Our Safari Blog

Many thanks to Discover Africa for organising a great trip to Victoria Falls and Botswana. Chrizaan was extremely helpful in planning the trip (including promptly arranging visa related paperwork etc) and answering queries. The quality of the accommodations was great (with a particular shout-out to Jackalberry Lodge in Chobe, which is a beautiful property) with excellent service throughout. The guides at Chobe and the Okavango Delta worked hard to make sure that the wildlife sightings were great (was just a little unlucky given the recent freak flooding in the Delta – even then, I had two excellent leopard sightings in Khwai!). Would gladly reach out to Discover Africa to help plan future safaris.

Amazing and truly unique experience!

Susan was absolutely wonderful from start to finish. She was incredibly friendly, professional, and always available to help with every detail. Her knowledge, organization, and passion made the entire safari unforgettable.

Everything was perfectly arranged, and the experience exceeded all expectations. The wildlife, the landscapes, and the overall adventure were simply breathtaking.

If you’re looking for an authentic African safari experience, I can highly recommend Discover Africa Safari. Thank you, Susan, for creating such beautiful memories!

I started planning my Africa safari/vacation about two years ago with the help of Diane, and was transitioned to Chrizaan about halfway through my timeline. There was zero issues with changing my guide, and both ladies were SUPER lovely to work with. I was able to see and do everything I dreamed of between Zimbabwe and South Africa, and wouldn’t have been able to do this without the team at Discover Africa. I even added an extra person a few months after booking, and was able to seamlessly integrate her into my travels.

We were able to see the Big 5, almost all of the Beautiful 5 (except a cheetah), and the Ugly 5! In addition to Victoria Falls, the Zambezi River, Cape Town, Johannesburg, the wine lands of Cape Town, many white rhinos, zebra, monkeys, wild dogs, the list goes ON.

The different lodges were amazing, super well kept, and the staff, guides, and trackers were exceptional. This trip was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and having a dedicated guide who understood everything I wanted to do made the whole journey as easy as can be. Chrizaan was so easy to contact and made this truly the trip of a lifetime for me!

This trip was all about making memories, and it did just that. Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Mala Mala Safari Lodge, Victoria Falls, and finally Zanzibar. Our boutique hotels along the way were nothing less than stunning, as was Lanzarac Manor in Stellenbosch. The lasting memory is that of Mala Mala. If I could score it higher than 100%, then I would. So well organised.

Brilliant guide – Geena. The big five, not once but on several occasions. Excellent accommodation and first-rate staff. The whole trip went like a dream thanks to Vihann Van Wyk who checked in with us several times and even checked us in for all of our flights. I’d strongly recommend Discover Africa Safaris to anyone considering a trip to Africa and especially a safari. Well done Discover Africa. One off the bucket list!

I chose a travel agency for four reasons. Years in business, quantity and quality of reviews, customisability, and local expertise. Discover Africa and my agent, Adelle, met or exceeded all expectations. I gave Adelle my budget and modified one of their suggested tours. Five stars.

We had been thinking about a Southern Africa safari trip for a few years and had some valuable input from Zimbabwean friends who had been on tour many times. So we had a general idea of when and where but needed guidance on the finer details and options, as well as someone to put it all together once we’d agreed on an itinerary (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana). This was possibly going to be our one and only trip of this type so we wanted to get it right!

I saw an ad for a tour similar to what I had in mind so contacted Discover Africa (DA). Devryn was able to clearly outline his preferences that would meet the brief. He suggested the order of travel, how long at each place, what type of accommodation (generally getting better as we progressed), how to get from A to B, etc., via several email conversations.

We had a Zoom meeting with him before finalising the plan, where we were able to ask further questions, which he was able to answer confidently and competently, given he had been to these places himself.

We felt confident enough with his recommendations to lock it in 12 months ahead of the trip.
Naturally, you anticipate some things will go wrong on tour, e.g., a missed connection, a guide not turning up, or accommodation not being as described, and we were mentally prepared for that.

Garry's Safari Experience

However, every connection was made on time and the accommodation exceeded our high expectations!

The Safari experience itself (which Devryn obviously couldn’t guarantee) was superb. The guides from the lodges we used were experienced, informative, respectful of the animals, and considerate of what we had and hadn’t seen previously and so every day (twice a day!) was another trip into the unknown. Everyone hopes to see the Big 5, which we did early on. After that it was a matter of literally sitting back in the jeep and seeing what would turn up. The birdlife was better than I expected (the lilac-breasted roller was a favourite), and seeing small animals like mongooses (4 different species), a chameleon and a steenbok were unexpected highlights.

The food was varied at the various lodges, with usually a buffet of 3 main courses of western-style cuisine (although I ate wildebeest, crocodile, kudu and springbok when it was offered). We finished off with 3 nights in Cape Town to let the Safari experience sink in, which was a very good move.

So in summary, we did some initial research, worked out a plan with Devryn, and he nailed the brief. We’ll never know if it could have been even better, but I seriously doubt it.