Encounter Mara Camp

I worked with Justin Van Wyk at Discover Africa Safaris to arrange safaris in Zimbabwe and Botswana, including a stop at Victoria Falls, for two of my children and me. The safaris were exquisite, and Justin was phenomenal—professional, responsive, and detail-oriented. He patiently helped refine my changing requirements and dreams until we created a luxurious, once-in-a-lifetime trip. The adventure was extremely well organized: there were no surprises, we were greeted at each location, and transportation between destinations was well planned and flexible when needed.

The six luxury camps arranged by Discover Africa and Justin were outstanding. The food was excellent, and even my picky daughter ate well at every meal. The accommodations and furnishings were beautiful, and the staff were welcoming, attentive, and friendly. Everyone at the camps prioritized safety and made sure we always felt comfortable and secure.

The actual safaris and activities we out-of-this-world. My goals of this trip were to have my adult children see the Big Five and to capture pictures of leopards. We saw a leopard on the first day! And around a dozen in all. Many amazing pictures were taken as well. With a side trip to see rhinos, we did see the Big Five, and many, many more wild African animals. We even caught tiger fish…

Thank you, Justin and Discover Africa,
Bill Reid

PS – Captured acceptable Milky Way photos in Botswana as a Bonus!

My husband and I started planning our Safari in Sept to go in May. Vihann at Discover Africa was wonderful!! He setup a video call on our timeline to ask what we wanted and actually listened. He came up with a plan that we agreed to and the rest was easy. All of our accommodations were exactly as promised, flights and transfers all went off without a hitch, so we had nothing to worry about the whole time just a wonderful experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Can not think of one negative comment to add.

This is the second safari holiday we have used Dev to organise. We had the privilege of visiting three beautiful lodges on this trip, Devs recommendations in three different locations, Sabi Sands, Timbavati, and Makalali, which entailed a lot of organising with pick up and drop by road, each of which was flawless almost to the minute.

First stop was Sabi Sands where we saw the big five within 30 minutes, Unbelievable!

Next stop was Timbavati known for the possibility of seeing the rare white lion, second day out we saw the white lion cub (one of three in the world so we were told ) a gorgeous dirty little white cub with the pride, once again magic. Next stop was Makalali, Dev had mentioned the possibility of seeing cheetahs, after a lot experienced tracking and off road driving we came across two magnificent males basking in the sun, unbelievable.

On our last day when due to leave, a Saturday, my wife fell ill and could not travel, one phone call to Dev, he had transfers rearranged, flights cancelled and rebooked, which took all the stress out of a stressful situation.

I cannot speak highly enough of Dev and Discover Africa.

This was our first experience using an online booking agent and it was outstanding. Justin went through our requirements even though we were pretty sure we knew what we wanted (we really didn’t!) and came up with a plan that met our needs, including coordination with our existing travel plans. I can’t say enough good things about Justin and the folks at Discover Africa Safaris.

Vihann was responsive and friendly, worked patiently with me as I tweaked my itinerary three times. I researched the camps myself and Vihann supported with his local knowledge so the result was very memorable and extraordinary holiday. I was very happy with local transfers, guides were available to answer questions and food was top notch.

We were initially overwhelmed with all of the options for African Safaris when we first started planning our trip. Luckily, Discover Africa responded promptly to our initial request for information and we were quickly scheduled for an initial consult with Adelle Bell.

Adelle presented several options and really listened to our feedback to tailor a perfect week in the African bush for our honeymoon. She took care of absolutely everything for us besides the international flights, which was a big weight off our shoulders after just planning so much time planning our wedding ourselves. She was also extremely communicative throughout the planning process and while we were on the ground the week of our honeymoon as well.

We spent 3 nights at Motswari in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve followed by 3 nights at Arathusa in Sabi Sands Private Game reserve. Both lodges and reserves surpassed our expectations. Motswari felt like a much more traditional and authentic safari experience, while Arathusa felt more up-scale and resort like. The staff and hospitality at both were fantastic, and the game drives surpassed our expectations immediately.

If you are considering booking a vacation to Africa, I would highly recommend booking through Discover Africa and asking for Adelle specifically. She will knock it out of the park!