Absolute Africa

Hi Anthony, Thank you for taking the time out to write a review and we are so glad to hear you had an adventure of a lifetime! We have passed on your comments to all your crew. We totally agree with the need for flexibility above all else on any overland tour of this nature and we aim to impart this in our pre departure information packs as we know this will really lend itself to enable every traveller to have the very best time out in Africa. Wishing you very happy travels in the future and you know where we are if you fancy getting back out to Africa again in future!

Hi Helene, Thank you for taking the time to write a detailed review of your Absolute Safari with us. We are glad to read that overall you had a great time on your tour making fantastic memories and that you found our trip to offer good value for money and enjoyed the fact that the itinerary was set at a comfortable pace, particularly given the vast distances that need to be covered to see 10 countries in 77 days. We are always appreciative of all feedback from our clients as this helps us to identify where improvements can be made to offer the very best experiences to our passengers. We are sorry to hear that the services of some of our local partners were found lacking on your tour. We have been looking into the details of your comments as a matter of importance. Well organised arrangements are essential and we do of course have such as an expectation of all our local contacts to deliver. Their services for our clients and indeed to assist our crew are vital so this is disappointing to read in your review and we will continue to monitor these carefully. In terms of the houseboats, this special optional excursion is usually well loved by our clients over many years as a time to relax and enjoy Africa’s gorgeous scenery and special wildlife from the boat. Early morning wildlife viewing is regularly as good as late afternoon/early evening as temperatures are cooler at both these times. We followed up as well as to the jacuzzi. All reports are that it did have water as is evident too from clients' photos from your trip of the onboard pool. It is unusual to hear you found our trucks to be small and not in good condition. The trucks are purpose built, fully fitted overland trucks with seating for 28 passengers plus crew in the cab. They are usually regarded as very large and need to be carry all that we do including luggage, provisions and the fuel to cover the distances we cover. Our seating is in coach seats which have purposefully been fitted to have most forward facing as many prefer this, along with some grouped around tables for the social benefits on long journeys. All pairs have got a window seat and all seats are importantly fitted with seat belts. We have always found these individual seats have been much favoured in contrast to the much used bench-style seating lining the edges of the interior of the truck which is seen on many overland vehicles in which there are no individual seats and you need to turn sideways or sit on your knees to look out of the truck. Conditions on the road in Africa are not kind on any vehicle, however well adapted they are, and so this does mean the trucks do take some "wear and tear". A lot of work then does go into monitoring, servicing and maintenance between trips so they are always able to do the job they are designed to do and so that all is in order trip to trip for when each tour departs. In terms of different people getting on and off the truck at different points, this is very much the essence of the overlanding style of travel. Even when we had over 10 trucks in our fleet at one time, our tours worked on the same premise of having a truck running the 77 day Absolute Safari route and then other passengers would join for shorter sections of the trip. In this way the truck can run as near full capacity throughout the route thus keeping costs down, which leads to us being able to pass on our competitive prices to clients. It is also beneficial for friends and groups who wish to travel together but may not all have the same holiday allowance or flexibility. We are surprised and disappointed to hear that you found your tour leader was unprofessional. He has been working with us for a long time, is well trained with respected guiding certificates, and is passionate about always giving 110% to his tours.There will be variation in the style of different tour leaders and we understand that clients may have different preferences as well. We do though also know this tour leader always works very hard to ensure all passengers are happy on his trips and that he provides the best service he can. We are then a bit at a loss as to your comments given his consistent dedication over many years to provide the best service to our clients. First Aid kits should be well stocked and these are inspected at the start of every trip. We can certainly take on board the addition of disposable cool packs as an option for the kits. Thanks again for leaving a review and we hope you have many happy travels in the future.

Hi Stewart, Thank you for taking the time to leave your review and we are glad to hear that you had a great time on your safari and saw all the wildlife that you would hope to see in this part of the world. We are sorry to hear that the trip structure and duties were unexpected. Our trips are group participation tours which is the ethos of overland travel. We send out a detailed pre departure booklet to all customers which explains the nature of our tours in that overland safaris are very much about everyone willingly getting involved and working as a team. We also mention the rota system our groups use for duties including cooking and shopping, washing up, cleaning the truck, and truck guard duty amongst others. In this document too, we explain that the tour is a component of a longer trip travelling down from East Africa and so suggest to arrive in a few days early to Victoria Falls to meet the truck, camp with the group, and get to know everyone before the tour departs for Botswana on day 1, which most people do tend to do. Thanks again for your feedback and we will pass on your kind comments to your crew. Kind regards, The Team at Absolute

Hi Srinivas, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your recent trip with us. We are very happy to hear you had such a great time on the Big Yellow Truck and we will certainly pass your kind comments onto Martin and Joseph. We look forward to welcoming you back on board to see other parts of Africa in the future!

Hi Joanna, Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We are glad to hear you enjoyed your tour so much and we will also pass on your comments to your crew.

Hi Bernadette, Thank you for leaving your review. We are glad to hear you had a great time on your trip and will pass on your comments to Joe, Jonesmus and Mugo. With regard to the price rises, the Gorillas and Game Parks tour now includes the gorilla trekking permit within the tour price and so is significantly more than it used to be when the permit was bought as an optional extra. We felt that the majority of our clients choosing this 14-day itinerary would want to see the gorillas and so a permit included in the price would be beneficial. Along with this, as we have now been back on the road for 6 weeks since Covid we are now checking out all the changes along the route as we travel and unfortunately have run into large increases in the costs along the tour routes. Together with the worldwide high fuel prices and low exchange rates, we have had to increase our prices overall. We believe we still have some of the best prices in the overland market though and particularly with the gorilla permit included, the Gorillas and Game Parks is still excellent value. Thank you once again for your review.

Thanks for your review Meike, we are happy to hear you had such a great time and we hope to have you back again with us again soon!