Migration River Crossings Safari with Governors’ Camps

We just returned from an African safari in Kenya and Tanzania as well as gorilla trekking in Rwanda. Susan planned our 17 day to perfection. It was seamless to travel between countries, between lodges as well as negotiate airport arrivals and departures. The choice of itinerary and the amount of time in each location was perfect, as well as the choice of accommodations. We thoroughly enjoyed our safari and we met wonderful people as well as friendly, knowledgeable and informative guides. It was just the perfect trip. Words are not sufficient to express how pleased we were with Susan of Discover Africa. We would definitely use them again and we would not hesitate in recommending them.

From start to finish, our experience with Discover Africa Safaris was exceptional. The communication throughout the planning stage was prompt, clear, and incredibly thoughtful. We felt truly listened to, and the itinerary was tailored exactly to what we wanted – every detail was perfectly planned and executed.

Susan, our consultant, was absolutely outstanding. She was available to us the entire time we were away, which gave us so much peace of mind. Her knowledge, support, and attention to detail made the entire journey feel smooth and stress-free.

The service, value for money, and overall reliability of Discover Africa Safaris exceeded our expectations. It was the trip of a lifetime, and we wouldn’t change a thing. Highly recommend – 5 stars from us!

On the whole I would rate the safari as terrific. It exceeded our expectations. All of the properties that we overnighted in were excellent. My favorites were the Mara West Camp in Kenya and the Katikati Camp in the Serengeti. But these were difficult choices. There were no bad ones!

This was a land safari with no in country air travel. All of the drivers (4) went out of their way to make the safari as enjoyable as possible. In fact we observed some wildlife events in Kenya that we might well have missed were it not for the drivers diligence. As far as wildlife is concerned the experience in Kenya was more satisfying than that in Tanzania probably due to the time of the year and migration status.

There was one glitch at the very beginning. Arrival times in Nairobi were not communicated to the local staff resulting in a confused start to the safari.

Friends of ours worked with Susan at Discover Africa to arrange our trip. We visited Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Serengetti, and Masaai Mara. The accomodations were all very pleasant, and the service, both at the accommodations and on our safari drives were all wonderful. The food was great. And we saw so many animals (and so many other tourists seeing so many animals!).

I am an avid traveler, I love to discover new places and see new things. It didn’t take long for me to put Africa on my bucket list of places to visit with an African safari as a top priority bucket list activity.

I’ve visited other websites and have even communicated with their employees, unfortunately, I didn’t have good experiences with some of them. So upon planning my first safari, I came across Discover Africa & true to their name, they did help me discover a part of Africa.

My correspondent was Karl, and I have to say that he was very efficient, I laid out the specifications for him and he quickly managed to create an itinerary for me. Things were smooth from the planning stage, to the tour itself, to the return. I had a wonderful time and I can confidently recommend Discover Africa for your first (or next) trip to Africa. Africa is certainly a unique continent full of wonder.

My first trip was a combination of two East African countries, Rwanda & Kenya. It was a great combination as there was a stark contrast between the two countries.

Rwanda was a lush, green, mountainous region where farms galore. Kenya had a somewhat harsh, arid landscape. The gorillas and golden monkeys were Rwanda’s flagship attraction so I didn’t dare to miss the opportunity to see both. Some people opted for 2 gorilla treks as opposed to one gorilla & golden monkey trek, and I simply don’t recommend that. There is beauty in both encounters & a contrast in behavior as well. The gorillas were generally more reserved and shy while the monkeys were playful and mischievous. The rules of both encounters differ as well & you had a bit more freedom with the golden monkeys. Rwandans are a very welcoming, friendly people & I lost count of how many times we got smiles, hellos and waves as we drove past them. On one occasion, a couple of cute children did a little cultural dance and song for us.

Kenya was beautiful in it’s own way as well. I stayed at the Governer’s Camp at the Maasai Mara & the experience was nothing short of unique. A 45 minute flight will take you away from society and into the wilderness where the camps are located. You will be greeted by gazelles, giraffes, baboons & zebras upon arrival & transferal to the camp. You will enjoy the escape from civilization, you will enjoy waking up to the grunts and roars of animals as opposed to the grunts and roars of vehicles, you will enjoy viewing the wildlife you may have seen in zoos, only this time in their natural habitat. Having breakfast while marveling at the gazelles & zebras on the horizon is an alluring experience and beats all the dinner nights I’ve had watching my favorite TV shows. If you get the chance, opt for some Kenyan coffee, it’s a pleasure to the senses and the best I’ve ever tasted (and I’m not much of a coffee person).

One thing to keep in mind is that this is nature, experiences will vary from one person to the next, there are no guarantees in the wild. But I can guarantee that you will have a great overall experience. My favourite moment was witnessing the very end of a river crossing by a zeal of zebras as it rained over the Mara river. A zebra met it’s end at the jaws of a crocodile. Our driver brought us closer to witness the spectacle of a bask of crocodiles engaging in a feeding frenzy like nothing I’ve ever seen. All of this while a rainbow arched over us.

Truly awe inspiring.

We have travelled with Discover Africa during February 2015 and we were looked after by Carel Verhoef, our safari planning was made easy by the wealth of knowledge and wonderful service, care and attention we received from Discover Africa and our safari to Tanzania was as expected, well planned and got us into areas where few others were.

We found the Great Wildebeest migration because of this where many others failed, thanks for a once in a lifetime safari Carel!