Africa Waterfalls Trips

Being chased by an elephant on a drive!! The Ivory Tree lodge was the best staff was very friendly and helpful. Our driver from there Pinuo he was so friendly and knowledgeable. Taught us so many different things. The only thing is I would have liked more hands on experience with Elephants and giraffes.

Our recent trip was amazing. A life changing experience. The trip was a good mix of natural and cultural experiences giving us well balanced exposure to Africa. Out tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, organized entertaining and thoughtful. I feel like we have a new lifelong friend. This was the first fully guided tour my wife and I have experienced. It hard to imagine exploring other countries on our own in the future. Great Job Collette and Louis, our guide.

This tour was an experience of a life time! Our tour manager, Greg, was fantastic. The highlights of this tour package had to be the game safari drives in the Chobe National Park and the Pilanesburg National Refuge. Our games drivers were excellent and very informative, plus we managed to see 4 of the African Big 5 wildlife animals plus many others. This trip greatly exceeded all of my expectations.

The Tour was great, and as with all good things, there can be improvements. While a pickup service to the airport and back was offered, it presented far too much stress, given that there was only one pickup per state and it had to be within a 50-mile radius of the originating airport. Too much time was spent meeting and organizing how to meet these requirements. I thoroughly enjoyed the safaris, but 8/9 was exorbitant, and one of South Africa's major attractions, Robben Island, was not included as a tour site. We captured amazing photos of the wild kingdoms, so this is not negative, except everyone is keenly aware of the decades-long history of Robbens Island! Kudos on the inclusion of the family visits, as I was able to learn more about the communities, the general political terrain, and it provided opportunities to deliver messages from our states to their homelands. The culinary choices were awesome, and the last evening's offerings of local foods were most informative. Special shout-out to the entertainers and especially the drummers. What a way to begin our dinner experience! Your choice of a Tour Manager was impeccable. He was knowledgeable and shared not just his knowledge but his passion for his country. Clearly, he was not doing this for a paycheck, but rather to extend friendship to other countries, showing that we are indeed "one!" He left no one behind; he was keenly aware of his group and their capabilities, as well as any physical abilities. Uriel is a KEEPER!!! The various drivers were the best; they shared amazing facts about the animals and highlighted key details of their natural habitats. Your selection of individuals who were hired to make our trip an epic journey did just that! Would I recommend Collette Travel/Tours to others? Absolutely!!!!!

Our travel agent, Shelli France of Air Bear Travel in Cheboygan, Michigan, recommended the Collette Southern Africa experience. At first it was a maybe but after reading the Collette brochure and saw the reasonable price, we decided to start our adventure. Got to admit most of the accommodations were beyond 5 star. The hospitality in Zimbabwe and Botswana were outstanding. Two locations The Wallow's and The Ivory Coast resort were exceptional. Victoria Falls was amazing the pictures and videos don't do justice to being there and feeling the roar of the Falls. The highlight of the trip were definitely the animals. Our numerous guides were excellent in locating the "big five" plus all the wild animals most of the world associate with Africa, giraffe, zebra, impala, warthog, baboons. Of course my highlight were the elephants, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, several different groups of lions and my wife's favorite the leopard. Getting to Cape Town was a nice way to slowly bring the trip back to a more relaxed pace. The Mandela experience was very moving. Couldn't believe all we did in just two weeks. I would highly recommend asking to get Gregory Jaftha as your tour manager. An incredible individual who made small changes so we could see everything we wanted.

I loved this trip, it was the trip of a lifetime for me. It was so incredibly beautiful it was almost spiritual. The opportunity to see these animals with my own eyes was something I will never forget! Penya (at Ivory Tree), was my safari guide and his information was invaluable. Being immersed into the culture by having dinner with two families was extraordinary! As far as accommodations I enjoyed Ivory Tree Game Lodge best. Very nice stay and it was nice to choose meals off a menu. I did tire of cafeteria style food of other places we stayed. Our tour director seemed more into the history and teaching us though. There were times I just wanted him to be quiet, or talk more about the present than the past. Victoria Falls was more amazing than I could even imagine. Loved seeing the penquins of course, but spotting a leopard and her cub was a highlight for all of us! I loved seeing all the recycling in the art that made everywhere you turned. Table mountain - wow! This senior citizen even paraglided off Signal Mountain! I had my life’s first massage also on this trip. The group of people that traveled from Pittsburgh were a pearl on this trip. I left with 18 new friends. I’m not even a birder, and I was fascinated by all the beautiful birds all around, all the colors of the rainbow! There is nothing that can be done about all the visa checks, passport checks, and plane trips but it did get tiresome being in so many airport lines. Only thing I would have done differently would have been to pack a few more smart casual outfits. I packed mostly safari clothes, and the last few days in Capetown left me wearing some of my safari outfits another time. Thank you for providing me with an easy way to travel with a group of people and navigating all of the travel with none of the worries!