyed the company and expertise of Chris Fox and his team, making it very personal." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"Wonderful!! Chris and his team at Expert Africa are always brilliant - there is always someone in the office who has visited the places we want to visit and can give in depth information and advice. Thank you Ellie for all your help and advice and, also, Liz who took over whilst Ellie was on Honeymoon and had to sort out last minute changes when one of our chosen camps was closed by unusual weather conditions.

Just one very slight niggle - getting the Tanzanian visas on arrival in Dar proved to be a bit of a nightmare. There is no organisation resulting in passports for each member of the group being returned haphazardly one taking over an hour to handed back .TAB ( that's Africa baby!!)

We think that it is definitely worth the extra expense of applying for the visas in U.K.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Keep up,the good work!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"A unique experience that will live long in the memory" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"From the time i first spoke to Eleanor our trip was amazing. Her advice was absolutely spot on for our requirements and our 8 year old son had the time of his life.

The professionalism of everyone who looked after us on this trip has been commendable and especially Dennis our guide who suffered our poor British humour for 3 days. He gave us the most wonderful experience and was just a joy to be with everyday.

He was a superb off road driver and the animals and sights in in the bush he showed us were unbelievable. He also shared such valuable information re the animals and how they live that it was just fascinating. Our 8 year old never once complained re sitting in a jeep for 5 hours so that just shows how interesting he was.

Breakfast in the bush was also a fabulous experience. Sitting at a table in the middle of nowhere listening to hyenas! Wow! And what wonderful food.

A spectacular trip! Thank you.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Keep doing what you are doing.

I have recommended you to all of our friends and will definitely be using you again for our next African holiday." Read full review: 4 nights in Africa; 3 on a Tanzania safari

"An excellent trip. We loved Namibia and the people. The scenery is second to none. Of course, a few more days would have been even better, but the amount of driving was easily copable in the time available.
Many thanks to Tracey for supporting an excellent itinerary in a reduced time span at relatively short notice.

We were surprised but pleased to be met at Windhoek Airport by Costa from Wilderness safaris, who helped us through the vehicle pick up process. And the choice of vehicle was excellent (Toyota 4x4)

The marked route map was very valuable and we were also very pleased to have the Bradt Guide.

One small route point - the C12 from Fish River to the Keetmanshoop - Aus Road has now been rerouted to meet the main road 12 km from Seeheim - the old D545 - presumably to accommodate the traffic for the vast agricultural project. So Seeheim is now even more off the map but we had a good lunch stop there (or, rather ,coffee and apple cake!) and were well welcomed.

And a very minor point - most places don't provide hair dryers. It didn't matter to me but might affect others." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Generally all the hotels and lodges suggested by EA and we stayed at were very, very good on the whole. It was a good itinerary but some of the drives between stops took longer than we thought they would.

Great views great scenery. Beautiful game-but its not like the Mara or some where like that-because its very different climate." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip