Customer Comment: The Pohlinger family in the Masai Mara - Q&A, August 2008

Q - What did you particularly like about Wildlife Worldwide?

A - Very efficient and friendly service - helpful and happy to answer questions. The organisation of the trip once we were in Kenya was faultless. The schedule was perfect with enough time to appreciate all apects but with enough variety and the ability to feel we had a real sense of what the country was like.

Q - What do you remember best about the holiday?

A - So many different and new experiences - the beautiful scenary; lovely friendly people; seeing all the different animals and having the time to watch them and follow them; taking a twelve seater plane from an 'airport' that was essentially a hut and a dirt runway; the totally different way of life that most people live; visiting the tribal village.

It was great to see how much everyone enjoyed the holiday with all of the kids getting something out of it and all keen to go back again the relaxed yet well organised itinerary, eg elephant/giraffe sancturary, the kazuri bead factory, the tree house trout restaurant, the rough road trip to Samburu, the excellent food, naturally friendly Kenyans (including the Safari Guides) strong sense of an adventure (eg the boat lake hippo trip) rustic, natural, no "theme park" contrived artificial nonsense.

Kenya Safari Holidays

Customer Comment: Zambia, August 2008

"I just wanted to let you know that we had a fantastic time in Zambia. Everything worked like clockwork (a first for us in Africa), so a big thank you to everyone at Wildlife Worldwide, especially yourself, for making it work that way.

Sausage Tree Camp was fantastic, we will always remember experiences such as lunch on a sandbank in the Zambezi, with the water running between our toes, and the peacefulness of game viewing by canoe. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff, and on our final night there we got back from our game drive to find that our muchinda (Arnold) had laid a trail of hearts, candles and flowers through our tent and bathroom, to where a huge bubble bath awaited us under the stars. It was excellent for a couple who have been married for 16 years, for a recently married couple it would be an supremely romantic honeymoon destination.

I know you work extensively with Norman Carr Safaris, so I am sure that you are already aware how good they are. We had a fabulous time in South Luangwa, my only slight regret was that we were a few weeks too early for the carmine bee-eaters. I suppose we shall just have to go again. Of the lodges and camps, Luwi was our favourite. It was a privilege to enjoy such luxury in so remote a spot. Kapani was the least favourite, but only because it seemed so big and commercialised after the small bush camps we had become used to.

I have misplaced the post-trip questionnaire that you sent us, but I hope you will gather from this e-mail that you have two VERY satisfied customers. We look forward to our next trip with Wildlife Worldwide, and wish you all the best for the future."

Dr Sewell, Kent, August 2008

Click here for Wildlife Holidays in Zambia

Relevant articles in Wanderlust Magazine

As you may know, our friends at Wanderlust Magazine have recently relaunched their website wanderlust.co.uk with an archive of features from the magazine’s 15-year history.

They have now collated a list of the features on the site which are based on trips they have taken with Wildlife Worldwide:

India - Tank manoeuvres by Lyn Hughes
Three-quarters of the world’s Indian one-horned (and seemingly armour-plated) rhino roam Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. Mount an elephant and enter the fray.

Halfway to paradise by Lyn Hughes
Gabon's visitor infrastructure might not be perfect - yet - but it has the top-class wildlife and wilderness to make it one of the dream safari destinations of the future.

Hanging by a whisker by Lyn Hughes
The cats and the conservation issues in India's Ranthambhore National Park

Swimming with killers by Sarah Baxter
Arctic Norway is the place to get in the water with orca – unless you’re a herring. Sarah Baxter dives in...

What a wonderful world by Lyn Hughes
The Galápagos Islands are a natural wonderland, so what better place for the second Festival of Wildlife? Lyn Hughes joined the experts for a different take on this unique archipelago

Customer Review: Luangwa Zambia - August 2008

"At last I have finished editing the video taken during our visit to South Luangwa in Zambia. During this delightful occupation there has been opportunity, once again, to appreciate all the careful planning, and the care lavished on us to make our final trip wonderful and unforgettable.

We met up with so many old friends, and the warmth of their greeting was very moving. It was like coming home, and being with family. Everyone looked after us so well, and made sure that we made the best use of our time with you. Our new friend Laurence was an excellent guide. Most interesting, and with a good sense of humour. His impressions of birds and animals were great fun. On our first night drive at Kapani he even found two leopards!

Nsolo was even more special than before. We loved the position of the new camp, and Hut No.4 was absolutely perfect. Our sunrise view of the Luwi river bed is now my desktop picture and a daytime one is Joan's. On our arrival with Laurence we were even welcomed by a dung beetle! He said it was an unusual sight, as the rainy season is when they are usually around.
On one of our drives I managed at last to get a picture of a lilac breasted roller in flight. I had been trying for 16 years!

On our previous trip to Nsolo in 2006, we decided to be brave and leave our curtains open to the night sky. Not long after we had settled in, the drama commenced. A lioness, not a healthy one, who had been lying low locally with her warthog prey, decided to go walkabout. She walked under our hut, and stayed there, I think. Anyway, trucks, staff, lights, radios, all was uproar that went on for hours. We were fascinated, especially when she finally walked across in front of us (we were lying upright in bed, me with my camcorder clutched in my hands!) Everything quietened down at about 3.30 a.m., and we composed ourselves for a short night's sleep. It was not to be, because a Scops owl in a tree by our hut started up when the lights went out, and continued saying 'prrrrrrrrrrrp every 5 seconds until the wake-up call came!

I did not bring a book with me this time, but was lucky enough to be able to buy a second hand copy of 'The White Impala' at the Kapani shop. I asked people to write in the front and back for me. I cannot close on anything better that what Rice wrote.................. Shaking hands will vanish, but memories will remain fresh....................................."

Foy and Joan, August 2008

Click here for details of Zambia Safari: Leopards of Luangwa

Customer Comment: Namibia - Mr Lunt - August 2008

"The trip was absolutely fantastic. Everything went according to plan. Françoise from your agents in Windhoek came to the hotel on the evening after our arrival with a detailed itinerary and map. The vehicle had the luxury of 2 fuel tanks, and so the distance between filling stations was not a problem. The standard of accommodation was excellent - and rather higher than what I am used to! Meals were also first-class, and the ready availability of Windhoek beer and South African wines was a real bonus.

We found that many people were travelling clockwise - Windhoek, Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Etosha etc. However, it was interesting to travel as we did. Waterberg was fascinating and I am so glad we included it - lots of birds, and we saw sable antelope as well as Black Rhino, Eland and Giraffe. I also met some friends from Winchester on the mountain viewpoint above the camp! Spending at least 2 nights at each stop was ideal. Even though the driving was not too arduous, we could rely on a clear day without driving ourselves to do whatever the camps offered, and at relative leisure. We "did" Etosha pretty thoroughly, but only saw one lion and no leopards. The compensation was a large herd of elephants drinking at a water-hole, and lots of close, and very handsome, antelope and giraffe, plus hyenas and jackals. And at Ongava, we had 9 white rhino walking slowly to a water-hole at sunset, upsetting a large flock of sandgrouse.

Your recommendation of a longish stay in Damaraland was well justified. Doro Nawas camp was a real highlight - stunning views, very friendly staff, and we saw desert-adapted elephants on our first morning. They were celbrating their third anniversary on the day of our arrival - an excuse for singing and dancing. The night sky, with no moon, was ablaze with stars, and 2 guides got the telescope working, and explained constellations to guests. When we got to Damaraland camp, instead of going out to see the elephants again, we had our own special trip into the wild. Animals were not used to vehicles, it seemed, and started to run when we appeared (unlike Etosha). The scenery was just so beautiful, and the silence overwhelming.

It was, as you warned, a long drive down the Skeleton Coast, but I am glad to have done it, and experienced just how much "nothing" there is - and how the cool currents affect the weather. After totally blue skies up to then, we encountered mist and a drop in temperature.
Swakopmund is a strange urban island - with plenty of evidence of German culture. Our birding guide was enthusiastic, though I suspect we were not there at the best time to see birds - many return for the Namibian summer.

We had a first-rate guide at Sossusvlei, and a long trip to the dunes and the Sesriem gorge - and our first meeting with a mass influx of tourists. Serra Cafema was the real icing on the cake. To see the river, and hear the water tumbling over the rapids after all that arid landscape was amazing, and of course there were different birds - and crocodiles. It just might be a mistake to go to Serra Cafema at the start of a trip - it is an ideal place to be treated as a real bonus at the end of a holiday, relaxing with boat trips, walks etc. I gather that the water level was gradually dropping, and we were very lucky to be able to get well up-river - in a couple of weeks, boat trips may well not be possible.

So - a wonderful experience. Namibia is a fantastic destination, and independent travel there quite easy, provided you have done a little preparation and research."
Mr Lunt, Winchester, August 2008

Click here for Wildlife Holidays in Namibia