Kearsleys Travel and Tours

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.

"All advising given by Discover Africa (in our case, by Justin Van Wyk) was really helpful and the programe they have outlined was great. Everything went really smooth and professional."

Luis Cortez, Portugal•15 Apr 2026•

"Justin Van Wyk from Discover Africa Safari did an outstanding job in planning our perfect Safari. All travel and transfers between airports and game lodges have been flawless! The lodges and safari experiences have been awesome."

Roland Braun, United States•05 Jan 2026•

"Adelle at Discover Africa helped to plan our first safari and everything went so smoothly from our internal flights to the game reserve and the booking at the lodge. Couldn’t fault them and wouldn’t hesitate to use them again in the future :)"

Amy MacDonald, United Kingdom•01 Sep 2025•

"Susan took care of us from the planning to the experience itself. She was always available for us in answering questions and find best solutions. While on tour she kept in contact with us all the time. In terms of services, very well organized and reliable ..."

Carla, Italy•26 Aug 2025•

"My daughter who is 27 and I (her mom)have been dreaming of this trip for a few years. It was everything we wanted July seemed to be the best month to visit South Africa. Weather is comfortable, better opportunity for seeing the wildlife , no mosquitos or bu..."

Laura W, Canada•21 Aug 2025•

"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..."

Garry, South Africa•07 Aug 2025•