On Track Safaris Reviews 192

We decided to leave a few days earlier on the 12th, although the safari didn't begin until the 15th. This was a precautionary measure incase we had to amend travel arrangements given flight cancellations. Fortunately for us no issues so arriving in Cuiaba on the 13th gave us a couple of days to acclimatise and get excited about what was to come.
During this time we met our guide Raul. He turned out to be a mine of local and wildlife knowledge and great fun. An amazing guy and guide.
Over the whole trip the two of us who were gluten and dairy free were pleasantly surprised by what the lodges managed to provide for us over the whole trip.
On the 15th we left for the first lodge, Pouso Alegre, where we stayed for two nights. Here we enjoyed an array of bird life including toucans, coatis and other animals seen on the night drives as well as amazing sunsets. A great start to the adventure.
We then moved onto Porto Jofre after a very long and bumpy ride in an open sided truck, travelling over numerous bridges. Not a comfortable experience and one we needed to endure on the way back. The bonus was the amount of bird life we saw on the way down and back as well as wildlife. We managed to see numerous raptors, various storks and egrets, hyacinth macaws, caiman of all shapes and sizes, capybara sunbathing on the road, Marsh deer and two anacondas. Everyday became an adventure and wondering what might turn up.
At Porto Jofre we were met by a very skillful boat driver. Between him and Raul they maximised what we saw from our 4 days. Over the period we saw so many caiman that we became fussy about the photos we took, 19 jaguars of which 16 were different as we saw a female with her two grown cubs twice. We were fortunate to see on jaguar swim across the fast flowing Cuiaba river and another running off with a capybara. The bird life was unbelievable with parrots, kingfishers among those we saw. We were also fortunate to see giant river otters. Amazing creatures to see playing and eating. Whilst here we were treated to some evening lectures by a young man working for Southwild. Very informative.
Sadly the 4 days went very quickly but we were left with so many indelible memories with a number of them captured on camera.
So the long journey back to our final destination on the safari. That was to be at St Theresa Lodge. Here there was a tower to scale which enabled us to see baby Jabiru Storks. Our first evening saw our luck held as we walked out to see 3 ocelot. Other guests drew blanks on the evenings they went out. In the morning we walked out of the rooms and met a crab eating fox on the lawn! What a sight to see and behold.
All credit to OnTrack Safaris for putting this trip on. A big thank you to Raul the drivers, our hosts at the 3 lodges for ensuring we were comfortable, well fed and although on safaris there are no guarantees as to what you might see everyone did their best to ensure to maximise our experience and adventure.
A trip all 4 of us highly recommend to anyone considering undertaking it.
Thank you Carol, Will and Raul you did us proud.
Molly, David, June and Paul

This was a first safari experience, eagerly anticipated since 2020. There were many changes of plan along the way, due to both the Pandemic and personal preferences. Carol Fox and the office team provided support and guidance with this throughout, which was particularly valuable in allowing us to mesh the trip with a second, guided tour along the Cape to follow the safari. On Track clearly have a wealth of experience of South Africa and safaris, and this showed throughout. We were able to visit four separate private Kruger reserves over 11 days and each gave a different perspective, ending with a pre-arranged guided tour through the Drakensberg mountains to Johannesburg. On the multiple game drives we saw the Big Five, the Ugly Five, wild dogs and even a pangolin (maybe an aardvark and honey badger next time). The enthusiasm of the guides and trackers was infectious, and they were keen to give us a good and authentic experience. They also conveyed a serious interest in conservation and were keen to help in research, as demonstrated when we set up camera traps to monitor animal movements. The accommodation was varied from luxury tent to a self-contained apartment at different sites and was of a good to very good standard throughout, as was the food. We will definitely be looking to travel with On-Track again.

For my first time traveling internationally, my experience was wonderful. Nothing goes as planned sometimes, but that's part of the experience, and I had a wonderful adventure on a detour one day. Communication was great when I had any questions.

Great trip, saw lots of wild life. Comfortable lodges. Had a great time.

Once again On Track Safaris came through with a great trip. I loved Elephant Plains, Arathusa and Nkorho. Great staff that took care of us while we were at each lodge. The only unpleasant experience was while at Kadazora Lodge in Botswana. It was listed as a luxury safari lodge and I do not consider that it was. I was greeted when I arrived and that was the the most that I seen the staff except for the servers and guide. My thanks for On Track Safaris for making the arrangements for our trip. Having used On Track Safaris for the 3rd time I would use them again in the future.

This was my first time to South Africa and my experience was everything and much more than I had imagined. On Track wete fabulous. Very well organised and efficient. Will and Carol are incredible very friendly and full of interesting facts and info. They do s huge amount of work for conservation to.protect the beautiful animals.

On Track handled all of the details for my trip to Kenya and Tanzania in June 2022. They were attentive and kept us informed of any changes as they arose. When unexpected things happened while in East Africa, as things do, On Track was quickly on the job to address the issues. From rescheduling events to helping us change lodges, they were always there to help.

I highly recommend On Track. I've worked with them since 2015 to organize my safaris and they have always been the best.

The Timbavati safari was really good. Plenty of game seen. The guides and trackers were really good and helpful. The lodges were comfortable and the food excellent. 3 very different lodges to stay in but all looked after us really well. Thoroughly recommend this holiday

Our trip to The Pantanal in Brazil ( July 2022) was extremely well organised by On Track Safaris & we had the most amazing Guide Raul & brilliant Drivers of both land vehicles & boats. Our hosts where we stayed were lovely & everyone was helpful & Friendly. ( Although maybe not the Cockerel )
Having never been on a real Safari we were blown away with the wildlife... some closer than others.. & landscape. Thousand of Photos.....
Thank you so much for such a wonderful time, can't wait to go back.

We had an incredible time on our a 10 night safari in South Africa!
We stayed at some amazing lodges and felt truly pampered by the end of our trip! Rukiya Lodge was a stand-out for its friendly staff and welcoming environment. Nzumba Lodge was incredibly luxurious, and we felt our every need was taken care of.
On-Track made sure that every part of the safari experience was considered and planned, so we were able to sit back and enjoy!
We saw some incredible awe-inspiring wildlife encounters. It was amazing to be able to set a camera-trap and review the photos from it as part of the leopard research initiative.
We had a fantastic time and would definitely recommend On Track Safaris to anyone considering a safari!

An excellent trip to the Pantanal in Brazil with On Track Safaris, after Carol had rebooked and rebooked us again after Covid . We started in Cuiaba with a night in a hotel to recover from our journey from the U.K. we were met by Will and Carol who briefed us about the trip and what to expect. The trip certainly didn’t disappoint, there was wall to wall wildlife. I have been on a few safaris and have never seen the quantity of wildlife as there was in the Pantanal. There were daily boat trips to see Jaguars , playful river Otters, Caiman, Ocelot and more. The birds were plentiful, colourful and large you almost did not need binoculars to see them.
The accommodation was comfortable, clean and friendly, beside the river and with good food. Our guide Raul did everything he could to show us the wildlife of the Pantanal, and it was all seamlessly organised by Will and Carol. A very memorable holiday.

Another trip with the excellent On Track Safari team, and what a great trip it was.
We met up with Will and Carol, plus the other group members in Cuiabá following our overnight flight from London to Sau Pualo and subsequent transfer flight. The next day, we began the drive to our fist stop in the Pantanal itself. What followed was an incredible holiday with fine accommodation, great food and absolutely memorable boat safaris. The highlight, of course, Jaguars, of which we saw 9 (one stayed with us for 40 minutes), plus a fabulous encounter with an Ocelot. So many other wonderful sightings of birds, lizards, mammals etc of course too.

All in all, this was such a wonderful holiday, and we just cannot wait for our next adventure with On Track Safaris (which is already booked.... Snow Leopards in India).

Another brilliant trip with OnTrack Safaris. Personal service and good organisation. Busy days but well worth it and we had some great sightings of Jaguars.

On Track Safaris – Greater Kruger Park Safari – March 2022

We returned in April 2022 from a safari holiday we booked with On Track Safaris in December 2019. In March 2020, we were within three days of departing for the holiday when we had to cancel and it was subsequently postponed on two further occasions. Our first comment is not about the holiday, but about the superb service we received from Carol at On Track Safaris. At every stage through the postponements and our eventual travel, we had every confidence that Carol was looking after our interests. We were also grateful for the lodges that we used who also accepted the changes to our travel plans.

Turning now to our experience of the Safari, it was superb, we would be struggling to find any comments to suggest how it could be improved.

We spent 14 nights in South Africa and visited four lodges, one lodge, Rukiya was our first and then our last lodge. All the lodges were located on large private game reserves and this limited the number of other safari vehicles seen on game drives. There were a few occasions when we met another group but this was always well-managed with the guides limiting the time they spent viewing animals at close quarters. There was no evidence that the animals were concerned or anxious about the presence of the safari vehicles, continuing to feed noisily or sleep soundly.

All the lodges were of a very high standard and the food was outstanding. Their isolated location in the bush gave many opportunities to see elephants, antelopes and other game from the lodge. On one occasion, elephants decided to drink water from a swimming pool.

We had a morning and an afternoon game drive and returning after dark gave us the opportunity of seeing animals that are only active at night. The guides and the trackers had an intimate knowledge of the reserve and there were many occasions when the tracker was able to take us to leopards and lions that were feeding on a recent kill by following their tracks.

We had a particular interest in the birdlife in the Greater Kruger area and although the main focus was on the animals, the guides took opportunities to stop and identify interesting birds. In fact we saw five of the “Big Six” special birds in the Kruger.

Overall, the holiday far exceeded our expectations and we had many opportunities to observe at first hand the behaviour of animals in the wild. We returned with a much greater understanding of the conservation efforts being made to protect the wildlife, particularly rhinos, thanks to the dedicated and knowledgeable guides and owners of the lodges.

It is very unlikely that this will be our last visit to the Kruger.

We booked our holiday with On Track Safaris way back in 2020 and originally planned to visit South Africa and Uganda back to back in September of that year. Roll forward 18 months and, after two cancellations due to Covid, we opted to split our holiday and visit Uganda and leave South Africa for another time. Throughout the turmoil On Track Safaris have been brilliant, managing the upheaval for us and rescheduling everything not once but twice and when we decided to split the holiday they didn't mind at all.

The communication and service throughout has been excellent, we had a brilliant holiday in Uganda and we have the highest levels of trust in On Track. Perhaps the best indicator of their performance is that, when we do get around to eventually rebooking our South African part of the holiday, we will certainly be going back to On Track Safaris.

Our safari was truly the experience of a lifetime, thanks in large part to Carol with OTS helping organize every activity we asked for! It was wonderful to be able to know that our accommodations, activities, and drivers were all curated for us. Jackalberry Lodge was our favorite, and if your are looking for great food, awesome accommodations, and WOW animal sightings, this place is the best!! We also enjoyed our stay at Rukiya tented camp, and our hosts were a wonderful couple. Do note here that this is not the place for a thrilling big 5 safari, and the reserve is small and sedate, but it is a unique and relaxing stay. Our driver from the camp through the canyon to Graskop was amazing, and he got us safely to every lookout, despite heavy fog, and was a wealth of knowledge. Stopping at the Bourne's Potholes is a must! From start to finish, Carol with OTS was there for us before, during planning, and along the trip. Highly recommend this company for a fantastic, tailored safari and we will certainly recommend and use them again!

I love traveling with On Track Safaris as they take care of everything and do it so well! I think this might be my tenth time traveling with them and I don’t even live in UK! Great organization and wonderful uniquely personal holidays.

When we decided to go on a safari trip for our honeymoon, a friend of us recommended On Track Safaris. It turned out to be a great choice as we had a wonderful experience:
_very simple to organise: they understood easily where we wanted to go and what we were hoping to see, they produced a perfectly adjusted agenda.
_sumptuous lodges: we enjoyed perfect evenings with a friendly staff in each of them.
_reserves full of animals: including big five. Not easy to spot but the guides and trackers were great to track them down.
Great experience really. No doubt we'll contact them again if we decide to go on another safari trip in the near future.

Safari review 17.08.19-26.08.19 10 days and 9 nights. We arrived and were picked up by Michael who took us to Lake Victoria Guest House and arranged for us to meet Paul who was to be our guide for the safari. Meanwhile we settled into our accommodation. Sadly only one member of staff was worth her weight , Evelin, in whatever currency you choose! Overall the service was slow, the choices of food limited for those with sensitivities and the bathroom area in the room was disappointing. The most disappointing and potentially trip damaging was the owner who had her two children running around with streaming colds! This worried us as we were potentially at risk of missing out on seeing the gorillas - the main reason for the safari. Having a cold could put walking with them very much at risk. The following morning we were picked up by Paul our guide and driver and as it happened through others dropping out ur personal guide and driver! He looked after us extremely well and ensured all our personal needs were met even to finding suitable pitstops! Throughout he engaged with us and we had plenty of banter. He saw us through the chimpanzee trekking, various towns and villages with a commentary and answered our questions as we drove along. Queen Elizabeth Park with lions and cubs plus a beautiful leopard, Adolf and his bee project, a trip along the river with wildlife in abundance and of course a trip out for sundowners as we watched the sun go down. We were introduced to Deo and his homestead project - a marvel of someone determined to survive alongside the elephants and other wildlife invading his crops and livestock. Then the best of all the gorillas - we couldn't believe how close we got to them. The memories are still vivid in the memory banks. We were also fortunate to visit the Gorilla Conservationist Centre to see the work they are doing. Well worth a visit to understand more. Sadly Paul had to leave us for personal reasons but handed us over to another guide/driver who was equally knowledgeable and good company - Elton(no not the singer!). He took us to Rwakobo where we saw what was happening locally in the village with Ankole cattle - what huge and long horns!, we had a walk in the park, guided of course, an evening drive to see the nightlife and then back to Entebbe. Before our flight we met up with Gladys, chief vet for the gorillas and someone we were lucky to meet in the UK before our trip. We also met Lesley, managing Director of Venture Safaris who put our trip together with On Track Safaris before ending our journey at the airport ready for the flight home. The trip was well put together and thanks to Paul and Elton we had a great safari and came back with wonderful memories and photos. As an aside we are still in contact with both. Talking to others we met at the various lodges we realised we had gold star treatment compared to them. hooray for OnTrack, Venture Safaris, Paul and Elton! All to be highly commended. We achieved everything we came to see and all timings were kept to before the rains came at the end of the trip. How lucky was that?!! During the trip both Paul and Elton were very compatible and joined us for drinks and meals and conversation. We would recommend our trip as one to replicate even seeing Adolf, Deo and his family and learning about gorilla conservation. The trip wasn't just about wildlife it was seeing the local life to and seeing how poachers were being turned into gamekeepers and seeing how tourism can feed them as much as poaching! Thank you to all involved in putting our trip together and our wonderful drivers/guides.
Overall a 10/10 for a fabulous trip and the experiences.
David and Molly

By far and away our best holiday ever! The camps that are used by On Track were exactly what we were after. Small intimate camps with great service, attention to detail, fantastic food and bush knowledge. The game drives were stunning whether we saw the big 5 or not it was amazing to see other wildlife and learn more of the bush. Rukiya Camp and N’kaya Camp were our favourites, both totally different but equally amazing.