ULTIMATE AFRICA SAFARIS
Ultimate Africa Safaris client testimonials 1999 The Zimbabwe trip was
fantastic. I really liked the country, the people, and the wildlife. The
campsites were nearly all great - especially Hidden Rocks in Nyanga and Marinzambezi. I
would like to send American campground operators to see how campgrounds should be built! The
guides were all well informed and helpful. Didn’t see huge numbers of wildlife
(except for LOTS of hippos on the Zambezi), but at least a few of lots of different kinds
of animals. Victoria Falls was unbelievable! Also had a great day on the Zambezi
whitewater rafting and riverboarding. Thanks for your support and assistance in
making this a wonderful experience. We had a fabulous
time in Africa, and I want to thank you again for hand-holding and walking me through
every part of the planning! We loved all three places---Lake Kariba and Sanyati
Lodge were out of this world, Priscilla and the staff were so gracious and welcoming. On
our very first safari drive with Gus in Matusadona we saw nine lions super close up! We
couldn’t believe it. And sunset on that lake was spectacular, something out of a
Japanese painting. My favorite place, though, has to be Makalolo Plains, because I
guess it was my dream idea of what Africa would be like. We were right there with
the animals, no fences, no walls between us and them. The plains are wide open, the vistas
large, and the waterhole is right there, to view from the dining room. The very first
sight were 100 baboons making their way to the water right in front of us! Amazing! Dave
Christianson was the most wonderful manager, safari guide extraordinaire, and doctor to me
as I developed a nasty sore throat. He and his staff were super too. Dave told me
to tell you "hi"! Their free-lance safari guide Fausto was wonderful too. A
bonus was that he pointed out the stars in the Southern Hemisphere to us at the end of our
late afternoon drive. Beautiful. Sean at Muchenje was a fabulous safari guide too.
His stories of survival and tracking animals were non-ending. He was so
entertaining. He should write a book! I’m still high from the whole experience, as
you can tell! You did an
outstanding job! Thank you so much for a wonderful trip in Zimbabwe and Botswana. Please
use us as a reference. We are recommending you to all our friends! Barkers had
excellent hosts and a beautiful environment. Rolf at Water Wilderness was excellent
however the game was sparse. The hikes were well planned. At Ruckomechi our 35mm
camera broke however Troy and Leslie (the managers at the time) loaned us one of their
cameras to finish the trip. What lifesavers! Ferai had wonderful tales of Shona
life. At Little Linkwasha Obert was outstanding as our guide. His knowledge of the
wildlife and the environment is unsurpassed! The visit to Muchenje in Chobe, Botswana was
a highlight. Wildlife was incredibly diverse and abundant. We went on a full day game
drive abundant with close wildlife encounters! The Victoria Falls Hotel was
marvelous. What a way to end our trip. The village and shopping were excellent and the
dinner at the Boma was very special. Everything worked like clockwork. The bush pilots
were excellent. Your itinerary and recommendations were right on target. You and
Wilderness Safaris made everything so comfortable for us. You removed all the hassles from
travel. All we had to do was enjoy it! Our trip was
completely beyond belief. On our 16-day safari, we saw 39 lion, 15 wild dog, 5
leopard, bat-eared fox, honey badger, tsessebe, impala, kudu, red hartebeest, blue
wildebeest, roan antelope, sable antelope, elephant, elephant, elephant (did I say
elephant?), hippopotamus, crocodile, reed buck, puku, red lechwe, steenbok, springbok, and
more birdlife than I care to delve into. It was totally beyond our wildest hopes
and imaginations! Our guide, Devlin, was fabulous: sociable,knowledgeable, and a
good "supervisor" as well. We had a close brush with a nervous elephant while on
foot in the Okavango that could have scared the pants off all of us, but he handled it
with ease. We are absolutely hooked on Africa and plan on returning, most likely in 2001
and again in 2002. We had great weather (one night of sprinkling rain on the Okavango
Delta and a few rainy days in Cape Town - otherwise, clear and warm). Thank you so
much for all your assistance. This truly was the time of our lives. We are so anxious to
go back. Thank you so much
for all the honeymoon specials you arranged. When we checked in to Barker's Lodge our
suite was filled with rose petals! It is the most wonderful place! Ruckomechi is
our new favorite place. We loved everything about it.It was totally a wonderful
experience. We would have changed nothing. It was the perfect honeymoon. We were
very satisfied with both this year's and last year's safaris. The trips were exactly as we
dreamed. Ultimate Africa was able to take our ideas and mold them into a workable
itinerary. Thank you for everything! Wild Geese Lodge was a
wonderful place to recuperate from the long flight to Zimbabwe. It was a magnificent
beginning to a wonderful vacation. The Mana Pools canoe safari was the highlight of the
whole trip. At Makalolo Plains Dione made us feel like honored guests in her home. It
was a vacation of a lifetime!!! We had a fantastic
time and would definitely recommend your company to our friends (I already have in fact).
I think we enjoyed our stint in Botswana the best. Wilderness safaris was a
fantastic company, and our guide / pilot Manga has to be the best in all of Botswana. We
spent 3 days in the very plush Okavango Delta Camp-the tents were clean and roomy and the
food was fantastic! The next 7 days we were toured Moremi, Savuti, and Chobe. We
saw lions, leopards, cheetahs, painted hunting dogs, civets, honey badgers, and lots of
other animals. Camping was fun and the food was always good. Absolutely no
complaints...all in all we had the trip of a lifetime. Southern Africa is a fantastic
place, and I am already dreaming of our next trips to Namibia and Mozambique. Thanks for
all your help. Tonight we fly to Mauritius for some serious beach lounging. Take
care! I had a really good
time...it was everything I expected it to be, even down to the dusty, bumpy roads. I
think my guide, Fritz Jacobs, was excellent. He was quite knowledgeable about the
flora and fauna of each area, the local customs and politics, and was very good about
briefing us each night about the next day's itinerary. The wildlife viewing was also very
good, we had two separate leopard sightings (South Luangwa and Ngorongoro Crater) so I
have officially seen the "Big 5" while on this trip,something I failed to see on
last years Cape Town to Victoria Falls safari.The weather was also good. It was hot, but
not oppressive, and we only had any significant amount of rain while on Zanzibar, but
since we were not camping it didn't matter. But I think what really made this trip
so successful, was the clients. I know that I will keep in touch with most of these people
for a long time. We were from all over the world, but all were passionate about having a
"great experience" while on safari. I have been recommending to everyone I know
who wants to come to Africa for an adventure safari! I am happy to
report that this was the best adventure trip I have ever been on! Drifters was top notch
in every category. Our Zimbabwe group of 14 hit it off from day one and everyone
was just amazed with the wide variety of interesting experiences we had together. We
saw four of the "big five" up close...lion, rhino, elephant and water buffalo
all within 5-10 meters of us!!! We were charged twice by ele and once by hippo
(Mad Max) on the river. We heard of a few scary mishaps that had occurred to other
travelers during our stay (lion attack in Matusadona) and saw a canoe bitten in half
during a hippo attack on Zambezi (another tour company - River Horse), so the trip was not
without risk; however, our Drifters road guide Leon Smith worked with each field guide to
ensure that we were taking every safety precaution. Drifters has somehow teamed up
with the best game and river guides in all of Zim. We had the number two (based
on exam results) game guide at Hwange, Thembelani, and that's where we saw lion and rhino,
in addition to sable and roan antelope and eland (all supposedly rare sightings). On
the river, we had the best guide Sunday, who knows the lower Zambezi like the back of his
hand. This was the critical factor in us getting down the river safely; and
indeed, four women who said they wanted to quit the trip after hearing about recent canoe
mishaps, decided to press on based on Sunday's solid reputation and track record as a
river guide. As for the weather, we had 16 straight days of perfect sunshine, Sept. 4 -
19. It rained on our last day there, but we were in a lodge so no mud to contend with. I
would recommend to clients that this period is the best time to go for a number of
reasons: the end of dry season means lots of animals concentrated at the water holes,
little rain/mud threat (until late October), the lower water level on the Zambezi ensured
close contact with river animals and the highest white water rapids for rafting at Vic
Falls. I would gladly endorse this trip to anyone and feel that the success of the whole
experience is attributable to the crew at Drifters and the service providers that they
have teamed up with throughout Zimbabwe. We loved it. This was our dream
trip and it was up to our expectations. From start to finish Ultimate Africa was always
very timely with answering our questions. We were a little concern with dealing over the
internet but I found it better than dealing with a travel agent as I found I had more time
to ask all my questions and get answers to all of them. I also loved your
website. Starting about 4 months before our trip I started reading the weekly updates for
Africa. Wish we could go again next year. Thank you so much for creating our trip of a
lifetime. I know we will return to Africa again and you will be the first one we
contact. First of all, I would like to
thank you for the beautifully organized trip! My family enjoyed every moment of it, pretty
much without any exceptions! I do believe that you handled all preparations very
professionally, being always courteous, even patient at times in response to my
questioning each detail along the way. I was extremely apprehensive about doing business
with a company that I had never met or known about, let along handed large sums of money
over to. You were re-assuring enough to calm my concerns down, and convince me to trust
you with my family's health, life, not to mention the money. You can use my name for
references, and I will be glad to share with other people our experience. We are
still sorting out all the photographs that we brought from the trip. I will try to find a
few good ones to send them to you. At least you will know our faces! Thank you again for
all your help. I will certainly recommend your services to anyone who wishes to
visit Africa, and definitely contact you once our family decides to expand our knowledge
of the continent by visiting other parts of it. We enjoyed our safari very much. Well
organized and great guides throughout.Very romantic! It really met our expectations. We
felt that it was worth the expense. Thank you for organizing such a great trip for us. You do an excellent job in planning and
coordinating our trips. We set with absolute confidence that everything will go like
clockwork and sure enough - it does. It is a wonderful way to travel. A big thank you for your
organization of our recent trip. We had a wonderful time. We did have some
excitement - being charged by an elephant whilst out on a game drive! We were a bit shaken
up and it gave us a very healthy respect for all the wild animals that we subsequently
came close to. The hotels and lodges were tremendous, with unique accommodation
and wonderful food. The pick-ups and transfers were impressive in their reliability and
time-keeping. All the people we met were helpful, especially in locating Bob’s
missing case and delivering it, finally, to our camp. Thanks again. I had the time of my life. All
of it was great. I was a little nervous about traveling alone in Africa, but each and
every activity you scheduled fit perfectly into what I had in mind. I never felt out of
place or alone the entire time. I will definitely be in touch when I return next year.
Thanks again. We recently returned from our trip to
Zimbabwe and we just wanted to let you know that everything went so well. We
are now truly in love with this part of Africa and as I am sure this happens often, we are
now seriously thinking of trying to save and go back in a couple of years. Everywhere
we went we felt so welcome and truly felt that people cared enough to make sure that
things went smoothly - nowadays this is a rare commodity and one that, being in the travel
business, I truly appreciated. The Mana Pools canoe trip was truly amazing and we
cannot speak highly enough of Alistair Chambers who was our guide on the Zambezi. Please
be sure to pass along our grateful thanks for successfully maneuvering us through all the
hippos and for also filling our days with interesting new facts and wonderful
conversation. On arrival at Hwange Airport, unfortunately we were not actually expected
and consequently Little Makalolo was a no go as they were fully booked and did not have a
confirmed booking for us! The lady who met us at the airport was very sweet and totally
honest in that she confessed that they had messed up. It did not take long before we were
confirmed as staying at Giraffe Springs and off we went. This also happened to another
couple as well (not organized by Ultimate Africa). We had such a great time with Dave and
his fellow staff that Giraffe Springs proved to be a wonderful substitute and we were very
happy to be there! Once again, very many thanks for all you did in organizing our
trip. We truly experienced such a great time. All the best for now, we will definitely be
in touch in the future for our next trip. Everybody told me
of problems with their bookings through other safari agents. Everybody wanted to know who
I booked my safari with as I didn't have any problems! We left Africa with: How
nice everyone is; how lucky we live where we do, and lastly the respect towards the
animals. Will remember this trip always! We had the time of
our lives! Everyone was really wonderful and gracious. I don't ever remember a vacation
going so smoothly, all the transitions between camps and lodges went like clockwork. The
whole trip was incredible. It was so incredible that in two years we're going to go again! The
trip was life changing. Our total
experience with Ultimate Africa Safaris is one of my more memorable experiences in the 30
years I have been traveling the world. It was more moving / inspirational than other
safaris I have been on elsewhere in Africa Return to Safari Testimonials |
