AFRICAN SAFARI TESTIMONIALS

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FEEDBACK FROM OUR CLIENTS:

Eyes on Africa are proud of our work and success in planning our clients' African safari vacations, exotic adventures and romantic honeymoons.  The following are just a few of the comments we've received from our clients regarding their Eyes on Africa safari experiences.

We would also be pleased to put you directly in touch with past clients as further referrals at your request.

Dear Pam - here is what I have sent to friends and family...

Africa captured my heart in 2005 when I went to Kenya and Tanzania. Then in 2007, Patrick joined the Circle of Trust and there was 4 of us that traveled to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Then with the help of Pamela Langhoff from Eyes on Africa, we booked a 4-camp safari to Botswana. It was the ultimate African safari! I would highly recommend this trip to anyone wishing to experience a real African Safari.

Upon the arrival at our first camp in Botswana we could tell that this was an unspoiled wilderness and we knew we were in for a real adventure. Botswana is famous for the Okavango Delta wetlands and we were here to experience both water and land. Botswana is one of the world's most thinly populated countries that became independent in 1966. It has seen remarkable growth in all sectors of the economy, including tourism, conservation and wildlife management. It is a very stable Country. Botswana is a landlocked country, just a bit smaller than Texas. It is bordered by Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The Kalahari Desert, the largest continuous stretch of sand in the world, covers 84% of Botswana.

To reach our destination we traveled by Delta airlines from Sacramento to Atlanta and then onto Johannesburg direct, taking about 16 hours. We spent two nights in Jo'burg, as it is known, and then we boarded Air Botswana for the 2 hour trip to Maun. Once in Maun we met the Wilderness Safari representative who weighed our luggage (you are only allowed 44 pounds a piece) before we boarded our light aircraft transfer to our first camp.

All four camps had some common denominators. There were morning and evening game drives. We were awakened at 5:30 am and given 30 minutes to dress. Since it was dark at 6:00 am and the animals sometimes came into the camps, you were required to wait till your guide came to escort you to breakfast. A quick breakfast of warm porridge, cereal, yogurt, toast and muffins were served. We would quickly eat and then off we would go on our game drive. The animals are most active in the early hours of the day. The jeep is open and we never had more than 6 in the jeep. (We usually had the jeep to ourselves.) The game drives would last until 11:00 or 11:30 am depending on if there was something of interest that kept us out longer

Brunch was then served which was lovely. You could always order eggs and there was a variety of choices including pastas, meat dishes, vegetables, rice, and salads. The bread was homemade and warm. One time it was made into the shape of an alligator. They really do a wonderful job with the food. After brunch, you had free time until afternoon tea at 3:00 or 3:30pm. (Your free time is when you showered and took a nap, read, or enjoyed the camp.)

The afternoon game drive usually started around 4:00-4:30 pm and you arrived back after dark around 7:30 pm. During this game drive you always had sundowners. The guide would find a place that you could stretch your legs and he would get out a snack and your choice of drinks.....we enjoyed a bottle of wine as we watched the sunset each night in the bush. Driving back we looked for nocturnal animals. Dinner was at 8:00 pm. Usually we started with drinks around the fire and then dining by candlelight. Each camp had one dinner in their boma with a cultural experience put on by the employees which were made up of the people from the villages of Botswana. We loved the singing and dancing that was performed for us. With a big full African moon, these evenings were really fun!

Here are some of our favorite experiences at each camp:
Savuti Camp is a beautiful camp with each tented room raised up on wooden decks. We overlooked water and could watch hippo and elephants crossing from our room. This camp had 8 tented rooms and is built on an island in the Okavango Delta. These tents are quite beautiful and comfortable...but our main reason for coming was the game. We came for the adventure and we had one at Savuti. One day we came across a leopard stalking a kudu. It was a young leopard and leaped too soon, so of course the kudu got away. He looked rather disgusted with himself and went around sniffing the ground, savoring the scent of the food that might have been. Then he laid down. Our guide drove over nearby so we could get some good pictures. After watching him for awhile, the jeep would not start. Now we are looking at a leopard that we know is hungry and we are laughing that maybe we might be his lunch. Of course we knew as long as we were in the jeep we were safe, but it was a funny situation to be in. The leopard actually tired of us and wandered off, just in time for a back-up jeep to arrive and jump start us. It's adventures like this that make a safari exciting.

Chitabe Camp has 8 tented rooms built on an island in the Okavango Delta. It was beautifully decorated and we were lucky enough to meet the owners and their daughter. The gaming highlights started happening as soon as we arrived as there was an elephant in the camp eating a tree by the deck. That same elephant ate the tree outside our tent that night. P. slept right through it. I will never complain about snoring again after experiencing that! :) We also loved seeing young giraffes in a group that our guide called a nursery; a leopard stalking an impala; and two very fat male lions! There were many other sightings but these were my favorite.

Little Vumbura Camp has 6 tented rooms and land and water activities. We took Mekoros (dugout canoes) to go through the flood plains as well as a speed boat to cruise the Delta waters. Our favorite is still the jeeps traveling across land and water to get up close and personal with the game! There were lots of elephants here. I enjoyed watching them taking a mud bath. A real highlight was 10 wild dogs and a hyena teasing a crocodile in the water. Then the dogs took off after an impala. The chase was on, and the impala escaped with a jump that had her hanging in mid air....it was incredible and happened right in front of our jeep. I missed the shot but I will have that picture in my mind forever. We also had a close encounter with an elephant that was walking on the road. We stopped the jeep and she had her baby close by. She came to the front of the jeep and stared at us. Then she came around to the side and stared at the guys. No one moved, we just stared back. We called it the elephant stare down. I started to take a picture but she shook her head. We all sat still till she walked away. It was remarkable. She was very aware of us in the jeep. Our guide said we handled it perfectly.....we stared her down! :) A sighting of the bat-eared fox was a first for us here.

Duba Plains Camp is the most remote camp and for us it had a true African feel about it. You come to this for the interaction of the lions and the Cape Buffalo. We were not disappointed. The first game drive we saw lions finishing off their morning kill. It was odd watching them eat....it was even more odd when we decided to have our sundowner there so we could continue to watch. While we drank wine, they finished off the buffalo. Little did we know the adventure had just begun. While driving back to the camp driving through flooded plains, our jeep got stuck in the mud. By now, it was dark and the moon was not full anymore...in fact there was no moon. Our guide got out of the jeep and started jacking up the jeep to insert something under the wheels. It wasn't working....he called for backup and another jeep in the area came to our aide. The two guides managed to get the jeep out of the mud. Just as our guide jumped in the jeep the other guide yelled here come the lions.....we thought he was joking. We turned around and there were 2 female lions walking toward the jeeps with the spotlight on them. They passed right by us and took a drink from where we had been stuck and then went on their way. It was like something out of a movie....a real African experience. I have to admit, I was a bit scared but that didn't stop me from trying to get the shot with my camera; but it was too dark. Duba did not fail us, we got to experience a kill with a pride of lions taking down a buffalo. It was an amazing sight to watch how the lions worked their plan and how the buffalo tried to stop it. That was a real highlight to see that interaction. I think there were 9 lions You can never capture the experiences completely with your camera. I made an attempt.

M. Marlette, California - August 2009

Greetings.  I returned a few days ago from my safari to Botswana that was organized by Andy Biggs and the folks from Eyes on Africa.  We had a wonderful time, with some truly exceptional opportunities to photograph the wildlife in the region.  I wanted to write a note of thanks to all of you for making the trip possible, but also to say a few particular words about Grant Atkinson.
 
Grant was the only other guide working with Andy (often serving double duty as a driver).  He did a really superb job; as a passionate photographer himself, he was tireless in finding the best opportunities for the group to get excellent images.  He was extremely well informed with great insight into the behavior of the animals we encountered, was always positive and encouraging, and was much in demand as driver or as a companion.  Whichever group he was with seemed to have particularly good luck, which of course is not due to luck at all!  I hope that I will have an opportunity to travel with him again sometime.
 
Just thought I'd drop you a note, since he was a key part of making the visit to Botswana such a special experience.  I enclose one picture where we got a particularly good chance to shoot a beautiful animal because of his persistence and energy.

O. Sharp, Washington - July 2009 (Digital Workshop Safari)

Leopard image from Digital Workshop in Botswana

Hi Andy,

My trip to Botswana with you was simply fantastic and beyond expectations. I had booked the trip a year in advance and was looking forward to it with a lot of excitement. As a result, it took quite some doing to achieve an outcome beyond my expectations. This was certainly one of the best vacations in my life in one of the best places in the world.

I would think of Andy's role in 2 parts: (i) thorough preparations in arranging the best guides, accommodations and logistics, and (ii) more importantly, coach, friend & guide to help us take better photographs. On the first part, the arrangements were flawless. The guides at each camp were outstanding & extremely knowledgeable - unlike regular guides, they understood the needs of photographers and the appropriate positioning of their vehicles to enable all passengers get a good angle for their photos and to position us well in terms of the angle of the available light. The camps were also well selected with abundant wildlife, high quality accommodations and highly courteous/ friendly staff. Many thanks to James & Nicky at Eyes on Africa for taking such good care of the arrangements.

Andy himself was fabulous - great knowledge of African wildlife, highly passionate about photography, always willing to go the extra mile, always helpful (even when he's sleepy!), genuinely keen to teach / share his knowledge and keen to ensure that all participants have a great experience. I must have asked him hundreds of questions & he answered all of them with a smile. He's just a warm and great guy to spend 2 weeks with! Equally importantly, he was also sensitive to our special needs - such as ensuring that I was comfortable on game drives since I have a bad back.

I also observed that while he was keen to take wildlife photos, Andy put the needs of the group above his own. For example, he did not hog the best seats nor determine where we would drive solely based on his own personal desires. I took hundreds of great photos during the trip and have shared them with many envious friends (a couple are attached to this mail).

In addition, I would like to compliment Grant Atkinson, our head guide and local expert, who played a huge role in making the trip truly memorable. Grant is a keen photographer himself and highly competitive to ensure that his vehicle always has the best angle! He patiently gave me great photographic tips, was extremely courteous and has great humor. I would definitely ensure that Grant is involved in every trip that i make to Africa! I definitely will go on more photo safari trips with Andy and am tentatively planning a trip to Botswana in 2011!

R. Khanna, Mumbai, India - July 2009 (Digital Workshop Safari)

Cheetah brothers in Botswana

Helicopter view of crocodile

Male lion at Kwetsani camp

Hippo threat display

Leopard showing its teeth

Lion cub

Elephant calf

Leopard posing

Lilac-breasted Roller

Lion walking through a flood plain

Pam,

What can we say, FANTASTIC TRIP! We had a great time and will never forget this trip. I know N. and I will be back to Africa. I have enclosed only a few photos, as I took over 4,000!

You and your firm put together a great travel package. Again, thank you!

E. & N. Phillips, Virginia - July 2009

Oryx and springboks

Steenbok

Zebras drinking at Etosha

Crocodile

Elephants drinking

Bull elephant

Hey Nicky,
 
We are home. Got home yesterday. Everything went perfect.  We couldn’t be happier.  You ROCK!!!!  Attached are a couple pics from the trip.

I just finished the slideshow on a DVD that you can see our trip.  It’s crazy I could watch it once a week and not get tired of it.  You sure gave us a memory for life.  I told the kids tonight after we watched it, “I am calling Nicky right now and book another trip”, they were all for it.  Some day I certainly hope so.
 
Take care, I sure miss planning the trip with you.  If anyone is ever on the fence unsure to book a trip, please give them my name and I will give you an A+++++++ grade.  You’re the best!!!

Looking forward to talking to you…

S. Lintemuth, Michigan - June 2009

The Lintemuth family in Africa

Magnificent male lions

Vanessa,

Hello there and let me begin by saying that that trip was the best experience we have ever had. I've been meaning to call but work has been very hectic since our return. Let me just tell you though, that everything including transfers, accomodations, and guides--flawless!! As you know, and as so many travel reviews I read stated, words cannot describe the safari experience. Trying to would just be pointless.

The people we met, the food was incredible. We saw an elephant breeding herd of about 25, a cheetah kill, lions and so much more. Already talking about the next trip. Great stuff! If I had to book a complaint (and this isn't bad for a complaint), we were the only guests at the Palms. A little lonely compared to everywhere else, but it was wonderful to relax. I'd love to continue but I must go. N. is working furiously on the pictures this week, so I will send you some as she gets finished! Thanks again for all of your help and recommendations. It was perfect. Speak to you soon!

M. & N. Manies, Illinois - June 2009

Hi Pam,

We have returned from Africa and wanted to thank you for putting together an incredible trip for us.  Everything went smoothly and we have lots of beautiful memories.  Africa more than exceeded my expectations.  The guides were all very knowledgeable and exuded lots of enthusiasm.  The places we stayed were all very well run and beautiful.

We were very fortunate to have lots of leopard, lion, rhino, wild dog, etc sightings.  On our last morning we even witnessed a lone lion take down a buffalo.

Attached is one of the many photos we have to remember our trip.  We also just received the book on Mombo that you sent.  It will give us pleasure to read it and remind us of our stay there. Thanks again.

R. & D. Roth, California - May 2009

Gorgeous leopard

Hi Nicky,

I just needed to drop a quick note and a huge thank you for the trip of a lifetime.  I so appreciate all of your considerable efforts on our behalf.  i cannot think of anything that i would be critical of regarding the travel planning and coordination... it is rare in my experience that the reality of the trip exceeds the anticipation.

Please send me a handful of your business cards, as I have already had several inquiries regarding african travel by some of the Santa Fe crowd! I tell them all that my trip to South Africa was a real "yawner” (see image below).

Thank you again.

T. Anderson, New Mexico- May 2009

Yawning lion

Dear Pamela,

Elephant encounter in Botswana at Stanley's Camp

K. Burleson and Elephant

The Burleson's in Africa

K. Burleson and more elephants

Hi Pam,

I have gone through pictures from Namibia, thought you might like to see some.

D. Kabat, Nevada - November 2008

Climbing the dune

Ghost tree (Moringa)

On the dunes

Looking down from the dune

Dune 45 at Sossusvlei

Flying over Damaraland

Summer greenery in the river bed

Dunes at Skeleton Coast

Skeleton Coast sand

All images Copyright © D. Kabat.

Hi Pam,

Sorry it took a little while for us to let you know that we had a spectacular trip! The worst part was to adjust to being back home and going back to work afterwards! We took so many pictures there's no room to download them all onto the computer, and we're pretty sure we each gained about 10 pounds from all the excellent food. Thank you so much for picking just the perfect combination of lodging and experiences for our honeymoon.

We had a great time at 12 Apostles, and the guide and the transfers all showed up magically without our having to look for them. We had the most awesome guide at Kings Camp (Cynet), and went on some very exciting leopard-tracking drives. We thought the Kings Camp suite was beautiful, and yet the little house we had at Exeter Leadwood was something else, particularly with elephants and baboons coming right up to drink from the pool. The combination of experiences at Timbavati and Sabi Sands was perfect, since we saw things at each reserve that was difficult to find at the other.

We saw a herd of 300+ buffalo galloping to the waters to drink, followed a cheetah and a leopard on a hunt (unsuccessful, but still very exciting for us), watched 7 lions fighting over a kill from a few feet away, saw baby versions of elephants, lions, buffaloes and giraffes, and even learned a little about birding. It's impossible to describe all the wonderful animals we saw, from huge elephants ripping down branches to a little chameleon hiding on a twig. I am also very fond of the little mongooses, vervet monkeys and most of all the warthogs that wander through Kings Camp from time to time.

Thank you so much for figuring out exactly what we wanted for our honeymoon, and getting us a trip even better than we could have imagined. We met some great people at the camps, and would absolutely love to head back on safari again as soon as possible!

Much thanks, and pictures to come whenever we get a chance to wade through them!.

G. & T. Hsu, Rhode Island - October 2008

The Krohns in Africa

Leopard

Nicky,
 
We just returned from our trip to South Africa and Zambia and it exceeded my expectations across the board.  There were NO problems, everything happened as planned and the trip was fabulous. Everybody from Gordon picking us up at the airport to the folks at Federal Air who delivered us back at the Johannesburg airport after our trip to Rocktail Bay were great!   
 
We particularly liked Nikwali.   The staff, accommodations, location, food, and game viewing were amazing.   The staff surprised us with a Champagne Sundowner on the ridge overlooking the park on our last night, (followed up with a leopard sighting -  dining on a freshly killed impala no less!).  It was hard to say goodbye to the staff, they were wonderful and knowledgeable!   Chongwe River Camp was wonderful in its own way and canoeing and boating was a nice change to the game drives.   Our final destination was Rocktail Bay Lodge.   The weather did not cooperate for diving our first day out but we did get diving in on the second day and it was excellent.  Rocktail lodge itself needs a bit of maintenance but the staff was excellent and the location was incredible.  We were told that Wilderness Safari were going to rebuild Rocktail in the next year or so.
 
Many thanks for arranging our tour in Johannesburg with Robin Binkes, he was a great guide, was very informative and educational and just a really nice guy.
 
I just can't say thank you enough.   Nicky, you did a great job of listening to what we wanted to do and absolutely delivered on your promises.   I can't wait to visit Africa again.

L. McCallum, Colorado - September 2008

Vanessa,

We had a wonderful trip. There are absolutely no complaints. Everything was excellent.

We were met by Akorn on time at the airport and they took us to the Serena Hotel. We enjoyed the hotel it was really really nice. It was clean, had good food, a friendly, helpful and courteous staff. The grounds were beautiful as was the pool. When we arrived around 9:00 PM we had a dinner buffet by the pool. The view and food was great. It was the best meal I had had in a restaurant since May 23. Akorn picked up our sons on Saturday night. They arrived around 10:30 PM from the US.

I was glad I chose to go to Lewa and to Intrepids at the Masai Mara. That was a good decision. It was two very different experiences. Lewa was small and private with very nice cottages. The scenery was different that the Masai Mara as were the activities. Intrepids was more sort of commercialized with more people. Because Lewa is smaller and more private it had a little higher level of service. In fact, the first day we arrived we were the only guests. The animals also exhibited different behaviors and the scenery was very different and the game drives had a different feel.

The cottages at Lewa were very nice and spacious. We had the two bedroom two bath cottage. Each bedroom was large with a sitting area. The bathroom was also very large. The two bedrooms were connected with an outdoor porch and a sitting room. The porch had some very comfortable little bed and chairs. The sitting room had a fireplace and a little bar. The staff had a fire going for us when we returned from the evening game drive around 6:30 or 7:00 PM. There was also a nice pool area, tennis court, a veranda attached to the main house, and another sitting area where we met for drinks before dinner. So, we had many comfortable places to hang out between game drives. There were some private places for the Graig's that were off limits to guests, but given all of the other places that were open to us we never felt restricted.

We left Serena around 10:00 AM to head out to Wilson Airport to fly into Lewa. As we were flying into to Lewa I was quite puzzled about where the animals might be. Before we got to Lewa we made one stop about 10 minutes away. I did not see any animals there and did not see any as were flew into the Lewa Conservatory airstrip. So as we were flying in I was thinking to my self, we have been taken, there are no animals here. I was certain we were going to hear something like, "Should have been here last week."

Was I ever wrong.

At the airport we were met by our driver/guide Moongi (sp?) and some sort of a guy in training named Peter. Peter was a Masai who was just going to be at Lewa for a few weeks for some training or something. I never really figured out exactly what sort of program he was on, but he was very pleasant to be around and I was glad he was with us. When I first met Moongi I did not fully appreciate his ability and talent. The more time we spent with him, the more we liked him. Anyway, I was thinking to myself as we left the airstrip, "There are no animals here!" I was preparing myself mentally for a let down. Was I ever wrong. We drove along a river bottom as we left the airstrip. We could not have been two minutes from the airstrip when we spotted our first zebra, giraffe and elephant. The drive over to the cottages and lodges was full of stops for pictures of animals. We were almost late for lunch. There were animals everywhere.

When we arrived we met the Craigs and had a nice lunch. After we rested after lunch we went on out first game drive with Moongi and Peter. Moongi was awesome. He knew everything about the animals. He had
been at Lewa for 22 years, 18 as a guide. I think we got lucky to get him because we were the only guests there the first day. Some other guests arrived on Monday and Tuesday I got the impression they were not as pleased with their guide as we were with Moongi. He knew everything about the animals. As he would drive along the roads he would lean out of the jeep looking for tracks and spoor. On Monday evening we were driving around and Moongi leaning out the jeep spotted a lion spoor. He got out and put his hand close to it said it was fresh. Monday evening he told us he thought he know where some Cheetahs were, but we needed to leave about 30 minutes earlier. That turned out to be a great decision as we, I say we but I mean Moongi, spotted three male cheetahs who were out hunting. They were beautiful and the light was perfect for taking pictures. It was a great morning. No other guests saw the cheetahs, so hats off to Moongi.

After we left the cheetahs we started looking for lions. One of the differences in behavior between Lewa lions and Masai Mara lions is that the Lewa lions are not really in a pride. They are more solitary and therefore harder to spot. Also, Lewa lions don't hunt during the day. Later that day on the afternoon game drive, after spending an about an hour looking for it, Moongi spotted a lion. It was perched on a big fallen tree
limb. It could not been in a better position for taking pictures. The thing about Moongi is that he spot those animals a mile away, without binoculars. He was amazing. He would say, "There are two rhinos over on the
side of that hill on the other side of the valley." They were only little dots. I could barley see them with binoculars. I don't know how he saw that lion. It had to be over half a mile away and it was sitting on a log that was almost the same color as the lion. I recall clearly he first spotted it without binoculars.

On Tuesday morning we went out on horseback for a bush breakfast. That was fun. We got really close to the animals on the back of a horse. We rode the camels back, but Jeffrey and I got off an walked about half way. Damn camels are hard to ride. We also took a hike down a little stream. That was just beautiful. To add excitement to the hike we went with a guy carrying a rifle for protection. Lewa was great. The weather was perfect. It was cold in the mornings.

We flew over Mara Intrepids on Wednesday morning. Intrepids was a tented camp on the Masai Mara. It was also real nice. The accommodations in the tent were great. The camp looks out over the Talek river. Food was good. Service in the restaurant was just ok. Game drives were different. Intrepids had three per day. Lewa just two. Two per day was plenty. We felt a little rushed with three. Not quite enough time to rest between drives. And, believe it or not the drives are tiring. Bouncing, and there is a lot of bouncing, around in the jeep in the sun and wind can be very tiring. You could say, that the drives aren't mandatory, which they are not, but after spending so much time and money getting there you hate to pass on an opportunity to see something new and different. By the end of the week were all very tired. In fact J. and F. passed on the last two game drives and those are the ones where Martha and I saw baby cheetahs and baby lions. Of course being the young men they are they could not let any disappointment show that they had missed seeing the baby cheetahs or baby lions.

One way that the game drives were different is that spotting the animals in the Masai Mara is a little easier because you can look for all of the other jeeps. If you see a bunch of jeeps gathered together go over there because there is something there. It was not that way at Lewa. Some of the things we saw at Masai Mara that we did not see at Lewa were big, huge crocs. These were unbelievably big crocs. We watched the crocs
feed on a dead buffalo that was floating in the river. That was awesome. I don't know if the crocs killed it or it drowned, but buffalos are big animals the crocs dwarfed the buffalo. Masai Mara also had hippos, leopards, baby lions and cheetahs.

One morning at the Masai Mara we watched some hyenas feasting on a wildebeests kill from the night before. Hyenas have powerful jaws. We could hear them breaking the rib bones as they were eating. We were that close and it was that quiet. Eventually about 30 vultures came over and tried to intimidate the hyenas into giving up the kill. That was real interesting to watch. I had seen that behavior on television, but to see it in person was incredible. We did not get to see a lot of migration. The timing was not right. We also did not see a river crossing. That would have been great. We did visit a Masai village. That was not that good. The smell was overpowering.

When we got back to Nairobi we went to the giraffe center. That was nice. We got to feed and touch the giraffes. The elephant orphanage was also great. All in all a very good trip.

Your website has some advice on binoculars. I bought some Nikon Monarch ATB 10X42. I paid about $300. Every time I passed them around to a guide to borrow they always said, "Wow, how clear and strong and light and wide field of vision." They were also good in low light situations. I bought them sight unseen off the internet and was really happy with them. They are about 20% the cost of the Leika's recommended on your website. This might be a good cheaper alternative to suggest to your clients.

Here is a list of the animals we saw
1. Lion and lion cubs
2. Cheetah and cheetah cubs
3. Hippopotamus
4. Giraffe
5. Cape buffalo
6. Hyena
7. Rhinoceros
8. Jackal
9. Kudu
10. Impala
11. Zebra
12. Warthog
13. Crocodile
14. Baboon
15. Waterbuck
16. Vulture
17. Eagle
18. The world’s largest flying bird (Kori Bustard).
19. Wildebeests

The Corbin family at Lewa Downs

Black Rhino at Lewa

Reticulated Giraffe at Lewa

Male lion at Lewa

Zebra at Lewa

Wildebeests in the Masai Mara

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda

Silverback Mountain Gorilla in Rwanda

Tree climbing lion in Kenya

Cheetah - Masai Mara

The Masai tribe in Kenya

Black Rhino

K. Selund on safari in Malawi

Safari in Malawi

Hello Nicky, I just wanted to write and tell you what a fabulous time we had in S.Africa. The trip definitely exceeded our expectations and most of the credit is due to your expert planning!  Both Ngala and Exeter River lodges were outstanding in their accommodations and service.  We were amazed at how many animals we saw and how close to them we were.

K. & B. Morrow on safari in South Africa

Leopard image by B. Morrow

Dear Nicky,

The Winters family at MalaMala

A. Winters and lion cubs

Hi Vanessa,

The trip was fantastic!  Everything was on schedule and the camps were amazing, both the amenities and the wildlife!  Each camp had its own highlights:

Mala Mala - Lions and Leopards were the theme here.  We spent three separate occasions photographing the Styx lionesses and their seven cubs;  we even discovered them feeding on an old wildebeest carcass.  We also spent time with two female leopards.  The first we got to see with her cub, and we were able to spend 30 minutes with the cub as it rested out in the open on a log.  The other female tried to catch a duiker right in front of our vehicle, although she was unsuccessful.

Savuti - This camp turned out to be the total opposite of what was expected (which was just as fun!).  The channel is now flowing and was almost up to the camp when we were there.  So, we saw no large plains predators ( in fact we saw no cats at all here).   We had tons of fun though with elephants galore;  we even got to see a herd of up to 100 crossing the Savute Channel.  The highlight at this camp had to be the chance to see a wild dog pack hunt (even though they failed).  We also decided to take a walking tour, which turned out to be a great experience!

Little Vumbura - It was great fun living on an island!  I have to admit that it started slow with a day that included getting stuck in the mud.  We saw lions that day, but they had just eaten so that meant all they did was sleep.  Day 2 turned out to be much more exciting.  I had the chance to photograph a martial eagle with a francolin kill at close range!  In addition we saw hyena, and I had the chance to photograph some giraffes as the sun set behind them.  We also saw numerous wetland birds and had an enjoyable powerboat ride and mokoro trip.

Chitabe -  We didn't see any wild dogs, but this camp sure turned out to be the grand finale (that may be an understatement).  On our first afternoon we saw a male cheetah (the only big cat we hadn't seen yet).  Well he seemed very skittish, and we thought we had scared him into the brush.  But while we were watching a herd of elephants cross a plain at sunset,  he rushed out of the brush to make an attempt on a herd of Impala (missed though).  It was a quite a sight to see a cheetah hunting at speed (even though it was half speed according to our guide).

Day 2 started with an old lion kill.  We got there just in time to see the male leave the kill.  After he left, over a 100 vultures rushed in with a jackal and hyena to clean up the mess.  It was a blast watching the jackal try to run off the vultures!  That afternoon we saw a leopard make two attempts on impala though both failed early in the hunt.  Day 3 managed to get even better.  The guides found a "hungry" cheetah with 3 almost full-grown cubs.  We spent the morning watching them hunt, which included a duiker chase that went right by the vehicle.   On our way to an outdoor lunch, we spotted another leopard (and saw another failed attempt on some Impala)!   That afternoon we decided to track cheetahs as they hunted.  We were lucky to see two more failed attempts on Impalas, before the mother left the cubs behind and went all out.  We didn't see much of the chase, as it was in thick brush, but we were first on the scene (by about 20 minutes) as she finished the kill and the cubs began feeding.  To top it off, we saw a honey badger on our last morning!

The trip was more than we expected.  It truly was amazing!

Sindelar family at the Victoria Falls

Zebras and wildebeests in dust

Leopard pose

Lion cub

Being a zebra

Cheetahs

Lovely leopard

Giraffe silhouette

The rarely photographed Sitatunga antelope

African wild dog having a drink

Martial eagle with a kill

Lion in tall grass

Loving kiss from mum

Images courtesy of RJ Sindelar

Hi Pam,

I just wanted to let you know that we had a great trip to Botswana and Zambia. We were very happy with all of our lodging and the logistics went smoothly. Thanks so much for all that you did to ensure that we had a good journey.

The Chongwe House was really spectacular--I'm glad you found that one for us! Kwando Lagoon gave us a rare opportunity to visit an African Wild Dog den--we got to see all of the pack members and even some 3-week old puppies! We had leopard sightings at three different locations--Vumbura, Chongwe and Robin's Camp. Jack's Camp was very special and our guide there, Cyrus, was outstanding.

We've really enjoyed working with you and will contact you when we plan our next trip to Africa, hopefully within the next couple of years.

J. Hogan, California - July 2008

The Johnson's on their safari

Johnson safari at MalaMala

R. & K. Breen on safari in Botswana

Mombo Leopard

Mokoro safari at Xigera Camp

Elephants at DumaTau Camp

The Hope family on safari in Botswana

Hi Nicky,

We are home from our trip and I just wanted to let you know we loved every minute!   Thanks so much for all your help in planning our vacation.   Everything worked out so well - things went so smoothly.   It was so nice to have all the "behind the scenes details" taken care of.   The people at Wilderness Safaris and all their drivers, pilots, etc. were so nice.

Our accomodations were great.   Loved the Welgelegen - what a nice bunch of people who work there.   If it hadn't been so far away from evening activities, we would have probably stayed there the whole time.   The safari camps were great - two different type of experiences, but we enjoyed them both.   Garonga had a more secluded feel, but didn't have as much of a variety of animals.   Simbambili had loads of animals, but they and the near by camps also had loads of people.   Both were wonderful accomodations and the people were so nice.   The Portswood in Cape Town was a great location - loads going on nearby.   The people there were also very nice.   Hmmm......did I mention that everyone was so nice?!

We were able to see and do a lot in Cape Town......took a trip to the Cape Pennisula, a city tour, a wine country tour and a trip to Robben Island.   Jim hiked to the top of Table Mountain.   I took a pass on that, but took the double decker bus tour instead that went to the outskirts of town and I was able to tour a township near Hout Bay.   It was so interesting........a bit depressing, but you could see that the people are working hard to make life better for themselves and their children.   

Thanks, too, for the beautiful "Big 5" book that you sent to us.   It was in our mail when we got home.    The photos are spectacular.   Please feel free to use us as a reference if anyone should ask.   I'd be more than happy to tell them about how helpful you were.

If and when we ever go back to Africa (we'd love to take our kids someday), I will definitely be calling you.

Thanks again
S. Vroman, Illinois - March 2008

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