Having said that, I highly recommend this trip for any animal lovers.  Having done numerous safaris over the years this was by far the best in terms of game viewing.  We saw everything on our bucket list including the elusive leopard and black rhino.  We were treated to the sight of three male lions together, a family of four cheetah and the most adorable three month old lion cub you have every seen.  We also saw a couple of kills which although gruesome were fascinating to watch.  Game drives departed at 0630hrs and 1600hrs each day and on the couple of days you weren't travelling you had some much needed downtime relaxing by the pool in middle of the day.

The lodges were all of a high standard particularly the two in which you spend two nights.  Both were within parks and you were able to sit and watch in the first instance elephants and zebra walk by and in the second instance hippos playing in the water.  The food was tasty and plentiful everywhere with buffets in all lodges.  All food was included you just had to pay for drinks - around £3 for a large beer and £1.50 for a soft drink.  Each lodge provided two free bottles of water a day and also the jeeps carried water which you also could have two bottles a day.  Not all of the lodges had hair dryers and all had UK three pin plug sockets. 

Our three driver guides were fantastic - full of information and good humour.  We stayed in the same jeep for the entire trip so you really got to know them.  The TM Damian Stent was brilliant, having spent many years in Africa he was very knowledgeable and made sure everything ran smoothly even on our last full day when we had successive problems with jeeps breaking down.

So to conclude this is by no means a restful holiday with very early starts and lots of travelling but you are rewarded by seeing a vibrant country with abundant wildlife and glorious weather.  If anyone has any questions about this trip please do ask.

Sally

Fantastic review and I am really pleased that you got to see so many animals, well worth all the bouncing about. I have just returned from Namibia and we had the same experience.

Next destination Burma. Not long now................

See you in February Julie

I'm delighted that you saw so much wildlife on this tour and obviously had such a great time.  I had wondered whether a tour that was exclusively wildlife only might get a bit monotonous but the variety of animals that you saw sounds wonderful - and very exciting!  I will have to add this tour to my very long wish list...

Cheers,

Bob

Thanks for the brilliant review. I am surprised that you were in Jeeps all the way from the airport, but what fun! I hope this trip will not be put to rest for a couple of years as I really want to do it. Would love to see lion cubs. I was hoping to see some in Kruger but no such luck. Some of the Group did see a lioness with cubs - this was on the day I did the Bush walk. When I do this trip I will pay a supplement as I do not wish to share!

Jaya

Brilliant review, the variety of wildlife seems to have been amazing and those jeeps sound like a lot of fun. Glad you finally manged to find your elusive leopard - and black rhino (wow!). One more holiday to put on the 'to-do' list!

Cheers

Mike

Excitement is really starting to kick in now (with quite a bit of nervousness still hanging around)

Just a few silly questions regarding clothes really -

Are shorts, t-shirts/vest tops suitable or is it better to go with trousers & long sleeves?

Shoes- would sandles be ok or are walking boots best?

I'm collecting a vast array of clothes/shoes but can't decide what's best to take.

I'm sure I'll think of other things in the next few weeks but I think that's the main bits for now. ?

Thanks Paula

Thrilled to hear you've finally seen the elusive leopard, just wondering what excuse you're going to come up with now for the next safari?

This sounds like a fantastic holiday & I would love to go. Hopefully JY will keep it going for a few years.

Taffy.

I have a couple of questions for you now. What was the flight like with Kenyan Airlines? What was the weather like? I am presuming that you would have to wear layers or dress up warm for the game drives. The itinerary says you have time to freshen up when you arrive in Nairobi - is this a short stop or do you have time for a quick shower? Last question, were vegetarians catered for? I am not too fussy when I travel and can live on salads! After reading your review, I may change my plans for next year and do the safari instead of Sri Lanka.

Thanks

Jaya

Re clothing a mix is best. The early mornings were cold and going out on game drives, the roof was raised so it could get quite chilly. The daytime could be hot when you were relaxing by the pool. I took a couple of 3/4 length trousers and the rest long. Tshirts layered with a hoody or fleece was sufficient for the daytime. I mainly wore walking sandals but did also wear my closed shoes a couple of times. Walking boots are not necessary.

Jaya

Kenya Airways were fine - a new Dreamliner which was good. The weather was sunny with a couple of showers, around high 20s C but cold at night. A couple of lodges provided hot water bottles in bed. As another forum user mentioned, on arrival we transferred to the Somak Safaris HQ where we had a hot drink and biscuits. They have showers and towels there which some people used, others just changed clothes after a quick brush up. Food - there was a good choice including veggie, I had a salad for every lunch every day but there were plenty of other things.

Taffy

Despite asking to see one every day, we didn't see any Polar Bears on safari so I guess I will have to keep going back to Africa until I do....... !

Happy to help with any other questions.

Sally

Sounds like an absolutely fantastic tour I am so jelouse,it brought back memories of My JY tour to Kenya, I must go and see more animals one day.

Thanks for taking the time to write a great review...

Cindy

Michelle

Thank you for answering my questions. I am very tempted to change my plans for next year and swap Sri Lanka with Kenya. By doing this I will have had my fill of safaris for the time being and then I can concentrate on other destinations! Also, Kenya trip is a short one, which means I may be able to squeeze in a relaxing Europe break as well. Where are you off to next?

Kind regards

Jaya

I am seriously thinking of booking this trip next year. Just one more question - were there any opportunities to buy local crafts?

Regards

Jaya

Most of our 'wee' stops were in roadside craft type tourist shops so there was plenty of opportunity to buy souvenirs.

Sally

Just trying to finalise what I want to pack, so a few other random questions :-)

Do the lodges supply towels or do we need take these?

Also what's the security like in the lodges - are there safes in the rooms or somewhere to store valuables etc.. ?

Thanks Paula

Jaya

Sorry for the delay in replying - for some reason unread posts aren't always showing up in bold so I missed this one. No - you don't need towels, each room provided two per person and the pools had a separate supply. If I remember rightly most, if not all lodges has safes in the room. All of the lodges had plenty of staff walking around and felt very safe. Happy to answer any other queries.

Jaya

Glad you have decided to take the plunge, you'll love it.

Sally

I too have booked this trip for September 2017 and am already counting the days! See you in September.

Jaya