Safari customer reviews

The next hotel was very different – I guess more modern/straight lines – but also so luxurious and the wildlife was unreal!! We saw a cheetah catch and kill an impala, a leopard walked under our jeep, and we watched a lion cub play with, then suckle milk from its mum – it was amazing!!

On the coast, we didn’t wear shoes for 5 days – we all totally relaxed – we didn’t even leave the resort except at 5pm every evening when the boys played the daily 90min barefoot football match with the staff and local workers.

The one thing that really surprised me and which I hadn’t thought about before we went – the food! The food was incredible!! So fresh and tasty and healthy, amazing salads, traditional BBQ, bush breakfast with mimosas, fresh crab to smash on wooden boards – it was unreal!! We can’t thank you enough for the memories we have made!

While I wouldn’t normally have booked a private house/chef/guide as we had in Etosha, it was actually a highlight of our trip. Particularly our surprise lunch in a private hide watching elephants and other animals, I could have sat there all day!

We were lucky enough to see all the big hitters across the different places – Lions, Cheetah, leopards, elephants, rhinos, zebra, wildebeest, the list goes on… We also found the driving very easy to manage including fuelling and accessing cash.

Panorama Route – This was a great start to the trip and made sense to do this rather than go directly into the Kruger. The lodge was really lovely, not too far a drive from the airport and a great place to start. The staff were so friendly and the evening meals were really, really good. The panorama route was good introduction to driving in South Africa and the scenery was stunning. It appeared that many people overlook this and go straight to Kruger, but we were so pleased this was included in our itinerary. On our second night they hosted a braii and traditional African music and dancing, which was thoroughly enjoyable.

Kruger – Amazing from start to finish. Self driving through Paul Kruger gate to the lodge was an unbelievable experience and we saw so many animals. We got to safari lodge and received a really friendly welcome from the staff. This personal touch remained throughout our stay and we were made to feel so special. Our first game drive was incredible and one we will never forget because we saw a leopard in a tree, which then walked right passed us. We loved all the game drives and saw so many animals. The meals were exceptional and it was not possible to go hungry! The menus were superb and all cooked and presented to a high standard. It was faultless and we realise how lucky we were to stay there.

Eswatini – This was a long trek from Kruger. However, we did have a nice relaxing following day in a beautiful setting. The management and staff were all very friendly.

Mkuze – This was another exceptional stay. We called ahead and booked onto two safaris in addition to the pre-booked lake Jozini boat trip. The staff were incredibly helpful and friendly. The setting was stunning and we were even upgraded to a suite when we arrived, which made us feel very special. We highly recommend the Umkuze game reserve and Manyoni game reserve. Both are not far from the hotel and they arrange the transport.

St Lucia – We adored St Lucia. It had a great vibe and hippos walking the streets will be something we will never forget. We were lucky to see them every night. The lodge was superb and very traditional. Everything to a high standard. We would have loved to have stayed here a third night, but understand that this was not possible due to availability. The snorkelling tour was cancelled due to the weather, however, they contacted us in advance. It actually did not matter and it allowed us to have a more relaxed drive through the nature reserve and to Cape Vidal. We highly recommend this, as we saw many animals, including rhinos.

Thank you again for arranging our amazing holiday. We have had an incredible and an unforgettable trip.

The lodge in Victoria Falls was an absolute hidden gem. No-one else we spoke to had heard of it. The camp has been beautifully designed and set up. The staff and the surroundings made us feel relaxed and welcome. It was a perfect start to the holiday. All the staff were so friendly and happy and we felt they genuinely wanted us to have an amazing time. We did! Our day of activities at Victoria Falls was just enough to get a real feel for the Falls but without it being too full on. We did a tour, ziplining and lunch at the Lookout Cafe.

The following camp was a completely different experience. It was basic in terms of facilities, but we absolutely loved it. We were the only guests there! Anyone we spoke to about this camp, sung it’s praises. The elephant hide is such an exceptional experience and is really the camp’s main “attraction.”

We were a little worried that the next camp would feel too crowded after the first, but that wasn’t the case. Again, the camp wasn’t full. And again, the staff were so friendly, happy and helpful. Our family suite by the way, was something special. Couldn’t believe it when we saw it for the first time. A real extravagance! The Rhino Sanctuary is an eye opener and the Community Village visit is something a bit different. These trips can sometimes feel a bit false but this wasn’t the case at all. The Elephant Express was a crazy experience!! Didn’t see much wildlife but still worth doing.

Zimbabwe in August is still quiet in terms of visitor numbers. We liked the fact there were so few other people around! Weather wise, its not too hot during the day, 25-30°c, but it gets pretty chilly at night/first thing in the morning, 5-10°c. We weren’t bothered by mosquitoes or bugs (we were told it’s too cold for mosquitoes at this time of the year). The hottest time of year is end of August to November but that means you have a greater chance of seeing a great variety and greater numbers, of animals.

You get fed extremely well at all the camps! Breakfast, mid morning, lunch, mid afternoon and dinner!! Highlights include freshly made pancakes, mid morning, overlooking a watering hole. All camps set up a firepit in the evening so you can catch up with fellow guests (if there are any!) and guides. The guides are world renowned and for a reason. Shaun explained the processes he has to go through to qualify. It involves countless exams (with low pass rates) and many years of study and practical assessments. This results in incredibly knowledgeable and experienced guides for sure. Other African countries look at Zimbabwean guides as the elite.

Our children are 16 and 13 and Safari was the perfect holiday for them. It kept them interested, they were able to cope with all the travel and only the odd moan about the early morning Safari trips! There was always enough time for chilling at some point during the day.

Overall, thank you Stephanie, Sinead and Stubborn Mule for a truly wonderful holiday. You were recommended by two separate sources and we will definitely pass on those, plus our recommendations, to anyone thinking of using a specialist travel agent. I felt that nothing was too much trouble when it came to changing the itinerary, your advice and recommendations were spot on. Thank you so much for giving us that once in a lifetime trip.

We had an issue with brake warning lights one day, and we contacted the local guide who arranged for the garage to pick up the car, fix it and return it, all in the time we were at a scheduled activity which was excellent service.

All the hotels were amazing. The staff at the lodge were particularly incredible and so friendly to the children. The bush camp was also very child friendly with a playground, and lots of toys and crafts to keep the kids entertained as well as a separate kids menu. The adventure camp was an amazing place to stay, but I would say slightly less geared to young children, with a separate tent for the kids and a less child focus set up and meals.

I honestly don’t think I can fault the holiday, it exceeded all our expectations. If we were to do it again, the only thing I would change would have been to spend one of the nights in Etosha inside the actual national park. I think evening viewing of a waterhole would have been an incredible experience and would have really added to our holiday.

Thank you both again for helping us plan this incredible holiday. We have already begun thinking of our holiday for next year.

The safari camp was really cute. The tents are surprisingly comfortable with plenty of space, massive beds and spacious bathrooms. The food was excellent – really fresh and tasty and huge portions (we could only eat about half of what they gave us!). The showers are hilarious – one of the staff ask you what time you would like your shower. They then fill up a large bucket with hot water which then feeds the shower. The game drives were brilliant – our guides were very knowledgeable and managed to find us all the Big 5 as well as lots of things to see on the way – a herd of zebras trying to cross the river, a pride of lions playing at sunrise and a cheetah eating a gazelle…

Luxury lodge – this place is just wow! I walked into our cottage and thought it was the main hotel reception! The views are incredible and the interiors just gorgeous. We loved all the experiences – the camel riding, horse riding, the visit to the local village and the sleep out in the Treehouse. Our guide, Lodo, was the best – he was very funny and really engaged the children. We all enjoyed him teaching my 12 year old son how to be a warrior!

Here, they are really good at thinking through all the little details. For example, after the camel ride we had a cooked breakfast in the bush which was beautiful. They even had a little wooden toilet with toilet roll and a makeshift basin to wash your hands. This was a sight for sore eyes after 3 days of wild wees in the Mara!! They also made sure to have a different dinner experience every night – we had dinner in our living room, out in the bush by the treehouse and then on a balcony in the main house.

The farm was then a really quirky, low-key choice. I loved all the decor in the cottage we stayed in and the fact that we had a living area as well as two outside terraces to sit on. The kids enjoyed all the activities that the farm organised – from ice cream and bread making, to milking the cows and particularly cuddling the bunnies (even my 15 year old liked this).

My husband and I really appreciated the trip out to the waterfall – it was freezing cold but really exhilarating and definitely needed after the trek up there. Our guide was good as he marched us up there quick-speed so that we could beat the crowds. The game drive was also great. We weren’t sure whether to do another game drive as we’d seen to much already but the landscape was very different. In particular, it was great to see so many animals clustered around the lake having their sun-downers! Our driver was really knowledgeable.

As with the other two places, the food was delicious and they like to get you eating in lots of different locations across the property to mix things up a bit. The food was particularly hearty here (stews, roast dinners) and the ice creams were fantastic. I’m still dreaming of the rose and pistachio one!

The boutique lodge on the beach was just heavenly! We needed some chill-time after the action packed first part of the holiday and this place was perfect. We loved the sea villas which are completely open to the sea, with your own balcony and extra large, super comfy beds. Our host, Kirmana, was excellent and particularly good at ensuring that all the food that we got was free from all of E’s allergies. The food itself was also gorgeous, lots of fish, prawns and other seafood and delicious afternoon teas with great cakes. The resort is very relaxed, with loads of places to sit in the sun or shade and lots for the kids to do – pool, darts, table tennis and watersports.

I hadn’t totally appreciated that during the summer months you can’t snorkel as the water is too choppy and not clear enough. Similarly, you can’t really paddle board or kayak easily as the waves are too big. However, there was plenty of other things to do so it didn’t affect our enjoyment.

Things I would tell a friend… Bring a woolly hat, gloves and warm coat for the mornings on safari which really are freezing!

We honestly had the best time – now onto next year!!

One of our favourite activities of the whole trip was the boat ride on Lake Naivasha and the walking safari on Crescent Island where we could get shockingly close to the animals. Also the hike in the gorge at Hell’s Gate National Park was very beautiful and worthwhile. It was an optional add-on and we’re so glad we did it.

The safari days were so special in both the Masai Mara and the Serengeti. We loved the tent camps that hosted us, and the staff were delightful. We enjoyed eating our meals with our guide Julius at our assigned table in the camps. We saw more animals that we ever imagined possible.

Zanzibar was a dream I didn’t want to wake up from! I don’t believe I’ve ever stayed in lodging as comprehensively outstanding as our hotel – the restaurant alone would be a reason to stay there. The menu changed every day and was so creative, fresh, and local. A highlight was a special beach dinner which was a seafood feast served to us at a lantern lit table in the sand. One of those things I’ll remember forever.

The tented camp was gorgeous with amazing views. It was nice to stay there the night before we flew to Zanzibar since it was quite close to the airstrip so we didn’t have to drive all the way from Ngorongoro Crater that morning before flying. Thank you for all your work to coordinate this trip for us.

We loved the winelands and the hotel had lots of space and activities for children (biking, pony rides, playground etc). Breakfast there was fantastic.

The game lodge near Oudtshoorn was a real treat. We arrived and the children got to go on their first ever safari – a night drive! Lots of the animals were out including meeting a rhino on the road in front of us from which the guide had to make a hasty reverse. It was all so thrilling and very special for the children, having never seen these animals so close. The tents were very comfortable and fun to stay in with the outdoor showers and the gnala and tortoises on the path every time we walked to the restaurant made it all extra exciting.

Cango Caves were our next stop, and this was quite the adventure. The children made friends with others in the group and loved crawling through all the spaces and hearing the stories of people who had been stuck in the past!

One of the locals we met recommended Redberry Farm as a great place to stop for children so we had lunch there on the next leg of our journey and the children enjoyed strawberry picking, go-karting and dinghy riding, although we had to save the giant strawberry museum for next time!

Our last stop at the Eastern Cape game reserve was simply magical. It was raining when we arrived and our first safari there was in the rain with large ponchos on which all added to the adventure! And the rain did not stop the animals, of course. The sun was out for the following two days, together with more animals than we could have dreamed of seeing. We were very lucky to get Brendan as our quick-witted and experienced guide, who was happy to field endless questions from the children and help them hunt for all the forms of animal poo they needed to complete the junior ranger programme!

Seeing a baby rhino with its mother, closely observing a herd of 35 elephants, watching cheetahs bask in the sun and observing a family of lions successfully hunt a baby giraffe, not to mention the beautiful sunsets and sunrises – it is impossible to pick a highlight. The accommodation was super and we enjoyed great meals there. It was all very special indeed.

Thank you (and Clare!) very much for helping us map out such a wonderful adventure. Thank you for the immense organisation, excellent communication, top tips and useful recommendations. It was a truly special trip and the memories will live on for many years to come.

The fenced camp was a bit of an oasis with loads for the kids to do (various games, archery, swimming pool overlooking the bush, Jenga etc), and the game drives were awesome, being able to get incredibly close to the wildlife. We could have reached out and touched the lions had they not been chased off by an elephant. Intense! All the staff were magic and so attentive, and all knew your names immediately.

From there to the farm in the foothills of Mt Kenya. Your recommendation to break up the safari stints here was ideal. What a beautiful place. Again, staff were a hit, as were the resident Great Danes and Jack Russells. Far more chilled and no 5.45 am wake-ups, which was well received by F.

Loads to do though for the kids: collecting eggs from the hen coop; holding (and naming) rabbits; horse riding; milking cows; bread baking; treasure hunts; art class. The trip to the lagoon and waterfall was also fantastic. Throughout our trip, the food was amazing, but here it really was exceptional. Virtually everything we ate was produced from the farm itself, and was so varied.

Onto safari part 2: the Maasai Mara. Very cool lodge, if a bit more “rustic” in terms of accommodation. It took M a while to get her head around the fact that it’s unfenced and lions roaring during our first night divided opinion in the family, but seeing giraffes and Topis wandering past through the flysheet from our bedroom the next afternoon was really pretty cool. The Mara Conservancy was so abundant from a wildlife perspective. So many things to see, and again we got incredibly close to some fabulous stuff, and enjoyed yet more bush breakfasts and sundowners.

The resort at Diani beach was gorgeous and so brilliantly chilled – apart from when the monkeys emerged from the forest at tea time! Having our lunch at the beach bar when we first arrived, the kids shot down to the beach. F returned: “That sand is like flour. And not just flour out of the packet. Sieved flour!”

Thanks so much again. It really was incredible.

The Falls themselves were spectacular, and the Zambezi cruise was serene and a good start to African wildlife with crocodiles and hippos. Our day white water rafting was adrenaline fuelled fun, particularly since our boat shot up vertically at the Grade 5 rapid called The Mother, tipping us all out! We however survived both the water and the steep climb up the gorge to the BBQ lunch area!

Our treehouse rooms were amazing, food and staff were great and there were some very nice touches like fleecy ponchos for the morning game drive, warm face flannels when we arrived back and your drink of choice pre ordered for the sundowners on the afternoon drives.

The tented safari was everyone’s highlight of the trip. It was so special being in the middle of the game reserve, hearing the noise of hippos and other wildlife just behind our tents at night and elephants walking through the camp during the day! The staff were all brilliant, the food was superb and our guide, Kabelo, was fantastic and very knowledgeable. He really strived to ensure that we had the best experience and his rally driving on and off road was a lot of fun (our jeep got stuck in an elephant hole while tracking a lion just ahead!). We saw some amazing wildlife including the critically endangered African dogs. Although the mobile safari option was pricey it was worth the memorable experience and we would do it again in a heartbeat!

Our last two nights at the water based camp were good. The location was idyllic and it was lovely to cruise through the papyrus lined waterways. The mokoro canoe boat trip was a very relaxing meditative experience. Overall a truly amazing and memorable holiday. Thank you!

Of course, seeing these incredible animals was simply amazing but I was also struck by the beautiful and varied landscapes and the richness and depth of culture and people. every single person we met was gracious, warm and welcoming. I am so glad we didn’t fly internally – the long drives through changing landscapes were epic!

On that note, I have to express my gratitude for our wonderful guide Julius. He was patient, knowledgeable, and warm and showed our family the utmost care and consideration. We all felt incredibly safe and in the best of hands with this kind and experienced guide. We all learnt so much from him about the wildlife, flora and fauna, and the Tanzanian people. We loved learning some of the beautiful Swahili language with him and I can imagine we will be saying lala salama in our household at bedtime forever! We will remember him always.

The bush camp was incredible. Arriving to be greeted by a large elephant outside the main building and waking up to watch the sunrise with coffee on our veranda as the graceful giraffe slowly ambled by was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The staff could not be warmer and made us feel like we were so very welcome.

I honestly think I have left a piece of my heart in the Serengeti. As we approached the border we were greeted by a herd of 42 (we counted) giraffes on the move as the Maasai walked amongst them with their donkeys and goats. It was quite a sight and possibly my favourite moment.

As we crossed over the border the most dramatic rain storm blew in and we watched a cheetah striding across the plains. We saw cheetahs (plus cubs) every day we were there; a leopard on a hunt; the most beautiful elephant interactions, and multiple lions with so many cubs! The most incredible birdlife and my personal favourite – Serengeti warthogs, always busy and in motion with those guiding arial tails! The colours of the Serengeti were amazing.

You couldn’t make Ngorongoro up – from top to bottom incredible. We had our rhino sighting to complete the Big 5 and it was clearly hyena appreciation day as they were everywhere (and fascinating to observe).

Arusha was also stunning – from the black and white colobus to the giraffe and a wonderful walking guide amongst those lush foothills. We were truly spoilt. I honestly feel we are forever changed and blessed by it. Thank you again.

A few highlights:

– the sequence of the holiday felt just right, starting in the Kalahari, doing the Namib, up to Damaraland, and then Etosha in all its glory. Even all the different stops – one night here, two nights there – didn’t feel too pressured/hectic. Connecting flights in Addis Ababa was hilarious – walk off the steps of the plane and there’s a lady with a clipboard who somehow manages to get the entire plane onto various buses which deliver you directly to your next flight. Weird, but worked perfectly!

– Those safari trucks take an absolute pounding! We did 3200km, probably half was on some pretty rough gravel/sand/salt roads and it was the perfect vehicle

– Hot air ballooning in Sossusvlei was something we’ll never forget. Eric and the team at Namib Sky were all just incredible – and the breakfast they put on in the desert was probably the best we had the entire trip!

– Sitting on the sofas on top of a rock at Spitzkoppen Lodge watching the most amazing sunset and starry skies

– The lodge in Damaraland was probably our favorite of all the lodges – great atmosphere, great food, stunning setting (shame we just missed the desert elephants the day before we got there!!)

– Etosha was incredible. We spent 10 hours driving ourselves around and then did the guided trip from King Nehale the next day. It was definitely good to go with a guide who can show you things you’d probably drive past yourself. The only thing we didn’t see in the park were leopards.

So, thanks again for all your help and support in organizing this amazing trip. We’ll definitely be coming back to Stubborn Mule to help us with our next adventure and will be sending some friends your way too!

The trips you chose for us couldn’t have been better for our family, we absolutely loved the caving adventure tour and the kayaking. Everything was brilliant but the safari really was the icing on the cake. The safari lodge is a really, really wonderful place and Amber our guide deserves a special mention for being so patient with our 9-year-old who likes to ask a million questions. We saw 4 out of the big 5, watched a lion chew on a wildebeest carcass, a baby giraffe feeding from his mum and watched baby elephants play with each other. It was so, so magical!

I cannot believe how accommodating they were with EVERYTHING! The itinerary was perfect…. We did it all – climbed Table Mountain, Boulder Beach, Cape Point, Robben Island… with some amazing meals and food markets. Thanks so much for ALL your advice. Yet again another perfectly arranged holiday by Stubborn Mule.