South Africa Big 5 Safari and Victoria Falls Journey

Planning the trip with Bianca was a pleasure – she was patient and helpful and provided prompt answers to all our questions.

The trip itself was remarkable, offering a wide variety of locations and experiences to make our exposure to Africa and safaris an excellent and exciting opportunity. The guides were knowledgeable and had a network of other local guides with whom to connect so that they could always lead us to sites where animals were present. The lodges were comfortable and well furnished and the meals were well-prepared and tasty. The staff were friendly and always interacting with us. Altogether a wonderful experience!!

From the very beginning, Bianca was a wonderful help in planning our South African safari. Her knowledge, attention to detail, and thoughtful recommendations made our trip truly exceptional.

Becks Safari Lodge was, in our group’s opinion, a six-star experience. The attention to detail throughout the property, in our luxurious rooms, during every meal, and on the game drives was simply impeccable. Every aspect exceeded our expectations.

There were so many standout moments, but for me, the most memorable was the way the staff came together to celebrate my friend’s birthday. From the delicious cake they prepared to their beautiful singing voices that sounded like angels, it was a heartfelt experience that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

Bianca also recommended that we spend three nights in Franschhoek, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our South African adventure. It was a perfect recommendation.

We cannot thank Bianca enough for helping create such an unforgettable holiday, and we will definitely book through her again on our next visit to South Africa.

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.

The trip was an incredible experience for my family! Everything went so smoothly from flights to transportation to accommodations and activities. Chrizaan did a wonderful job putting together our itinerary based on where we wanted to go and the accommodations were beautiful and each one gave a different experience. Chrizaan was very responsive and was able to accommodate last minute changes for my family. I appreciated her communication and flexibility in working with us! Thanks to Chrizaan and Discover Africa for making it a trip my whole family will remember and looking forward to future trips with them!

Lauren's Safari Experience

Megan was amazing. Due to covid, our plans changed quite a few times. Megan kept in contact for 2 years during the pandemic. My husband and i would make plans, then have to change them. Megan was patient, informative and amazing. She planned our dream trip to Zimbabwe. It was perfect. Helicopter flight, micro flight, guided tour of the falls and fishing on the Zambezi river. I would book with her again.

My mom and I travelled to SA in March 2019. Matthys suggested the ideal lodgings for us in Pretoria (131 Herbert Baker) and safari option (Sabi Sabi Little Bush Camp).

We could not have been more pleased. The food and hospitality at all locations was above and beyond our expectations. All transfers were reliable and on time. The value for money was excellent. I will book through Matthys and Discover Africa again when we return.