Feedback from previous clients

We love getting feedback from our clients and when trying to find a tour to suit your needs we really believe that this is one of the most important things to take into account, with that in mind take a look at what some of our previous clients have got so say about us and their trip to help give you a better idea on who Package Tours really is. Also check out our Team page to "meet the team" and see the faces behind PackageTours.co.za.

Kruger Private Game Lodge 4 day safari
The trip was really enjoyable.

We enjoyed the Thornhill lodge a lot and found it exactly what we expected an African safari to be.

We say all of the animals we wanted to, and the private reserve and Kruger were both very good.

Thank you for organising this for us so efficiently.

Ian Carney, Melbourne , 12 Feb 2010

Cape to Addo 7 day Safari

Thank you for your email. All in all, we enjoyed both our tours very much and had a great time. Let us give some details below. '

Cape to Addo' tour.

Positive things: - Nice, knowledgeable guide with a good sense of humour. - Safe and comfortable way of transportation. - We liked our accommodations, but this may be due to the fact that we paid for an upgrade so that we had our own room. - Beautiful places, nice landscape. - We met friendly people. We had a mixed group: there were people from many different countries.

Negative things: - The optional activities played a central role in the tour. They were not really optional as we expected them to be since the other option was in most cases to sit in the car and wait. It would be good to have other alternatives. In any case, people should be prepared to spend a lot of extra money on optional activities.

Finally we would like to thank you for providing us with all the necessary information and patiently answering all our questions regarding these tours.

Best wishes, Nives and Andras - Amsterdam - 12 April 09

Best of Namibia 12 day safari

Thank you for your email. All in all, we enjoyed both our tours very much and had a great time. Let us give some details below.

'Best of Namibia' tour.

Positive things: - Nice, helpful guides, who told many interesting and funny stories. - Good food. - Good tents - you can stand up in them. The mosquito nets were in perfect shape. - Wonderful places. The most beautiful were Fish River Canyon and the sand dunes. - We saw many animals in Etosha. Together with Addo, we saw (and photographed) all five members of the big 5 (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard in Etosha, elephant and buffalo in Addo).

Negative things: - There were too many people from the same country in the group (in our case from Germany) so those who did not speak their language felt a bit outside. - There was no proper front window in our truck so we did not see the road in front of us. - The visit to the Himba tribe felt a bit too commercial. - Our tour was together with the 'Cape to Vic Falls' tour, so we had to listen to how nice things would be in Botswana and at Victoria Falls almost every day. The point is that like this the part of the group that only does the 'Best of Namibia' tour does not get the same attention as the group that goes "all the way". - This is not really a negative thing, but we found the 'Best of Namibia' tour quite exhausting, so one should be prepared for that.

Finally we would like to thank you for providing us with all the necessary information and patiently answering all our questions regarding these tours.

Best wishes, Nives and Andras - Amsterdam - 19 April

Tropical Chill 12 days

Im ok thanks - have just been recovering from a great trip! Mozambique was an amazing place to visit and the trip was organised really well. We had great food and visited lots of nice places.
Blue Chilli is a great company to go on a trip with as it was obvious that the trip was well organised and everything was planned well. The guide was very imformative and it was obvious that he knew his stuff! The accommodation and meals were really nice, with some days camping and other days in other accommodation. the meals were a variety of home cooked and also restaurant food some evenings.
The highlight of the trip was the dhow trip to the island - a tropical paradise!!! We went on the dhow boat to the island and then went snorkelling. the dhow staff then cooked us a lovely lunch of fish and rice and salad and then in the afternoon we were able to either go snorkelling again or go and explore the island. it was a very relaxing day.

Vicky Pickering , Surrey, UK - 15 Apr 09

Chilled Kruger Bedded Safari 3 days

We had a great time on the Chilled Kruger Bedded 3-day Safari and we are pleased to share our experiences.

The safari was all that we had hoped for and much more. We thought that the drive out to Kruger was spectacular and it was terrific to be able to see so much of the country between Joberg and the Park. Our Guide, Dejon, was punctual and welcoming. (At all times during the tour our guides/drivers were punctual and reliable). The views and landforms at the Three Rondawels, Blyde River Canyon, God's Window and the Bourke's

Luck Potholes were so fantastic.

During our time in Kruger, we were lucky enough to see all of the "Big 5" in one day, as well as lots of other wildlife on all the drives. On the morning/day drives we saw many large and small animals and birds. Dejon, who was also a bird enthusiast, was very knowledgeable about all the animals and birds which we saw, as well as being skilful about locating them for us! His commentary was succinct, but he was very willing to expand and give more info if we were interested and asked questions. We enjoyed his sense of humour. On the night drive with the Kruger guide, we had a fantastic time-

spotting many animals, including a young male elephant on the road, which trumpeted at us and did a mock charge at fairly close range, a family of warthogs settling for the night, and also a leopard. We were thrilled when Thomas, the Guide, stopped the truck and authentically imitated a leopard call, in an attempt to lure the animal back out of the bush. The real leopard responded to his calls from the nearby bush (but didn't show his face again to us, unfortunately!).

The people on our drive were very enthusiastic spotlight wielders and managed to spot several special animals, including an African wild cat, bush babies and a mongoose.

We were pleasantly surprised by the comfortable and unique accommodation at Timbavati. The staff were very helpful and friendly. The meals were plentiful and delicious and the atmosphere very tranquil and relaxed (in spite of the nearby roar of lions during the night). It was pretty amazing to be served hot cross buns for breakfast on Good Friday in the middle of the African wilderness!

It is hard to select a highlight, but seeing the "Big 5" would have to be up there! We also took advantage of the optional morning sunrise walk in Kruger accompanied by two armed guides. As we were the only people booked on the walk, we had a wonderful "private" tour with Gordon and Thomas, who were so interesting and made it a great experience, pointing out all the different tracks, animal resting spots and small things such as plants and insects,etc. They also unexpectedly provided drinks and snacks for us half way through the walk. We were lucky enough to get quite close to a herd of curious giraffes. We were relieved that the guides didn't have cause to use their rifles, however! The morning walk was a special highlight for us.

We only had time to do the three-day safari because we flew home the next day and I know that you initially recommended that we do the four-day trip, which would have been great, but we feel that we were able to get a real flavour of the area and the park and its wildlife, even in the short time we did have. We were so lucky to see so much wildlife, as apparently not everyone gets to see so many animals on the various drives. We also enjoyed the pleasant company of the young travellers from different countries, on our various drives and at our meals. Michelle especially enjoyed being able to chat with travelers of a similar age to herself, but even though we were the "oldies" (at

50) on the trip, we weren't made to feel old at all!!

We would recommend that travellers do the morning walk (despite the very early start from Timbavati). You don't have to be super fit, and it does give you a different perspective than the view from the safari truck.

Warm regards from

Sally, David and Michelle Carratt , Aberglasslyn , Australia , 8 Apr 09

Taste of Namibia 6 days

The Taste of Namibia Safari was great! In Etosha we saw all the big five but the elephants. The Dunes were amazing It was a really long fun day! Everyone who went seemed to really enjoy the Dunes the best. The food was out of this world. I was expecting to eat ordinary food, but every night we had a different delicious dish. The tour guides were very nice and great to talk to, they definitely looked after us to make sure we were all enjoying our time. The camps we stayed at, especially in Etosha, were great! They were clean, nice, and accommodating!

Sarah Crisp, - Maryland USA - 4 Apr 09

Taste of Namibia 6 days

Everything about the trip was amazing. I had a great time in Etosha and the dunes were amazing. The staff took very good care of us and overall I would give wild dog safaris great reviews. I am so glad I did this trip and would recommend it to anyone who wanted a taste of Namibia. Thank you again for all of your help.

Siraad Dirshe – Massachusetts, USA - 4 Apr 09

Cape to Addo 7 days

Hi Tina,

Overall I LOVED Cape to Addo and have answered your more specific questions below. Thanks for your help with booking me on this great trip.

>Did you enjoy the Cape to Addo safari?

YES!

>What was the highlight of your safari?

The highlight of the trip for me were the beaches - in particular Cape Agulhas and the beach in Wilderness were breathtakingly beautiful and deliciously warm to swim in.

>How was the game drive in Addo Elephant National Park?

This was great - our guide was really knowledgeable about the animals and the park and had a great aptitude for spotting them. I did a safari in Kruger last year and I think in terms of parks, Kruger will always be superior... but for those on the tour who had never been to a game park before - they said it was their favorite part of the trip.

>Was your guide knowledgeable and helpful?

YES! He was skillful each and every day to help keep the group together (especially since we ranged widely in age and activity interest) and overall was a warm and fun person to be around.

>Did you find the food and accommodation satisfactory?

On the whole, absolutely yes. I had stayed in backpackers before and the ones Cape to Addo selects were all superior in terms of cleanliness, location, and services (with the only exception in Port Elizabeth, but I wrote them about that since it was really the only establishment I wouldn't return). The food was GREAT on the trip (a definite highlight: ostrich steaks in Ooudtshorn and personalized woodfired pizzas in Wilderness).

>Do you have any recommendations for other travellers planning to do this safari?

I definitely recommend the trip for people traveling alone (we were all solo travelers) but who are willing to get along with a group and be flexible and punctual. I also recommend travelers have extra time after this trip ends to return to their favorite places! I wish I had a few more days to go back to Wilderness...

-------------------

Martha Althea Webber - Illinois, USA - 15 Mar 09

Vic Falls & Chobe 7 day safari

Dear Tina

I refer to the trip taken by myself and my brother, Mr Maurice Pead, to Victoria Falls and Chobe from the 2-8 March 2009. The tour was very enjoyable. However, I regret having to report that we were very disappointed with some of the meals that were included as part of the package tour. Breakfasts in particular were extremely poor and sparse and apart from the first two days there was no cooked food provided; merely coffee/tea and cornflakes with milk. Also on day 6, breakfast, lunch and dinner should have been provided as per the itinerary you sent to me. Breakfast was only coffee/tea and no lunch was provided. We informed the tour guide and showed him the itinerary. He promised to provide a breakfast on the last day in lieu of the lunch that we did not get. Despite repeated requests no meal was forthcoming. We mentioned these points in the completed questionnaire/evaluation which we asked to complete at the end of the tour.

I shall be grateful if you would kindly look into this matter and let me have your comments as soon as possible with the view to a partial refund being given to compensate us.

Best regards

Jean Knight - Westdene, Jo’burg - 2 March 09

Budget Kruger Park 4 day safari

Tina, Please could you pass this e-mail on to any other relevant parties.
We wish to express our profound disappointment with the Kruger Safari we went on from 2nd to 5th March. We have listed our grievances below:

• The first evening there was an optional game drive which we elected to do. The itinerary quotes R160 to R200. It cost R270.

• Day 2 quotes that it is an early start. We could not start early as there was an optional morning walk so as we weren't going to get an early start at all (one of the best times to see lots of animals) we paid for the optional walk. We did not intend to do this activity as one is included on the tour (see day 4 comment) but as we were not going to get an early morning start we decided we ought to in case we missed out. Again quoted price R185 to R230. Actual cost R270.

• The itinerary changed so day 3 traditional cultural village was actually on day 4. The tour leader told us the village was not part of our tour and it would cost us R150 each to do it. As we had already paid for 2 optional activities above the quoted prices, we could not afford to go. So we remained behind in our lodge while the others went. We are devastated that this was actually included.

• In the same place (Timbavati) we were supposed to have an evening game drive included. Again we were told the rest of the group had it included but we did not. We couldn't afford to go at another R270pp. We missed out on the best wildlife viewing of the tour so far according to the others and their pictures.

• Day 4 states we go on an early morning game walk. We did go on a walk but it was actually a nature walk not a game walk and was not in Kruger and was not even in another park, it was on the grounds of the lodge. It was lucky we paid to do the extra one at the beginning of the tour, but it should not have been necessary.

• We chose this tour mainly due to the itinerary. Every optional activity was already part of the tour - or so it seemed. In reality it was not and had we not paid any extra money we would have seen very little wildlife at all for R3650pp.

• After all the above disappointments we also discovered that several members of the group which had "everything included" paid considerably less that we did for the tour. We paid R3650 pp and we were told prices R3250 and R3100 from the other members.

We look forward to a prompt response and hope that the above is dealt with accordingly.
Nicola Presland and Steven Henson - Suffolk, UK - 2 March 09

Kruger Private Game Lodge Panorama 5 Days

Sorry, I really regret that I have not contact you sooner – I have wanted to write to you on a few occasions but have been rushed at home and at work.

Please have patience and I will revert back to you and let you have a nice write up. Just quickly – we had the most fantastic time and loved every minute of it – wish I was back there again this very minute!

Catch up with you later.

Regards

Bernice Himmler - Monchaltorf, Switzerland - 2 Feb 09

Hi Clive

Thanks for your email. Yes, we did manage very well and the people were really fantastic. The bungalows were good although our suite did not have any cupboards and after we complained, a wooden dresser was moved into our room. We apparently had the bridal suite, so you really did give us the best that they had! We have super photos and super memories of our visit. I just am in love with the bush – it has become my passion.

The safaris were super and we saw a lot of animals on the private game drives, but in the Kruger Park, where we could not leave the beaten track, we did not see all that many animals. I suppose also because there was so much rain, that the animals did not gather at the waterholes. The outing in the park was the whole day and at the end of the day, we were quite exhausted from the drive.

The way to Thornhill – this was a bit of a jumpy ride, as the dirt roads were in extremely bad condition. Thornhill is actually in the Guernsey Game Park, which is quite a distance to drive from the tar road and when you went on the drives, it was also a bumpy ride to just get out of the Guernsey Game area.

The Lodge itself is nice and cosy with the swimming pool, but really nothing else. There are no shops are anything else except the thatched rooms, so I do not know how it would be for small children, although most of the time you are on the go anyway. I would surmise that they would like something where there is more people and more action, like Skukuza. The group of people who were coming and going in the five days we were there, were more couples than families.

The food was very good – nothing extravagant or luxurious, but delicious home cooking done by the black ladies but no qualified cook if you know what I mean.

For the price, it was a really nice safari and I can recommend it further to people who have not yet been there. I personally will try another private game park, the next time I visit the Eastern Transvaal, as there are so many to explore!

Catch up with you another time. Go well – shala gashle

Best regards

Bernice Himmler – Monchaltorf, Switzerland - 2 Feb 09

Okavango, Chobe & Vic Falls 12 day safari

Thanks for the mail. The trip was absolutely amazing, the food was

delicious and our guide David was extremely friendly, knowledgeable,

patient and flexible. He had a real passion for his job and the

wildlife and I would highly recommend the tour to people in the future.

The only criticism I have is for the accommodation in Zimbabwe as the

campsite is across the road from the local night club and there was

quite a lot of noise coming from there until 3am! It was central and we

were in walking distance of the falls but I would recommend staying

elsewhere as it seemed a poor conclusion to what was a very well

organised and incredibly good value for money holiday.

Thanks

Jessica Howarth - London, UK - 4 Mar 09

Cape to Addo 7 days

The tour was wonderful we enjoyed ourselves immensely. The guide was great, she was knowledgeable and very kind. The places where we slept were nice except the one in PE, that is Lungile place. There were bad bugs and the place was generally not clean especially the baths were blocking. Otherwise we enjoyed the tour.

One thing I enjoyed was that I nearly conquered my fear of heights, I went across that bridge where bungee jumping is done.

Thanks Clive for the beautiful tour

Nomsa Sibanda – Johannesburg, South Africa - 14 Dec 08

Cape to Okavango to Vic Falls 20 Days accommodated

Apologies for the late response. We have been doing more travelling through Europe, but are now back n New Zealand. For good.

In short, the trip was great. We had an excellent time and met some great people who we will definitely stay in touch with. In terms of comments, we were overall very happy with everything.

The only points we would make are that we were taken by surprise by the fuel surcharge charged by Nomad at the beginning, but definitely do not see this as a major.

Another good point if you are recommending City Lodge is that the airport shuttle is 44 rand per person (there or thereabouts) and a taxi is 80 ran flat fee (so cheaper). Also, it is normally necessary to order in take-away food at the City Lodge. None of this was an issue for us, but we though we would pass it on for your info.

The Nomad Tour was excellent and suited us perfectly. However, there were a few ignoant complainers on the trip who were expecting it to be a holiday. It is rather an adventure holiday. his suited us perfectly, but there were some people on it who were expecting a catered 5 star holiday, it seemed. So may be worth letting those with such a romatic idea in mind that is not the case.

All in all, we were very impressed with your level of service and professionalism and thoroughly enjoyed our trip. I will certainly recommend your company to others heading Africa way.

All the best and feel free to let us know if you want any clarification on anything.

All the best

Scott Hawkins & Nadja Gianetta – New Zealand - 26 Nov 08

Chilled Kruger Bedded 4 day safari

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my Kruger safari experience. We saw an
amazing number of animals. Before breakfast on the first day, we had seen
four of the "big five". We saw fewer animals on the night drive, but still
enough to keep it interesting. The highlight of the night drive was seeing
the hyena.
Our guide, Pasta, was wonderful. He had such enthusiasm and it was
important to him that we see as many animals as possible. One morning, when
another guide had driven us to the park from our lodge, Pasta made a special
effort to collect us and drive us to a spot where he had seen a cheetah. He
was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed his sense of humour.
The meals and accommodation were very good. There was a very pleasant
atmosphere around the pool/bar/eating area and our room was clean,
comfortable and nicely decorated.
Generally, we were very pleased with the entire tour and appreciated hearing
from you prior to our trip. We were also pleased that you were able to
provide transportation for us from Johannesburg to Kruger as that was a
concern for us.
Recommendations? I'd say, "Be sure your camera batteries are charged up and
have a good zoom lens because you'll see many animals."
For me, the elephants were always a highlight. And our guide always seemed
to know where to go to find animals. It was amazing how he could spot lions
in the grass.
I'd recommend Livingstone Tours to anyone wanting to see Kruger Park for a
reasonable cost.
Thanks again for your personal interest in our well being.
Bonnie Curran – Calgary – Canada - 9 Dec 08

Chilled Kruger Bedded 4 day safari

I just returned from S. Africa yesterday (Jan 01) I did a 10 day cycling trip from the 20th to 31st along the Garden/Wineland route.

It was about +32 my last day in Capetown and I arrived back to Calgary, to temperatures of - 37C, an a foot of snow on the ground. Just about 70C difference. Wow what a shock! However I dressed in many layers and went out for an hour run.

The Kruger trip seems a long time ago, since I've done so much since. However thank you for organising this trip for us. I was impressed with your diligence in organising everything for us.

All went extremely well. We were picked up at a nearby Backpackers. The guide was about a half hour late picking us up, apparently due to heavy traffic.

The trip there was wonderful - God's Window, Blyde Canyon and the Rondavelds.

We were amazed at the number of animals we saw on our first day. We saw 4 of the Big Five before noon. We never did see a leopard, but did see 2 cheetahs. We didn't see quite as many animals the second day, but had some good sightings of lionesses and 2 lions.

I also really enjoyed the night drive. The highlight was seeing a spotted hyena.

Our guide, Pasta was extremely knowlegeable, and we were amazed how he was able to spot animals, especially the well hidden lions. He had a sense of humor, and made the day interesting.

The accomodation and the lod\ge was very comfortable, and the meals at the lodge were good and nicely presented. The breakfasts and lunches made at campsites were good with plenty of food.

The highlight of the safari for me was seeing so many animals in their natural surroundings, I particularly enjoyed the herds of elepahants, and seeing so many animals with their young.

I would encourage travellers to spend at least 2 full days in the park, and to include a night drive. Also if you don't like camping, the Bedded 4 day safari is really worth the few extra dollars.

Thanks again Tina for organising this trip for us.

Jan Phillips – Calgary – Canada - 9 Dec 08

Namibia Explorer 10 days

Clive and Tina,I went on a 10 day overland tour with you all late last year through Namibia. You all did such a great job matching my budget (low-mid range) with my interests (cultural and national attractions) that I figured I'd see if you had any recommendations for the Serengeti or seeing the apes in Rwanda. I'm in Dar right now and seriously considering both....more so the gorillas. If this is your jurisdiction or you know of a reliable place to start looking your input would be greatly appreciated. I hope life and the Stellenbosch weather is treating you kindly. Sincerely, Eddie Heier. Metairie, Louisiana , USA 1 Nov 08

Kruger Private Game Lodge 4 days

Well we just gett back too Sweden and reed your mail. We loved the crew and
stay at the Thornhill Lodge. My worry before the stay was abuot the
children, but they just loved it and hade a greet time there. We hade á
privet Krügerday whit one of the best guides there was, we missed the
Leopard byt saw the rest of the big5 sewrle times. The late gamedrive was
allso good and the gamewalk the kid´s just loved it. We will rekommend the
lodge and your firm to all of our friends and partners. I hope that you have
a nice crismas and if we going back to ZA we will contact you agien.
All the best
Peter Karlsson and famili

Sweden 21 Nov 2008

Okavango Delta 7 days

the okavango trip was beautiful!
one of the hardest parts was the travelling going there.
2 full days was rather heavy, but the arriving at the start of the
delta on the 3rd day was a reward. the silence (except for the
airoplanes over the delta) and the peacefulness in the delta are
amazing. walking in the traces of wildlife is unbelievable. although we
didn't see plenty of wildlife, it was amazing for me. we saw single
elephants every day, zebra, wildebeast, wartog, hippo, birds!,
our guide in the delta was timba, a local, very comitted, young (23)
and ambitious. a talented guy with social groupskills and an sence of
humour but serious about nature and wildlife. he spoke about getting
his drivers licence and become a gamedriver. i think he'll be succesful
in his job.
our tourguide david was an excellent cook, friendly, funny and correct
but i think he missed a bit of social spirit to be called the perfect
guide.
coming back from okavango, we also went on a flight to overlook the
delta. it is absolutely stunning! (so i accept the noise of the
airoplanes above the delta)
the day after, we only drove for about 3 hours to elephant sands and
were speechless about this amazing lodge. the evening drive to the
waterhole with lots of elephants was splendid.
the last day we drove in 1 go (>10 hours) to jo'burg, wich was tiring
but much better than 2 medium days of driving.
another great aspect of the trip is the fetching and dropping of at the
place where you stay in jo'burg. absolutely top!

i am very pleased about the trips a booked through package tours.
next visit i'll keep in touch!
kind regards,
ilse minnebach
Antwerp 20 Nov 2008

 

Cape to Addo 7 days

We are just back from yor wonderful and amazing country (we arrived home
yesterday night).
Tour was amzing, we'll write you details as soon as possible (back to work
and office is a bit hectic).
In the meantime thank you very much for your help and possibly hug and
thanks our brilliant tour guide!
Caterina Tosello

Luxembourg 17 Nov 2008

Cape to Addo 7 days

Hi Clive
Our tour with Cape to Addo was a brilliant success - everything was organised perfectly and timed perfectly by our guide Maudie! he made it a brilliant success! All the accomodation was impeccable as we had asked for uipgrades during our stay! My highlight has to be riding the elephant at addo or zipluining over the waterfalls at Tsitsikamma!
Our guide spotted 3 of the big 5 in Addo and got us to see all the other animals!
Thanks so much for your assistance in organising this trip for us!
Darina Mc Garry
Luxembourg 17 Nov 2008

Cape to Addo 7 days

Hi there and thanks for asking me to participate in your feedback survey. I will try to answer as best as I can.
Yes we did see whales in Hermanus and also along the route into town. Not many but they were there.
Beer was very good and a good rest stop.
Cape Agulhas was amazing and well worth the time there, we loved the idea of being at the most southern tip of Africa.
The stop at Ronnies Sex shop is probably one to miss.
The swim at Warmwaterburg springs is a real treat and we thoroughly enjoyed this break.
Didn't stop at an Ostrich Farm.
The guide at Cango was very informative and should not be missed.
Didn't do the Bungee jump, one of our party did the bridge walk.
Did the zipline and it was a highlight, really fun, lots to see and the guides were very good.
No surfing in Jeffreys Bay, just awesome fish and chips from Trawlers.
Game drive in Addo was THE highlight of the trip, Nicole is an amazing guide and spent lots of time explaining things to us.
Didn't stop in Plett, Elephant Sanctuary was a thrill for us, as for ocean cruise, sea kayaking or tandem skydiving these were not offered to us.
The best highlight was the visit to Stormsriver Primary school where we gave presents to all the children and made a donation to the school. Can you get me a contact name and address so that I can continue to support this school? The ultimate highlight was Addo.
Accomodation and food was excellent and we would definitely highly recommend this trip to everyone, in fact we have done so already.
Our trip was made so special by the wonderful Nicole, our guide, she is a fun, patient person and has an amazing love of her country and is more than willing to share all her considerable knowledge. Without her it would not have been the same, we had the most amazing experience of our lives and we thank you so very much.

Charles & Barb Paris
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada 11 Nov 2008

Chilled Kruger Camping Safari 4 days + Mozambique 8 days – accommodated

Thank you for your interest and your effort for quality management.
Actually we returned yesterday early in the morning - we had travelled to morthern Mozambique (workshops for our school project in a very poor village school, Pemba, Ibo island, Gulugo Lodge... a very intense, fantastic trip). And this morning I woke up and still thought I was in Africa. But today I had to step back into busy school life as a
teacher... quite hard.
Yes, we did enjoy both safaris and trips. We saw a lot of animals in the Kruger, liked the group members very much and camping the the park .We enjoyed it really! The programme was very good and according to yours you had sent (except the visit of the tribe before the KNP - it was replaced by a lodge).
Blue Chilli was a very good experience. We liked the place in Bilene a lot (we saw giant turtles from cliffs, got a boat trip that was not in the programme), then we found Tofo very interesting. However, we didn't stay at Bamboozy Lodge, we stayed in a private holiday house that Wayne had organised as he said the Bamboozy Lodge had become bad
(things had been stolen as he said). Actually it was almost a private tour because there was only my husband. We had a fantastic cook and guide from Simbabwe and had a lot of fun. We saw whales from the beach, enjoyed the market and got in contact with local people thanks to the guide. The only thing negative was one and a half day bad, rainy weather... but you can't plan this, right. We also enjoyed the lively discussions with Wayne - all in all a very good expericence.

Thanks again for your organisation.
All the best and greetings from a golden autumn day
Kathrin & Wolfgang
Grossaffoltern, Switzerland 20 Oct 2008

Okavango Expedition North 7 days

Had a wonderful time on the tour, the flight was one of the highlights and saw plenty of wildlife in the Delta and especially at Chobe, almost saw everything, even lions.

Did a full day of WW rafting and that was a blast, getting nailed was never so much fun….ha!!

I really rate a day on the Zambezi, it is one mighty river.

Certainly was a great tour and highly recommend it. Thanks.

Cheers,

Andrew Boydell
Perthville, Australia 16 Oct 2008

Okavango, Vic falls & Chobe 12d Safari

Thank you for your e-mail. It is with pleasure I answer your questions. I hope that I am not too late but I really didn't have time earlier. Here my answers:
1. The trip was very interesting and endyojable. I could see a lot of animals, the beautiful scenery, many sunsets it was fantastic.
2. The accomodation was okay. The infrastructure of the campings was good. After the Safari I was a little bit fed up with putting up and down tents but you get used to it. And I have learnt how to put them up and down in the best way.
3. The group was not the best. There was an old couple with us. They were very friendly, helped a lot by cooking and so one but they were also very complicated and everything musted to be and go on as they wanted. I would have appreciated it if there would have been more young people like me.
4. The guide was helpful and knowlegable. He explained well and was hepful by puttig up and down the tents. Sometimes he could have explained a little bit more regarding the country and its culture.
5. The meals were satisfactory and sometims even delicious.
6. The game viewing was great. I saw a lot of interesting things and I got impressed by the beautiful nature.
7. The safari was value for money.
8. Yes sure, i would recommend the Safari to everyone else.
9. Advices: Take good binoculars with you, take it easy and enjoy your holiday.

I would like to come back to South Africa once.

Kind regards from Switzerland
Nathalie Kuhn
Ems 16 Sep 2008

Kruger Private Game Lodge 4 days

Was your trip interesting and enjoyable?
The trip was amazing. Our expectations were very high, and the trip both met and surpassed our expectations by far.
Did you find the accommodation satisfactory?
The accommodation was very nice, large comfy bed with mosquito nets. The bathroom was large and had many different lotions to use for mosquito repellant. The staff would go into the room in the morning and make the bed and tidy the room etc, and then at night (when on night drives) they would return and pull down the mosquito nets and close the windows.
Did you have an interesting group to travel with?
We travelled on our own on the day safari in Kruger which was very nice as we had the whole vehicle to ourselves and could ask the guide to stop whenever we saw something we wanted to photograph. There were larger groups on the night big-5 drives, but this was acceptable.
Was the guide helpful and knowledgeable?
The guide was very knowledgeable about all the animals and answered all of our questions fully.
Where the meals satisfactory, taking into consideration the limited resources available?
Meals were excellent, and it was good to be able to try some authentic African cuisine. I especially enjoyed the Bomba one night where we all sat around and ate from the Braii.
How was the game viewing? Did you see plenty of wildlife?
The game viewing was out of this world. We did not expect to see half of the animals that we did. Each day we came back and tried to remember and write down everything that we saw whilst out in the vehicle. We struggled! We saw the Big 5 easily and took many many pictures.

Was the safari value for money?
The safari was excellent value for money.
On our 3rd day there was nothing planned for the day until the night big5 game drive so we payed extra and went to visit a windlife sanctuary which was well worth it.
Would you recommend this trip to anyone else?
I would definately recommend this safari to anyone who has never been on safari before, and also for others who have. I would definately book this safari is i was travelling to South Africa again in the future.

Kimberley Martin

Cumbria , UK 11 Sep 2008

Chilled CT & Winelands Tour

Hi Tina! Sorry to take so long to respond. I just got back to the USA last night.

I found the trip to be very enjoyable and interesting. I liked the variety of the planned activities -- from township tours to whale watching and wine tasting. It was really a great selection of things to do and see.

The accommodations were fine -- I especially liked the backpackers in Hermanus, which felt very comfortable and like home.

I think the tour was good value for the money, since I didn't have to plan anything myself, really, and got to do a lot of fun activities. It was nice not having to worry about where to go or stay and what to do every day. But I also liked the flexibility of having days where I didn't have anything planned.

I would take this trip again, definitely, but I would recommend it in conjunction with the Garden Route tour. If I'd had more time, I would have loved to do that one, too. Also, it might be good if you could suggest a few things to do in each location, other than what's planned. Like climbing Table Mountain, visiting Robbin Island, etc.

Thanks again for a wonderful experience! Let me know if you have any other questions for me or if there is anything else I can do.
Lauren Cook – 16 Aug 08

Chilled Kruger Bedded 4days + Cape to Addo 7days

Just wanted to say that everything worked out perfectly (the only hiccup being that I thought the Backpacker Bus would be waiting for us and paid for at CT to Ashanti but it wasn't - I had to call it, wait an hour and pay 280 Rand). So thanks. The first week in Kruger was really special, our guide very human, our accomodation top quality. The second week doing the Cape to Addo tour even better (though hard to believe). Keith was very professional, flexible and always available the tour well- planned and accomodation always above expectations.
So really, good job! With this I will definetely be planning other groups to SA and you will be the one I'll contact.
Best regards,
Tara Acheson

Perugia , Italy 20 March 2008

Cape Town to Cape Town 5 days

Thank you for a great Garden route tour 11-15 December!

It was great! It even exceeded my expectations!

Our guide and driver Adrienne made a good job and the participants in the group were really nice people and went on well together. Age differences didn’t matter at all.

I can highly recommend the tour to other people.

My time in Stellenbosch was unfortunately so filled with other activities so I didn’t have time to visit you Clive at your travel agency in Market Street.

With best wishes

Per Pettersson
Karlstad, Sweden 4 Jan 2007

Cape to Vic Falls camping 20 days

Everything on our overland trip was over our expectations ! All the people on the truck were great, we had so much fun togheter. The sceneries and experiences were amazing, we can’t specify a highlight, they were all good.

Henrik & Johanna
Sweden