Starlight Safari.?

[BeachMouse1]

Anyone done the Starlight Safari? Is it worth it? Have done the Wild Africa Trek and Savor the Savanna wondering if this is a must do?
Thanks

 

[JODEE2090]

We did the Starlight Safari on 11/29. There were 12 adults total. It was cold that night, so they handed out blankets. To be honest, I wasn't overly impressed. Most of the animals we saw we seen from the outside patio after we had dinner at Boma. If you have done those other tours, I think you we be disappointed.

 

[Eblues93]

For those that have done the Starlight Safari, could you comment on how rough it typically is? The safety info makes it sounds like it could be rough (not for expectant mothers, people with back trouble). I have one booked for next week, and my 11 year old got a mild concussion early this week, so am trying to decide if it is something she can go on.

 

[scrappinginontario]

If you ride the Safari vehicles (which I believe you do), those are rough in general. The roads the vehicles follow were created with bumps and ruts to mimic a real Safari. If you’re been cautioned your child be careful I would not recommend the Safari.

 

[nherbert]

We just did the 7pm Starlight Safari last night - if one of your favorite rides is the safari at AK, and if you really like the savanna part with the giraffes, zebras and wildebeests then you will love the starlight safari!
I am going to temper my review with the knowledge that the giraffe is my favorite animal, I just love how proud and regal they are even though they have to de one of the oddest shaped animals on the planet - like god asking a child to design an animal - what about the legs? Make them long. What the neck? Oh, make it long too. What else? The tongue make it blue and long
Anyway back to the starlight safari…it is as advertised an hour long ride in a safari vehicle around the savanna’s at AKL. The seats are around the edge of the vehicle so holds around 12 people, and the vehicle stops a lot so you can stand up. The ride is in the dark, so you are given night vision googles, these work amazingly well. An animal can be right next to the vehicle but it’s so dark you can’t see them without the googles.
If you love giraffes, this is the tour for you, they were so active (for giraffes), we got soooo close to so many of them, and watched them try to eat stuff that was so high with their very long tongues. There were lots of other animals as well, I won’t name them all (as I can’t) but the list is endless and you get so much closer to them than you do on the AK safari. Some were resting but many were up and about.
Was it bumpy? No worse than the safari at AK. Lots of stops, so not the continuous bumpy of the AK safari. Was it cold? Well it is December, they had blankets. But no I didn’t find it terribly cold, I was still wearing a t-shirt, and my son was in shorts.
The guides were amazing, we had Emily talking and Adam driving, so much knowledge and it’s not like the scripted safari, as they have to talk about the animals as they come up on the safari and it is obvious they KNOW these animals, and we could ask so many questions, it was a totally brilliant experience.
I haven’t done wild Africa trek, do that in a few weeks so I will report back with a comparison. But I am staying at AKL and we can look at all the animals during the day from our balconies, but the ride with the guide answering questions and the googles at night was something I feel so grateful to have experienced.
Highly recommend, especially if you are a fellow giraffe lover!

 

[pixiedust2u]

I only recently learned about this experience. I also LOVE giraffes. I have an alert set to see if something comes up during a short trip I have in a few weeks

 

[nherbert]

I haven’t done wild Africa trek, do that in a few weeks so I will report back with a comparison.

Yesterday I had the great joy of doing the Wild Africa Trek, and as promised reporting back with a comparison - though it is incredibly hard to compare as they are quite different experiences. I don’t want to spoil the experience for others so I won’t reveal everything.

We did the 8:45am trek, and there were 12 of us in total. All different ages from approx 12 upwards to me almost 60. For those worried about sizes, they have a massive range of gear in all different sizes. My DS is super thin and over 6 ft, I am around 5ft 11in and very Pooh shaped. I was worried about the weigh in as weight conscious, but it is very discreet, no one sees the result except the person doing it and they don’t even tell you your weight, so no stress at all.

They start by getting everyone in the gear, about 5 minutes per person, though lots of helpers we were underway by 9:10ish. You can’t take anything with you, though there is a pouch for your phone for photos, you must have a case so they can attach strap. Even magic bands are removed, and my DS had to take out his AirPod

There is approximately 90 minutes of walking or standing, this is to see the hippos and crocodiles - this is what the gear is for. This was a lot of fun, and you have experts for each animal answering questions. I would recommend the trek for this experience alone. Looking down on those huge crocs is very different to driving past them in the safari vehicle. For those worried about walking on the bridge, seriously this is Disney there were so many safety checks. The bridge held me, I loathe those swinging bridges but even I felt safe enough to stop take photos, yes balancing myself and camera was a slight challenge but even if I fell over I wasn’t going to be in any danger.

For the second half you lose the gear and get into the same safari vehicle as the starlight safari and explore the savanna. So you sit around the edges and occasionally it stops and you stand up. I suspect depending on how long the first part takes governs how slow the savanna part can be, as you have to leave time for the meal. The truck takes mostly the same path as the normal safari, and just like the safari the animals you see depend on who is out and time of day. The big difference is you are not getting the safari spiel and you get to ask lots of questions. Comparing just this part to the starlight safari, we saw way more savanna animals (giraffes, wildebeests, zebra, etc) on starlight safari and we got way closer. The difference was it was in the dark and you used night vision goggles. On the trek though we got to spend a lot more time watching the elephants as we first parked close and then had excellent view from where we had lunch. The baby elephant was out we also got to see a lot more of the white rhinos, really close to around 5 of them, but this was probably luck as they were near the driving path.

The lunch was great, lots of small different things. I was worried my plain food loving DS would not eat, but even he did ok as we shared things within the 3 of us. The location of the meal provided a great view of elephants and some savanna animals - sadly not many came close. For me, who loves giraffes, I saw way more giraffes and much closer at AKL savanna and starlight safari.

So overall, in comparison, I am glad I did both they are sufficiently different and I feel I have lived the dream. My DH and DS preferred the trek, but I loved the giraffes on starlight. Would I do either again? Starlight, yes because it is cheaper and shorter. Trek, no would rather try different experiences but only because I have now done this one and it’s more expensive (I would save the money to stay at AKL again ). If you haven’t done the trek, and you love the safari ride, I recommend the trek!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'm going to add this to my tour wish list after your great review @nherbert!!

 

[pixiedust2u]

Thank you for the detailed review and comparison. I have the starlight safari coming up next week and now I am even more excited. Giraffes are my favorite!

I’m also adding the Trek to my bucket list for a future trip!

 

[JODEE2090]

We did the Starlight Safari last December and I wasn't overly impressed by it. Like the previous poster said, you can see many of the animals from the outside areas at AKL.

 

[ande2428]

Hey All! I have a Sunday night coming up later in the month where everyone in my group has plans except for me. I only found out today that the Starlight Safari even existed. I tried to get a reservation but none are available. Should I keep checking or did I miss out on the opportunity by not booking earlier? I wasn't sure if reservations pop in and out based on cancelations. Thanks!