South Africa Wildlife Viewing Trips & Packages Tours & Trips

What travelers are saying

"My wife and I just visited Zarafa and had a fabulous time. The setting is spectacular. Our accommodations were wonderful and the food great. Most of all the people could not have been nicer. We saw so much and learned so much from our guide Lets. We would certainly return."

What travelers are saying

"I just got home from a wonderful trip hosted by Chris Hill with Hands Up Holidays. He took myself and a few other travel advisors from around the US to Costa Rica to give us a taste in 4 days of what we could send our clients to do. Highlights from this trip were touring the amazing food markets in San Jose and then having a cooking class with Eric and Maria in Maria’s home and enjoying the fabulous ceviche and empanadas we made. Then touring the Finca Rosa Blanca organic coffee plantation and Poas volcanoe tour on our way to the Arenal area. Then we were able to enjoy Tabacon resort and thermal spa. Hot springs create warm pools and waterfalls through the property. Gorgeous and so restorative. Then we were able to explore the rain forest at Sky Hike and see the breathtaking views of the mountains, rain forest and Arenal lake while zip lining. Quite an adventure!! But what made this trip unique and so extra special was the volunteer opportunities we were able to participate in. It was only a short trip but the time we were able to work in the medical clinic that serves mostly refugees from Nicaragua was so rewarding. Being able to speak with the patients and see what this wonderful program FIMRC.org is doing first hand and contribute even if just for little while,really filled your heart. The medical facilities, day care, special needs programming and soup kitchen are all so beautifully run but with so much need for supplies, funds and extra hands. Thank you Chris for this experience!! What a special company this is! Chris Hill has built a wonderful company combining luxury travel, cultural immersion and volunteer opportunities and partnerships. This would be a wonderful experience for my clients that want to explore the world and gIve back to the communities they visit. My clients will love Hands Up Holidays."

What travelers are saying

"My wife and I just visited Zarafa and had a fabulous time. The setting is spectacular. Our accommodations were wonderful and the food great. Most of all the people could not have been nicer. We saw so much and learned so much from our guide Lets. We would certainly return."

What travelers are saying

"Our trip started off with a lunch at Maya Gardens. We went to see the poultry in their pens while waiting for lunch, thinking it was a petting zoo. The poor birds did not have water or any indication that they ever had water. One of the turkeys was lying on it's side looking very sick. No one would give them water when I asked them to. The lunch was so awful I did not eat meat for the rest of the trip. I sent a video to Angela Bailey telling her this is not what we want to see when on a conservation trip and she acted like I was lying. Our guides were lazy and not caring about us. They took us to overpriced markets to get fleeced by the sellers there. At the anti-poaching farm tour, we had to walk over a bridge with wires on it, to keep wildlife in. One of our travelers, who was 65 years old, tripped over it and had to go to the hospital. No one warned her about the wires. Then, trying to get off the safari trucks, she was so very very sore and no guides helped her to get out of the truck. Completely appalling. The guides had very poor communication skills that worked for Discover Corps. I was forced to get vaccinated while in Kenya, because the laws changed while we were there. I asked if I could try to get out of the airport first and if I could not then get the vaccine. Discover Corps said "If you choose to do that, you are on your own". The conditions of medical in Kenya is not like the US and it was awful. The airport didn't even ask me for my vaccine card on the way out. DC could have worked with me on trying this first before forcing me to get this vaccine in a poor 3rd world country. Also, my vaccine card had the wrong date of birth and my name did not match what is on my passport. The doctor tried to get me to tip the nurse giving me the vaccine. The guides dropped us off curbside at the airport and left us there to navigate. I will NEVER use this company again. They did not have my back on anything that happened and Angela Bailey never contacted me to follow up about my experience after this trip was over."

What travelers are saying

"I can honestly say that joining the GVI Turtle and Lemon Shark Conservation Project was the best thing I have ever done. It is an experience I will value for the rest of my life. Right from the very beginning with the field manual I knew this trip was going to be amazing but nothing can prepare you for how stunning it is. I remember one day, I was chilling in the hammock before dinner when I saw a juvenile Lemon Shark and a ray. I called everyone and we watched the shark almost beach itself on a few occasions. However the best experience for me was when I was lucky enough to see not 1 or 2 but 3 Hawksbill Turtles lay their eggs all in one day. It was magical. The staff were so knowledgeable and were always happy to help. I have learnt to cook food for 25 people with very limited cooking equipment and ingredients, loved every Friday BBQ night and made friends for life."

What travelers are saying

"BUYER BEWARE!!! This company has a policy that if THEY cancel your trip…THEY get to keep your money and you get a credit the company. They cancelled my first trip..found out the hard way about their policy. Booked a trip…then had left over money so booked another…which they cancelled…again. Surprisingly…this time they offered a refund, but only gave me back the money I had put down…not what was left of “my credit”. So now I am forced to do business with a company I no longer wish to, that picks and chooses when to follow their own policy!! There are plenty of other travel agencies with similar tours…don’t give these guys your hard earned money for them to keep."

What travelers are saying

"This trip is very nice with people and good accommodation good host dinner nice in town and we also prepare our own food transport is nice Johan"

What travelers are saying

"Lora-Leigh Huskisson was our travel agent representing Siyabona Africa out of Cape Town. I started communicating with Lora-Leigh in Aug 2022. I wanted a comprehensive tour for around 4 weeks in April 2023 that had 6 adults and 2 children under 6. I had done a lot of internet research and almost knew what I wanted. Lora-Leigh augmented that by suggesting the best places to stay and recommended a great safari camp. We started our tour with Siyabona in Sun City but just prior to that we stayed at Ekuthuleni Lodge in the Welgevonden Private Game Reserve which friends of ours had already organized. Great private Safari Lodge, excellent day drives, wonderful food and fabulous staff. We had our grandchildren with us and thought before going to Victoria Falls we would break up the trip with a kids weekend at Sun City. They had a wonderful time with the pools/waterpark and the adults played golf. They also did a self-drive in the nearby game reserve. If you want to see the wildlife in SA with young children you need to break up the various safaris that you sign up for. We then went to Victoria falls via air organized by Lora-Leigh as were all the remaining tour flights. I should mention that all flights (and there were a few) went off without any difficulties other than the Tambo airport baggage handlers who seem to access your luggage without any recriminations. Victoria Falls was nice to see and the children enjoyed the mist, getting wet and the sound of the falls. Lora-Leigh booked the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. It was a great choice. Its location is in viewing distance of a watering hole and everyday there were animals there. They also have a vulture feeding station. Once again the children enjoyed the staff, the food (especially the Dinner and Drum show at the Boma) the swimming pool and watching the animals. A good choice by Lora-Leigh. This was about enough for the young ones and that family of four left to return home but four of us continued on with the itinerary. Our next stop was on the Chobe Princess Safariboat in Namibia. I can't give Lora-Leigh all the credit for this choice as it was really my suggestion. However, the transportation to get to the boat was all down to her organization. The boat is literally across and upstream from the falls but you need to go through three border crossings to get there. Normally, this would appear to be difficult, and I think it generally is, but we had drivers who got us through it all, waiting on each side, waiting at the small boat to get us across the river, the walk up a long dirt road to Namibia immigration and eventually to the Safariboat. Was it worth it? You bet. The Safariboat doesn't really go that far up the river but it doesn't matter. This is a fabulous way to see wildlife in the morning, in the evening, and in most cases all day via the tenders that the Safariboat provides. The food was good, the refreshments were good, the staff and guides were great. The Chobe river is pretty pristine and provides a water related habitat to everyone - human and animal. It was hard to leave the Safariboat but we did, went to yet another airport for our flight to Kadizora Camp in the Okavango Delta. This should be easy, right. Not all planes in Botswana go to where they say they are going. Our flight stopped at another camp and we got off and got on another plane to Kadizora airstrip. Did we have to wait - no - the second plane was there waiting for us, ready to go. Walk 30 meters from one plane to the next. Luggage just walked to the next plane by the pilot. How good is that service? Kadizora Camp was exactly like Lora-Leigh said it would be like. We went out every day looking for animals and TwoBoy our guide found them every day. Not just the easy ones to find but lions, hyenas, crocodiles, hippos, wild dogs, etc. but no leopard although we kept trying but to no avail. Kadizora camp is in a great location on the delta and the delta is a must see in Botswana. So our group would like to say thank you to Lora-Leigh and Siyabona Africa for their service and their guidance. It was a great adventure."