Testimonials

Hi Michele, We had a fantastic time and saw so many animals! Faru Faru was out of this world, probably the best hotel / lodge we have ever stayed in. The hosts were lovely and we loved the atmosphere of the place, luxury but very informal. The game drives from there were fantastic, we saw so many animals and it really felt like we were in the middle of the Serengeti and hardly saw any other Singita jeeps. We also saw a kill too, by a lioness which was fantastic. The Plantation Lodge was also great, we had a huge room and the food was fantastic. The crater was good to go to on our first few days, but yes there were a lot of jeeps as you said and felt more like a safari park, but we did see lots of animals there and the crater itself was incredible. Our guide, Martin from Asilia was also very nice. Matemwe was lovely, we really like the informal relaxed feel about the place and we caught up on lots of sleep. Again, the food was fantastic and really varied for such a small lodge. All the transfers worked really well and everyone was there in time which made things very easy. Thanks again for a fantastic and easy trip. PS The honeymoon and birthday touches were also very nice, Faru Faru even made Scott an early birthday cake.

June 2012

Dear Michele, just back from an excellent holiday – many thanks for your organisation which was pretty faultless. Connections all worked well and the lodges, especially Mwagusi camp in Ruaha, were lovely. The game guides in both places were great and very knowledgeable about birds, again especially Mwagusi. Organisational staff there were excellent too. I stupidly left my handbag on the small plane on arrival into Selous and that was returned to me the following day with all its contents – amazing. I wrote to Coastal airlines to thank them. Planes are very small and 15k luggage really is tops. Laundry service is excellent – all done in 24 hours. Zanzibar – Matemwe was lovely – it takes an hour to get there and the last 3 kms are over very bumpy roads. We met Miranda and Scott whose trip you had organised and they seemed pleased too. BA world traveller plus was a godsend for 2 tall people like us. Many thanks again. I have filled in the questionnaire and will post to you if you want me to. I would be happy to recommend your services to anyone.

June 2012

Hi Rob, Both camps were great and a good combo to do – adding variety without lots of travel. In fact the travel between the two was part of the fun. The highlight for us was the canoeing – would definitely do more of that on the next one. We also had the best tent at Chiawa (corner overlooking river and dried river bed where there was almost constant action) so thanks for getting that for us!

June 2012

Dear Rob, Bill and Michaela, we want you to know that our Botswana Holiday was indeed splendid! We enjoyed every minute of it, with the exception of air transfers – inland transfers were great, it was the Joburg Airport and the Heathrow airport and the Miami airport experiences which were bad, and of course, these had nothing to do with Safari Consultants!! Thank you so much for your wonderful suggestions and advice. Our trip was fabulous!

June 2012

The safari was absolutely brilliant!!!! The 3 camp experiences were all excellent, and with enough contrast to really feel that we were somewhere different each time, so the split between them worked really well. Thanks Jane so much for all the efforts in organising & tailoring this fantastic holiday!

June 2012

Dear Rob: What a trip! Your planning was perfect and its execution was nearly flawless. We were particularly impressed with the system which seamlessly passed us from one service provider to the next without a single hitch. The Islands of Siankaba was delightful, the management attentive and hospitable, the experience, helicopter flights, elephant rides etc., thrilling. Ntwala wasn’t quite as luxurious as the Dorchester, but it was not far off that mark. Sandibe was the perfect combination of tranquility and excitement. Our guide, Tschabo, was terrific. Lebala was the prize. Not necessarily because of the accommodations, which were just adequate; not because of the food, which was ample and delicious; not because of the staff whose unfailing kindness and good humor were constant. But rather for our guide: Dux Mareja. I don’t know what kind fate put him in charge of our little group, but it was a godsend. In short, it was a marvelous trip, and we thank you profusely.

June 2012

We absolutely LOVED Old Mondoro. We were the only guests there the first 2 nights- what a magical experience! Kayla and Jason (managers) are so personable and attentive. Seb and Levy were our guides and were incredible knowledgeable and we didn’t realize how great we had it with them. We also loved the diversity of activities there. Footsteps was a phenomenal experience. OP (guide) was a delight to be with. We were the only people there. He mentioned they only book one group at a time (up to 6 people) so a very private, personal experience.

Thank you again for all your guidance, recommendations and patience in answering my millions of questions from safety to tipping to activities. You made our honeymoon magical and unforgettable. This trip exceeded my high expectations. We are completely in love with Africa. We are trying to figure out when to go back. Most likely won’t be for a few years, but when we do decide, you will be the first person we call so you can help arrange a magical trip again.

June 2012

Hi Rob, we had a wonderful trip! Lodges were all great, wildlife sightings and guiding/tracking were amazing and service was perfect as well. In more detail: Little Kwara – beautiful tranquil camp. Tent 1, which we had, is situated wonderfully. We loved the whole atmosphere of the camp! We had some good lion sightings and also came across a pack of wild dogs and two servals during a night drive. Most remarkably, we found a pangolin on our first evening drive. Very special! Lagoon – a little more busy than Little Kwara. However, tents were the nicest of all lodges. Very spacious and tasteful. Situation next to the river (and the “Hippo Highway”) was nice. Wildlife was least abundant around this lodge, however we had good sightings of the local hyaena den, with the cubs. Additionally, we had unusual sightings of honey badger (3 times!), a pair of bat-eared foxes and a small group of roan antelope. Sandibe – differs most from the other two camps, probably because of a different owner. The organization was a little bit more sophisticated in a way. Since we still had leopard and cheetah on our wish list when we arrived in Sandibe, we were quite eager to find them. Guide (Gift) and tracker (Hamole) did a great job. We found cheetah in two different afternoon drives, the second occassion being a mother with two “cubs” (already quite big). We also saw a female leopard in a morning drive. Additionally, we saw a diminished pack of four wild dogs and a big family of lions (including two small cubs). In general, we liked Sandibe most for its abundant wildlife in comparison with the other camps and for its very nice and variable scenery.

May 2012

Dear Michele, Please find enclosed the returned appraisal form supplied by you. Can I also say a massive thanks for all your work in planning and arranging the holiday, all aspects ran like clockwork. The whole trip was fabulous and we enjoyed every minute! In discussions with Andrew and Pippa (managements at Kanana) they expressed the views that the selection of camps had been really well thought out since they were all very different. I think I would like to take this a stage further and say that we felt that for virtually the whole 3 weeks every day seemed to be different and we particularly enjoyed this aspect. We managed to see a whole host of wildlife. The only animals we did not see where cheetah and rhino. On returning to the lodge one evening we stumbled across a leopard kill but two hyaenas had stolen the prize meal; a truly amazing experience! We believe we achieved great rapport with all lodge personnel who were brilliant everywhere. All our guides where excellent. Once again many thanks for all your efforts.

May 2012

Hi Rob, Just to say thank you very much for creating us such a wonderful honeymoon! It was the perfect mix of environments – arriving in Jacana with the delta in flood was stunning – we loved going around by boat in the hippo highways and all the beautiful wildlife, flowers, birds and the mokoro. Selinda was awesome – amazing guiding and we were lucky enough to have some wild dogs and a hyena in front of the camp on day 1 and 2. Fantastic food too and lovely relaxed yet luxurious atmosphere and accommodation. We also found Ntwala stunning – supreme accommodation and the biggest bathroom I’ve ever seen! And being by the Zambezi – we loved it (you were right too – we ended up not going on that last game drive in the end in order to enjoy being on the river more). We saw lions chasing mongoose from the river in Chobe – great treat. We loved Siankaba too and the falls. Perfect!

May 2012