Pat & Jessica C - Phoenix Arizona
After meeting Quinton in Capetown for an incredible day trip in 2018 for a day trip to Stellenbosch wine country and listening to his adventures in East Africa, we immediately put that trip on a shortlist of places to visit in the near future.
So, in the lifting stages of the pandemic, in early 2021, we knew exactly who to reach out to, to FINALLY make this trip happen! Africa Explore Safaris helped us to create our dream trip to Kenya and Tanzania in Sep/Oct 2021. Words can't even explain how magical/ memorable this trip was, a total of 21 days on a private safari. From the designing stage of our dream trip (whatever we wanted, they worked into the schedule) and all throughout the trip itself, Africa Explore Safaris was always just a phone call away and eager to help us however they could.
Especially nice to have a calming/committed voice when you get to the airport and find out the airlines canceled your flight. 🙃 That was our only "issue" on the trip, after that it was smooth and INCREDIBLE sailing the entire way. Both our local guides (1 in each country) were wonderful! Very knowledgeable men with a clear passion for sharing their AMAZING countries with travelers).
Thank you to Quinton and Abby for making this bucket list dream come true! We look forward to traveling to more parts of that beautiful continent in the future. Still need to see those sharks in Gansbaai and get back for whale season in Hermanus! 😉
Just a quick note about the pandemic, since it's on the forefront of many traveller's minds right now. From the US we had to provide a negative PCR test within 3 days of travel (US requirement for most international travel). In Kenya we tested again to be allowed into Tanzania and the same when leaving Tanzania to get back home. These tests were EASY! Quick testing sites at a camp in Serengeti, Tanzania and in Kenya they used a mobile service and the guy actually got in a hazmat suit in our van to perform the test. We got a kick out of that. Both countries had social distancing mandates still in place and left the wearing of masks up to the individual businesses. Everywhere we went staff were wearing masks and in crowded public areas of the camps, we were asked to wear masks when not eating/drinking. We are very careful still, even in our home in Arizona, so none of those was an inconvenience to us. Both countries appear to really care about the safety and wellbeing of tourists and members of the communities we were visiting ... also, I should mention now is a GREAT time to go on safari. 18 months ago the world shut down and the consensus from the locals in each country was that the animals appeared to be less shy around safari vehicles because of it. When you have an expert guide in your truck with almost 20 years of experience who's never seen a leopard in Aberdare and we had 1 just casually stroll down the road towards us. In Tanzania our guide with over 15 years of experience never saw a cheetah kill in person, we witnessed a mom hunt for her 3 cubs right in front of us (like we weren't even there). Both countries had elephants walking right up to our truck basically unbothered, etc.
Our animal experiences were OUT of this world! DON'T LET THE PANDEMIC STOP YOU FROM GOING TO AFRICA. It's open and as magical as you always imagined it to be! 💜
