andBeyond Phinda Forest Lodge

This was my 6th trip to South Africa and Botswana and, as always, Matthys van Aswegen made it a happy, safe, and exciting experience! My roommate, Glenna, and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to South Africa’s Boulders Beach to visit the African Penguin Reserve and all the beautiful scenery in that area. Another Discover Africa staff member, Kayla Robson, joined Glenna and me for dinner one evening and it was such a delight getting acquainted with another Discover Africa person whose talents enrich the travel experience.

When we arrived in Botswana we were so pleased to have the two guides I have always requested and, even though I’ve been at Camps Moremi and Savute before, they provided us with safaris that added to my previous experiences, learning new things about animal behavior and, the bonus, twice seeing a cheetah – a cat I hadn’t yet seen in Botswana!

And I’m already planning my next trip to these two fabulous countries!

We had an amazing time, and loved every minute. The tour was very well planned, and dealt with the many changes we made with ease.

We had an amazing experience at Walkers Plains Camp. The wildlife viewing was superb from start to finish. Our guide Millie and tracker were super friendly, extremely knowledgeable and made the game drives an absolute pleasure.

The camp was very luxurious, incredibly clean and tidy and the staff were on hand at all times for everything we needed.

They couldn’t have done more and they made us feel very special.

These are memories that will stay with us forever.

We booked the safari through Bianca Angelucci at Discover Africa. She was so accommodating and easy to work with. Taking care of everything from flights to any last minute changes that were needed.

Nothing was too much trouble and I will definitely be recommending them and booking my next trip with her help.

Africa was on my travel “wishlist” but I never thought I would actually get there

That all changed when our son was home for a visit over Christmas. He announced that he and a friend were going to Africa. They had selected DISCOVER AFRICA to plan their trip. He shared all the details with us and we decided it was an adventure we had to experience as well.

Our son connected us with Vihann Van Wyk at Discover Africa, the same agent he was using. Vihann was a pleasure to work with. He coordinated our trip with our son’s and tweaked the details as requested. Communication was a breeze through both email and WhatsApp. Vihann made suggestions as well as accepted specific requests from us to build a custom itinerary. No detail was overlooked. Some accommodations were adjusted to keep us within budget without sacrificing our experience.

All drivers, tour guides, experiences & lodging did not disappoint. All internal flights were on Airlink …. better than some regional airlines in the USA. The weather was perfect too!

Deborah's Safari Experience

Our itinerary included:

*CAPE TOWN – Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel….very nice property with an excellent breakfast and beautiful outdoor dining. Must sees were the full day Cape Tour, Wine Tour to Stellenbosch, Table Mountain and High Tea at the Cape Grace Hotel.

*KRUGER NTL PARK – Lion Sands Tinga Lodge….a dream experience! Excellent private bungalow, twice daily game drives, delicious food, and a wonderful massage and facial at the spa. The staff was outstanding.

*VICTORIA FALLS – Shongwe Lookout Lodge…a modest property that met all our needs and saved us some money. We experienced the Zambezi River sunset cruise, Victoria Falls ( incredible!! ) , lunch at the Lookout Cafe and a visit to the historic Victoria Falls hotel for lunch.

*JOHANNESBURG – Marriott African Pride Hotel in Melrose Arch ….an upscale area with lots of shopping and dining. The Soweto Tour was an experience not to be missed. We visited Nelson Mandela’s office and home. The Apartheid Museum was sobering and moving.

Lastly, every where we went we met the nicest people….friendly and helpful.

Excellent adventure! An experience like no other!

We booked our safari through Chrizaan and the whole experience was absolutely fantastic. From the very beginning, communication was smooth and easy – both via email and WhatsApp – which made the planning process stress-free.

Despite our limited availability, she managed to secure our flights, transfers, and an amazing tented lodge for the exact dates we needed. Everything was perfectly organized: confirmations, payments, and all travel documents were clear and sent well in advance.

During the trip, everything ran seamlessly, and we even had the incredible luck of seeing the Big Five, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, and so much more – truly unforgettable. The lodge itself was excellent: the food was delicious, and they even adapted meals to be gluten free for my partner, which was such a thoughtful detail and made a big difference to our stay.

The service exceeded our expectations, both in quality and in value for money. I would 100% recommend booking with Chrizaan – not only did we enjoy an unforgettable safari, but we also felt truly taken care of throughout the entire journey.

When there are so many choices out there for safari tours, we were a little overwhelmed. But when we reached out to Adele from Discover Africa, she is prompt in her response and understood our request and very quickly she put together a tour that is one of the best holiday of our lives!

At Hoya Hoya we were greeted with the most amazing hospitality, and even though it’s full board, the chef prepared different dishes the 3 days we were there. Andrew, our driver and guide is fantastic, and we saw the big five during our stay and of course the ‘live tv’ just opposite our dining place allow us the best experience of our lives. The elephants, giraffes and even hyenas visited the watering hole that Hoyo Hoyo built was just brilliant.

Our next adventure at Chisomo Karongwe private game reserve did not disappoint. On top of the big five, Polly (guide) and Eddie (tracker) made my dream came true by spotting 3 cheetahs during the morning drive.

We would like to thank Adele for planning this once in a lifetime trip for us and thank you Africa for the memories for life.