Dear Liesl,

THE BAY HOTEL was unbelievable.  Service was impeccable, food AMAZING, rooms were GREAT.  The only note is that on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Camps bay is a bit crazy with party-go-ers.  Personally, I thought it was a very fun atmosphere, but some people may find it a bit noisy.
RESTAURANTS:  In Cape Town WE LOVED 95 Keerom and Manolo .  Both were AMAZING.  HIGHLY recommend them.  TANK was great, too.  We also went to Cape Town Fish Market and The Cod Father in Camps Bay; both were great.  There was also a great place at the V&A Waterfront:  OYO.  We had lunch there — great location, great food, great atmosphere.   For me, Manolo was one of the highlights of the trip.

AIR TRANSFERS :  Were perfect.  The pilots were very professional.  Getting our bags in J-Burg was great, too.  No problems

Your planning was brilliant, the organization was amazing — we loved the booklet with all the information.  We used it all the time — it was a great place to keep all of our documents, maps, etc. too.  A very nice touch.  Thanks for checking up on us and helping us have the journey of a lifetime.  We don’t think we would have had as good a time as we did without your planning!  THANK YOU again.

Africa is truly under my skin.  We can’t wait to go back.   -   Derek

Derek Billings visited Ulusaba and had this to say: 

I think this was, by FAR, the highlight of our trip.  The service was amazing — everyone knew us by name.  The staff greets you upon arrival.  Drinks, food, whatever you want at anytime.  FRIENDLY. 

The game drives were SUPERB — the animal sightings were plentiful.  Lions, leopards, elephants, Zebra, Crocs, Rhinos, Water buffalo, hippos, tons of birds — it was like watching the National Geographic Channel.  Our guide, SIMON was amazing.  VERY passionate about the wildlife and VERY informative.  We would highly recommend him for anyone who is also passionate about the wildlife (As were we — we bonded with him.). 

As for Safari Lodge vs. Rock Lodge, it’s a toss-up.   Safari Lodge (Elephant Room) was like a tree-house and was an amazing place to view animals up-close.  We were VERY lucky and had a sighting of a herd of about 45 elephants walk right past our lodge / room.  That was worth the price of admission right there. 

Rock Lodge (Rock Cliff Room) had an amazing panorama view and gave one the chance to spot animals all over the reserve (They had a telescope for you to view through).  Personally, I liked Safari Lodge better — I liked the grounds a bit better, thought the rooms were a bit nicer, and enjoyed the playful ‘Tree House” aspect.  Chris preferred Rock Lodge, though. 

We ended up switching rooms from Rock Lodge to Safari Lodge just to get that other point of view.  Both were very unique and both experiences were amazing.  If someone were there for more than four nights, switching isn’t such a bad thing.  The staff made it very easy for us.   If someone were a bit older and had difficulty walking, Rock Lodge has a lot of steps all around. 

At Safari Lodge, the Safari Rooms (Which aren’t as nice as the Elephant Rooms or River Rooms) are closer to the main building.  But Elephant Room #1 is only across one rope bridge, so it’s an easier walk. 

Also, they had two “special” dinners for us — one was supposed to be out in the Bush, but it got cancelled because of a storm.  But they had it at Safari Lodge and had dancers and singers from one of the local villages.  Another night they did a barbeque with a roaring firepit.  It seems that they try to do these unique dinners every few days, so a longer stay is beneficial to get the full experience.

Africa is truly under my skin.  We can’t wait to go back.   -   Derek

The Fowler family enjoyed their quick trip on Rovos Rail and safari to Honeyguide Khoka Moya Camp

Dear Lise

Just got back from our trip. We had such a fantastic time - best holiday ever. My son said it was better than Disney.

The hotel in Joberg was spot on - my type of hotel .

You were so right about Honeyguide Khoka Moya, it was great for my son. He made lots of friends and whenever we weren’t on a game drive he was playing football. Our Ranger - Fanuel and tracker Philip were brilliant. What Fanuel didn’t know about birds you could write on a postage stamp and Philip could see things in trees when I was struggling to see the tree! I have to say the 1st night was very scary and I sat bolt upright all night with the whistle in my hand but by night 2 I was used to it.

The food was amazing, I liked the size of the portions too not too big - just right. I’m glad we didn’t go to a really posh lodge. Can’t say 1 bad thing. Oh yeah - hated the small plane- but we got through it! Cameron (my son) only threw up once!

You did a fantastic job - feel free to send us some ideas for next year. Cameron wants to go back to Honeyguide but I’ve told him there is a whole world out there waiting for us.

We really enjoyed Rovos - boy do they know how to look after people. I thought my son might get bored but he loved just sitting at the end of the train staring at the countryside.

Any way thanks for everything and have a very happy and healthy 2007.
Lindsay and Cameron.

Looking to take the extended family on safari? The Tintswalo Manor House in the Manyeleti Game Reserve bordering the Kruger National Park is the superb venue for a family gathering.

The lodge is an old farmhouse revamped into a spectacular safari lodge that is sold for exclusive use only. This means that the 4 bedroomed house can sleep your family of up to ten people with your own chef and game ranger giving you the freedom to do what you want, when you want.

The lodge also offers a complete child program where your children get introduced to the wild through interactive games with the rangers. This means that parents get a bit of a rest and can enjoy the pool or nearby spa.