Kruger, Timbavati and the Panorama Route

We booked our safari trip through Justin van Wyk from Discover Africa, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience.

He organized and booked everything from A to Z, so we didn’t have to worry about anything at all. Throughout the entire trip, we stayed in close contact, and he regularly checked in to make sure everything was going well.

We are extremely satisfied with his work and truly appreciated his professionalism and attention to detail.

We would highly recommend both him and the agency anytime!

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.

Fantastic Africa vacation! Discover Africa organised the whole trip seamlessly so that I didn’t need to plan anything but just enjoy every day. They provided me with a very detailed daily itinerary, including airport pickups. Inyati Game Lodge in Sabi Sands and Old Drift Lodge in Victoria Falls were excellent choices. We saw lions in action, a leopard devouring a kill in the tree, wild dogs hunting prey…  Victoria Falls was magnificent and beautiful with a half-circle rainbow. Special thanks to Matthys of Discover Africa for excellent planning and organising our Africa vacation. Highly recommend.

We contacted Discover Africa directly from Sydney. Feeling that a local travel agent would serve our interests best. And that’s how it turned out. Vihann van Wyck was our contact point, and he did everything we wanted and more. All his suggestions were good, and ALL his travel arrangements worked seamlessly. Hotels welcomed us, and shuttle buses arrived on time in remote locations for our group of 6 family members. We had a week in two excellent game parks. Jock in Kruger and Ulusaba at Sabi Sands. A wonderful experience of safari and luxury.

Then a week in Capetown. A beautiful city with its monumental Table Mountain. And we took severe advantage of the poor Rand with our less than spectacular Australian dollars. The African people are fantastic. We never felt stressed. All in all, an amazing holiday. Thank you, Vihann. I highly recommend Africa and Discover Africa. I should also say that the 14-hour direct Sydney to Jo’burg flight is a blessing for Australians going to South Africa. So easy and a great A380 plane and crew. The old Qantas that we all remember.

I would do it all again.

Alex.

We picked Discover Africa Safaris due to recommendations from other friends. We are a family of 4 (2 teenagers) and did our bookings on very short notice; however, they did a great job finding the best alternatives in a compressed schedule that would fit our available days and budget. Our designated agent also kept on top of the logistics, with daily WhatsApp follow-ups in case of any contingencies or changes.

You may find cheaper options elsewhere, but if peace of mind is what you are looking for, we recommend them.

We have done several safaris with Megan at Discover Africa and each one surpasses the last one. This trip was by far the best rip we have ever had.

The accommodations where 5-star, the guides and food where phenomenal, the attention to detail was out of this world. Every detail was attended to I have nothing but praise for this company. I am actually going to be booking another trip with them in September of 2022.

If you are looking for a safari company than this company is the one and look no further! Megan navigated through all the nuances of covid regulations and testing and made the trip seamless.

If I could give 10 stars I would! (Little Sabi Bush camp is amazing and I definitely recommend Kruger)