Ras Nungwi

Posts Tagged ‘ Ras Nungwi

J and B Monaghan, 2011

Hi,

You asked a little while ago if we could re-submit our thoughts on the holiday arranged for us by your good selves last August. It was 1 year ago today when we started on our Tanzanian holiday:

First stop was Jongomero where we were greeted in song by all the camp staff.
‘Tent’, food, staff and game drives were all excellent.

First night there, woken to the sound of a lion roaring as he walked through the camp!! and waking up to see an elephant walking across the dry river bed 50 yards from our tent….What could be better?

Next we visited Selous Safari Camp- again everything was excellent.

Went on a walking safari and were charged by a herd of elephants (not really, there were only three!! but had increased to a herd by the time we told our story over dinner!!! )

We finished our African adventure in Zanzibar staying at Ras Nungwi. Again excellent accommodation, food and friendly attentive staff.

So thanks once again to you all

J and B Monaghan, London, 2011

D. Hyman, 2011

Hi Ed,

As discussed earlier today, thanks again for your help and recommendations in planning our honeymoon to Tanzania. A perfect combination of safari camp and resort / beach. Lake Manze was excellent, exceeded our expectations and included all the right elements as first time safari goers. Ras Nungwi was amazing too, such a great atmosphere and we certainly took advantage of the beach / pool / lounging that it offers. Great food too….

Thanks again, let us know if you would like other or more detailed feedback.

Cheers,

D. Hyman, London, 2011

B and T Rhyason, 2011

Edward,

We really wanted to thank you for your excellent knowledge and help in planning our trip. We were talking to a few different travel companies initially and you were definitely the most up front and informative person we dealt with. You responded very quickly and we definitely chose your company specifically because of how helpful you were. We wanted to recognize you for the great job.

Our first camp was Selous Safari Camp. We felt like royalty there. They looked after us very well and were very helpful and knowledgable. They sounded genuinely excited when you were going out on safari or just coming back with all your stories from the day. Our highlight at this camp was the boat tours which included a fishing excursion. It involved us catching 4 catfish while watching 26 giraffes lining up to cross a little creek, not to mention tons of hippos and crocodiles all during an amazing sunset. I think this may have been the highlight of our safari.

Also the walking safari was amazing in Selous. We really got to connect with nature and the walk ended at our fly camp. Fly camping was enjoyable, the accommodations were better than expected and it definitely wouldn’t be considered roughing it. We had a toilette and a shower inside our tent. The game viewing was exceptional at Selous and the only things we didn’t see where leopards and hyena. Jenny and Emiel were amazing hosts and had so many of their own stories to share. We would highly recommend this camp.

Our next stop was at Jongomero. The camp was beautiful and it was really neat watching the elephants and baboon cross the dry riverbed right in front of us while we were eating meals. Not to mention the few herds of elephants we could watch from our tent. A really neat experience there was getting to have dinner on the dry river bed under the stars at night. Our highlight at this camp was the walking tour with Molly. His knowledge of not only the wildlife but also the local politics as wells as the history of the game reserves and national parks was tremendous and made our stay very enjoyable. Molly and Noel always joined us for lunch everyday and made us feel really at home.

There was a definite difference in game viewing here. It was far more remote and you rarely saw another vehicle but with the bushy landscape it was harder to find game. There were a lot of elephants in this park so we got to have a few intimate experiences with them. If you do see wildlife in this park, you can stay and watch them for as long as you want because chances are nobody else will come along to join you. After talking to others that stayed in the same park but at the other end where there were multiple camps, our individual jeep viewing experience seemed really unique compared to their own experience.

The only recommendation we have is that if you had the chance to do both parks we would do Jongomero first as the game viewing is more sparse but intimate while Selous definitely seemed to be more exciting and varied with the combination of walking, driving and boat safaris.

Anybody who has an interest in crocodiles should definitely go to Selous and do the boat safari because the shear number of them was astounding and you could get up close enough to pretty much pet them, not that you would want to icon smile   B and T Rhyason, 2011

Zanzibar was very beautiful. Ras Nungwi was really nice. While it was beautiful and we enjoyed it, it was similar to our vacation spots in the Caribbean and we were shocked by cost of things associated with the hotel. It was comparable to prices we were paying in Europe or North America. We really enjoyed our stay and didn’t miss out on anything due to price, we were just not expecting it.

Thanks again for arranging such an amazing adventure!

B and T Rhyason, Canada, 2011

C King 2011

I had been meaning to write to you and say thank you for organising the most amazing honeymoon! It couldn’t have gone better! From all the connections being seamlessly organised to recommendations for the best accommodation we couldn’t have asked for more.

We stayed at Selous Safari Camp for 4 nights – the lodge was beautiful, rooms spectacular, service immaculate and the food was amazing (and I am a fussy eater – so that is high praise indeed!). They made you feel at home from the moment you arrived and the actual safaris were so exciting – jeep, boat and walking.

In Zanzibar we first stayed at Ras Nungwi – this was the hotel we chose before the real splashing out on luxury – it was WAY above my expectations. The rooms were so beautiful and the pool, beach and restaurant area stunning. We then moved to Baraza – this is probably the best hotel I have ever stayed in. Amazing. The villas are GIGANTIC and beautifully furnished – with our own plunge pool and reserved beds on the beach. The beach service was excellent and the restaurant lovely. The pool area was great and selection of water sports excellent. I really couldn’t fault it. They gave us some vouchers to enjoy some of the different facilities including the spa and water sports which was a lovely touch.

Over all it was an amazing trip and we were so sad to come home. Each of the places went out of their way to make us feel special on our honeymoon, leaving champagne and arranging for private dining.

C King 2011

Mr. & Mrs S Gannon 2011

Hi Edward,

We’re home and just can’t believe all our planning has come and gone!!! We have to say a huge thank you to you, it turned out to be absolutely fantastic from start to finish!!!!

Firstly, it was marvelous to be met at every stop and escorted to the next each time. The first camp in Selous, Lake Manze was lovely, very casual, very romantic by candle light and a great start. It was a good start to a first timer going on safari as it’s all so overwhelming to see all the animals, it was better to see them so active in the second lodge we went too. The food was very good and Sarah and Phil run a good camp there, and very nice and friendly themselves, the other staff was really nice and friendly too. It was as described in all the reviews, don’t expect something you won’t get. Our very first evening at dinner an elephant came to the edge of the tent, elephants were walking through the camp daily. The park its self was “quiet” because it was warmer there the animals slept more but it was wonderful to watch and see them. We went on a full day safari the very first day and up to the hot springs, beautiful. Then early mornings, 6am starts after that where we saw the animals move much more and small cubs playing with their mother.

The second camp, Kwihala was even nicer, the decor made it very homely and the game drives here were even better. The food was excellent too. Our very first evening here we almost saw a “kill”. We saw the stalking and chase however, the lioness couldn’t make the jump to the giraffe and help came too late to her from the others. We were then on watch every day with them cause we knew they were hungry but in 4 days that we were there they never ate. Because it was cooler in this park the animals were much more active and we saw loads of different animals playing with each other.

Our guides in both camps were excellent and would highly recommend both places to anyone looking for a safari trip. We couldn’t fault the camps themselves or the game, which is the reason for going!!!

Then off to Zanzibar for our final few days, this was just stunning. It took us an hour to get their from the airport and this wasn’t the best of drives cause the country is so poor but once inside the gates you wouldn’t even realise that’s outside. Our room was overlooking the beach and on our arrival their was a bottle of champagne waiting in our room. The staff were really nice and helpful, the food was also beautiful here. The pool is lovely and it was a wonderful way to end our holiday.

Thank you again for putting together such a great honeymoon for us. We were delighted with everything you recommended and have taken so many good memories with us (as well as thousands of photo’s by the way)…….!!!!!!!

Kind regards,
Mr. & Mrs S Gannon, Ireland, 2011