Opulent AfricaReviews of opulentafrica.com

Hell-o John, Donna, and Faith: We just completed our third trip to Africa with Opulent. It was of a month's duration and we could not have had a better time or received more value for our dollar spent. From the very start, the flight over on Delta to the rooms, management and service at the Peermont Suites, to all the pre-arranged flights, it was simply the best. Some of our visits were to Reserves we had visited before, so we knew what to expect, but the game viewing and service at Elephant Plains in Sabi Sands is never going to be off our list when we return. Never have we seen less than four leopards, but the lions feeding on their buffalo kills was spectacular. Next stop was fishing in Mozambique at Rio Azul, north of Vilanculos. I have sent you photos of the fish , but have not told you how wonderful the lodge and service were at Rio Azul. They are second to none. Then it was off to Zambia and the South Luangwa Reserve near Mfuwe. We stayed at Kafunta Lodge and could not have made a better pick. Our guide, Martin, was just super. His knowledge and the way explained things about the animals and the bush made the trip that much more enjoyable. Kafunta Lodge has a natural spring and have flooded the area in front of the lodge, so you get up close and personal with elephants, hippos, warthogs and numerous baboons. Huge herds of hippos in the river along with crocs and the very best, colonies of the carmine bee eaters, another bucket list bird ticked off. Just great. Forgot to mention the numerous giraffes and four more leopards we saw there. Then down south to Makakatna Lodge. This was a bit different in that it was very cool, but swampy. Lots of giraffes and elephants, but the amazing thing was the number of birds that I added to my list. One exceptional sighting of a pair of African Hoopoes right outside our chalet veranda. Amazing!! I was able to watch them for an hour. Had a lovely boat ride in a lake where there are actually hippos, crocs, and sharks in the same waters, Not a good place for a swim!! Last stop was Kwandwe Lodge outside of Port Elizabeth. This was our first visit here and I must say we will not return to Africa without returning here. Staggering amount of animals. Saw Cheetahs, Black and White Rhinos with their young calves, Lots of Lions and their young, an enormous herd(journey) of giraffes, and several new bird species, including the Blue Crane and Secretary Bird. Marvelous service and accommodations. Just exceptional. We cannot wait to return. All, and I mean ALL of the above is due to you guys and your staff. Your planning, feedback, and general help is what sets you above the rest. We will not make an international trip again without Opulent Africa doing the groundwork. Thank you all so very much. Ralph and Barbara Fisher, Missouri

Thanks for a great trip. Everything went well and we really enjoyed ourselves. Your handling of the logistics, which included six flights and four overnight locations, was excellent. Everyone was courteous and professional. We were particularly impressed with the crew at the Nairobi airport on our return. A team of three met us when we landed in the private plane and escorted us to the main terminal. When it was found that we could not check our bags for a couple of hours they came back, took care of the bags and escorted us to our gate and to the lounge. The KLM baggage counter does not open until after 6:00 and we got there about 4:00 as our incoming pilot picked us up an hour earlier then planned due to concerns about weather. The only other glitch was an unscheduled stop in Minneapolis on our way home. The staff at the three camps we stayed at took care of every need and the accommodations were fine. Temperatures ranged from moderate to cool and mosquitoes were never a problem. I took a sweater and jacket and wore both most of the time but never did wear the long sleeve shirt I brought. All of the guides were very knowledgeable but a little hard to understand due to their accent. By the way it is only women's underwear they will not wash.

.Donna and Friends, I want to express my appreciation for your leadership and all the little things you did to make our Uganda experience one that will always be remembered. I also appreciate all the time and energy the folks at Opulent Africa took to arrange our very involved two month African Odyssey. There were only a couple of little glitches, but considering where we journeyed, a minor issue or two is to be expected. Having been a world traveler all my life, I wanted to go " off the beaten track" and this is what your company provided. Seeing the lemurs, chameleons,frogs, and other one of a kind species in Madagascar was the perfect way to start our journey; and attending the San Bushmen Kuru Dance Festival in Botswana was another highlight. I loved journeying through Botswana to the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park because wildlife is so prolific. It was fun to fish for tiger fish in Namibia and not only stay at a fishing resort, but houseboat down the Chobe River. We enjoyed our days spent at a game resort on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe and viewing the beautiful, world famous Victoria Falls. And then there was the zip lining that my husband bravely did across Victoria Falls Gorge. This is an activity he shall never forget. Our experience in Mozambique while staying at the luxurious Anantara Resort provided us with a sense of relaxation and respite from the safari trips. I will always remember going whale watching in Mozambique. It was jaw dropping to see enormous humpback whales rise out of the water only a few feet from our fishing boat. I can say I felt truly pampered when we were taken to our own private island for a gourmet picnic set up under a tent. Uganda was a country we visited from one side to the other. It was fun to journey to the Source of the Nile and then white water raft down this magnificent river over some of the strongest and scariest rapids I have ever seen. Now I can tell people I rafted over a waterfall at the ripe old age of 63! And who would not want to stay at Wild Waters Resort, an island in the middle of the mighty Nile that can only be reached by boat. This was the most interesting resort we stayed at because it was surrounded by the river which provided huge rapids and swirling water that was music to my ears every night when I went to sleep. We journeyed west in Uganda to see both the Batwa ( Pygmy) tribe and the Mountain Gorilla. The Batwa at one time lived in the forest with the gorillas. The group were hunter gatherers and when it became illegal to kill gorillas, Batwa warriors became prime suspects in gorilla poaching. Batwa families were moved from the forests and parks created to protect gorillas and other animals to land on the forest fringe. I visited one of the encampments and it was the saddest thing I witnessed on my entire journey. The Batwa have not been able to successfully integrate into more mainstream culture, nor have they become particularly interested in farming. It is my hope that the Ugandan government, as well as charitable organizations, will take an interest in helping these people to provide better lives for their families.Conditions in the encampment in which I visited were abominable. This is only my opinion, but I believe the gorillas receive better treatment and care than the Batwa. This is not to say that I did not highly appreciate and prize observing the mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The experience was the most difficult thing I have ever done, but one that I take great pride in completing. The Gorilla Company helped me to fulfill this goal. It is not easy climbing through the mountain jungle to observe a gorilla family. The word Impenetrable means just that. The jungle is dense and thick covering a series of mountains where there are very few paths. And the gorillas move from place to place, sometimes fairly rapidly. After a lengthy hike, we did find our gorilla family and it was a joy to observe family members ranging in age from babies to mature males and females. I must say the Silver back leader was an imposing looking animal who led his band up and down those mountains with impressive agility. After spending eight and a half hours tracking the gorillas and to be honest saying a hundred different expletives as I slogged up and down those mountains, the first thing I did when I returned home was frame and hang my Gorilla Tracking Certificate on a wall of honor in my home. After we left Uganda, my husband and I journeyed to Ethiopia. That was an absolutely fascinating country to visit and another highlight of our trip. I loved seeing the underground Ethiopian churches carved from stone and rock in Lalibela and was quite surprised to see how green northern Ethiopia is. Flowers were in bloom and the land was verdant. At the end of the tour we went to the Omo Valley which has to be one of the most fascinating places I have ever been when it comes to seeing tribal culture. Being able to take photos of the people, some of whom wear lip and ear plates, paint their bodies, and wear colorful head dresses - is a photographer's dream. We also got to witness a cattle jumping event in which a young man, hoping to marry, must run and jump across the backs of 7 steers. He does this not once, but 4 times. Ethiopia is just beginning to awaken its tourist industry. The resort infrastructure in its more wild destinations is only fair, but I wanted to see some of the last, intact tribal culture. It was another once in a lifetime experience to observe life and conditions in Mursi, Hamar, Dassenech, and Darze villages. I have so many happy memories of Africa and this was made possible with the help of the travel professionals at Opulent Africa listening to my itinerary ideas and setting up a very detailed tour that followed my exact specifications. This was not an easy task because I am a world traveler and very opinionated on what I want to see and do. Pricing was also very fair and much cheaper than some of the other well known tour companies. This was my fifth time to Africa and I am grateful to say I had a wonderful experience visiting countries I had never been to before and completing activities that brought daily and numerous smiles.Thank you to John Harvey, Faith Weekly, Donna Robbins, and all the guides and agencies within each country we visited that helped to set up our adventure trip of a lifetime! Judith Potor / California

We have done self drive trips across Africa before but this is the first time we have used Opulent. Everything we asked for was put into the trip and any questions pre the trip were answered quickly via e-mail by the team. The best recommendation is that when we go back to Africa we would arrange the trip through Opulent without any hesitation.

Dear Donna and John, John and I want to thank you for putting together such an AmAzInG itinerary for us, the Zeisset's and the Jawahir's. Everything was absolutely fabulous-the guides, the accommodations, the food and the animal sightings could not have been better!! We absolutely loved and enjoyed every moment. Thanks for the experiences and memories we will always treasure! Barbie and John Swalina

We were recommended John and Opulent Africa by a friend in 2015 having only a very approximate idea of where we wanted to spend our honeymoon (basically somewhere in Africa for a safari led trip!). John took the time to listen to our outline requirements (holiday type, timescales, travel requirements, budget and general likes / dislikes) and then via a series of phone and email consultations helped plan an illustrative itinerary. Following some further detailed input on our part, we finalised the holiday and booked what we hoped would be a very special and memorable trip. It was clear all the way through that John and his team knew the camps and locations we were looking at, inside out. Once booked, Donna handled our reservation and the detailed itinerary, including internal and external flights as well as land transport and transfer between camps and countries. A few months before we travelled we received a minute-by-minute itinerary and background country information covering visas, currency, tipping, vaccinations, etc – a very helpful ‘bible’, especially for someone who usually has to compile numerous spreadsheets and ‘to do’ lists for multi-location self-booked holidays. Donna really went the extra mile in answering any queries on the run-up to the holiday and also helped book a number of fantastic activities in advance by liaising with the camps / lodges and activity providers such as bungee jumping and microlight flights. She also arranged some special & tasteful ‘honeymoon’ activities that made the trip truly memorable. From booking to stepping back through the door at home (begrudgingly…), everything was forensically planned and ran like clockwork. It really was fantastic holiday and we would have no reservations recommending Opulent Africa. Indeed, we are currently looking at booking trips to Asia and Africa with them next year. Richard & Jo.