Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

We have seen the big 4, two kills (even though I am vegetarian, still a very good natural experience) and 5 ugly :) Many cubs! 

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was friendly and knew his stuff.

Most Inspirational Moment

The clouds in the early morning pouring over the rim of Ngorongoro

Thoughts on Group Leader

Clara was knowledgable, clear, helpful, fun and friendly. Boniface the driver and Esther the cook were also excellent. They all got it just right.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You don't need to take a rollmat! (I hadn't read the blurb well enough and took mine). Your website's list of what to take was v helpful and got it right. We bought pillows in the supermarket we stopped at in Nairobi. Which was a good move as they were really comfortable, tho it seemed rather decadent and in ecological (tho we gave them away at the end).

Suggestions

I was worried about going on this trip- worried about Al- Shabbab, worried about holidaying in a group. Fortunately no Al- Shabbab encounters, tho the Westgate murders happened only a month later. The group made the holiday in a way! We all got on and it was nice that it was such a varied group (not all retired folk as I'd imagined- tho actually I liked the retired folk best of everyone!). I was pleased to have go e, and enjoyed the trip. However the long journeys, and little time outside and v little exercise mean I wouldn't do another similar trip. However I'd prefer to do this than miss the driving out somehow as it meant I saw a lot of each country as we drove through.

Most Inspirational Moment

So hard to choose: coming upon a giraffe during the 'walking safari' on the shore of Lake Naivasha; seeing the elephants just behind our truck at the campsite on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater; being so close to the lions in the Crater we could have stroked them (but didn't obviously) or watching a cheetah race and kill a gazelle right in front of our eyes -I can't decide.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Clara, our group leader, was great. She was knowledgeable, funny and capable and together with Ester, our cook, and Bonface, our driver, they made a great team. We learnt so much from each of them not just about the wildlife and places we visited, but also the people and cultures of Kenya and Tanzania.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Try to buy a cheap pillow on day 1, it will make camping more comfortable. You will get a locker on the truck to put important/precious items in; your main bag is stored separately so does not need to fit in the locker. If you go on the village walk when you stay in Marangu you will be taken to a local school. They welcome donations of money or school resources so go prepared! Tsetse flies like dark clothing so wear light stuff when in the Serengeti.

Suggestions

This is a great holiday which gets you really involved. Putting up the tents and sharing the cooking preparation, truck cleaning and washing up is all part of the experience and does not feel like a chore. Instead it's an opportunity to bond with your fellow travellers and find out more about the country you are in from the support team. The camping does get tiring because of the early morning starts, but then you have some time to relax on Zanzibar which feels like another world. All in all, this holiday was superb and lived up to the description 'holiday of a lifetime'.

Most Inspirational Moment

How to choose one inspirational moment?  Seeing two prides of lions at close quarters?  A pair of lions mating within yards of our truck (twice!)?  A leopard guarding its kill (a gazelle) and then dragging it off to its hiding place?  A mother elephant suckling her baby?  The glimpse of Kilimanjaro amongst the clouds?  Great coffee!  

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader, Rose, was a gem.  Together with Ken the cook and Boniface our driver, they made a fantastic team.  Rose's knowledge was astounding and there wasn't a question she couldn't answer about local customs, flora and fauna.  She was up two hours before us in the morning, and last to go to bed at night making sure everybody and everything was perfect.  With Ken and Boniface they were the hardest-working, dedicated and good-natured crew I have ever encountered.  Ken came up with something special every day - the meals were varied, tasty and very healthy.  His banana fritters were to die for, as were his aubergines!  Our driver, Boniface, was a true star.  His driving was excellent - we all felt very safe in his hands.  Some of the roads particularly in Kenya were dreadful, but Boniface negotiated them with astounding skill and stamina.  He and Rose would also help us with pitching and taking down tents, and with kitchen duties.  

Advice for Potential Travellers

Travel extremely light - only 15kg of hold luggage is allowed on internal flight to Zanzibar so make allowances for souvenirs (soapstone figures can be heavy!)Use very high sunblock (at least SPF50) if on doxycycline anti-malarials.Use insect repellent day and night - I found RID Tropical Strength worked best for mossies and tse tse flies. The roll-on is better value for money than spray.  Get it from the Safari Store  http://www.thesafaristore.co.uk/products/Accessories/RID-Insect-Repellent/RID-Insect-Repellent/Don't replace fluid loss with alcohol!  Heatstroke is possible so drink plenty of water and it does no harm to have some electrolytes every day.Take spare batteries for camera as it is not always possible to re-charge en route.  (The charger on our truck developed an electrical fault.)A wind-up torch as back-up for your head torch is handy.There is rarely any toilet roll so take your own! 

Suggestions

Pay the £100 single supplement to have your own tent and room in the hotels in Zanzibar.Don't be put off by "participatory camping"!  It's great fun! Everyone in our group mucked in helping each other pitch tents etc and we really didn't need the roster - there was never any shortage of willing hands for food prep, dishwashing and drying.Just go with the flow and have the time of your life!  There's a lot to be said for "Africa time"!

Most Inspirational Moment

Close encounters with the animals.Camping in the wilderness under the night sky.Cocktails on the beach in Zanzibar 

Thoughts on Group Leader

All the crew were first rate at their jobs. Many thanks to Ben the driver, Ken the cook and Lelei the guide.Local guides were used from time to time and these were all professional quality 

Advice for Potential Travellers

There were relatively few mosquitoes  during early March. No one was badly bitten.Pay the single supplement. 2 people in a tent would be a squeeze. Contrary to Exodus paperwork ,you don't need a photo for a Tanzanian visa. It costs $50 and they don't take other currencies.Apart from that ,you could take your cash in Sterling. That saves changing your money twice,  into dollars and then into Kenyan and Tanzanian currency.  An ATM card would be handy for when exchange places aren't available. - e.g sundays or where there's a huge queue in the only bank in town.The beach hotel in Zanzibar gave a poor exchange rate. Change your money in Stone Town before you leave for the beach. There are opportunities to do a bit of handwashing, now and again. Give clothes away as you go. They'll be gratefully received.

Suggestions

This is an exciting trip. An adventure. Quite leisurely, apart from Kilimanjaro, but you know you've put in some long hours on the bus. Don't bring too much stuff.I'd echo other comments on these pages about the apparently needless, and very lengthy journey, to Tanga on the penultimate day on the mainland. A flight from Moshi to Zanzibar is available for not a lot more than the Tanga - Zanzibar fare. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Close encounters with the animals.Camping in the wilderness under the night sky.Cocktails on the beach in Zanzibar 

Thoughts on Group Leader

All the crew were first rate at their jobs. Many thanks to Ben the driver, Ken the cook and Lelei the guide.Local guides were used from time to time and these were all professional quality 

Advice for Potential Travellers

There were relatively few mosquitoes  during early March. No one was badly bitten.Pay the single supplement. 2 people in a tent would be a squeeze. Contrary to Exodus paperwork ,you don't need a photo for a Tanzanian visa. It costs $50 and they don't take other currencies. Apart from that ,you could take your cash in Sterling. That saves changing your money twice,  into dollars and then into Kenyan and Tanzanian currency.  An ATM card would be handy for when exchange places aren't available. - e.g sundays or where there's a huge queue in the only bank in town.The beach hotel in Zanzibar gave a poor exchange rate. Change your money in Stone Town before you leave for the beach. There are opportunities to do a bit of handwashing, now and again. Give clothes away as you go. They'll be gratefully received.

Suggestions

This is an exciting trip. An adventure. Quite leisurely, apart from Kilimanjaro, but you know you've put in some long hours on the bus. Don't bring too much stuff.I'd echo other comments on these pages about the apparently needless, and very lengthy journey, to Tanga on the penultimate day on the mainland. A flight from Moshi to Zanzibar is available for not a lot more than the Tanga - Zanzibar fare. 

Most Inspirational Moment

The black rhino in Ngorongoro was really great to see, especially since there aren't that many of them left. The leopard cub in a tree was an unexpected (but very welcome ) viewing.  The end of the migration in the Serengeti was one of the sights that I wanted to see and I was not disappointed.

Thoughts on Group Leader

She was alright but not in any way exceptional. When I asked why all the wildebeest we saw in the Serengeti were males she came up with some weird and (not so) wonderful explanation that all the females died giving birth!!!!! If that was the case then who raised the calves?? Surely the species would die out within a few years. My theory - while not neccessarily correct - that the females followed on when the younsters were a little stronger made much more sense.... She was good at spotting the animals as we were driving along but not always so knowledgeable when questions were asked.Also we were not made aware of where and when we could do laundry until we specifically asked to be told at every opportunity.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't stick too closely to what is said in the trip notes as they are not always correct. Do take mossie repellant, toilet rolls, a blowup pillow, binoculars (though you don't always get chance to use them due to the constant movement), a camera with a good zoom - I took a compact with a good zoom and it was perfectly adequate - you don't need to tote along massive lenses, a good head torch is essential and spare camera batteries as you can't always charge them, though most of the time recharging is available on the truck. Also make sure you have a good memory card or two as you will take hundreds of pictures and you don't want to be running out of memory or battery at that vital moment. You don't need a 3 season sleeping bag as the trip notes say but a good 2 season with liner is perfectly adequate. Also it does not get too cold in the mornings or evenings requiring coats etc but you will need a good fleece to ward off the chill on occasion though one is all you will need. It doesn't matter whether you wear bright colours or not as you are in the truck for pretty much all the game viewing, and besides, all animals except for birds, fish and apes are colour blind.You do not need to search out biodegradeable hand washing deregent with you as you don't really get the chance to do any washing and I just did mine in the shower with me. Likewise with shampoos - there are shower blocks everywhere so you do not have to get your water from rivers or lakes (even if these were available which they are not). A sun hat to me is an absolute must as the sun is very hot when walking round local markets. A large sarong or equivalent is a good idea as there is often nowhere to get dried after your shower so I just wrapped myself in my large sarong and went back to my tent to get dry instead of trying to hop about on one foot getting dressed in the cubicle while not getting your clothes wet.

Suggestions

A good trip that could have been an excellent trip if not for a few changes. The day spent travelling to Tanga was a total waste of a day and the campsite was a dump when we got there. It would have been much better to have flown from Marangu straight to Zanzibar, having an extra day either in the Serengeti or on Zanzibar and if it cost a bit more for the flight then fine. The money would have been well spent instead of spending 10 hours getting bumped about on what passes for roads and having a rubbish campsite at the end of it all !!!!!Also a more knowledgeable tour leader would have been good. On the other hand the driver (Boniface) and cook (Esther) were great even if the meals did get a bit repetative after a while. (Rice and veggies in a tomato sauce twice in one day ??) I know she had limited resources and under the circumstances did a good job.On the whole, the trip was worth doing to see all the wildlife that I would not have otherwise seen and the camping was an experience not to be missed but I'm not sure that with the present Itinerary and trip notes that I would recommend it, Though if these were altered/updated then definately do it - you won't regret it.

Most Inspirational Moment

See the hippos play in the poolSaw black rhino and leopard.Awesome sunsets

Thoughts on Group Leader

O.K. but could have been more helpful with information about where laundry services were being offered.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for long, dusty days spent in a truck having an "African Massage" i.e. roads are very bumpy and full of craters.Be prepared for early morning starts and not having much time to write a journel until the very end.Be aware that you are on the move nearly every day and become very adept at pitching and packing up tent!!

Suggestions

Trip notes were questionable esp with regard to sleeping bag, at Feb/March departure time a 250 season bag (with liner) is more than enough.

Most Inspirational Moment

Being almost engulfed by a group of elephants in the Ngorongoro Crater. Gazing up at the night sky in the Serengeti. Or perhaps sipping cocktails on the veranda at The Africa House watching the sun set in Zanzibar.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Moses was absolutely tops. He worked so hard to make our experience the best it could be. He was knowledgable, good company, very patient - and never seemed to get tired!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Our waterproof trousers came in handy on a couple of occasions. Pack small! Take binoculars.

Suggestions

Our time in Tanga wasn't the most exciting. Would have much preferred an extra night in the Serengeti.

Most Inspirational Moment

Two real highlights and one slight disappointment. We did a safari on foot in Lake Nakuru National Park, which I will never forget.  We got amazingly close to lots of diverse wildlife, and there really is nothing quite like creeping amongst the trees and suddenly coming face-to-knee with a giraffe!  Very knowledgable guides kept us safe, and knew where every single buffalo was before we had even noticed one of them.  The second highlight was definitely the Ngorongoro crater.  I won't spoil it for you... You just have to experience it for yourself - Comletely mind-blowing!  The disappointment was not being able to do the balloon safari in the Serengeti.  There's only one company operating balloons, and they only take 32 people per day. So, your chances of doing it are very slim, which isn't clear from the trip notes. Another really great thing about this trip is the sheer amount of "typical Africa" you see. If you've been put off by the amount of driving described inthe trip notes, then I would encouage you not to worry. There is one 10-hour-ish journey, but there's so much to see and you get an excellent view being so high up in the truck. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Moses was very knowledgable, spoke almost perfect English, and was very friendly and helpful. He went out of his way to ensure everything ran smoothly and was always willing to answer questions. You can't ask for more really.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't bother taking a mosquito net. You'll want to be in a tent for privacy in the campsites, and for safety (from wildlife) when in the Parks.  The tents are completely mosquito proof. However, Deet is your best friend, and if you don't stink of it, particularly during the evenings, expect to be bitten! Take US$ as $50 bills as the exchange rate is better in Tanzania. (Sterling exchange rate is poor, and forget travellers cheques.)  You must have a single $50 bill to buy your visa to get into Tanzania; smaller notes are not accepted. Everyone will tell you to get a spare camera battery, and don't ignore them! Power is intermittent and the supply on the truck has limited capacity. There is a strict 15kg weight limit on the flight to Zanzibar, which isn't in the trip notes. We had to pay for excess baggage, but it was only a few dollars. If you're not that keen on camping, don't worry! Most nights you can upgrade to a simple room with a proper bed for around £10. A good headtorch is essential, as you may want to scan around for eye-shine before emerging from your tent at night!

Suggestions

Relax and have fun! As soon as you get used to the African pace of life and way of thinking, you'll have a really good time. This is a great way to see Africa, and the opportunities to see wildlife won't disappoint. You get really good views from the truck because it's so high off the ground, which is a big advantage. We saw so many lions, we almost gave up stopping for them! I guarantee you will see some amazing things, and probably not what you expect. The diversity is astonishing, especially travelling through so much countryside. Do as many of the optional activities as you can. The majority of our group did most of them, which meant they worked out a good bit cheaper and they were mostly excellent. The only things I wouldn't bother with were the snorkelling, and particularly fishing, trips on Zanzibar. These involved far more time travelling on a small wooden boat in choppy waters than time spent snorkelling or fishing, which was a shame. However, as I said, all the other activities were excellent and well organised. There is a night in Tanga towards the end of the trip. Frankly, Tanga has little to offer tourists, although it is an opportunity to sort out your belongings before heading to Zanzibar. It's a shame this night couldn't be swapped for an extra night in Serengeti as flying from Kilimanjaro airport would avoid the long road journey to Arusha. However, that's a minor quibble and certainly doesn't detract from an otherwise excellent trip. The time spent on Zanzibar at the end is a great way to relax before returning to the "real world", and the beach hotel in the north has just the right compromise of comfort and relaxed atmosphere. All in all, a highly recommended holiday.