Hello Ilze, Yes, now back at work and, unfortunately, getting back into the old routine. Olympic action is certainly going better than we expected – big plus point there. The gorillas behaved impeccably. They were less than an hour away from the track start. The leader had a bit of an argument with one or two of the younger ones. Baby on mum’s back. Beating of chests. Probably most if not all of what you would want/expect to see. It took longer to find the golden monkeys but they too were good but not quite so obliging from the photography point of view. Marlin Lodge was very good, thank you. The people there – staff – were a really good crowd. The place itself was a delight. The main problem here is that all the weight we lost with gorilla and golden monkey tracking has been put back with – possibly – a vengeance! The weather was better than the week before we were there and, on the day we left, it had taken a turn for the windier and cooler – so we could not complain. I have to say, their attention to detail was excellent. Last but not least, we both enjoyed immensely both parts of the trip and thanks for your help in doing just that. I will certainly get in touch with you again should we get down into that part of the world again. Mgahinga – Bwindi Lodge – Peermont – Marlin Lodge Kind regards, Graham

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

Tom and I are now at almost the end of our time at our Londolozi stay and it has been absolutely incredible. I never dreamed of seeing all the things that we have seen:  a lion pride eating a giraffe that they killed a couple of days before, a small herd of about 20 elephants just walking calmly by our range rover, a leopard pulling a warthog out of its den (we arrived after it had killed the warthog—which I was glad not to witness); lions mating, a leopard eating an impala up in a tree; incredible things. The staff and the rangers have been great.  The food is wonderful and way too abundant—I am afraid to go home. Thank you for your assistance in making it happen. Best regards Marjorie

Dear Liesl, Thanks for your note.  We did have a wonderful  trip and thought you would be interested in the following comments. 1.  The Westcliff Hotel was just adequate.  But we did get a good nights sleep. 2.  We found all of the lodges to be wonderful.   The accommodations, the food, and most importantly the staff at each place were extraordinary. 3.  One criticism.  If we were to plan the trip again we would eliminate Jao and substitute Mambo.  We would have liked to have seen far more big predators, which were scarce in the Delta.  We were told over and over again that Mambo offered much better viewing of predators. We would love to return one day to Abu.  We found it a very special place.  We did have a memorable trip and we thank you for your arrangements. Lynne and Harold Handler

Good morning! It sure was a terrific trip for all of us...thanks to both of you for putting up with my endless emails---I guess I worried unnecessarily! The stay at the Stanley was a perfect introduction to the city, and the hotel is wonderful, well preserved, very helpful and friendly staff, great location. We did the Kazuri bead factory one day, and volunteered the next. We had a really nice dinner in an alley down the road from the hotel...called BoBos  which is a Turkish outdoor restaurant. Certainly nothing formal, outdoor seating with few amenities, but very good inexpensive food. Worth a look. Then had Gamewatchers pick us up to begin the safari...our driver Stephen was an excellent guide, full of info, very interactive. Took great care of us. The other driver, Tony, was also very good though I was not in his RangeRover too often. Sweetwaters was a great choice. Nothing negative to say there. Lodging very nice, food good, game sightings excellent, fun nighttime entertainment. We all enjoyed. Lake Nakuru was the following day. Unfortunately, I would say that of all the experiences, this was the least favorite. The lodge was quite good, food good, good location within the park. The lake water was apparently very high for this season due to prior months' rains, so the bird life was marginal. Game viewing ok, but of course nothing like the Mara. Mara Entim was one of the favorites of all the camps. Beautiful location, top quality staff, camping on the river's edge couldn't be beat, though the sounds of the hippos grunting all night long was very disruptive to our sleep! The game drives with the park staff were incredible with awesome sightings, just overall magnificent! We got to the NBO in plenty of time for flight out to EBB. I was very impressed with Gamewatchers and our guides. The only negative was Nakuru and the long drive. I think we would have been better off hitting a different park between Mt. Kenya and Mara making the drive less intense. In Entebbe, as you know, we changed lodging to the Karibu House instead of the Lake Vic Hotel. I would strongly suggest you look at Karibu. It's a guest house with about 6 rooms, excellent ownership, very secure location, great staff, good chef in the kitchen, all in all a perfect stop over. First day was Ndali Lodge which a beautiful setting. The owner is very friendly and spends time with the guests, though  his staff is not as well trained as I would have expected given his British background, quality of the lodging. Enjoyed Kibale. Could have passed on the Bigodi walk I think, esp during mid day when very hot. Then QE park at Mweya...what a great setting. We loved it! A perfect end to the travel. The Kazinga channel ride as lots of fun as were the game drives, though I was a bit underwhelmed with the volume and diversity of the game in QE. Especially as I compared to the Mara or Mt. Kenya. The landscape and views are unbeatable, but not many animals. Example no giraffe, rhino, few lions. Despite that, we had a marvellous time there. The setting really is unbeatable. Entertainment at night with tribal dancers was fun. Our Wild Frontier guide was named Ham, and he was outstanding. Very personable, soft spoken, courteous, well  informed, etc. I would highly recommend him to future travellers. We all really liked the variety that Uganda gave us after a week in Kenya. The varied terrain and different cultures were educational, and it fulfilled the desire I always had to get to this area of Africa. I would not really change anything on the itinerary except the Nakuru stop. Otherwise all lodging and guides were very well chosen You both did a great job for us....thanks loads. I wish we were headed back to the continent soon, but I fear it will be a few yers. Garth