Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel

First safari for us – 3 days in Arusha, 2 Tarangire, 2 Ngorongo, 4 Serengeti and 6 in Zanzibar.

We found the choice of potential locations, accommodation, routes etc almost bewildering at first. Matthys at DA carefully sought to understand we were looking for and came up (after a couple of face to face discussions and several emails) with a suitable schedule

Pre and mid trip communication was excellent. The DA portal is very detailed and comprehensive and the app was very useful on a day to day basis once we arrived in Tanzania.

The recommended accommodation and transport was mostly superb, only issue was transferring from Kogatendi to Zanzibar where a supposed direct flight was in fact 2 flights with a 2 hour delay on the second, meaning we arrived in Zanzibar around 4 hours later than planned. We understand this happens quite regularly in the bush so not a big deal.

My wife was unfortunately taken ill during the trip (not attaching any blame to any lodge or hotel, these things can happen any time). An initial doctor visit was very well handled by our first guide (en route from Tarangire to Ngongoro), and after a slight recovery she again went downhill when we in the Serengeti. Between Matthys from DA and our driver in Zanzibar a hospital visit was pre-arranged when we arrived and the recommended hospital was excellent. The camps in Ngongoro, Serengeti and the hotel in Zanzibar really couldn’t have done any more to make sure she was as comfortable as possible.

The accommodation was fabulous in all locations and the two guides/drivers absolutely exceptional. All arrangements went as planned and everyone we encountered were so friendly and helpful. Despite the illness disruption we saw many amazing things, too many to list here,

Would very happily recommend DA and use them again.

Discover Africa Safaris made the entire experience very enjoyable. If anything went wrong Dev and his team were on it in moments. Every part of the trip was conducted by professionals from Federal airlines to the two safari lodges.

I can’t say enough about the Impodimo Lodge. The guide and tracker were excellent in both knowledge of the area and all the different animals we saw. All the meals were excellent and the staff were all so helpful and pleasant. We especially enjoyed sitting each night with our “jeep mates” for a great dinner and conversation. Sebastian, our guide would also regale us with wonderful stories. Sebastian, even ensured we made the last day morning trip because of a chance that there were cheetahs in the area. Sure enough we were able to take numerous photos of the 5 brothers and still make the flight back to Johannesburg.

Moving on to Hoyo Hoyo Safari lodge proved to be just as great. Although the meals were structured with only Trish and I at our table, the food was to die for with local dishes and wonderful desserts. Again the staff was of a caliber designated for 5 star accommodations. It also didn’t hurt when the afternoon elephant parade interrupted lunch time. I believe the only downside to our entire excursion was the return flight from Hoyo Hoyo as it was a commercial flight. That is how great of a time we had when the only thing to complain about was what every traveler complains about no matter where they are.

May I just say that if we were to make another trip I would be hesitant to use anyone other than Devryn and Discover Africa Safaris as our planner for another trip of a lifetime. Thanks to all!

Was just awesome, pre-service to service and after-service, just great. At the lodge, the staff had a special birthday party for my son who turned 16. The drives were awesome too….

This is the second safari holiday we have used Dev to organise. We had the privilege of visiting three beautiful lodges on this trip, Devs recommendations in three different locations, Sabi Sands, Timbavati, and Makalali, which entailed a lot of organising with pick up and drop by road, each of which was flawless almost to the minute.

First stop was Sabi Sands where we saw the big five within 30 minutes, Unbelievable!

Next stop was Timbavati known for the possibility of seeing the rare white lion, second day out we saw the white lion cub (one of three in the world so we were told ) a gorgeous dirty little white cub with the pride, once again magic. Next stop was Makalali, Dev had mentioned the possibility of seeing cheetahs, after a lot experienced tracking and off road driving we came across two magnificent males basking in the sun, unbelievable.

On our last day when due to leave, a Saturday, my wife fell ill and could not travel, one phone call to Dev, he had transfers rearranged, flights cancelled and rebooked, which took all the stress out of a stressful situation.

I cannot speak highly enough of Dev and Discover Africa.

Chrizaan arranged an amazing safari experience for six of us, who came from the UK and Australia. She secured our booking at a superb Lodge in the Kruger at relatively short notice, tied in the flight transfers and ensured that the whole experience ran smoothly. She was extremely knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble. We felt that we were in very capable hands, and Chrizaan was a delight to correspond with.

We had a very well-organised itinerary by Chrizaan that suited our needs.

It was a truly memorable holiday. Highly recommended.