WildernessReviews of wildernessdestinations.com

I loved every minute of my time at Ruckomechi. The staff was so hospitable and professional. Our guide Tonga was exceptional. We saw so many amazing animals on safari. The food was great. Accommodations were very comfortable. Would love to return there one day.

The remoteness of this lodge, made our experience unforgettable. We stayed in four locations on our trip to Tanzania and the Wilderness Lodge was by far our favorite. The staff was over the moon and went to far beyond our expectations in the food, the service and the general hospitality. I could not recommend them more. :) If you are lucky enough to have Eze (Ezechiel) as your guide, you will not be sorry. He was awesome!

We travelled for more than 20 years in Africa, many times also in Wilderness camps. To Ruckomechi: We liked the style very much (personal, authentic and not luxury over the top as in many camps today), still natural Africa. Kind staff, and good food. We were less excited about the habitat: First, Ruckomechi borders a hunting area. This makes animals shy, prevents bigger prides (lions) and the camp looses many animals to the hunting (as animals do not recognize the border between hunting and foto safari area!). Second, the dry river bed area may be good for driving, but basically up and down the river with limited sights get boring. The habitat is also not very diverse. We were first assigned to a guide without permission to walk Clients, despite having explicitly asked for it in the reservation. This made us a little angry. On our request, the lodge changed our guide, and we then had some great days with this guide tracking animals on foot. The Zambezi river cruise was also very nice and pleasant. In sum, a true traditional African camp with positives but also some negatives. Compared to the best camps we have stayed in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa, I give it a 4 to of 5 stars.

I have reviewed all four lodges on TA, two of which were Wilderness. My view of Wilderness is strategic, not on the ground. Vanessa in England, who put together the itinerary based on my needs and stayed in touch, was superb. Wilderness has a suite at Windhoek, and the guys who run it are poppets. The key Wilderness element was the transfers between the four lodges. They went off without a hitch, and I was always kept informed; the Pilots added to the experience. In the background, I was part of a WhatsApp group that kept in touch, but they turned out to be insurance. If I could have changed anything, it would have been to arrive in Windhoek and then fly straight to J'burg on an evening flight. The Weinberg is a two-hour round trip and just an additional pit stop. I say that because, as a huge fan of the Saxon, I would have preferred two nights there. The trip's biggest logistical success was having only cabin luggage; it avoids worries about checked luggage missing a connection and keeps the experience light-footed. The other thing I used on this trip was post-shot processing my smart photo as if it were a telephoto-lens shot. Completely authentic and avoids carrying around heavy machinery.

Our family recently returned from a 12-night luxury safari across Namibia and Botswana organized by Wilderness. While we have traveled to other parts of Africa before—including Kenya, South Africa, and Victoria Falls—this was our very first time visiting Namibia and Botswana, and it proved to be hands-down the best African journey we have ever taken. A huge part of this trip’s success started months before we set foot in Africa. Planning a two-country, multi-stop fly-in circuit for a family involves complex logistics. From our initial email exchanges, our safari specialist at Wilderness, Michael Kilner, was phenomenal. He was exceptionally patient, courteous, and attentive to every detail as we explored different routing options, flight links, and lodge sequences. Safari planning at this level can easily feel overwhelming, but Michael’s calm professionalism, transparent communication, and thoughtful recommendations immediately gave us total confidence. Once on the ground, the execution was nothing short of perfection:Flawless Aviation & Logistics: The movement between remote sites was smooth and efficient. Every transition, airport meet-and-assist, and charter connection operated like clockwork. Two aviation highlights truly set this trip apart: the breathtaking scenic flight along the dramatic Namibian coastline and the low-level flight across the Delta. On top of that, the private cross-border charter jet Michael secured from Windhoek directly into Maun turned a potentially exhausting border crossing into a fast, effortless transition that maximized our time in the bush. Namibia’s Raw Beauty (Onduli & Little Kulala): Namibia’s landscapes are completely awe-inspiring. Both Onduli Enclave and Wilderness Little Kulala were terrific. From tracking desert-adapted wildlife among Damaraland’s granite terrain to watching sunrise over the red dunes of Sossusvlei, both properties delivered incredible comfort, outstanding food, and exceptional guiding. Botswana’s Wildlife Pinnacle & Legendary Guides (Mombo & DumaTau): Concluding the journey at Wilderness Mombo and Wilderness DumaTau exceeded every expectation. The wildlife viewing—from intense predator tracking around Chief’s Island to huge elephant herds along the Linyanti—was extraordinary. What made Botswana truly unforgettable, however, was the caliber of the guiding. A special mention must go to Zee at Mombo and Ron at DumaTau—their tracking expertise, deep knowledge of the bush, intuition, and warm hospitality made our game drives world-class.From the very first email inquiry with Michael to our final game drives with Zee and Ron, Wilderness delivered a truly transformative, masterclass experience. If you are looking for flawless logistics, unmatched expertise, and genuinely caring service, we cannot recommend Michael Kilner and the Wilderness team highly enough.

Perfectly organized, very friendly and helpful people (drivers, lodge-staff etc.), extraordinary service, great food, amazing lodges (Bisate & Magashi), wonderful game drives and a once-in-a-lifetime Gorilla Trekking! We felt very welcome and we definitely want to come back to Rwanda!

We had an absolutely wonderful time staying at Little Kulala. A beautiful location and place and we were so well looked after there, overseen so capably by Roshin. Along with the wonderful guides William and John who ensured our wildlife encounters were all we could have hoped for.

This was our first safari and we were beyond excited. From the first pick up Wilderness delivered. we were collected from the airport seamlessly for our first night in Arusha Tanzania. then collected the following morning to go to Ngorongoro Crater where we stayed at the wonderful a & K sanctuary. Our guide for the full day safari in the crater Seph was just amazing he knew the area so well and often got us private moments with the animals as he didn't follow all the jeeps. We saw all the big 5 except for leopards up close. We then transferred to Wayo Green Camp North (part of Wilderness). The tents were right in the action and the staff were amazing nothing was too much trouble. Considering the lack of facilities the staff cooked great food and everyday we got a 5*packed lunch and wonderful fresh coffee. Our guide Eric was very knowledgeable and took us to see some great sights so many animals to see but we learned so much about the animals and the ecosystem from him. The fact that the tents had 180 degree fronts you really felt you were part of the action. So for a brilliant safari experience with superb staff and great guides I cannot recommend Wilderness enough. We hadn't booked direct we used Yellow Zebra to book who again were first rate