Hippopotamus amphibius – “river horse” This great shot of a hippo showing off his incisors was taken by Stephen Raffay, a professional photographer who is currently on safari in the Kruger National Park area care of africansafaris.com. Contrary to popular belief, this old guy is not yawning or opening up wide for the dentist…! This [...]

Pic of the week : Hippo by Stephen Raffay
Related Posts
Client Feedback: Jim & Elizabeth – August 2011
Great feedback from an African Safari Jeff and Lise, We are sorry to report that we are home. We are thrilled to report that every aspect of the trip was amazing. I am in the process of downloading photos as we write this and can’t wait to go through them and relive every minute. We [...]
Related Posts

One of Africa’s deadliest mammals – the hippo!
Learn about this African safari icon There was a bit of focus on the Hippo last week – with Lise’s visit to Hippo Hollow and then also finding out about the almost human hippo, Jessica. I thought it might be worthwhile to delve a bit into these huge animals and see what interesting things I [...]
Related Posts

Photo of the Week: Tame Hippos on Safari
A must before your Safari If you haven’t yet heard the remarkable story of Jessica the Hippo – then you are missing out! A visit to her sanctuary is a must if you find yourself with some time before your Kruger Safari begins and you are staying in the Hoedspruit area. Have a look at [...]
Related Posts

We love our client feedback!
We have stressed this before but it is super when we get feedback from our clients. It really helps us to know that the trips we put together have been properly tailored to their best interests. Have a read below for some feedback on our services and also some great feedback on particular camps too. [...]
Related Posts

Photo of the Week – an old favorite!
I was reminded of this special photo today as it popped into my inbox. I didn’t actually know the origin of the photo until I read the newsletter (thanks to The Safari Book). Here is a quick summary of where it came from: This fabulous image has been around since 1979 and was taken by Paul Dutton. [...]
Related Posts
Categories
Tags
Recent Posts
Feedback
Good morning! It sure was a terrific trip for all of us...thanks to both of you for putting up with my endless emails---I guess I worried unnecessarily! The stay at the Stanley was a perfect introduction to the city, and the hotel is wonderful, well preserved, very helpful and friendly staff, great location. We did the Kazuri bead factory one day, and volunteered the next. We had a really nice dinner in an alley down the road from the hotel...called BoBos which is a Turkish outdoor restaurant. Certainly nothing formal, outdoor seating with few amenities, but very good inexpensive food. Worth a look. Then had Gamewatchers pick us up to begin the safari...our driver Stephen was an excellent guide, full of info, very interactive. Took great care of us. The other driver, Tony, was also very good though I was not in his RangeRover too often. Sweetwaters was a great choice. Nothing negative to say there. Lodging very nice, food good, game sightings excellent, fun nighttime entertainment. We all enjoyed. Lake Nakuru was the following day. Unfortunately, I would say that of all the experiences, this was the least favorite. The lodge was quite good, food good, good location within the park. The lake water was apparently very high for this season due to prior months' rains, so the bird life was marginal. Game viewing ok, but of course nothing like the Mara. Mara Entim was one of the favorites of all the camps. Beautiful location, top quality staff, camping on the river's edge couldn't be beat, though the sounds of the hippos grunting all night long was very disruptive to our sleep! The game drives with the park staff were incredible with awesome sightings, just overall magnificent! We got to the NBO in plenty of time for flight out to EBB. I was very impressed with Gamewatchers and our guides. The only negative was Nakuru and the long drive. I think we would have been better off hitting a different park between Mt. Kenya and Mara making the drive less intense. In Entebbe, as you know, we changed lodging to the Karibu House instead of the Lake Vic Hotel. I would strongly suggest you look at Karibu. It's a guest house with about 6 rooms, excellent ownership, very secure location, great staff, good chef in the kitchen, all in all a perfect stop over. First day was Ndali Lodge which a beautiful setting. The owner is very friendly and spends time with the guests, though his staff is not as well trained as I would have expected given his British background, quality of the lodging. Enjoyed Kibale. Could have passed on the Bigodi walk I think, esp during mid day when very hot. Then QE park at Mweya...what a great setting. We loved it! A perfect end to the travel. The Kazinga channel ride as lots of fun as were the game drives, though I was a bit underwhelmed with the volume and diversity of the game in QE. Especially as I compared to the Mara or Mt. Kenya. The landscape and views are unbeatable, but not many animals. Example no giraffe, rhino, few lions. Despite that, we had a marvellous time there. The setting really is unbeatable. Entertainment at night with tribal dancers was fun. Our Wild Frontier guide was named Ham, and he was outstanding. Very personable, soft spoken, courteous, well informed, etc. I would highly recommend him to future travellers. We all really liked the variety that Uganda gave us after a week in Kenya. The varied terrain and different cultures were educational, and it fulfilled the desire I always had to get to this area of Africa. I would not really change anything on the itinerary except the Nakuru stop. Otherwise all lodging and guides were very well chosen You both did a great job for us....thanks loads. I wish we were headed back to the continent soon, but I fear it will be a few yers. Garth
It was an absolutely great trip and we loved every minute of it. It was so worth it to upgrade and the accommodations were excellent and all our guides were superb! I am very glad you used you and will absolutely recommend you to everyone I know who will want to see the gorillas!
Hi Liesl, I'm in London waiting for my flight back to the ice and snow, and I have to be honest - everywhere you booked us was absolutely beyond amazing! Plettenberg Bay (Starfish), the Garden Route farm (Malvern Manor) and especially Nottens were fantastic and great value. In 2008 my profession had a World Congress in Cape Town and I was accompanied by 12 North Americans. The trip was great, BUT I needed to find a better travel agent. YOU GUYS passed with flying colours! Will keep in touch, Vic
When we told everyone about the incredible, customized trip that you put together for us in such a short period of time, they all wanted your name and number. We gave it out and simply said that you were the best! The trip truly was everything we wanted it to be. The camps you selected were outstanding--the food, people and activities could not have been more incredible. We loved every minute of it and want to return again and maybe bring our family. The Tronstads
Lise & Jeff, The safari was awesome. Among the many amazing animals and landscapes, we saw 3 kills - a pride of lions kill a cape buffalo, and twice saw cheetahs kill a gazelle. Solomon was really 100% responsible for making the trip so awesome. More than just a driver, he was unbelievably knowledgeable about absolutely everything - animals, plants, star constellations, geology, Tanzanian and African history, demographics. We didn't ask a single question that he didn't know the answer to, and we asked a lot of questions. We requested, and he and the camps obliged, for him to eat dinner with us and the other guests because he was so enjoyable to talk to. Not only was he smart, he was funny, considerate, polite, jovial. He also had an "instinct" for what animals were about to do - for example, one day there were a ton of trucks watching a leopard from a distance. Not only did he watch the leopard, but he watched where the leopard was LOOKING. He said "I think I know where it's going next" and drove us away from all of the other trucks. It jumped out of its tree and disappeared in the grass. A moment later, it emerged from the tall grass and jumped onto a log 10 yards from where Solomon had positioned our truck. Not one of the other trucks had done the same, and we got an up-close-and-personal view of the leopard. Then it walked right towards us and around the front of the truck. We have some amazing photos from the trip and I am getting a ton of questions about it. I tell everyone that if they ever go to Tanzania, they absolutely need to use Solomon as their guide. He went above-and-beyond the entire 10 days and it really made our trip special. Dylan












Recent Comments