African Safaris Blog

Jeff,

I wanted to let you know that I had the most incredible, dream trip. I can only imagine the work you all put in behind the scenes to make it all happen.

Again, I appreciate all you and the team did for us behind the scenes, and also the support you all provided while we were in South Africa. We were able to maximize our limited time there and see a great deal with your help and advice. Please pass on my thanks to everyone in the Cape Town office and anyone else who had a hand in this that we may not have met.

I'm looking forward to booking Tanzania next! WooHooo! Judy

Hi Sarah, Xaranna was the most remote place we visited while we were in Southern Africa.  It's about 45 minutes by air from Maun to the Pom Pom airstrip, then 10+ minutes by vehicle to the landing and 30+ minutes by water to the camp.  The + depends on the wildlife one encounters en route.  Our tracker and guide met our plane and the safari began as we drove away from the airstrip. The tents, lounge and dining area were well-designed and decorated, well-maintained and very comfortable.  (Special treat:  hot water bottles in the beds at night!) Meals were delicious and served beautifully.  I am a vegetarian and was impressed with the vegetarian options.  Service in all respects was first rate:  we were very well cared for.  Despite the casual, laid-back feel of the camp, everything ran like clockwork.  They were completely flexible about activities, dining arrangements, etc. Our tracker and guide were knowledgeable and did an excellent job.  Although, as I understand it, game in the delta at this time of year is not concentrated and still a little leery of vehicles, we saw really good variety on land and got very close to birdlife(and hippos) on the water. & Beyond/Xaranna are involved in a project to relocate hippos to Botswana (Hippos Without Borders).  A PhD student from the UK working on the project for the next two years is staying at Xaranna and provided a wealth of information about her research and the project. There is nothing to keep wildlife out of the camp, and wildlife do come through, during the day and at night.  While we were there one couple encountered a young elephant on the path outside their tent at mid-day;  we had kudus eating leaves from branches just outside the screened wall of our tent in the middle of the night, and on our last evening a hippo grazed alongside the dining deck during dinner.  Talk about a real wildlife experience! The warmth and good humour of the staff really struck me.  On arrival at the camp we were greeted by perhaps 10 of the staff who were on the dock singing a welcome - in fact, we heard the singing before we saw the dock.  Throughout our stay we were treated with warmth and there was lots of laughter. It felt like a large happy family welcoming us to their home.   Because the camp is remote, the staff put on the boma entertainment themselves and all the staff participate.    They even managed to get the guests up dancing and singing!  The manager and all staff are indigenous Botswanans and welcomed questions about their country, their culture and their lives. We were seen off, as we were welcomed, by the staff singing on the dock and waving.  It was very touching. I'd go back in a nanosecond. Sincerely, N. Smith          

Hi Liesl, Sadly, our African journey has come to an end!   Everything was flawless as far as arrangements.  We loved absolutely everything we did. The apartment was great in Cape Town; loved the ostrich farm.  African Perfection is worth recommending in Jeffrey's Bay.  LOVED Bukela Lodge at Amakhala (very intimate experience, with easy access; though can't be compared to a Chobe, for example - two very different, but positive experiences). Zambezi Sun was great, although that was the only place Jim got violently ill one night from food we imagine, and Olivia had a scary high fever which came and went for 3 days.    In Zambia we did the rhino walk and elephant back safari, both of which we loved.  The kids and I did the village tour to Makuni Village which was far more authentic than I could've imagined.  The guys had fun on their half day fishing.  Olivia and I hired a driver and gave out more toys to an orphanage and kids on the streets.  Wish we had time to pop into Zimbabwe for the day. LOVED Chobe Game Lodge... worth every penny to have splurged.  Phenomenal animal sightings.  Not many people were at the lodge (about 20 out of a capacity of 80) so once again it felt very intimate. Bush Tracks was an excellent company who showed up everywhere for every transfer on time and professional. Thanks for your superb planning with me.  I wouldn't have changed a thing! Kim

Hi Liesl, We just got back to Washington a few hours ago so we are a bit tired but I wanted to tell you just how much we enjoyed our time and how everything was so well organised . Please don't worry about the problem with the luggage ( all is well that ends well). We will send you pictures and tell you all about our wonderful adventures in our next email . Jack and I want to thank you for a trip of a lifetime ! Kay & Jack

Thank you very much!

I can’t begin to explain to you how wonderful everything was. To be honest, even though I had agreed to everything, I was still a little skeptical about some of the recommendations you had made. Turns out, some of the things I had been most skeptical of (Cape Town, Victoria Falls, San Camp) were the absolute highlights. You and your team did a remarkable job and Milena and I have already begun trying to figure out a way to get back. If there is ever anything that we can do to help you all convince prospective clients that this is something that they need to do, we’d love to help.

As far as pictures go, Milena and I are far from good. However, that didn’t stop us from taking ~2,000 photos. I’ll send you an invitation to our Snapfish folder. Additionally, I’m a fan of African Safari Consultants on facebook. I’m not sure if that gives you access to my photos, but if it does, we’ve got a bunch of them posted there as well. Again, most of them are pretty bad, but if you happen to see anything that you’d like to use, they’re all yours.

If I get some time later today or over the weekend, I’ll try to put together a more thorough review of everywhere we went/stayed. Needless to say, we were impressed by everything and we only have good things to say.

Thank you all so much for everything you did.