Kruger, Timbavati and the Panorama Route

We initially felt quite overwhelmed by the number of different tours, lodges and options available when planning an African adventure, so we decided to speak with Discover Africa to help us create a memorable trip. We are so glad we did!

Chrizaan took the time to listen to what we wanted from our trip and then put together an incredible itinerary that gave us a real taste of Africa and some experiences we will never forget. From the different safari lodges and game drives to Victoria Falls, the trip offered such a wonderful variety of experiences. Some were absolute highlights and created memories that will stay with us for a lifetime.

Everything from the flights and transfers to the accommodation and activities was organised so efficiently. For someone who experiences a lot of anxiety when travelling, having everything organised and knowing there was someone who knew our itinerary and could help if needed was incredibly comforting.

Of course, with a trip this big and complicated, we did encounter a few hiccups along the way. What made such a difference was knowing that Chrizaan was only a quick phone call away. She was always helpful, responsive and quick to assist in resolving anything that came up, which gave us great peace of mind while we were travelling.

We would absolutely recommend Discover Africa to anyone wanting to organise a trip to Africa, and particularly Chrizaan. She took our ideas, hopes and vision for the trip and turned them into an incredible reality.

Thank you, Chrizaan, for helping us create an African adventure we will be talking about for years to come! ❤️

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.

We had a great week on safari and all the arrangements worked well. There was a problem with our hotel in JNB when we arrived the evening before we left on safari and Adelle Bell answered our call and fixed it quickly even though it was outside working hours.

I’m a last-minute kind of guy… I had an idea to go on a safari on a Wednesday night; I contacted Adelle the following day and flew with my daughter on a trip of a lifetime the following Sunday! Adelle took care of every small detail to ensure we had the best experience, staying at the most amazing places in Kruger! Highly recommended!!

Megan Warrington and Discover Africa made our 5 country African vacation a trip of a lifetime. She planned the perfect vacation for us. The pace was perfect, the sequence of countries was perfect, and the accommodations were truly amazing. She knew exactly what we wanted and needed along the way.

I would have never been able to put together such an amazing adventure. Discover Africa was there for us every step of the way. They made our connecting flights seamless, getting us through airports and border crossings quickly and easily.

They saved us so much time and energy, making the difficult things seem easy.

With Covid changing everyone’s travel plans, our trip was 2 years in the planning yet Megan was very understanding and patient with us. We changed dates and itineraries 2 or 3 times trying to make the trip possible and Megan just adjusted everything along the way so that our dream trip became a reality.

I just want to say thank you to Megan and Discover Africa for letting us experience your beautiful continent.

The communication was excellent – we put in our questions each evening and had our answers the following morning. We went back & forth on what we wanted to do and what we could afford. Megan managed to squeeze in everything we wanted to do and even helped us find a cooking class in Johannesburg that she had attended. It ended up being one of the highlights of our trip.

All the safaris (we went to 4 different safaris – 2 in both in Kruger and Chobe) were amazing. We managed to see the BIG five and much, much more.

The accommodations were fabulous and all the guides and staff couldn’t have been more helpful. We thought this trip to Africa would take it off our bucket list but while in Africa, we got hooked and want to go back – next time to Tanzania + Kenya + Morocco. It would be hard to pick our favorite spot, but our stay in Simon’s Town at Simon’s guest House had to top the list.

Thanks for helping us plan the trip of a lifetime. We look forward to planning another trip with you in the future.