Livingstone Discovery

We were looking for a safari tour for our honeymoon and it has been an extremely wonderful experience with Discover Africa Safaris and it has been a pleasure working with Susan Veldman who was very well organised in putting together a customised Safari itinerary for us. She was very prompt and helpful in answering our queries that we have with our flights and making special arrangements to make our stay at every safari lodge very romantic.

Very knowledgeable and thoughtful in communicating with us on the different accommodation to provide us a restful experience for our honeymoon. The Safari experience though pricey was worth it if you are looking for going to the Safari for the first time. We were very thankful for how the safari lodges that make every effort to give us as many exposure to a wide range of activities. Thank you once again to Discover Africa Safaris and we are excited to be able to join again!

I had received a glowing recommendation for Discover Africa from a member of my synagogue who has done multiple safaris with them. So when it came time to select a safari vendor for a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife safari for my daughter and I, I reached out to them. I’d done some research ahead of time and so knew that we were interested in Botswana, specifically the Okavango Delta. My contact/resource at Discover Africa was Susan Veldman and she was great.

She listened to what I told her in terms of what we were looking for and crafted a proposal that met our needs in terms of schedule, length, etc. Initially she had us ending our trip at Victoria Falls (my impression is most multiple-stop safaris in the region start or end there), but when I told her our focus was really on wildlife, she came up with an amended itinerary that subtracted Victoria Falls and added Chobe National Park. In short, she listened and responded to our input. We did 8 nights/9 days. We flew into Johannesburg, South Africa, from NYC via London. Those flights we booked on our own, but everything else and all the other flights (Johannesburg to Botswana, 3 bush flights to our lodges/accommodations, then back to Johannesburg from Kasane) were taken care of by Susan.

Plus we had dietary requirements (I’m a vegetarian and my daughter is allergic to dairy) that Susan communicated to the 3 lodges we stayed at and they came through with flying colors. I haven’t eaten so well in quite a while! We spent 3 nights at Kadizora Lodge (in the Delta), 3 nights at Saguni Lodge (eastern edge of the Delta, near Khwai and the Moremi Game Reserve) and two nights further east, at Elephant Valley Lodge outside of Kasane and adjacent to Chobe National Park.

Each lodge and experience was a little different, and we loved all three. Kadizora was the smallest of the three, and the most isolated — there weren’t many other lodges nearby and so we did not see a lot of other vehicles on our drives. The terrain in the area was flooded delta and savannah-style plain for the most part, with good/long visibility. Saguni was a little larger and close to the village of Khwai; the terrain in the area was more scrub trees, as well as savannah, so visibility was often more circumscribed. The wildlife in both areas of the Delta was similar, and both of the Okavango lodges were near water (Saguni especially).

At both the Okavango lodges we supplemented our drives with water-borne excursions, including two mokoro (traditional dug-out canoes, propelled by guides with long poles — think of Venice and gondolas) rides which were fantastic. We loved our guides at all three lodges, but bonded especially with Action at Suguni — he was very knowledgeable and a real gem. Elephant Valley Lodge was the largest of the three we stayed at; it is near Kasane, a significant town near the borders of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Paved roads, shopping centers, more people. And Chobe National Park was by far the most crowded of the three areas we drove in. And in the national park, as opposed to the Delta, guides were not permitted to take their vehicles off-road in search of game. More than compensating for this, though, was the sheer volume and density of wildlife in Chobe NP. It was amazing.

In short, Discover Africa delivered a perfect wildlife safari for my daughter and I which met all our (very high) expectations. We couldn’t have been happier, and Susan was always available for questions, both before and during the trip. We were in good hands throughout!

Our Africa Safari trip will forever be one of the most memorable and wonderful trips we have taken. Words cannot begin to explain the amazing wildlife we got to see and experience up close. Experiencing these beautiful animals in their natural habitat was beautiful and humbling. Our trackers/guides did an amazing job, not only in tracking but also in educating us on the wildlife. Besides going on several safaris, we also visited Victoria Falls, which is majestic in its own right. A definite must-see. We also experienced several river rides, which were beautiful and calming, and another way to engage with the wildlife up close. We began our safari trip in Cape Town, in which we had a very pleasant stay and tours of the city and Table Mountain.

The sites are amazing!! I have to say, though, what made our trip very memorable were the people we came in contact with. They were so friendly, beautiful and very helpful. This unforgettable trip was made possible with the help of Chrizaan. Every destination we arrived at, we were greeted with transport and a tour guide and we felt so well taken care of. Everything flowed so smoothly. Our group is forever thankful to Discover Africa Safaris.

A premium price with ultra premium service. This was a honeymoon trip that surpassed our expectations. We worked closely with Diane Du Plessis (Africa Travel Expert). The trip was tailor made for our wants with added recommendations. It was an ABSOLUTE pleasure! Without spoiling too much, Sabi Sand Nature Reserve was THE BEST SAFARI experience when compared to other safaris. They do it right because their drivers are also trackers so they are not solely reliant on the ride along tracker.

Gabriel's Honeymoon Safari Experience

We began planning our safari by researching companies that offer both prepackaged and custom tailored trips. We interviewed our top 4 over Zoom or by telephone. Discover Africa, and Diane in particular, came out miles ahead of the others. Diane listened to our needs, anticipated things we had not thought of and provided suggestions, and worked with us to tweak this trip to be exactly what we wanted. Communications was top notch. Their portal for providing trip details was beautiful, thorough and very easy to use. Payment was seamless.

The trip itself turned out to be everything we had asked for and more. The logistics of moving us from camp to camp and country to country had is a bit worried, as it was just the two of us and not an entire tour group. Well we needn’t have worried. Between Diane, the camp management and the transportation providers things ran seamlessly. We had lots of contact numbers for Diane, Discover Africa and our providers should we run into any snags, but all went very smoothly.

Moyra's Southern Africa Safari Experience

The camps themselves, as well as Cape Town, were beyond our expectations. People truly couldn’t do enough for us. We felt safe and cared for at all times. The food was plentiful, varied and delicious. The scenery was spectacular and varied. The guides were friendly, so knowledgeable, and very accommodating. We saw every animal on our list apart from the elusive cheetah. We experienced some very rare and fortunate sightings. We particularly enjoyed the communal dining at the camps and were happy to meet travellers from far and wide, learn from them, and develop new friendships.

One of the highlights for me was the welcome and pre dinner entertainment provided by the staff at the camps. Cooks, housekeeping, guides, managers, waitstaff…they all came out with singing and dancing that was just so beautiful and heartfelt. How privileged we were to spend time with such multitalented and beautiful people.

Looking at our early plans for the trip, the style of travel, and our budget, the trip evolved into something so much more customized, comfortable, and yes…more expensive. Before leaving on the trip I was second guessing how much I chose to spend and whether it was overkill. Let me tell you…this trip was worth every Penny. It was the experience of a lifetime and I’m so glad we discovered Discover Africa and Diane who made it all possible.

For over 2 years my wife and I worked with Megan at Discover Africa to assemble our dream safari itinerary. After some back and forth in 2019 we quickly realized that our dream trip was out of our budget so we held off for a year to make sure we could afford to take the exact trip we wanted. Megan was patient, checking in periodically, and was immediately responsive when we reinitiated the discussion in 2020. She provided recommendations to us from her personal experience and answered any and all questions we had. Once booked, payment was simple with an initial deposit and scheduled date for when payment would be due.

Then COVID hit. Throughout 2020 Megan continually checked in and provided the most updated information she could for the various countries we’d be visiting. Eventually, we found out that due to COVID restrictions our October 2020 trip would have to be rescheduled. Within what felt like an instant, Megan already had the trip we originally designed rebooked and confirmed for 2021. Throughout 2021 we kept in touch and as the trip drew near Megan took charge on identify testing requirements and coordinating the arrangement of tests for us.

During the actual trip, everything was seamless as Megan had arranged. The places she found for us were absolutely perfect for what we wanted. We felt completely prepared for what to expect, what to bring with us, local customs, etc. She provided her personal contact information in the event that we encountered an issue, which we did not. We’ve never been so sad for a trip to end! My wife and I both agreed that this trip felt more like a vacation than any other trip we’ve taken, and we owe it all to Megan and the Discover Africa team for their arrangements and assistance in booking and coordinating our dream safari.