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The creation of this
customer feedback page is our way of assuring you that our Combo
Safari is very much provided as promoted on our website.
Each item of feedback has been copied from emails
sent by some of our customers who have taken the time to let us
know about their Combo Safari experience.
Booking off the internet may be a concern but
please be re-assured, we will be there to pick you up and provide
you with a wonderful safari adventure.
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4 Day Combo Safari Option B - 14th August 05
Andrew,
we did not return to the UK until last week.
To cut a long story short we all found the whole experience absolutely stunning. Your Ranger, Robert, was so attentive and knowledgeable. I am a very keen ornithologist in the UK as was Robert out in SA. This was merely a wonderfully unexpected added bonus for me. Even my family were fascinated by birds like vultures, hornbills, sunbirds, etc.
On the way back to Mpumalanga airport, Robert even stopped off at the Brede River Canyon and the Lisbon Falls - superb !
The choice of venues was perfect - we were particularly thrilled by Edeni Private Game Reserve and the Bush Lodge there - a completely different experience for us (my daughter asked if we could come back at Christmas!!). I wouldn't want to stay in the luxury of the River Lodge there as the experience was so much better in the Bush.
We didn't see the Big Five as we missed out on Leopard. We also missed out on Hyena and Jackal, BUT, this made no difference to us whatsoever, for two reasons: i). we could see just how hard the Ranger(s) and Tracker were working to actually find us a Leopard and ii). it just gave us things to further look forward to on our return (whenever that may be).
To summarise, I would not hesitate to recommend first and foremost SA as a holiday destination (for at least a month), but also your esteemed company and the wonderful service you provided us. You may rest assured, upon our return, we will indeed be in contact.
I attach a copy of a photo of our safari group at Edeni.
Thank you again
Malcolm
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5 Day Combo Safari - 8th July 05
Dear Andrew and Natalie,
We had a wonderful safari experience! Even though we did not end up seeing all the "big 5" (no lions, rhinocerous, or cheetahs), we saw many other animals to include mama leopard and cub and leopards mating. My favorite animal was actually the giraffes, of which we saw many. We also saw many elephants, at least five kinds of antelopes, hyenas, a jackal, zebras, buffalos, wildebeests, three kinds of mongooses (mongeese?), a civit, two genets, monkeys, baboons, warthogs, an ostrich, and many other birds in our 4-night stay. We went to sleep with hippos "seranading." while in the public Kruger.
We were happy that we split our time between public and private Kruger as the experiences were different, but in some ways we enjoyed our time with our Safari Ranger Fossie the best. It was an extremely relaxing vacation to have Fossie in charge of everything. As we were the only two with Fossie during our days in the public part of Kruger, it meant that we could ask questions at any time, ask to stop for photographs as desired, and watch the animals for just the right amount of time. We did not have to worry about how to get from one place to the next or where to eat. Fossie knew great places to eat or fixed our meal, and he is a good cook, depending on the time of day.
The return drive from Kruger to our hotel via the "Panaramic Route" was also a delight. On both the drive to and from Kruger, Fossie was careful to break up the drive with appropriate stopping places.
We enjoyed being in South Africa in the winter. Bugs were not an issue and some of the animals were likely easier to spot.
I have told everyone I have talked with how relaxing and how exciting our safari experience was.
You may share these comments with Lonely Planet.
Sincerely,
Cheryl
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5 Day Combo Safari - 10th June 05
Hi there Leonard,
Jill and I just wanted to write you a quick e-mail to tell you what a fantastic time we had on our safari in the Kruger Park and the Sabi Sands last week!
We also wanted to tell you that William did a phenomenal job and we truly enjoyed our time!
I have been traveling around the world for a year and a half and I want you to know that William is one of the best tour guides I have ever had. And believe me, I have seen a lot of them. His knowledge of the plants and animals in the area was outstanding and his passion for it was truly infectious.
Thank you for making the beginning of our trip to South Africa so great!!
Warmest regards,
Mike and Jill
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4
Day Combo Safari - 28th
March 05
We are literally just home so
will reply a little later when the dust has settled.
Be reassured, however, that
we had a great trip and that the
arrangements we made at the time to fit in with
our needs worked very well.
Robert
was excellent and we even went back into the park on
our own for a couple of days to see how we got on with
our new found skills!
Bill
& Miriam
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- 4
Day Combo Safari
- 3rd March 05
- Dear Andrew and Natalie,
-
- Janet and I arrived home this morning
after a fabulous 3 weeks in SA.
-
- The combo Safari was though the
highlight of the trip. Robert our guide was wonderful...very
helpful , knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He is a
real credit to your organisation. I will send one
or two pictures to you later when I have them downloaded!
We only saw 4 of the big 5...no Rhino's!
-
- But the sight of a leopard eating
its kill and taking it up a tree to keep safe was
lovely. Also being in the middle of a heard of around
200 buffalo's was also memorable. We saw white tailed
mongoose, porcupine, a few snakes a Gennet and lots
more of the more difficult to see animals.
-
- The elephants were wonderful.
-
- After Sabi we flew down to Cape
Town and spent time there and on the Wine Trail and
Garden Route.....I will write again when I have sorted
my in box out and will forward a picture or two.
Thanks for all you help.....it was really a wonderful
experience and Sabi Sands was
a great park to stay in.
-
- Regards
- Keith
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- 5
Day Combo Safari
- 7th February 05
- Apologies
for the lateness of our reply but we continued our
holiday to New Zealand, Australia and Thailand and
only returned home yesterday.
- Our Combo Tour of the Kruger
and Sabi-Sabi was an unforgettable experience and
we were delighted and impressed by your Company's
expertise and forethought
in tailoring a trip which fulfilled all our expectations.
-
- Yes
-we did see "the Big 5" but Robert's enthusiastic
and erudite commentaries made
even the most pedestrian of encounters interesting
and informative. We enjoyed his company - and his
cooking too !!
- We wish
you success in your quest for recognition of your
excellent organisation by inclusion in "Lonely
Planet". We would
unhesitatingly recommend you
to any friend or member of our family and would
be most happy to be used as a "Satisfied Customer"
reference should you have any need to reassure
potential clients in the UK.
- Thank you for an outstandingly
memorable experience !!
-
- Ian
& Liz
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 3
Day Combo Safari - 25th
December 04
- Sorry to not have
responded early but I was busy back at work already.
- We returned to
the States on 31 Dec (since we left for Cape Town after
the safari). South Africa is indeed very beautiful;
people very friendly; and food very good. We thoroughly
enjoyed the safari and our guide Robert is AWESOME.
He was the perfect host to God's animal kingdom for our
family and he took very good care of us.
-
- The
3-day combo was indeed a good way to experience both Kruger
NP and Sabi Sands. We probably wish we could stay
for another day at Sabi Sands but budget-wise it's a bit
much.
- We will definitely
recommend to our friends if and when someone visits South
Africa. It is a very long trip (22-hour flight each
way for us) from here in California though, not to mention
the cost.
-
- Best wishes in
2005 and being included in the Lonely Planet Guide.
You guys deserve it.
-
- Please
also forward this to Leonard in your South Africa office
for me.
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- 6
Day Combo Safari - 12th
December 04
-
- Hello,
- As anticipated,
my article on my time on safari in December has just been
published in Vivid Light Photography Magazine on line (see
www.vividlight.com
for the homepage that includes an image I took of marabou
storks in a tree just before sundown, for which I thank Gowie
for the positioning of the vehicle). The article itself
is at http://www.vividlight.com/articles/4012.htm
Thanks to you all for a super time while I was with you.
Best regards,
- John
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- 4
Day Combo Safari - 31st October
04
Hi Andrew,
Still catching up from our trip to Africa!
- The 30 hour trip
from Johannesburg to Washington, D.C. is a long one. I
would agree with you that South Africa is an amazing
country. Unfortunately all we seem to hear in this
part of the world is all the negative news, especially as
it relates to oppression, Soweto unrest and of course HIV/AIDS.
They of course have their problems like any country but
there is so much more to S. Africa then what we hear in
the news. I found S. Africa to be a delightful country........the
people (whether white, black or colored) were so friendly
and eager to meet people from another land. The country
is beautiful and the topography is amazing given the
small size of the country (compared to the U.S. of course!).
-
- I am so glad I
went, in spite of the long, long plane ride, and that both
my self and husband saw so much of the country. We thoroughly
enjoyed our safari package booked through Safari Rangers.
Our tour guide was Robert Wienand, who is very passionate
about the wild life in South Africa, to include birds.
We enjoyed learning from him and saw many things we would
never have seen or had a clue at what we were looking at.
Our combo trip took us from Johannesburg to the Sabi Sands
Game Reserve for 2 nights. We really liked that experience
as it met our expectations of "going on a safari"
which means driving in anjeep looking for wild life
in the bush with a native tracker. We saw many,
many animals (except lions - they seemed to be on holiday!)
and saw some fantastic bird life. The Lodge is excellent
and the staff is wonderful.
We loved the layout of the lodge, with each couple having
their own cottage, to the main lodge over looking the watering
hole where we saw elephant, zebra, wildebeest and baboons
in the afternoon while in the pool and to the boma every
evening for a braai. From Sabi Sands
we went to Kruger National Park where we spent a
night at the Pretorius Lodge. This was extremely different
then our experience in Sabi Sands.
I can equate our experience in Kruger with driving through
some of the national parks in the U.S., like Yellowstone
National Park. In the Park we were looking for game
from inside a van, which has limited visibility, and certainly
does not feel like "going on safari". Unless
the animals were crossing the road or standing along side
- they were not able to be seen. The vehicle can not
leave the designated roads in the park.
We saw mostly birds in Kruger and warthogs - still no lions!
(It became a joke through our entire trip - no lions to
be found as all seemed to be on holiday! My husband
finally took me to a Lion and Rhino Park outside of Johannesburg
so I could say I saw lions in S. Africa!) Also the
lodging in Pretorius was very basic and having dinner &
breakfast prepared by our guide, outside our rondele was
different. I am glad we went on your combo tour
just to see the difference, but as a travel agent I would
screen my clients very carefully and recommend if looking
for a safari adventure a private reserve is the way to go.
As to the rest of our stay in S. Africa - it was fantastic.
After starting with our fantastic trip with Safari
Rangers, we then proceeded by renting a camper and
touring a very large area of the country. We drove
from Johannesburg and visited Kimberley (saw the Big Hole),
Oudtshoorn (saw many ostrich farms), the pass into
George, Hermanus (saw 6-8 whales "frolicking"
in the bay), Mossel Bay (gorgeous area), Plettenberg Bay,
Port Elizabeth, Addo National Elephant Park (a fantastic
park and almost better then Kruger but not as good as Sabi
Sands), and Bloemfontein. The camping parks were wonderful
- exceptionally clean and well laid out! In
some instances, being early in the season, we were the only
people in the camping parks!
They are far better then in the U.S. So all in all we had
a fantastic time.........and I hope to go back soon.
My husband goes twice year for a month at a time,
so I am hoping maybe in another year I can return and repeat
our outstanding safari adventures.
I do hope you get into Lonely Planet! If there is
anything I can do to assist you, please let me know. A BIG
thank you to you for all your help in setting up our safari
adventure. You were great and so was our tour guide!
Sincerely,
Pat
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7 Day Combo Safari & Walking Safari
- 13th September 04
Dear Andrew,
Many thanks for your e-mail and your congratulations. We only
arrived back on the 29th having continued our honeymoon touring
other parts of SA after the Safari. Our Safari experience went
exceptionally well. The combination of two days within Kruger,
two days at Sabi Sands and two days walking in Timbavati gave
us a good taste of all aspects. A large part of the success of
the safari must be attributed to the rangers who accompanied us
- Quentin in Timbavati, Shaun in Sabi Sands and especially Robert
who accompanied us throughout the trip and proved to be a perfect
guide.
Although I think we were probably very
lucky with the very wide range of game we did manage to see, I
have no doubt that there was a great deal of skill also involved
in getting us into the right place at the right time, spotting
some of the more well camouflaged animals and identifying just
what we were looking at - particularly the birds, where Robert's
knowledge was invaluable.
If I could have changed anything I would have opted for an extra
night at Sabi Sands - it was so relaxing, comfortable and friendly
- and on a similar note perhaps our original format having the
luxury of Sabi Sands at the end might have proved a slightly better
arrangement - although that's probably just nitpicking. As regards
the walking section, whilst this proved to be the least productive
in terms of game viewing - which is to be expected with seven
inexperienced people marching through the bush - it was great
to be able to get out and get some feel of what it is like to
actually travel through the bush on foot. I would have preferred
more walking and less game driving, however I accept that the
other people in the group at that point hadn't done any game drives,
and I also believe that on one occasion Quentin deemed it unwise
to attempt a walk due to the agitation of the elephants in the
part of the reserve he had taken us to.
I have hundreds of photographs - some
of which I am very pleased with - but have not as yet had time
to download them onto the computer. I will forward a selection
of what I consider the best images as soon as I get the opportunity.
I offer you my sincere thanks for putting together such a successful
package, for your prompt help and assistance at the planning stage
- in particular Jutta's contribution (and patience) in helping
to arrange the transport and car hire - and again to Robert who
couldn't have been more attentive, more accommodating or more
helpful. It was a pleasure to be in his company.
Kind regards
Paul
P.S. do you arrange trips to any other countries than SA? Botswana
and Tanzania are both still on my list.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 3 Day Combo Safari
- 9th August 04
Hi Leonard & Robert,
A quick mail now that we have returned to base . Thanks again
for the wonderful safari. We really enjoyed the whole experience-hopefully
the first of many!!
The rest of the holiday went really well-we followed a lot of
Robert's suggestions and were not disappointed! It is such a
fantastic country-each day brought something new. The weather
was really good also-Table mountain was set against a blue cloudless
sky when we arrived in Cape Town.
-
- Thanks again for everything-we
were really impressed with the level of organisation, professionalism
and friendliness. Keep up the good work and lots of luck in
the future. We will definitely be forwarding your name to friends
who plan to visit. Pass on our thanks and regards to Breton
also.
Cheers,
Una & Kevin
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