Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

For me the moment that stands out most was visiting the little angels ophanage and seeing what an amazing job Duncan is doing. He is an inspiration as a young man that is driven to help others and go out of his way to promote the good work he is doing in order to help more youngsters. He should be commended for what he is doing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Often was an absolute star. He makes you feel welcome and at ease from the off, he has a great sense of humour and pulls the group together well. Its refreshing to go on a trip with a leader who is so knowlegable and willing to discuss things with the group. Most amazing of all is his eagle eye vision, managing to pick out a Lion in a tree that took everyone else about 15 minutes to find. Benard and Nebert also require mention as the camaraderie between the three of them is what makes the holiday so enjoyable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you take a small ruck sack big enough to carry everything you need plus 2 litres of water, as sometimes you are out for some time and it can get very hot. If you do the quad biking, remember to put sun creme on your arms as the overalls are short sleeve and you can burn easily.

Most Inspirational Moment

Many inspirational moments, but to name a handful they are: Hot air balloon safari – it was my first time in a hot air balloon and floating over the Masai Mara at sunrise was awe-inspiring;Observing the abundance of wildlife in the Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru National Park;Meeting the people of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda – they were so friendly and down to earth;  Making the children smile at the orphanage in Uganda;Spending an hour with the Amahora group of gorillas in Rwanda; Camping at Lake Nakuru National Park, which was the best camping experience ever; andMeeting a great bunch of people to share the experience.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Often Konzoro, our group leader, was fantastic and I am sure that travelers who have been fortunate enough to meet Often would agree.   I had read other travellers’ positive reviews of Often, so I had high expectations.  I honestly believe that a group leader can either make or break a trip and I have to say he certainly made the trip.  We achieved everything on the itinerary and more.  Often has great leadership skills and has a lot of respect for members of the group.  I would say that he went above and beyond his duty to ensure the group was safe, happy and enjoying the adventure.  He is a great asset to Exodus.  It would be unfair to leave out our driver, Francis who diligently drove us across East Africa and of course our fantastic cook, Bernard who has a great sense of humour and was always willing to help and cooked up some of the tastiest dishes ever.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would advise the following:Pack light!  The lockers in the overland vehicle are not overly huge and this storage space will become your access point for your personal belongings, as the rest of the luggage is stored in a different part of the vehicle and not always easily accessible;Take a travel towel as they are light and ideal for camping;  You don’t need to buy a mosquito net as the tents are equipped with them in the lining and are provided when you stay in hotels and lodges;Have a bright head torch as this will become invaluable throughout the trip;Take the biggest zoom lens you can; No need to take a tripod;Take plenty of memory cards or film; andEmbrace the culture, get involved in everything and you will have a great time.

Most Inspirational Moment

Swimming in the White Nile, the white rhino and the gorillas.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring loads of memory cards for your camera (or film). You'll need it. Also, bring a fast standard zoom lens for watching the gorillas and a long zoom lens for all the other wildlife.

Most Inspirational Moment

Both the wildlife and culture made this for me, this is such a fantastic trip.Spending an hour with 13 amazing gentle giant gorillas, a pride of lions feasting upon a fresh kill, cheetah’s with cubs, fantastic birdlife, floating over the Mara in a hot air balloon, AND of course thanks to JJ our tour leader’s help my long awaited viewing of that elusive Leopard!!Meeting the kids on the orphanage/school trip, kids with nothing but loads of smiling happy faces that so look forward to these visits and to whom we make so much difference in their little lives, long may Exodus continue to incorporate this tour into their schedule.I could go on endlessly as there is just so much more to look forward to within this tour, just about everything in fact - nothing disapointed!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

What can I say, JJ our group leader was a real delight to travel with, as were the 2 other great members of our crew ‘Q’ our driver who along with JJ kept us safe with their excellent driving skills and of course not forgetting Bernard our fantastic cook who had us terrorising just about every 'surprise' meal!!These guys are a real credit to the Exodus team, they were always cheerful and smiling and their happiness was infectious and filtered through to the rest of us on the truck.JJ is a guy who has such great people skills, and coupled with his personality and his love of local knowledge he was able to make each of his clients feel special in their own way, whilst keepng each and every one happy and well informed throughout the whole tour regarding the history, culture and nature of the areas we passed through.JJ dealt with any problems arising quickly, efficiently and in a very professional manner but most of all when sadly it was deemed necessary in a sensitive, caring and compassionate manner, and in doing so he was able to keep his customers content and enjoying their holiday at all times.I just hope that if I ever get to do another trip of this kind then my group leader and team will be as professional and good to travel with – JJ you have set new and higher standards for me from now on!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t over pack you do not need as much as you think you do, there are opportunities to do a bit of washing along the way!If travelling with a partner or friend consider cross packing at least one full change of clothes, if travelling alone pack a change of clothes into your hand luggage, Kenya Airways do not have the greatest record for getting your bags to follow you to your destination – however fortunately it appears it does not normally take too long for them to reunite you with your luggage, mine was returned to me later the same day for another on our trip it was returned the following morning.Take plenty of insect repellent containing a least 50% deet, hand sanitizer, sunscreen & baby wipes you will need them all.Be prepared to use the ‘bush toilets’ often there is no alternative, ladies if feeling ‘modest’ about this then maybe consider keeping a short sarong close to hand which may quickly wrapped around your waist may eliminate this problem for you, although at the end of the day we are all in the same ‘truck’!Be prepared for a couple of long days travelling on the truck (in our case the comfy Isabella) during which time you can enjoy seeing the ‘real African village’ way of life. Remember you are in Africa and anything can happen! the roads are NOT necessarily built to western standards, they can be bumpy, dusty or flooded but your crew are used to this if you are not! and will deal with any given situation as it arrises. Remember patience can be a virtue and enjoy the experience. You will be able to charge your camera batteries, phones etc during the day when travelling but do take plenty of memory cards space as you will find yourself taking far more photo’s than you anticipate but DO remember to take your photos and then take time out to ensure that you ‘don’t miss the moment’ by spending all your holiday behind the lens of a camera!!When challenged to find me a sighting of a wild leopard JJ rose to the occasion and delivered! Of course this can not be guaranteed on every trip, but if you have a particular wish or dream then talk to your tour leader, if they are anywhere near as good as our guy JJ they too will do everything they possibly can to deliver!Most of all ENJOY.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were some incredible moments from the trip, here's my top experiences...1) The gorilla trek - I was unsure what to expect but we completed a 'medium length trek' (our group had the choice of either medium or short length walk). It was approximately a 2 and half hour trek on a hot day. I'm not particularly fit but managed okay, although there were occasional out of breath moments during the steep sections! The group stopped regularly for water breaks and a chance to catch your breath though so don't worry! Eventually we told to crawl on our hands and knees through some bamboo and suddenly the gorillas were right in front of us - incredible! It truly was a once in a lifetime experience to have the honour of spending an hour in the company of these fantastic animals. Brilliant!2) White water rafting at Jinga - I was unsure before the trip whether I was going to do the rafting, but couldn't resist when we got there. It was so much fun! The raipds are really quite daunting but they kept repeating to us that the river is one of the safest to complete the rafting in as there are very few rocks and the water is really deep. Our group went in two different boats, the other boat didn't flip over at all and our boat flipped over once (I actually fell out twice but that's a whole other story!) If you're a fairly okay swimmer I would definitely reccommend completing this!3) Balloon ride over the Masai Mara - this was excellent! The ride was so smooth and the take-off / landing weren't as scary as I imagined. The photos we took from the balloon were magical, and we completed a brilliant game drive straight after the balloon ride where we saw a cheetah up close.4) School / Orphanage - this wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed visiting the children. We were all greeted by lots of smiles, songs, dances and general good fun. We all took some bits and pieces for the children such as sweets, bubbles, balloons, pencils etc.5) The Masai Mara - it is incredible! I bored all of my group to death by comparing it to the Lion King the whole time (it really is just like it!). I'm not particularly a wildlife mega-fan, but I really enjoyed seeing all the animals and learning little facts about them.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Julius was our group leader and he was fantastic! After the first day we all got used to his own interesting way to describe the various optional extra excursions we could choose! He was a great leader as you always felt that he was very much in control and looking out for all of us.Francis was our driver and he was fabulous! He was nicknamed Jazzy Jeff (from Fresh Prince of Bel Air) and was always there with a smile and a joke for us.Leo was our chef - wow! I was a little bit nervous about the type of food we would be eating, but it was amazing! I still have no idea how he managed to cook such great food! I honestly ate better in Africa then I usually do at home! No-one on our trip got ill at any point which we think was down to Leo's impeccable cleanliness.We had a bit of a nightmare on the way out there as our flight was cancelled so we had to travel a day later than expected. The boys managed to re-organise everything for us so that we didn't actually miss out on any aspect of the holiday! Thank you all so much!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Here's my top ten tips from the trip....1) Zip off trousers - I lived in these! The mornings needed trousers but by 11ish we were ready for shorts, so just zip off the bottom bit and you're good to go.2) Uno cards - I became slightly obsessed with Uno (also known as You Know! by our Aussie group member - sorry Em!). It was great fun to play on truck. Other card games I can reccommend are cheat, chase the lady and poker!3) Hand sanitiser - takes lots of little bottles and carry it everywhere with you!4) Head torch is essential!5) I bought some new Andrex toilet roll stuff called 'on the go' which was basically loo roll without the cardboard in the middle! Makes it much smaller to carry around with you.6) 100% Deet Mozzie repellent worked well for me... around 5ish cover any exposed areas in the stuff and you'll be fine! (Although remember to take off watches etc as it can seriously damage them!)7) I took 4 gyms bags (like kids might use for going swimming) which were really useful for carrying stuff from the truck to the tents.8) Don't worry about getting visas beforehand (if you're British).... it was very straight forward at all of the borders and our group leader organised everything for us.9) Don't forget a travel alarm clock and I used a travel towel which takes up a lot less room.10) I took one thin-ish fleece and one thick fleece which I used alot.I wasn't sure what to expect from the accommodation, but it was a lot better than I expected! There was only a few nights in actual tents, the rest of the nights were in walk-in style tents which was basically like a normal room but with canvas walls. Final top tip - for the gorilla trek you will be given a wooden carved walking stick to use. At the end of the trek you can buy these sticks (for $10) which were really nicely carved. The sticks are made by the local villagers and are a great memory item to bring home. The other groups weren't told that they could buy the sticks and were gutted that they didn't have one to bring home as a keepsake. So make sure you ask your guide about whether you can buy them.