Reviews of Stretch Ferreira Safaris

"The experience provided by Stretch was excellent. He strives to give guests that special experience of getting quite close to animals. He also tries his best to find animals and birds guests are interested in. The walking safaris were excellent (apart from a couple of guests who should not have been walking due to physical issues). The accommodation was basic but adequate. The food was excellent and the staff very good and well qualified." See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe

"A visit to Goliath is worthwhile just to experience Stretch and his wealth of knowledge and quirky sense of humour. When we were there the 2 safari vehicles travelled round together and we walked as one big group, which is not our favoured option, as we feel you achieve more by walking in smaller groups. (On the other hand, if you were staying at Goliath and were not in Stretch's group, you would feel short changed).
The accommodation is basic but comfortable and provides everything required. The tents are closer together than in other camps (so there is less privacy)." See all these reviews: 15n in Zimbabwe; 2n in Kenya

"We started on a disappointing note as our flight out of Harare was delayed by an official VIP having to land first, but once we arrived at Goliath, the magic began. We literally landed into a lion tracking trip and our first afternoon was spent up close and personal with two (fortunately) lazy lions. Dinner around the campfire was delightful, and breakfast at 5.30 am only slightly less so. Game drives every morning and afternoon/evening produced a plethora of extraordinary wild-life experiences. It was a little like living in a David Attenborough documentary.

Stretch and Al are an amazing team. From time to time they constitute a knockabout comedy act all by themselves, but their knowledge of the environment, their skills around wild animals and their ability to anticipate what their guests might need are legendary. Many of my best photographs are the ones where Stretch was nudging us forward saying, "Come, it'll make a good shot", or where Al had sped us through the dust to catch the sun rising behind a steaming buffalo herd.

They are ably supported, and sometimes managed, by Megan, Reuben and others we did not meet. The effect of the whole is of invisible clockwork behind a smoothly running machine. Not that there are no dramas or diversions. The odd mishap with a vehicle in a river, the occasional stubborn refusal of wild dogs to move on, an elephant and her calf threatening to come between us and our breakfast, and the inevitable effects on ageing frames of extreme physical activity - but the overall sense was one of peace and a deep love for the place.

Mana Pools is wild and ancient, and Goliath has retained the sense of this while providing extremely comfortable tents with enchanting under-the-stars showers. G&T's on the river bank at sundown, coffee and magical muffins under a massive tree for elevenses, long siestas in the mid day heat, and lullabies of hippo-snuffling wafting over the water.

I have to go back for more..." See all these reviews: 16n in Zimbabwe

"The experience at Goliath is totally dependent on Stretch’s availabiliy. We had some great experiences walking up to elephant, lion and wild dogs with Stretch who has an incredible relationship with the animals. He also is a great photographer with creative ideas but our access to him and his knowledge was limited.

The camp is more basic than Vundu but perfectly comfortable. It did seem to undergoing some change in management.

We may have suffered from it being in a state of flux with a full camp and inexperienced staff organising the activities. The quality of our activities varied day to day." See all these reviews: 15n in Zimbabwe

"Unfortunately we were there in June after two particularly rainy seasons in a row so game was quite sparse. We will try again another time as someone who goes often said it is usually teeming with game.

We did see a number of baby elephants and as the elephant cows are so comfortable with people it was a joy to watch the babies who weren’t hiding from us behind their Moms as they do in other game parks. The setting of the camp is beautiful with the Zambezi river outside your tent and the Zambian hills behind them. The sounds of the hippos at night provide an amazing atmosphere.

Stretch is an incredible guide, not only in terms of his knowledge about the animals but in terms of his passion and enthusiasiasm. A word of warning however: This is a walking camp. If you don’t want to walk you will be able to go out on a jeep with a guide but you are unlikely to get the benefit of Stretch’s expertise." See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe; 5n in South Africa

"We decided to start our safari to Zimbabwe at Goliath as we were interested in a more walking based safari and had heard and read great reports on the charismatic Stretch Ferreira. Due to the travel arrangements from the UK we arrived at the camp on our first night as dusk fell so our first meeting with the great man was as we all sat down to dinner. He is truly an entertaining character with an obvious love of the country and its wildlife.

The description of the camp by EA is very accurate although one aspect that isn't mentioned is that the lights go out at 21:00 so torches are a must. The tents do have a low voltage battery operated lamp but obviously it doesn't provide a lot of light. The tents are very comfortable with a flush toilet at the rear, accessible via a large zipped canvas flap. The shower requires a fire to be lit behind the wooden fence at the rear of the tent so the camp staff need a bit of notice if you want a shower, you can't simply go and turn on the hot tap and expect warm water. The food was excellent, never ceases to amaze us the quality that is produced with such relatively limited resources and facilities.

However the real strength of the camp is Stretch himself. His wealth of knowledge and ability to see and read tracks which were meaningless to us was incredible. Despite this however he was well and truly beaten during our three night stay by the local lion population who steadfastly refused to be found. The growing frustration in Stretch was quite amusing to see although he did restore his reputation somewhat by getting us up close and personal with wild dogs and also with an elephant which he called JD, whose party piece would seem to be nudging you with his tusk !!.

I suspect we were just a bit unfortunate with the lack of wildlife sightings judging by other reviews, however this was more than compensated for by the wealth of stories provided by Stretch over our too short a stay.

He truly is a character!!!" See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe

"I can't say enough good things about this camp and particularly Stretch. We selected Goliath specifically because of the reviews we'd read about Stretch and he DID NOT disappoint. Such an entertaining character with an incredibly vast knowledge but also the perfect blend of bond and healthy respect with and for the animals. Watching him track was amazing - I could barely see the prints let alone understand which way they were going, what pace, what time, etc.

The camp was great. To have elephants wandering outside your tent just a screen away is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Whether we were having dinner around the firepit or at the dining table it wasn't just a meal but an experience. Bradley made sure we were constantly hydrated (no matter your beverage of choice) and the food was delicious, including the birthday cake that was made for one of the guests.

It was kind of nice that the power went off at 9, you just have to plan accordingly - a torch is a must! I was under the impression we wouldn't be able to charge anything while we were there, so the charging station was great and a converter wasn't even necessary. Also be aware of the sand flies - they'll nibble on your feet and ankles if you don't have bug spray on.

The only downside was that we were told laundry service was next day, but then our clothes weren't available for 2 days...only a problem if you're looking to re-wear something and can't get it back. But Caitlin was great about hunting down our stuff so it all worked out.

But if you want to see nature up close and personal (walking up to an elephant Stretch knows by name, seeing an impala dragged up into a tree by a leopard, surprising a mother lion while protecting her 2 cubs, canoeing around hippos) this is ABSOLUTELY the place to go!! We miss Stretch already!" See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe; 3n in South Africa

"Suit energetic bush visitors who want to get up close to animals." See all these reviews: 13n in Zimbabwe

"Stretch lived up to his reputation.
Food and drink excellent.
Views from the camp were outstanding.
Just the right amount of danger to make it interesting.
Safari "mates" very pleasant which helps to make the trip.
One of the couples at the camp was celebrating an anniversary.Stretch and the staff went all out. Cake, songs , dancing etc." See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe

"Beautiful location, amazing walking safaris, great people.

A truly memorable experience." See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe; 4n in Mozambique; 1n in South Africa