Kenya & Tanzania Adventure

77 Reviews

• 

  Anonymous
  Written on November 5, 2013

  5.0 - Excellent

  Outstanding!!!This was a dream to go on safari and it excelled !! The team were amazing to the end and the group fantastic! What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?That first sighting of the lions a family too !! with  cubs, how aww struck to see them playing trying to get up a tree with Mum at the top sleeping. That is what I came to see the cats !We also saw a great moment with a giraffe approached a leopard sleeping in a tree, it nudged its tail so the Leopard looked up and just watched the giraffe walk on, great to see. I saw the big 5 in the environment they should be in and that to me is just fantastic to witness.As a group we had some really funny moments and that will stay with me fantastoc memories thanks to all for that!!Exodus run a great trip and I would travel with them again!!What did you think of your group leader?Jacob was fantastic, you couldnt ask him a question he didnt know the answer too. He was entertaing and very helpful the best guide by far I have ever come accross.  The rest of the crew was just as good Simon the cook amazing creations in the middle of nowhere!! and always gave alternatives to those that needed them! Kennedy the driver/Mechanic dealt with every hurdle the rough terain through at us, 2 shock absorbers, 2 tyres and a gear box (this did require a new truct, but Exodus were on it straight away!)Do you have any advice for potential travellers?If you are thinking about it dont do it!!  So much fun this trip the crew and group made it even better if that is possible!
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on November 5, 2013

  5.0 - Excellent

  What an amazing safari trip! We visited some of the Africa's superb National Parks and saw many many wonderful creatures in their natural wild habitats. Our great Tour Manager, Jacob, ensured that we had every chance of seeing not only the big five but the huge range of both large and small animals and birds on both walking and safari drives.Our camps were comfortable and Simon, our lovely cook made delicious food day after day. I would highly recommend this safari trip to all those interested in seeing this wonderful part of Africa especially as the relaxing end to the holiday in Zanzibar made for a great finish. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?Standing in the dusk on our first evening watching a family of hippos grazing a short distance away by the shores of beautiful Lake Niavisha ..... What a great start to our African tripWhat did you think of your group leader?Jacob M was fantastic! A thoughtful, energetic and practical manDo you have any advice for potential travellers?Read the background notes so that you know exactly what the trip involves and do your research about the areas you are visiting to be well prepared ........ And then book with Exodus, with confidence.
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on October 11, 2013

  5.0 - Excellent

  Lots of safari and opportunities to see a great variety of animal, bird and plant life. Travels thro Kenya and Tanzania so good opportunity to see a lot of each country from the bus (the upside of all the long journeys!). Loved camping. Well chosen, great campsitesWhat was the most inspirational moment of your trip?The clouds in the early morning pouring over the rim of NgorongoroWhat did you think of your group leader?Clara was knowledgable, clear, helpful, fun and friendly. Boniface the driver and Esther the cook were also excellent. They all got it just right.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?You don't need to take a rollmat! (I hadn't read the blurb well enough and took mine). Your website's list of what to take was v helpful and got it right. We bought pillows in the supermarket we stopped at in Nairobi. Which was a good move as they were really comfortable, tho it seemed rather decadent and in ecological (tho we gave them away at the end).Is there anything else you would like to add?I was worried about going on this trip- worried about Al- Shabbab, worried about holidaying in a group. Fortunately no Al- Shabbab encounters, tho the Westgate murders happened only a month later. The group made the holiday in a way! We all got on and it was nice that it was such a varied group (not all retired folk as I'd imagined- tho actually I liked the retired folk best of everyone!). I was pleased to have go e, and enjoyed the trip. However the long journeys, and little time outside and v little exercise mean I wouldn't do another similar trip. However I'd prefer to do this than miss the driving out somehow as it meant I saw a lot of each country as we drove through.
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on September 24, 2013

  5.0 - Excellent

  We packed so much into this holiday it felt like a lot longer. Almost each day generated a highlight; the landscapes, wildlife and people were all fantastic.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?So hard to choose: coming upon a giraffe during the 'walking safari' on the shore of Lake Naivasha; seeing the elephants just behind our truck at the campsite on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater; being so close to the lions in the Crater we could have stroked them (but didn't obviously) or watching a cheetah race and kill a gazelle right in front of our eyes -I can't decide.What did you think of your group leader?Clara, our group leader, was great. She was knowledgeable, funny and capable and together with Ester, our cook, and Bonface, our driver, they made a great team. We learnt so much from each of them not just about the wildlife and places we visited, but also the people and cultures of Kenya and Tanzania.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Try to buy a cheap pillow on day 1, it will make camping more comfortable. You will get a locker on the truck to put important/precious items in; your main bag is stored separately so does not need to fit in the locker. If you go on the village walk when you stay in Marangu you will be taken to a local school. They welcome donations of money or school resources so go prepared! Tsetse flies like dark clothing so wear light stuff when in the Serengeti.Is there anything else you would like to add?This is a great holiday which gets you really involved. Putting up the tents and sharing the cooking preparation, truck cleaning and washing up is all part of the experience and does not feel like a chore. Instead it's an opportunity to bond with your fellow travellers and find out more about the country you are in from the support team. The camping does get tiring because of the early morning starts, but then you have some time to relax on Zanzibar which feels like another world. All in all, this holiday was superb and lived up to the description 'holiday of a lifetime'.
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on July 15, 2013

  5.0 - Excellent

  This trip was a life-long dream come true and far exceeded my highest expectations.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?How to choose one inspirational moment?  Seeing two prides of lions at close quarters?  A pair of lions mating within yards of our truck (twice!)?  A leopard guarding its kill (a gazelle) and then dragging it off to its hiding place?  A mother elephant suckling her baby?  The glimpse of Kilimanjaro amongst the clouds?  Great coffee!  What did you think of your group leader?The group leader, Rose, was a gem.  Together with Ken the cook and Boniface our driver, they made a fantastic team.  Rose's knowledge was astounding and there wasn't a question she couldn't answer about local customs, flora and fauna.  She was up two hours before us in the morning, and last to go to bed at night making sure everybody and everything was perfect.  With Ken and Boniface they were the hardest-working, dedicated and good-natured crew I have ever encountered.  Ken came up with something special every day - the meals were varied, tasty and very healthy.  His banana fritters were to die for, as were his aubergines!  Our driver, Boniface, was a true star.  His driving was excellent - we all felt very safe in his hands.  Some of the roads particularly in Kenya were dreadful, but Boniface negotiated them with astounding skill and stamina.  He and Rose would also help us with pitching and taking down tents, and with kitchen duties.  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Travel extremely light - only 15kg of hold luggage is allowed on internal flight to Zanzibar so make allowances for souvenirs (soapstone figures can be heavy!)Use very high sunblock (at least SPF50) if on doxycycline anti-malarials.Use insect repellent day and night - I found RID Tropical Strength worked best for mossies and tse tse flies. The roll-on is better value for money than spray.  Get it from the Safari Store  http://www.thesafaristore.co.uk/products/Accessories/RID-Insect-Repellent/RID-Insect-Repellent/Don't replace fluid loss with alcohol!  Heatstroke is possible so drink plenty of water and it does no harm to have some electrolytes every day.Take spare batteries for camera as it is not always possible to re-charge en route.  (The charger on our truck developed an electrical fault.)A wind-up torch as back-up for your head torch is handy.There is rarely any toilet roll so take your own! Is there anything else you would like to add?Pay the £100 single supplement to have your own tent and room in the hotels in Zanzibar.Don't be put off by "participatory camping"!  It's great fun! Everyone in our group mucked in helping each other pitch tents etc and we really didn't need the roster - there was never any shortage of willing hands for food prep, dishwashing and drying.Just go with the flow and have the time of your life!  There's a lot to be said for "Africa time"!
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on March 25, 2013

  4.0 - Good

  Wow I've done a safari and road trip - 2400 kilometres - in Africa. Zanzibar is a brilliant place for a beach holiday - loads of white sand and turquoise ,warm sea. The African sunsets and night skys were worth the trip in themselves. And that's before you get to the animals. And Kilimanjaro. I walked up the first stage of the mountain. Through rainforest. Uphill. Over very rough ground. Nearly killed me but I got there. We had to leave Kenya in a bit of a hurry because of fears of post election troubles. In the event nothing materialised but good to know that Exodus was looking after our wellbeing.   Camping wasn't much of a hardship though I'd definitely recommend paying the single supplement. The campsites ranged from well organised with a bar, to a fenced field with a guard with an AK47, to a night in the wilderness in the Serengetti where you have to have your wits about when you get up in the night. Erecting and dismantling the tents was hard work at first but we soon got the hang of it, helping each other. There were 6 of us.  The group worked well and we had lots of fun. The transport was fit for purpose with cool box, freezer, power sockets for UK plugs. It was comfortable enough. If group numbers meant you were restricted to just one locker each, there wouldn't be much storage space. The food is fine , given that it's cooked on just a couple of gas rings. There's plenty of opportunity to buy booze, though do plan ahead. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?Close encounters with the animals.Camping in the wilderness under the night sky.Cocktails on the beach in Zanzibar What did you think of your group leader?All the crew were first rate at their jobs. Many thanks to Ben the driver, Ken the cook and Lelei the guide.Local guides were used from time to time and these were all professional quality Do you have any advice for potential travellers?There were relatively few mosquitoes  during early March. No one was badly bitten.Pay the single supplement. 2 people in a tent would be a squeeze. Contrary to Exodus paperwork ,you don't need a photo for a Tanzanian visa. It costs $50 and they don't take other currencies.Apart from that ,you could take your cash in Sterling. That saves changing your money twice,  into dollars and then into Kenyan and Tanzanian currency.  An ATM card would be handy for when exchange places aren't available. - e.g sundays or where there's a huge queue in the only bank in town.The beach hotel in Zanzibar gave a poor exchange rate. Change your money in Stone Town before you leave for the beach. There are opportunities to do a bit of handwashing, now and again. Give clothes away as you go. They'll be gratefully received.Is there anything else you would like to add?This is an exciting trip. An adventure. Quite leisurely, apart from Kilimanjaro, but you know you've put in some long hours on the bus. Don't bring too much stuff.I'd echo other comments on these pages about the apparently needless, and very lengthy journey, to Tanga on the penultimate day on the mainland. A flight from Moshi to Zanzibar is available for not a lot more than the Tanga - Zanzibar fare. 
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on March 24, 2013

  4.0 - Good

  I'm very brown and really pleased with myself. I've done a safari and road trip - 2400 kilometres - in Africa. Zanzibar is a brilliant place for a beach holiday - loads of white sand and turquoise ,warm sea. The African sunsets and night skys were worth the trip in themselves. And that's before you get to the animals. And Kilimanjaro. I walked up the first stage of the mountain. Through rainforest. Uphill. Over very rough ground. Nearly killed me but I got there. We had to leave Kenya in a bit of a hurry because of fears of post election troubles. In the event nothing materialised but good to know that Exodus was looking after our wellbeing.   Camping wasn't much of a hardship though I'd definitely recommend paying the single supplement. The campsites ranged from well organised with a bar, to a fenced field with a guard with an AK47, to a night in the wilderness in the Serengetti where you have to have your wits about when you get up in the night. Erecting and dismantling the tents was hard work at first but we soon got the hang of it, helping each other. There were 6 of us.  The group worked well and we had lots of fun. The transport was fit for purpose with cool box, freezer, power sockets for UK plugs. It was comfortable enough. If group numbers meant you were restricted to just one locker each, there wouldn't be much storage space. The food is fine , given that it's cooked on just a couple of gas rings. There's plenty of opportunity to buy booze, though do plan ahead.  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?Close encounters with the animals.Camping in the wilderness under the night sky.Cocktails on the beach in Zanzibar What did you think of your group leader?All the crew were first rate at their jobs. Many thanks to Ben the driver, Ken the cook and Lelei the guide.Local guides were used from time to time and these were all professional quality Do you have any advice for potential travellers?There were relatively few mosquitoes  during early March. No one was badly bitten.Pay the single supplement. 2 people in a tent would be a squeeze. Contrary to Exodus paperwork ,you don't need a photo for a Tanzanian visa. It costs $50 and they don't take other currencies. Apart from that ,you could take your cash in Sterling. That saves changing your money twice,  into dollars and then into Kenyan and Tanzanian currency.  An ATM card would be handy for when exchange places aren't available. - e.g sundays or where there's a huge queue in the only bank in town.The beach hotel in Zanzibar gave a poor exchange rate. Change your money in Stone Town before you leave for the beach. There are opportunities to do a bit of handwashing, now and again. Give clothes away as you go. They'll be gratefully received.Is there anything else you would like to add?This is an exciting trip. An adventure. Quite leisurely, apart from Kilimanjaro, but you know you've put in some long hours on the bus. Don't bring too much stuff.I'd echo other comments on these pages about the apparently needless, and very lengthy journey, to Tanga on the penultimate day on the mainland. A flight from Moshi to Zanzibar is available for not a lot more than the Tanga - Zanzibar fare. 
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on March 13, 2013

  3.0 - Average

  Good trip though not 'Amazing' as it could have been.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?The black rhino in Ngorongoro was really great to see, especially since there aren't that many of them left. The leopard cub in a tree was an unexpected (but very welcome ) viewing.  The end of the migration in the Serengeti was one of the sights that I wanted to see and I was not disappointed.What did you think of your group leader?She was alright but not in any way exceptional. When I asked why all the wildebeest we saw in the Serengeti were males she came up with some weird and (not so) wonderful explanation that all the females died giving birth!!!!! If that was the case then who raised the calves?? Surely the species would die out within a few years. My theory - while not neccessarily correct - that the females followed on when the younsters were a little stronger made much more sense.... She was good at spotting the animals as we were driving along but not always so knowledgeable when questions were asked.Also we were not made aware of where and when we could do laundry until we specifically asked to be told at every opportunity.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Don't stick too closely to what is said in the trip notes as they are not always correct. Do take mossie repellant, toilet rolls, a blowup pillow, binoculars (though you don't always get chance to use them due to the constant movement), a camera with a good zoom - I took a compact with a good zoom and it was perfectly adequate - you don't need to tote along massive lenses, a good head torch is essential and spare camera batteries as you can't always charge them, though most of the time recharging is available on the truck. Also make sure you have a good memory card or two as you will take hundreds of pictures and you don't want to be running out of memory or battery at that vital moment. You don't need a 3 season sleeping bag as the trip notes say but a good 2 season with liner is perfectly adequate. Also it does not get too cold in the mornings or evenings requiring coats etc but you will need a good fleece to ward off the chill on occasion though one is all you will need. It doesn't matter whether you wear bright colours or not as you are in the truck for pretty much all the game viewing, and besides, all animals except for birds, fish and apes are colour blind.You do not need to search out biodegradeable hand washing deregent with you as you don't really get the chance to do any washing and I just did mine in the shower with me. Likewise with shampoos - there are shower blocks everywhere so you do not have to get your water from rivers or lakes (even if these were available which they are not). A sun hat to me is an absolute must as the sun is very hot when walking round local markets. A large sarong or equivalent is a good idea as there is often nowhere to get dried after your shower so I just wrapped myself in my large sarong and went back to my tent to get dry instead of trying to hop about on one foot getting dressed in the cubicle while not getting your clothes wet.Is there anything else you would like to add?A good trip that could have been an excellent trip if not for a few changes. The day spent travelling to Tanga was a total waste of a day and the campsite was a dump when we got there. It would have been much better to have flown from Marangu straight to Zanzibar, having an extra day either in the Serengeti or on Zanzibar and if it cost a bit more for the flight then fine. The money would have been well spent instead of spending 10 hours getting bumped about on what passes for roads and having a rubbish campsite at the end of it all !!!!!Also a more knowledgeable tour leader would have been good. On the other hand the driver (Boniface) and cook (Esther) were great even if the meals did get a bit repetative after a while. (Rice and veggies in a tomato sauce twice in one day ??) I know she had limited resources and under the circumstances did a good job.On the whole, the trip was worth doing to see all the wildlife that I would not have otherwise seen and the camping was an experience not to be missed but I'm not sure that with the present Itinerary and trip notes that I would recommend it, Though if these were altered/updated then definately do it - you won't regret it.
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on March 11, 2013

  3.0 - Average

  Would have been much more enjoyable if we could have cut out long, dusty journey to Tanga and flown from Moshie to Zanzibar.  This would have allowed us one more day to explore Serengeti.  Would have been less tiring if we could have camped in same place for a few nights and explored in different directions from base.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?See the hippos play in the poolSaw black rhino and leopard.Awesome sunsetsWhat did you think of your group leader?O.K. but could have been more helpful with information about where laundry services were being offered.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Be prepared for long, dusty days spent in a truck having an "African Massage" i.e. roads are very bumpy and full of craters.Be prepared for early morning starts and not having much time to write a journel until the very end.Be aware that you are on the move nearly every day and become very adept at pitching and packing up tent!!Is there anything else you would like to add?Trip notes were questionable esp with regard to sleeping bag, at Feb/March departure time a 250 season bag (with liner) is more than enough.
• 

  Anonymous
  Written on January 3, 2013

  5.0 - Excellent

  An amazing trip - which was just what it said on the tin! A varied and fascinating itinerary in awesome surroundings with a great bunch of people.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?Being almost engulfed by a group of elephants in the Ngorongoro Crater. Gazing up at the night sky in the Serengeti. Or perhaps sipping cocktails on the veranda at The Africa House watching the sun set in Zanzibar.What did you think of your group leader?Moses was absolutely tops. He worked so hard to make our experience the best it could be. He was knowledgable, good company, very patient - and never seemed to get tired!Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Our waterproof trousers came in handy on a couple of occasions. Pack small! Take binoculars.Is there anything else you would like to add?Our time in Tanga wasn't the most exciting. Would have much preferred an extra night in the Serengeti.