Hi Liesl, Sorry this took so long, I arrived home with a bad sore throat and have been recovering. So here are some notes about our trip. First of all, you did an amazing job of arranging everything. We were met by someone every step of the way. 1. D’Oreal Hotel was great for our first night, had a very nice dinner. 2. Victoria Falls: The helicopter ride was great (but not the $30 they wanted for a video of us, which nobody bought), and the falls of course were beautiful. Thanks for the Victoria Falls Hotel, we really liked it. The dining room where they serve breakfast is beautiful, as is the dining room on the terrace, our room, and all of the public rooms. 3. Chobe Under Canvas: great service, excellent food (amazing what they can cook out in the bush) and the tents are very comfortable. Took a while to adjust to doing everything by the light of a dim lantern, but the warm shower and the down covered bed were much appreciated. We were teamed up with a couple from Canada for our game drives and meals, and it turned out that we had the first 3 of our safari lodges in common with them, so we became friends. It was nice to just have the 4 of us for game drives, since Ershun was concerned about getting his photos. Saw lots of animals! Easy to charge batteries in the vehicle, and we loved how they had blankets in the vehicles for the chilly morning drives. Weather was great – pretty chilly in the morning, but warming up nicely. The game viewing was excellent – saw a big variety, including a leopard that our guide tracked from our camp. The guide was very good. 4. Savute under Canvas: Hotter and drier than Chobe, and overall the game viewing was not as good. Of course we have been spoiled by the great herds of the Serengeti, in Savute we would see one wildebeest, one Tsessebe. Also, the guide we had here was not as good as Chobe. He was full of interesting facts, but not the greatest at finding animals. We did luck into seeing 3 leopards because other vehicles were there already. The tents were the same as Chobe, food not always as good. I think that since the water in the area was almost all dried up, our experience was not as good. 5. Linyanti Ebony Camp: We were surprised to find that Linyanti Bush Camp and Linyanti Ebony are 2 halves of the same place. They expanded the original lodge, and gave the 2nd part another name, we suspect so that each can be marketed separately as small and intimate, which is the “hot” thing now. Anyway, due to a fire in one of the kitchens, all the guests share one common dining room/sitting room/bar. The tents are large and permanent, which allows for more elegant furnishings. Huge beds, nice bathroom facilities, a deck outside the back of the tent overlooking the lagoon. The deck was a great place to sit in the afternoon and watch the baboons playing nearby. Food was rather uneven, very good sometimes, and sometimes not. Game drives were very mixed, depending mostly on the guide. Two of the 4 guides were awful, and we found very few animals. One guide was excellent, and not only found lots of animals but also was full of enthusiasm and good information. The 4th was pretty good. This was not an & Beyond facility, and except for the really nice tent, it did not measure up. Only place that did not have blankets in the safari vehicles (we get spoiled so easily!) 6. Nxebega Okavango Tented Camp- wow, this place was amazing! The service, the food, the tent, everything was really first class. The game drives were good, the only place where we had a spotter as well as the guide. They were willing to do anything to please their guests. The only thing I wasn’t especially fond of is their habit of extending the late afternoon game drive until after dark so that we drive back to the lodge with a spotlight looking for animals (which doesn’t happen much) and then we arrive back in time to go straight to dinner. Otherwise, this was a wonderful place. Oh, by the way, they did not know about us needing to get to Maun in time for our flight to Johannesburg, so we had to ask them to change our flight to Maun to an earlier time. Just a glitch somewhere I guess. But when we arrived at the Maun airport we were pleasantly surprised by a rep from & Beyond who met us and escorted us through checkin and security. Very impressed! Before going on to Cape Town, Ershun and I want to comment on the Botswana safari experience. While we certainly had some excellent experiences in Botswana, we would most likely not go back. It’s very difficult to figure out the best time to go, because if you want to see animals, the best time is July-Aug because then the bushes have lost their leaves and it is easier to spot animals, but then the weather is cold, it is very dry, dusty and windy. Sept-Oct is good for seeing animals, but it is very hot, dry, dusty, and the animals are sometimes suffering from lack of food and water. (We were given this information by several different guides at several different camps). We seemed to have picked the best time weatherwise, but it was very easy for animals to hide in the thick bushes. At least Nxebega had some open grass lands, which helped with finding animals. For anyone going to Africa for the first time, Botswana would be fine, but we are used to the huge herds of the Serengeti or the Mara, and the variety in Ngorongoro Crater. Yes, you get more people, but there is a reason for that. Of course, there are small, private places to stay, but you still get more vehicles running around. 7. Cape Town - love your city! Everyone is so friendly, the food is excellent, and we felt safe. The Welgelegen was a great choice, lovely hotel. We had the best room, 2nd floor, across the whole front, with a lovely enclosed porch across the front. The owner and employees are so nice, and the location is good. We used the hop on – hop off buses, and were lucky our first day to get to Table Mt while it was sunny and clear, only day it was like that during our stay. We enjoyed the bus trip around Camps Bay, Clifton, etc. as well as Kirstenbosch Garden and Groot Constantia. One day we rented a car and drove to Cheetah Outreach at Somerset West (excellent) and to Boulders Beach for the penguins. We drove part of the way down towards Cape Point but I wasn’t feeling well so we headed back. We really enjoyed Miller’s Thumb, but Bizerka Bistro was amazing! We never made it to Baia the last night because of how I felt, so we had takeout from a local Italian restaurant. The car service from the airport when we arrived, and again back to the airport to go home, was excellent. Even the Cape Town airport was good – they did a great job fixing it up for the World Cup! Wish I could say the same for Johannesburg – that airport is awful. Bad layout, lots of walking, annoying hustlers, and the charging plugs all were broken at the gate. They even made us all get up and line up for a 2nd security inspection, including pat-downs for some passengers. Well, that’s about it. I’m finally feeling better, and we have lots of good memories. Thanks again for all you did. Regards, Carole & Ershun

Dear Jeffrey and Ilze, We will forward more pictures as we edit them. A friend recommended that we trek a second day, wished we had. It was an incredible experience. Be sure to tell you customers to wear really good gloves, the nettles are bothersome! I had only a knit glove that did not help. David wore very heavy gloves and he had no problem with his hands but those nasty nettles are everywhere. Makes no difference because after a certain point you forget the stings. Our mountain guide, Fidel, was great, very professional and very helpful preparing us for the trek. On the mountain we were met by 3 trackers that were equally wonderful. Our next trip will probably in 2014 unless I can talk David into an earlier one. Thank you again for making this so special. Carol

Hi Liesl! Livingstone and the Riverclub were wonderful. Victoria Falls is one of the most breath-taking sites we've ever seen! No one minded getting a little wet and we got some fabulous photos. The market there was fun for the girls. The staff at the Riverclub were top notch! We really enjoyed getting to know everyone. The highlight there has to be the hippos - the sundowner boat trip was so fun, we did it both evenings. In Mombo, we got to see the leopard Legadima and her cub AND one of the white rhinos with her 3 week old baby! We were told that there hadn't been a rhino siting in a few months so we were thrilled. We're still going through our thousands of photos (we had 5 cameras between the 4 of us), re-living the fun! I know that Kevin and I will be looking to do a few more safari holidays while we're still in Africa. So, we may be in touch for help with that.. Here's wishing you all the best for the New Year! Thanks for all your help! Warmest Regards, Dana

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

Every aspect of our trip was spot on - no delays, missed connections, late flights or missing transfer drivers.  We came home with thousands of pictures and many incredible memories.  Thanks to your expert consultation, we had the trip of a lifetime and have been smitten by the people and places we've experienced.  Thank you for being so attentive and responsive to our questions.  I have already provided your contact info to several colleagues who are interested in planning a trip to Africa.  We hope to plan another adventure to Africa - perhaps Namibia next time and will be sure to call you!

The McClays