Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"Greatly appreciated the help of Sabina (and her colleagues if she was ever out of the office).

Our holiday was absolutely brilliant with many magical memories to treasure. We loved Namibia - the friendly people we met everywhere and the scenery which was stunningly beautiful. We felt safe and secure at all times.

Having never been to Namibia before we read what we could and planned an outline of a trip but needed "expert" help to pull the holiday together and get the most out of it whilst ensuring that we never had drives that were too long or demanding to be safe. Thanks to your help our holday was the success it was." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"There is a considerable upsurge in tourism in Namibia which appears to be be very good for the country . One comment we heard from a Namibian working in the industry was their concern about all the emphasis being put on conservation, which they supported , but less attention being paid to wages and conditions of staff. Hopefully welfatre of staff in this rapidly expanding industry is something of concern to Expert AFrica.

We thought the country was stunning and easy to to get around in . Clearly there is a 'tourist trail' as we met other guests on more than one occasion. Having 'hosts' avaliable gave us an opportuntiy to have a wider picture of the country through discussion with them. We found people helpful and friendly . Because of its size, small population and recent history it is a very unthreatening place.

I would like Lodges/ camps to offer visits to local projects in order to gain more information about the local conditions and give opportunties to to have more experience of local people . I appreciate this would very superficial because of the constraints of time , but interesting. I understand this is something Waterberg offer.but which we could not experience.

Suggestions for improvement:

I have mentioned one in overall comments. If some Lodges/camps could offer more activities it would be worth staying for a longer period . Two weeks we appreciate is very llittle time to see so much, and the organisation of our a trip proved very efficient." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"We were delighted by the trouble and care Anna took from our first contact until our return - wonderful.

Everything Anna told us was true and we had an amazing holiday. my husband (it was for his 60th) said he will never forget this trip. He did question why we had never thought of going to Africa before now. all the camps and people involved wre of a very high standard and everyone was so caring and thoughtful.

A big thank you to Anna and we look forward to going back sometime in the not too distant future." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Zambia safari

"We had an excellent time and can't wait to go back - Caprivi strip next? The service we had was excellent and the advice was knowledgeable, I do not think we could have done better." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"We have to give ExpertAfrica full marks for helping us get the trip together. Initially Maruska, and this year Gwynneth and Sabina, were great organisers and first rate communicators who understood our wants and did a grand job. Thank you all very much.

All that went well was all down to you and the few things that left something to be desired were other peoples' responsibility entirely.

We had a superb time overall, the good things heavily outweighed the not-so-good and the total impression was really positive. Like Zambia and Botswana 2 years ago, we did things we had never done before - dune climbing, kayaking, tracking animals on foot, dining on a Tug - and would really like to do them another time.

We look forward to another visit to Namibia in the future, it would be fascinating to see how the tourism business develops and how the country makes the most of its tremendous resources to delight its visitors.

Thanks again to all the team.

We can hardly wait for our next adventure with you" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"Wonderful trip and would definately go back, The Safari company there really do a professional well orgainized trip. I loved the quiteness of it all, Not hundreds of tourists with radios rushing to see kills. The camps were all fabulous (except King's Pool) and each had a different feel but were well managed, and I think you get the level of luxury that you pay for. Even however the less expensive camps were really comfortable.

The people were universally friendly and helpful - what a wonderful country (Botswana). The game veiwing was serene and comprehensive. Only a max of 4 people to a jeep added to the ambiience and ability to be flexible (like staying 1 hour to watch the hyena cubs play).

Food was excellent, although I would have loved to have tried the local cuisine at some point. The guests seemed to be like minded, so we got on pretty well with everyone. We traveled for 9 nights in 4 different camps, and I would actually recommend that 7 nights, max 8 is enough. It also struck me that there is no need to go to more that 3 camps. I
Please note that if I had not been to Kings c Pool, I would have given my trip 5 "paws

Just also like to say that Susannah was very helpful, and knowledgeabloe

Suggestions for improvements:

Not really - it all ran very smoothly and was better than I expected" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"What I've come to expect from Expert Africa - unbiased and extremely expert knowledge.

Very attentive, and good listeners - based on our interests we got exactyl what we needed. a couple of times they persuaded us to change our ealry thoughts on some places to stay - they proved to be spot on." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Not the best we have done due to circumstances but enjoyable all the same.

The arraangements made by Expert Africa were first class." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"The purpose of our trip was to visit the gorillas. This was a truly fabulous experience and was certainly worth all the effort involved. Watching the gorilla families play, feed, and interact with each other was wonderful. And many comical moments were provided by the younger gorillas who seemed to want to show off to our human group. One youngster fell out of a tree and landed on his back looking up into our eyes. Looking a bit surprised, he just carried on feeding at our feet. Another young one tried to stand on two legs and beat his chest - but only managed a single beat before falling flat on his face in front of us. Despite the advised limit of 7m, we were able to get practically within touching distance of the groups.

We had two treks to the gorillas. They were both very different. The first trek, to the Sabinyo group, involved much climbing (hanging on to creepers and bamboo) and sliding in the mud. In many places, the porters had to haul members of our group up by the arms. There were no paths and we folllowed the porters who were busy using their machetes to plough a route through the dense growth. Much of the time was spent pressed deep into the undergrowth and this meant we were on the receiving end of many stinging nettles. We climbed up the mountain side, traversed for some time and then wound our way a different route down another part of the mountain before finding the gorillas. And yet, after viewing the gorillas, our exit from the forest simply involved a 10 minute walk along a well worn path.

Our second trek was to Group 13 and our party included some quite elderly people with sticks (one had just had a knee replacement). Obviously, the guides must have known that the gorillas were very close. This party could never have managed the trek that we had undergone the day before. Indeed, this second trek proved to be a simple wander into the forest and the gorillas were found after only a few minutes walk.

The trek to the golden monkeys was also excellent and we were able to get a very good view of these animals. The limits on numbers in each trek obviously do not apply for this particular trek - as we had 19 in our party.

Recommendations: Take a good pair of gardening gloves, wet weather trousers (as well as your rainjacket), long socks into which to stuff your trousers (or better still, gaiters/puttees). Expect to get totally covered in mud. And take winter clothing to keep warm during dinner and whilst in the lodge. Wet weather covering for your camera is also important.

Arthur was an excellent and knowledgeable guide with good knowledge. He was very amiable and happy to accomodate our needs. He bought stamps for us (from Rhungeri) and posted our postcards. Took us to lunch at a nearby restaurant as a change from the lodge. Full marks.

All in all, an excellent and highly memorable trip!!" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 5 on a Rwanda safari

"Good balance of safari and beach. Ras Kutani was stunning and safari was amazing and an adventure though not very relaxing." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari