ULTIMATE AFRICA SAFARIS
Ultimate Africa Safaris client testimonials 2000 It is winter now...it was winter when
we were in Africa. I think all of us return to Africa everyday in our hearts and in our
minds especially when life gets a little too ridiculous or frustrating. I take myself back
to Africa when I need to get to sleep, and when my thoughts need to be somewhere else.
There is no where else like Africa. Such a time we had, that despite over 200
rolls of film we can never truly convey to anyone else. They will never hear the quiet of
all those elephants right in front of you, the incredible bird calls, and the lilting
tones of the African's English. How can you describe the high adventure of of tearing
across the rutted dirt to get closer to an animal, the glory of the sunset and the gentle
kindness of the people? We have wanted to write you - we have always wanted to share
pictures with you - especially because you made it all possible, but most of all because
you really understand. I would also like to thank you with our friend's upcoming
group trip - she is confident she is in excellent hands...I have enclosed a calendar with
each month showing one of our favorite animals or places. Why doesn't a year have 37
months? It would have been so much easier to select. This is the first of our Africa
pictures - we hope someday to share more. We hope at least some of the ones we selected
for you might bring to mind a wonderful memory. It is our way of keeping a bit of Africa
with us every day in the coming year. It is something we will carry in our hearts
forever. We wish you a peaceful holiday season. With grateful thanks and grand memories! Ultimate Africa Safaris is the
ULTIMATE in knowledge, efficiency, information and customer care. We felt like we were
given special treatment by Ultimate Africa. Staff was exceptionally knowledgeable and
helpful. All details were explained before departure. Everything went very
smoothly in Africa. Other agencies should follow the example set by Ultimate
Africa! I LOVED IT!!!! I had such an
incredible time on the Botswana Explorer. I often relive my safari in my mind.
Drifters is the main reason. Our guide Anthony was incredible - he was sooo knowledgeable
about the wildlife as well as a great cook. I have never experienced such a great
trip. I am planning on going back to take the Zimbabwe trip (with Drifters of
course) next year. I highly recommend this tour agency to anyone who is planning on
travelling to Africa. I fell in love with Africa and I know that it was in part, due to
the great services of Drifters. I know that this was the first trip of many that I will
take with this excellent organization. If you have anyone who is curious about Africa and
travel, please feel free to give them my e-mail address. I can't say enough about
the great trip I had with this organization and all of your assistance state side.
Let me know about their trip in September 2002 - I will definately be there.!!!! :-) Thanks
for all of the work you did and for making this a truly life changing experience.
Devotedly... I had a great time on the
Mopane Safari in Botswana! I saw plenty of elephants, various antelopes, zebra, water
buffalo, wild dogs, hyenas, a couple of cheetahs, lots of birds...We got charged by an
elephant while on foot in the Okavango, which was very exciting. Wilderness Safaris was
excellent - very well organized. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and determined to
teach us a lot about the wildlife. Additional guides mokor polers in the Okavango
Delta were also very good. The food was great throughout. Later, I went
on a 4-day safari in the Kruger, organized through a hostel near the park, and saw a huge
difference (for the worse) in terms of organization, professionalism, and food, so I
appreciated the Botswana tour even more. The flights you arranged for me also worked
without a hitch, and I am glad that I was forced to arrive in Victoria Falls a day before
the safari started because, as you said, there was plenty to do around there (I went
whitewater rafting, went to see the falls, and took an evening boat cruise). I had a great
trip (I strongly recommend Egypt, and I also enjoyed Tunisia and South Africa), and I
really appreciate your help in setting things up.
Take care! "The Complete Africa"
was wonderful. Thanks for your assistance in pulling it all together. Everything
went very smoothly. I can't wait to go back....THANKS AGAIN! Wouldn't change a
thing about our two week Zimbabwe safari. We were very pleased with everything. I felt as
if I was in a movie - the camps, the animals, everything was just as I had dreamed! Please
note that the Monde Village tour at Victoria Falls was very good! One of our best vacations.
Well organized, geared to our interests and level of physical activity. The safari was absolutely amazing!!! It
was all we ever dreamed of and so much more!! We would really like to thank you
for doing such a wonderful job putting together the perfect itinerary for us for our first
safari! The canoe trip and the lion tracking on foot would have to be the most
thrilling highlights for us - but we truly loved it all! The accommodation, staff,
food and service were all first rate and we would highly recommend Ultimate Africa Safaris
to anyone interested in having the safari experience of their lives! Thank you so
much for all of your efforts! We would like to get information on Namibia for next
year's African adventure! :) Excellent - saw all of the
"Big 5" during our first 3 days in Zimbabwe! The guides were extremely
knowledgeable and have keen eyes. Everyone was very warm and welcoming. Ultimate
Africa was extremely knowledgeable of the camps and expectations on safari. Extremely
patient with travelers new to safaris. Accommodating and helpful with building a personal
itinerary. It was the most amazing
experience imaginable. We could have stayed in the Okavango Delta (Kwetsani)
forever, Chobe (Muchenje) was gorgeous and had an plentiful assortment of game, and Little
Makalolo and Amalinda in Zimbabwe were both unique and amazing. The people we met,
especially at the camps, were wonderful. I would like to think that we both formed
friendships that will last a lifetime. Everyone made us feel at so at home and were some
of the most genuine and friendly people I have had the pleasure of meeting. Our
guides were particularly amazing and made us feel extremely comfortable in every situation
(Comfort in the middle of a pride of lions at feeding time is hard to come by, as is
approaching rhinos on foot). I just wanted to thank you for booking such a
wonderful trip. The variety of places and environments we got to see was perfect -
everything from the delta to the rocky terrain near Bulawayo. We were very well prepared
due to the information you sent us before-hand, and someone was right there to take care
of us or show us where we needed to be when the elation from being in such a spectacular
environment was overwhelming. We could not be more pleased and feel sure we will
be returning to southern Africa one day. Kwetsani was the ultimate
experience of a lifetime! Wonderful staff, incredible experience! Chobe was teeming with
wildlife; Thabo made us feel welcome in the village - great guide. Little Makalolo was a
wonderful place. Benson and Phainus treated us like queens. Camp Amalinda is exquisite,
what a work of art!!! We were made to feel so welcome. Loved our stay. Too short! Our
reservation was handled very professionally, staff was very knowledgeable, everything was
coordinated perfectly. Overall it was a fabulous trip that I might have backed out of
(because of negative press reports on Zimbabwe) without the confidence I had in Ian
Proctor at Ultimate Africa. Thanks! WOW - This trip
blew us away. We are seasoned travelers and nothing has ever come close to this! In
Mana Pools we could not have asked for anything better. Chikwenya Camp is BEYOND
what we imagined Africa to be! The accommodations, staff and food were
outstanding. It was the ULTIMATE experience for us. There wasn't a thing that
could have been improved on (well maybe the hippos bad attitude as the canoe next
to ours was bumped and luckily no one was hurt). Our guides were very professional and
Jo's keen eyes spotted a leopard on our second morning. We were awestruck by the beauty of
this elusive animal. We saw antelope, fish eagles, ellies, baboons, warthogs, crocs, Cape
buffalo, an eagle owl, and many other species of birds. We loved it! In Matusadona we
loved the unique accommodations (the water lodges) & wonderful wildlife viewing by
foot and water. We really liked our guides Beks and Kevin. Since they had been informed of
our canoe experience in Mana Pools they took us to our floating room by pontoon boat each
time (instead of canoe). We owe a special thanks to Beks. His skill and expertise
kept everyone calm when a giant bull elephant mock charged us while on a walking safari.
The highlight however was the encounter with the baby black rhino. He loved to be
scratched behind the ears. That was truly special. In the evening the color of the sky,
the glow of the mountains, and the sounds of Africa were to good to be true. the wildlife
at Chobe was unsurpassed. We saw impalas, sable antelopes, waterbucks, zebras,
giraffes, buffaloes, lots of ellies, 3 young male lions, their father and several
lionesses. Muchenje's location at the edge of the escarpment was awesome. We loved the
lodge, Matt, Lorna, Thabo and most of all our guide Winston. The lodge was bigger and the
guests more diverse. We had a great time although the food was not nearly as good as at
the other lodges. Finally our time at Victoria Falls was brilliant.We enjoyed the elephant
back safari, white water rafting, the tour of Victoria Falls and the curio market. The
Victoria Falls Safari Lodge had excellent service for such a large lodge. The food was
BEYOND excellent, the views and people were great - very friendly. It exceeded our
expectations. We were sad to leave. And finally thank god for Troy from
Wilderness Safaris. He fixed my camera after I put my finger through the shutter. All
in all this was the most exciting and adventurous trip we have ever taken. All
transfers, pick-ups, drop offs etc...went as planned. Now that is amazing! Thank you for
everything. We hope to do it again next year! I had a wonderful
trip to Botswana with Wilderness Dawning. Everybody was so accommodating. Craig
and Leigh-Ann Nesbitt and their staff were very nice people, and excellent at their jobs.
And part of what made the safari pleasant was the fact that everyone camping with us, the
other participants (A pair from England and a family of four from Australia), were
likable, good companions as well. My favorite place for animals was Chobe, but the
Okavango Delta was great with all those nice grasses and birds, and of course some of the
places in between were great, too. The photography was not quite as good as I had hoped.
We had a lot of cloudy skies that robbed me of some of the good light early in the morning
and late in the day, but I got some good stuff. I feel very comfortable
recommending Wilderness Dawning to anyone who wants to go to Botswana, and I will be
equally pleased to recommend you to those who need to make arrangements for that visit. I
am very pleased with the way you worked with me to make my trip a success. Craig
and Leigh Ann spoke enthusiastically of their dealings with you as well. I think that
folks in the USA have not quite "discovered" either Botswana or Namibia, and
they are missing something really good. Incidentally, I had a fine time in Namibia as well
after the two weeks in Botswana. It was a wonderful
experience! Ultimate Africa's choice of companies for this trip was
SUPERB! Kibo Tanzania is an exceptional company with great and knowledgeable guides. We
were the envy of all the other climbers as Hoopoe guided us up Kilimanjaro. The guides are
THE REASON we made it to the summit! I had a wonderful
trip to Botswana with Wilderness Dawning. Craig and Leigh-Ann Nesbitt and their
staff were very nice people, and excellent at their jobs. Part of what made the safari
pleasant was the fact that everyone camping with us, a pair from England and a family of
four from Australia, were likable, good companions. My favorite place for animals
was Chobe. The Okavango Delta was great with all those nice grasses and birds. Of
course some of the places in between were great, too. I feel very comfortable
recommending Wilderness Dawning to anyone who wants to go to Botswana, and I am equally
pleased to recommend you to those who would like to make similar arrangements. I am very
pleased with the way you worked with me to make my trip a success. Craig and
Leigh Ann spoke enthusiastically of their dealings with you as well. I think that
folks in the USA have not quite "discovered" either Botswana or Namibia, and
they are missing something really good. Our experience with Ultimate
Africa was absolutely fantastic! Ultimate Africa staff were extremely
knowledgeable and helpful. Everything was explained before our departure and the trip was
well coordinated. I would highly recommend this company to anyone interested in a
trip to Africa and already have! Thank you very much for everything! Our
trip was truly a life adventure! We would like to sing your praises! We
had the time of our lives on our safari and on the Kili climb. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your
help. Both companies were excellent, the guides were great and the experiences
unforgettable. Kibo arranged some wonderful people encounters (animal ones, too) andif it
were not for the Hoopoe guides we would not have made it to the summit...they were
exceptional! I have placed a few pictures on the internet for friends and family to see.
Please feel free to use any of them on Ultimate Africas site if you think they are
suitable. Here’s the address: http://www.murraystate.edu/qacd/cfac/music/AfricaPixIndex.html
Thanks again! We will tell our friends about Ultimate Africa. Everything was superb on our
trip. The safari was more than expected and Muchenje Lodge owners Matt and Lorna
and others were most hospitable. The lodge itself is outstanding and in an exquisite
location. The transfer from Victoria Falls back and forth went without a hitch and was an
interesting ride in itself. The guides were wonderful, especially, Moresti, he was ALWAYS
tracking and guiding and spotting. The food and accommodations at the lodge were
excellent and I couldn’t have imagined it being better- except to be able to stay
longer!!!! The wildlife, while not abundant, was there and we saw many breeding herds of
elephants, several lionesses along with their cubs (thanks to smart guide!!), some
adolescent male lions, giraffes, various antelopes, hippos and crocs on the river trip
(highly recommended), lots of beautiful birds, huge buffalo herds— tons of
‘Chobe Chicken’—lovely guinea fowl!! All in all we really enjoyed
our stay and appreciate your sorting things out—all my flights and connections were
fine and I really like South African Airways. My last leg returning from Atlanta to Newark
on Delta took off on time for a two-hour flight—however, due to congestion over
Newark, we were in a holding pattern long enough to run us out of fuel—so we landed
at Richmond Va and they claimed weather delays at Newark and that Air Traffic Control
would not let us go up again and land in Newark---as the delay extended I was getting
ready to rent a car ---it would’ve been about 3 hours for me to drive home----I even
got my luggage off the plane—but they did get us back up and into Newark with only a
five hour delay for a 2 hour flight!!! So, in all, the real problem for travel these days
is the congested skies---which are horrendous around Chicago, the eastern seaboard and I
heard, even in the UK and Europe!! Thanks again for your great services and I will
recommend you to any friends and acquaintances for Africa travel! Our trip to Zimbabwe was truly
an "Ultimate" experience. Even our lost luggage provided us with a life
experience – you can be very adaptable and continue to enjoy yourself if you keep a
sense of humor. From our very first correspondence I always found Ultimate Africa
to be helpful, attentive, and prompt in answering all questions. Using Wilderness Safaris
while in Africa was a wonderful experience. Their organization functioned just as Ultimate
Africa did. I will always be in awe at how well intricate logistics were handled. Everyone
we dealt with was extremely friendly, knowledgeable and very accommodating. The mobile
tented camping was wonderful. I loved the bucket showers and warm water in the
basins in the morning. Being isolated in the bush camps, being able to hear the animals at
night, and being able to alter our dining schedule around game walks/drives was wonderful.
We got along famously with the rest of the group. Traveling with the same group
affords a measure of comfort and you can get beyond the "where do you live" and
"what do you do" conversations. Having the same guide for eight days
was also a plus. He got to know the individuals, knew how the group functioned, knew what
you saw, etc…I also enjoyed all of the other guides throughout the remainder of the
trip. Each guide had his own areas of expertise: tracking, bush lore, birds, life
experiences, etc…which made it very interesting. Camp Amalinda is a gem. Pictures
don’t describe the beauty of each room and of the facilities. The mood was very
relaxed. The staff were very accommodating and served lunch late for us as we got involved
at the school and stayed much longer than we had anticipated. Our entire trip
exceeded our expectations. We saw every large mammal except a cheetah! No one can explain
the feeling you have when you are eye to eye with an elephant and you feel as if you are
communicating. This you have to experience first hand. I never imagined that I would be
able to rub a 1 year old behind the ear and see her eyes close and head nod – A once
in a lifetime experience! The cultural experiences – village and school were
wonderful, meeting with the school kids, spiritual leader, teachers was quite a gift. Cave
paintings were awesome! Everything was excellently coordinated, superbly organized, always
on time. Zimbabwe, its scenery, wildlife, and above all its people are definitely not to
be missed! Thank you for organizing such as wonderful experience for us. I would certainly
recommend your agency to anyone who was interested in such an experience. We had a wonderful trip which
we will never forget. Ultimate Africa developed a wonderful Botswana / Zimbabwe itinerary
for us. The staff were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Even people we met in the
various camps asked us who we used to book the trip because it was organized so well!
Throughout the trip we were surrounded by excellent guides, extremely nice camp managers,
and incredible wildlife. Mombo was incredible. It is an excellent camp we would highly
recommend. Worth the price. We will recommend Ultimate Africa to all our friends
interested in a safari! We would definitely book another trip through Ultimate Africa. Put in a nutshell, my trip
could not have been better! It was better than I hoped for! First of all Drifters
is a first class operation. The equipment was top notch, our guide Rouhet was
great, from her ability to cook, her knowledge of the area and wildlife and her ability to
cope with problems or hassles with the locals. Our truck broke down in Namibia
and Rouhet was able to get help and get us on our way. We continued the trip without
missing any of our planned stops. Seeing the wildlife is always great and we saw
plenty. I found the scenery in Namibia spectacular. Shopping the curios in
Victoria Falls was great fun, I also got a chance to play a round of golf at Elephant
Hills. The other guides we had on our game drives were also very impressive, especially
Timba in Hwange and Ian in Matopos. I’m already looking forward to my next
trip to Africa. Just a quick note to say what a
great trip I had with Drifters and how happy I am to have worked with you on it! I had a
brilliant time and met some really nice people - we became good friends in such a short
time. I wanted to give you a small thankyou present for all your efforts on my
behalf. I got your gift at the Kenya / Tanzania border from a Masai woman. If you
have client's who'd like to hear how great Drifters tours are I 'd be happy to talk with
them. I had a brilliant time on the 30 day
Complete Africa safari and did not really want it to end. We saw all the big five animals
and plenty of other stuff including pells fishing Owl!! (which I am told is very rare!!) Wonderful time! Brilliant time!
Drifters Adventours was great! People were great! Thanks very much. I would be happy to
recommend Drifters camping safaris as the 30 day Complete Africa safari was wonderful,
wonderful, wonderful! I was very pleased with
everything...the guides, accomodations etc...not to mention the wildlife...thank you again
for your help and guidance. I was especially blessed as there was only l couple other than
myself, and the three of us had a great time. Great! This has been our most
loved trip ever! I can't thank you enough for your help. Your advice
regarding Zimbabwe's political situation was informative, accurate, and reassuring. Your
trip planning and suggestions were excellent. Camp Amalinda staff was warm and
friendly, the chef did a superb job on the vegetarian meals. The Vic Falls Safari Lodge
was great and a touch of African culture was appreciated. Muchenje Lodge in Chobe had
exciting game drives with lots of elephants and others. The lodge owners were wonderful
and friendly. Kwetsani's accommodations were lovely and Mombo Camp was
unbelievably exciting - A MUST SEE! This was the ultimate end to a trip of my lifetime
although we plan to go again! We would change nothing! Thanks! It was great! Last minute changes were
handled expeditiously.Help with lost luggage was beyond the call of duty. Connections and
transfers went like clockwork. Overall it was one of the best
organized and executed trips we have taken! Every detail was considered, handled, we had
nothing to worry about. Botswana is a beautiful country and it's people are friendly and
welcoming. We had pretty good luck spotting lions
on our Botswana / Zimbabwe trip. We saw a pride of 6 females at Stanley’s hunting
(but missing) warthogs, a male and two females at Linyanti, a few large males, a few
females and a female with two cubs at Chobe and a few others I’m forgetting. The
elephants at Chobe were amazing! We must’ve seen 300-400 in one afternoon. They were
drinking and cavorting all along the river. We got lucky in that we saw honey
badgers twice and a large male sable twice. A 4 foot puff adder came through
Stanley’s and a 7-8 foot black mamba came through our Chobe camp, where we also had
elephants coming through. We got a brief look at a leopard in Matopos as well as a few
klipspringers & white rhino. The only animals we had hoped to see but that escaped us
were the black rhino, cheetah & wild dog. We’d seen rhino & cheetah before so
that didn’t bother us but we were a little disappointed at not seeing the dogs. Well,
it just gives us a good reason to come back! Roger told us that Chitabe, Mombo &
Vumbura were the best spots to find the dogs so maybe we’ll try those next time. We
did eat at the Boma at Victoria Falls one night and although it’s a little "over
the top", we did enjoy it. One of the best aspects of the trip was the fact
that at Stanley’s & Jacana we saw no other tourists and at Linyanti we only saw
one other jeep. After seeing 10 or 11 vans lined up in the Mara watching a leopard, this
was a real treat. I felt more isolated, like I was in a much more remote & wild area. Hopefully,
I’ll be calling in 5 years or so to set up my next safari! It was the best trip I have ever been
on! Thank you for putting together a great trip. Hi, we are back! Will try to give you a
rundown on everything. Your travel agency gets excellent marks, everything you did
and all the information you gave was great, much better than what some of our fellow
travelers received. Delta and South African Airways get poor marks. Delta managed
to soak our luggage by the time we got to New York, no roof on the luggage trailer! We
didn’t get any of the seats we had confirmed and reconfirmed on South African
Airways. They need lessons in customer service among other things. Drifters
Adventures who ran the camping safari gets excellent marks. The lodges they own
are really nice and in beautiful locations. Their vehicles are roomy and
surprisingly comfortable. They are well equipped with a large awning for those rainy days.
Both of our guides were good, very knowledgeable on the flora and fauna and enjoyed
sharing their knowledge. The food on both trips was good, varied and plenty of it.
The tent camps that Drifters owned were good, clean bathrooms etc. We only stayed in one
campground that was a bit dodgy so we considered ourselves lucky since we were traveling
in the third world. About the only thing that could be improved is the tents. They are a
little small for someone that is six feet tall and they aren’t very waterproof. We
had either wet feet or a wet head with puddles several times, but stuff dried before we
needed it again and it was fairly warm so no permanent harm done. Now for the
wildlife report. Fantastic!! The canoe trip down the Zambezie was a lot of fun.
The river was loaded with hippos, no problem with them, just a few detours to avoid them.
Did manage to bash a croc with the paddle, he was laying on the bottom and we of course
couldn’t see him. The best part was the Serengeti, we witnessed up close the
wildebeast and zebra migration. It was the most awesome thing imaginable, tens of
thousands of animals strung out for miles and miles. We also saw the "Big Five"
several times over and even got to see five painted dogs. We were completely satisfied
with the trip and can heartily recommend it to anyone as long as they understand it really
is a physically demanding trip. Feel free to give our email address out for
reference. We will be traveling until September so might not be real fast in replying to
any questions, but will reply whenever we get to a computer! Just wanted to let you know the
trip was just wonderful. The best thing we ever did was to do a private safari. It gave us
so much more freedom and having the vehicle to ourselves meant we could carry whatever
junk with us each day and not worry about space. Also never had to fight with
anyone to look out the pop-up roof. We enjoyed both tented camps. The food and service was
great and we especially enjoyed the cold beer. We were the only ones there so we had the
staff’s full attention. They really did do a nice job. Spending 5 nights in the
Serengeti was great. We started to feel like part of the furniture. Charles the manager
was kind enough to buy us a round of drinks and a bottle of wine and the last night BJ and
his entire staff presented us with a good-bye cake and sang good-bye to us. Our
guide Adam was absolutely the best. He sure does know his animals and how to find them.
Our last day out he found us a fresh lion kill and we spent almost an hour watching Daddy
and 15 other lions eat. We shot up 5 rolls of film. He found all the animals and
made sure he got the vehicle in good position to take pictures. He’s also a very nice
young man to be around and certainly made the trip for us. As you know this was
our second trip back to Tanzania. I want to thank you and your staff for taking care of
all the details and giving us the safari we asked for. The other tour companies could not
seem to do what you did and your price was fair. We had traveled with A&K the last
time and had been very pleased with them, but their prices got too high, they could not
give us the safari we wanted and their surcharge for a private tour in a land rover was
out of the question. If you continue with your quality, service and price I’m sure
you will attract many more clients. Again, I will tell you that you had the best web site
and your company is the first one we looked in to and in the end offered us the best
value. Thanks for a trip we will never forget. Return to Safari Testimonials |
