2012

Archive for the ‘ 2012 ’ Category

b summitt USA

Julian,
Sorry I have been out of touch….certainly not always easy from Africa. No
wi-fi on the train.

We had an absolutely wonderful trip. All worked seemlessly so there were
no problems.

We were very pleased with the Sankara hotel (FYI only…know you did not
book) A lovely modern plushy hotel in the city. Not sure about the
area but the hotel could not have been more helpful or straight-forward.
You know they kept our luggage while we were in the Masai Mara camp
and that worked fine.

Naibor camp was just everything wonderful that we could have wanted.
Great, great staff….great game drives with great guide….the current
camp director is a young man who will be here this year….his name is
Ivan and he had a young intern named Troy working there at the time.
As is their custom we had dinner together every night. They were lots
of fun and very helpful. There was only one other family in the camp
and they chose to eat as a family. Really they did not leave a stone unturned
to be meet any need we had and they have a wonderful, beautiful place to
do it in. We were very pleased…thank you for reccommending Nairbor.

Oyster Bay Hotel was very lovely and quite the paradise after leading the
camp life. We were sorry we had only one night in Dar but it was a good night.

Our Rovos rail trip was extrodinary as well. Again….anything you wanted was
included except for the events at Vic. Fall…If you left your cabin on the train the
hostess was in tidying…..all the time. Amazing and we never saw her. We had
a travel writer from East Anglican named Peter and he is going to do a 3-4 part
series on the train trip.

Perhaps we can do business again….thanks….
Barbara Summitt

C + D Summers 2012

Dear Julian,

We have had an amazing holiday in Tanzania – thanks so much for all the planning that you put into it.

We were so disappointed to have such a short time at Onsea House, especially when you had gone to all the trouble of fixing the honeymoon suite and we were particularly miffed to miss the meal as we didn’t arrive until after midnight.

Alex Walker’s camp was exactly what we wanted. You were right, we felt really involved with the actual bush – especially when we were out walking with the Massai and Hadza guides who were with us; they did tracking and dug up roots for us to eat and taught us about the plants. The honey guide also came with us and opened up his ‘hanging log’ hive to find us some honey. We loved it all, so interesting. It was also great to have our own truck, driver and guide when we went out; we saw masses of animals and absolutely masses of birds. All in all a great mix, especially as there was only one other couple there, so camp life was tremendous fun.

As for Faru Faru, I’m really glad that we did fly in the end – thanks so much for re-fixing it at short notice. We had seen huge herds of wildebeest and the rain enroute ensured that the driving that we did do to the airstrip was mainly sideways – so a longer journey could have been difficult. Anyway, we didn’t want to miss a moment of Faru Faru, it totally lived up to your description 5*******! The lodge was amazing, the food was absolutely superb, even better than the top vineyard meals that we had had in South Africa. Also Aloyce was totally on our wave length, even more enthusiastic than me! We had a fantastic time discussing every bird and animal; my bird list was pages long, he really made a huge effort. Lunch at Sasakwa was quite an experience; they showed us round the whole lodge after lunch including the cottages. It was all quite amazing but, you judged it correctly, totally over the top for us to stay there.

So well done Julian – you have done it again, we had a really wonderful time – thanks so much!

With love, Diz

Hyland, March 2012, USA

Dear Ted,
I want to let you know what a great trip I had to Selous and Zanzibar. I’ve posted my photos to Facebook and have already given several friends your contact information. So if you get more American diplomats coming your way, especially from tough places like Afghanistan and Sudan, you know it is probably one of my friends!

All the arrangements were perfect and pick-ups happened on time without any problems. Everyone was extremely nice and professional. In comparing notes with others who have gone to Zanzibar, I know Ras Nungwi was really the best place for me and my friends. We had a terrific time, and the food was very good. The sun is strong. Lots of protection recommended.

The safari experience was fabulous. Selous Safari Camp took very good care of me and as a person who doesn’t particularly like solo travelling, I can’t imagine a better solo experience. (they didn’t let me get lonely). Possibly, I did not see all the animals you might see in other places, but the pace (slower) and density of humans (much lower) were wonderful. We weren’t falling over other jeeps and people and often had the lions all to ourselves. Having the options of going on the lake/river and even a walking safari (after days sitting in a jeep or boat) was really special, and I enjoyed it all. Thanks again for putting it all together. I hope you’ll be getting some requests for the “trip Colleen had.”

Hyland, March 2012, USA

Ellingsen Family, 2012, Norway

Hi Ted,

We are all well back into the snow from a fantastic holiday in Africa. Thank you very much for a well-organized arrangement! The logistics went very well and the transfers were on time and almost without any problems. Upon arrival in Kilimanjaro we were met by a nice woman who took us through the pass port control and the customs and out to the cars. Coastal Air went on-time and seemed to be a very good company. Only at the transfer from the domestic airport to the international airport in Dar-es Salam we had some problems: there was no transfer. But we had the pilot from Coastal Air to call and after 30 min a car came and took us to the airport.

The safari with Alex Walker was a fantastic experience! Everyone felt “at home” in the camp and established a good and close contact with Alex, Billy and the guides. We saw all animals, but the leopard, and had some memorable days driving in the open cars and twice on walking safaris. On Christmas eve we had a walking safari up to a big rock and while being served drinks and some food we enjoyed the sun set before leaving for the camp and dinner!

Everyone agreed on that the feeling of being away from the crowd was one very important part of the wilderness feeling in the camp – very different from what we experienced when we had a day in the Ngorongoro crater. The tent made us feel that we were on a real safari; the service was good, the food delicious and the guiding excellent! Everyone was really sad when we had to leave after 4 unforgettable nights with loads of impressions. The week at Ras Nungwi was very different, relaxing at a nice resort with a low pace, fabulous kitchen and nice staff giving us some good days in the sun to digest all the impressions from the safari.

You will definitely see us back in Africa!

Ellingsen Family, 2012, Norway

J Cole, 2012

Hello Ted and other Tanzania Agents…

My friend, Susan J and I went to Africa this past October.

I believe Susan got a email from you folks when she returned however I did not and I understand as the booking was all under Jakubiz.

However I did want to send my comments.

I had the most amazing trip. Susan and I have done quite a bit of travelling over the last 6 years and I can tell you that you folks never missed a beat on this adventure. The communications between you and the people in Africa went so smooth. It amazed me that here we were standing out in the wild with elephants on the grass and all of a sudden a plane would come in. Pilot would get out and call our names. Great services….. actually excellent service

The Palacina was a wonderful entrance to the beginning of this magical adventure. The service was beyond words. We purchased some larger items while we were there. Brought them back to Palacina with us and they stored them for us. When we returned from Stone Town, one of their employees was at the airport with these items so we could check them home. That is service.

Little Governors – what can I say. I loved it there. Service was excellent and I loved the hot water bottles in my bed at night. So many animals and our guides were amazing. We so enjoyed the balloon ride and have excellent pictures.

Serian Camp – a very difference place. And I enjoyed it. It certainly was out in the wild. Our guides were excellent and we got to see a crossing and animals.

Plantation Lodge – would have liked to have stayed there for at least another day.

Oliver’s Camp – another great place and service food was excellent.

Stone Town – needed more time there. Susan got sick so we really didn’t get to see very much but I purchased great jewellery so I was happy.

I can’t say enough about this trip. Thank you so much for such great service.

I want to go back tomorrow however will have to wait a couple of years and then I want my husband to come along. For sure want to stay at the Palacina and Little Governors. I will be in touch when we are ready to start looking at dates.

Again thank you.

J Cole 2012