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Hi Cuan

We are back safe, sound and exhausted.
We had an amazing time and were impressed with how accommodating the animals were for us. In Kenya the leopard was the only animal we had not seen and pretty much everything else was pretty up close and personal. We came across a mating pair of lions that we sat and watched for about 20 minutes before the female became as curious about us and came right up to our vehicle to check us out as well.  Wasn't long before the male decided to join her to see what the fuss was all about! Made for some excellent photos.
The next day we had a huge bull elephant that took exception to the vehicle behind us and warned it off. The poor driver had to reverse a very long way before the elephant was happy and left him alone.
 
Our first night in the Serengeti after a very very long drive Courtney and I were sitting outside having dinner when out of nowhere a leopard was sitting not 6 feet away from us watching us intently. After a few minutes he began drinking from a puddle and stayed for a few minutes before disappearing as quickly and quietly as he came. As you can imagine this caused great excitement for everyone. Even the staff dropped everything to come and watch. The only problem was although we had front row seats not one person had thought to bring a camera to dinner.
 
Never mind, we made up for it the next morning on our game drive. The first animal we saw was a leopard chilling in a tree. A different one from the night before as it was much smaller but still we got our photos!!!!
 
I could go on like this for days but I think you get the idea. We had a great time. The only drawback was the amount of driving each day. I put it down to part of the experience.
 
Thank you, Cuan, for arranging such a wonderful holiday for us.
 
Debbie & Courtney.

Hi Diederik;

All up had a fantastic trip.  The Safari was fantastic.  Saw all of the big 5.  Timing was also excellent with the tail end of the migration and four days chilling at The Z Hotel was a great way to finish it off.

The only couple of things that could have improved it were:

1. The Mount Meru Game Lodge was simply not up to standard of the rest of the hotels.  The reallocation from the Arusha Sarena Hotel was a significant step backwards and I would strongly recommend against this happening in the future.

2. The Rangers safari vehicles should be limited to 6 guests.   Many of the other safari companies had vehicles with an opening roof over the front seats however the Rangers vehicles didn't.   This meant that the person in the front passenger seat had limited visibility to one side of the vehicle and couldn't stand up and take photos.  Consequently there was some juggling to avoid being in this seat

3.  The advice on tips in the information sheet was a bit steep.  Likewise the encouragement to tip for everything.  Having paid fairly decent prices for the accommodation it was annoying to be expected to tip for everything.  The recommended tips in the fact sheet could be reduced and greater focus put on discretionary tipping for good service rather than every time you did anything.

Having said that.  We had an excellent time and would recommend African Ubuuntu and the trip to friends.  Z-hotel was a highlight although I did upgrade to a sea view room.

Regards

Ken

Diederik: We had a great time in Tanzania! Our guide, Suleman (I'm sure I've screwed up the spelling) was great, spotting all manner of things that we'd never have seen otherwise. I'm sure much of it is because, after doing a Safari a few hundred times, you get to know where the animals are. The only thing I spotted on my own was a dead zebra in a dried up river. He didn't believe it, backed up to make sure. Yep, I can spot dead zebras. Good to have a specialty I guess.

Starting out with Ngorongoro Crater is an interesting choice. Not sure whether it's best saved for the finale or best to have it up front for its shock value. Pretty amazing place. I do wonder if maybe an earlier start to the game drive would be better though, from a lighting standpoint. Very dramatic place.

It's a rather long drive from Ngorongoro to the Serengeti, but Suleman made it worthwhile, spotting things to see along the way. One thing about the long driving... it's very, very dusty at this time of year. Nothing we didn't expect so it didn't bother us much, but for some, those long drives might be a bit much. The one other person on our trip, a woman from Switzerland, didn't hold up so well, pretty constantly complaining that it was too hot, that she was "melting" even. It became a bit of a joke after a while.

The Serengeti grows on you, a bit slowly. At first it's just big with not much appearing to be going on, but that's an illusion. It's an amazing place, especially when you begin to understand the migration. At one point we found ourselves in the middle of a field of zebras. Zebras as far as the eye could see. Other times it was Wildebeests.

One funny thing was seeing our first small group of elephants, don't recall where, and we asked Suleman if we were going to stop and watch. He said no, this was just a few and we'd see lots of them the next day. My first thought was this - if I saw a hundred dollar bill on the ground, and somebody told me not to bother picking it up because there'd be many more tomorrow... (but there were, in fact, many more the next day).

Lake Manyara was by far the low point, no question. Just didn't have much going for it, maybe because we visited during a dust storm, but it just didn't have the sweeping grandeur that was the norm for everywhere else. We saw a few interesting birds, but I think most of your customers would have a better time if you spent an additional day at Tarangire.

Accommodations were nice but the food was a bit repetitive. Think I had a string of 13 consecutive meals with curry. I don't mind a bit now and then, but not constantly.

The first night's lodging, if expensive, is probably not worth the cost. Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice place, really wonderful people serving the meals, but something a bit more basic would be fine as there's not that much going on there, it's just a place to spend the night before going on Safari.

I'm slowly getting through my photos, you can see a really good leopard shot here- http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/2014/11/03/some-days-just-leave-you-hanging/ and a bunch from the crater here= http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/2014/11/02/just-some-pretty-pictures-from-tanzania-for-now/.

Thank goodness Suleman had a bean bag for my camera! I'd neglected to bring one. I would recommend that anyone really wanting to get pictures to "bring back" should, unfortunately, have a lens between 400-600mm long. It's a lot to handle but you're just not going to get the shots without it. And that's on a smaller-sensor (APS-C) DSLR. For a full-frame, it would have to be 20-30% longer. Yikes.

What other stuff do you want to know about?

Mike Jacoubowsky

Dear Cuan,

Yes, wonderful memories!  Can’t really pin-point a favourite bit as each of the 4 areas we visited were equally spectacular for different reasons.  Allie took around 4000 photos and I took 540 as backup!  We’re going to produce a photo-book.

And we will be putting reviews full of praise on Trip Advisor over the coming weeks.  I have already extolled the virtues of Ubuntu to friends considering similar holidays.

Gamewatchers were outstanding!  Every transfer was perfect.  The staff were always there waiting for us and were without exception warm, friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and appropriate.  We LOVED the Porini camps (Amboseli & Mara)!  As you said – one visit won’t be enough!  The Guides/drivers were absolutely wonderful!  David, who looked after us for 3 days (Nairobi to Amboseli; Nairobi to Nakuru) was particularly special.  I think he was a little shocked to find himself on a tour of Nakuru Memorial Hospital Maternity Ward rather than game parks but he handled it brilliantly, smoothing the way with the Nurse in charge, so that I could see where I was born (surreal experience).

I think being on the Masai Conservancies is a great privilege and makes a huge difference to the safari experience generally, not to mention the amount of highly visible animal life.

You were also right about the Masai not really understanding the concept of “vegetarian,” let alone Vegan.  Actually, everyone had difficulty, most particularly Emirates airlines!

Charlotte did suffer a bit and I would suggest to the Porini camps that this is really easy to get round.  All that’s needed is a big bowl of noodles/rice/mixed veg/legumes/nuts + bread made  “damper” style with just flour and water, which everyone can enjoy,  and it would be sorted. The first meal at Porini Amboseli, the chef produced a delicious frittata but of course that includes egg, which Charlotte doesn’t eat.  After that they kind of gave up/didn’t mention it so she ate whatever vegies/salad were served and bread, which was fine for a week.

Unfortunately, at Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge, where she had plenty of choice for our lunch there, we think she picked up mild food poisoning as she had the classic violent vomiting/diarrhoea sesh for 12 hours, followed by mild recurrent episodes for another 24 hours!!  She missed 2 evenings/dinners in all, managing a 12 hour safari in-between, albeit in some discomfort.  She had chosen different food to the rest of us at Sarova.  Can happen anywhere anytime.  I guess it’s just a case of feeding back so that no-one gets complacent with food safety. 

Sunbird Lodge was beautiful!  Dagmar(?), the owner was there and very helpful/concerned when Charlotte became unwell, which was comforting.  I was huffing and puffing climbing the steps from our cabins to the lodge and was thinking how unfit I must be when I remembered it’s c. 6000 feet up so I’m guessing would cause a bit of an effect?  Good food, good service. 

Hemingways, Malindi is stunning but we felt everyone was just a tad “down,” possibly due to the low numbers during September.  They did say that October was going to be busy and they had a big group booked in just after us.  There were probably 20 people at breakfast and dinner each day.  We figured the resort could do with a little refurbing (i.e. rusty doors/locks) but that they are waiting for another cash injection.  It is an amazing place, especially given it’s 20 years + old.  We really hope Kenya generally can resurrect the tourist industry quickly.  I think it’s the people from UK that are most noticeably missing?

The food was good at Hemingways, possibly a little less consistent than equivalent resorts in Oz.  The staff were a little wary until they got to know us.  A very different feeling/cultural atmosphere compared to the highlands and Masai camps. We did notice things like all the rubbish from the terraces being swept out onto the beach (for the tide to collect) and we picked up quite a lot of fishing line off the reef at low tide.  It just reminded us how far Australia has come although we can’t rest on our laurels, as they say, as we have no excuse not to be doing things perfectly.

To sum up, if you asked me for just a couple of aspects that blew me away, it would be the number of animals – they were everywhere – it was like being in a giant paddock AND they posed for photos! The knowledge/education of the guides/drivers, some of whom quoted Latin names for plants, and their ability to straddle western style technology whilst living a traditional lifestyle, i.e. the camp guides/drivers could use all brands of camera and mobile phones and the elder/guide who is also chief of the Amboseli Conservance Masai village!   

Wow!  When are we going again?!

Thanks Cuan!  You got it absolutely perfectly right!

Our African Ubuntu Safaris itinerary commenced at Victoria Falls airport. After immigration, we were met promptly by our guide, Steven. Unfortunately we then had a 25 minute wait in the airport entrance door while he located other guests, which led to him informing us that we might not be able to do our planned walking tour of the falls that afternoon. However, after we told him we were prepared to just drop our bags at the hotel and would quickly be ready to go and also arranged to book a helicopter flight the next day through him, he made sure our walk went ahead. We arrived at the Victoria Falls Hotel mid-afternoon and immediately headed out for our tour of the magnificent falls. The rate of water flow was very good for the time of year and it proved sensible to only take one fully waterproof camera (with a dive housing!), as we got completely soaked - but that was all part of the fun. We then had a short tour of the area before returning to the hotel for a shower and cocktail on the terrace prior to departing for the pre-booked dinner at the Boma Restaurant. We returned, after a very good meal which included many local delicacies, with hands aching from light-hearted participation in the drumming. We soon fell asleep under our mosquito net listening to the sound of the falls.

The Victoria Falls Hotel is beautiful and has probably the best location of all properties close to the falls with a fantastic view straight to the bridge, which we also enjoyed from our room. The staff were very friendly and extremely helpful. The hotel is unique and a bit like a museum with numerous pictures around the walls showing off its history. The gardens and surroundings are well maintained and we enjoyed roaming, looking at the beautiful heritage buildings and architecture. There were many warthogs roaming around the lawns of the hotel which was a nice introduction to African wild life! We even got up before dawn to see the sun rise from behind the cloud of mist rising from the falls, an experience to be highly recommended.

The following morning we went out for our helicopter trip (not included in the itinerary) and would highly recommend the longer 35 minute version, because you see so much more - the falls, the gorges with white-water rafters in them, villages and wildlife from an aerial perspective. It wasn’t cheap, but should not be missed! A word of caution to others – the tour company claim they normally take credit cards, but that the systems are not working, which really means “cash is king.” The guide helpfully got the driver to take us to the appropriate ATM so we could supplement our US dollars to cover the cost of the flights and leave us with adequate cash in our pockets!

We had a few hours to recover from our jet-lag before a wonderful sunset cruise on the magnificent Zambezi River. Our only disappointment was that it was not a dinner cruise, because we didn’t want to leave! We opted for a delightful meal on the hotel terrace where the staff were very helpful and service was good.

The following morning, we checked out and were driven to the border and transferred to our next vehicle. After meeting the driver, we were taken through the Botswana immigration post and then a short drive on to the town of Kasane and Chobe Marina Lodge .This is located on the banks of the Chobe River. It is very much resort-style accommodation. On arrival we were told our room would not be ready for an hour, so we had a chance to visit the bar and to sit watching the birds and passing boats from the riverfront deck. It turned out our room was a two-level cottage-style unit almost as far from reception as you could get, which meant no noise and excellent privacy. The room was very well appointed and of a good standard with a small deck overlooking the Chobe River and across to the Caprivi Strip. We booked our first 3 activities but were told we could not book the fourth as our departure pick-up time was not known.

We had our first activity after lunch – a river cruise that departed from the hotel’s own pontoon. We were amazed at the huge variety of wildlife we saw, including elephants crossing the river. The cruise concluded just as the sun set.

A lovely pool with bar offered more chances to relax. It is worth mentioning for others that they have a large number of day-trips passing through this hotel and many are accommodated for lunch in the main restaurant, which can get crowded and busy. The free Wi-Fi was only available near reception and the pool area and was very heavily in demand, so almost unusable.

Both evenings we opted to book for the more formal upstairs restaurant. The menu and wines available were quite limited but the food was of a good standard. On the whole the hotel staff are friendly and accommodating, but seem to struggle a bit when things got busy.

The game drives through the close-by Chobe National Park at dawn and towards dusk followed well-worn and at times very rough tracks but allowed us to see a lot of game and other animals such as striped mongooses and baboons. The guides were informative and really took care of us, with the highlights being a leopard and three cheetah brothers tucking into their impala dinner just a few metres away from us. A third game drive was possible on our last morning, though we had to check-out before the excursion and return a little earlier than some other visitors due to timing. There was a small logistics problem which meant we had to chase up our airport transfer and only just made the flight, but everything still went according to plan!

We flew from Kasane on two connecting light aircraft flights into the Okavango Delta and arrived at Banoka Bush Camp where we spent three nights and had a wonderful time.

The camp is set in a beautiful area alongside a water hole near the Khwai River. The staff were really friendly and helpful right from the moment we were met at the airstrip until we were waved off there at the end of our stay. The camp has a very relaxed atmosphere and there was an excellent mix of couples and families. The ‘tents’ are amazing – on a raised wooden platform, with double ensuite basins, shower with all the amenities and even a flushing loo! The solar heated shower was always hot. Being remote there was no mobile signal, internet or TV – bliss!

The food was excellent and plentiful. Breakfasts around the boma fire in the mornings before the game drive got us off to a good start. Then there was morning tea, brunch, high tea and even sundowner drinks during the evening game drives. The evening meal had everyone staying at the camp seated together. It was full of laughter, kicked off by the staff introducing one another and informing us about the menu. The bar was always open and inclusive.

A nice touch was the "bush babies" (hot water bottles) we received to keep ourselves warm during the early morning game drives and when retiring to our tent at the end of the evening. It can be very cold overnight in August. On the Land Rover we also had ponchos to keep the warmth inside against the wind-chill on the early starts. It did warm up a lot, so a “layers’ philosophy for clothing works well.

There was plenty of game around this stunningly beautiful area. We saw lions on two days, as well as a leopard and spotted hyena with pups at her den, hippos, zebra, giraffe, impala and even a sugar badger and a monitor lizard. There were elephants everywhere, at times they passed right by our tent. The staff take safety very seriously and escort the guests around the camp during darkness hours.

Our guide, TK, was professional and fun, with excellent tracking skills and a wealth of knowledge of the African bush. He enjoyed taking us “off-road”, breaking through bush as he tracked the lions and leopard. We enjoyed the relaxation of the mokoro ride on one of the tributary channels of the Khwai River on our final afternoon when we got to see even more of the huge variety of birdlife. TK ensured that we used every minute available, to the extent that we barely had time to say goodbye on the last morning, as we had to leave for our light aircraft flight to Maun.

We flew to Johannesburg after our itinerary ended. We stayed for a night and took in a day of sight-seeing before leaving Africa. It goes without saying that this was a huge contrast to the safari, and an experience we would suggest others try.

The whole trip was well organised, our thanks to Cuan for making our experience a special one. Gerald (Cuan’s dad) even met us in Johannesburg airport when we arrived from Sydney and took a suitcase we needed for later travels into safe keeping while we were on our booked itinerary – exceptional, friendly and very personal assistance. We are looking forward to booking another trip to Africa with African Ubuntu Safaris. In the meantime have a few thousand photos to remind us of our adventures!

Please note all photos below are copyright: Jane and Alan Pitcher

Thank you Cuan,

What an awesome trip! We caught the migration and even saw a couple of spectacular crossings.  We were just about at the stage of "Oh look there's another lion."
We saw leopards lolling in trees, heard and saw lions and cheetahs munching on kills and were kept awake at night by the sounds of hippos, hyenas and wilderbeest!
The trip you organised suited us perfectly.  We loved the combination of the tented accommodation and the lodges.  Our private guide, Henry, was fantastic, as were the guides and spotters in the Amboseli Porini & Porini Lion Camps.
I especially loved the "full on" approach of the Porini camps where you were busy from sun up until bed time.  One day we had a siesta scheduled and when I told the guide I didn't like siestas he immediately offered another drive to watch the lions.  Those camps are definitely out to please!
Throughout the trip we were met and escorted without a hitch - which I imagine is extremely difficult with "African time."
The only slight hiccup we had was when we couldn't change money at the Boma Hotel.  They wouldn't take Aussie $. Luckily we had enough US $ to last the journey. Perhaps a rundown of how and where to get money changed and a guide to tipping would be helpful to future travellers.  As I'm sure you're aware, we Aussies aren't great at knowing who, how, when and how much to tip.  (We begged ignorance and asked some Yanks to advise.)
Thanks so much for your expertise in designing our fantastic holiday.
Very appreciatively,
Nancy

Hi Cuan

Well we've been back 3 weeks and are rapidly settling back into the "real world!"  We just wanted to say thank you for our well organised trip to Kenya and Zanzibar.  All the arranged pick-ups and transfers happened without any problems, greatly appreciated when travelling in a foreign country.  

I have travelled many times to eastern and southern Africa but for my travel buddy Bernie this was a first.  Our first 3 free days in Nairobi we stayed at the Sarova Stanley Hotel and were well looked after by the staff.  We visited the Elephant Orphanage, Karen Blixen Museum and Giraffe Sanctuary which was a gentle start for Bernie into what we were to see.  

An area I was very keen to visit was Samburu north of Nairobi, I was not disappointed. On our first game drive we saw large numbers of gerenuk gazelle, elephant, hippo and oryx with a lion waiting to pounce! and many species of birds.  We also saw Grevys zebra and Ethiopian blue legged ostrich which are specific to this area.  Our accommodation at the Sarova Shaba Game Camp was very comfortable with very friendly and helpful staff.

Lake Nakuru was wonderful with some close encounters with a mother and baby rhino, giraffe and a near miss at seeing a leopard.  Disappointingly we only saw flamingos in the far distance due to the changes in the lake level and water quality.  So different to my previous visit in 1999 but still just as exciting.

Our tented stay at Sarova Mara Game Camp was extremely comfortable with great staff, and the game drives left nothing out.  Our early morning hot air balloon flight was fabulous and really gave a good idea of the extent of the park and the amount of game living there, not to mention the millions of wildebeest there due to the annual migration!! and the brekkie in the 'middle of nowhere' was very welcome.

Amboseli Porini Camp is an eco lodge and is extremely well run by the local Masai, they really looked after us even providing hot water bottles at night and a wake up cup of tea. Their excellent skills at sighting and knowledge of the animals was great.  And the sundowner G&Ts while watching a group of elephant drink at a waterhole was an enjoyable way to end the day.  The only down side is that it is a long drive to the National Park.

We finished our trip with 3 nights in Zanzibar at the Tembo House Hotel, our first night we had a very noisy room but was quickly fixed the next day with an upgrade to a room with a lovely balcony and ocean views.  We did a day trip which included a visit to the Colobus Monkey Forest and a visit to Prison Island. Our last day was spent just wandering around Stone Town and doing some last minute shopping... the street hawkers are bit annoying but if you ignore them they do go away!

I would also like to thank Mohammad our Pollman driver/guide for his safe driving, knowledge and great personality which made it a very enjoyable trip for us. And not to forget Bernie has become an Africa enthusiast, knows all the animals names and with a bit of encouragement I'm sure she would go again.

Thanks again Cuan

Jenny

Hi Cuan,

Many thanks for your message. I had planned to get in touch on our return, but you beat me to it! 

We had an absolutely amazing time on our trip. Thank you so much for all your organization and choice of places to visit. Each place was terrific in its own right, and in total they all added up to a wonderful kaleidoscope of experiences, accommodations and environments. The variation in types of accommodation and activities available was just right – and you successfully planned enough places for walking safaris, boat trips etc that Gillian’s urge for exercise was met!

Everywhere we experienced amazing things, but a few highlights were:

-          A rhino passing in front of our car in Ngongorogoro
-          Experiencing close at hand a bush-fire emergency at Ubuntu (the Asilia lot had done good preparation with firebreaks etc, unlike the nearby
           &Beyond camp that lost 4 tents)
-          Walking through what a fellow traveller called “Jurrasic Park” on Rubondo Island, and a boat trip and, for Gillian, a kayak on Lake Victoria
-          A hilarious balloon ride over the northern Serengeti with Captain Mike from Alaska.
-          Seeing the migration and 2 river crossings at Sayari on our last day in Tanzania
-          A great helicopter ride over Vic Falls
-          Wonderful boat trips on the Chobe river, including a leopard sighting and amazing sunsets
-          Being less than 1m away from a female elephant on a game drive at Savuti
-          Taking a mokoro ride at Little Vumbura and seeing wild dog on our last safari day in Botswana
-          Wonderful guides and staff at all the camps, culminating in an amazing boma evening at Little Vumbura with all the staff singing and dancing.

There were many more wonderful things, and the whole trip was terrific.

And all the logistics worked like clockwork. We only had 2 glitches – one on arrival at Dar es Salaam airport where I had my phone stolen in the confusion of arrivals/immigration/bag collection. Dar is not a pleasant place to arrive in, and I would recommend arriving in Kilimanjaro if possible – things seem much more ordered there. The other small glitch was in Vic Falls where I had to pay for our dinner at the Boma – I later checked and confirmed that it was prepaid, but it was easier to pay than create a hassle at the time. Apart from these two things, everything went smoothly, and all the people doing pick-ups etc were great.

We still have the smell of Africa in our clothes and the singing from Little Vumbura in our ears! All in all it was a wonderful experience, and once again thanks for orchestrating a truly wonderful itinerary!  Let me know what I can do by way of recommending Ubuntu on the web or whatever – we’d happily help in any way we can.

All the best,

Richard 

PS: – the sequel to one of the crossings was this lion that jumped out about 10m away from our vehicle and grabbed a young wildebeest. It then let it go (our guide thought it was confused by the large numbers and decided it wanted a bigger one!).  In the end it went away empty-handed. Pretty amazing to witness close up though.

Photos below are from Richard

Hi Diederik

Here is some feedback for you:

- Service African Ubuntu Safaris offers: Excellent, particularly how you were able to semi-customise our trip, tying in two different tours (3 day Rwanda and Safari in Tanzania), and adding an extra day in Zanzibar.

- Quality of accommodation: Generally pretty high, the Mountain Gorilla View Lodge was lagging a little and the food was a bit average there but the accommodation in Tanzania was very good and the food was also of better quality. The Serena in Zanzibar was very nice however unfortunately there was a wedding there that evening/night so we couldn't use the pool and it was a bit noisy.

- Tour Guides: Excellent, particularly Hans from Ranger Safari's was very knowledgeable.

- Safari vehicle (in Tanzania): I was a bit surprised in the condition (best described as fair to average) and was expecting something in a little better condition although it sufficed for the purpose.

- Primate wildlife viewing experience: Excellent.

- The pre-packaged tour: i) It could have probable done with more time in Stone Town, we ended up doing a day tour to Prison Island and Stone Town so we ended up having a guided tour around for a few hours and I would say Stone Town is worth it. ii) After flying from Rwanda to Tanzania, we didn't really have anything to do for almost a day, the Safari didn't start until the next day and we found out that other people on the group only flew in that morning (who also booked through Ubuntu) - I'm not sure if that's something we could have done coming from Rwanda but seemed like a more effective use of time compared to what we did.

Overall though an excellent trip. Thanks for all of your assistance.

Regards

Tim

Hi Cuan

A short note to say thank you for arranging our African holiday, it was very enjoyable and very well organised.

Could you also pass on our thanks to your father, Gerald, for meeting us in Johannesburg and arranging the bags etc. it worked very well.

Pelo Camp was a delight, so peaceful, pristine waters and the staff were incredibly helpful and knowledgable.   We had some great sightings of 
Pel's fishing owl, African fish eagles and red lechwe.

Kwando Lebala was equally as good with more open savannah, lion, leopard and wild dogs.

We almost had a shortened stay in Victoria Falls as the plane was late getting in (about 5 hours) and then they wanted us to leave very early on the day of our departure to Hwange; however, we managed after a few telephone calls, to get a later flight to the camp. The Victoria Falls Hotel was well worth the stay, great location with all the colonial history still on display, very well run.

Hwange (Little Makalolo Camp) was very cold, staff were very good with the supply of blankets and hot water bottles, again you could not fault the staff and the attention to detail at the camps.  Unfortunately the last rhino was poached about two years ago.

Many thanks once again, we would certainly recommend, particularly your organisation of the trip.  We will probably be in touch the year after next and look to Namibia, Botswana and possibly Kruger to see the rhinos.

Best Regards

Maureen and Andrew

Photos below are from Andrew

Hi Cuan
 
Thanks for the followup.  Everything went very smoothly, we really enjoyed our trip, it's a pity we had to return!
 
Your dad was fantastic, really nice to have him help with our airport transfers himself. 
 
The shoebill was brilliant, we couldnt believe how fast we found one!
 
I myself really enjoyed the mobile camp safari (Letaka Tented Camp) in Bostwana.  I was so impressed with how everything was organised, how professional and diligent the staff were, the quality of the meals and general overall experience.    Even though you said we would be joining with a small group, it turned out to be just one other tourist.  This meant the safari pretty much felt like a private tour anyway! 
 
We felt the guides in Botswana and Uganda were fantastic, so knowledgable on wildlife and birds.   From memory the best guides were Wilson at the Nxai Pan Lodge, Shadrek from Letaka Safaris, and Robert from Africa Beyond Borders.   We appreciated both their intricate knowledge and also the amazing stories they had from their experiences with all types of wildlife.
 
I think Jess is going to share some more feedback with you when she gets the chance about our experience. 
 
Once we've sorted our photos (we have about 15,000 of them) I will email you some of our highlights.
 
Thank you once again for organising this unforgetable trip and look forward to dealing with you again when we next go to Africa, I think we are sure to return!
 
Regards
 
Joseph.

Hi Cuan

We had a fantastic holiday, the camps were great, especially loved Botswana.

The Victoria Falls Hotel, and The Zanzibar Serena Inn in Stone Town, fabulous hotels.

Our guides were very knowledgeable and great fun. We were blown away by the amount of animals we saw from leopards, lions (51), elephants, giraffes, zebras, the list goes on.

Sunset drinks in Botswana were a highlight on the banks of a hippo pool with about 150 hippos.  Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater - saw heaps of animals including a couple of rhinos and a pride of lions.

Marie, Chris, and Janet from Sydney also booked through Ubuntu as you would know. They were great travelling companions in Tanzania.

We enjoyed meeting Gerald and loved the book, it is a great reference book.  Thank you very much. I think the only animal or bird we didn't see was an Aardwolf and Bat-eared fox.

Thank you again Cuan for organising such a wonderful holiday for us.

Kindest Regards

Margaret and Colin

Hi Cuan

We had a wonderful holiday, thank you. I don't know how you managed to fix it but the sunshine in Cape Town made the trip up Table Mountain one of the real highlights for Alex and me!  We were most impressed with your arrangements for us throughout the trip, from the efficient transfers to the superb accommodation and the truly memorable safari experience.

We used the city bus tours in Cape Town as they were easily accessible from Camps Bay and were able to visit the Groot Constantia Vineyards as well as taking in the main sights of the city before we headed for Jo'burg. 

Your father was a delightful host, giving us a good introduction to the city.  Carol's media event seems to have been very productive while Alex and I braved the high speed train to join the city bus tour.  This proved to be an easy way to visit the Apartheid Museum while getting an impression of the city centre from the safety of the bus

We were a little more out of our comfort zone when we took a hotel tour to Soweto, finding the tipping expectations almost embarrassing.  We would have preferred to make a one- off donation to a community fund, tho we don't know what sort of arrangements the tour operators have with the locals. 

The Simbavati experience was an absolute delight from start to finish. We mostly had a guide and tracker to ourselves and it was obvious they felt our sightings were exceptional. Not only did the lions actually mate in front of us, a leopard was perched up a tree devouring its kill as hyenas hovered below for the scraps. Carol is editing a wee film which I am sure she will let you see. (I know she is excited at the thought of Ubuntu's forthcoming involvement in Uganda).

Coming back to CapeTown gave us a relaxed finish to our holiday in luxurious accommodation and the Waterfront area certainly lived up to its reputation as a fabulous entertainment location. Alex is a keen rugby fan so the Springbok Experience was an unexpected treat.

Bartering in the markets and being harassed by airport 'helpers' hoping for big tips added to the flavour for what was a terrific holiday and we can't thank you enough for setting it all up for us. We will certainly sing your praises to our friends and family when we tell them of our experiences.

Thanks again from us all,

Cheers

Jess

Dear Cuan,

First and only problem was we arrived from Zanzibar to Safari Park Hotel a day early at our own cost, and expected contact from the safari operator to tell us when we should be picked up on the day of departure, but this didn't happen. This despite the fact that when we checked into the hotel we told them that we were with a safari group and gave them the details.  So on our first day we got a late phone call from hotel reception asking if we were going on safari - the operators were looking for us and were about to leave.  Operator of safari said the hotel told them we were not even staying there, so it was all a bit confusing!  Anyway we left a couple of hours late, and went on our way.  The little mini-buses used in Kenya are really crummy on the rough roads (our driver got us bogged in sand trying to avoid the corrugations!!) even at slow speeds in the parks.  They're way too cramped and just not suited to the roads, even though most operators use various versions of them.  

However, our driver was a very good guide and found us exciting new sights each day, so that certainly offset the discomfort, as did our accommodation (except for Lake Nakuru which was very ordinary!).  Joshua our driver and guide was very helpful overall and good with information, looking up books to help, and finding animals in otherwise impossible-to-see locations.  We were thrilled from moment to moment by the experiences!

The balloon ride in the Masai Mara was fantastic.  

The one thing we found a bit disappointing was not realising that some of the accommodation was outside of the parks/reserves.  Particularly Amboseli, where instead of two game drives in a day it was better to do one long one with a picnic lunch.  Nothing particularly wrong with that, but more explicit information at the beginning would have been better.

The vehicle in Tanzania was much better suited to its task and again our guide, Mbeni, was very knowledgable and amazing at spotting things we would not have otherwise seen.  Generally the Tanzania parks are better managed and better regulated than those in Kenya, where guides and drivers seemed to go off road at will to get to sights, and also to crowd in around lions in particular.  In Tanzania all were very much better behaved and much more respectful of the parks and the animals.

The Masai village experience was appalling, just a rip-off with children obviously deliberately covered in dirt to gain touristic sympathies, although we really didn't mind supporting them with purchases and donations, so there was no real need for the deceptions!

However, we found that each park we visited offered something new - the huge herds of elephants in Amboseli were so impressive, as were the monkeys there, while the flamingos and white rhinos in Lake Nakuru were thrilling.  And we saw the black rhinos in Ngorongoro Crater, a special treat.  Across the trip we saw all the big five, on more than one occasion.  Great experience!!

One trap we fell into - 'new' dollars.  I obtained completely new US dollar notes ($100) from the bank in Saudi Arabia - all new, all consecutive numbers - only to have them rejected by traders (not the banks) because they were printed in 1996!!!!!

Basically the sights and sounds overwhelmed any passing discomforts, and we would not have missed out on this trip for anything.   

On a political note, we're glad the European colonists were thrown out of these countries with their amazing resources, very glad the slave trade ended, but a bit sad to see the continuing exploitation of both land and natural resources and the people, under obviously corrupt and neglectful governments.  The future for the reserves and the wildlife with continued poaching and encroachment is shaky it seems.

Thanks for all your help and your invitation to provide some feedback.

Lyndsay and Julia

Hi Cuan,

Arrived home only yesterday. I had 6 days in Sri Lanka on my way home.

It was a great trip. Everything was well taken care of. Both companies (Pollmans and Rangers) offered us very good service. I am glad I travelled with them and booked through you.

Travellers don't realise the importance of booking with a local expert when they visit destinations like Africa. (I saw on the website that you were South African and your parents are running a branch office in Jo'burg. I thought that would be handy in case of an emergency - that is why I booked through you). There were people in the Kenyan group with messy itineraries prepared by major travel companies. Happy to share with you  - just for the sake of interest.

1. A lady from QLD did the Kenya tour with Pollmans and was heading to the Victoria Falls. She booked through an agent who advised her to get visas before departure which cost her a fortune. The funny thing was - she was told to get a visa to Tanzania. She wasn't an experienced traveller so she thought the Victoria Falls was in Tanzania. When I said it wasn't, she said she must be going through Tanzania and might need a transit visa - that is why they advised her to get one!   I knew she wasn't, but kept quiet.

2. The sad story is about an elderly British couple who were with us in Kenya and doing the same tour with Rangers in Tanzania. They booked through an agent in the UK who made this stupid itinerary for them.

On the last day of the Kenya tour the van dropped me (and another guy) at the border and we were taken over by Rangers. This couple who were in the van with us had to go back to Nairobi, stay overnight in a hotel and fly to Tanzania the next day. They had another night in Tanzania before starting the tour.  So, they were 2 days behind us in Tanzania, paid for extra 2 nights accommodation and worst of all - had to do the 3 hour journey on the bumpy roads from the Namanga border to Nairobi.

When they realised what their travel agent had done, they enquired from Pollmans if they could cross the border with us, but Pollmans were reluctant as everything was arranged the other way, flights booked and hotels paid for. I don't think they will ever book with that agent again.

I heard about the Nairobi hostage drama while in Sri Lanka and was counting my blessings. Luck was on my side considering the time I decided to travel. The airport fire happened 3 weeks before my arrival and the hostage drama 3 days after I left. 

Thanks a lot for arranging a wonderful trip for me. Happy to recommend your company to those planning to travel in Kenya and Tanzania.

Kind Regards.

Sriyani

Hi  Cuan,

Ron & I fully endorse the remarks John & Margaret made re our trip. Everything was just so well organised & saw lots of animals. I really loved  Letaka camp even though we roughed it a bit except for the food which was amazing and Nkosi is an amazing man. If  I had to find something to  change maybe a day less at Shinde & a day extra at Cape Town.  Thank you for the good seats going over as all of us had a spare seat between us. Coming back was a challenge but was a shorter flight. SA Airlines plane didn't have as much leg room I thought. Certainly will recommend your Ubuntu tours to anyone thinking of going to Africa. Your parents were so helpful and it was lovely spending time with them in Pretoria, they made it so easy when we arrived in Jo'burg having them there.            
With thanks
Ron &  Helen

Hi Cuan,

I enjoyed the trip and the follow on trip through Uganda with Kazinga tours. Some feedback below:-

The standard of accommodation was good, probably better than I expected.

The itinerary sounded good, but in fact we were all (seven of us) a bit disappointed with it.

We all took the balloon flight which was a highlight of the trip, and although the lodge in the Masai Mara was nice, it was a long way up a road which was more like a creek bed.

We all thought that a full day driving to Lake Nakuru in time for a short game drive was too much, considering that it was a full day back to Amboseli the next day.

The driver took us for about 2 hours through heavy Nairobi traffic going from Nakuru to Amboseli, and said it was to pick up lunch boxes. This meant we did not have time for any game drive that day. Did not make sense!

The next day at Amboseli, he only wanted to give us a morning drive, and only reluctantly included the afternoon drive when we said our schedule showed 2 drives.

As a result, he flew through the park on the last day and deposited us at the airport around midday, for a 5 hour wait to fly out.

Overall, I am not unhappy with the experience, but Pollmans could not be described as a caring company.

Regards,

John 

Hi Cuan,

I had an amazing tour of Tanzania & the Masai Mara.  The accommodation was superb and the game drives were fabulous.  The staff from both Ranger Safari and Pollmans were great. 

I was in a group of 7 in Tanzania with people from Germany, Ireland, Scotland & the USA.  We had a wide range of ages, and we all got on very well.  Our driver/guide, Steven, was an amazing spotter of animals.  The roads were an adventure in themselves!  Our driver expertly navigated his way along them.  It was so much fun on the game drives being able to stand up in the vehicle and look out with the wind blowing in your face.

We saw so many animals and birds.  It is great knowing the animals roam free, it adds to the excitement as you never know what might be under or in the next tree or around the next bend.  We were able to get so close to so many animals it was utterly mesmerising.

The ground staff at Wilson airport were fantastic.  My flight from Tanzania was delayed.  The staff at Wilson airport rushed a group of us through customs and sorted the bags from one aircraft to the next.  They were all so friendly and helpful.

Governor's Camp in the Masai Mara was great.  The game drives were wonderful.  The sunrises beautiful.

The full day tour in Nairobi was also good, in particular the Giraffe Centre.

I thoroughly recommend your company.  Your network of companies in Africa is great.  If I get an opportunity to travel to Africa again I will endeavour to travel in one of your tours.

Thanks for arranging an unforgettable holiday for me.

Regards,
Annette

Photos below were taken by Annette

Hi Cuan,

Max and I had a fantastic time! We saw everything we wanted to see plus much more - the big 5, including several leopards, and both black and white rhino. Everything seemed to have young including the cheetahs. From the balloon flight we watched the migrating herds massing and later that day crossing the Mara River. Our second week we concentrated on smaller game, serval, mongoose (5 species), snakes and those fantastic purple lizards with red heads - Africa has so much to see!  And the birds - flamingos, flocks of love birds, crested cranes and the wonderfully grotesque ground hornbills.

Plenty of excitement too, being charged by a bull elephant in musth (he hadn't been noticed in a large herd of females) and keeping a lookout for lions and buffalo while our guide changed a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere. I had a camera malfunction early in the tour but it didn't matter. Our guide said it was better to see Africa through your heart than though a camera lens and he was right.

The lodge accommodation and food were excellent, much better than we were expecting. Each location was very different, some quite spectacular, and each lodge had its own attractions.

We particularly appreciated having Gerald take care of us in Johannesburg and transfer us to and from the airport. This took away our dread of navigating around in a strange city and he made us feel very welcome.

We want to thank you for your help and advice before we left. We always felt we were well looked after and would very much recommend your company.

Warmest regards,

Margaret and Max 

PS:  We very much recommend the Boma Hotel in Nairobi - a wonderful place to stay after a very long, dusty last day.

Photos below are by Margaret and Max

Hi Cuan,

Thank you for organising a great trip, everything went well and I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to Africa.  Will recommend you to others.

Regards,
Catherine

Dear Cuan,

Yes we had an amazing time !!!

I was a little relucant to go but it exceeded all my expectations!

Kennedy our driver was just fantastic, and we were lucky having only 4 of us plus him in the van. We got on extremely well with the other couple 2 teachers from Qld. We had lots of laughs.

Arusha Coffee Lodge was lovely and a fantastic start to our holiday.

On the road the next /first day we saw an Elephant cross the bitumen road!! and there were 3 or 4 more in the bushes, this was very exciting.

Lake Manyara - we thoroughly enjoyed the lodge (Lake Manyara Serena Lodge) and pool, and our first sighting of animals in the wild.

I think Serengeti was the highlight as we saw so many different kinds of animals in those 2 days and I think that overshadowed the Ngorongoro Crater, although it in itself was amazing, we didn't see such a variety, although hundreds of Wildebeest, Zebra's and of course we saw the Flamingoes, thank goodness! and Birds, a few Elephants etc.

We did change rooms at Ngorongoro Sopa lodge as we were the last room at the bottom of the hill and I had difficulty walking up what with the altitude etc. We were lucky with the weather the first day sunny and lovely as that night and next day were misty cold and raining.

Also we changed rooms at Tarangire Sopa Lodge as also second last room up the hill and that with all the stairs to go up to dining room I was quite breathless!

Couldn't believe it finished so quickly.

I will let Annette (below) tell you about our "Cheetah incident" very exciting!

We had a lovely time at Zanzibar Serena Inn in Zanzibar, and thoroughly enjoyed our time there on halfday trips every day.

Thank you for your organizing of our trip, it all went smoothly (well, except the last day as our flight to Dar was cancelled). However our driver picked us up earlier and got us there in time to get an earlier flight from Zanzibar to Dar, and that gave us more time there too!

Regards
Jill

Hello Cuan

Thank you for the welcome home.  Although it is good to be back, it was a truly marvellous experience which topped my trip last year.  I have thoughts of returning even though I had decided beforehand it was my last tour overseas.  Africa has somehow captured my heart.  My son, daughter in law and granddaughter (aged 7) are now keen to see it too in spite of my not having had the chance to tell them about it in detail.  They were impressed.   The organisation of this tour was impressive as was your competence and your father’s.  It really had the personal touch as well.  It was quite a terrible start but the rest of the tour more than compensated for that experience.  I owe you my thanks for organising the apology I received from the Peermont Mondior Hotel.  They really excelled themselves for their incompetence in handling my booking.  The Airport Grand was unimpressive.

The Porini Camps (Amboseli Porini & Porini Rhino) were exceptional for their hospitality and efficiency – nothing was too much trouble for management and staff - catering and activities at the camp  (game drives, sundowners, walking safaris - unfortunately I could not fit in a night drive.)  Could not fault a thing.  Everyone was so friendly, it felt like a home away from home. They deserve the highest accolades.  My transport concerns were unwarranted.  It was handled like clockwork.  Gamewatchers Safaris are certainly an impressive operation – attention to detail is unsurpassed as far as I am concerned.  Next time I would like to extend my stay at each camp by a day at least so that I could relax and space out the activities.  Your choice of venues was excellent and more than covered my expectations. Actually I think travelling by myself made it more sociable as I was forced to seek others company.

Although I do not regret the road experience to Lake Elementaita etc, I would not tackle that again.  The roads were in such a dreadful condition, that the drives were a lot longer than expected.  It was good however to see the countryside from ground level once. I would prefer to travel by light aircraft in future.  I enjoyed staying at the Sunbird Lodge.  I would have liked a bit longer there so that I had time to enjoy the location.

The three hour tour of Johannesburg would not be repeated by me because we spent a long time held up in traffic although it did give me an overall view of the city.  Next time I would probably tour Soweto, as my driver recommended it and I have heard other reports about it.

Thank you very much for organising such a wonderful experience for me. Asante sana.

Kindest regards

Noela