When it comes to travel, we are more of a “do-it-yourselfer” traveller, the excitement of planning your first safari can start well, but very quickly become overwhelming. But this time all arrangements were up to the mark with the help of Zee and Erick. It's really important to have someone you can rely on, supporting you, even from a distance.
It was a wonderful experience for us. A four-day safari that, in retrospect, might be the highlight of all our vacations so far.
The driver (Immanuel) just was very cooperative, polite, friendly and knowledgeable. We enjoyed his company. Nature doesn’t work to a schedule, and no two game drives are alike. But that is also what makes going on safari so fascinating and it is worth having an experienced guide and driver like Immanuel!
All accommodations and transportation arrangements were excellent. The holiday ran like clockwork & it was impeccably organised. All that we asked for was provided & we cannot fault the organisation from start to finish. Would use Msangai Adventure Safaris again without hesitation.
Africa is close to our hearts and we were so excited to finally go on Safari in Tanzania.
Thanks & Regards,
Razvan, Roxana & Daria
Wow, where do I start! Our 5 day safari experience with Msangai Adventure was out of this world! Me and my wife just finished the tour yesterday, and we came for Calving Season of the Wildebeest. The booking process was easy and Zee made everything very clear in terms of our iternary and answered many questions before booking with speedy responses. On our trip, we covered Tarangire NP, Serengeti NP (Ndutu Area), Ngorongoro Crater & Lake Manyara NP. Honestly, from start to finish, the iternary was perfectly planned! We were picked up from JRO Airport after landing and taken to our hotel in Arusha . The driver was very friendly and gave us a lot of information about Tanzania along the way. After arriving at the hotel, we were greeted by Eric (one of the company owners) who introduced himself and gave us a briefing about the safari followed by us asking him any questions / addressing any concerns we had. He answered everything we needed to know, and due to us being vegan, he made it very clear that he had informed all the lodges about our dietary requirements to ensure we had suitable food! He even made sure the hotel we were staying at for the first night, which we booked ourselves, knew about our dietary requirements, which was very helpful. The following day, we were picked up and greeted by our tour guides, who were James and Emmanuel. These guys from the get-go were super friendly and very welcoming! They explained again what we would be doing and informed us about every stop off a long the way to our safari experience. When we pulled up to get fuel, Eric also came to meet us again to send his best wishes for our trip and made sure again that we were comfortable and happy with everything. We then set off to our first destination, which was Tarangine NP. The safari jeep was amazing! It was very spacious , comfortable, and clean. It had many pockets on the chairs to store your phones / cameras / gadgets etc ... and it had charging points, which were handy! We had an unlimited supply of bottled water , and the drivers got me a few beers while my wife had some soft drinks for us to enjoy on our game drives. Both James & Emmanuel were so easy to get on with and talk to. Their English was so good, and we all understood each other very clearly. If we ever had a question, they always had an answer or would try to find out. The drives between parks can be hours long, so it's very important that you feel comfortable around your drivers, and we spoke about many things while joking along the way. We learnt a lot about Tanzania culture from them , and they were very interested in our lifestyle / culture too! Across all of the parks, we were so blessed to see 4 of the big 5 (we only missed seeing a leopard). We literally saw Zebra's , wildebeest, lions , lionesses, cheetahs, giraffes , elephants, buffalos , gazelles, ostriches, baboons , various monkeys , various birds & we even saw two black rhinos which is super rare! I know the drivers can't guarantee what you will see, but they made sure we got to all the right places to have the best chance! We always felt safe and confident in their driving, too , and they always got us as close as allowed to the animals for unreal photos / videos. The lodges we stayed in across the 5 days were unbelievable, too! The 1st night was at Marera Valley Lodge , 2nd & 3rd were at Serona Ndutu Mobile Camp, and the 4th night was at a sister lodge to Marera. The food at all lodges was so good! And due to Eric letting each place know we were vegan in advance, they had special dishes prepped, especially for us! Each day, you would get a packed lunch for your gane drive as well, which normally included fruit , bread/sandwich, juice , water, and some veg & rice. The staff at all the lodges were super friendly! On arrival they would clean your bag , give you a rag to clean your face, give you a fresh juice to drink , take your bags to the room , brief you about the grounds / times for dinner etc . The quality of the lodges for the money we paid was so good! We couldn't believe how nice they were. By far our favourite stay was in the mobile camps for our 2 nights in the Serengeti. Luckily for us, we were the only 2 guests for our stay, so we had such a personal experience, and we bonded very well with the group of guys running the camp. The tents were luxury with a proper toilet, shower , sink, and a spacious sleeping area, which had 2 beds and mosquito nets. The best part was waking up in the morning and seeing giraffes and zebras fill the fields around us while they grazed. The sound of the birds and insects throughout the day & night was so relaxing, too! You really felt like you were in the centre of nature. The food here was so well thought of, and it was our favourite! Then, each night, we would sit around the camp fire, which they called Bush Television haha, and share stories together! Something I will remember forever. At the end of each day Eric would always drop me a message to ask how the day went and make sure we were happy with everything! Therefore, as you can see me and my wife were over the moon with this trip, and it's actually emotional writing this as it has come to an end! But honestly, do not have any doubts about booking with this company! If you want a very personal experience, where you feel valued alongside having friendly, knowledgeable drivers, this is the company to book with! Not to mention, you will pay much less than other companies who all do the same thing! I compared across 6 main companies and the iternary is very similiar and most use the same lodges! So why pay more? We also left an expensive soap at the mobile camp by accident, but we couldn't go back as it was over 4 hours away, so James took us in to the supermarket in Arusha and ensured we were able to buy something similar by asking around for us! They really do go above and beyond. Thank you so much, Msangai, for this once in a lifetime experience, which you made even more memorable! Eric should be proud of the company he is developing, and I wish business continues to blossom! James & Emmanuel, you guys are the best, and as you said yourself, we are family now, haha ! Brothers and sisters for life! I have so much more, I could say, but words can only cover so much! Much love and Asante sana Msangai ????????