Wild Africa Trek - May 2014

by Gaylin

It is fun to do a tour at Walt Disney World any time I go on vacation, it is especially fun to take a tour when I am traveling solo. I can really relax and enjoy everything there is to see and learn and can get to know the other tour guests a bit. I have noticed when I take a tour with someone else, we end up keeping in our 'pair' instead of talking to everyone else.

I took the Wild Africa Trek tour in May, it started at 9:30am, and there were 8 people on the tour, 6 couples and 2 of us singles. When you arrive, all your extraneous gear goes in a locker. Be advised, if you are taking this tour on a hot day like I did, the vest/harness that everyone wears gets to be really sweltering.

They provide a string to put your sunglasses on and there is a strap to attach your camera to as well. The guides take turns taking photos and you get instructions at the end of the tour as to where to go online to download all those photos. But if I hadn't brought my own camera, how else would I have gotten this photo!

The trek takes you into the woods around the savannah, this hippo skull sits by the path and we had all sorts of questions about it. 

And then you get attached to the guide ropes so you can hang out over the water to look at a live hippo!

Next up was crocodiles, again lots of questions asked and answered, these guys were not very active, I think they were feeling the heat as well! 

Especially this guy, he looks like he was about to go for a walk and just flopped in place and decided to have a nap.

I was really looking forward to crossing these bridges, I used to be afraid of heights but not anymore. I was the first one out on the bridge and could have stayed there for an hour. This photo of me was taken by one of the guides, I didn't know he was taking the photo.

This was the photo I was taking, the shadow of me on the bridge and the crocodiles below. The guides keep space between each of the guests so you get some alone time on the bridge and can get a photo taken on the bridge on your own.

When I realized he was taking photos, I gave him a big smile and this is another guide taken photo.

You do have to be careful crossing the bridges, I was getting all excited and looking around and those spaces between the boards were pretty wide open in places! I almost stepped down into a gap a couple times.

Once you are off the savannah, thankfully you get to take off the heavy vests. A private tour truck picks us up and a nice drive around the savannah happens. It is much easier to take photos on the private tour, the driver stops often and there is time for the guides to explain more about the animals and the savannah. They also provided cold towels to wrap around our necks, most appreciated!

This is the closest I have ever been to the white rhino, we paused for about 4 minutes, amazingly large animals.

On the bridges, this photo is when the 2 women guides passed off the camera to one of the educators we met up with on the tour for him to take photos of them and of us.

When I downloaded the Trek photos from the website I was very pleased to have this photo. These two amazing women were our guides and they were smart, friendly, attentive, really terrific. Amanda from Yorkville, OH and Kelsey from Houston, TX.

I would recommend this tour. Yes, it is pricey, at $189 plus tax per person, it is a worthy special treat. The quiet time on the savannah and bridges, the chance to go on a slower drive on the savannah and the rest time at the boma for a small meal and some great POG juice, it was a lovely morning. I have food allergies and the only glitch that happened was when we stopped at the boma for our small meal. I received a canteen that had been specially sealed and was marked allergy. When they cut the straps and opened the canteen . . . exact same meal as everyone else. I was so hungry at this point I was near tears and opening it to find that I could not eat 1/2 of it was really hard. You are not allowed to bring any of your own snacks on the tour so I downed 2 glasses of juice and ate what I could out of the canteen. 

At the end of the tour you receive all the info on how to download the photos, say goodbye to everyone and a management Cast Member took me aside and apologized for the mistake with the food and gave me a voucher for a free lunch. I rushed this ending part of the tour more than I wanted to because I really needed a proper meal, I went zooming off to Flame Tree Barbeque where I knew that even if there was a line-up, it would move quickly. Whew, I was right! I had done everything right, informed Disney when I booked the tour, the guides knew when I checked in, it just seemed someone in the kitchen didn't really pay attention. It was a minor detraction from the tour, I loved everything else about it.

Editor's note: For more on the Wild Africa Trek, please check out this article about our experience.-Nick