Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

1. Arriving off the chain ladders above the Amphitheatre, with awesome views from high on the Drakensberg. 2. Getting so close to the peaceful hippo family in the early morning in the St Lucia estuary. 3. Having a close encounter with a white rhino and her calf on the game drive in the Karongwe game reserve.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrew was simply amazing. Really well organised, looked after everyone throughout, and was a terrific cook!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go on all the game drives you can, you'll see different things each time. Don't miss out on the chain ladders, they're fine (the alternative scramble wasn't an option).

Most Inspirational Moment

1. Watching a sleeping lion being woken by the distant and faint roar of another lion - our sleeping lion sat up and responded with a ground vibrating series of roars. It was incredibly emotional and awe inspiring, so much so that a few members of the group were in tears.2. The Drakensberg mountains were spectacular and climbing the chain ladders an exhilerating experience. We felt as though we were on top of the world looking at the view.3. Surviving a powerful thunderstorm whilst camping in St Lucia - I thought our tent was going to blow away!  

Thoughts on Group Leader

Francois and Andrew (ably supported by Phili) couldn't have done more to ensure that we had a good time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for some very long journeys in the bus (which was very comfortable). We didn't expect to be sitting down as much as we did. Despite the long journeys you are rewarded with the opportunity to see so many interesing sights.The shared accommodation was generally clean and comfortable but if you are a light sleeper make sure that you have some good earplugs because it is almost inevitable that a few of your fellow travellers will snore!Take a specific plug adapter for South Africa as we couldn't use our multi purpose travel plug in the SA electrical system. 

Most Inspirational Moment

The highlight of our holiday was the walking in the Drakensberg Mountains. They are spectacular and the walking was not too difficult.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader made sure we kept the timetable, firm but fair. His cooking was superb and he could be found at all hours preparing for our welfare. We were very lucky with our 3 man crew.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get fit before you go if you want to enjoy the walking.

Most Inspirational Moment

We had many excellent experiences but I think from a walking point of view it must be the Amphitheatre at Drakensberg. After a cold and not too promising start the weather gradually cleared to reveal some awe inspiring views. I think the best picnic stop ever !!!The Game drives were great and varied: The first private game reserve we stayed at was very memorable seeing many animals but we came across two young Lionesses who were not at all bothered by our presence, great for the photographers. When we entered Kruger The water hole was very busy with Elephants, Hippo, Giraffe .... quite a sight.        

Thoughts on Group Leader

Admire and Mathew worked very hard to make things go smoothly, between them they had a lot of knowledge and if they didn't know usually found out.  They made the trip a very pleasant and memorable one.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is a very varied holiday but does involve some long coach transfers. If you really don't like coach travel it may not be for you. But for me ... I thoroughly  enjoyed it.We are not campers but this was no problem. The guides had the tents up in no time and the beds very comfortable. The tents large enough to store your gear and tall enough in the centre to stand. 

Most Inspirational Moment

So many to comment on......stunning sunrises and sunsets, the beautiful environs of St Lucia, great walks in lovely scenery, seeing a week old baby white rhino, conquering the ladders to climb up to the Amphitheatre!

Advice for Potential Travellers

A couple of days on the road are quite long......make sure you are on time to leave....any delays mean that the leader is trying to play catch up. But the scenery is great! If you are a wildlife officianado, you may be really disappointed with the Night Safari (optional trip) in Kruger. You are in a vehicle with 20 others and I can liken the experience to Disney......lamping animals at twilight to see them in the bush and cheering when a lion is spotted. I hasten to add that none of the Exodus clients acted so abhorrently. I was extremely disappointed with the experience, especially after great drives in a private game reserve a few days previously. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Stalking cheetah on foot in Kruger.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Admire and Rob were very good indeed, as was Tsepo, the driver. The earier unusually heavy rains forced changes of both routes and accomodation, but they handled it very professionally. Admire led most of the hikes and both his and Rob's local knowledge was pretty good. Oh, and they could cook pretty well, no complaints on that score.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you go in the South African summer, take really good waterproofs - and make sure you have a waterproof cover for your rucksack (bitter personal experience). Some of the transfers are long, so cultivate an interest in birds - plenty of spotting opportunities when on the road. Take a Kindle or similar too.

Most Inspirational Moment

A choice between walking within 5 metres of a cheetah in the bush one evening and watching the rainclouds break and disappear in a few minutes to allow us to walk in the Drakensburg without a soaking.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Admire was full of energy, information, humour and a pretty good cook too. He and back up man Petros did a fine job leading us around South Africa.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared to spend very long periods in the minibus-take an iPod or something similar to pass the time. The time spent driving was really the only downside to the trip-the game viewing was excellent (though I STILL haven't seen a leopard in the wild!!!) interspersed with some great and varied walking. The holiday met our expectations. Going in October, we did not expect quite so much rain-55mm overnight whilst camping in the Kruger,-but somehow we managed to dodge most of it, only getting wet a couple of times.

Most Inspirational Moment

Watching two cheetas eating their kill meters away from us as we were led through the bush on foot.  This was an amazing experience.  The trip to the Drakensberg was also very memorable, especially negotiating the metal ladders!  Great stuff!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrew was a first class tour leader and Admire a excellent back up.  As a team, they made our holiday from preparing lovely food to always getting camp ready quickly.  Their driving was faultless.  

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go in the winter as there are no insects or bugs and the bush is very thin so there is a much better chance of seeing wild life.

Most Inspirational Moment

It's hard to pick just one. South Africa was always a dream for me so just being there on a private game reserve with all the wildlife in natural habitat was awesome. Being within 20-30ft of a male lion as it roared. Watching him summon the roar from deepin the pit of his stomach. The hair still stands up on my neck when I think about it. The contrast in the country, from pine forests and lushness in the Highveld to the barren sparseness of the Lowveld was something I wasn't expecting. Also on our trip we had a change in the itinery and ended up in St Lucia and I wasn't disappointed. All those crocs and Hippos and the Indian ocean breaking in the background as you tried to sleep.The spectacular Drakensberg, and the glamping. The scenery here is breathtaking. The hike up "the ladders" was amazing. Seeing people conquer their fear by going up and the whole group, who were complete strangers a couple of weeks before, totally encouraging each other as if they were friends for years.  Also on our hike in the Drakensberg we had snow. I didn't expect to see snow in South Africa.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Bongani, was our leader, and was aided by Shawn and Semanga. Bongani, was great. He put the group at ease. He's got a great sense of humour that might take you a day or two to figure out but when you do he's a lot of fun. He also works hard to make sure the group enjoy themselves. He genuinely cares that everyone have fun and enjoy the trip and looks for feedback every night around the fire and prepares the group for the next day. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

There is a lot of travel on this trip between places so be prepared for some long days in the bus. Don't expect to get out of your armchair and enjoy this trip. You need a small level of fitness as some of the walks are long and over undulating terrain and it can get really hot at times. Good shoes or Boots are essential. Some of the campsites only have cold showers so if you don't fancy them take wet wipes. Also a decent headlight/torch because sometimes the tents are a small distance for the facilities. Take a decent camera too.

Most Inspirational Moment

Two things stick in my memory.1. Being able to walk inside a Game Reserve knowing that the previous evening on a Game drive we had come VERY close to elephants, lion and cheetah with a recent kill. Then on the walk getting very close to the cheetah and her cub.2. Walking in  the Drakensberg Mountains. One day we walked along the Tugela Gorge and even though the rains hadn't come and the river was virtually dry we had lunch in the riverbed of the gorge (thankfully there was no flash flood!). The following day we made the ascent onto the plateau via the 'terrifying' chain ladders. Unable to climb a ladder at home this was MY achievement of the trip. Coming down was much easier thank goodness.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Bongani was an excellent leader. Quiet and efficient but able to impart his knowledge when required. He has a wicked sense of humour which took us a while to suss out. After a few days we just didn't believe anything he told us!!There was a lot of driving during the trip so while we relaxed in the minibus he was working hard and then had the camps to set up on arrival.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As said before there is a lot of travelling. South Africa is a huge country and the locals think nothing of driving 100's of miles on straight, quiet roads. We rotated our seats around the bus each day as some seats had better views/more legroom than others.As we move about regularly there is a fair bit of packing/unpacking and not much room in the tents to spread. I found using bags to store underwear, shirts, trousers etc in my main pack made getting the following day's clothes ready easier.