Zambezi Safari Testimonials

Dear Trish,

Thank you very much for your welcoming email. I arrived in Brasil on January 8th feeling myself very happy and fulfilled with wonderful memories and many stories to tell about.

My trip to Tanzania is unforgetable!  I enjoyed every aspect of my trip: Amazing landscapes, incredible animals, the great adventure of taking off and landing in the middle of the savanna (beautiful!) and sleeping in tents, the cultural differences, great accomodation, the stories told by the guides and the delicous food. But there is something special that I would like to highlight: The gentleness of the Tanzanian. Great people!

Thank you very much for all your support in making it possible. Everything work out perfectly. I really loved my trip and I will recommend it to my friends.

On my next trip to Africa I will be in contact with you!

Best wishes,
 
Regina Maia
Vale - DIOC

Hello Trish,
 
What a fantastic time we had. We saw plenty of Grevy's Zebra and Rothchilds Giraffe plus Geranuk at Buffalo Springs / Samburu.
 
Treetops only failed on Giant Forest Hog, but mother and large calf Black Rhino visited the far side of the water hole in the late evening.
 
Lake Nakuru, after much searching found a family of Rothchilds Giraffe at the far end of the reserve (from main gate). A dozen or more White Rhino.
 
I have a question for your experts, in the grounds of Lion Hill Camp on the lawns and hiding in the flower borders were many voles feeding on the grass. We were able to approach quite close. When I sort my photos out I could send you a copy for identification. Would you know what type of Vole they are?
 
Masai Mara, 5 Black Rhino, a female with a 2 year old calf being pursued by a very interested male, all about 300 yards away but fantastic to watch all in the open.3 Leopards, 2 Cheetah watched for about 40 minutes (60 odd photo's, I love Cheetah's).
Loads more, Maasai Mara is good!
 
Now onto Tsavo East and Satoa camp, superb! Staff were great, they upgraded us to the Sala suite, our driver Henry was excellent, though he did save the very best to the end. Hirola, not 400 yards from the camp, fantastic. We had seen them on the first day, but they were in and out of the bushes.
 
We saw good numbers of Fringe-eared Oryx and Elephants, my word they do grow them big there.
 
I was a little worried on the third day (early morning game drive/breakfast/long game drive along the Galana river/afternoon game drive. We had breakfast first (I thought we were going to miss a game drive), no way, we set off at 08:00 took a picnic and came back just before 18:00. Phew, I reckon we covered the whole of Tsavo East, as Henry said we would be just covering the same ground we had done before on the 2 shorter drives, it was great.
 
We had a fantastic time in Kenya and especially at Satoa camp. Overall we saw 168 birds (not bad when some of it was done at 60 miles an hour), and 61 animals (counting the Vole).
 
Don't think much to our welcome home though 35 degrees in Mombasa, Zero at Gatwick.
 
Thank you once again for putting the icing on the Kenya Cake for us, we will always remember those wonderful days.
 
Asante Sana,
Bob & Linda Steel

(abbreviated version)

Hi Chris,
 
We did indeed have a most amazing adventure and unique experience. We feel so privileged to have had this opportunity of seeing and living in, albeit for a short period of time, what must be one of Africa's greatest wildernesses- Botswana! As I spend time now reflecting on what we have experienced, I find it so difficult put into words how I feel and and tell others about our safari. As you know, photographs, although wonderful to have, can only show limited images. They cannot show the beauty of the stars in the African night sky, the simple joy of chatting around the campfire after watching the most spectacular sunsets, or the wonderful sounds of the bush, from the rumbling of elephant and roaring of lion close by to the beautiful sound of a scops owl perched in a nearby tree. It is also difficult to express the excitement of knowing that lions had passed through the camp during the night and seeing their tracks close to your tent!

I am sure that this will not be our last trip to Africa. As someone said to me - it gets under your skin! Indeed leaving Botswana, in particular, was very emotiional for me. 

Finally, thank you for lending me you camera batteries etc which I will return in th next week or so. Unfortunately, I had a camera problem in Savuti which meant that I was unable to use it for the last few days, but we did have back up cameras and Joe also took photos for me and transfered them to disk in Kasane.
 
Kind Regards
Annette

Hi Jackie

Just to let you know that we arrived back safely from our holiday on Friday. We had the most FABULOUS time!  Thank you so much for all the hard work you put in - everything went really well with everything organised brilliantly! 

Helen Cardale

Some of the more exotic projects Trish has been involved in, include large scale arrangements for amateur astronomists to visit the lower Zambezi river in 2001 to see the total solar eclipse. Taking place just a year after the political crisis in Zimbabwe began in earnst, this was a tricky challenge!

Hi Sam,

I have attached my promised notes on our travel, and the various camps and hotels that we stayed in. I have added a few suggestion notes in blue for you.

Firstly, let me strongly emphasise that the holiday was everything we could have wished and resulted in four very happy (but also sad) people. The notes are purely to let you know what we thought of each section.

Tony

Kenya was wonderful so a huge thank you from both of us for organising such a fantastic trip and also arranging for our bottle of bubbly at Offbeat Mara, was such a lovely gesture and we certainly enjoyed it on our first sundowners!

The whole trip was amazing, I think Offbeat was our favourite, the camp was perfect so luxurious and they literally thought of everything - I loved the hot water bottle although I did frighten myself half to death the first night I got into bed as it was the last thing we were expecting in Africa!

The people that looked after the camp were brilliant and we were fortunate to have two fantastic English speaking masi guys from who we learnt a huge amount - they seemed to ask us plenty of questions about the 'western way' so we certainly felt it worked both ways which was exactly what we were looking for - and they also didn't mind us mucking in, which again made me feel a lot more comfortable. We felt very fortunate to have exclusive private guiding throughout the whole trip, this was wonderful for us but I appreciate that this was due to lack of tourism which seems such a shame, the media really does not help in these situations - the whole area seemed empty with vast amounts of game due to the freak weather bring they out - such a shame.

Sosian was certainly a completely different experience - again the place was practically empty which meant we had the beautiful Italian villa - it certainly made it difficult to leave for camping - but glad we experienced it - we managed two nights under the stars in the most amazing open air set up I have ever seen - very comfortable and so unique, the outdoor showers were amazing. We cut short the last night due to tummy bugs but it wasn't a hardship as we had a huge four poster and 15 acre bathroom awaiting us at the ranch!!

The camping was fantastic, walking quite taxing due to the heat but well worth it, a completely different experience to Masi as you were obviously having to hunt down the game which made it all the more exciting when you did see it - we also had some particularly interesting experiences with an Elephant herd when we were snoozing at lunch and also again when in a truck, quite interesting to see how differently they behave when they are not used to humans like the masi Mara! Thankfully we all survived but with great stories to tell, the herd obviously get bigger every time we tell it - I think I am up to running away from at least 75 ellies now grown from 25!!
The knowledge the guides have was fantastic we were lucky in both places that they specialised in Birds as this was a particular interest for us and I had great fun with a checklist provided by sosian.

Actually Offbeat did ask if there was any suggestions we had to offer, we couldn't think of anything when we left as everything was so perfect, but a checklist booklet with all the species to be found might be a good idea, I certainly found it really fun ticking it all off, it became quite a game.

Lamu was beautiful, definitely good for recharging our batteries but was glad we only stayed a few days as could go stir crazy - but that is just us, useless at sitting still!! The owners were really good fun and again the staff out of this world.

In terms of food, 14 out of 10 I didn't quite expect such amazing cuisine I looked forward to every meal - thankfully the tummy bug I picked up has shed any excess weight I put on as I was convinced I would be at least 7 pounds heavier as who eats a huge breakfast followed by 2 course lunch and 4 course dinner every day!! I felt like the queen - strictly back to muesli twice a day and boring old pasta!!!

I am sorry I am not much of a travel writer so my rendition is not very good, but I would be happy to chat on the phone if you would like anything further, there is so many memories I only wish I was good at putting them on paper!

Once again thank you for the trip of a lifetime - worth every penny and the balloon ride was brilliant he loved it - (Incidentally I got a Nintendo DS!!!)
Take Care
Claire

September 2008

Dear Sam

We have been back for awhile and I apologize for not replying to your email sooner but it seems everyday has been overloaded with "things" that needed to be attended to.

That said, we want to tell you how delighted we were with everything you put together for us. The accommodations were great and the transfers very dependable, comfortable and timely. We thoroughly enjoyed Waterberry lodge and loved the staff! Everyone was kind and attentive. The food was absolutely fabulous!!!! Natasha and Richard were very accommodating and we had the real pleasure of meeting Tessa who has a lovely way about her with such a delightful personality ! We bragged about you to her !

We can't thank you enough for being so responsive to our needs - especially with such short notice. It couldn't have been better if we'd planned it months ahead. We had had a few offers returned to my email requests, but no one was as personable and as attentive as you. And, no one acted like they could make it work at that "late date" and "on our budget". The fact that you called us personally on the phone made us feel very comfortable with your advice. We have not one complaint and can say that everything went exactly as you promised. Chobe Lodge was also excellent and it was a nice contrast with Waterberry.

There is so much more I could say because it was thrilling to be there and have everything arranged so thoughtfully. Being so far away from home it gave us confidence to know we had chosen such a great person to arrange this travel. If you ever need a testimony please allow us to give you the credit you deserve!!!

Thank you, Thank you !!!!

Most Sincerely, Bob and Sheri Kilpatrick

July 2008

Hi Jackie!!

We have now been back for almost a week and thought we'd email to say what a fab time we had! It was my favourite holiday ever!! We had such a fantastic time. All accomodation was great, the people were fantastic. It was really quite something special - we had to keep pinching ourselves to believe what we were seeing or doing.

A huge thank you from both of us for sorting everything out and dealing with my mountain of questions! I don't think it could have been a better trip!

A big thank you once again!!!

Abby and Dave

Hey Mark!

Had an absolutely fantastic time on the Zambezi! Thanks a lot!

Markus

Hi Mark, 

We have just arrived from Mauritius last Thursday and today, it's our second working day, so you can imagine that we're not very happy now;)

Our honeymoon was fantastic, we loved every moment of it; we loved South Africa, Zambia and Mauritius. We've never been in Africa before, and now we fell in love with it. We'll came back as soon as we can and I'm sure you will assist us again.

I must say, that the most beautiful part of our trip was the visit to Zambia, and it was surely because of the complete pack of activities that you recommended and reserved to us.

So, as you can see, we're really satisfied with your work. Thank you very much and if we return to Africa (I'm sure we will), we will contact with you.

Kind regards,

ANA

Well hello Mark,
  
We are on the plane from Washington to Indianapolis
 
I just wanted to report on your arrangements -- simply put, they were spot-on. Every arranged event was on schedule and the people/guides were polite and informative.

Sincerely

Micheal Dyrenfurth

Professor, Industrial Technology

Hi Sam

I had a fabulous time.

Robert the guide was a gem and looked after me very well and i had a great time seeing gorillas, chimps and golden monkeys. What a lovely country so green adn friendly - i will forward a few pics for you.

All in all a superb experience, thank-you!

Best regards

John

October 2008

Dear Trish

We had a fantastic time - Rwanda is a beautiful country and the people are lovely...very warm and welcoming. Our guide, Paul Ruganitwali, was excellent. He had a lot of knowledge, so it was great to talk to him. We really fell in love with the place and will definitely go back.
 
We were with group 13 - there were 21 gorillas in the family but we saw about 10 of them. The one female had a 3 month old baby, which was just the cutest thing ever. There were 3 other youngsters in the group who were very playful - just like naughty little kids.
 
I've attached some photos for you to have a look at. Thanks again for organising a fantastic trip for us.
 
Regards
 
Daryl

Hi Jools,
 
We are now back from our Zambia experience. Just wanted to say thank you for all the stuff you sorted for us in Livingstone. We had a great time and really enjoyed all the activities.

Regards,
Beccy

Jools,

Thanks for the concerns. In short, we had a splendid time, and found the place very much to our liking. Great accommodation - very quiet. If I wrack my brains for a criticism, there are two small things:

The service of Zambezi Safari was pleasant, helpful and efficient, something I cannot say from a South African competitor through which we originally tried to book the same accommodation.

Hope this is helpful,

Best regards,
Rolf

Dear Jools,

Thanks again for your work in setting up our trip. We had a great visit. Our guide was particularly helpful. 

David Johnson

Jools,

Happy New Year to you. I want to tell you what a great experience we had while in Zambia. Thorntree was beautiful and they bent over backwards to be helpful.

Again, many thanks and kind regards.

Paul Adams

Hi Jools,

Just a short note to let you know that everything worked out perfectly!! We had an amazing time on safari. Excellent camps. We are currently in Cape Town on the business portion of our trip so sending pictures is not possible. When we get home I'll send you some pictures of our wonderful adventure.

Signing out for now,
Patty :-)

Hi Jools,

We indeed did have the most fantastic time, sorry to take so long getting back to you with feedback. The rafting was something else!!!!! I'm glad I baled out after seeing the video from the day I don't think they would have gone either if they'd seen it first!! Grade 5 rapids which looked amazing- I took the helicopter flight over the falls instead.

Your 2 hotels were superb-- Windhoek - Rivensdale - suited us perfectly - super people, very clean and every facility, Namatubis was equally super - fantastic food, very comfortable and a good distance from Etosha. We only stayed 2 nights as the drive to Sosussvlei (amazing 'tents') was too far for 1 day so we split the journey by staying in Heitsbay and having a most superb dune experience on 4x4 quads in Walvis Bay en route Skeleton Coast was such a contrast.

Thank you all for your help with our bookings.

Regards
Hazel

Dear Jools,

We had the most amazing holiday and were more than satisfied with absolutely every aspect of it. The Bush Camp Company were brilliant, the hospitality at each camp was personal and tailored to what we wanted. We were very impressed by all our guides who were exceptionally knowledgeable and quick to identify the areas we were most interested in learning about, above all they were so much fun. The camps were certainly luxury with impeccable service and delicious food, we couldn't believe how such gourmet meals were cooked in such a basic kitchen and tiny oven!

We were really there to see the animals and saw so many - several sightings of leopard and lions (male, female and cubs), and so many elephants, warthogs, giraffes, hippos, genets, hyenas, elephant shrews, impalas, buffalos, crocodiles, zebra, bush hares, puku, kudu, antelope, bushbucks, civets, baboons, the list goes on…  We were even lucky enough to spot a pack of seven wild dogs, twice.

Victoria Falls were spectacular and our riding safari was a great way to get even closer to the animals. The Lion Encounter was truly the highlight of our trip - getting up close to the cubs was the perfect end to one of our best family holidays.

Thank you very much for all your help in putting our trip together. Special thanks to our hosts Ed and Rob, and to our guides Peter, Mishek, Manda and James (not sure if you heard but the Tomsetts are quite a family when it comes to travels and they were all great in going along with our mishaps!)

Kind regards,
Tracy

Dear Julian

Have now arrived back from our holidays in Zambia and South Africa.

We had a wonderful experience at the Victoria Falls, the helicopter flight meeting and indeed exceeding expectations.  Apart from a slight mix up in pick-up time from our hotel when we had to make a telephone call and wait for about 45 mins all other arrangements went very smoothly. The helicopter company were excellent. And the flight carried out most efficiently.

We do indeed have very happy memories of the experience. Thank you for making the arrangements for us.

Pat and Derek Madeley

Well Chris what a fantastic time we had! Thank you so much for organizing it so well for us you did a brilliant job. We particularly loved the Luangwa and the Bush Camps and had a really excellent time with Phil and Barbette. The Zambezi was also great fun and I think the last camp Kasaka was our least favourite but I that was because I think we had been so totally spoilt at the other camps. Ivan will be in touch as well as I know he wanted to thank you personally.
Thanks again Chris
Lesley

Jools,

We had a fantastic time. You were extremely helpful and patient answering all the questions I sent you. Sorry I had soooo many. The Thorntree Lodge was relaxed and the setting was beautiful. I sat on the patio outside of my room and enjoyed the sights and sounds of nature. The friendly and attentive staff at the hotel made our stay very pleasant. Victor, a hotel staff member, was very helpful and always prompt. He even arranged for us to go on a rhino trek and we got within a few meters of two huge rhinos...AMAZING!!!! I was able to take the microlight flight, and my sister and cousin took the helicopter over Victoria Falls. We have fantastic pictures and fond memories of the trip. You are a gem and the travel arrangements went off without a hitch. All pick ups and drop offs were on schedule.

Thank you again for all your help.  We had a glorious time.

Vicki Richardson

Hi Chris and Jools,

I am sorry I have taken so long to write and thank you both, but my laptop decided to expire as soon as I reached Lusaka and I have only just managed to get an alternative computer up and running once more.

Wow, what a fantastic camp Kuyenda turned out to be. Thank you both so very much for suggesting it and organising it all. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there and I really loved being able to walk twice a day out in the bush after two months of very little exercise in Botswana. The only down side to life in Africa seems to me to be that the food is so very good and yet up until the Luangwa, I had little opportunity to walk any of it off!! I had a great time, saw a magnificent leopard which timed its appearance to perfection just as Phil said that he thought one might stroll across the track at any moment! Phil and Ed looked after me extremely well and I was amazed that they kept the camp open with only one guest in it - me! What a treat.

Thank you, too, Jools, for sorting out the hotel in Lusaka with Tricia. The hotel that day was struggling with their computer system and there were quite a few of us trying to get away to catch flights, so your help was very welcome and much appreciated.

I hope your trip to Zambia went well, Chris. How you can live in wet, rainy Devon instead of Africa, I don't quite understand! You must all be mad.

Many thanks again.
Kind regards,
Belinda

Hey Jools

Well I have just been home for about four hours from my trip.......as I had been to London and Jo'burg...but I wanted to drop you a line to say thanks ever so much for my trip to Zambia it was great ...amazing...wow...the accommodation and meals were fantastic and also the way the whole booked tours went was smooth....all that was part of this did a great job I loved it...will be booking again this time with the kids as my daughter is green with envy about it all!!...Thanks again for your patience with me and booking it all...will look you up for part two!!! Hahahahaha!

Cathy

Good afternoon Chris

The holiday was amazing. Walking and staying within the bush is certainly
very different from driving and lodging.

I think that it brings you closer to your surroundings. You have time to
contemplate and appreciate.

Both Julie and I enjoyed every minute of it. We were so please with each and everyone of the camps we visited. The hospitality was exceptional. Everyone was so friendly and the guides were brilliant. Julie and I particularly enjoyed our trips out with Phil B and Freya. We were amazed by the way they just knew what was round the corner or what ever question you asked they could answer. What we also liked was the fact that both guides would allow us to sit for a while and just watch and experience the wildlife, this was something we really wanted to do.

Manda and Gilbert were also excellent and from all we learnt so much,
especially about the different tracks and droppings.

There must be a cure for tsetse fly!!!!, both Julie and I were bitten alive
and reacted to each and everyone one of them. Our special thanks go to Colin Pattern-Smith for the recommendation of 'Bot Cream'.

Over the 10 days we took over 976 pictures we are slowly going through each one, picking out the best. We had some amazing sightings.

(A particularly large Bull Elephant paid Julie and I a visited during a
night at Kuyenda! Its strange how safe you feel behind your mozi net!)
Thank you for your recommendations. The itinery was perfect. Bilimungwe is ideal for the first location as it slowly brings you into your surroundings
without to much culture shock.

We would like to return during the Green Season. Which month would you
recommend?

PS. Just an after thought; Whilst all the Guides and Staff looked part of
there surroundings and looked as though they belonged there, (uniform), we feel that the BushCamp (younger) Managers should follow suit. You could not distinguish them from visitors, particularly at Mfuwe Lodge. This could actually be a safety issue in some circumstances.

One of the best.

Thanks again hope to speak to you again.
Regards
Phil

Hi Chris

Good to hear from you. We are (unfortunately) settled back at home and work - we'd much rather still be in Zambia.

We were going to email you tonight anyway to thank you for arranging the trip for us, we had a really great time. All the camps were great in their own way.

We're really pleased that you managed to work Kapamba back into the trip for us. It certainly met our expectations as a camp with the added bonus that the guide, Dean MacGregor, turned out to be the guide from the first ever place we stayed in Africa, in Zimbabwe back in 1999. It was really good to catch up with him again. Game viewing was good here. We saw our first proper leopard in the wild which was exciting. We also managed to find lions with a zebra kill just a couple of hours after they brought it down which was really interesting.

We're also really glad we ended up going to Bilimungwe. It was a lovely camp; we really enjoyed spending time watching the baboons and warthogs at the waterhole. It was made extra special because we were the only guests for the first two nights so we got a really good chance to get to know the people there - Nigel the manager was good fun. Unfortunately Manda was on leave so we didn't get to meet him but our guide, Derek Solomon, was very good and did manage to get us 6 leopard sightings plus a pride of lions hunting within 36 hours of arriving there! 

Chamilandu was also great. I thought the guide there, Freya Reder, was very good. She was really informative. Game viewing was good here as well and Freya produced a great finale on our final night when we found lions hunting and this time they were successful so we saw them with the kill and having to fight the hyenas off.

All the camps were very good in terms of the standard of accommodation, food, staff etc. We were really well looked after and far too well fed - definitely need to diet now! We met a lot of great people and very few of the other guests were people we didn't enjoy spending time with. The fact that we got to walk in the bush every day was wonderful and certainly made the trip special for us. In so many other places there seems to be a bit of wariness about venturing out on foot, so the fact that this was a key feature of the camps was great for us.

Things ran very smoothly. We got to Chaminuka with time to get a reasonable feel for the place which was nice and we had a relaxed afternoon there.

So, all in all we had a really great time and would certainly be keen to go back before too very long. Thanks for all your help with this. We would certainly be happy to ask you to put together any of our future trips to Zambia.

Kind regards
Malcolm and Sue

Sam

I would like to thank you immensely for all your help in assisting me in booking what I would consider the most amazing and best trip (and there's been plenty) ever! As I mentioned to you before I left I was incredibly nervous about travelling alone as it was my first time and felt the area wouldn't have been the safest. I was treated like a princess at Mashatu Main Camp by everyone it was phenomenal! My guide, Dan, was amazing and took great care of me from making sure I wasn't jumping out of the ute (which I was literally hanging off the side on my first game drive) and including making sure I didn't feel too far away from the main facilities as I was the only person at the accommodation on the first night. I ended up sitting in the passenger seat on my final drive so my comfort increased immensely.

Tent camp was an experience and a half (including nearly stepping on a snake on my departure) but awesome! My comfort zone completely went out the door but wrapped I did it. 2 days was perfect. I even managed to jump on a trip back to Main Camp to say hi to my new mates during my stay there so it was terrific.

As I mentioned to you not only was the trip hard for me to book as my first solo trip travelling and terrified I'd be eaten by a lion (trust me I was having nightmares about it 2 weeks before I left), it was also a difficult time for me as I was leaving the UK after 10 years. I couldn't have done it without your support and patience (gosh I must have been frustrating) through assisting me in my trip planning which started in Tanzania, went to Kruger Park, Vic Falls and ended in Botswana - definitely the right thing for me personally. I will be getting my parents to do this at some stage so will definitely be in touch to help me arrange this - and of course I'll be doing another in a few years.

Thank you again and good to see I might have given you some comfort when you were travelling alone, as if I could do it, trust me, anyone can! And to think I nearly pulled out the Monday of my flight - didn't care if lost cost or not - that's how nervous I was about it!

Best wishes and thank you for a trip of a life time!

Kare

March 2008

We have returned from Zambia. We had a wonderful trip and have a few good photos to look at once I have down loaded them onto the computer. We were most impressed at how everything worked - we hardly ever needed to show the vouchers our names were on the lists for all the flights.
We were lucky enough to be able to fly direct from Nkwali to Royal Zambezi and did not have to go via Lusaka. 
The only slight hiccup was when The Holiday Inn tried to charge us for accommodation which we had already paid for - and we had showed them
the voucher when we booked in. Peter sorted it out and I am only telling you now just in case our credit card bill shows something different! In
which case we will come back to you. 
The game viewing at Nkwali was excellent as is also the feeling that you are with friends. We were lucky enough to spend a whole day out with Robin Pope which was a real treat. At Lower Zambezi we really appreciated the river and trips on the river but game viewing in the park was still hampered by high grass and lots of bushes. They had a very heavy rainy season this year, while Luangwa is drying up rather too quickly.
 
We met up with a young couple at Nkwali who were on their honeymoon - Steve and Anita - then again at Royal Zambezi - they were flying down from
there to catch the same BA flight as us on Saturday. They were not on it and we overheard someone mention there had been a minor accident with
one of the Proflight planes so we are anxious to know if they are all right.If you could find anything out we would be grateful. I doubt we will ever
see them again but we are quite worried. They were leaving the Royal airstrip at 6 a.m. to fly to Lusaka.
 
Once again many thanks indeed for helping us plan this trip and for ensuring it ran so smoothly. I will certainly recommend you to our family and friends if they wish to do something similar.

Many thanks - Rosemary

Dear John,

Firstly, thank you for the message awaiting us upon our return and for the lovely hippo in the box which was also here when we walked in the door. We were very touched.

We are not sure exactly what feedback you would like but here goes:

Everything about our trip went superbly. There were no hitches and absolutely no problems at all.

As we had made all of our plans with you, we were a little confused by who Nomad was in the list of contacts but assumed that all would become clear when we got to Tanzania. And indeed it did. We did not realize previously (probably oversight on our part) that you actually acted as an agent and then reserved through a ground company. Well they are, as obviously you know, an outstanding organization. They simply did not miss a beat. From the meeting/greeting person at the airport, to the outstanding service in each and every hotel or camp site, to the wonderfully well-educated and informed guides, they provided the very best of service, care and knowledge.

As you know, the quality of service, food, accommodation at the camps is impeccable. We only wished that we could have stayed even longer in each of those camp locations. However, the most important person is the guide and we could not have been luckier. Our guide Halifa, in the Ndutu, Loliondo, Ngorogoro and Lake Manyara was quite simply outstanding. He took us off the beaten path, he was a superb "spotter", and we even managed to get the praise of "good spot" from him on a number of occasions towards the end of our week with him. He taught us a lot not only about the relationships between the animals and the environment but also about Tanzania, its strengths and its huge problems. We had the most wonderful conversations during our breakfast picnics and lunch picnics. We were not interested in amassing a tally of animals and birds but to our surprise when we looked at our list at the end of the week we were surprised, as was Halifa, that we had observed some 31 different animals and 78 birds!
It was very important to us that we had as our guide a native Tanzanian who was doing what we have done in our lives, the very best job he could do with a real sense of a love of that job as expressed in his connections with the land, the animals and that he by doing this work would be able to offer his children opportunities that he did not have.

Needless to say, we were sad when he took us to the airstrip at Lake Manyara and stayed until we were airborne. As he said I cannot leave until you are gone because what would you do if the plane did not leave? What would we have done indeed but seen it as an excuse to stay longer!

Although not huge fans of small planes we did enjoy the views that lower altitudes provide. However, there was a little bit of nail biting on the 4 seater from Dar to Selous. It was great - but certainly smaller than we had anticipated. Perhaps it was the fact the the pilot was clearly taking a test and had a senior examiner beside him that both made us nervous and secure, knowing that there was a second set of controls!!! Great fun!

The Selous was a very different experience and the Rufiji was running quite fast and higher than expected for the time of year because of more rain than usual. Again, our guide Maasa was excellent. He was a walking encyclopaedia on zoology, botany, ornithology and geology. He was totally professional and again a most interesting person. We thoroughly enjoyed our first night at Selous as the only guests, Ross was away, and so we had a wonderful dinner with superb conversation with Maasa and Hamxe (spelling not sure) who is going to managing the new camp. They were excellent conversationalists and we covered so many topics. We felt so privileged to have that opportunity. The game drives and the river safari were wonderful and our walking safari on one afternoon, (yes with Ernest in the front with the loaded rifle) was the best surprise when we reached the top of the hill and there set out was the bar and the gins and tonic facing the river one way and the sunset the other. We all enjoyed great laughter at our surprise.

So... although initially disappointed about Lamu, we had a lovely time in Zanzibar and thank you for pulling that together so fast. The Beit El Chai was wonderful and we had fun exploring Stonetown. The two days on the beach were an excellent way to reflect on our visit and to get ready to come back (which we did not want to do).

You mentioned that you were going to Uganda and to Rwanda and so we will give you some feedback on Rwanda. As you know we went there first and did not want to leave there either. It is a most interesting place. Not as developed in tourism as Tanzania, but with lots more to offer than the gorillas. We went to see the gorillas and it was a really amazing experience and so we heartily recommend that people do go. However, it is a beautiful country - superb hilly terrain. The people are very kind and very interesting. Quite quiet and we sometimes were wondering what they were thinking about. The genocide memorial in Kigali is outstanding and puts an historical perspective on what happened - although it is still beyond us how neighbours killed neighbours, friends etc. It was important for the survivors to know that the world remembers and that they are not alone. We visited schools, a hospital as well going out to Kibuye on Lake Kivu and Butare. We also visited the Akagera game park which was interesting but not as much game as Serengeti. However, worth going to. The Lodge was very nice. The hotel we stayed in Kigali BeauSejours was lovely.
We would certainly recommend the country. It is small and very doable  - we used local taxi buses to get to the other towns and got to meet the people. Our French was OK but our Kinyarwandan virtually non existent except for a few essential words. The country is very poor and is teaming with NGOs and Church groups. Kigali is bustling and easy to get around in.

If you have any specific questions, we would be happy to answer them if we can.

So - don't know if this is the type of feedback you are looking for but we think that you can sense that this was a not just a wonderful trip but also an incredibly important experience for first-timers to Africa. There is no doubt in our minds that we will want to go back - to where and how will have to be thought about.

Thank you to you and to everyone in your office and the Nomad office who made it such a memorable trip. We will write a separate letter to Nomad to thank them and most importantly to tell them how magnificent our guides were.

All the best

Eleanor and Diane

Trish,

I just wanted to drop you a short e-mail to let you know that you
have a star employee in Jackie Pearson. I expect that you already
know that - certainly the bio on the website hints at that.

Jackie has worked with me over the last three weeks to put together
a trip to Zambia. She has quickly understood what I am looking for
and the things that are a priority for me while pointing me in the
direction of useful information and contacts. She is available well
outside normal working hours - has been easy to contact and always
follows up requests promptly. She is a delight to work with - I
would hire her to run my office!

I would just like to say I am grateful - hope the company does
well. I am very much looking forward to the trip at the end of November.

Kind regards,

Jem (Rashbass)

It is my last morning and the sun is about to rise. I am sitting in front of my tent and looking over the Chada Plains. A lone bull elephant is slowly moving across the plains. He stops at an old elephant skull and his trunk goes down and then he raises his trunk high above his head and makes a slow circle. He then moves on towards the tree line on the far side...............
 
Hi John
 
KATAVI - THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY
 
THE GOOD
 
We were met by Mohammed at the airport and all the logistical arrangements by your company were faultless. The Coffee Lodge was good and River Trees very special. The flight arrangements were flawless and we were always just looked after - thanks.
 
We just had the most awesome time imaginable. The camp was just great, the staff amazing and the guides brilliant. Chada's setting is wonderful and the views over the plains are great because there are always animals of some sort to be seen. We had elephants in the camp and even walked past as we were sitting at the fire and once around the tents at night. We also had visits from hippo and hyena.
 
Game drives were something else - elephants, lions, buffalo, leopard, Lichtenstein Hartebeest, hyena, civet, genet, roan antelope etc etc and wonderful birds.  We saw lions kill a baby hartebeest (a scarce buck) but unfortunately did not kill it immediately but tore it apart alive which was very ugly to experience and again showed how cruel life can be. More than a thousand hippos in one pool was just crazy and the largest crocs I have ever seen. Baby lions left under a low palm tree while mommy was out hunting was fantastic. David and Silvano are great guides and Silvano has built-in binoculars! Never seen so many African Fish Eagles! The tsetse flies took a liking to the men but fortunately the ladies escaped mostly unscathed.  Only one of us, Sieg, got reaction from the bites but for the rest of us it was just sore and then OK.  Not nearly as bad as we thought.
 
Food at Chada was beautiful, well served, tasty and lots of it. Could not believe they can produce such food in the Wilderness! Showers were fine and generally the camp well run and efficient. We had a great time, drank a lot of Gin and joked and laughed a lot. Great being with old friends and again brought home to me how precious friends are and how one must always try to be as unselfish and accommodating so that all can enjoy. Richard and Anna were helpful and friendly and contributed to our enjoyment in no uncertain way. Understand Richard is leaving which is sad as he is a dedicated wildlife preserver.
 
Great time!

THE BAD (NOT REALLY)
 
If I have to highlight minor gripes which all of us shared they are:
 
The very smelly toilet and then in the same tent as the basin. To brush your teeth in that stink just is not good. We suggested they move the basin unit into the tent with the beds and have the toilet alone and then also next to the shower so you don't have to go through to shower. The ideal is to get eco-toilets of which there are now many on the market which are not chemical at all. Next season?
 
The major problem we had was the lack of ice in any sort of quantity - perhaps we as South African are used to excessive amounts but we hardly got more than one small piece per drink. An ice machine can produce vast quantities in one day and one small dedicated deep freeze can produce and store lots of ice. Just some thoughts.
 
THE UGLY
 
The ugly is just very ugly.  Katavi is a reserve under siege. There is very obviously VERY SERIOUS Poaching going on. I hardly saw an elephant with tusks, and saw only small breeding herds with no matriarch being led by small female elephants. I saw some very skittish elephant behaviour and Chada Plains are littered with skulls of elephants with obvious signs that tusks had been hacked out. The largest herd of buffalo was about 600 to 800, nowhere near the 3000 and 5000 I heard about. Some buffalos showed obvious stress when the vehicle approached which shows me that the vehicles are a threat - there is obvious poaching off vehicles. There were also too many small groups and here I don't include the lone bulls (dagha boys).
 
I am very very concerned and the type of people I saw in official vehicles gave me serious thought that these officials (and their shady passengers) are involved in the poaching - these are just observations as I have no proof. Also there are just too many vehicle tracks going off into the bush and just too much vehicular activity after dark.
 
Ii is extremely difficult to make official complaints without proof except the large number of elephant skulls lying about, but I believe correspondence from tour operators like yourself and certainly Nomad Safaris should take it up with authorities higher up. Everybody at Chada is aware of the poaching so it is not my imagination. My questions were prompted by my observations. Kitasunga Plains appears to have less of a problem and there the animals are calmer and less edgy.
 
Katavi must be saved now and not later!
 
John, I must congratulate you for perfect arrangements and Nomad for a great adventure - I speak for all of us when I say we have an unforgettable experience and enjoyed the trip. There is no doubt that I will use you for future trips.
 
Thank you very much
 
Kind Regards
 
Vincent Moore and friends

..as the lone bull elephant disappears into the trees I cannot but help to wonder will I ever see you again or will you just be another skull on the plains?

Hi John,

Sorry not to have been in touch re the Tanzania trip. It was beyond any expectation we had on all fronts. The Nomad team at each camp went way above and beyond. The wildlife experiences still eclipsed anything that Nomad could do for us… which is saying something - we are hooked and will definitely recommend you to any interested friends etc.

We have a bunch of pics – I’ll forward some once our other PC is up and running again. Thanks again for making it our most memorable travel experience to date.

Regards,

Ben and Sally Breen

To Whom It May Concern:

We have just completed a truly wonderful safari with Nomad arranged for us by Zambezi Safari Travel Company. We understand from John Berry who worked with us on our trip that Lulu Sem was the pivotal player in working with John on our trip. It was flawlessly organized and every detail was meticulously accounted for. We want to thank Lulu for her work in making this happen. We also wanted to say that the staff at each of our tented locations was friendly, professional and attentive to every detail. The chefs are simply amazing and certainly produce better food than anything that comes out of our kitchens.

We especially want to write to say that the two guides that were assigned to us during our trips in the Serengeti and Selous were excellent.

Halifa Sulemani was quite simply outstanding. From the moment that we met him at Ndutu Airstrip, he was so attentive to all the aspects of the safari experience in which we were interested. His knowledge of the animals, plants and birds in the areas in which we traveled with him was impeccable. His ability to put aside his own views of different areas, in order that we had each and every experience possible and could then make our own decisions was remarkable. His clear love of that beautiful land and all of its inhabitants and his sense of stewardship for each of the parks and areas that we visited was clearly evident. His understanding of human psychology is excellent and after only a few hours with us, he read well what we wanted out of this experience and engaged with us in that quest with humour, energy and pure joy. We not only enjoyed wonderful conversations about the animals, birds and plants but also discussion about the economic, social and political issues facing Tanzania. We really appreciated those conversations and his willingness to engage with us in them, as we were concerned that the safari experience would prevent us from gaining a better understanding of Tanzania and that was very important to us. As retired school principals and teachers, we were very interested in the education system in Tanzania and we engaged in some lively conversations about the differences between Canada and Tanzania as well hearing some of the real issues which Tanzania faces in education. His generosity in sharing his perspectives was a real highlight for us. He seemed to have a “maverick” quality which enabled him to take us off the beaten path so often and to find something new, to experience something new, something different or something memorable. We shall long remember those wonderful bush picnics and the stimulating conversations as well as the amazing animals that he seemed to spot out of nowhere. His attention to ensuring that our total experience on safari was an excellent one, far exceeded our own expectations. He is an exceptional guide and a wonderfully kind and generous person. You are indeed fortunate to have such an employee.

We were very sad to say goodbye to Halifa at the Lake Manyara Airstrip as after only eight days it felt like saying goodbye to a good friend.

Upon arrival at the Kibu airstrip in Selous, were greeted warmly by Masaa Kayiakon. From the moment that introductions were completed, he provided us with an incredible volume of detailed information on the zoology, ornithology and geology of the Selous. He is a self-confessed bird lover and very patiently waited whilst we, amateur photographers tried to get a Carmine bee eater in flight. His depth of knowledge was amazing. He too, ensured that our experiences in the Selous were wonderful. His working relationship with a fellow guide (whose name, we think, is Harrebert) illustrated superb team-work and we felt very lucky indeed to have both of these very knowledgeable young men along on both our river and walking safaris. On our first night at Sand River, we were the only guests and had the most remarkable and memorable dinner, one that we feel so privileged to have had, with Masaa and Hamze (not sure of spelling) in which we talked about Tanzania, families, guiding, tourism and, of course, Selous. Again, it was very important to us to go beyond the actual safari itself in our exchanges. Masaa is not only a very intelligent young man but also a wonderful thinker. Again, as he drove us to Kiba, we were very sad to say goodbye.

We have to conclude that your hiring practices and training programmes are excellent and that you work hard at ensuring that you have superb guides. Your practice of having guides mingle with guests at pre-dinner gatherings, and at the table is a wonderful one. Do not let that one go! Similarly the greetings and farewells of the entire camp team were important to us, and we hope to them. None of such events happen without tremendous work on the part of each member of a staff, and it speaks highly of your sense of equity and collaboration that you enable your guests to acknowledge the participation of each staff member. We also know, having worked in management in the service sector, that one hears of complaints routinely and rarely of the “good” things. Hence, we felt that we had to not only tell you that our safari was excellent in every way – transportation and connections, accommodation, food and drinks, service in each and every location but also to specifically praise the work of our guides without whom, while all the other aspects may be first class, our safari would not have been the enriching and outstanding experience that it was. We also know that you need to hear about excellent employees. We hope that you will have the opportunity to pass on to both of these gentlemen, our sincere thanks.

For us, this was a trip of a lifetime and although it was our first time in Africa, we hope that it will not be our only one. We will be looking in our travel guides etc for more visibility for Tanzania as it has so much to offer.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and all the very best for you company and your employees in the future.

Yours sincerely,
Eleanor Moore and Diane Goudie

Hi John
I arrived back from overseas yesterday after 5 weeks in Africa. I thought I would wait til I got back to provide the feedback as internet services in Ethiopia were a bit dodgy. Sometimes took up to 40 minutes to send one email. You forget quickly how it was.

Our Tanzania trip was great. All of the on ground arrangements worked smoothly and we totally enjoyed the Safari and the Zanzibar leg. We particularly want to acknowledge George the guide and driver. We enjoyed his company which was a bonus on top of his knowledge and attention to our needs. He takes a lot of pleasure in what he does and we were impressed with his striving to learn when his considerable capacity to answer questions fell short. The other staff were also excellent and the camping was for us a great way to do it. Being a family of four doing our own thing meant we did not feel so much on the tourist train. The only regret I had was that we couldn’t spend more time in Tanzania (girls had to get back to Uni).

Thank you for your help with planning and booking the trip. We would ask that you let the company on the ground know we were also pleased with their services.

Lyla and family   

John,

Thanks for this.

Unfortunately we had a superb time which has only strengthened our resolve to leave Europe as soon as we can...............permanently!

Highlights.

For me firstly and undoubtedly Katavi, both the walking and the landscape are outstanding. We were fortunate to have a great group of guests with us here which meant not only the joys of the Bush but a hilarious 4 nights. Further Squack Evans (who Trish has met) was relief camp manager and an excellent walking guide and host.

Tarangire; fantastic elephants, diverse landscape and one particularly good
long walk.

Loliondo, again for the walking and landscape, an unexpected walk to denning wild dogs with cubs and a visit to Loliondo Pub with Nomad guides for a beer with Masai before a night game drive.

For Rona, firstly Mahale for the obvious Chimps and Lake Tanganyika but also for us both a hugely entertaining afternoon with Doug climbing the
waterfalls and perfecting my bum luge technique!

The Crater for its quite astounding landscape/ecosystems; rain, mist and sun in the space of 3 hours, and good lion.

For us both, the migration both in terms of volume of wildebeest, quality of
undisturbed game viewing and some of the best guiding we have ever had.

Undoubtedly Nomad made the trip what it was, in terms of Staff, food,
camps, infrastructure and arrangements faultless throughout.

What would we have done differently? Certainly an extra night at Loliondo
and perhaps the same at Tarangire.

Best Regards,

David

Hi John,

Thanks, Katavi was great - lots of animals, and the lions were active, Manie was excellent, Ruaha was a bit slow -but they said the number of buffs [and hence the other animals] had fallen up to 90% over the last 10 yrs due to the water supply in summer falling dramatically.

Thanks for recommending Katavi.

Regards,
Craig.

Hi Chris,

Our trip was fabulous, truly memorable. Thanks again for all your
help, particularly making the last minute adjustments when we had an
issue with our flights from Europe. Everything went smoothly the
remainder of the trip and all of the accomodations were wonderful.

Most difficult part was leaving!

Thanks again for everything.

Best regards,

Amy Salcido

Hi Chris,

Thought I'd send you a few lines to let you know about our trip to Zimbabwe. The whole show was very well organised and all transfers etc ran like clockwork. When Mike contacted you initially he told you that we were allergic to too many people and we'd prefer to be on our own as much as possible and that was exactly what we got, perfect.

At Somnalisa Terry and Shiona were   and we particularly enjoyed our first stay there, as there was just Mike and I so we were able to do much more than we would have in a larger group. Also as we are happy to rough it we went a lot of places and did a lot of stuff which we would have otherwise missed out on; this was the case when we returned there and found a group which included a very loud American female around whom, apparently, the Universe revolves - still she kept the lions out of camp at night so it wasn't all bad.Otherwise the whole experience at Somnalisa was superb and I will recommend it to any wouldbe Safari-ists.

Our first real bush camp was also fantastic, 4-30am starts every day and 6 hour walks in soft sand sure helps you sleep in the afternoon heat. The guys   and had set up a good camp,we learned a lot of bushcraft from Tendecar and Felix and apart from the walks some of the afternoon/evening waterhole visits were just incredible.

The third camp on the Zambezi was also superb, Steve had put a lot of thought and effort into setting up the site, it was very comfortable and the food just amazing as it was at all three locations; I don't know how they do it, my catering on camping trips consists of porridge and Cup-a-Soup and Mike is now demanding an improvement. Our time with Steve was way too short but the amount of variety we crammed into the days meant we got the maximum fun out of it. In one day we started at 5am and walked to a spring then followed a valley looking for another spring (dried up). We then spent a couple of hours re-opening an old logging road with an axe which left Mike with blistered hands (softy) then another walk into thick bush looking for another spring but we had to retreat when the buffalo began to outnumber the hiding places. Back to the camp for lunch then an afternoon spent whitewater canoeing with Steve and his mate Paul then trying to catch Tigerfish in the evening.

It's only now that I'm home and turning it over in my mind that I'm getting the full picture of how much we did. The only downside to the trip was that I got really bad food poisoning right at the end which made the journey home an absolute nightmare as I had been sick for nearly 5 days by the time we got back and had lost nearly 17pounds in weight.The possible cause was the water I swallowed whilst drowning in the Zambezi during our rafting trip, now there's an experience to remember.

Anyway,thank you for organising a wonderful holiday, it was more than I ever imagined.

CHEERS

Dave Doig

Hi Chris,

Sorry I've been a while in replying. The holiday was absolutely superb. The only snag was the Visa charges which I wasn't aware of.

Here are my ratings (just for fun)

Mfuwe Lodge:

Accommodation and lodge 8/10

Service and staff 7/10

Food 6/10 (pleasant/average, but only 3 candles per 7 or so people made finding things on the plate quite hard!)

Schedule of day 7/10 (fixed)

Quality of game viewing in April 10/10 (amazing!)

Guides 9/10

Total 78%

Kasaka River Lodge

Accommodation and lodge 10/10 (stunning place, the website doesn't do this place justice)

Service and staff 10/10 (absolutely without fault. Really lovely hosts)

Food 8/10 (the odd thing was truly unpleasant, the rest was worthy of a fine restaraunt. Chef a character too!)

Schedule of day 10/10 (flexible start times and choice of activity.... a relaxing safari)

Quality of game viewing in April 5/10 (dense undergrowth made spotting hard, but amazing leopard and lion sightings)

Guides 9/10

Total 87%

I think we'll speak again next year !

Paul Jones

Vicky Hope

Hi Chris,

Sorry I've been a while in replying. The holiday was absolutely superb. The only snag was the Visa charges which I wasn't aware of.

Here are my ratings (just for fun)

Mfuwe Lodge:

Accommodation and lodge 8/10

Service and staff 7/10

Food 6/10 (pleasant/average, but only 3 candles per 7 or so people made finding things on the plate quite hard!)

Schedule of day 7/10 (fixed)

Quality of game viewing in April 10/10 (amazing!)

Guides 9/10

Total 78%

Kasaka River Lodge

Accommodation and lodge 10/10 (stunning place, the website doesn't do this place justice)

Service and staff 10/10 (absolutely without fault. Really lovely hosts)

Food 8/10 (the odd thing was truly unpleasant, the rest was worthy of a fine restaraunt. Chef a character too!)

Schedule of day 10/10 (flexible start times and choice of activity.... a relaxing safari)

Quality of game viewing in April 5/10 (dense undergrowth made spotting hard, but amazing leopard and lion sightings)

Guides 9/10

Total 87%

I think we'll speak again next year !

Paul Jones

Vicky Hope

Chris,

Yes, we did have a wonderful time. All the arrangements worked fine - the camps were wonderful, game was plentiful and we saw everything that we could have reasonably have hoped for.

It was great to meet Phil & Babette at Kuyenda, they were there for 2 of our 3 days.

In hindsight, we probably didn't need 3 nights at Kuyenda & Chendeni - due to other people arriving and leaving at different times to us we found day 3 at each a bit repetitive.

Hope this helps and very many thanks to you all at Zambezi Travel for your help in organising it all so efficiently.

Kind regards

John & Eileen.

Hi John,

Katavi was very good. The camp is great. My guide seemed a bit burned out. He knew a lot but gave quite a few one word answers to questions. I was with a British couple who were very nice, but perhaps plucked his nerves. Who knows? Nomad has a stellar reputation so expectations are high. We were not able to do any walks at all because the only armed scout was out on a 5 day walking safari the entire time. That was a bit of a disappointment because it is one of the parks where walking is allowed. I realize that being an active person I will seek out trips with some physical movement. Being in the land rover all day is hard. All in all had I had a really good trip and I am very glad I went.

I went to Selous about a month ago and had a fabulous time! I did a walking safari with Nomad for 4 nights; it was just me and my guide (and a trainee scout). We saw a Rhino - up close and personal. My Selous guide – Rem - has got to be one of the best in the business. He was awesome.

I do want to canoe and will before I leave Tanzania (15 months left). In December I think I am going to Jordan to hike in Wadi Rum and visit Petra.

I am always looking for 3-5 day (ie quick) trips from Moshi. Keep me in
mind!

Thanks for your help
Jean

Hello Chris,

I couldn't possibly fault the trip in anyway Chris, straight from the word go everything was organised, flights and transfers were my biggest worry but everything just fell into place. Terry and Shona are wonderful people and great hosts. Terry's knowledge of the bush made it all the more enjoyable, anything we asked he was able to answer and the tracking with him was great. The Somalisa camp was an amazing experience, one I won't forget.

The outside camping with (I forget his name) was a totally different experience, the walking part was most enjoyable and we didn't go with the attitude that we wanted to see everything. We just walked and saw what we saw, the animals in there natural state unaware we were even there sometimes was awe inspiring.

Next with Steve Edwards, again I can't fault it. A great guy with a good personality and was so much fun to be around. The canoeing and the white water rafting totally brilliant, I could go into so much more information on all our experiences but I'd be writing for ages, especially since I can only type with 2 fingers I'd be here all night. Lol.

My father said he will also contact you and let you know his thoughts but it is on much the same lines as my thoughts. It's the best holiday I've had in a very long time and won't be forgotten. Thanks for all the help and organising this amazing trip for us.

Cheers,

Mike Doig

P.S Any chance you could move Zimbabwe a bit closer to the UK, long trip but well worth it. Thanks again.

Hi,

Thank you so much, I can honestly say it was wonderful. Everyone enjoyed themselves and it all ran very smoothly. I have had such positive feedback regarding the venue and the people there are so warm and friendly. It was all a very positive experience and superb.

I cannot thank you enough for all you efforts in making it a wonderful experience.

Thanks

Leigh

Hi Chris

Many thanks for checking in - I had a fabulous trip and really appreciate your recommendations. The itinerary was perfectly balanced for me. I particularly enjoyed The Hide and would like to return to Zimbabwe as soon as I can manage it financially.

Game, specifically elephants, was not as prolific as I had hoped for but that's the way it goes. Bird life was super. Everything else was perfect including getting spanked on the Zambezi. It was pretty hot in the afternoons in Hwange but not half as debilitating as I feared.

Chris, I also really am very grateful for you having arranged the excess baggage for me - the 50 plus pounds of children's clothing is already at the good Hope Orphanage in Bulawayo and this could not have been achieved without your help. Thank goodness I took a hard copy of the info from your contact as the "usual suspect" behind the counter swore blind there was no annotation on the PNR. (We all know better).

Best wishes

Lynn

Sam,

Governors' was great as was the whole experience. I managed to get the
return flight put back to 5pm which made all the difference. Thanks for
all your help. We will certainly be in touch if we go again.

Regards,
John

July 2008

Hi Liz
Alex and I are home safely after a great trip. I will try to write in the
next couple of days to describe briefly our experiences. And you can publish anything you wish. The trip that you organized was basically briliant (British and SA slang I picked up).
For now, thank you very much.
More later.
Barry

Hi Chris

Hope you are well. What a coincidence - I was just in the process of typing out an email to you when yours came in !!!!

Well as you know we are back in the UK now which is very depressing as we had an absolultely fantastic holiday - I think it was actually one of my best trips I've ever had to Africa!!!! Both myself and Bruce want to say thank you so much for arranging such an amazing trip for us - it was absolutely perfect.

Uganda was absolutely stunning and it was very strange to see such a green African country as we are used to going to places like Namibia/Botswana which are obviously very dry. Our driver George was fantastic - both in terms of driving skills and general knowledge about everywhere we visited and Uganda in general and he definitely made our holiday into the fantastic trip it was. We loved all the camps that we stayed in - our favourites being Mantana Kibale Tented Camp (where the staff were so friendly and willing to help with anything) and Ishasha Wilderness Camp which is set in the most beautiful setting and again has the friendliest staff who went out of their way to make our stay memorable. We were also very lucky in Ishasha and found 2 of the tree climbing lions up a tree!!!!

Rwanda was a big highlight for me as it has been one of my lifelong dreams to go and see the mountain gorillas. I couldn't believe how close we got to them and also how peaceful and gentle they were. The big silverback was only about 4 metres from us and it was the most incredible experience I have ever had. We were also really lucky to see a 5 day old baby (that the guides didn't tell us about in advance as they didn't think we'd see it!!). The mother just sat beside the path holding the baby and it was almost as if she was showing it off to us all as we walked past!!!

After a sad farewell to George in Uganda we were met by our driver in Tanzania - another George!!! Again he was absolutely fantastic and we had real good fun with him and the other guest on our safari Lizette. We absolutely loved the authentic camping trip that we did and the other 3 guys who went ahead and set up camp and cooked for us (Du Du, Hamza and Mushi) were brilliant. After seeing so many programmes on TV about Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti it was absolutely incredible to be there. In the Serengeti we actually stayed in the Wild Frontiers semi-permanent camp as it was empty so we had it all to ourselves and again the staff were absolutely fantastic and nothing was ever too much trouble for them.

We were really sad to say goodbye to George as he made our trip absolutely fabulous - he had a great sense of humour and we laughed out way round Tanzania.

A HUGE thanks again for arranging such a fantastic trip for us - all the places we stayed were amazing and all the people we met were really friendly and eager to help us out. Please say a big thanks to both George's who drove us round as without them our trip would not have been so enjoyable.

Happy Christmas to both of you and we will be in touch again when we arrange our next trip!!!!

Kind regards

Marianne

Julian

Good morning Julian. I want to thank you for the awesome safari experience you put together for Vanessa and me. The whole experience far exceeded our expectations and have been spreading the word to everyone who asks about our trip. It was a shame we never met - but came so close! Thank you again Julian, hope we do business again, please put me in your contacts list to follow up occasionally, right now I don't plan a trip but in the near future you never know!

They were all so charming and the staff unbelievably good at providing a 'pampered' experience. Loved it.

Rebecca

Hi, Chris,

I just wanted to 'report' back from my trip to Zambia in early June and let you know how wonderful everything was - in the true sense of the word. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were impressed with how well everything was organised - a fantastic experience! I can certainly recommend your organisation and your expertise. The bushcamps I found very impressive indeed - I didn't expect such luxury and such good food and the game drives and the walks were thoroughly enjoyable and the 'experience' of Dean MacGregor was a bonus...! We thought that Ollie and Dean were a good team at Kapamba. We certainly saw a lot of animals including a lion kill (which I cried all the way through, sentimental old me), the camps were small so there weren't too many people and not too many trucks either - ideal! We also enjoyed Livingstone and went on a river cruise on the mighty Zambezi and went to the Victoria Falls - out of this world! All in all I loved what I experienced and I want to go back to Africa at some point - Dean suggested (when I asked him about Namibia) that it would be feasible to just hire a car and drive through yourself - any thoughts on that??

Anyhow - a big THANK YOU for a great trip!!!

Sabine

Hi Liz,
Yes thank you we have arrived back - tired but safe and sound.

Thank you for all your help in advising, booking and then ensuring that the logistics of our trip occurred smoothly.

Everything was well organised and the logistics went to plan. We had a wonderful trip and the Game Lodge was a highlight.

I am happy for you to quote me on your website and I recommend your services to anyone looking to travel to southern Africa where intimate knowledge of the locations coupled with the knowledge of how to organise the logistics is key to experiencing all that Africa offers whilst also ensuring trouble free holiday.

Thank you for all your help

Kind Regards,

Kevin

Hi Liz
 
We just came back to Hong Kong from our South Africa trip this morning. 
 
I just wanted to thank you for arranging the Vic Falls trip for us, it was just wonderful!!! While a couple of our friends recommended the Vic Falls Hotel to us, we are really happy that we stayed at the Safari Lodge instead. It is such a special hotel and the view from the hotel is just so amazing. The tours you've arranged for us were excellent and the tour guides were all friendly and helpful. All the arrangements were smooth and efficient. Nick and I just had such a memorable time! 
 
Thank you again and keep up the good work!!
 
Happy New Year :)
 
Vicky

Hi Liz,

Well we've been back 2 weeks already (as we spent a week in Paris) and I have to tell you after having travelled extensively over much of the world that Zambia and Botswana were my personal favourite trips.

We had an outstanding time and my husband in particular wanted me to thank you for the particular order in which we travelled - it became better with each passing day and I don't think we would have enjoyed Livingstone as much had we started in South Luangwa.

Thanks again for everything.

Thanks,

Debra Slater

Liz,
We have arrived home safe and had a simply wonderful time. Thank you for putting everything together for us.
 
The guides from Dabula Safari, especially TK, were great. TK was waiting for us at the airport and was so friendly and courteous. On the ride to the hotel he offered us the opportunity to add some activities as he noted that we had some free time. This was wonderful as earlier on our holiday in South Africa, when we mentioned that we were travelling to Victoria Falls, everyone told us to go white water rafting. I was dismayed because I thought since our itinerary was planned that it would not be possible to add the rafting.  TK, and the staff at Dabula, changed the timing of some things and we spent a half day rafting. It was unbelievable.
 
Words cannot describe the Victoria Falls Hotel, we felt like Royalty, were treated extremely well and the grounds of the Hotel are simply beautiful. The staff, the food, the grounds and the view are second to none and it was a wonderful way to conclude our holiday.
 
We would also recommend touring the falls from the Zambia side in addition to the Zimbabwe side. Although the walk from the hotel is possible, transportation from the hotel to the entrance to the Zambian side of the Falls would be advisable. But in general, the Zambian side offers amazing views and give you a perspective of the Zimbabwe side that you can't appreciate while in Zimbabwe.
 
One thing that we weren't able to do, but it seemed very exciting was breakfast/lunch on Livingstone Island at the top of the Falls. Apparently, during the low water season, you can walk along the top of the Falls from Zambia to the island and enjoy breakfast or lunch. It must be quite a sight from the edge of the Falls and something we won't miss on our return trip.
 
Thanks for the tip to bring US money in small denominations - we didn't do a great job of this and struggled to find change for tips, etc. - even from the hotel bank. Next time, we'll know to follow every bit of your advice!
 
 
Again, thank you so very much for arranging this.  From day one, you were nothing but helpful and always prompt in replying to our questions. You also made it so very easy to adjust things when we needed to change the dates and move the trip up 3 months. Liz I will definitely keep your information for our next trip and pass it along to anyone I know that is travelling to Africa.
 
It has been a pleasure to work with you on this.
 
If you would like us to expand on anything, please don't hesitate to ask. Take care and have a happy 2008.
 
Larry & Elena

Hi Liz

We had a great time. All the camps were very nice and well run and the guides were very knowledgeable. We think we are returning in Oct 09 and will be in touch

Take Care

Terry

Hello Liz --

Thanks for the email. I had been meaning to email you since we arrived back home in the States Saturday afternoon. I wanted to THANK YOU for all of your assistance with our travels to Zimbabwe. Even though we have been there many times in years past, considering the current political issues, it meant so much to me to have your reassurance prior to our arrival. I was pleasantly surprised by your willingness to reach beyond just booking the overnight trip to Victoria Falls to you actually taking an interest in my family and our travel situation. It was truly my pleasure to work with you!

I must also say that my brother and his friend absolutely LOVED every activity that you booked for them in Victoria Falls. They also both noted that the hotel you recommended was the nicest hotel either of them had ever seen. They had a fantastic time in Vic Falls and definitely plan on returning in the future!  They said that everything went off without a hitch and I would without a doubt refer any future travelers to you and your company for help with their bookings.

Thanks again for EVERYTHING! Do not hesitate to use my comments re: Victoria Falls on your website. I would certainly recommend your services to anyone in the future!

Please keep in touch and let me know if you hear of any news on your end with the current situation in Zimbabwe. The entire country is in our daily thoughts and prayers!

Keri

Hi Liz,
 
We had a fantastic time in Southern Africa...many great memories and absolutely heaps of photos!!! The girls have gained so much knowledge about the wildlife - they can tell you all sorts of facts about most of the animals we saw...and we did in fact see all but the Leopard!!
 
A lot of people ask what our favourite place was, but it's really hard to narrow it down to just one as every place holds great memories for us.  I must say the bush camp in Madikwe was awesome! But Chobe was wonderful also. Victoria Falls was brilliant, although I think 2 nights would have been enough. The weather wasn't the kindest to us there, and there are limited things you can do with younger children. It was fun to watch people bungy though!...Craziness!!
 
So we thank you for your efforts in helping to put much of it together for us. We will be returning again one day, in the opposite season.
 
Again, thanks Liz!!
 
Regards,
Donna Gibson and family

Hi Delene

Many thanks for asking - we had an excellent time. I have put some comments below, please feel free to use anything you wish:

Zambezi Cruise

We were certainly not disappointed that we were not on the larger African Queen. We boarded a much smaller craft with a very small party of people and the benefits were soon apparent. The Barman/Guide on the cruise was excellent and did not miss a trick – he knew the likely areas where we would find some animals and being a small and very manoeuvrable boat, we were able to take advantage of getting in close to see 4 bachelor bull elephants out for a night’s fun in the river, lots of hippos and a couple of crocodiles. As soon as the guide spotted that the elephants had decided to swim across the river, a quick 180 degree turn and a bit of speed enabled us to get a close up of this wonderful spectacle. For those of us from the UK, it did look a bit like some of the old ‘Loch Ness Monster’ pictures. The buffet was good and guide introduced us to the locally brewed Mosi beer – very much to our taste! Of course the ending of the trip was the wonderful sunset and being a small party we passed cameras around to take pictures – there will be several couples around the world with pictures to treasure. My favourite picture has to be the lead elephant tumbling down the bank into the river.

Elephant Back Safari

My Wife’s dream was to ride an elephant and this adventure fulfilled that dream to perfection. Right from the initial safety briefing we were made to feel welcome and as with the Cruise, the numbers were just right. The path taken could obviously not be too long, but they had chosen a very varied terrain. The banks down into the water made the ride much more exciting that just being on the flat. When asked if we wanted to go across the deep water – where you have to bring you feet up like a jockey – we immediately volunteered along with another couple from the USA. We thought about the elephants swimming across the Zambezi the night before with just their trunks and a couple of humps protruding out of the water – but who cares, it was bound to be safe. It was great fun – there were even Hippos in the water we crossed!

The chap riding at the front of the elephant was incredibly knowledgeable and spoke 15 languages – we only tested him on two!

To make it even better, the whole experience was available on DVD, which since being home, we have played several times. We even researched the South African music on the DVD and have now become fans of Johnny Clegg and Savuka (formally Juluka).

30-Minute Helicopter Flight

The weather on the morning we were booked to fly was poor and the helicopters were grounded. We could not ‘go up’ in the afternoon (when the weather improved) as we were booked on the elephant back safari. No worries though – Zambezi Safari and Travel sorted out a flight for us early on the day we returned to the UK. The Royal Livingstone even bent the checkout rules to allow us to take advantage of the new Helicopter flight time. It was unbelievable and we recommend the longer time as the pilot takes you down the gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Whilst you also need to see Victoria Falls at ground level, you simply must see it from the air as well – just to see the shear size of the delta and the vast expanse of the falls – after all it is one of the Natural Wonders of the World. Whilst we did not see it when the water covers the entire width of the falls, it is a sight not to be missed.

You might only visit Livingstone once in your life – so do as much as you can. We would have enjoyed a few extra days to do white water rafting and walk over to the Zimbabwe side, but we made good use of the time we had.   

Many thanks for your help Delene.

Regards
Dave

Hello Delene
 
I am sorry that I have been in contact since my return but it has been a mad house.
We would like to thank you very much for the wonderful Helo ride and the walk with the lions was just magnificent.
They were two of the highlights of our trip.
Once again thank you for making our stay in Africa a dream come true.
 
Yours
 
Jenny and Maureen

We are at the Zambezi Waterfront. Thanks for hooking us up. It is a fine place. We have an excellent room overlooking the river, had a wonderful river cruise with meal and drinks seeing LOTS of hippos, a pleasant trip to the falls this morning – quite a sight – and now are waiting our departure for the airfield.

You did well. Thanks.

Dear Delene:

Thank you for your follow up. The tour to Victoria Falls was one of the greatest experience/adventure of my life. First start with the African Rainbow hotel where I stayed for 4 nights. The service was flawless and the evening buffet was tasty with a good range of food choices. Then the elephant safari. Honestly I didn't feel particularly excited after the ride.
But after a day or two everytime I think about it, it was great. The helicopter ride was more than superb and the white water rafting, my Words!
I have never played anythig like it! We fell in the water twice, drank about 500ml of Zambezi river everytime, and it felt awesome. I am definitely gona take my friends there next time, so see you soon.

Thank you for your service!

Te Wei Chao

Hi Delene,
We had a great holiday and really enjoyed our days activities with Shearwater.
 
Thanks Again
 
Gary & Dana

Hi
Good evening
It has been exactly a week since we left Durban, RSA on our way back from our trip to Vic Falls and RSA with our son and daughter in law.
Kindly accept our sincerest appreciation for the excellent arrangements you made for us from the word "GO".
We were well received at the Livingstone Airport, comfortably taken to Bush Front Lodge and housed therein.
I have to be honest and say that as we entered the Lodge, we were a little sceptical about the place. But that was only short lived.
The people at the lodge including cleaners and chefs were all friendly and helpful. They went extra miles to prepare Veg Food for us.
Thanks a million.

With Warm Regards
TS Sadasivam

Hi Delene,

Thanks for the follow up email - we had an absolutely fantastic time!

All the activities we had arranged were superb - we were collected from our accommodation on time for each trip and the drivers were all so friendly and took the time to explain to us where we were going and how long it would take. The drivers were also happy to drop us off in different locations from our accommodation and organise someone to come and collect us later at no extra cost! Once, we left an expensive pair of binoculars in one of the minibuses and the driver searched for us after his shift had finished in order to return them to us!

The activities were truly wonderful - food and drink was provided on many of the activities - the Zambezi cruise included snacks, drinks and an evening meal, the Elephant Safari included breakfast and the minibus drivers always had a cool box with water and soft drinks to offer us, which we weren't expecting to be included, so value for money was excellent. All together, a fantastic experience and one we can't wait to repeat - we will be returning to Zambia with more of our family and will be sure to use your services again!

Many Thanks for all the help you provided in getting this arranged,

Best Regards,

Sharon.

Jackie,
We have returned from our trip, and really enjoyed Zimbabwe. You did a fantastic job of arranging our tour, and we’ve provided a few shots of our trip to Victoria Falls. Mapopoma Tours was very professional and always on time.  We also enjoyed the Kingdom Hotel.
Thanks,
Mary and David Lambert

Good morning,
 
I wanted to thank you for arranging a trip of a lifetime. Everything went smoothly and I was very happy with the activities and the accommodation. I definitely will be returning next year for another trip down the mighty Zambezi.
 
Thank you once again.
 
Hillary Papp

Dear Delene,
Our safari visit at Wild Life lodge was very successful and refreshing. We was very well taken care of, had a wonderful guide and saw lots of animals. Already at the first tour we saw both a lion and leopard with cubs. We had enncounters with elephants and buffalos too, which were very thrilling. It was really some days rich with experiences. The camp was very comfortable, with a good kitchen and welcoming staff. A lot of thanks to you for helping us arrange such a fantastic holiday. It was a good break in our staying at our friend's farm at Lusaka West. We are now back home again and already longing back to the cheerful people and the friendly country of Zambia.

Kind regards,
Ulla and Anders

Delene,
I just wanted to thank you for arranging my hectic last-minute trip to Victoria Falls. I had such a wonderful time! All the connections you arranged for me went so smoothly, and the hotels were the perfect fit for a single traveler. I appreciate all your work to make it happen, thank you!
Sincerely,
Brynn Shaffer

Hi Delene

I hope you are well. Rafting was awesome yesterday and the guides were excellent!

Thanks for all your help.

Nico

I'm getting back into the sleep routine now and only waking up at 5:00 AM. We had a great time at the falls. The Falls were spectacular even with the lower flow of water. I took the helicopter flight and this gives you a better perspective of the magnitude of the Falls! My favorite was the walk with the lions. Walking and touching lions in the wild is an experience I will not forget. The lodges were very good and the guides Alice and Jarios were excellent. There were several mix-ups with the Falls tour and double scheduling of side trips and the Boma dinner reservaions were for the wrong night, but everthing worked out in the end. We did have a serious injury on the safari and had to cut it short and take Linda Roberts back to the Chobe "hospital".  After seeing the capabilities there, we took her back to Victoria Falls where she was sewn up. Thanks for all of your help in setting up the trip. I will recommend you to others that are considering a trip to the Falls and a safari. For the money, we are very pleased.
 
Jan

Wow Delene! 
That is so wonderful - I cannot thank you enough.
I guess when you do a good thing (the library) then more good comes back to you.
I really appreciate all that you have done for us.
Marguerite

Dear Delene
 
Thanks for your mail and interest. We had a great time. We loved the Zambezi Waterfront!! It was only too short! Next time we will stay longer.
 
Kind regards
Elfie

Hi Delene,

Thank you again for everything that you did to make my trip a success. Tatsuro and I had a fabulous time in Zambia. I think that we would have been a lot more comfortable had we followed your recommendations and stayed at the bed and breakfast in Livingstone. Jollyboys was a bit of a disappointment -- but I guess it was necessary in order to stick to Tatsuro's budget. Anyway, I would just like to express my deep gratitude for your assistance and patience during the planning stages of our trip. You were a pleasure to work with.

Shaney.

Hi Delene,

We had a wonderful trip! And can't tell you how pleased we were with the part that you had helped us with.
1) Our transfer picking us up from Zambezi Waterfront to Botswana was professional, the prompt, VERY courteous, and the best vehicle that we had been in 2 months!
2) Chobe Safari Lodge was SPECTACULAR! And our activities (i.e.: afternoon boat safari) were just awesome!
3) Again, transfer back to Zambezi waterfront was great.
4) Zambezi Waterfront was very nice, and you couldn't beat the location.

Thank you so much!
Remy

Hi Delene,
Yes we arrived back from our African adventure on Saturday 29th. We had a great time and especially enjoyed the Elephant Safari and Helicopter Tour.
Thanks for your help.
Regards,
Darren Becton.

Hi Delene,
Just a note to say thank you for the trouble you went to in doing our bookings. Everything went like clock work and I was impressed with all the pick ups, drop offs etc. All very efficient. Also thanks to the honesty of the drive on Monday evening who handed in our binoculars when we left them in the vehicle. Unfortunately I can't remember his name but he is a credit to your organisation.
Thanks again,
Malcolm

Thank you, Delene;
We enjoyed our ride, everyone was friendly and the ride was gorgeous--no improvement necessary at all.
Frank Ingram

Dear Delene,

Thanks, I did arrive home safely.

My trip to Africa was truly a great one, and my stay in Victoria Falls did not disappoint me. The rafting trip on the Zambezi was probably the highlight during my days in Vic Falls, and everything worked out perfectly well. Give my regards to the people at Safari Par Excellence.

Best regards
Jon Anders Walle

Hi Delene,
 
We had a lovely time at the Falls. Our tour guide, Jest from Dabula, was quite a hoot and my daddy and he never stopped chatting. My favourite activity on the tour was the guided walk at the Falls itself. We also did the elephant ride and lion walk, and I did a horseback safari and riverboarding.  I have a series of three pictures from the horse ride. In the first, the horse is relaxed, the second he is grazing, and the third he is walleyed and crazy as he realized at that moment just HOW CLOSE the elephant was. Staying in the Ilala was just wonderful. The food in the restaurant was great (much better than the food in the Kingdom, where we went for supper and the nightly show), and I can't complain about the settings.
 
Thank you, and best of luck,
 
Helen

Dear Delene
 
I've been meaning to contact you but things have been a bit hectic on return.
 
We had a wonderful time both at Pioneer and at Bushfront. In fact we were lucky enough to be able to extend our stay at Bushfront and used it as our base for exploring the area. Please do send on our thanks to everybody (you included) for looking after us so well.
 
Hope to go back soon!
 
All the best
Kathy

Dear Delene,
 
Thank you for your mail. We came home without any problem. However we arrived under the rain in Paris after sunny days during our trip!
We really enjoyed our trip and particularly the view over Vic Falls which was a wonderful experience.
We hope to have the chance to come back again.
 
Kind regards
Martine DUFOUR

Delene,
All of the accomodations were excellent. We had no real complaints about any place. Your company did an excellent job and we will recommend it to friends.
Thanks,
John

Hi Delene
 
Thanks for the email. Everything was great. The driver was excellent, the guides at the " Lion Walk " were fantastic. It was great all round. It was an experience that the entire group loved. They were all critical of me for organizing it at first but then after the experience they were all commenting on how wonderful it was.
 
Thanks again. I hope to do it again when I visit Africa again.
 
Cheers, and thanks for the follow up. Much appreciated.
 
David Gabriel

Hi Jackie,

We had a wonderful time at Vic Falls and on the safari to Botswana. Lokathula Lodge was very nice, as we remembered it, and using the 3 lodges worked very well for us. The dinner at Boma was fun. My only recommendation for other folks using that place would be that they bring food with them if they intend to do any self catering - it's very difficult to buy groceries once you get there, especially without a car. The hotel dining room is extremely expensive and they seemed to be playing games with the exchange rate - which everyplace in Zimbabwe does now! So eating was a little frustrating. Just FYI, they refused to let us get double entry visas when we entered the country at Harare airport, saying that we would not need one if we were not in Botswana overnight, and that proved to be true, although I had reserved money "just in case". So that was a pleasant surprise.

All in all, your part of our journey was very excellent, and I would certainly use your company again and recommend it to others. Thanks again for all your help.

Sylvia

Hi Delene .
Thanks for organizing everything - it was fantastic.
The two guides we had - Cosmo and Cloud were excellent and did a very good job of making our trip so good.
Thanks once again from all of us and if you see the guides please tell them again how we enjoyed the trip.
Cheers
Karen.

Dear Delene

Thanks for the follow-up. I am happy to report that the trip went very well. The transfers and activities were as scheduled and everything was really well organised.

The white water rafting was a highlight – highly recommended and worth a trip to the Falls just for that experience!

Thanks again for all your hard work – it was a really memorable trip!
 
God Bless
Regards
Christine

Dear Delene

Thank you very much for your email. The flight was fine and my sons very much enjoyed the view of the Falls.

Best regards.

Christian BAILLET

Dear Delene,
 
Sorry for the delay, we continued our holiday down to South Africa and then I combined it with business, so have only just got back into Malawi.
The trip was great, it worked very well and for me was good to be back on the river after so long (12 years since I ran my last trip into the Lower Zambezi Park).
 
The trip for the folks was excellent, the operator had a much higher bar to please me...bit unfair, but I will make my comments as objective as possible.
The tour guide was very good, we got there from Lusaka to Gwabi a little early, but were disappointed that the guide only pitched 2 and a half hours late and there was no-one who could give us any real info! So a little frustrating.
The food was good considering, the guide very knowledgeable and the campsites pretty much as described.
The last day was a bit of a disappointment as we ended up canoeing for less than an hour before the pull out point, so the description of have far and how long the trip "actually" spends on the water could have been a bit more accurate.
 
On the whole though, very much as expected, an excellent value for money package and nice that is self-supported, the only thing that either we overlooked or weren't made aware of was the lack of cooler facilities if we were to take drinks and ice!!
 
Thank you for all the effort in the organising and it was certainly a memorable trip for the folks from the US.
 
Many thanks
 
Justyn

Hi Delene

Everything went very smoothly and exactly to the itinerary plan thanks to The Zambezi Safari & Travel Co. Ltd experience in creating individual travel packages.

The Ilala lodge is a very nicely situated and well appointed hotel. Its not too clear on arrival but 2 things are worth a mention - 1. their resident trip organiser is fully aware of any trips you have organised and can answer queries or telephone the trip organisers to amend times if possible and necessary along with confirming flight schedules.
2. If eating at the hotel there is a 35% reduction from the menu standard price list which makes eating very good food at the hotel a much better proposition than eating outside the hotel.

The trip organisers were very professional in their delivery of their particular service - very helpful and customer safety and service focussed.

Many thanks again

Margaret Moyden

Jackie,

Thank you for your email.

We had the most fantastic time. Fann and Anne Marie at Taita Falcon made us very welcome and the arrangements went like clockwork.

The accommodation was first class and a fabulous experience being out in the bush. Fann shared some of his vast knowledge/experience of the area with us, which we found very interesting. The time they shared with us was great and this made our stay even more special. The setting was
awesome - a view to die for!

The food was also five star - including the birthday cake which they kindly gave to Shona for her birthday.

I would highly recommend both yourself and the Taita Falcon for any visit
to Zambia!! Well Done all and many many thanks for a fantastic holiday.

We would love to return to Taita Falcon.

Look forward to speaking to you sometime in the future, and many thanks once more for all your help in making the arrangements for us.

Kind regards

Jill & George

Shona and Diana

Hi Jackie:

Hope you are well in your new house...must be nice!! I'm sure you are busy with planning, etc. this time of year. Pardon my delay, it's been a very busy start to the year and I've been on the road quite a bit as well. Joyce and bambino doing fine though.
 
Per comments on your organization, it is simple: You were the best we have ever worked with, in every capacity. You were so patient as time went by and we waited to choose our dates, you were perfect in selecting the timing, itinerary, group (Robin Pope) and set everything up so beautifully. In short, we would not have had such a great trip if it were not for your/your company's efforts. Your patience and recommendations were spot on, Jackie, and we always felt someone had our back as we set off on the big adventure (which you did, of course). To travel through Africa, one certainly needs professional planning and assurances, which you provided so ably for us. I can't recommend you or your company enough to others, you made the trip so fantastic.
 
This week, I will write a review or two for Trip Advisor on you and Zambezi, and will send you the link or email. I hope it can generate some more good review and/or people soliciting your company.
 
Please let me know if you need more concrete details, information, etc. Jackie, I'm just rambling a bit here on a Monday.
 
Overall, you and your company were outstanding.  Cheers,
 
Mike

Hi Jackie,
 
Yes we returned back with all legs and arms thus avoiding the crocs! The fishing was excellent and enjoyed by all of us and considering this was the third visit to Mwambashi it confirms what a great camp it is.
Steve and his staff were, as always, fantastic. The food was very good and we were certainly looked after at the bar!!!
Matt, Dave and myself will certainly be going back in the next couple of years.
Many thanks to you and your staff and please pass on a very big thanks to Steve and his team
 
Kind regards,
 
Trevor.

Hi Jackie,

We have just returned from Africa and we loved it. Everything you planned went very smoothly and both Ilala and Muchenje were great choices. We had some problems at the Zimbabwe border because we had not read your notes carefully enough and did not have American dollars. This was taken care of by those collecting us and we appreciated this immensely. Everyone was so kind and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble and everyone collected us on time without hassle. Thanks for helping to organise this trip. The day I encountered over a hundred elephants at Chobe was the best day of my life and I have had some really great days. It brought tears to my eyes.
 
I thought you might appreciate some feedback.
Although I cannot afford it at the moment I would like to come back to Africa with my 24 year old son. Of course I would want to go somewhere different to have different experiences. Where would you go if you were arriving from Australia?

Best wishes
Lyn Kirkwood

Dear Jackie,

How are you? Sorry I haven't been able to reply sooner I have just come back from Malaysia. We both had a wonderful time at Ilala and Muchenje. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. The accommodation was lovely and the food was fantastic. We would especially like to thank Peter who worked at front desk at Ilala because he helped us alot when we were trying to get our luggage which was stranded in Madrid airport for two days on our arrival. We did get it eventually but with much help from Peter so please thank him again for us.

Muchenje was lovely and our hosts their were very nice people. I would definately recommend this trip to anyone thinking of going to Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Thanks again for arranging this for us Jackie.
Lots of love
Farida & Ali.

Hi Jackie
Yes thanks, we had a great time! The bushcamps were wonderful, and the wildlife amazing (we saw lions hunting at night – we drove into the middle of them by accident – saw a leopard, were chased by an annoyed elephant, and heard a lion kill outside our chalet at Kapamba at 4am…). Mumbo island was a great stop after the safaris (although Wilderness changed the order of our plans so we had two safaris back to back and then the island, so we were perhaps more likely to be safari-ed out then planned!). Jamakata was brilliant, but very scary (have you been in those tiny planes?)…. All in all a fantastic holiday, so thank you very much for organising!
What a shame to have missed Madonna!
Hope all’s going well with you?
Kind regards
Katie

Jackie!

Great to hear from you and my apologies for taking so long to respond.  I'm still stuck on Africa time and still trying to get back into British Columbia time. 

Our trip was virtually flawless and we all agreed even better than we had hoped.
 
I was thoroughly impressed with all our connections and transfers. Everyone was on time, cheerful and knowledgeable. I still can't believe how smooth it all went. The charter flights were all so easy and organized. 
 
Zimbabwe was for sure our favorite! It's a shame there is so much bad publicity about the country. We had no worries or problems at all when we were there. We absolutely loved Natureways and the canoe safari, and staying at Mana Pools was a fantastic decision. We are still glowing from the company and wildlife experiences we had. And we talked about you! The guides asked how we found Natureways and we told them...Jackie Pearson! Tendayi and Klaud (not sure how to spell his name), both knew who you were. The guide we had at Mana, named Doug, was amazing. It was like he was part wild animal himself. Ha! The way he could track animals, call to them and sniff them out was fabulous. The staff at camp were also so friendly. Every time we arrived back at camp we were greeted with smiles and faces wanting to know how our drive was and then asking if we needed water for showers, etc. I still miss Tabby when I think of her. She was so wonderful. 
 
We had a super time at Victoria Falls as well. We enjoyed our hotel and the falls were something to see. We ventured down to the bridge and the boys bungi jumped one day and another day we whitewater rafted the Zambezi as well. I originally thought perhaps 4 nights may be too much there, but we had no problem filling up the days and still having time to relax at the pool. 

The hotels in Zanzibar were great & we got our share of the Indian Ocean and relaxing. We were glad the kids got to see a different culture with Zanzibar's Muslim culture. We made sure to point out when we heard the call to prayer - that's my favorite, and of course we shopped and wander through Stone Town. 
 
Well, I could go on and on. We all thank you for the planning of this trip Jackie. If you're ever coming to British Columbia let me know!!
 
Keep in touch!
Sandy

Dear Jackie,

Just a few words to say thanks for organizing our recent trip to Luangwa valley. Without exception all 8 of us had a super time, be it in Mfuwe lodge, Nkwali camp, or Kapamba. All our connections were extremely punctual, service and food at the lodges was all first class. We especially enjoyed the walking safaris. The only down side is that already several of my friends have asked me (ie you) to organize a trip to Livingstone and Luangwa next April. No time to rest! I shall be in contact with you after Christmas about that. Lastly the guides accompanying us were so enthusiastic and knowledgeable, especially Onasious at Mfuwe and Fanwuel at Kapamba.

Thanks again,
Paul

We had a great holiday!!!! Thanks for your assistance. Kruger Park was simply amazing, it is really hard to put it into words.
 
Thanks again for your help making our holiday one to remember!

Hi Jackie

We got back yesterday.

We had a fantastic trip – everything worked out brilliantly.
Taita Falcon Lodge was a fantastic spot – Nicki, Faan and A Marie looked after us very well. Food was excellent – the view from the restaurant was spectacular and all the activities were well organized and good value.
The trip to Livingstone Island was absolutely brilliant – Hanging off the Vic Falls being held by the ankles is an experience of a life time. Elephant Safari – more of the same. Game Drive in Livingstone – a bit weak if compared to ‘real’ game drives in South Luangwa. Sunset Cruise was spectacular (we got a small boat – if we had been on one of the big ones, it would’ve been a little less enjoyable (African Princess/Queen) 
Taita Falcon Lodge is for people who want to be out of the way of everybody – but this means you have to ‘suffer’ a 40 minute bumpy drive to get there and back for activities.
The Wildlife Camp was also fantastic – Miriam and Oscar looked after us very well – Safaris were brilliant – Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Giraffe, Impala, Hippo, Crocodiles, Buffalo, Hyena and much more - The amount of game was astounding – almost surreal.

Strangely we were the only guests in the place for the last 3 days so we were more than spoilt.

All in all we had the time of our lives – an excellent combination of cultural activities and safaris – good food, great people.

Zambia and its people will be in our hearts for as long as we live.
Thanks for all your help and your excellent recommendations.

Regards
Mitch

Hi,
 
I would just like to say thank you for organizing a perfect holiday for us.  The cake was beautiful. We had an amazing time. Our driver Mungure was the best we could have asked for, he was a wonderful wonderful man and excellent driver and guide as he knew everything about everything and his English was great.  All the accommodation was brilliant and the Plantation Lodge was very stunning for that extra bit of posh whilst we were there. The Breezes hotel in Zanzibar was stunning and the food was the best I ever had! There were no complaints whatsoever, except that I had to return :)...
 
Thanks so much for all your work to make it a great trip and very well organised!
 
Cheers
Angie

Hi Jackie -

We had a fantastic time, and our stay in South Luangwa is probably in contention for the best holiday ever.
The animals were wonderful and everyone at Bushcamps was great.

Kaya Mawa was beautiful, too. We were glad we added Lake Malawi to our safari. 

Thanks again for your help in putting together a great trip.

Best regards,

Mari

Hi Jackie,

Maria & I would like to thank you for a wonderful honeymoon in Africa.

We had a fantastic time and thank you for all off your hard work in
organising our trip.

We will recommend you to our friends.

Best Regards
Nick & Maria

Hi Jackie

We are now firmly back in the UK, and already back at work sadly.
Many thanks for organising our trip so well. We both really enjoyed our holiday.

All the accommodation was excellent.

We were looked after very well at the bushcamps. Saw a reasonable amount of game at these but no leopard or wild dog. The dogs were late this year, and still in their dens apparently.
Chendeni was a wonderful setting although the game viewing was not that good here.

If we went again I would book into Mfuwe lodge for the last night as it was quite a drive to get from Chindeni to the airport for 8am. The lodge also looks really nice.

Rafting was great and the guided birding ok. Bad time of year for the birds, a bit later in the year would have been better.

Food and hospitality great throughout.

Chobe was excellent, but lots of other tourists. We had a private boat trip which was great and far better than the normal river cruise. We finally got to see leopard here. we saw one on our first day here and then 3 leopards on the next game drive. Could not believe it.

In all we had a great time and going to a mix of the quiet bushcamps and the busier (but more approachable game) Chobe was perfect.
Thanks again for your help and it should not be too long before we plan to visit Africa again. You have been superb.

We will never forget seeing our first ever leopards, the colonys of bee-eaters or that feeling of excitement seeing lions when out walking.

Thanks again

Kevin

Hi Jackie - sorry it’s been so long before sending you our impression of our visit to Southern Africa.

The holiday was an unforgettable experience. Many thanks to you and you colleagues since all the complicated arrangements worked perfectly. Throughout the trip we were impressed by the very high standard of service and friendliness of hotel staff, transport staff and even the border officials!

Comments on each location are below.

Afton Guest House, Johannesburg

We were met at the airport and their representative explained that the guest house was full but that they would take us to an adjacent guest house, the “Elland Lodge”. This proved to be a nice place with a very friendly and interesting owner who had emigrated from Greece. A car was sent from the Afton Guest House to take us to a nearby restaurant for dinner and to bring us back. Similarly they sent their car to take us to the airport next morning.

Victoria Falls

The Ilala lodge was very comfortable and certainly up to four star standards. Their tourist office was very helpful in organising several trips for us. The Falls were amazing - we also went to the Zambian side.  You were quite right - the Zimbabwe side is much better.

It is a great pity that the people of Zimbabwe are suffering from the countries economic and political problems.

Garden Lodge - Chobe

Again a very comfortable and well run establishment.  The game viewing was amazing. We have some splendid photos of elephants against the setting sun. The Lodge was very flexible in organising our preferred activities. However sometimes we felt that the animals were being excessively harassed by the number of vehicles and tourists in the park.

Xakanka Camp

Another splendid lodge – with lots of personal attention. Not so much game but a better experience because there were fewer safari vehicles in the park. We had some amazing experiences with lions and two leopards.


Meno A Kwena

On arrival we were taken aback by the bathroom facilities offered. However we quickly adapted to the way of life enforced by the shortage of water and were sorry to leave when the time came. Once again service given by the staff was excellent. The waterhole and valley were most impressive as were the animals. The bones of dead animals in the valley made you realise how nature works. When we left the water from the Angolan floods was about 40 km away. We wonder if it ever reached Meno. The staff there expected that it would. Meno was probably the most memorable part of the whole tour.

Once again many thanks,

Barbara and Ken Stamper.

Hi Jackie,
 
We have indeed returned home having had a wonderful time and seen the game we had expected.
We changed our itinerary slightly and did not go to Kapamba as when there we decided that it was too close  to Bilimungwe, so we had two nights at Chindeni and two nights at Chamilandu.
 
The three bush camps were excellent with I think Chamilandu being the most dramatic where the bedrooms and even the bathroom were at first floor level and were open fronted. The guides at all three camps were excellent and the service and attention from the camp managers and staff couldn't be faulted.
 
I was very pleased with your management of the whole programme and would look to use you again if visiting the parts of Africa you cover.

On a personal note I really appreciated your involvement and assistance and if I am in Lincoln at any time perhaps we could have a coffee together to put a name to the face I have been communicating with.
 
Thank you for your help.

Kind regards
 
John

Dear Jackie,

Thank you for your e-mail.

We are so pleased to tell you that we had the most wonderful and unforgettable holiday. It was truly worth every penny and we will never forget it!

We had excellent flights into and from Livingstone (BA Commair and Nationwide). The flight into Livingstone was spectacular as we got our first view of Vic Falls as we flew in which was a great start to the holiday. You could definitely recommend your future clients to sit on the left side of the plane for the best views!!!

The Royal Livingstone was out of this world! It most definitely exceeded our expectations. The location is just amazing and the building itself was gorgeous, the interior beautiful.

The food was excellent, we have never seen a breakfast buffet quite like it. Such variety and quality food. It was wonderful.

The staff were very friendly and helpful. We even had our own butler who offered to clean our muddy boots for us and they were returned spotless the same afternoon, and for no charge (although we did tip). Every evening our bed was turned down and we had fresh rose petals scattered on the bed, and complimentary RL slippers too!
Upon our arrival we were made very welcome and they even offered to check all our booking for us for our activities.

Our rooms were air conditioned and we had no problem with bugs, apart from just a few odd ones. In fact throughout the whole holiday, we did not get bitten even once.

It was extra special also to have wild zebra grazing in the hotel grounds, and giraffe could be seen too. Little baby monkeys were everywhere and provided much entertainment for us! We could watch hippo from the sundeck. It was brilliant. I am delighted we chose this hotel.

What was most special was the location. The Zambezi River right on your doorstep and the spray of the Falls in the near distance was brilliant. It was only a 10 minute walk to get access to the Falls which was great.

The whole atmosphere of the hotel was wonderful. Very relaxed and elegant. I would definitely choose here over Zambezi Sun (although the good was good at the Zambezi Sun). We had massages on the river side outdoors, which was so amazing. We loved this, it was so relaxing.

All our activities with Saf Par were great. Saf Par were very professional. Bushtracks were also very good. We experienced no problems whatsoever.

The elephant back safari was really fun, however the Lion Encounter was a major holiday highlight! Absolutely amazing! Apart from the safety talk which was a bit daunting, the experience was unforgettable. Most definitely highly recommended. Also we bought the DVD of both activities, which is well worth doing. Helicopter was also a really good thing to do, which we enjoyed a lot.

The rafting was great too. Our raft lost a fair bit of air throughout the day and as a result on rapid 18 (Oblivion) our raft ended up folding, meaning I hit my nose on something and got quite a bad nose bleed, which was a shame as it put me off the rest of the day, however we were only 20 minutes from the end anyway which was a good thing. Up to that point though we’d enjoyed it, apart from being terrified at every rapid. We also bought the DVD for this, again worth doing - really good to look back on.

We also went to Livingstone Island and sat in a pool at the edge of the Falls. This was fantastic, and we would highly recommend this to anyone visiting the Zambian side of Falls in the drier season. Such a great experience for sure. We loved this experience.

We visited a market just outside Zambezi Sun and brought an elephant, rhino and hippo figurine. That was quite an experience in itself, but a bit of fun too, haggling with the traders! It was also much cheaper than buying mementos at ‘Out of Africa’ for example.

Chobe was really lovely. We really enjoyed our time there. At first it was a bit strange having to adapt from the luxury of the Royal Livingstone, but it was good. We did 3 games drives, which were really good, we absolutely loved them. We also did the boat trip and private boat trip which were excellent too. We ended up with some fantastic photos and video footage. On our first game drive we saw a leopard out in the open drinking from a pool which was amazing and quite a rarity according to our guide. We also saw on other drives, lions and hyena, as well as elephant, kudu, warthog, impala, only a few buffalo, hippo and crocs.

The food at the Chobe Safari Lodge was superb. We actually preferred eating there than at the Royal Livingstone. It was more ‘normal’ food but very tasty and a wide variety to choose from, more so than at the RLH. We are glad we had those 3 days at Chobe for sure, although we wouldn’t have wanted much more time there. 3 game drives was just enough for us.

Everything went so smoothly with the holiday. Everyone was very friendly and all our connections between activities were on time, making it very hassle free.

Sorry this has taken a while to get to you, we have been so busy since coming home we haven’t had chance to get our comments down.

We would like to thank you for all your advise and help in booking this holiday. We really, really enjoyed ourselves and would recommend the holiday and your services to anybody. We had a holiday of a lifetime and we’ll never forget it. Thank you Jackie!

Have a lovely Christmas and New Year!

Warm Regards,

Lydia & Neil Parker

Hi Jackie;

We are back and  about recovered from our flights home. This was not  the best part of our trip  but after lots of delays changed flights we are home.. All of your part of our trip was GREAT. The Bushcamp was just what I was hoping it would be. All the people and service was very good. Guides were better than good. We were lucky I guess in that we were the only ones at Kuyenda for 2 days and by ourselves at Kapamba for one day. All of the other arrangements you made for us were really good and all the transfers worked like they are supposed to.

Our flight from Lusaka to Dar was delayed and quite late and the Lady at Hippo tours went much out of her way to get us on another flight and  see to it that we got to Zanzibar with out the need to spend a night in Dar. She could easily have just said your late and must spend the night but she worked hard to get us out.

Thanks again for helping us have such a great trip. 
Howard

Dear Jackie
 
Just a quick note to let you know what a wonderful time we all had at Mfuwe last week.

The Lodge itself was very comfortable, the service exceptional, and the game viewing despite being in the "Green Season" was the best I have seen in 3 previous safaris. We saw lion, leopard, buffalo, etc. and were constantly surrounded by 100's of hippos.
 
The weather was great, the rains have pretty much stopped, and it was very hot during the day. I have never seen Africa looking so green and vibrant and would definitely recommend a visit at this time of the year.
 
My friends all enjoyed themselves as much as we did and are already making plans for a return visit in September 2009.
 
Thank you for all your help and advice, (and patience) we will certainly be using you to arrange our next trip.
 
If you have any clients who would like to speak to me about Mfuwe etc. please feel free to pass on my contact numbers.
 
Thank you again for everything
 
Best wishes
 
Chris Lowry

Dear Jackie,

The trip was great!

That one single mishap does not affect the overall positive experience. On the contrary, the fact that we did not plan to leave earlier from Livingstone made the day very efficient. Leaving at 2.30 or so, we made it to Nkwali in time for an evening game drive.

Also, after four days with the Popes at Nkwali, it is hard to imagine that the change from Luangwa River Lodge was for the worse. Nkwali is a fantastic lodge from every perspective: the expertise, the friendly atmosphere, the food and the location. In particular, the way the kids were made to feel at home and accepted was wonderful.

The trip from Lusaka was really rewarding as the driver was a fluent English speaker and could tell us a lot about life in Zambia. Finally, Stanley is a great place to be based in Livingstone, a peaceful oasis a bit away from the more busy places closer to the falls and city.

We will recommend it all to anyone who is interested.

Best regards,
Fredrik and family

Hello Jackie,

We are just back from Zanzibar, and had a great time. We loved the Coffee House, and the Unguja Resort was a delight, lovely hosts, excellent staff and accommodation, and very good food.  For some reason we arrived in Stone Town a day early. I am not sure if that was your fault or mine, but who cares! Luckily they had a room for us on that night as well so we had two nights in Stone Town instead of one. Actually I think you need two nights really, there is a lot to see and we were able to take in a Spice Tour as well.
 
We spent our first week in the Northern highlands of Ethiopia; this is a truly incredible place to visit. Do you people work in this area? There is not much tourism there at present, but lots of potential, so it might be worth looking at.
 
Anyway, thanks for organizing our Zanzibar trip, and by the way your Maya Tours people were very helpful too.
 
Best wishes,
Martin

Hi Jackie,

We are back from our visit to Dar and Zanzibar and I am writing to thank you for ensuring that we had a very successful trip. All the arrangements that you made went like clockwork. We were very impressed! No doubt there will be other visits to East Africa in the future and we will call on you again for help.

Thank you again,

David

Hello to Liz.

First of all - thank you. Everything was terrific - well organized and exceptional. The logistics were seemless - with just a few little hiccups - this was to be expected.

Needless to say we had an incredible time - an amazing journey - the rafting on both rivers was truly unbelieveable - major league and the safaris were eye opening experiences.

All six of us were touched in so many ways - we all feel changed after the experience and want to come back to Africa in a few years time.

We would probably do it again next year except for the cost! We need to save a few bucks and then come back - for a much longer time focusing on people, game and ancient dwellings/civilizations.

Mountain Travel Sobek have a hiking/4x4 trip across Africa which might be of interest, however before we start work on that type of trip we will be back to you and Zambezi Travel.

Please feel free to use me as a reference at any time. The Gillams and Fogel/Applebaum are of the same opinion.

We all concluded that this trip was indeed, a trip of a life time - the best vacation - travel experience - challenge we all have ever taken. And we want more!!!

So thank you Liz for making it a truly amazing trip/experience.

Again, we had a fabulous time and we'll be back.

Best regards,
Tim, Viv, Keith, Murielle, Marlene and Neil.

p.s. Neil made headlines on the Zambezi. Our raft flipped - 4 times and the second flip Neil went out and lost his bathing suit trying to get back into the raft. 
It was tangled around his feet and the video man got him with his backside fulled exposed as we tried pulling him back into the raft. 
We had trouble - not so much from the rocking and rolling of the raft, rather from laughing too hard!! Anyway, Neil took it all in good stride and now his backside is famous - and our Zambezi rafting video is now X rated!!!

Hi Liz,

I did arrive safely though a little tired because of very long air flights.
Many thanks for carefully organized trip. Everything went smooth except for microlight flight which was canceled due to bad weather. People were nice and supportive. As I understand now, you managed to fill very short period of time with the most entertaining activities and have chosen the nicest places for me to visit. I wish I had more time to enjoy the magnificent views and plentiful animals.

Sincerely,
Roman Tatusov

Hello Liz,

We had a superb holiday thank you. We even survived the white water rafting which did take place as planned although that was the last day for the season that they were going to do it. Thank you for your note that it might be off.

Susuwe Lodge was magical and we had the place to ourselves so enjoyed very personal service.

We did it the right way round to have the glossy luxury of the Royal Livingstone following our days in the bush.

I'm not sure what kind of constructive feedback to give you, it all worked so well.

We do wish we had had more time at each place. Even though it was out of season at Susuwe, the atmosphere was so relaxed and we enjoyed Elephant, Hippos and the most amazing bird life all at very close range.
Also in Livingstone, I don't think we realized the extent of activities available or the fact that Livingstone itself looks quite interesting and deserves a bit more time. The hotel was beautiful and the massage beside the river unbeatable.

All in all, an unforgettable holiday.

Thank you for making all the arrangements and paying such close attention to the details.

Hopefully we'll travel with you again very soon.

Best wishes
Su & David Bishop

Dear Liz,

At present we are in Johannesburg and will be flying out tomorrow night at 20:50 to Madrid. Then a 10 hour layover in Madrid and fly out of Madrid at 17:00 for NYC and on to Denver. Quite a schedule.

We had a wonderful time in Vic Falls. Your helpfulness made it even better. There is no doubt that we will use Zambezi Safari and Travel the next time we go to Vic Falls and vicinity. Thanks for all you hard work for us. I can't imagine how you could improve on perfect.

Sincerely,
BJ, Bill, George and Charlene

Hello Liz....

Well, we made it back safely and, of course, everything went just as you said it would and I worried needlessly about our safety! We were so very well taken care of wherever we went that I felt, undeservedly, like a queen! There was a representative from our lodge at every stop and we were never alone. Even when we went across the border from Zambia to Botswana and changed hands five times, I felt completely safe and taken care of. Everything was completely seamless and like clockwork. Ironically, the only glitches took place at the Minneapolis airport -- one of the biggest and most "modern" in the world!! Jeesch! 

Wildlife Camp, while the most basic in accommodations, was very comfortable and was my most favorite because of the people. They were so friendly and treated us like family. Patsy even let me use her own laptop to email my kids when I was missing them! Billy, our guide, took us to his village, their clinic and even into his own home. By the time we left, I knew everyone's name and had learned so much about the animals, plants, people, culture -- and even the African handshake! It was amazing. The South Luangwa Park was unbelievable. The animals are RIGHT THERE, so close!! Not at all what I expected! It was great! I'll never again be able to go to a zoo, I think!

Mfuwe Lodge was nice because it was right in the park and the accommodations were just lovely. The dining was quite gourmet and staff very professional.

Thorntree Lodge was very lovely and we loved riding the elephants and seeing Vic Falls. They have new managers apparently - Lindsey and Nevin - and we felt a little uncomfortable around Lindsey though. She is a bit abrupt and crass, even referring to previous elderly guests as "bitches." If given a choice again, I would definitely go to Livingstone again, but probably not to Thorntree because of Lindsey. The rest of the staff was great, though.

Muchenje was absolutely gorgeous, posh and had a fabulous view over the Caprivi Plains. Kathy is just what one might dream up as a perfect manager - welcoming, friendly, organized and almost grandmotherly. She, too, let me use her own computer to email my kids. The staff was fabulous and it was a wonderful place to stay. It was nice to see Chobe and see all the herds of animals which was different than South Luangwa.

Chaminuka, although huge and modern, was perhaps a bit too big - we were a bit lost as to the routine sometimes but people were very friendly and helpful when you asked for help. It was great to be so close to the airport though and for the 20 or so hours we were there it worked out just fine.

I was clear to us (and Mom and I even commented a few times,) that you definitely knew what you were doing when you booked our trip. The sequence of lodges, the choices, everything. You are obviously very good at what you do and answered all of my many questions patiently. I would most certainly refer any of my friends or family to you if they were looking to take a similar trip!

Thanks again for everything!
Eva Bergman

Dear Liz,

Everything was fine. We left Namibia on Sunday.

We had a wonderful trip in Namibia and we really enjoyed the trip and all the arrangements were fine.

Thanks again and hope to organize soon another trip.

Andrea

Dear Liz,

Just wanted to write you a quick note after our travel to RSA and Zimbabwe to see the Kruger and Vic Falls. Everything ran smoothly as planned and we felt was well organized and as per the planned itinerary. Also found the personnel very professional, dedicated and warm and willing to please.

As I said, everything was very well prepared and we really enjoyed our stay, so would like to thank you for organizing this for us.

If we ever plan another safari or travel to Africa, we will count on you.

Kind regards,
Laura

Hi Liz,

We got home last Thurs. night, and I am just catching up on e-mails. I wanted to give you input before I forget what I wanted to tell you. First and most importantly, we had an awesome trip. It exceeded our expectations.  Everything you and Char did was efficient and organized, so all went perfectly smoothly. We were met everywhere we were to be, and all transfers went as planned.

After our 3 days of travel, we arrived at Kafunta for our 10 day safari. I don't think this is a place you regularly book, so we wanted to let you know how much we liked it. We spent four nights total at the main camp, Kafunta, 1 night at Wilderness Camp, 3 nights at Buffalo Camp and 2 nights at Bush Camp. The main camp had very nice accommodations and an excellent staff. Wilderness Camp, Buffalo Camp and Bush Camp were much more rustic, but the service was still excellent. At the main camp we did vehicle safaris, and at the other camps, except Wilderness where we did a night vehicle safari, we did walking safaris. We enjoyed the walking safaris the best, and, although Buffalo Camp was a long drive that was our favorite location. We had the same guide the entire trip, and he was phenomenal. His name is Josepaht. He is a fountain of knowledge, and he made everything exciting. Even with the walking safaris he helped us get close to the animals. We would definitely recommend the Kafunta organization.

We enjoyed the activities you had planned for us at Victoria Falls, but wished we had spent the money and stayed perhaps at Zambezi Sun, where we could have walked around when we had free time. Where we were, we couldn't even take a walk.

The last part of our trip at Gunn's Camp went very well. We stayed at the A level accommodations, which were roomy tents. The food was very good. It was not a luxury camp and was described very well in the information you sent us. We had one guide for the two of us for all 3 days. He took us each time on a mokoro ride to an island, and we did walking safaris. He was quite a quiet man, but when we asked questions, he knew the information. One time he wanted to take us back to camp quite early, but when we asked to walk more, he was polite and we continued. Interestingly enough at the luxury camp, Kafunta, when we did walking safaris, we had the guide, a man with a rifle and a water carrier. At Gunn's we just had the guide. We went out a total of five times and did see many animals. The one thing about all the walking safaris is that sometimes you see very few animals. I think if you only spent one or two nights at Gunn's, you might see very little. With the 3 night stay, we saw a huge variety of animals. The only information that we did not have about Gunn's was the number of activities that were included. I think you need to share that with clients.

We were both extremely satisfied with your services, Liz and would recommend both you and Zambezi to anyone planning an African trip.  From dealing with you, I'm sure you want to do everything to keep your clients satisfied, and that is why I tried to give you a detailed summary of our experiences. We especially appreciated all the answers to our many queries before the trip, and the efficiency of all the logistics in Africa.  Thank you for helping make our trip so wonderful.

If you ever want to use us as a reference for clients, we will be more than glad to have people contact us.

Rita and (Bob) Lane

Hi Liz,

Well, having been back from our wonderful holiday for two weeks our feet are firmly back on the ground!!

We had such a great time and we can't wait to go back. We were in Zambia nine years ago and loved it then---of course now everything is a little more organised and it's obvious the people are embracing tourism with huge enthusiasm---marvellous (lets hope they don't overdevelop though).

The service your team provided was great; all went very smoothly and as I said all staff were so welcoming.

Thank you for recommending the Zambezi sun, we LOVED the fact that we were so near the falls and could wander down whenever we felt like it, once or twice we went in our swimsuits and walked over knife edge bridge---the falls were so full it is so exciting! Also the fact that the five star Royal Livingstone is right next door was a huge bonus---to be able to wander along the river bank and have tea or sundowners and book it to our room bill was so convenient---I cannot think of anywhere nicer to sip champagne as the sun goes down over the Zambezi!!

I am so glad we booked for five nights too although it adds a bit on the budget; there is so much to do and see I would hate to feel rushed and we still didn't get into Chobe, we did do microlight, elephant, river cruise and walked over the bridge to Zimbabwe and had lunch at Vic Falls hotel!

Once again we were very happy at the Zambezi Sun and thought over all for us Brits it was good value, maybe soon a bit of refurbishment would not go a miss in the bedrooms, but that is not to say we encountered anything really worth complaining about! We weren't in there for long enough to worry!!!

SO THANKS AGAIN to you and all the team---oh and I must mention our little bonus on leaving---they didn't collect our USD 25 exit fee---so another glass of champagne to enjoy!!

Best wishes
Julia Gadenne

Hello Liz,

Thanks for the e-mail. I just got home from my African vacation last evening and am now in the  process of answering copious e-mails.  My sisters, daughter and I had a most wonderful time in Zambia; the Vic Falls are amazing and the accommodation really good for Africa. Everything was clean and tidy and the people we met were great. We arranged a tour of the falls and that too was a good idea. All the guides knew their history and facts and were most gracious at all times. I am pleased to tell you that in choosing the breakfast Zambezi river cruise was the best choice. We had the boat to ourselves and the skipper and server were great. The evening cruise was noisy with many drunks (we were sitting on the patio when they arrived back in the evening); we all sighed with relief that we were not on that boat!

Again thanks for all the help you gave me, it is most appreciated and I shall definitely recommend you to family and friends.

Cheers,
Audrey Wilson

Dear Liz

Just returned to the UK from a wonderful holiday. Everything went very smoothly.

Also we are thinking of going to South Africa next year and wondered whether your company make arrangement for South African tours. Cape Town, Garden Route then Battlefields, Rorkes Drift, Isandwle & Kruger National Parks.

Len & Lynda Spendiff

Dear Liz,

Apologies for the delay in our response but we have only just returned from South Africa.

I really can't express how happy we were with our experiences with you and Char personally, Zambezi Safari and Travel and Muchenje Lodge. Thank you so much for your prompt replies, and fantastic organisation of our trip. Everything went absolutely to plan, and the lodge was even better than hoped for - we were lucky enough to see wild dog, leopard, lion, kudu, roan, giraffe, hippo, buffalo and of course the highlight, absolutely hundreds of elephants up close and personal. My family and friends who travelled out to visit us from Australia and the UK had the most amazing time - it was their first trip to Africa and they all left promising to return - in fact not even wanting to leave! My husband and I have been on safari before, as we live in Zambia, but we were even amazed at how many animals we were able to see, the amazing service from all the staff members and wonderful atmosphere at Muchenje, and how well all of you at Zambezi Safari and Travel coordinated our trip. We will definitely keep in touch and will be using your company for any future safaris!

Liz, thanks again for all your hard work and please let me know if I can give you any more references or information on Muchenje for your website or newsletter.

Cheers,

Regan and Chucky

Hi Jackie

We just got back yesterday, and I want to thank you whole-heartedly for making all of the arrangements for us. Everything was perfect, from our transfer at Vic Falls to Chobe, the Safari Lodge, game drives, rafting, helicopter, etc. Vic Falls was fantastic, safe, and all I can say is that it’s an absolute shame that countries are discouraging people from visiting.  

Thank you again for everything, and we look forward to working with you soon on a more extended African holiday!

Martin

Hi Chris,

After returning from Africa and our daughter's wedding I finally have time to tell you about our trip. I wanted to thank you for the wonderful plans made for us at the camps. We thoroughly enjoyed the beauty, accomodations, food, and staff at the camps. It was more luxurious than expected for sure. Chamilandu gave us the opportunity to fall asleep to the sounds of hippos! That was fun! We made a special connection with the staff there - Wayne and Peter did a fabulous job to make us at home and make the experience the best it could be. We actually spotted 4 of the "big five" the first two days and of course there are no rhinos there. We really got lucky!

Kuyenda was a great camp too, but it was unfortunate that we did not meet the regular director and guide that is so well known. We did enjoy our stay there and Fanwell was so very personable and sweet! We saw lots there too!

Livingstone and the Islands of Siankaba was a perfect way to end our trip. The beauty of the Zambezi River and the lodge there was spectacular!  We really loved the helicopter rider over the falls and Ryan did the bungy over the river too! (Crazy to us of course!)

All in all we would recommend your company very highly - especially the plans for the Bush Company.

Thanks for all your helpfulness in planning our trip. We are hooked on Africa and plan to return someday.

Sincerely,

Jeff and Judy Powell

Dear Julian

A very big thank you for organizing the trip. The staff at both the rafting and quadbiking were of the finest calibre and everyone had a thoroughly cracking time, so my regards to yourself and the chaps in Livingstone! It was in fact my stag do, (which I curiously ended up organising as I've been to the Livingstone and Waterfront numerous times as my now wife is half Zambian) and we had an awesome time. Following rafting and quadbiking, 20 blokes descended upon Ngoma Zanga ate heartily and ran riot on the dance floor.

Finally I think you organised a safari for Nick Cain and Rebecca Hodgkinson, two of our party who I gather had a pretty amazing time.

Thanks once again

with kind regards

Duncan Napier

Hi Jools

The trip was a huge success. Everything was perfect. Even the weather cooperated. Thanks for all your hard work. It was greatly appreciated!

Karolyn

Dear Jackie,

Thank you for your email. We were impressed by the level of care you have taken when planning our trip. You included a lot of interesting activities, and the accomodation you chose was terrific. You selected an interesting variety of places to stay, and we were impressed by each of them.

My mum has asked me to pass on her personal thanks in this matter. I'll ask her if she would like a specific message passed on.

Thanks again!

Regards,

Sarah

Dear Julian,

Just a note to say thank you for organising our safari in Botswana at so
little notice and with such great success. Never has part of a holiday been
so simple! Needless to say I'm now hooked on Africa.

Thanks again
Rebecca Hodgkinson and Nick Cain.

Hello Liz,

After a short stop in Frankfurt we returned to Portland late Friday. 40 days away and much catching up to do but the first item I needed to deal with was to thank you for all your help, input and patience. I really appreciated your quick return e-mails, your answers to my many questions and all the information you passed along. I enjoyed working with you and went off to Africa well prepared with everything in place.

I was my hope not to just take a safari but to see some of the countryside, visit towns and cities and to be able to see daily life. We had a great balance -- freedom to wander on our own, drives by ourselves, an excellent guide and support staff while on safari and we lucked out having two pleasant couples that shared our interests as we toured Botswana. Both my husband and I were concerned about the length of the safari and the tent arrangements. However after a day or so we got into the routine. I have to comment on the food. As a serious foodie and cook, I couldn't believe the meals that Chris turned out. Well balanced, beautifully presented and very tasty and all cooked over a wood fire.

The small guest lodges were just to our liking. An Africa Villa was delightful. The lodges in Namibia were well placed; we enjoyed staying in the individual huts. Guides in Zimbabwe and Zambia give us complete tours. As a former teacher, I appreciated learning about history of the area. We found African people friendly and helpful. We had a great time.

I certainly would recommend you and your company and would be happy to answer any questions that might come up by someone considering an African trip.

Many, many thanks

Reena

Hi Jackie

So, we're back from Zambia and it was fantastic. Thanks so much for all you did for us.

Thanks, kindly.

Stephanie

Hi Char for Liz,

Our trip was really spectacular. We enjoyed it all ---- except the Waterfront. It was a bit too simple/minimal for us. Other than that we had a wonderful time. I would like to pass on a new B&B we found - completely by accident. In J’burg it is Viva lodge - owned and operated by Ockie Peens and his wife Cynthia. Very clean, quiet and very affordable.

Thanks to Liz for a great itinerary and many, many memories.

Jan

Hi John,

Zambia was great. Could have stayed there another month. Are you related to Phil Berry? We saw him briefly during a game drive.

All three lodges were very good, it turns out. The rusticity at Old Mondoro was balanced by the super friendly John and Lana.

I think I slightly preferred Lower Zambezi because of the water activities.

For driving, Old Mondoro and Bilimugwe turned out to be much better than Chiawa which had really too bumpy roads and where the bush was still very dense. Moreover Chiawa's guides were not as friendly as those at Bili or Old Mondoro.

Best wishes,

Fabien

Hi Chris,

Hope you are well and back from a successful trip to Durban.

We got back a couple of days ago after a brilliant time in Paris, Venice, Tuscany and London - great weather wherever we went and far too much good food and wine. It was all such a contrast to Gabon, but I can assure you, we are already boring the living daylights out of everyone about our amazing holiday!

We have started sorting photos and on first glance, I hope you can trump us, as we have too many less-than-perfect ones. But will make sure we send you the better ones.

Again, thanks for all your tremendous organisation and for your company - it really was a trip to remember. And hopefully another one to somewhere as exotic will be on the cards in the next year or three. Oh by the way, my sister is very keen to go sometime - in spite of my crowing about the black guinea-fowl (which is already causing others to roll their eyes!)

Hope business going well.

All the best,

Mike and Sue

Dear Delene

I've been meaning to contact you but things have been a bit hectic on return.

We had a wonderful time both at Pioneer and at Bushfront. Infact we were lucky enough to be able to extend our stay at Bushfront and used it as our base for exploring the area. Please do send on our thanks to everybody (you included) for looking after us so well.

Hope to go back soon!

All the best

Kathy