Mozambique in September

Our entire experience was magnificent. Everything was in place and perfectly reliable. We wanted for nothing and were taken care of every step of the way. To use the word “life changing” seems so cliché, but my husband and I both found the whole trip an amazing experience. From the first day we felt like we were in good hands. Communications from the start of planning to our trip home were clear and precise.

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.

A trip of a lifetime. Great guides covering Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyana, Ngorongoro crater and southern Serengeti, where we saw herds of elephants, giraffes, antelope, zebra, wildebeast, cape buffalo, eland, jackels, hyenas, mongeese, hippopotomi, rhinoceroses, lion, leopard, cheetah and loads more. This was followed by a more relaxing period on the beaches of Zanzibar, where we snorkelled with dolphins and amongst the numerous fish living on the coral reef.

Every day on safari, we woke thinking that the day could not be better than the previous one but were consistenly wrong.

The fixed accomodation was excellent, the mobile camp was more agricultural as expected. Food across the various locations was good to great.

Definitely worth the money, with incredible experiences

It was an extensive planning process to put together a 24 day safari and adventure trip covering Victoria Falls, Mana Pools and Hwange Park in Zimbabwe, followed by a wonderful experience in Botswana on the Chobe River and Okvango Delta. There were flight considerations and a few changed plans along the way. I was worried that I was becoming a bore but no, Adelle was just as excited to plan my trip as I was to go on it. Finally the day arrived and I boarded my flights and arrived in Victoria Falls after 36 hours of travel. There waiting for me was my shuttle driver and the hotel was amazing. The next day the same level of service and off to Mana Pools I went. Same wonderful level of service.

But 1.5 days later I fell in the middle of the night and fractured two discs in my back. The care and support I received from Adelle is what got me through what could have turned into a tragedy. She was there for me every step of the way and continued to check in with me after I was finally safe at home. I don’t know what I would have done without her. A 5 star rating is simply not enough. Discover Africa and Adelle deserve a million stars. Once my back is healed we will begin the planning process again. They have won not only my repeat business but also my heart. I cannot sing their praises loudly enough.

Magic tour, the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen in all my life, I really love this ancestral land: nature, wise animals, and humans with very big heart.

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.