Guests on holiday at Shamwari Bayethe Lodge had this to say:

Sally,

Just to let you know we had a great time at Shamwari and to let you know how much we enjoyed Bayethe-four lively drives with Chris Ripon who looked after us exceedingly well and ensured we were out of our beds in time to drive along way to see a pride of lions!

Thanks again for your help and recommending your favourite lodge!

Regards,

John and Denise Kelly

Liesl’s guests, the Willoughby family stayed at Thonga Beach Lodge, Fugitives Drift and the Vineyard Hotel  Dear Liesl

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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.

Feedback on The Baroness and The Franschhoek: 

I write this while sitting on our balcony directly overlooking the surfers ripping up the famous endlessly peeling “supertubes” wave of J-Bay.  We will not be surfing that wave - too big and too many rocks to crash upon when we inevitably screw up.   

Awoke this morning to a sea brimming with dolphins gracefully arcing out of the water as far as we could focus in every direction, with a few lucky surfers right in the middle of them. We will be renting long boards and trying to surf the friendly waves on the long, sandy beach just down the road.

After driving quickly down to visit the Cape of Good Hope and seeing some adorable wild penguins, we headed to the quaint little town of Franschhoek in wine country, which was Napa on steroids - valleys full of vineyards tucked between rugged, rocky mountains. 

I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a nicer hotel room than at our charming little guesthouse, aptly called The Franschhoek.  As a matter of fact, every accommodation we’ve had has been pretty incredible.  It’s like there’s a “nicest guest house” contest going on in this country and everyone is trying to outdo the next.  And, they’re having a best breakfast competition, too, I think - my favorite part is the fresh fruit. 

Best of all, the prices are really reasonable, for a first world country. Beer and food is especially cheap.  So, we’re living large and playing hard!

After the winelands, we headed up the “Garden Route” and followed the mountainous jagged coastline several hours up to an area called Plettenberg Bay, where we stayed in the most amazing place yet – The Baroness Guest House on the Rhino Base Camp.   We were the only guests at this old farmhouse tastefully converted to a 7 room guesthouse, so we had an African farm all to ourselves for two days. 

This was no ordinary farm, though - it had recently been converted from cattle to a wild animal reserve.  So, when we opened the outside door to our shower or the french doors to our room, we looked out over a pasture of grazing zebras, giraffes, rhinos, wildebeest and countless other antelopes of all varieties and sizes.  And, we were the only ones there.  It was absolutely amazing! 

We even had a private game drive with the camp manager where we parked next to the male lion for about 15 minutes while watching him (carefully) and chatting away.  It will be great to see the animals in the wild in Kenya, but this was pretty magnificent to see them at such close proximity.

When we drove North from there, we had to stop at Bloukrans Bridge, home of the World’s Highest Bungy Jump (216 m/702 ft).  After sizing it up and mutually deciding we didn’t feel the need to do that, we both independently changed our minds - and we did it!  The tee shirt they were selling in the gift shop summed it up for us: “Fear is temporary; regret is forever.”  If not now, when? 

If we were ever going to bungy,we should do it off the highest one, right?   Yes, jumping off a 70 story building is as terrifying as you would imagine, but after the initial raw fear and visions of death by splatting in the creekbed below, it was really fun.  The rebound bounces of decreasing size (100m and down) were great!  Of course, we had to buy the video and photos!

Aspen and Ian Mc Kenna

A valued guest (and keen birder who was traveling alone and wanting peace and quiet) spent 2 nights at Roggeland Country House near Paarl. This is her feedback:

“Roggeland is certainly easy to find and close to the place I went birding on Saturday morning.

I found the guests interesting to talk to, and any request I made of the owners was quickly granted. For instance, the regular breakfast time is 8:30 a.m. I wanted to eat earlier so that I could get out to bird, and that was easily worked out.

I found a tire completely flat one morning, and the gardener changed it immediately. I was told that there was no charge but I did tip him.

I was offered a water bottle to take with me. When I returned I was offered a delicious homemade lemon drink. I was permitted to use the phone in my room to call without charge.

The views of the mountain range are excellent. The pool is readily accessible and a good size. The water is nicely warmed by the sun, and the adjacent thatched hut is very comfortable to sit under and read.

My room was nicely decorated,clean, very quiet and comfortable. I would have liked a standing lamp or a lamp on the table next to the chair had it not been lovely to sit on the chairs outside the room..

The meal the first night was delicious. Each course was small. The owner was very careful to assure me that I would not be served beef or lamb. The wines were not outstanding, but that’s all right with me. Wine goes straight to my head so I have to be careful only to drink small portions. The meal on Friday was delicious. The photographer I sat with and I commented how delicious each course was.

The dinner the next night was mediocre. I gues it is difficult to keep up a consistent high standard. The breakfasts were good with a wide variety of dishes to choose from. The dining room was just the right size for the number of guests. Although it was not a problem for me, other guests might wish some background music so their dinner conversation could be more private. “

Mark Bowdern, his wife and two children under 12 years travelled to Sun City and Victoria Falls with a short stop in Chobe for some excellent elephant viewing!

All the facilities at Sun City were very enjoyable BUT .. The Cabanas rooms are shockingly small. They really need to look at this. The bedding for 2 kids is a pull out lounge .. that is just foam on the floor. It’s OK if they’re young but not recommended for kids over 8 years old really. There needs to be family rooms .. that actually can fit a family of 4 ..

Zambezi Sun. Fantastic. Staff here are amazing !! Sooo friendly and genuinely helpful. The only downside was the price of wine. Ridiculous US dollar amounts.
Bottles of Nederburg that might be 45R are $45 US.
Rooms .. though not large feature 2 King sized beds that are very comfortable. If the kids are happy .. so are the parents.

Finally Chobe Marina lodge … great accommodation though staff are lacking in training. Even the S African managers here need a bit of a kick… not once did either the GM or the F&B mgr even say hello ?!
Would stay here again though as the room and setting are great

And finally the transport company who arranged transfers etc .. must have been trained in Switzerland. On time .. every time and thoroughly good people .. good recommendations

Best Regards and many thanks again Lise ..
Mark Bowdern