Serengeti Wakanda Tours and Safaris — Local services in Arusha

I spent 10 days seeing Tanzania with Serengeti Wakanda. It was a fabulous experience and although I was very sure I was going to enjoy my first ever Safari experience, it far exceeded my expectations. I feel so fortunate that we choose to travel with Serengeti Wakanda and could not recommend them more. From Arusha National Park, to Tarangire, to Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater and all the inbetween, Witsun our guide made sure that every day was a great one! The knowledge he shared about the animals and the birds and how the nature functions was an education. His knowldege of the geography of the park, his skill in driving AND animal spotting and his knowledge about the best spots, and the set up at each place we were staying ensured we missed out on nothing. Whitsun found us a lot of animals to observe and often explained what was going on with them while still being very relaxed with us and allowing us to absorb and adjust to the newness of the safari experience. We saw many animals!! Giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, lions, hippos, a rhino, wildebeast, a serval cat and loads of impalas, zebras and monkeys. We didn't have a must see list, we wanted to see whatever the plains had to show us on a given day, and it felt like every day we were lucky.....and that Witsun was good at finding the wildlife!

The accomodations arranged by Serengeti Wakanda varied from public campsites, to budget lodges, to 5 star experiences and each place offered something special and different. I especially enjoyed the more budget and camping experiences. They were exciting and we were so well looked after by our guide, our chef and the people in each location that we were very comfortable.

We did a Balloon Safari in the Serengeti organised through Serengeti Wakanda and that was an utterly glorious experience from start to finish and far exceeded our expectations in what it offered. It was exciting going up in a hot air balloon and then peaceful and beautiful to be floating over the Serengeti in the early morning. Thanks to Captain Abeid for looking after us. If you are considering doing it - DO IT!!!

We had a lovely walk aroudn Mto Wa Mbo with Tour Guide Briga (excuse the spelling) who not only showed us the town and the crops and the rice fields, but also the people and the culture of the town. Trying banana beer (what they can't they do with a banana tree!!), meeting the Makonde tribe, glimpses into people's houses, chats with the locals, interactions with the kids were a lovely experience. If you are doing it - bring candy for the kids (we didn't and wished we had thought of it), and leave room in your luggage for the beautiful carvings you can pick up from the Makonde tribe.

The food provided throughout our trip was outstanding. Very special shout out to our Mpishi Ashraf who travelled with us for a lot of our trip - when we would need a chef in the lodges and the campsites, which was thankfully the majority of our trip. I'm still dreaming about the breakfasts - provided either at our location or packed up and enjoyed at a beautiful spot selected by Witsun after an early morning game drive. They were varied, there was plenty of food and they were absolutely delicious. The lunch Mpishi Ashraf prepared for us each day to have wherever Witsun would select for us to stop, were GORGEOUS - a warm actual dinner in the middle of the day, even in the middle of the flipping Serengeti!! And the set up that Witsun did for us each day - all of it was sooo good. The evening dinners served up by Mpishi Ashraf at our accomodation - be that at a dining room in a lodge, or a mobile table at a campsite, were also top notch. Delish three course meals in the middle of nowhere. And, a special shout out for the extra care and attention he took to ensure that it was Gluten Free to allow for my food intolerance.

It was a sad goodbye to Mpishi Ashraf and our guide Witsun on our last day!

Our final day on Kilimanjaro was fab aswell with our Mountain Guide Zachayo who got us safely up to the Mandala gate...

We just finished our 12 days safari trip with Serengeti Wakanda and we didn’t hesitate for a moment to think this was the best decision.

Starting with planning, Aishwarya was very helpful and responsive. Took into account all our requests and updated the itinerary several times. She replied back very quickly and was made available for the calls on the last details. Our specific needs, including diet related (lactose free and no onions) were perfectly taken care of and at every accommodation we’ve been to, they all knew in advance about it. Maybe to mention that we as a couple wanted to have the safari car/trip for ourselves instead of a group package. Which we later noticed the biggest majority of the safari cars were with couples only.

With our own research and the tips from Aishwarya, the final itinerary ended up being perfect to our taste. The rest was up to the guide, who was purely amazing. Bashir went above and beyond to get us to the best spots and have unique experiences every day. I’d like to start by pointing to the fact that he is very experienced and has a lot of knowledge of wildlife, both animals and birds, with a degree in it, a tone of experience and mostly appreciated, the love and passion for wildlife. We were amazed at how much he knows about both animals and birds, and the details he outlined.

In the end we ended up having unique experiences with the animals we liked the most and many more that came unexpected. Although not the goal of our trip, we saw the big 5 and so much more. So many unique encounters with elephants, giraffes, eating lions and leopards, wildebeest giving birth, encountered in total way more than a hundred lions, multiple close encounters with leopards and cheetahs, six rhinos in Ngorongoro crater, other cool animals and can’t even count the diversity of birds, etc. In places where there were dozens of cars, we still ended up having the best places with the coolest view. He anticipated the events and the actions of animals and was one of the first to be in the right spot. If you are lucky to have Bashir as guide, you won’t regret.

Food was amazing. We didn’t have the lunch boxes as the majority of other tour operators in the places we stopped for lunch. We instead had the full menu with hot meals. In addition, the guide noticed we loved papayas and he took that as a note and made sure we had papaya at every other meal we had.

Another thing we appreciated a lot is that Bashir made us aware of all sorts of things we would not have known without a good guide. One example is the exit gate at Ngorongoro crater, where he made sure to close the roof in advance, as the baboons at that specific location are known to jump inside the car and steal things. Well, that was it, when we got there, right in front of us, another safari car just arrived with the open roof and we were shocked how fast the two baboons climbed on top of the car, jumped inside through the open roof, and stole a lunch box and something else. Of course there were screams and deep shock in the eyes of the tourists who rushed outside the car. We are glad our guide made sure to know all these things in advance and tell us what to look for and how to safeguard ourselves.

Also to mention that the car was in good order. After every day of safari we noticed the guide made sure to bring the car in order and clean it for the next day. The car didn’t have AC (which I think is extremely rare) but trust me, this is not needed or practical in a safari trip. Having open roof the most of the time to be able to enjoy animals and the view, you have to get used to the dust. That’s applicable to any kind of cars in there.

During the trip, we wondered if it would be possible to have some small adjustments to the itinerary. Our guide made sure to rearrange the itinerary so that we would have time to visit some other places we asked about.

All in all, we highly recommend both the Serengeti Wakanda tour company and our beloved guide, Bashir, to whom we are very thankful for a memorable experience...

After comparing several safari packages, my friend and me decided to use Wakanda Serengeti for our last-minute Africa trip. We were not disappointed and would definitely recommend this company to any friends visiting Tanzania in future.

We met our tour driver cum guide Tom (Tum Sifu) and chef Sulle at the hotel. After briefing us on the safari itinerary, Tom was able to clear our doubts on any questions we had. Tom is a walking encyclopedia and I was impressed by his knowledge on a wide variety of subjects ranging from animal behaviours to Masai culture. Tom is also a crazy fast driver. We had many long, bumpy drives across vast lands and when I enquired about his breakneck speed, he told me that the ride would be far bumpier if he drives slowly on the bumpy road, which made sense. At a local shopping area, Tom gave us his honest insights on what the market prices should be for certain souvenirs and tanzanite, as well as where to best buy them. Since we were on a private tour, Tom said our itinerary could afford to be more flexible, which we appreciated as it allowed us to cater the safari to our demands.

In Tarangire, I made a gaffe by standing on the back rack of the vehicle from my excitement at seeing many elephants up close. It became an issue when someone took a picture of my transgression, but Tom was understanding and did not scold me or let the incident affect the mood of our safari. In fact, he made it his personal mission to enable us as many animal sightings as he possibly could. Blessed with Tom’s amazing eyesight, his network of local guides with real-time updates, 16 years of experience and a knack for jeep parking that allows us the best camera angles, my friend and me were able to shoot lots of fantastic photos throughout the trip. We were lucky to witness a cheetah hunt and a leopard in Serengeti. At Ngorongoro, we were even able to spy some rhinos far away in the distance so technically, we managed to see the fabled Big Five on this one safari trip!

Equipment-wise, our safari jeep was very comfortable and built like a tank. It had solar-powered charger and even a portable Mifi device shared with our guide. The tent canvas is of a superb quality – I see strong winds buffeting my tent around in the middle of the night but felt nothing. The mattress is thick enough and the sleeping bag is warm enough for temperatures as low as 8 degree celsius. Accommodation facilities are surprisingly decent too, with well-maintained permanent structures such as kitchen and toilets. Some campsites, like Simba, even offer hot baths!

A special shoutout to our wonderful chef, Sulle. I have nothing but praise for this gentle, humble man who always greets us with a smile and is active in cultivating several young chefs both past and present. He would often ask us what we’d like to eat, or if we had any dietary preferences, so we can properly enjoy the food he makes. It goes without saying that Sulle is an experienced chef who can cook up a storm of delicacies on a campsite. He also makes delicious desserts, as well as fresh bread to supplement his awesome soups. Sulle is not only polite and helpful to all our needs, but always tries to go the extra mile. Little things he did, such as bringing out a whole assortment of toppings when I was merely asking a question regarding peanut butter, or smilingly decline sitting with us on his soft mattress bed for breakfast at the kitchen so we got more space to ourselves.. these memories will stay with me long after my African adventure have ended.

All in all, my friend and me is totally thrilled with the Wakanda Serengeti experience. From the start, Whatsapp communication is responsive and we received a beautifully detailed itinerary to hype us up for our upcoming adventure. Our safari was exceptionally fulfilling as we were able to shoot lots of pictures worthy of National Geographic. To top it off, we even got some free gifts to reminisce over our time in Africa. All I can say is.....