Wild Gaze Safaris Ltd — Local services in Iringa Region

By chance, Wild Gaze Safaris was hired to take to the Ruaha National Park from the airport in Iringa and then back from the park to the airport at the beginning of June during the Eid holiday. All of this was arranged through the Ruaha River Lodge, whom they managed all the package for me. Ernest picked me up from the airport and on our way to Ruaha National Park, the airline contacted me to let me know that my flight back to Dar es Salaam was cancelled, and I needed to be back in Dar by Sunday night because I needed to go to work on Monday. You can imagine that this was a highly stressful situation and not an ideal way to start my short trip. After brainstorming with Ernest on how best to get back to Dar, and remember I was about to head into the wilderness, Ernest reassured me that he would take care of everything. We decided that the best way to go was for me to spend one night in Iringa (Saturday night) and then drive to Dodoma to fly from Dodoma back to Dar es Salaam. Wild Gaze and Ernest took care of booking my flight, reserving a hotel in Iringa and they also would drive me from Iringa to Dodoma. I told Ernest to please just be careful with prices and I asked him for a fair price. We exchanged numbers and off I went into my safari adventure trusting that they would take care of everything and wouldn't charge me thousands of USD. Ernest checked in with me a couple of times over whatssap and he reassured me completely that I had nothing to worry about. Ernest picked me up from the national park as per what I had already paid for in the package that lodge had arranged, and he was not wrong. I did not have to worry about anything. Wild Gaze safaris had booked for me my flight from Dodoma to Dar, a really nice and affordable room in the best hotel in Iringa, Ernest took me to see the Isimila Stone Age Site, he took me the German Boma, to the Gangilonga rock and then ultimately, to the Dodoma airport. He is very knowledgeable and we had lovely conversations about Tanzania, its history, the parks, etc. I had been at that point a resident in Tanzania for 3 years, so I knew when I was being overcharged. Overall, I would say that what I paid was the fair price for an excellent service. I would recommend Wild Gaze Safaris and Ernest a 100%. My experience with them was one of the best customer services I had received in my 3+ years of experience in Tanzania. In addition, Ernest's company and conversation were englightning and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I will always be thankful to Ernest and to Wild Gaze Safaris for helping me avoid a situation that could have turned into a true nightmare and for taking such a good care of me and assuring that I would get an...

We had a great safari with Wild Gaze Safaris to Ruaha National Park. We spent 2 days (one night) on the safari and saw all big 4, and so much birdlife. Amazing park to visit for one day. Would not recommend to go much longer as tour drivers stay in the same area around the river as the chances of spotting wildlife are greater there. We also went to a local primary school and although we only planned to stop by for 10-20 min, we ended up spending over an hour because it was so interesting. A huge plus to this safari. Afterwards we went to a Maasai village and although I was very sceptical of its authenticity at first, it turned out to be a great trip as we talked a lot with the only English speaking person in the village (he also spoke Swahili and Maa, which was reassuring).

The driver was the one part of this safari that could have been improved. Both me and my partner are conservation biologists working in Tanzania (Serengeti region) and therefore know a bit about the system. The guide was untruthful or ignorant about many things about the park and the human communities living around it. He was friendly and enthusiastic at most times, but the drive back he was honking almost nonstop, which is even for Tanzanians an odd thing to do. Hence the 4 out of 5 stars.

Ernest (boss of Wild Gaze Safari) is friendly, helpful, honest and straightforward, which was much appreciated!

Thank you for the wonderful...

We did a 4 day/3 night safari to Nyerere National Park with Ernest. We had the most amazing time and I can't say enough good things about Ernest and Wild Gaze.

We initially got in touch with Ernest when we were still planning what we wanted to do and he helped us plan everything to encompass exactly what we were looking for with a super reasonable budget. He worked with us on making sure everything was set in advance so we didn't have to worry about anything.

My friend and I felt looked after the whole time. Our accommodation was basic, but very budget friendly, which is what we were going for. Ernest's game drive through Nyerere National Park was stellar. I've been on several safaris in Tanzania and Ernest is such a professional, really going above and beyond to make sure we had a great experience. He just very clearly is an expert in what he does. He arranged for really great specialist guides as well for our boat safari and for a bush walking safari.

The whole experience was excellent from the time he picked us up in Dar es Salaam to when he dropped us back off four days later. I will definitely be back in touch to arrange future safaris...