African Traits

We had the best time on Safari with African Traits. Godfrey is fantastic - he is very professional but also friendly. He listened to what we wanted out of our safari and created a perfect experience for us. We were a group of 5 friends travelling from Australia. We went on a 4 day / 3 night safari to the Serengeti (2 nights) and Ngorogoro crater (1 night). Our guide, Benny, was incredibly knowledgable - we couldn't ask him a question about any plant or animal that he didn't know the answer to! We had a cook along with us - Habibu - who made delicious hot meals. We slept in the camping grounds in canvas tents - they were roomy and comfortable. The car was very comfortable & kitted out with chargers and an esky for cold afternoon beers whilst on our game drives. Everything was great!

Overall, it was a fantastic experience made comfortable & easy with African Traits. I couldn't more highly recommend them!

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We booked a four day Safari to Ngorogoro crater (1 Day) and Serengeti (3 days) with dropoff at Lake Victoria for two people. Our guide, Mbaga, and our cook, Habibu, did an amazing job and made it an unforgettable experience. Mbaga is a good driver and experienced and knowledgeable safari guide. He is well connected with other guides and always gave 100% to make sure we get the most out of our trip. We saw all the animals we had hoped to see on this safari.

We want to mention that we eat vegan, which was absolutely no problem for Habibu and we had the best variety of vegan dishes on our whole 3 week Tanzania trip during these four days of Safari with African traits. The manager, Godfrey, is very professional. He helped us out on short notice, when we had to cancel a Safari we had booked with a competitor. He drove all the way from Arusha to Migombani camp site to make a contract with us there. Contract and equipment were very good.

We also like the branding efforts (everything from pillows to water bottles on the tour carries the company logo). We had a special request: to make our nights more comfortable we asked for cots instead of simple mattresses to be put into the tent we had on public camp sites. It was absolutely no problem for African Traits to organize that on short notice for some extra payment (+40 USD). Unlike other tourists we met on the public camp sites, we never had to build up our tent ourselves. African traits made sure that it always already was ready when we arrived at the site.

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I booked a first trip to Tanzania with my 24 year old son with Godfrey and African Traits and could not have been more happy with the whole experience. Godfrey was very responsive and quick to respond to my many questions through the planning and booking process.
We did a (7) day Kilimanjaro climb via the Lemosho Route which was exceptional. The weather cooperated and out team of porters, guides and chef were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable as well as patient with my efforts to learn Swahili!
We had a successful summit the heading off for a (2) day safari at Tarangire and Ngorongoro where we saw a bunch of beautiful landscape and wildlife including the "big 5". Our guide, Mirage, was wonderful and had a keen eye for spotting wildlife. He also exposed us to some of the wonderful musicians of Tanzania and The DR of Congo. Accommodations were all great but particularly enjoyed the Farm House Lodge in Karatu which provided wonderful comfort and tranquility after 7 days on the trail.

We hope to be back to Tanzania again some day and will definitely be working with African Traits on our next adventure!

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We had a group of 4 do the 4 day safari in basic accommodation, covering Tarangire National Park, Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.

We had the best time! Our driver, Ben, was excellent, so knowledgeable and our cook, George, was fantastic - so much delicious food!
We saw all the big 5 and more, we were very lucky!

African Traits provided a great service, everything ran perfectly and the staff were amazing. Thanks so much for a very memorable experience :)

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I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro with African Traits, Godfrey provided comprehensive information about the climb and was very fast at responding to emails. It can sometimes be hard to trust a company half way across the world but he put me at ease with his professionalism.
The guides on the climb spoke excellent English and made us feel very safe. I was climbing as an individual so Godfrey joined me with another small group of people which worked really well. The food was amazing even after four days of being on the mountain and I was encouraged and supported all the way to the summit. Godfrey greeted us on the day of our return back to Moshi and the hotel he had booked for us to stay in was perfect!
No complaints whatsoever!

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Coming to Africa and doing a safari has always been a dream for us and, since we are from New Zealand and it's such an effort to come here, we wanted to do it right. Upon reading the reviews for African Traits we decided to go with them, and were delighted with how everything turned out.

First of all, Godfrey's communication has been fantastic right from the start. This is our first time in Africa, and had an enormous amount of questions for Godfrey including transport, weather advice (since we came in the rainy season) and available safari packages that would work best for us - we ended up doing a 3 day Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire safari. Godfrey was very quick to respond, with incredibly detailed messages. We felt like all our questions were answered satisfactorily.

Secondly, our guide, Hassan, was excellent. He was very knowledgable, spoke great English (which was fantastic given our rather poor Swahili) and always made sure we were enjoying ourselves. He constantly communicated with other drivers to make sure we spotted all the animals we could - including doing some swift (but safe) driving through mazes of roads to make sure we spotted a leopard at the end of our final day, completing our Big 5!

Despite being the rainy season, the weather held up brilliantly, only starting to pour with rain at around 4pm - i.e. as soon as we had finished spotting animals each day! We initially planned to tent but Godfrey very generously upgraded us to a lodge for free because of the evening rain. The lodge was excellent too - great food, and even entertainment at dinner time.

The parks themselves were amazing - the personal favourite had to be Ngorongoro Crater, but Tarangire had spectacular scenery and animals too - and this was in March!

All in all, we highly recommend African Traits to anybody. You will not be disappointed.

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A group of 5 of us booked a 4-day, 3-night safari trip with African Traits. We were collected in Moshi and taken through Arusha to the Serengeti on day 1, where we enjoyed an evening game drive. The second day was also spent in the central Serengeti, with extensive morning and evening game drives. We stayed at the same campsite both nights we were in the Serengeti. African traits provided tents and camping mattresses. The toilet/shower facilities at the site were shared, and were generally kept clean and functional.

On day 3 we completed a morning game drive in the Serengeti and then traveled to Ngorongoro Crater in the afternoon. There we stayed at the Simba campsite, which was fine but busier than the Serengeti. Toilet and shower facilities were fine, though not as clean due to the volume of people using them. On the 4th day we completed a morning game drive in Ngorongoro before traveling back to Arusha.

The Serengeti was fantastic as it is very vast, and has many different landscapes. We saw a variety of animals, including lions, elephants, antelope, wildebeest, zebras, hippos, baboons and from a distance, leopards and a cheetah!

The Ngorongoro was also extremely beautiful and here we also saw black rhinos from a distance.

We had a fantastic guide, who was very professional and had an amazing eye for animals. We could be driving as fast as 50km/hr and he would stop suddenly and say 'there is a leopard in that tree over there'-(the tree might be ~100m away!!). He was also a wealth of knowledge on each of the animals-their lifespan, mating habits, social habits, diet etc; and had an impressive knowledge about how the animals interacted with each other in the environment. For example, he explained how two lions we saw had positioned themselves to take down one of the zebras walking through the plain. It was truly impressive and very interesting. Our guide also ensured we maximised our timetable to get the most game viewing in. He was very punctual and efficient.

We also had a cook, who prepared generous, wholesome meals for our group. He was also very professional and organised. We were very impressed also to be eating off porcelain crockery!

Overall a wonderful experience with African traits, price was also very reasonable and competitive with other companies. I highly recommend booking your safari with them, you won't be disappointed!!

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I went on the 2-day Marangu village tour with two of my friends from New Zealand. Godfrey took us on the tour.

We started with a visit to the Marangu Gate at the base of the Mt Kilimanjaro, where Godfrey explained to us the geography and history about this world-famous mountain.

We then visited the picturesque waterfalls to appreciate its natural beauty, followed by a visit to the coffee farm where we were shown how the coffee is produced from start to finish. The coffee song that Godfrey taught us was particularly memorable - "Tuanga, tuanga, tuanga kunue kahawa!". It was followed by a nice coffee time enjoying the very coffee we just ground ourselves. Maisha marefu!

In the afternoon, we visited the Chagga cultural museum and the caves. Being from the Chagga tribe himself, his knowledge and ability to provide an enjoyable guided tour with his friendliness and humour is un-paralleled. On top of all the fun and laughs we had, we learnt so much about the history of the Chagga tribe and all the thoughts behind the intricate designs of the caves that they constructed.
After an overnight stay at a comfortable accommodation in Moshi, we proceeded to the hot springs where we spent hours swimming and relaxing in the clear blue waters. For lunch we had the delicious chipsi mayai, which is a must-try dish during your stay in Tanzania.

Overall, I would definitely recommend to my friends and other future travellers the African Traits company. It was a great way to befriend Tanzania for a first-time traveller like me. I had great two days on this trip and came away with fond memories.
Asante sana Godfrey!

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During my stay in Tanzania, I got to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro through Godfrey and his company, African Traits. Although I was not well-prepared, Godfrey thankfully organised for me to borrow the gear without any hassle, and soon I was at the entrance to the Machame route for Mt. Kilimanjaro, ready to go.

During the hike, the guides John and Anderson kept us entertained with lots of useful information about Mt. Kilimanjaro, and Tanzania in general. At the camps at the end of each day, the porters had already brought our luggage and set up the tents for us to rest. The foods that were cooked (breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner) were absolutely outstanding; every meal was different and unique which kept us excited and there was always plenty of food for us to eat. The cook was also able to accommodate for my friend who was vegetarian. Generous servings and full stomach are really important during these hikes!
I had some altitude sickness for a day during the hike, and it was amazing how much care they put into checking my health. The guides frequently checked how I was doing, and was willing to adapt to ensure my optimal recovery before my hike to the summit.

On the fifth day (the day of the summit), I was fully recovered and prepared for the 6-hour hike to the top. Along this enduring hike, the guides (who each have experience of climbing Mt. Kili over 100 times) help you pace yourself and provide mental support that you need to reach the summit - which we all did!

In addition, the songs the team sing for you during the trip and the pictures of the beautiful scenery you take during the hike are absolutely priceless and unforgettable. With the vegetation and the terrain that change with the altitude, we were in awe most of the time admiring the views, and taking pictures. From day 3 onwards (when you are above ~3000m altitude), it's a surreal feeling to be looking down at the clouds.

I have previously done a Marangu village cultural tour with the African Traits (I have also wrote a review for this trip), and I was again happy with the experience I got out of it. I strongly recommend all future travelers to consider organising their tours with African Traits.

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We spent 2+ amazing weeks with Godfrey and the African Traits Team. We started by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho Route over 7 days. The entire team of guides, cook, and porters were friendly, professional and extremely competent - the food was a particular highlight! (also our entire group summited!)

We then went on a 4-day safari through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable. We particularly appreciated his safety concerns and that he obeyed all the Tanzanian National Park rules (that many other guides were ignoring and therefore damaging the local environment).

We finished our time with African Traits with a 4 day tour of the Usambara Mountains which were beautiful. We hiked through forest, local villages and stayed in a local homestay.

Through out our whole experience, Godfrey was very friendly but professional. We appreciated how transparent he was about all the details and costs. I will be recommending African Traits to all my friends!

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