Barring the fact-finding that we have to do, one of the best aspects of our work is hearing what you say about it afterwards. Over the years we have enjoyed hugely rewarding feedback, and we have to admit that we are proud of it... please, scroll down, and you will see why.
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Hi Guys….just to let you know we had a great time in Tanzania….your suggested itinerary was perfect. Alex Walker's camp was pretty special. Many Thanks Peter and Jenni Merton 2011 Hi Ed Just came back yesterday from Tanzania, we wanted to thanks you for the choise of all the hotels we went to , your choise was excellent. Thanks again Franck Lafeuille 2011 Hi Julian and the team, Just a quick note to say thanks for organising our honeymoon, Sara and I had a truly amazing time. Especially at Beho Beho, it’s truly spectacular. Wish we could live like that all the time! And thanks for your help reorganising stuff following the snow delays. Cheers, Rob Hussey 2011 Guys, We really enjoyed the trip, thanks for all your help. I wanted to give you feedback! Coastal is quite efficient as you say, All transfers were without a blip. Beho was great. Food, lodge, environment, service was awesome. Great guides. The game was pretty good, not awesome but still good and a wonderful experience. Baraza - overall nice experience but we didn’t love it - rooms are really nice, food is average at best, service is not great, pool is nice, sand is nice but ocean not good for swimming due to sea orchins and other stuff very close to shore so you cant walk into the water hence hardly saw anyone swim, also way too many kids. We still had a nice time, stone town was quite interesting but just wanted to give you feedback. Don’t think it’s a honeymoon spot or a spot for someone who is looking for nice water. Then again, maybe we are spoiled since I am from turkey and my fiance from brazil so our countries have good beaches. But as I said, luxury rooms, nice spa, and we're happy to have seen zanzibar. Ras Kutani - really nice. Food was better than awesome (even better than beho). Beach is really nice, not many people, nice sand, very relaxing. Water is ok, not very clear. Again, if someone is looking for turquise clear water, its not it as you know. But overall setting great. I think beho plus kutani would have been good (and skipping baraza) or going to maybe nungwi area where (I assume) you can walk into the water and swim comfortably and maybe it’s a bit more remote too. Thanks for arranging everything, we were very satisfied with all your help, we had a great time, all logistics went smoothly and will recommend you guys to our friends. Art Durdag 2011 Jambo Edward! Happy New Year - Hope that all is well with you. We truly had the time of our lives on our 3 week African holiday. We’d both go back in a heartbeat; given the opportunity. J Thank you for the incredible itinerary that you helped us put together. Your expertise and patience helping us design this trip made this our ultimate dream trip. Everything went perfectly (after our late arrival in Nairobi due to the snow in Amsterdam J). What an incredible trip! You truly suggested some of the most amazing places to stay and the timing of our stay in each location was perfect. To summarize our trip, here is a brief recap of our thoughts on each place we went on our trip…. Masai Mara, Kenya @ Naibor Camp Loved our guides! Loved that they wear their native Samburu tribe clothing. Naibor Camp was the most well run place that we stayed….and that is due to the outstanding camp managers and staff. They made us feel right at home. Loved the food….it was the best we ate on the trip. And we had a lot of great food. Loved our Askari – they were all so very personable and service oriented. I also love that they are dressed in African clothing. Had our best animal sightings at the Mara without a doubt. Had incredible sightings and it was really so unique that you can get as close to the animals as you can in the Mara. Loved the bird sightings and the bird tour that Adam, one of the camp managers, provided. So cool. A wonderful, wonderful experience! We can’t say enough how much we enjoyed our stay. Love telling folks about how we’d hear the hippos slipping back into the river in the wee hours of the morning after their evening grazing. Loved our story telling and discussions at the dinner table. Lots of fun! Arusha, Tanzania@ OnSea A beautiful property, loved the view of the lush vegetation around the property Loved cleaning up after our time in the bush and taking a nice swim in the pool Excellent food at the restaurant Serengetti, Tanzania@ Dunia Camp Loved the scenery of the Serengetti. I thought it was the most scenic of all the places we went. Had a wonderful guide from the Chagga tribe The camp was nice and we met a lot of wonderful people. Had a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration where the camp staff performed different songs and dance from their various tribes which was a lot of fun. Christmas Day we had a special brunch which was a lot of fun. Had a very different landscape and view from camp looking out into the fields from our tent but was very beautiful as well Lots of great animal sightings – giraffes with the landscape of the Acacia trees was wonderful, a great lion sighting of a large pride of lions, had a couple of cheetah sightings and loved the wildebeast sightings with the larger groups running (had an awesome viewing as we flew into the Serengetti). One really good leopard spotting too. Was surprised that we saw very few elephants though. Met a lot of nice people – especially a family from the UK who we later saw again at the Plantation Lodge. They called campfire there “Bush TV” which we thought was pretty cute. Lake Manyara, Tanzania@ Plantation Lodge Beautiful scenery around the lake and driving down into the lake area Lots of fun sightings of baboons and blue monkeys Some great elephant sightings Saw a different type of wildebeast there Saw a few new birds and a monitor lizard which was fun. The Plantation Lodge was a beautiful place with a very different feel – lush gardens, an older colonial style to the lodge and rooms, great food, a swimming pool. Nice for a little pampering after being out in the bush. Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania@ the Serenna Crater Lodge The crater is absolutely magical and it was so incredible that we saw 7 different black rhinos on the first day! A microcosm of animals all within a smaller space so it was great to see them all together An incredible view of the crater from our hotel room and fun to see the different lush vegetation of the highlands The lodge was a very different feel since it was much larger than any of the other places we stayed so while it was very nice, it didn’t have quite as personal a feel (we admit we’d gottn a little spoiled by the previous two places J) Our guide there was nice, but had been working in the business a lot longer so he wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as our guides at Naibor and Dunia Camps. Zanzibar, Tanzania@ Ras Nungwi A beautiful place and a great way to unwind at the end of the trip with 5 nights at the beach Loved our waterfront bungalow and were very impressed by the resort staff and resort. Great food as well (as you can see….a common theme – we ate a lot of great food on the trip!) Had fun festivities and entertainment – live music for the New Year Did a day trip to the Jozani Forest where we had amazing sightings of the Red Colobus monkeys up close on a walking tour then went to a Spice Farm and saw how many spices grow. Both were excellent and we had a really good guide for the trip. Got to see more of the island which was beautiful. Had a wonderful tour of Stone Town where we saw the open markets, walked along the narrow streets and looked at the beautiful Arabic and Indian doors, saw the slave market site and the church there now Zanzibar is a beautiful and an exotic blend of cultures and we got a lot of nice and hot weather We were struck at times by some of the staggering poverty in the towns – that was sobering. Had noticed that in other parts of the trip as well – especially in Tanzanian towns (around Arusha and near the crater) Jeff really got into learning Swahili in Zanzibar and it was a lot of fun to watch him interacting with the folks at the resort. J We both felt that this trip was the trip of a lifetime and managed to even surpass all of our hopes! That is hard to do because we had so many high hopes for the trip….and still we were completely blown away. We feel so incredibly fortunate for the opportunity. Back in our day to day lives, we often comment on memories of Africa and recall the incredible colors, sounds and landscapes. We are left in awe by the beauty and the vast landscapes and will do everything within our power to give back and ensure that we preserve the incredible treasure that it is. We dream of returning some day soon. Until then…. Love, Jeff & Shannon Ansbaugh 2011 Tom, we just wanted to say Thank you for organising an outstanding holiday for us. Nomads and Ras Kutani stand out as being the most memorable, Mark at Ras Kutani was a wonderful host, Plantation lodge was also very good. The only accommodation we would not recommend was Rivertrees in Arusha...poor accommodation. We have already decided to return in 2012, and are toying with Selous, Zanzibar town, Nomads new property in the north of the Serengeti and a return to RAs Kutani. Thanks, you did a great job Best John Ainley 2011 Dear Tom RE: Hudson Family Selous Lake Manze 4 Jan 11 We have been back nearly a month and I just wanted to say Thank You for recommending Lake Manze camp for our family. This was a great switch sell as you actually found what we were looking for. Having been to a number of safari destinations over the years this was a fantastic place to introduce our children to the African experience. The tented camp is comfortable and there are in fact two family tents which work very well. We just loved everything about the place. The kitchen dealt well with the fussy eater in the family and the menu was discussed each day so that we could ensure there was something for my daughter to eat. I had taken some items with us that were useful in keeping an 11 year old happily fed! The duration of four nights was just right. We managed the Lake safari, the backwater safari, a day safari, a morning drive, an evening drive and Richard arranged for us to go for the walking safari. I think he realised that our children were able for it and we all had walking boots. As the camp was not that busy we had a fantastic guide in Calson, who stayed with us the whole time. We can’t fault his level of information nor his interest, the girls learnt so much from him. Our driver Salum certainly knew the area. The two worked so well together we had great viewing including Lion and we could see that they were desperately trying to find us the Leopard, but to no avail! I am just glad that we were there at a time when it was mostly dry. We got the rains on the last day. This was an adventure in itself. We were on a day drive and heading back. The rains came down and just soaked us, then the wind, then the rains again, short & sharp. It all makes for an adventure. We certainly got that, as the car slewed around and finally came to a holt on a crossing. We were three hours out in the bush at dusk as night approached. With Hyenas watching us from a distance, the girls really did get an adventure! We got back to camp around 8:30 and straight into dinner and a nightmare for all concerned. The rain brought out the insects that you had mentioned. I don’t think anybody enjoyed the meal as things flew at us all night. The girls sat there in fear with their feet up off the ground. My husband had to clear the tent of very large spiders, millipedes, scorpions etc….. Well it was good for them to see the other side of camping! We missed a week of our holiday due to the snow and chaos at airports so we were lucky that we had only been able to book the safari for January. We were due to go out on the 23 December but didn’t go until the 30th. So in all a great holiday and we may be back to you for the next suggestion if this job keeps my husband out in Tanzania. Yours sincerely Julie-Anne Hudson 2011 Dear Marc Thanks for all of your help with our trip to Kenya which was excellent. all went very well, guides were generally very good, game excellent and goal of seeing cheetahs achieved. Thoughts on things. Lakes . Lolida nice place to stay, Staff and food excellent (esp Manager Peter) and good place to chill out for first couple of days. Lake Nakuru park good (least good of all the places - but you had said that and our expectations were lowish) but felt a bit like longleat, guide there was less good than others but all things are relative. Joys Camp. Really lovely camp, enjoyed the lack of people and sense of isolation. Reminded us a little of camps in Namibia. Had great leopard sightings, including a kill, but just generally really enjoyed the camp. It was really beautiful, camp was gorgeous, facilities excellent. Guides Musa and Eric very good indeed. Had a great day trip into Buffalo Springs Rekero. Great Tented camp. Obviously not as luxurious as Joys, but excellent position in Mara. Guides excellent. Loads of game and saw loads of lions , few cheetah and lots of leopards (6 different ones!). Lions etc almost too easy and just too many other vehicles for us. Not sure what it must be like at migration time -must be mad! All in all a great trip. However if we return (can't believe we won't) it will probably be to southern Africa perhaps throwing in somewhere new eg Zambia as well as our favourite Botswana. Perhaps we have just been spoilt! Anyway thanks so much we did love it, great experience, great people, and have taken some good photos. Perhaps India next before we get back to you about further trips. Best wishes to all John & Julia Lineham 2011 Marc, There were so many great memories. The Ngorongoro Crater itself was amazing. We saw a lion eating a zebra he just killed. We saw a cheetah and here two cubs playing around a number of vehicles for about 15 minutes. We saw thousands of wildebeests and zebras migrating from place to place right in front of us. And I should not forget what we thought were a couple of elephants were going to attach he vehicle we were in. Lastly, when we visited Stone Town we walked through the big market and saw a stingray being cut up on the ground. Again a great trip. We will send you are edited pictures when they are ready. JohnOKeefe 2011 For the attention of Edward Ward (please copy to Marc Harris) Dear Edward I felt I had to sent you a short email just to say how much we had enjoyed Fundu Lagoon and the words 'paradise' and 'idyllic' immediately spring to mind when recalling our stay. Michael and Jean Oglesby 2011 Will be in touch when back in Uk. Just wanted to hug & thank you from afar !!! Best wishes Jackie Hodgson 2011 Thanks Ted - I think your team was absolutely the best. I never worked with such knowledgeable, professional and fun people before. I am very sad we did not get to travel as we planned this year... The dates kept changing and with work, wedding to attend and little kids it just did not fit together... But I have you on speed dial now and as soon as we can make it (this year or in the nearest future), I will call you right away. And I promise to have few or no questions ;-) Thanks for your patience with me! I cannot recommend you enough to my friends. Irina Sivachenko 2011 Hi Marc & Team, Sorry it's taken me so long to write feedback on our wonderful honeymoon, which we booked through Tanzania Odyssey. We literally had the most amazing time. Everything was planned perfectly and the entire itinerary ran seamlessly. Ras Kutani is the single most amazing place we have ever stayed in our lives (and probably will remain that way)!. The team at Selous Safari Camp was sensational - warm, friendly and knowledgeable, we really felt at total ease in the game reserve and saw some truly wonderful sightings of animals, flora and fauna. Ras Nungwi was also idyllic for the final week - total relaxation and beautiful beach with a laid back feeling throughout. I suppose my one bit of advice would be to put Ras Kutani on the end of a 2-week trip to be closer to Dar for the flight home - the 4am wake up call in Stone Town seemed a little avoidable! Anyway, Christina and I just wanted to thank you personally for making our honeymoon truly spectacular. Ed Purnell 2011 I have been very remiss in not contacting you since our return from Botswana. We had a fabulous time - thanks so much for recommending a marvellous itinerary and such good places to stay. We loved all of it, without exception, and saw so much wildlife. My favourites, there always are, were Tau Pan, for its bleached grassy landscapes and its lions ( we watched a female lion move her tiny cubs to a new and safer den.) and Little Vumbura where we took part in a wild dog hunt, and then later, watched the aftermath of a wild dog kill and a fight with a scavenging hyena. We had a marvellous guide in Little Vumbura too - easily the best of the trip. Nxai Pan perhaps had the least to offer - the animals all to be in the centre of the pan - and of course, as a reserve, the vehicles couldn't leave the roads. But we did see leopard! I remember you told me your mother is a keen birder. Tell her we saw a pair of Pel's Fishing Eagle in Little Vumbura. (I confess I hadn't heard of it before we arrived - but it seems to be the bird of all birds to have seen.) See if she is impressed! Thanks again for your help. Liz Ramsay 2011
Sarah Ward 2011
Hi Julian, I hope you are well. I know it's been several months since our trip to Tanzania last October that you organised for us, but I wanted to drop you a belated note to tell you what a great trip we had..........our best holiday ever ! Despite the complicated itinerary, everything ran like clockwork with no hitches at all, so many thanks for getting the organisation absolutely spot on. Everything that we expereienced was exactly as you had described - this is such a great help when trying to organise a trip to somewhere that you haven't been before and it's rare for travel companies to have such detailed and accurate knowledge. I know you take a pride in your knowledge of the places that you recommend, and put a lot of work into recommending the best combination for our trip, so we took some notes at the time to give our views and observations on each location and hopefully help add to your knowledge base of these venues, for the benefit of your future clients. Coastal Aviation Despite the informal, chaotic and haphazard outward appearance, they actually run a very efficient and enjoyable service. Our name was on the clipboard for every flight, so no problems. I like the way that once everyone is there.......they just go, and don't stick rigidly to their timetable slot ! I can confirm what you said to me before we went (and contrary to what it says on the itinerary and on their own website), they only weigh hold bags and never hand luggage, so as long as the hold bags are below 15kg, you are good to go.............and they only weighed these once at Dar on the first outbound flight, never on subsequent flights. Ngorongoro &Beyond Crater Lodge Great greeting at Manyara airport by our driver Davis with tea and a packed lunch. Very welcome after 18 hours of travelling! Watch out for the baboons at the entrance to the Ngorongoro Crater park...........they broke into our car in a flash when our backs were turned (Davis had left a window open!) and stole our unfinished lunch! Fantastic location on the rim of the crater with great views. South camp definitely the best location with the best views. Tree Camp is closer to the edge, but the rooms are smaller and surrounded by trees so no view. North Camp's view is blocked by South Camp. Resident tame Zebra herd nice to see, grazing on the grass around the camps. Also saw Buffalo at night. Unique room styles that fit well with the location. Very comfy beds. Great views from every room..........even the toilet! Scalding hot water! (watch out!) and nice to have a real fire waiting for you when you get back from dinner. Food was of a good standard for the isolated location.........and seconds offered if first serving not enough! Good butler system here to attend to your every need during your stay. Safari was our butler. Very helpful without being unnecessarily over attentive. We had a slight problem as we left with a miscommunication on our arranged departure time which kept us hanging around in the sun for half an hour. We made our annoyance known to Albin, the South Camp manager who is very nice, but was out of his depth and unable to resolve the problem. In the end, we spoke to Beatha, the Lodge manager who apologised and made amends with a nice bottle of bubbly waiting for us at Mnemba ! One slight gripe is that they should get better organised so that you keep the same driver throughout your stay: airstrip pick up, game drives and return to airstrip. We had 3 different drivers (and a fourth at one stage who got reallocated prior to Azeeza taking over). Also, they should clean the dust out of the window seals so you can open the windows during game drives to take photos and get air (although once in the crater, the roof is opened) Ngorongoro Crater Great experience and great wildlife, but frustrating to see so many vehicles, be restricted to staying on the roads, and all having to mob together at allocated picnic areas (only 2 in the crater) with crowded, dirty toilets. It's a bit like a Safari Park experience sometimes. You were right to say that one day is enough in the crater. We're very glad we did it, but were then ready to move on. Our guide in the crater was Azeeza who I would highly recommend. She was the first woman guide to qualify in Tanzania, is great fun, very intelligent and very knowledgeable. We had a good day with her..........and great picnic lunch including wine and cold beer! (despite the crowded location) Serian Lodge This was a great recommendation so thanks for that. We are so glad we went here as we had the best experience of our holiday and met some good people (including Usha, Bernice and Lyn who had also booked through you - we had great fun with them and flew to Zanzibar with them after our stay at Singita). Even though it was the least luxurious stay of our trip, the character of the place and the experience more than made up for this. We loved the informality of the camp which sat well with an underlying commitment to good service. The food here was sometimes an eccentric mix, but all absolutely delicious - the best of our holiday........including Alex's special chilli sauce ! It was a great experience to meet the rest of the group each evening and share a cold beer around the camp fire and then dinner and lots of wine and Amarula together around a big round table. Alex is a fantastic host and we were fortunate enough to have him as our guide for the whole of our stay. I suspected this may be something you had helped influence as I know he usually charges extra for this, so thank you if that was the case. He's very down to earth and relaxed but with a great sense of humour and strong propensity for banter which we enjoyed. He has a good attention to detail without being over dramatic when things go wrong......just takes everything in his stride. Alex has great enthusiasm for the wildlife and photography (a hobby of mine too...........but not to his standard!) and was always prepared to let us lead the agenda on what we wanted to see and for how long, there were no rigid timetables. His loyalty to his staff is good to see as well, including to Singi, his elderly tracker who came on game drives with us and was still a good spotter despite his failing eyesight. One unfortunate situation during our game drives was that the radios never seemed to work properly between the three cars that were operating, so we weren't able to find out about the good stuff that our fellow guests were witnessing, and vice versa. Consequently, we never actually saw a river crossing during our time there...........the one thing that we'd gone there to see ! This was a real disappointment.........even though we saw lots of other fantastic sights. Our fellow guests all saw several crossings..........and we almost saw one on our last morning after a 3 hour wait, but had to leave before it actually happened to catch our plane to Grumeti ! Alex needs to get those radios fixed. During our stay, it became apparent that the future for this unspoilt area of the Northern Serengeti may be in jeopardy. Apparently a new road is planned into the area which will bring many more game vehicles (we only saw a handful each day while we were there........a pleasant contrast to the Ngorongoro Crater). It was rumoured that the Tanzania government may even look to block the migration into Kenya so they can steal tourists from their great rivals ! There was a particularly obstructive new warden who had recently started patrolling on Alex's patch and seemed set on making his life hell, preventing any driving off track and imposing heavy spot fines and bans if he caught drivers doing this. It was apparent that Alex is singled out more than local indigenous drivers, and has even had to move the location of his camp once for no good reason. One of the attractions of this area was the freedom to roam anywhere and stop anywhere for meal breaks........but on our last morning, the new warden decided that he was going to impose two or three demarcated picnic areas and not allow parking up anywhere else. He even put signs up and moved everyone on as we were parked waiting for a river crossing to happen as herds were gathering on the far bank of the river. I hope this area isn't ruined by mass game drives in the future. That's where it looks like it may be headed. Singita Lodges - Grumeti Reserve It was always going to be difficult to match the density and variety of wildlife in the Northern Serengeti, so our stay at Faru Faru lodge was a bit of a disappointment by comparison, despite the lodge being a higher level of luxury. Faru Faru lodge is in a great location, but we found it a bit soulless and lacking in character. It's difficult to explain why as the architecture and design is impressive, but the huge suites were a bit sterile and had the feel of a locker room because of their stark furnishings and design ! We weren't impressed that the only shower was outside which is a bit off putting when it's raining or dark. The huge electric opening feature windows also broke down in the rain. We concluded that the thing that really lets down Faru Faru is the poor quality of staff. They all seemed to be poorly trained and over attentive but mostly useless. We were introduced to a number of them, but never really worked out what their roles were supposed to be, including Zedi, who was supposed to be our butler, but only ever waited on us at meals and did no more. We felt constantly pestered and rushed, particularly around buggy pick ups to take us to dinner as they have an obsession with not allowing guests to walk along the paths alone after dark (no such restrictions at Alex's camp!). The irony was that they drove the buggies so painfully slowly (again a safety obsession no doubt) that it was quicker to walk ! Other problems encountered were an impressive looking but freezing cold swimming pool, a small and unimpressive spa (I didn't even bother taking advantage of the free massage that we'd agreed as part of our package). We got the impression that they have problems attracting and retaining good staff in this isolated area. Bjorn, the very pleasant young manager told us he had been drafted in from Sabora to try and resolve the issues at Faru. He certainly has his work cut out for him...........and he appeared he might be slightly out of his depth (this may be unfair as he'd only recently come across and looked after us very well). Fortunately, we had some really good game drives with our guide, Braya. Although young and recently qualified, he was intelligent and had good knowledge and found some good stuff for us to see. This was helped to some extent by the good radio communication between vehicles from all three Singita lodges and the central radio station at Sasakwa. This meant that all sightings were quickly shared, but it did mean there was a constant radio babble all through each game drive which got irritating. Fortunately, they carefully manage how many Singita vehicles gather round each game sighting and restrict it to a maximum of two. Because they own the land, Singita vehicles can also drive wherever they like and are not restricted to tracks as in the Crater (and increasingly in Northern Serengeti). Braya found some truly wonderful locations for us to stop for breakfast and sundowners. These were a highlight..........as was the birth of a giraffe that we witnessed (after 2 hours waiting and lots of photos !). There is a good variety of game in Grumeti, particularly birdlife, but the wildlife isn't as numerous as in Northern Serengeti. Good to see that Singita have a black rhino introduction programme in operation here, to help replace what was whiped out when Grumeti was exclusively hunting territory. We wanted to see the other two Singita lodges for comparison during our stay at Faru Faru, so Braya took us to visit Sabora for lunch and Sasakwa for breakfast. We were absolutely enchanted by Sabora camp. A real Out of Africa style location and feel. The whole place, including the huge tented accommodation is beautifully furnished and has bags of character. We had a fabulous lunch there and peaceful, relaxing afternoon. Also, the calibre of the staff were head and shoulders above those at Faru. We received a genuinely warm welcome from Florida (Acting Manager) and Apollo (Head Waiter I think). We really enjoyed the short time we spent there and wished we could have stayed longer instead of having to return to Faru Faru. We would highly recommend Sabora to anyone thinking of staying there, particularly in July when the migration goes right through there. One caution is that we noticed a lot of bush mice scampering around.........not a problem for us (the camp is after all set in a wild area), but potentially off putting for others. The best tent locations for privacy are Nos. 1, 8 & 9. Sasakwa is in a very different but equally spectacular setting, high up overlooking the plains below. It's a lovely place with hand manicured (literally!) lawns and a real colonial manor house feel, but we found it a bit stuffy and unwelcoming. This would no doubt appeal to many, particularly the numerous rich Americans in residence, but we preferred the more informal and homely feel of Sabora. MnembaIsland, Zanzibar Staying on Mnemba was the perfect way to end our holiday. Even though it's probably over priced for the standard of the accommodation (I'm glad we got two free nights in our deal !) you're paying for the peace, isolation and privacy. We were looked after very well by the island manager, Peter and had a truly delightful butler, Tunaimi who was permanently cheerful and nothing was ever too much trouble for him..........he would actively look for things to do for us. I would highly recommend people to ask for him if staying at Mnemba. He was clearly the best butler. Getting to Mnemba is even more challenging than all descriptions that we'd read before going. The road is not just bumpy (far worse than any game drive track)..........it's like sitting in a washing machine for nearly an hour ! Peter did make a valid point when we arrived that it helps discourage other hotels from opening up on the coast opposite Mnemba. We did find out from our driver on the return trip though that there is actually a smoother route, but they don't tend to use it as it's longer.......but we asked to try it and although it was longer, it was quicker as he could drive faster ! I also don't understand why they don't just do the boat pick up at the start of the rough road rather than at the end of it and make the sea crossing longer. It may be because of tides or reefs. I know the owners of Mnemba have tried to negotiate with the Tanzanian government to improve the road, even offering to contribute to the cost, but with no success yet. The bandas on Mnemba are well equipped but quite rustic and open (no air conditioning, doors or windows, just optional blinds to cover the holes at night) but full of character, homely, and perfectly suited to the natural environment of the island and relaxed lifestyle that they are encouraging there. Our shoes were taken off us as we arrived and we never wore them again for the whole time we were there. The bandas are however a bit too close together in relation to the cost of the accommodation. Fortunately, all other guests that we met were quiet and discrete..........except a wealthy Texan family who arrived with their own pilots and guides after an extensive flying safari all around Africa. Luckily they were located at the other end of the island and although fairly loud, they were good fun. The location of our Banda, No.8 was on a great section of the beach right in front of the house reef which was excellent for snorkelling.......just a few steps into the sea. The best snorkelling is actually on the far edge of the reef where the coral is cleaner and more varied. The beach is soft, clean white sand, right into the sea, so no sharp rocks or coral to stand on (no need for reef shoes). I can recommend Bandas 8-10 for location in relation to the reef, but no bandas are in a poor location, although we were told that at certain times of the year that side of the island gets very windy - the dive centre relocates to the eastern side at that time of year. The bandas are regularly visited by the small, introduced Suni Antelope. They are quite tame and seemed constantly thirsty ! - so we put water out for them and suggested to Peter that water bowls be provided for guests to use. It's nice to have these charming little antelope around, unlike the crows that we were told they are quietly trying to eradicate. We were also very fortunate to witness a turtle hatching on our last evening which was a real highlight and great to see the turtle conservation programme that they have on Mnemba, run by one of their longest serving staff members who's been there over 20 years. One downside of having a good reef so near to shore is that, even though Mnemba's territorial waters stretch 200m out to sea with the intention of keeping outsiders away, every morning several boatloads of loud Italian snorkellers would appear from Zanzibar. They often intruded within the 200m limit, and were frequently having to be driven back by Mnemba staff in boats. They have occasionally been known to set foot on the island and have even been discovered using the toilets in the bandas !! Fortunately the boatloads always disappeared again by lunchtime but were a regular nuisance that shattered the peace of the island for a couple of hours each morning. We had great food on Mnemba, cooked by the English chef, Richie. You are shown the suggested menu for lunch and dinner when you go to breakfast each day and choose what you went to eat, or change it to something else if required.......there was complete flexibility. He cooked us a great curry one night. Dinner on the beach under the stars each evening was a great way to end each day. One exception was the beach BBQ which was quite limited in its food choice. We did initially have an issue with the complimentary house wine and brought this to Peter's attention. He was a bit defensive initially but then addressed it well by allowing us to order anything off the full wine list for one day, and then brought in wines of our choice from Zanzibar the next day. These were made available to us as our house wine for the rest of our stay. A good solution. Unfortunately, cocktails were not the barman's forte and these were the worst that we'd ever tasted.........so we stuck to beer and wine ! Also, we took a sunset dhow trip one evening. This however was a waste of time. The local two man crew were miserable for the whole trip and returned us to the shore half an hour before the sun set ! There is an excellent complimentary watersports service on Mnemba run by husband and wife team Jason and Karen. They make a great team and are extremely accommodating and helpful to all guests, even non-divers. They took us on a couple of great snorkelling trips on the reef off the south eastern side of the island and we also had the opportunity to swim closely with dolphins........until the Italians scared them away !! Karen said the dolphins are showing signs of stress from all of the boats that pursue them. The dive centre is well equipped and snorkelling equipment is available to loan to all guests, including prescription masks for the short sighted. StoneTown, Zanzibar We spent our last night here at the Serena Inn which was much better than we were expecting and we would recommend it. It's in a nice quiet location and the staff are welcoming and friendly. We were upgraded to a suite which was very well appointed. Stone Town was interesting to walk around on our last evening and a real contrast to Mnemba..........but one night was enough. We didn't manage to find a decent restaurant for our last meal in Tanzania. Richie had recommended an Italian restaurant which we went to, but they were running a set price buffet as it was their anniversary that night which was popular with the locals but disappointing food quality. It would be useful to have a Stone Town good restaurant guide Thanks again Julian for your recommendations and help in organising a really fantastic holiday. I'm sorry it's taken so long to send you this feedback, but there was quite a lot of detail to get down as you can see, so it's been difficult to find the time ! We will be in touch again when we are planning our next safari (probably Botswana/Namibia) so please keep sending us e mail updates of your latest travel offerings and developments. Best wishes and kind regards, Nick & Marian Godfrey2011
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Hi Ed, We've just realised we never thanked you for the fantastic honeymoon you organised for us in September. We had the best two weeks of our lives and all of your recommendations were spot on. In particular, we thought Selous was just magical. So rustic and wild - so much more exciting I'm sure to be aware from most of the tourists. Everyone at Lake Manze camp was brilliant. We even ended up having a jeep, driver and guide to ourselves most days. We couldn't believe that by the time we got to the camp from the airstrip we'd already seen four lions, hippos, monkeys, giraffes, crocodiles... The boat safaris there are wonderful too. And nothing quite prepares you for the reality of sipping a cup of tea in the camp and turning around to find that an elephant has casually wandered up, just metres away... And we were lucky enough to see two separate leopards and a cheetah in Ruaha too - so well worth the trip over there. Zanzibar was just amazing - Mchanga is paradise. It was very hard to leave! Thanks - we would wholeheartedly recommend you to any friends looking for a trip of a lifetime to Tanzania... Best wishes, Anna and Dan Mayall 2010 I would just like to send my thanks and best wishes to you for the help and advice provided (by Nick before he moved on) and the fantastic holiday we had this year in Beho Beho and Vamizi. Everything went according to plan in relation to transfers etc and we were well looked after. Both hotels lived up to and in some ways exceeded expectations. It took me all year to save the money for this trip but it was well worth it. If I plan a safari anytime in future Ill be back in touch. Thanks again. Mr Jon Toovey 2010 Guys I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that Carina and I had an amazing honeymoon in early to mid October this year at Kono Kono, Lake Manze and Ras Kutani. Kono Kono was the perfect place to unwind after all the trials and tribulations of pre wedding planning and the staff, accommodation and setting were all perfect for us. A really delightful surprise was the pre dinner drinks sat around the beach bonfire sharing tales with the other guests. Lake Manze was the real highlight of the trip, as safari virgins, everything took our breath away – sometimes a little too much when it came to the Hippos and Buffalo!. Again the staff at the camp were superb, led by Richard, and we couldn’t have wished for a better first safari trip. Finally Ras Kutani was a luxuriously decadent way to spend our last 3 nights in Tanzania and well worth the final stop over. Ed’s recommendations were absolutely spot on and the timings all worked out wonderfully well. In addition I felt it was excellent value for money given the highlights and experiences we have taken away. Very many thanks for your knowledge and professionalism in arranging our honeymoon, we will always cherish it. With our kind regards Neil and Carina Franklin 2010 Hello Edward: We arrived home yesterday after a fabulous adventure around the Indian Ocean and I wanted to let you know how well our Tanzania safari went. It was the highlight of our two months. All the details and transfers fell into place as predicted so we felt very well taken care of and appreciated your coordination so much. The Selous Safari Camp took us out of time and space into a beautiful, quiet and elegant location. We couldn't have wished for better in the accommodation, staff, food and locale. The animal viewing was superb just before the short rains which arrived pretty much the day we left. Every day it was a fascinating and well paced adventure. The flying in and out was a great part of the trip too. We were reluctant to leave. I'm so glad you recommended us to choose that camp because we felt that the staff personalized each day for us and were very knowledgeable as well as being flexible to our needs. I'd go back in a flash! The Zanzibar portion of our trip was fascinating too. We loved seeing the dhow building at Ras Nungwi and Stonetown was marvellous. The Beyt al Chai turned out to be the best place to relax, yet be within easy walking distance of everything to see and do and we had the lovely Sultan room on the third floor. The Mchanga beach hotel was a good retreat for our three days although in retrospect, I should have chosen somewhere near Ras Nungwi so we could have gone swimming in clear waters. The water on the east coast is murky with high waves, but the beach was great for walking, cycling and the interest at low tide. We did do a spice tour as well. All in all the tour worked out really well and I can't thank you enough for all the email time you spent with me to arrange this to our liking. I do hope we will do another Tanzania trip in the future and we would certainly arrange it with you again. All your pre trip information was really helpful so we went into the trip well prepared and it truly surpassed our expectations. Thanks again, Susan Entwistle 2010 Hi Julian Just wanted to thank you again for all your help setting up our trip to Tanzania. We returned back last week and had a fabulous time. Throughout the process I found your advice honest and extremely helpful, and having now returned I think you were spot on with your recommendations. SUC, Crater Lodge and Ras Nungwi were all great, with SUC a particular highlight. Best Regards Allen Wells 2010 Julian Now that we are back, moved into our new house and back at work I have a spare couple of minutes. I just wanted to thank you and Tanzania Odyssey for all of your advice and help in booking what was the trip of a lifetime. We had such an amazing time and really had a chance to unwind a fully relax. I have to say that Beho Beho was a truly unforgettable experience and we just hope that we can get back there one day! Sasha and Tammy were exceptional hosts and the overall attention to detail was outstanding. I am very glad that we decided to end our trip at Matemwe Bungalows where the foods was fantastic and again the level of service exceptional. Regards Luke Hacking 2010 Dear Edward, We’re already back home. Just to tell you that we enjoyed very much our journey. It was really fantastic. People were very nice and friendly. In Mdonya, Micole (I don’t know exactly how to spell the name) was marvellous, she made us to feel like at home with a family, the way she managed the camp was very nice for all of us, as we met every evening before dinner round a fire and shared the experiences we had had during the day. The food was excellent. And everything was absolutely comfortable. In Lake Manze we enjoyed very much the landscape, I think we could see more animals here as there was more water, Richard was very nice. The food was good but it was better in Mdonya. The guides in both camps were super. Nice, friendly, with lot of knowledge about animals and plants. They were really very kind. I was very sad to leave the camps. I felt as I belonged to there. I can’t explain, but I would go back just now again. And in Zanzibar, the hotel was fabulous. After six days “in a jeep” it was perfect to relax. When we arrived to Dar es Salam from Zanzibar, the representative from Coastal was not there, I think it was because the flight arrived half an our before. But we asked another person who was waiting for some other people and he told us how to go to the other terminal, which was just in front of us, so we asked him to tell the representative from Coastal that we had gone. With kind regards and thanks for everything, Marga Suarez 2010 Dear Marc and Ted, I am composing a much longer email, so this is just a quick note to let you know that our trip to Africa was marvelous!!!! Sayari was the hit of the trip, and I wish we had stayed there an extra night. I will be sending more details, but in the meantime, I wanted you to know that everything went off without a hiccup and we were delighted with your service. Take care, and many thanks for a wonderful vacation!!!! Best regards, Sandy Brown 2010 Hi Marc Thought that I would give you some feedback. 1st 3 nights at Raz Nungwi on Zanzibar. Long trip across the island to get there, but very much worth it. Upgraded to our own house with private beach and swimming pool and a bottle of champers for our Honeymoon. Great food, fantastic staff, internet too. A sunset boat trip is highly recommended. 2nd- Impala camp 1 night. Lovely raised tents, great food, electricity in the rooms. Rather sedate. 3rd- 1 night at Lake Manze camp. The most colonial of our places. Simple but nice tents, a lovely elephant joining us for breakfast and a fantastic communal dinner under the stars. 4th- 4 nights at Beho Beho. Not much to say really. Paradise. Truly incredible staff. Exceptional food. Ours was the room with the bath under the stars. Wild dogs on the airstrip. Missed a black rhino by 3 days. Hot springs at Tagalala. I would go back in a heartbeat...if I could afford it!. 5th- 3 nights at Raz Kutani. Awesome private flight in and private boat ride (short) there. Nice staff and good food. A nice place to relax, but always lock up as the monkeys will get in anywhere. Enjoyable, but after Beho Beho nothing can really compare. Well worth every penny. Having booked through you guys got us a long way, everyone knew you and it was all seamless. When I go back I will not hesitate to call you first. May need to warn people they will put on about 10 kilos there. I have never eaten so much. If you want any more info please email and I’ll write more when I have more time. Kristian Spofforth 2010 Hi Marc I would like to contribute to your re-launched website with our feedback on the lodges we stayed at. We had a wonderful honeymoon and that was in large part down to the help and advice we received from Ed, amongst others, at Tanzania Odyssey. I hope that my contributions below assist you so that your clients can enjoy their trip as much as we did. Selous Safari Camp – July 2010 This was our first safari experience and it was one to remember! We received a very warm welcome from Emile and all of the staff at Selous Safari Camp. A brief point on that – this camp uses mainly local people for its staff which is wonderful. It was nice that tourism benefitted the local area. The camp itself is split into two sections so it feels compact and “authentic”. The staff on the safari trips were also extremely knowledgeable. Each tent has ample space around it to give a sense of remoteness, safe in the knowledge that the staff are nearby! The tents, for want of a better word, are luxurious and are a very good size, with a nice shaded deck to sit outside. Not that we sat out there much – the lovely swimming pool area was more appealing for us in the bit of free time we had during the day between safaris. The bar area is also very comfortable and the food at the restaurant was excellent. The safari itself was wonderful. Ok, it is a game reserve so most of the animals are more skittish than in the national parks. And there wasn’t an abundance of big cats or elephants close to the camp. But the diversity of the wildlife and types of safari made this a real experience. It is such a remote and huge location that it felt really “authentic”. We rarely saw any other jeeps on our drives so you got a real sense of just being there with the animals. Being able to choose between a game drive, a boat trip or a hike made the days feel more varied. Boat trips on the lake right outside the camp were amazing – enjoying a Tusker beer or a glass of wine just before sunset sitting in the middle of a beautiful lake surrounded by the wonderful scenery and wildlife is a real treat not to be missed. Good times. I would highly recommend visiting this camp, however I would do so with the recommendation to also visit at least one other camp on your trip too. And make sure you’ve got a good zoom lens on your camera and pair of binoculars with you. Mdonya Old River, Ruaha – July 2010 Mdonya Old River was a nice enough camp, definitely “rustic” but perfectly comfortable. We had an issue on our arrival day where we had no hot water for a shower and as they were fully booked we couldn’t be moved to another tent until the morning. The staff were very apologetic and did everything they could to make good on this hiccup but it did make our first evening there less enjoyable. It was quite chilly at night when we were there in July so showering in cold water wasn’t pleasant! The food at the camp isn’t wonderful, but adequate, although we had arrived from Selous Safari Camp so had been spoilt a little. My wife, being a vegetarian, found the food choice a bit limiting. Eating at a big long table instead of individual tables isn’t to everyone’s taste either. I realise this is personal preference though – no doubt some people love the communal camp-fire experience that Mdonya offers and being able to chat to their fellow travellers. We were on honeymoon so generally felt like being antisocial and this wasn’t really the place for that. It is also a tse-tse fly area which concerned me a little before going but we stocked up on Jungle Formula and the flies were only evident in a few specific locations that we drove through pretty quickly. However the safari itself was excellent. And that’s what you are there for. The location near the river means anything and everything comes nearby. We were extremely lucky with 3 different leopard sightings in just 3 days; one of which was a hunt. More lions and elephants than I can remember, including elephants having a mud bath which was a great sight. By the third day (the sixth day of our first ever safari trip) we did get a bit tired of spending all day in the jeep though. For us, that was enough. We found the combination with Selous good – one group at Mdonya did a 3 hour drive in each direction to see some small hippos from a distance whereas at Selous Safari Camp you can see hundreds of hippo from fairly close range on a boat safari. I would recommend this camp, but if you are going on honeymoon treat yourself to somewhere more luxurious too as part of your trip. Echo Beach, Zanzibar – July 2010 We visited Echo Beach after a safari in Tanzania and it was an excellent way to end our trip. The transfer is quite long but once we were there we felt like we had everything we wanted. We went there to relax and do very little and the destination is perfect for that. Our room was wonderful – an upper floor room with a balcony over-looking the pool, beach and the sea. The bed was very comfortable and the room is decorated with style but also in keeping with the part of the world in which you are in. The bar area was great; lively and with different tasty (and very strong!) cocktails on offer each night. Given that you are a captive audience we didn’t feel that the drinks were expensive. The pool is very nice too and although we didn’t really do very much there were diving (scuba and snorkelling) trips and excursions available. The excursions are run by a different company though and we felt were not good value for money so we didn’t indulge. I have to make special mention of the food, which was superb. Half-board was better value than full board though. The breakfast is served until quite late and dinner starts quite early so we often skipped lunch or just paid a few dollars to share a toastie or something light – a full lunch didn’t feel necessary. You wouldn’t want to spoil your appetite for the wonderful choices available at dinner time… I would definitely recommend Echo Beach after a safari trip – in fact we did recommend it to two of our friends as part of their honeymoon so I can’t speak more highly than that. Paul Craigen 2010 Hi Marc Please find below some comments relating to our honeymoon to Africa. Bilila Lodge Kempinski – Serengeti We stayed here for the first part of our Honeymoon, which was to be followed by relaxation in Zanzibar (see Ras Nungwi Review) The location is of course beautiful, situated in the Seronera area of the Serengeti. We were collected from the airstrip by a superb driver who turned-out to be our guide/driver for all the private game-drives we'd organised through the hotel. The hotel itself is luxurious and stylish, delivering all modern requirements yet somehow without losing the true feeling of being in the middle of the Serengeti with the most perfect of views available from hotel rooms, infiniti pool, terrace or restaurant. Staff were brilliant and incredibly friendly, providing world-class service. The food was again world-class and to rival some Michelin rated restaurants in my opinion. The real star of the show is of course the Serengeti itself and our very skilled and friendly driver/guide showed superb knowledge and got us around to see everything possible. That included two sightings of leopards and even a pair of mating lions, which I'd assume is relatively rare. My wife and I were very impressed none-the-less. This Kempinski hotel demonstrated what's possible with some thought and attention, offering true luxury in the middle of the Serengeti for those wanting to experience the place without perhaps sleeping under canvas. Definitely a place we'd visit again..!! Ras Nungwi Zanzibar Having spent time in the Serengeti on Safari we were ready for 7 nights of relaxation on Zanzibar to complete our honeymoon. The team at Ras Nungwi delivered a superb level of service in the most beautiful of traditional-feeling environments to show-case what Zanzibar and East Africa has to offer. We stayed a couple of nights in a Superior Deluxe chalet right down on the beach-front, which was lovely and offered peace and tranquillity except the relaxing "swoosh" of the Indian Ocean lapping at the shore. This was followed by rounding-up our stay for a few nights in the awesome Ocean Suite..!! True luxury with its own private beach, plunge pool and terrace, large 200sqmt interior and to ensure all-day sun-soaking possibilities a massive roof-top terrace hosting sun-loungers, day-beds, sofas and hammock (some out in the sun and others under the shade of the thatch) The staff played a massive part in making this the perfect experience and they couldn't have been more attentive or friendly. Management showed true understanding of customer focus and regularly spent time circulating amongst guests in a friendly manner to ensure all requirements were taken care of.The food was authentic and show-cased the fine seafood available in Zanzibar whilst ensuring a good coverage for those not wanting the seafood and using good variety of fruits and vegetables available. For those wanting to take part in the superb Diving and Big-Game Fishing opportunities available in Zanzibar, the hotel also incorporates the Zanzibar Watersports centre who can cater for most needs. On this occasion after the Safari, we were happy to soak up the tranquillity and relax without using these facilities though. My wife and I would like to truly thank the Ras Nungwi team for helping make our honeymoon (and my wife's Birthday celebrated while we were there) a perfect experience and we'd gladly return again in the future..!! I'd recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Zanzibar. Martin Dennison 2010 Hi Marc Very happy to provide feedback: Lake Manze. Really great rustic camp where due to the more basic style you really felt part of it all and very close to the nature around you. The tents were basic but had all you needed and the outdoor shower and toilet was an experience! The camp is situated in beautiful surroundings and it was a joy to witness so closely the elephants who wandered through camp on a regular basis. Food was not fine dining, but extremely tasty and enjoyable. We particularly enjoyed the packed breakfast for morning safaris and the lunches. All staff at the camp were courteous and helpful and always tried to accommodate guest requests. Rangers and drivers were extremely knowledgeable which allowed excellent game viewing. All in all we found Lake Manze a very special camp where the lack of pure luxury (and electricity) found at some lodges, actually added to the experience – we would definitely recommend it and would love to return! This is a place not to be missed. Jongomero. Pure luxury but done in a really understated way. The reserve is very wild and remote which creates an extremely special safari experience. Whilst it is not as easy to find game here as in other places (partly due to the terrain and size) when you do find game, it is extremely rewarding. The Rangers are extremely knowledgeable and always able to impart useful information about flora and fauna. The lodge itself is extremely luxurious. The accommodation is beautiful with wonderful views. And the service from all the staff working at Jongomero is second to none. Some of the best I have ever experienced – whilst you get very attentive service you never feel uncomfortable with all the attention. All the staff are friendly and interested and interesting and there were some real special touches throughout the stay which we really appreciated. The food was exquisite – some of the best food I have eaten. In summary this lodge is absolutely luxurious but not at the expense of making you feel uncomfortable or sacrificing on game viewing quality. Magical lodge and worth the money. Shooting Star Lodge (Zanzibar). We came here after the luxury of safari so it is hard for it to live up to those expectations. The resort was situated on a cliff with absolutely beautiful views of the blue sea. The sun lounger area (with a small sand area and infinity pool) were particularly lovely. However accommodation was pretty basic, and the food was not good. We stayed on a half board basis and for food lovers, actually ended up dreading meal times! Unfortunately the few choices they had were often not varied enough and not well cooked. The prices for drinks (especially alcoholic) were really expensive. Finally the service from staff was ok, but nothing amazing. In summary it is a very peaceful and relaxing hotel with stunning views, however a bit of a let-down after experiencing the safari lodges. Jane Roake 2010 Hi Ed Kono Kono–very high standard of accommodation. The Villas are about the same size as our garden flat! The verandah is very nice although the plunge pool is a bit wasted as there aren’t any sun loungers to lie on. The beach is very nice – fine white sand, clear blue sea and not tidal so you can swim in it at anytime. The other major positive is that it is very quiet with no beach hawkers and as the hotel wasn’t full we were the only guests on it one day. We did walk along the beach and there are a couple hotels being built KK so I’m not sure if that will change the traffic across their beach. The gardens are also beautiful and it’s very nice to walk about the place. They were always people working in them so they tend them very well. Food and Service are the areas they need to improve (as you warned us). For the most part it is okay and they are really trying to offer 5 star western service but the staff do need more training to give them the confidence to carry out service competently and efficiently. Breakfast and dinner service was efficient but we did wait 30-40 minutes for our lunch. I think this is due to the kitchen being at the back of the property away from the beach. It came down to you wrapped in tin foil but wasn’t that warm when it arrived. I know you had said they have an extensive wine list but they only ever offered one white and one red at dinner and when we asked for the list they said they didn’t have one. Breakfast was fruit, pastries and cooked breakfast or pancakes but sadly the latter was not good. They did have cereal on the menu but I never saw it out and when I asked they only had rice krispies! We did have it delivered to our villa twice and it was nice to sit on the verandah looking out to sea. They also bring fresh fruit and afternoon cake and biscuits to the room every day which is a nice touch. Dinner was a set menu with a cold starter, followed by a strange soup which was always brown and gruel like(!) and then a choice of 2 main courses and then a dessert. The main courses were varied but the dessert was often a cold mousse/pannacotta chilled style pudding that often didn’t taste of much. I know I have pointed out several negatives about KK but we really did have a nice stay and it is the place to go if you want to relax and do nothing. Matemwe – very good food and service. The manager Dorette was a very nice lady and attentive. We were put in the bungalow right at the very end below the retreat and due to it being such a long walk and feeling like you were next to the car park we asked to move and she dealt with the request quickly and moved us to No 5. She said before this that the rooms were all the same but we discovered that no 5 was bigger as it had 2 beds – the main one and also one upstairs. No 12 only had 1 bed and was definitely smaller. The diving outfit there is of a high standard and they knew as soon as we arrived that Jules was signed up to do his PADI and had all arrangements in place. He fortunately was the only learning to dive so had 1 to 1 tuition. The only thing was you told us that laundry was included but Dorette said it was only included if you stay the retreat but she did kindly do it for us. Everything else was exactly as you described it. 236 Hurumzi– it took a while to check it as at first they didn’t have our booking but then found it. You might want to check out why this was. Yes, the rooms are full of character and unique but it is style over quality and is looking quite tired. The sheets didn’t feel or look very new and although the place was clean it didn’t really feel it due to everything looking so worn. East is a unique room and an experience to stay particularly during Ramadan and listening to early morning prayer at 5am! The roof top dinner is more atmospheric than haute cuisine and rather expensive at $25PP compared to eating at one of the restaurants in the town. I know this was our choice and not your recommendation so you probably know all this feedback already and you were right that 1 night in Stone is sufficient. It’s quite sad really how the whole town is falling apart as there are some beautiful buildings. Also, all our drivers on Zanzibar were on time and spoke good English and drove us safely. The standard of the people carriers varied but were all clean. Beho Beho– absolutely fantastic. There was nothing to fault. The accommodation, service, guiding and game were all superb. It was the highlight of our trip and we loved room 5. Cheryl was the talking point amongst the guests! Ras Kutani– very similar in feel to Matemwe with good food and service. Thank you for the complimentary upgrade as we did enjoy having our own private plunge pool. I think 3 days is a sufficient amount of time there as there were a family who were there for 5 days who felt it was a little too long. Also, you lead us to believe that RK was All Inc but when we got there it was FB only. By this point we had ran out of cash so did have to pay by card. You recommended to us $800 and we were short. I would say $1000 would be a better amount. Coastal were efficient in directing us to all our flights at Dar Domestic and with the exception of the final transfer did look after us. When we were taken back to the international airport to get our flight home we had to carry our own bags were just left to find our own way. I would recommend flying Emirates as the food and service was good and it’s not a hard ship to change planes and spend a couple of hours in Dubai airport as there are loads of shops and plenty of places to eat so the 2 hour wait passes quickly. All in all, we had great honeymoon and you did an excellent job of putting our itinerary in the right order as things did get better and better. We were pleased we threw the cash at Beho Beho and cut back a bit elsewhere as it was worth the money. And just in case you didn’t know, Audley are your main competitor at Beho Beho as people had either booked through you or them. I did get a quote from them and they were no way near as competitive as you guys. I do think KK will improve and the staff are very nice and keen to impress. Thank you for all your hard work and you can now go back to swearing as much as you like. Also, I have already recommended you to another couple getting married who are looking at East Africa. Jo Howitt 2010 Hi Ed, I hope you're well. I just wanted to drop you a note to say a massive thank you for organising an amazing honeymoon. It was the best holiday we have ever had and we'll remember it forever. Everything went really smoothly, all of our transfers were on time and we felt very safe. Ruaha River Camp was great, the food, staff and accommodation were spot on and our guide, Frank, was excellent (although he kept laughing at me because i was scared of the lions!). Ras Nungwi was AMAZING, it really was paradise and we were well looked after. Again the food, staff and accommodation was fantastic. We met Jo and Olly Woolnough there who also booked through you and they also had a an amazing honeymoon. The hotel in Stone town was also lovely and it was good to spend the day there. All in all it was amazing and even if we tried we could not think of one bad thing to say. We will definitely recommend you guys to all of our friends and family. Thanks again Claire and Rowan Mahoney-Ward 2010 Ed, Got back this week form honeymoon! It was exactly what you said it would be!! thnak you so much for all your help! Lake Manze was great as was Ras Nungwi Also met a couple - Claire Mahoney and Rowan Ward - who booked trhough you and spoke also highly of you! Anyway enough praise singing - have a great week and we will be sure to come through you again Thanks Olly Woolnough 2010 Hi Julian, We just got back from a fantastic holiday in Botswana. Little bit tired, but that is part of the game. I want to thank you for all your help. It was absolutely an unforgettable holiday and it was also great to see how Savuti has changed into a real paradise with all this water. We have seen there a mother Leopard, father leopard and their cub of 3 months. Overwhelming. At Duba Plains we have seen a buffalokill by a female lion and we saw a pride of 13 lions. They were all eating after also another buffalo kill and also 3 of their cubs of 3 months old joined the meal. At Chitabe Lediba we have also seen a very relaxed male leopard. A mother cheeta with 3 cubs of approx. 1 year old, another female leopard and lions males and females. BEAUTIFUL! Julian, we have enjoyed every minute of this holiday and everything went smoothly. Thanks again for everything and as soon as we have decided what we will do for next year or another time we will come back to you for information. Kind regards, Ingrid and Patricia Wardenaar 2010 Hi Julian, Just to let you know we had a great time on Honeymoon and would not have changed a thing, Breezes was as we wanted as there was a bit of life to the place in the evenings etc any quieter would have been too isolated (well for us anyway) One thing though I would warm people of in the future is stopping at the Masai village near the crater, it’s a money making scam and all they want to do when they get you in the village is sell you stuff. Also they tired to get us to change a fake $100 bill for smaller dominations as in us end up with the fake, not sure if this is a common trick but I spotted it was fake anyway so no harm done really All in all a great trip and your help made it such Kind Regards Morgan + Hilary Foley Hello Tom A note to say what a great holiday you arranged for us, we had an amazing experience and we were very well taken care of the moment we stepped off the plane in Dar Our time in Ras Kutani was just a perfect way to start, what an arrival with the jeep meeting us and then the row boat to such a remote and beautiful spot, Mark welcomed us and he and the staff were fantastic and the beach was stunning and our accommodations so lovely on the lagoon with a view of the ocean, it was perfect ! Baho Baho was simply overwhelming, it was absolutely stunning and what a setting, we were out every chance we could off on rides and walks that we were so stunned by the wild life, we both went with totally open minds not really knowing just what to expect and WOW what an experience. The camp was exquisite, the staff and guides could not have been nicer, they were all so knowledgeable and the stay was just crammed with surprises, ones we will keep to ourselves from others that would plan their stay there. Kono Kono was lovely but after Baho Baho we found it a bit remote with very little to do so we were a bit like fish out of water wanting more adventure, Dana was lovely and certainly made every effort to make our stay enjoyable. The beach was amazing as was the ocean. Negative side was that it was way less social and the food was quite disappointing and the room was on a lot that reminded me of a suburban back yard and the tiny single beds were very uncomfortable! Oh well we made off to Stonetown a day earlier and enjoyed roaming around and experiencing the culture there so thanks for handling these last minute changes for us I think if I was to do it again I may possibly do a second safari trip rather that back to the beach as it seemed a little anti climatic after so much adventure. Tom, thank you for arranging a trip of a lifetime, it was something we will always remember and I would most definitely recommend your company for any interested parties, we were hand held all the way. With sincere thanks and kindest regards Nicholas Pinney 2010 Hi Julian Thanks so much for all your help and advice in planning the honeymoon. We just got back yesterday very tanned, a little fatter and extremely happy! Everything went very smoothly indeed and your suggestions were bang on in terms of Onsea, the timing between places, the Crater Lodge and Sayari. The 1.5 days of game viewing at the Crater was absolutely perfect (no need to do any more there whatsoever), and I can't say enough about Sayari, the position its in geographically and the game viewing itself. Absolutely spectacular through and through and the staff / food were so great. As an aside, in speaking to a number of people there too, it seems like it is a great place to go outside of the peak migration time too as the area has a lot of local wildlife that stays in the area throughout the year (if you are looking for reco's for clients in the future). However, the Coastal people totally redeemed themselves (along with some massive help from the Vamizi staff and some pilots) as I had left my camera at the Royal Palm and only discovered that once in Mozambique. Anyways after calling a Coastal rep I had never met before, he got the camera picked up at the hotel (after I determined they had it) and then one of the people the Vamizi owners knew in Dar got it from him, gave it to a pilot, who then brought it to Vamizi on his flight there on the Friday, and I had it in my possession 2 days later ............... miracle story for Africa believe me! I also can't say enough about Vamizi - I was a little apprehensive (perhaps too strong a word) about the "barefoot luxury" angle (it can either be amazing or really bad) ......... but Vamizi delivers on every angle possible. The food was out of this world, the managers are amazing (as is the staff), the beaches and the water are outstanding, and all in all I can't recommend it enough. So, THANKYOU, we had a fantastic honeymoon thanks to all your help and recommendations, and I look forward to hopefully booking some more trips with you guys in the future! All the best, Dan Belchers 2010 Dear Edward, I just wanted to send you a quick email to thank you for organising the best honeymoon! Every place that we stayed was amazing and exceeded all of our expectations. Ras Kutani was a perfect place to recuperate after our self induced alcohol poisoning - the suite was definitely a good recommendation! Beho Beho was the highlight of my trip, the attention to detail was superb - unfortunately I don't think that I am going to be able to do anything but first class safari going forward! Vamizi was simply beautiful and very difficult to leave! We are going to start saving immediately for our next trip to Africa, we have completely fallen in love with the place! Thank you again for all of your help, we will definitely be recommending Tanzania Odyssey to other people. Thanks Ayshea Arif 2010 hi tom just getting over the journey back from tanzania and wanted to say thanks for organising a great trip for us. the selous safari camp was beyond our wildest dreams. the wildlife put on a great show everyday. the staff were perfect - 100% perfect. nothing was too much trouble and the guides were really knowledgeable and interesting. the accommodation was just right and the food was brilliant too. have to say we enjoyed it so much that landing in the hustle and bustle of zanzibar on the first party night of eid was a real shock to the system. it felt weird for a city boy like me to be desperate to go straight back to the game reserve! my mrs reckoned it was the best holiday she's ever had so as it was an anniversary present, i reckon we can all say job done :-) thanks again and i'll definitely recommend you guys to anyone who's interested in safari after we've bombarded them with our pictures! all the best Simon Haram 2010 Hi Edward Just to thanks for organising a fantastic trip to Tanzania for us - everything ran very smoothly and we especially enjoyed the Nomads company in the Serengeti. We had some lovely sightings and drmatic crossings of the Mara. Thanks again. Jean and Margot Graham 2010 Hi Mark, Thank you so much for your assistance with our trip in Africa this August! We & our kids had a great time with a sense of adventure. All the destinations were at the top level with exceptional service. Looking forward to travel with you next year! Many thanks, Family Komendantov2010 Dear edward That was without doubt one of the best holidays of our lives. You got all our bookings and connections etc spot on and I almost wish I could see you to thank you. A bush night at beho beho should be on everyones list of things to do before you die. We can't thank you enough . Such a fantastic trip. Best wishes Sarah and paul jenkins 2010 Hello Marc Harris, I was so delighted to read your newsletter - We often remember the amazing trip that you put together for us. With best regards and all good wishes, Helene Krumholz (& Peter Muldavin) 2010 Hi Julian, Sorry for the late reply, the honeymoon was absolutely amazing!!! It was so well organised, we had champagne waiting for us at every place we stayed, the first camp we stayed at even made Adam a birthday cake shaped like a crocodile for his birthday. Everyone was so friendly and nothing was too much trouble. It was a perfect honeymoon, thank you Tanzania Odyssey!! Kind Regards Sue & Adam Leverett 2010 Dear Tom I just wanted to let you and your colleagues know that we had the most wonderful trip in Tanzania. It was better than I imagined it could be. Quite perfect and could not be faulted. Thanks for all your help and support. I long to return. Kind regards Sue Jenssen 2010 Hi Julian It was awesome but was planning on having a quick call with you to tell you all about it. Thought you would appreciate the feedback Really really great trip so thanks for putting it all together Regards David David S. Brown 2010 'Jambo', Thanks for your email. We had an excellent holiday and appreciate that all the arrangements you made were handled in a first class manner. The safari's were brilliant including being charged by elephants during our walking safari in Selous!!!! We will trawl through our photographs to see if there is anything worthy of your competition. 'Asante sana' to everyone at Tanzania Odyssey for making this a real special holiday. Regards. Jayne & Barry Monoghan 2010 Hi Julian an absolutely brilliant holiday - probably the best we have ever had - and we wouldn't have changed a single detail even with the benefit of hindsight, apart from ................the only mistake we made was not to make sure that we had pre-allocated seats on the Swiss Zurich - Dar flight as we just assumed that they would automatically put couples together; however, the layout in the Swiss Business cabin has a single seat in each row of 5 seats to accomodate the flat bed facility so we had two separate ones on the way out, but that was no hardship and was the one bit of the holiday you didn't arrange! Swiss sorted out adjacent seats for the return flight a few random points: the Southern Sun gave us an upgrade to a suite the Beyt al Chai allowed us to keep the room until 4pm on the last day, which was great for a freshen up after the heat of Stone Town dinner at the Beyt al Chai was exceptionally good. we had lunch at the Serena and can see the advantages of the pool for relaxing. we preferred Jongomero to Selous Safari as it felt a bit more intimate and the food was definitely better - but both camps were great with helpful staff and interesting safari rides investing in a good pair of binoculars for each of us was definitely worthwhile Matemwe was very relaxing and just what we wanted - I think the Swedish management has been replaced by a large SA operator the Coastal flights were great fun and the transfers worked like clockwork, particularly from Dar local to international terminal on the way back Monarch were good and we arranged a spice farm tour on the way back and an early morning Stone Town tour on the last day directly with the guide and enjoyed both two guides tried to explain the post independence Zanzibar/Tanzania political set-up and it certainly seems complicated, with more elections on the way to make it even more so! we will certainly be going on safari again! many thanks for all your help regards Clive Worthington 2010 A lovely trip. Enjoyed all three places and appreciate the combination of interesting contrasts you created. We want to go back already. Jonathon Hogg 2010 Hi Julian, Thanks for your email. I have been meaning to give you a ring to discuss a few things about potential future trips, but had been delayed owing to a number of work matters. In a nutshell, this visit was great and I appreciated your efforts in making it so. Well done! All the best, Carl Richardson 2010 Hi Tom, Rachel Kull here back from Tanzania safe and sound and with the most wonderful memories of a truly mesmerizing and magical experience. I want to thank you for helping me put together a fantastic vacation(holiday, as you Brits say). My husband and I were extremely impressed with the quality of the service provided by Coastal. Everything went smoothly with no glitches or delays. At every step of our journey some one was there waiting to guide us to our next destination. Everyone was helpful and hospitable. Things couldn't have gone better. Both tent camps provided a memorable experience along with friendly and professional service. The resort in Zanzibar was a tropical paradise after an exciting week of safaris. I could go on and on but suffice to say, we thank you and your colleagues at Coastal for a vacation we will never forget and may never top. Many thanks, Rachel Kull 2010 Hi Edward, Probably by now you are also on holidays :) I just wanted to write you a small letter to thank you for everything as we had the most exciting and amazing honeymoon ever. Everything worked perfectly with the people from Wilderness, and we had no problems along the trip. Just to give you a little bit of feedback (i guess you'd appreciate for future customers), we had a wonderful stay at Tongabezi, where the location are food were the big strengths. Also the staff was always helpful, they demonstrated it specially when my husband injured his knee (while bungee jumping yes ha ha) and they drove us to the hospital and helped us out at any time so we could get everything sorted with a doctor at minimum cost. They were very kind and professional. The first Camp Duma Tao, was lovely, staff was really kind too, and we had great game viewing there, was a great choice -that was your recommendation-.. Second Camp, Mombo, was as good and beautiful as we expected, best location ever to see lions and leopards (we saw a lot) and the most beautifully furnished and decorated Camp ever. Every small detail was beautiful, exclusive and with loads of taste. we loved our stay there. The third Camp, Jao, was probably-maybe for being the last one- the most special to us. The location by the delta was incredible, but the best there was truly the staff, they made us feel as we were HOME, always so pleasant, nice, helpful and funny. There was something really magical around Jao, we also made the safari day+picnic which was really amazing. Just to end, thank you again for the most wonderful trip of our lives! kind regards, Silvia Garcia-Sineriz 2010 Hi Tom, Thanks for the mail. We had an absolutely brilliant time thanks. Everything went to plan and the places you sent us were fantastic, each a little different but amazing, so thanks. Highlight for the both of us was probably seeing the baby turtles being unleashed into the sea at Ras Kutani. That was really incredible to see. It'll be one holiday we won't forget in a hurry. Many thanks again for putting it all together for us. Brian O’Driscoll 2010 Hi Ed We got back on Sunday and I wanted to write and say what an amazing time we had. You did so well in choosing what was right for us! Manze was the perfect introduction to Tanzania, and then to ‘upgrade’ (i.e. it had electricity!) to Impala worked perfectly. Both Richard at Manze & Barbara at Impala spoke very highly of you and the team. We saw every animal the Selous had to offer, and we were particularly lucky to see leopards & a pack of wild dogs. We watched a herd of elephants march past our tent at 6am at Impala from our bed one morning, all very surreal! We also did a few boat trips and some fishing at Impala, & Simon caught a 6kg catfish (first time fishing for him!) which they cooked up for dinner. I only managed to catch a squeaker which ended up as bait L The staff at both lodges were all so great and a lot of our holiday funds went on tips alone, and rightly so. Mchanga was also wonderful; Gloria & Thomas (and Jackmary the dog) were great hosts, who also sent their regards to you. I understand you stayed there not long ago too! The food there was excellent. Although we probably should have gone full board as there is literally nowhere else to go for lunch or dinner, & even the snorkeling & spice tours were only half a day. I do miss their fresh fruit juices desperately! We managed to meet some very cool couples, many of whom had got married on the same day so there was lots of note swapping (at least between the girls) and there will be much picture swapping on facebook of who got the best shot of the zebra/giraffe/impala/croc etc! StoneTownwas fascinating, and the guide who took us round was excellent. In fact, every transfer or contact arranged by you was flawless. You have great people working for/with you. A wonderful two weeks, many, many thanks Ed. We shall be recommending Tanzania Odyssey highly to anyone who’ll listen (or sit through our several hundred photos). Best wishes from me & Simon, Annabel Holmes 2010 Hi Tom, We are now back from our amazing trip and I just thought I should thank you for all your work with booking our trip. Everything went perfectly....I absolutely loved how I didnt have to figure out transportation to go from place to place...everywhere we went there was someone waiting to bring us to the next place....or welcoming us...it was great! Safari lodges and hotels everywhere were all great! We were able to see the big five in one day haha!! I am sending you some pics....just for fun.... You probably know quickly when people are not happy therefore I thought it would be nice for you to know that we are extremely happy with our trip and the services you provided to us... Take care and keep up the good work! :o) Chantal and Shannon Duguay 2010 arnold/marc: just returned from our trip to africa and wanted to let each of you know how wonderful it was in all respects...the safari portion in botswana was "off the charts"...little mombo is the most extraordinary place to see game...little vumbura was also great and we took the opportunity to do different activities there...zambia and the river club was also excellent...the falls were breathtaking...capetown was magnificent...all flights and logistics were perfect...everyone had a fantastic time...lots of pictures and memories...thanks to each of you for organizing...if you need anyone to endorse the trip and/or your services, i am happy to do so...best, stewart brenner Stewart Brenner 2010 Feet haven’t touched the ground since we got back. It was Fantastic for different reasons than Tanzania. I think it was the contrast between the three camps. The first night we had 9 hrs of lightening and rain like I have never seen. In fact they are already way past any record in water height for more than 30 yrs. There is only one way out of Duba and the water became deeper each day so much so that I was convinced they would stop the drives. Even on the first day it was over the bonnet and James stood on the seat and operated the accelerator with a stick! People we met left the day before us for Little Vumbra and when we arrived the next day they depressed us by saying this camp was a waste of time it was too wet and they couldn’t off road without getting stuck. In fact it was perfectly ok and we went everywhere and really enjoyed it. Chitabe was a real surprise . If you remember it was a sort of last minute addition because of flights or camp availability I can’t remember. If anything this was the best and we would have liked to have stayed longer. Perhaps our view was distorted by the 22 wild dogs which I believe are the same pack as the recent documentary. We spent two hours watching them play with each other in the morning before falling asleep. We returned to watch them awake and set off on a hunt. Very quickly they brought down an Impala which all but disappeared in just over 4 minutes. Then there was an unbelievable chain of events. A leopard appeared in the middle of them they started to go berserk and attacked it. It swiped three of them before climbing a dead Leadwood tree and perched on a thin branch. I did not want to see it ripped apart so we were praying the branch would hold. I guess leopards aren’t happy when the Lions appear but this time you could almost see a smile on its face. The dogs were still going mental but when they saw the lions they didn’t half shift. The Elephants with their young weren’t too pleased about the lions so all hell broke loose as they charged the lions through the bush. The Leopard took the chance to come down but did it use it’s brains and run off.....no it went back for the remains of the prey and started dragging it towards a tree. That was when the huge Hyena arrived and took the remains off the Leopard. That was when it sat down and looked on forlornly as the Hyena started to crunch its way through the rest of the meal. So...Yeah it was ok. Thanks very much will be back with you soon. You may remember this all started when I was bored in a meeting in Manchester! Please show this to the boss. He too was very helpful when I phoned one Saturday Best wishes Gef Bradburn 2010 Hi Edward, Just to say thank you!!! The honeymoon was great, all the hotels, lodges and travel arrangements were perfect and the people, especially our safari guides were fantastic… Regards Vicente Antoli 2010 Hi Nick, Just a short note to say thank you for your help in planning and booking our Tanzanian itinerary. We had an amazing time in Tanzania, each and every hotel, camp and resort recommendation was fantastic. Can you please pass on our thanks to the management at Asilia, the service was exceptional, with a particularly mention to Future and John at Olakira. Also, please pass on a very special thanks to Albert, our guide for the 6 days. Albert was extremely professional and considered, his guiding skills ensured that we managed to see the "Big 5" and learnt a lot about the country and it's people, all in a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Additionally, please could you mention Emiel (manager at Ras Kutani), to the Selous management. He was extremely engaging and made us feel very comfortable during our stay.. Thanks again Alun and Bethan Jones 2010 Just want to let you know the trip was a great success and we were upgraded to the house which really capped it. Keep me abreast of things you do, especially Tanzania and Zanzibar as definitely will look at that in a couple of years or so, Perfect itinerary fyi….thks and Happy New Year Alan Eisner 2010
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Hello Julian, I wanted to follow up with a big thank you!. We arrived home on Jan 2nd. Our trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar was fantastic. Our guide, Nicolas was outstanding. His knowledge, responsiveness and ability to spot animals is the distance was amazing. The parks, the food, staff and accomodation were wonderful. Our only concern was our stay at the Octagon Lodge. The food was fine but the accomodations weren't great. When we went to check out at the following day they didn't want us to use a credit card for our incidental spend during our stay. He wanted cash. He claimed the rain had knocked out his credit card machine. When we offered to wait until it was back up he agreed to let us put our costs through on the credit card. Thank you again for helping us plan and book the wonderful holiday! Cheers! Kim Spurgeon 2009 Dear Edward, Happy New Year. Just wanted to tell you we had a wonderful time. A true adventure and what made it perfect was that there were so few people. It was possible to drive an entire day without seeing another vehicle and the walking safari was great. The lodge was beautifully run and very comfortable with a super staff. Definitely a great destination. Thanks for all your assistance and all the best for the New Year. With best regards, Richard Richard A. Shepard 2009 My husband and our three children went on a safari in october 2009 that you organised. I just wanted to thankyou. We had a lovely time. We went to the Selous for 5 nights then Zanzibar for three nights. CPierce Christine Pierce 2009 Thanks Nick! It really was such an exceptional time and trip. We still had a wonderful time at Ras Nungwi. We saw something fantastic animals on our safaris and it’s difficult to choose a highlight. We loved the big cats and I never tired of seeing the giraffes – although I didn’t tire of seeing anything. I also loved the fact that we felt surrounded by the migration while camping at Olakira too. Really wonderful memories. I’ll get some photos over to you soon. Catherine Stones 2009 Marc Just a belated & quick email to say thank you for all you and your teams work put into producing our honeymoon. It was simply fantastic. Echo beach and Lake Manze were both excellent and Rus Kutani at the end was, in the words of my wife a 'magical way to finish up!' Work the following Monday was an uncomfortable jolt back into reality! Anyway, many thanks once again. Kind Regards Karl and Laetitia Craign 2009 Hi Julian, As you know we have just returned from our trip, and a big thank you for all the suggestions and recommendations, they were all superb.We had a fantastic and memorable time, in no small way because your recommendations. Our 25 anniversary at the impala was spectacular, table on our own by the fire, cake! and song from the staff, what more could you ask for. We loved lake Manse, Richard reminds me of an old school master!! quite formal in his ways but very interested in what you have done etc, which is great especially as he must hear the same things day in day out! Organised people on the first day to ensure he mixed everyone up. Elephants on form including a morning raid for bananas. Modonya, was as we expected, only points I would make is the distance from the river and therefore the game, through areas which held little game as they are so far from water. Camp was a little rudderless as the manager had the weekend off and the relief who was very Italian, was only to be seen at mealtimes! Echo beach was great, we had room 9, which I understand you always try and get. Only thing I would say is the lighting in the room is very poor and with the overhead light and both bedside lights on it is still very difficult to read in bed. Other than that it was a lovely place, the food was great, although we both got "the true African experience" for the last couple of days and missed out on alot of great looking food. Your organisation was faultless and we would be happy to recommend Tanzania odyssey to anyone, so please use any of this any way you want, or give our e mail to anyone who wants to ask an "independent" about your company. Kind regards Jeremy and Gilly Claydon 2009 Nick, Just wanted to let you know we had a great time on our trip. Everything exceeded our expectations and feel free to consider us a reference if you ever need one. I have referred your company/name to three people who are thinking about a similar trip since we returned. Thanks again. Sincerely, John John Marshall 2009 Dear Jules and Nick Just to thank you, now the dust has settled after our return, for the really memorable holiday which you arranged for us. All the arrangements worked perfectly, and we felt your care to reflect our preferences in the trip you designed for us was not only very professional but resulted in the holiday being everything we had hoped it would be, and indeed more. It is rare to have your expectations exceeded; that was absolutely what happened. Thank you! We have been singing your praises and directing others to you, so will expect a monster discount next time we come (only joking). I think you asked for feedback and we can only really award 11/10 in all respects. Manze and Impala were both fabulous. Richard, the manager of Manze, impressed us particularly. Impala may well be in the river next year unless (as we heard is planned) they rebuild it before the rains, further back from the rapidly receding bank - but that is another matter! The guides were exceptional. Lazy Lagoon was perfect for us; as I think we discussed, the laidback "bush chic" style might not suit the spa brigade, but we loved it. The journey out is of course a bit of an experience. EchoBeach- perhaps our initial impression was coloured by the paradise we had just left which could not really be matched, but although we warmed to it, it was not quite at the level we had expected, particularly from the website on the bathrooms. The one in our room (no7) was below par; dim grungy lighting, sometimes a smell of drains, scarily slippery marble floor when wet which it was all the time as the shower didn't properly drain, some marble tiles cracked and the soapholder missing; salt water meant you could not properly lather up in the shower. All details, but of course details matter. Sue and Andrew could not have been more friendly and attentive and dealt immediately with points raised, but the whole place somehow felt it could go up a notch. Nevertheless we had a great and relaxing time there. We were told one of you had stayed there not long ago so this may all be familiar. The answer to all this may be "this is Africa", of course. Anyway, I don't want to end on a slightly qualified note; it was a fantastic holiday, we loved it, and hope to return. Best wishes Peter and Christina Pearce 2009 Hi Just a short note to say we had a great time in Tanzania. Everything that you organised worked well, the game viewing was great and we thoroughly enjoyed the Zanzibar beach and Stonetown. If I had to single out one place for extra praise it would be Kwihala where the guiding and facilities were outstanding. regards Andrew Herman 2009 Hello Jules I am so sorry we haven't been in touch, i cant believe that we have been home for a week! The time just seems to have zoomed past and I keep meaning to email you. Thank you so much, we had the most amazing holiday ever. We really wanted a holiday of a lifetime and it really did fulfil all of our dreams. All of the places that we stayed were just perfect and just what we had wanted. We were treated like royalty wherever we went and made to feel so special. I don't think that either of us could get over the amazing honeymoon suite at Ras Kutani, especially after having spent so much time in dirty clothes on safari! Everyone was so kind and friendly at all of the camps and resorts and we have already recommended you to so many people - although half the people on safari seem to have come from Tanzania Odyssey! Thank you also so much for the tour of Stone Town. That was such a thoughtful gift and we really enjoyed being shown around and probably going to places that we would have otherwise felt uncomfortable in venturing into on our own. I have attached a couple of pictures from our safari, that just blew us away (not to mention the candlelit dinners at our tent and the sunset drinks on the bank of the river at Lake Manze). A proper thank you will be on its way to you. Just one thing to mention was that we didn't get our pick up in Stone Town to the airport. We waited for about half an hour and then the hotel arranged a taxi for us - just so you know in case it happens to anyone else. Was not a problem for us though. Thank you again so much for arranging the perfect trip - everyone we saw sends their regards to you, I kept wondering who Julian was.... clearly my brain was on holiday! I hope that all is well with you. Hope to see you soon. Jenny Lever 2009 Hi Jules Sorry for the late reply, just trying to catch up with things, Thats the down side to be away for 3 weeks I guess! What can I say about the Honeymoon.... Amazing I think sums it up, We had a great time, your choice of accomodation was spot on. Pongwee was so relaxing and a great way to start the holiday the day in Stone town was good fun and thanks so much for the guided tour and booking the roof top dinner. We had a great start at Lake manze seeing a lepoard with an impala just minutes from the runway. Malcolm who was in charge at Lake manze made us feel so welcome he even treated us to sunset drinks by the lake and our own priavite dinner on the last night made from the fish we had caught that morning. Old madonya river camp was also very enjoyable, they to treated us to a privet dinner with own camp fire. Spending the last 4 days at Ras Kutani was perfect, staying in the Honeymoon suite and beign treated by such frendly staff. We paticularly liked the number 1 rule at Ras Kutani "Relax" which we became very good at! Thanks again Alex Hotston 2009 Hi Nick, Hope this finds you well. Thank you for organizing a great trip in Tanzania for us. Everything worked out perfectly and we wouldn't have changed anything. Best, Antoine T 2009 Nick Just a quick note to say what a wonderful honeymoon we had. Everywhere we stayed was fantastic and more than lived up to our expectations. We were met at all connections so that everything went very smoothly and was very easy and relaxing. Thank you for your help with arranging this Kind regards Helen Helen Hatfield2009 Hi Julian I just wanted to let you know we had an absolutely fantastic time, we loved it. The camps (Manze and Mdoyna) were excellent and we were really happy with everything, the guiding was very good as was the food. We also ran into Ed at both camps and i'm sure he'll be a great addition to your team. Hopefully we may book with you again some time. Best wishes Claire Foresters 2009 Dear Julian, Meant to email you ages ago to say we had a brilliant trip but with going back to school, work etc we have been too busy. All arrangements went very well - the boys loved the safari and we were glad we had chosen both Manze and Impala in the end. Manze was great (Richard was very entertaining) and it was interesting having elephants wandering between the tents all the time. We really loved Impala as well - Pietro (our guide) was endlessly patient and went out of his way to keep the boys interested. Loved the fishing. Kinasi was a welcome rest from sitting for hours in cars and boats on safari - the food was generally good although it was very quiet there. This did however mean that we could choose exactly what we wanted to do and managed to fit in a lot of snorkelling trips. The dive guy Aude was really friendly and helpful (and nothing like the character suggested on Tripadviser.com). We surprisingly survived all of the small flights which all worked well (except when they closed the airport at Dar and we had to help our pilot locate an airstrip in the middle of a field somewhere just outside Dar). Zanzibarwas good but not as nice as we remembered - it had changed a lot since we were there 13 years ago ! I was a bit alarmed by the number of groups of young women wandering around completely inappropriately dressed but the Jozani forest trip was great. Thanks for all of your help anyway - will be in touch if we decide to go back to Africa in a few years (or will send our friends your way!). Kind regards, Gail James 2009 Nick, I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed your visit to B.C. Let me know if you are ever back this way again as I would welcome the opportunity to meet you (I intended to visit the office in London but we were there on the weekend of the bank holiday). The highlight was the entire time spent in the North. Everything was terrific: the game drives, the wildebeest crossing the river, the accommodation at Sayari Camp, the hospitality of Joe, Barbara and Ken and their team, our driver ("Prim"). Even the weather was perfect (warm days and rain showers in the evenings). We were also pleased with Onsea House. The food was good and it was an excellent place to recuperate from the journey before beginning the safari. Thanks again for putting the trip together for us. Edgar A. Frechette 2009 Hi there! Well, the Lerners have returned from their trip and may I quote, "by far the best trip of our lives" they absolutely loved it said there was not one thing that went wrong and Wildlife Safaris was great. I have just emailed Wildlife to see if they have any Travel Agent Fam trips to Momo and orKings Pool, I have to get over there so I can sell it to more of my clients, I want to thank you and Mark once again for helping me provide my clients with the trip of a lifetime, Job Well Done!!!!! Thanks again, hope we do more in the future. Warm Regards, Darleen Roth, Travel Magic, 2009 Hi all at T/O, Just to let you know we are back from the most amazing 2 weeks ever!! Everything went exactly to plan....all the pick ups, flights etc. We had the best time, all the guides were fabulous the camps were amazing, the stay at Oliver's Camp stood out though - the people the camp everything was unbelievable we would love to go back, on the walking safari we came across a lion with a kill approx 50 ft away it was a heart stopping moment but fantastic. We left the camp with a tear in our eyes we made some good friends there, it will always be a very special place for us. Sayari was fantastic too- but maybe feels a bit new still... it needs time to bed in - the safari experience was great getting into also sorts of areas and seeing a migration across the Mara river one day - a brutal never to be forgotten experience- Zanzibar a fascinating place was a bit of a shock after 1 week on safari but we got the hang of it!- Ras Nungwi again was wonderful, the people there were amazing and again we made some good friends and totally chilled out. Think you get the gist of things...It was GREAT.. thank you so much. Now we have the bug and want to return - We have planned to visit a good friend in Mauritius next year late feb/march maybe - with the international flights etc we wondered if it was possible to have say 3 - 4 nights on Safari may be in a different area Selous perhaps then get a connecting flight to Mauritius!! I would be grateful if you can look at some options for us... Our best wishes Melissa and David Foster 2009 Dear Julian Many thanks for preparing the most amazing itinerary for us for our African adventure!! Just a few highlights: Livingstone, without a doubt swimming in the Zambezi and in the Devil's pool. We were so lucky, because of the excessive water this year, the pool had only just been opened. It was a most exhilerating experience! Chobe, the all day safari and specifically the 3 hours we spent on the river. Lunch was taken on the boat which was pulled up on a bank where we were amongst a herd of around 100 elephants! Pretty amazing! We also saw our first lion and leopard both of which had had a recent kill. Lebala, for an all round experience and off-road tracking this was outstanding. Our guide Spencer was very experienced and we felt totally confident in him, especially when charged by a herd of elephant! We saw lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, honey badger and pangolin as well as many other wonderful birds and mammals. Little Vumbura is an oasis of calm and was a brilliant place to stay after our frenetic few days at Chobe and Lebala. We had more R&R and spent time in an around the pool. We thoroughly enjoyed the boat trip and Macoro and it was nice doing something other than game drives. The game drives with our guide Sevara were a real education, his knowledge and enthusiasm for his subject certainly rubbed off on us all. The highlights here were the tracking and spending time with 3 lionesses and 2 cubs and we spent a whole evening with them which was magic. We had another close encounter with an elephant who started feeding off the roof of our tent at 1am. Half an hour of being buffetted and her trunk hitting the roof was slightly disconcerting, but here we are with yet another tail to tell! She was still in camp when we left on Friday morning. The organisation throughout the trip was quite extraordinary, with flights arriving on time and being greeted at every point of arrival by a great group of people. It is going to take me weeks to sort out the photographs. With 3 cameras and about 6000 pictures! Thank you for the advise re buying and SLR- definitely and essential piece of kit, but it is also necessary to have a small wide angle camera as well we thought, as Matt took some great panoramic shots. I will send links to some of my pictures in due course. We all agreed this was the best family holiday we had ever had, and thank you for your part in advising us on where to go etc. Kind regards Celia Alawi 2009 PS. I think we will be going back! Julian, Thank you so much for recommending Chiawa!!! What a special place! We had amazing wildlife experiences (lion kill in camp by a mating pair, hippos and elephants in camp every day, leopard in tree on the river and lots of other wonderful sightings on foot and by car and on the river. I think the croc with the huge eel in its mouth was a first for me!). Dave and Grant were there for part of the time and just wonderful to us. The camp staff were terrific as well - so patient and helpful with the kids. I think it was a life-altering experience for our friends, the Friedlands. It took their kids some time to adjust to camp life, but they are raving to everyone back in New York about their first-ever trip to Africa and Zambia. Although Peter and I and our kids have been on many safaris, this was one of the very best in terms of guides and wildlife. Peter and the kids and I definitely hope to return next year - we are moving to Cape Town in January (schools are secured but still need a home!) and will be doing lots more travel around southern and east Africa. Perhaps we can book Mombo far enough in advance to ensure a place - let us know the best time to be there. I so appreciate your professionalism and guidance and hope to meet you at some point somewhere in Africa! Best wishes, IndiaBaird 2009 Dear Marc, Nick, and Odyssey Team, We are just back from a truly fantastic dream trip in Tanzania! All was very well organized and the location, scenery, and adventures were stunning! Here is a little feedback on our trip and some recommendations. Flights and transfers: Wonderfully organized! There was always somebody waiting for us at the airports or hotels etc. Some, for African countries minor confusions (such as not recognizing some tickets or mixing names) could be resolved quickly. It may be worth mentioning in the description that sometimes one is placed in other plane than expected and sometimes one even fly with different "airline" so one is prepared for that. But flights and transfers were truly superb! Oyster Bayin Dar: What a nice first night!! A beautifully designed small hotel with very relaxing atmosphere, great staff, and delicious food. We were lucky enough to be the only customers that day and we fully enjoyed our first day. A perfect place to start the trip and in our case our honeymoon. If we have the chance to do it all again, we would certainly stay 2 nights to fully relax and recover from the flight. Highly recommended! Sayari Camp: As you know, the camp has recently gone "stationary." A wonderful camp with excellent tents, great food, and exceptional staff and guides! Game drives are spectacular in the Serengeti and very well and flexibly organized even with drinks in the afternoon in stunning scenery. The walk tour is highly recommended. We only walked for a short hour on our last morning but that was already great. Walks can be flexibly organized and can last even a full morning. The new pool is also very nice and relaxing in the afternoon (if there are not too many kids :o) ). Highly recommended! Ngorogoro Crater Lodge: Wow! what an outstanding place!! The most exceptional place we have ever been to! The design and splitting of the lodge into three smaller independent lodges works beautifully and you only see a few people during dinner. Staff is fantastic preparing a rose bath and lighten the fire and take care of anything needed... Food was exceptional with local products and spices! The game drives are certainly interesting but there are too many people and cars in the Crater. In addition, the animals are used to vehicles so the experience is not as great as in the Serengeti. We felt that the quick game drive upon arrival in the afternoon and a full morning game drive were sufficient. The landscape, however, is wonderful. For a honeymoon a fantastic place! We certainly would have stayed longer but even two nights are worth the journey! Highly recommended! StoneTown, Beyt al Chai: As expected, a little culture shock from the Crater Lodge to Stone Town and the Beyt al Chai. However, this small B&B is warm and welcoming and nicely located. The third sultan room is ready now so we could stay all three days in one of them (the "blue room," which was very nice and was our favorite). The only thing that could be changed is the mattress, which was a little run down. We tried the newly opened restaurant in the Beyt al Chai, which is quite good serving local food variations. A little on the expensive side but certainly worth it. StownTownis overall pretty run down but one can imagine its beautiful past. We took a guided tour with a guide recommended by the hotel (Abdul, $25 pp), which was great and we strongly recommend to take such a tour. Street food is excellent in Stone Town and the open BBQ in the evening in front of the house of wonders is amazing. A very nice local food experience also is "Two Tables," were a family cooks a pre-set dinner in their private house. We also booked a lunch trip to Mangapwani Beach (the Serena Beach Resort). The location was great (we had the beach for ourselves since most people only come for lunch) but the food was not worth the trip (about 45 minutes, of which the last 25 are on terrible "roads"). Recommended! Ras Kutani: As the pilot said: welcome to paradise! What a wonderful place and final stay of our honeymoon. Suite 1 gave us all the privacy, exceptional views, and relaxing moments! The beaches are equally marvelous! Staff is great and food very delicious! They usually serve fish but special arrangements could easily be organized. We were a little surprised that the full board did only include their filtered water, tea, and coffee. All other drinks including bottled water had to be paid for. We found the Sayari concept (basic drinks and basic alcohol included, premium brands with an extra charge) better. Another good thing to know in advance is that the guaranteed late check out does not mean late check out from your room or suite! This may happen if the room is not needed that day. We had to move to a "day room" which gives you pretty much a warm shower and a place to change... Alternatively, one could just stay in the lounge area and at the pool and take a shower (cold water though) there. So, we would recommend to add specifics of Ras Kutani so one is prepared. However, this place is exceptional and we highly recommend it. Tips and cash: We followed your recommendation on tips and took adequate amount of US dollars in cash with us. However, independent local recommendations for tips are pretty much doubling your recommendations! Most placed recommend $10 USD for housekeeping staff per room per day and $20 USD per day for a guide. We run out of money and it was quite a challenge to get US dollars in Stone Town from a credit card account (one has to go the the main branch of Barcley Bank). It is also not always apparent to whom the tip should be given. In most places, there is a tip box for hotel/camp staff overall. Usually guides and drivers getting their tips in person. At the Crater Lode, one personally tip the butler, the housekeeper, and the guide and then provide the tip for the "other" staff to the manager. We would recommend to ask about tip arrangements at each place. It is also recommended to change some US dollars to Schillings to tip airport baggage carriers etc. and to buy some local food or bottled water. It is also advisable to take small US bills (ie, $1, $5, or $10) ... return money is often given in Schilling. We did not save on tips since it is a good opportunity to support local people somewhat and, compared to the overall cost, tipping costs are minimal. Other: We had no trouble with security or other safety-related issues. People are very friendly and most speak English very well. If needed, cell phone reception worked in most places. The Tsetse flies in the Serengeti are sometimes brutal during the day ... and anti mosquito lotion won't help much. It is advisable to take a gel that reduces itching and swelling of bites. mosquito nets were provided in all locations and usually the room is sprayed in the evening. Electricity: international plugs are usually provided. Some places shut down electricity during some ours. Enough said! This trip was a dream! It was extraordinarily organized and your prior advices were excellent! We hope to be able to do another trip like this again... but we need to first fill out accounts again :O) All the best wishes from Paris, Tobias & Magali Kurth 2009 Hi Julian, Just to let you know we had a fabulous trip, and that everything worked like clockwork. We particularly liked the wilderness camp (Xigera) and the CCAfrica Savuti under canvas, and Nxabega. Were they (the CCafrica camps) a lot more expensive? We hope to go to Namibia next. Do you cover that? Many thanks for organising it all Rebecca Hardy 2009 Hi Julian, well I'd have to say it would be difficult to pick one specific highlight. From day one on Zanzibar it was beautiful just what we needed after the wedding, even down to the flower arrangements on the bed. The staff/guides and management everywhere we went were more than helpful. We especially liked the Riverbed meals at night at Mwagusi, truly amazing to eat under such a beautiful sky with such good company. I guess ultimately the animals are the stars of the show. The Lions though lazy have so much character, I could have taken photo's all day, and the Elephants are so much more protective and graceful than you could ever imagine compared to seeing them in a zoo. The Hyena's crunching through a buffalo carcass was quite a sight and the African hunting dogs too with their 7 pups. But each and everything we saw was amazing in its own way. The one other outstanding thing to draw from the trip was the land itself, it's difficult to explain to people when we tell them. It's just a place you have to see for yourself, the miles and miles of dried yellow grass and dusty earth with splashes of green and brown of the trees and bushes. Yet there's so much beauty in the landscape and its inhabitants. It is vast and we saw just a fraction of it. And finally Ras Kutani could not have ended the trip better... relaxing and massage's, eating and drinking. Rambled on a bit there but take it from me you and everyone involved did a fantastic job, hope to travel with you again. Wishing you all the very best. Cheers Jase and Jenny Hales 2009 Hi Nick, We have just returned from our honeymoon in Tanzania that we booked through you last summer, and just wanted to say many thanks for all your help in organising it for us. We had a fantastic time in Pongwe, Selous Safari Camp and Ras Kutani. The weather, food, views and animals were all amazing. Certainly a memorable way to start married life! Many thanks again, Alasdair and Hannah Robbie 2009 nick- our trip was really great!! thank you so much for all you did to make it so nice, so smooth and such a success. the only things i would change: i would not stay at the souk hotel, too far away from the ferry; i would fly next time i went to zanzibar, although the ferry was an experience! that is really all. a particular nod to the asilia resorts: matembe, olivers camp and olakira were amazing. our guide, aenae was also really amazing, fun, thoughtful, knowledgeable....i would give very higih marks to him, if you could give back our thougths on him to asilia. he really made our trip special. thank you nick. it was a wonderful trip!!! Alex Piper 2009 Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic What a brilliant time we had. All your arrangements were perfect and given so many flights etc, astonishing there was not one single delay Both camps were stunning, we saw loads met great people and must say the two camp managers, particularly Molly, at Jongomero, were a credit to their companies and themselves personally. The guiding was superb,tents, food, services astounding. We truly had a fantastic time. Zanzibarwas excellent too, particularly Echo Beach…superb owners and staff, made it very special..food simply outstanding, boy does Andrew( the owner) know how to cook!! You really should try to set up a referral scheme with them, everything you could want is there. Could, and perhaps, should have stayed one more night at echo beach, one less in Stonetown, as I think one day would have been enough. Not the most attractive place on the planet, and the hotel was fine but no more than that. Anyway that didn’t spoil anything as we only used it to sleep in anyway. So many thanks for all your patience and hard work and we certainly shall be recommending you to anyone who listens. cheers John Macdougall 2009 Hi Nick, Sorry it took me some times to give you some news. The trip in Tanzania was great. Weather was perfect, no rain a bit of wind and warm. Safari is wonderful. Thank you for advising me to go see the migration. It was fantastic. Regards, LorraineQuoirez 2009 Hi Julian Just wanted to let you know we had the most fantastic time in Zanzibar. All the transfers and connections were really efficient, and Echo Beach was paradise! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is looking to just switch off and chill out. Thanks for arranging it all for us. All the best Gary Frank 2009 Hi Julian, My Dad and I are back from the big trip and I wanted to give you some feedback. Overall it was a wonderful vacation and everything went incredibly smoothly and as planned. We started off with an upgrade at the Palacina Hotel in Nairobi so we had the penthouse suite which was a real treat after the long flights. Our guide for the Kilimanjaro trek (Hickson) was great and they all took very good care of us. We were pretty lucky with the weather too and we made it to the summit! It was harder than I thought it was going to be and we were pretty proud of the accomplishment. The only disappointing thing about the trek is that we were not with a group. It ended up just being the two of us, which wasn't what we wanted or expected, but it was fine. We did meet others along the trail and I even ran into some people I know! It just would have been nice to have shared meals with others. We also had one other issue with the tent leaking one night during a good rain storm. Luckily it wasn't a big leak so that worked out OK too. We both enjoyed the trek very much. Then the Ngorongoro crater was amazing! There were animals everywhere we looked and one morning we even got to see a pride of lions finishing a meal of wildebeest with jackals and hyenas waiting in the background for leftovers. It was unbelievable! And the Serena Hotel was super fancy and comfortable after our nights in the tent. Then it was back to Moshi for the marathon and we did it! My Dad did the entire thing and I did the half. It was a much bigger event than either of us imagined and well organized. There were over 3000 runners total (marathon, half, and a 5k fun run). It was a lot of uphill and also more difficult than we thought, but there were locals lined along the streets, lots of water stations, and a full stadium cheering you on as you finished. We also got medals and t-shirts! I haven't taken my medal off yet... (kidding!). The route was well marked, traffic was controlled, and the best part was when the little village kids would run along side you for awhile keeping you company. We were extremely tired after it, but again quite proud of the accomplishment. The Arusha Hotel was another LOVELY retreat and the perfect place to rest after the run. My favorite part was the Serengeti. I absolutely loved the safari camp set up and it was quite luxurious. We loved having drinks in the evening around the fire with the other guests and I think those meals were the best we had the entire trip. We saw lots of animals including a family of elephants, giraffes, lots more lions, a python that was still digesting a baby wildebeest, and cheetahs. No leopards but pretty much everything else. It was the trip of a lifetime and I want to thank you for organizing everything so that all we had to do was show up and enjoy ourselves. Thanks again! Katy Burke 2009 Julien Just a note to say many thanks for producing such a wonderful itinerary for our trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar. Everything was perfect and we had a fantastic time. The wildlife was spectacular and the hotels were all good in their own right. We did not get the Sherali Suite in Zanzibar but the Dumai with its roof top bathroom was quite a novelty despite the number of stairs! Glad we stayed at Echo Beach (single cottage) after seeing Breezes and Sue and Andrew were good hosts. The sea food was out of this world! The best part for us, aside from Crater Lodge, was the Nomad camp. Great guide, great food and great viewing. So all in all 10/10. Kind regards Harry Button 2009 Hi Julian, Just a quick note to say that we arrived back Sunday following our holiday in Tanzania that frankly was well beyond awesome. We had a fantastic time, the hotels/camp that you recommended were excellent and the organization on the ground was so unbelievably efficient. Our flight arrived 3.5 hours late but after fiddling with timetables we arrived at Nomads only one hour late. Thank you again for what was an amazing experience. Scuba diving off Mnemba Atol…wow! With regards Jamie Smith 2009 We have just returned from a holiday in Tanzania which included 4 nights at Katavi and simply wanted to tell you that it was the highlight of our trip. We had a wonderful four days criss-crossing the area with Apollo who was the perfect guide, he told us the obvious things and then elaborated on reasons and examples etc. and was, as far as we could tell, word perfect on bird identification, showing us the pictures in the book to confirm what he said. Also Adam and Vicki were excellent hosts, we had a guided tour of the developments and would love to go back and check them out… Adam’s knowledge of bird life was phenomenal, and he shared his enthusiasm with us even lending us his telescope for an afternoon. The cuisine was amazing, I cant imagine how the chef produced such good meals, and it’s the first time in Africathat we haven’t been troubled by Gippy tummy! So, congratulations to all concerned, and thanks for a wonderful trip, Lucy and James Mackenzie 2009 Julian It’s hard to pick the highlights – every day, we saw something amazing. The cheetahs were incredible – I have never been more terrified in my life! But we also saw elephants drinking at the lake at Selous, and a crocodile went for an elephant’s trunk, which caused a huge fracas, trumpeting and chaos. Also a pride of lions ripping apart a zebra and a gazelle which they’d killed earlier, and then going to the lake with them for a post lunch drink. I know you have thousands of photos of your own, but I will send you a link to a Picasa web album. I think your website is one of the best – if not the best - I’ve seen, but if you want to use any of the photos, please feel free. Once again, many thanks to you all. Best regards Matt Allchurch & Family Dear Julian. Thank you so very much for organizing an amazing holiday. All eleven flights pick ups and transfers were seamless. Zanzibarairport is the best. Coastal Airways delivered airline tickets not given at departures, through the pilots open window on the runway. They also very kindly flew in a fresh supply of anti-biotic when the old intestines packed up. ZanzibarPalace with the roof top view of the India ocean and sunset action all while taking a much needed cooling shower unforgettable. Beho Beho was absolute tops. The staff are incredible and how they train all those animals to turn up and entertain on quoi Disneyesque. Quite frankly we have had a wonderful time, and I really just wanted to pass on our thanks. Yours sincerely. Stella Wilson 2009 Marc, Julian and the team at TO Now we are back in Australia, many, many thanks to the whole team for an absolutely wonderful experience. It was unforgettable. Thanks in particular for helping my parents meet up with us – it was a very special time for us all. In terms of specific feedback, Ras Nungwi was absolutely lovely. It had a friendly, family atmosphere. The staff were terrific – helpful, attentive and charming. The food was first rate, and I really liked the idea of dinner being served at a set time with a set menu. The accommodation was spacious, well maintained and comfortable. And the beach was stunning. It was a perfect place to unwind after a month of serious sightseeing in India. Kusini was great, impossible to fault. As our first safari experience, it was unbelievable. I had struggled to envisage how a tented camp could deliver true luxury, but it really did. We saw some amazing things – the migration was spectacular; and one morning, we had a cheetah actually sitting on the front of our vehicle! As we left Kusini, my son commented that it would be hard for the Selous to top that – but unbelievably, it did. The accommodation was fantastic, so spacious and luxurious. And the level of the food and service was just a notch higher. It felt truly decadent. As far as game viewing goes, the mix of the Serengeti followed by Selous was a great balance and contrast – the vast, open plains of the Serengeti and the sheer numbers of animals were spectacular; whereas the river and lake systems of the Selous made for greater variety, and it was easier to find certain types of animals (giraffes in particular!). The only piece of “constructive” feedback concerns Precision Air. We had a hilarious experience when they decided to divert the fight from Nairobi to Zanzibar via Kilimanjaro, to pick up some “stranded passengers”. When we got there, there were more stranded passengers than seats on the plane, so we spent a couple of hours sitting on the tarmac (no aircon) while they tried to sort it out. In the end, the plane took off for Zanzibar leaving all of the stranded passengers where they were, so we could have just flown straight there in the first place. So it was an absolutely fantastic trip. I’d like to thank you all for your expertise and patience in dealing with us, answering our interminable questions and ensuring everything went well. I would have no hesitation in recommending you to others, and am happy for you to use anything I’ve said in your materials. All the best. Matt Allchurch 2009 Hi Jamie and Marc GREAT TRIP!!! We returned to Florida late last Thursday evening. Everything you arranged went smoothly. All the flights were there, all the drivers were there and all of the resorts were expecting us. Thanks for a great job in making our arrangements. We really enjoyed Tanzania and seeing our daughter. Our daughter Sue is living in graduate student housing on the campus of the University of Dar es Salaam. The campus is much different from the city, not crowded, little traffic and lots of open green space. Can't say any thing too nice about the city. We went down town 3 times to restaurants on the water front, to the National Museum and to the Village Museum. The safari to Lake Manze was great. Saw lots of animals and birds. Landed on a dirt runway in the middle of no where to be met by a guide and a jeep. Liked the people running the safari, we were well taken care of. Stonetown was fantastic--the narrow streets and friendly shop owners. We had a fabulous suite in the old Emerson and Green B&B. Really enjoyed Raj Nungwi. Great atmosphere. Thanks again for your work. Cheers Dave and Cheryl Slocum 2009 Hello Firstly, thank you for helping us to plan and book our honeymoon we recently had in Zanzibar and The Selous - it was absolutely brilliant!! I also wanted to see if there had been any communications from Air Tanzania regarding the flights that never were! Thanks Kirsty Learmonth 2009 Hi marc- it was great! thank you so much! We are all recovering – thank you for making such a special trip for all of us. Was unforgettable! Lucy Liu 2009 Hi Julian The highlight for me was flying into Selous Game Reserve, 8 elephants deciding that their midnight feast was to be held right next to our tent & & staying at Echo Beach. But to be honest the whole trip was brilliant. Thank you all again for helping to make it so. Warmest regards Simon Wachter 2009 Dear Jamie, Just to let you know that the Tanzania trip went very well with Coastal Airways meeting us at every point right on time. Roy's Safari Ltd. also did an excellent job. Accomodations were great,howver, we would suggest that clients know a bit more about Ras Nungwi prior to going there in Zanzibar. The resort itself is great and as good as any tropical paradise. It's just that it is at the tip of the island and very far from anywhere. Taxi hire to Stonetown is 60 USD each way which is a bit pricey and the extras at the resort itself are also more expensive than we expected. I think that the Serena Inn in Stonetown would be more suitable for those of us that don't scuba dive etc. If your clients are looking for all kinds of water sports and seclusion Ras Nungwi would fit their needs perfectly. Thanks for doing a great job on our itinerary and the support available once in country. We will surely recommend your office to anyone that asks. Best regards, Bill Hill 2009 Dear Jamie Susan & I have just returned from Tanazania & Zanzibar. We would like to offer a very big Thank You to all at Tanazania Odyssey for making sure all we had to worry about was, did we have enough space on our memory cards for all the pictures, did we have enough suntan lotion & how far were we going to walk down the beach today. From the moment we arrived at Dar Es Salaam to the moment we had to leave, albeit sadly, we were looked after by a great bunch people, always helpful & ready to answer any questions we may have. We were collected & delivered to the hotels/airports as per the itinerary you provided, leaving us to to enjoy the wonderful country/game of Selous Game Reserve & the fantastic Island of Zanzibar. We shall not hesitate to recommend your company to anyone wishing to travel to Africa & many thanks again for all your help with making sure we had a fantastic holiday. All the very best for 2009. Warmest regards Simon Wachter 2009
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Julian and Marc, Jackie Walter contacted me via email regarding Ndutu – I advised her that Ndutu is NOT TO BE MISSED. In my opinion, Ndutu was the highlight of our game drives so far in Africa- hope that I was helpful to her. I also send her some of our photos from the trip so she could get a real feel for the experience. As you know, my opinion is that everyone should experience Africa at least once during a lifetime – it is heaven on earth! Regarding Maldives, we stayed at Island Hideaway in the north – FANTASTIC PLACE – true paradise. Great scuba diving with mantas, amazing snorkeling right off the beach as they have a deep channel right off the island, great spa built over the water and gourmet food. The whole enchilada as far as a romantic, relaxing and unforgettable vacation! I thought I remembered that either you or Marc Harris are always going to Mauritius. Where do you stay there? Have a wonderful day – and a very Merry Christmas!! Cheers- Elane Martin 2008 Hi Marc Re your email below, I didn't send an email. However, while I am emailing you, please thank your team for organising such an amazing trip to Lake Manze in October. I have travelled for 20 years but had what can only be described as the perfect holiday. Thank you Becky Bristow (and Aidan Collins) 2008 Dear Julian, I just wanted to drop you a line and thank you for organising a fantastic honeymoon for Ali and me. Without exception everywhere we stayed was amazing with the highlights being Magwusi and Sand Rivers. The staff at both these camps were really first-rate as was the food and the locations were mind-blowing I managed to pick up some mystery illness which has laid me low for the last week but even that was worth it. We never imagined that we would see so much wildlife - particularly in Ruaha where we were taken to literally a couple of feet from lions (and even closer to a wounded buffalo on one occasion!) You managed to nail exactly what we were looking for at every stage. We'll definitely be back. Thanks again. SimonRay 2008 Dear Jamie, Just a quick note to say that we had the most superb holiday; the Camp at Lake Manze is sublime, the service, guides, food, connections all wonderful. Paulo and Daia seem to have it set up really well there. Zanzibar was also very lovely and the diving at Ras Nungwi was so professional and well organised I'd thoroughly recommend it. The only negative point was that tours arranged via the hotel through Explore Zanzibar were very expensive compared to local tour agents in the vicinity, who we found offered a comparative if not bettter service at less than half the price. That, however was our only comment in what was a 2 week holiday of awe and wonder and total relaxation, and we appreciate that this was nothing to do with your company. Thank you so very much for your assistance. We shall definately recommend your services to others. Gina Salsac and Ian Tillotson 2008 Imagine..........we are now home after a totally fabulous trip...............a few comments for our edification: 1.the stop in livingstone was terrific; the river club is marvelous; the falls even in low water makes for a delightful walk 2.the four botswana camps were outstanding..........13 nights is probably one camp too many, but I cant really tell you what I would eliminate because they are each unique.......nevertheless our order would be: mombo, little vumbra, duba plains and zib 3.ellerman house at cape town was simply out of this world....the experience there was nothing less than superb 4.we had arranged a guide through personal references and she was superb, name janice cocks and apparently she does a lot of work for wilderness 5.hermanus was a superb stop for the two nights, but the auberge was somewhat disappointing, to be super critical.......I think there is better, but I would not give up hermanus 6.hog-hollow was indeed exactly the right place near plett.........a wonderful quality experience 7.even the night in port eliz. at windermere........perfect so julian thanks so much for steering us well just one more thing, for my records and future planning purposes, please ask someone to send me a breakdown of the amounts I paid indicating, costs for flights, costs for botswana camps each separately, etc........and thanks in advance for that best personal regards from arnie and erna Arnie Ludwick 2008 Dear Julian I thought you might like some feed back on our trip to Tanzania. The first thing I would like to compliment you on is the fact that the entire trip went without a hitch. We were met by a rep from Coastal in Dar and Stone Town and all internal transportation was in place and on time. The two night stay in the Selous Safari camp was the highlight and we would not hesitate to recommend this location. The staff and accommodation was first class, a very friendly and professional service. StoneTownwas a bit of a shock but an experience. Too many people hassling to sell you stuff or take you here there and everywhere. The recommendation to hold US$ did not work out as all restaurant bills were in Tanzanian Shillings and when handing over dollars we were stung on the exchange rate but that was not too much of a problem. The Serena Inn was a very nice hotel with friendly helpful staff but one very annoying thing was the fact that paper foldaway maps of the town and island were not given out at reception and had to be purchased for $4 in the shop. These were bog standard maps that carry advertisements of local shops and restaurants. This in our view was penny pinching. The Ras Nungwi Beach Hotel was excellent. The Ocean Suite was everything I hoped it would be and more. The best suite I have ever stayed in. The food was first class but at times repetitive ( tuna three nights running). Staff struggled at times understanding our orders in the beach bar and main bar but overall they were very friendly and efficient. Chris Goodwin and the entire management team were excellent. Our accommodation was broken into and some property stolen, Chris dealt with the issue immediately and helped us with the police. This was unfortunate but it did not detract from our overall enjoyment. We were very happy with the entire experience and if we return we will definitely use your company. Regards Howard Diamant 2008 Hi Julian, I just wanted to send a note to first THANK YOU for arranging such a wonderful trip. The wildfile and camps were sensational, but want made it also so great was that the schedule went flawlessly. Not even a hitch on any flights, connections, transfers between camps, etc. Major congrats to you on that! Second, I really enjoyed the time with animals and the guides were superb...especially Tafika. For some reason Brian took Tony and I around most of the time and he really located the animals and sites. He even took up a challenge to find a leopard in daylight on the last day we were there....a copy is attached. I also would like you to give a Hi to Nick as we visited with him at two camps. Of course, he suffered the most during this time playing frizbie soccer with the locals in camp! They asked me to join, but it was sooo hot and I am tooooo old! Again...thanks for everything and I do look forward to working with you in the future! Regards, Richard Schoettger 2008 Hi Julian... VERY BELATEDLY....a huge thanks for everything you did for the trip! I am now totally hooked which is both a bad and good thing I guess! In any event, all the requests you made on our behalf were very much appreciated - we consistently got great views at each camp (were front and center to the water hole at Ongava Tented - pretty great) etc., etc., ETC.!! Please stay in touch as I will on this end. Thanks for tolerating my zillions of questions and e-mails and for all the help!! Cheers and best...Jane Sinauer 2008 Hi Nick Well, what can I say? Thank-you so much for arranging our trip, we have had the most amazing time, everything exceeded our expectations and we wouldn't have altered anything. We had fabulous rooms at all places and I am sure that is all down to you, and as for our anniversary surprises - wow! I have never felt so spoilt. Selous and Mwagusi are each unique and it made our trip so enjoyable to be at two such different camps, both superb but both so incredibly different. We saw and learned so much and after our walking trips are now both experts on poo - I'm sure it will all be useful for pub quizzes! Please feel free to pass on my e-mail address to any customers who are making up their minds about their own trips, I will be glad to chat to them. Lastly, did you have any joy in locating my hat at Mwagusi?? Once more, thanks a million for making our trip of a lifetime just that (the only trouble is we both want to return........) Kate Moon 2008 “My wife and I have just returned from Mdonya, Stone Town, Ras Nuwingi and Ras Kutani all superbly organised by Tanzania Odyssey. We gave the company our budget and a rough idea what we wanted to do. It was tailor made and every step of the way was a dream. We are unable to think of anything which could be improved upon from an organisational point. Before we finalised things a couple of e-mails and phone calls to tweak the arrangements were made. We have travelled extensively with companies large and small and this surely is as good as it gets.” Brian Goldsworth 2008 Hi Nick, We arrived back from honeymoon on Sunday night and we just wanted to say thanks for recommending the places that we stayed in. They were all brilliant and we had a superb honeymoon. Pongwe beach was a real find, just like you'd said, the food was great and the beach first class. We really enjoyed Lake Manze, saw loads of animals and the tents were great. Showering under the stars with elephants walking past is definitely something we'll remember! Finally Ras Kutani was just a little slice of heaven. Definitely a good call on this one, again food amazing and just so relaxing, great accommodation, location etc.... Everyone made us feel so welcome and all the flights ran like clockwork so no issues at all. Thanks once again and we'll definitely recommend you guys to any friends wishing to explore the area. We're still tempted with Rwanda and Mozambique so may be back in touch in the next year or so. Best wishes, Karen Fisk 2008 Everything - especially the safari - once I had got use to flying in the small planes. Loved the way you arrive at Ras Kutani The Tanzanian people were lovely and of course great organisation by yourself and coastal. Attached some photographs to bore you. We have travelled widely with Audley Travel and you certainly didn't let us down. Many Thank regards Joyce Hartles 2008 Hello Julian, First, we want to thank you for making a memorable trip truly exceptional. Although, the trip did not start on a good foot the first day, the rest went perfectly like clock work. Thanks to you. The Tanzanian Air flight from Dar Es salaam to Arusha was delayed three and half hours, which got us into Arusha Coffee Lodge about 2:45 AM. I would suggest in the future to book the Precision Air Flight which was on time. Even if the international flight is delayed, there is another Precision Air flight later on. Regardless, the next day was a completely different story. The Coffee Lodge was nice and the hospitality was great even at the 3:00AM check in. Our driver Daniel was outstanding as guide, was a book of knowledge and always accommodating. His admiration of our kids made him even more pleasant to have. Tarangire was great as we saw the three cats in our first day: lions hunting, three cheetahs crossed right in front of our vehicle, and a leopard in a far away tree. The Treetops were truly amazing and the people were extremely nice. Everything included in the price, even all drinks and laundry, made it even nicer. If we were to change another thing in the itinerary, it would be to skip Lake Manyara along with the Serena Lodge there. The rooms were shabby and the people inhospitable. I had to fight with them to bring another fan since the one we had made a terrible noise. Eventually, they gave me the managerʼs fan. Having to pay for drinks and even bottled water and juice made things worst, especially when they charged us corking fees for opening our own bottle of wine at dinner. Ngorongoro Serena Lodge was nice and more pleasant. The head waiter canceled the corking fee when we complained. They were definitely more accommodating there. We still had to pay for bottled water and juice though. The Ngorongoro crater was amazing as we saw five lions feasting on a kill close by and many hyenas from close up . The male lion sprayed the vehicle in front of us, which gave everyone a laugh. On our drive from Ngorongoro to Manyara airport, we asked our driver, Daniel to find and stop at school away from all the tourist stops. We had some small tokens and gifts for the kids. That in itself was an unbelievable experience. Seeing all these smiling school faces despite their extreme poverty made you appreciate all your blessings. Upon leaving, we could see huge smiles in their faces as they waved with their gifts in hand. Flying to the Serengeti was the best thing that we did, as there was another couple who drove the trip and it took them 11 hours. They looked really beat, even the next morning. Lemala camp was ok but the guide/driver there was useless. I guess our standards were high because of our first driver Daniel. Switching to Sayari camp was the best thing we did. Barbara and Jo who run the Sayari camp were nice and extremely accommodating. That made the stay so peaceful. Also, the facilities were everything that you wanted. Definitely, everyone chose the Sayari much over Lemala. Now, the high point of our trip was our last day at Sayari, where we patiently awaited the migration of the wildebeest. Our patience paid off, as we were the only vehicle to see the migration. That was the most amazing scene that you can ever experience. We saw hundreds of them stampede and eventually cross the Mara River. No Nile crocs to feed on them though, as I think they were still full and basking in the sun from the wildebeest crossing and feast, just before our arrival to the Serengeti. As you see, our trip was beyond our wildest expectations for everyone, and we want to thank you for making it so perfect. Sincerely, Patsi, Danyah, Liana, and Mohammed Al-Natour 2008 Jamie, Just to say thanks for organising a fanastic holiday, we really did enjoy our stay in Tanzania. Coastal Travel looked after us very well even though our names were not on the list at the airport when we first flew into Dar. We were not charged any fees at airports although your infomation stated that $8 would be charged. Don't think we could have improved our itinerary very much but with hindsight a couple of days at one of the Selous camps would have been good. Still Thanks once again for you organisation, it was superb. We will certainly recomend TanzaniaOdyssey. Sorry to have been put off Ras Nungwi by Trip Adviser but it was a damming report. Brian has posted some reports on the site for all the places we stayed. Regards Joyce Hartles2008 Julian, Just to echo that, the whole trip was great, thank you so much for organising it for us, everything went very smoothly – which at times was unexpected!! Thanks James Burrage 2008 Hi Julian, We are now back having had the most amazing time, all of the places were incredible and just what we had imagined. Thanks so much for organising it. The only place we weren’t mad about was Mwagusi after Selous it couldn’t quite compare and the communal meals weren’t great…although we may have had a slightly ropey bunch of people! We had elephants outside our room there though which was fun! Thanks so much for all your help. Best wishes, Victoria Houston2008 Dear Julian, I wanted to thank you for organising our holiday to Tanzania and Zanzibar so well. We had a wonderful time and loved everything, especially the Selous Camp and the people there, so it was a perfect choice for us. It all worked brilliantly and hopefully one day we can go back, so thank you again. Yours, Victoria Furber.2008 Thanks Julian. I don't think we could possible pick a highlight as there were just so many. You will be pleased to hear that Sarah has already recommended T. Odyssey to a number of her friends and if any of my friends are considering a trip to Southern Africa I will send them your way! Benedict Headicar 2008 Hi Julian Sorry to be really slow in writing this email. Just wanted to thank you for putting together a really memorable trip - we had a fantastic time, and felt thoroughly spoilt with the private plane trips etc. Ruaha was fantastic and we loved the campfire at Mdonya - a really good start to the trip. The other camps were also brilliant (timing Selous safari camp in the middle to get the washing done was very thoughtful). Mafia Island was really lovely and Kinasi exceeded expectations on all counts (after being worried by the trip advisor comments). Audi was really helpful with the diving and it felt like we were part of a friendly houseparty. Throughout, Nick's single accommodation was a full size tent / bungalow and the service everywhere was outstanding. Thanks again We saving up..... All the best Carole, David and Nick Clarke 2008 Hi Julian Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that the trip was fantastic! Sarah and I had an amazing time and it felt like we had 3 separate holidays. All the accommodation was great in their very different ways. Vic falls and the RLH were stunning. The whole safari experience was amazing - so many experiences including elephants wandering through camps, being charged by angry hippos, watching lion cubs playing and seeing a leopard having an afternoon nap in a tree (very much like your brochure picture!). Sarah fell in love with the tent at Chiawa and wants to move there permanently and it was great to wind down at Matemwe at the end. We definitely did not want to leave! Thank you so much for all the help and advice. The combinations of the different camps and locations worked together perfectly and it felt like we were away for a month at least! A think we may well go back at some point in the future. Many thanks again and I will be in touch if we do decide to return to Southern Africa, which I'm sure we will! Benedict Headicar 2008 To all you lot at TZO My self (Selena) and my new hubby would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU for your help with the honeymoon. It was amazing and seamless and memorable for all the right reasons. The whole experience was incredible, the Selous Safari was awesome, the Lake Manze Camp was amazing, the hospitality was second to none and the knowledge of all the guides / staff was fantastic! and as for Zanzibar, Pongwe was out of this world. A little bit of paridise with exceptional food and service and ocean views to die for. You guys came up trumps and without your help and advice I doubt the trip would have been half as good as it was. We heard some horror stories about other tour operators etc. We are now planning to go back there in a few years time and have recommended you guys to everyone we have spoken to! Once again thank you for all your help. Kind regards Selena Miffling 2008 Julian & Mark, How can I list the highlights – there are too many to type!!! Leopard sighting at Shinde!!! It was Tessa and myself as Scott and Grant were fishing that afternoon! Wow – Alberto – our guide- was just fantastic! We had a glass of wine and snack as we were 4 feet from the leopard stalking a springbuck! While we did not see a kill – our Africa experiences have all been too incredible to describe! Highlights- Bungee Jumping at Victoria Falls, Lion Walk, Elephant Safari with 16 month old elephant – Cheesy- he was just the cutest creature! Micro Lights at Vic Falls were also wonderful – WHITE SHARK Dive – WOOOOOOOOOOOOW – Shark Diving Unlimited was just great – we really enjoyed every second of our experience! I was the first person in the cage when they gave the green light and I was the last one out when they were afraid I was freeze to death! It was all that I had hoped for and more!!! The only piece of advice – bring your own mask. Scott and I had this conversation just last night at dinner – we were re-living the trip and decided that it would have been perfect to have our own mask as their masks were a bit tired and leaked a bit. Encourage your clients to book the entire boat – wow – what a difference!! We were out and set up at shark alley a full hour before everyone else and we were the only boat to have sharks around that day !!! What a great operation – and I loved the snake at the office!!! We just cannot say enough good things about Shark Diving Unlimited!!! I would not consider booking with anyone else!!! I will try to upload the video to You Tube – if I can figure out the procedure and I will send you a link – it is wonderful advertisement for them and you!! The paragliding in Cape Town was fun but I’m not sure it is a must do. The penguins of course were great – I even touched one!!!! Cape Point was an incredible sight to see – wow it is hard to imagine making your way around the point in an old wooden ship with no weather forecast! I don’t think that Scott will ever forgive me that we rented a car in Cape Town – Wow that is challenging driving !!!! He got a manual shift and since the steering wheel and the shift were on opposite sides of the car – and by the way he had not driven a stick shift in 25 years!!! Oh well, it is definitely a big memory!!! We came home with a few (ha ha) pictures and I will copy you in on snapfish. Feel free to use Scott’s pictures of Shinde as he really got some incredible photos of the resort! What a beautiful camp!!! I LOVE the chandelier in the dining hall!!! Thanks again for another just AMAZING TRIP OF A LIFETIME!!!! Cheers- Elane and Scott Martin 2008 Nick Thank you so much for organising such a wonderful holiday for us. This is the second time Tanzania Odyssey has arranged a dream holiday and we loved it. Sadly we only got to 5,500 m before I got altitude sickness on Kilimanjaro, but we consider it a summit. It was an amazing experience the whole climb and we both would love to give it another go sometime. The crew that Roy Safaris organised to support us on the climb were excellent, especially the guide (John). The whole crew were so encouraging and looked after us very well. Also the tent provided for us and the guide was in very good condition (we heard of some nightmares, including poor quality sleeping bags for rent - we took our own). The only tent that needed some love and attention was the meal/porters tent and we did provide that feedback to Roy Safaris. A small bit of feedback, given we arrived Sunday the office for Roy Safaris was closed and so we had our pre-climb briefing the morning of the climb, I would suggest including that information in the itinerary - maybe it is just me as I was so nervous, but I was a little surprised when we arrived to find out it was the next day and I think if you are renting gear as well it is probably good to know. The Moivaro Coffee Plantation is an excellent choice for the beginning and end of the climb, not least at the end you can lay all your smelly gear out on the lawn to air it…… The Crater was spectacular, and you were absolutely right in only suggesting effectively a day and a half there - in our opinion that is sufficient to see all there is to see in the crater. Also after my skeptism the drive from Arusha to the Crater was also a great experience. Sadly we were not too happy with Serena Lodge - the rooms and the overall layout and location of the hotel are great, but the restaurant caters really to large tour groups and so not ideal for 2 people - may just be something worth mentioning to prospective clients in case they want to make a different choice. The picnic lunches on the other hand were great. Once again Roy Safaris came through with an excellent and knowledgeable guide (Richard) and we thoroughly enjoyed traveling to and through the crater with him. Last but not least the Serengeti Plains, we are not sure there are adjectives to describe how much we enjoyed the plains. The Nomad Tented Safari was amazing and they could not have looked after us any better. Felix (our guide) was also a great guide and we had a lot of fun with him and he showed us some amazing sights. So once again thank you for organising such am amazing trip for us. We were also very excited to see that you have a team for Botswana, Zambia and Namibia - next trips are definitely going to be easy to plan. Best regards, Nicola and Jon Short 2008 Marc & Julian, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!! I am sorry that I took so long to write and let you know what an AMAZING trip we had in June and July! So many amazing memories and wonderful Africa Experiences I already miss Africa and when I saw you email come thru today it just makes me miss it all the more! We are thinking of traveling to Maldives in November, any experience with that or suggestions on whom to use? Many thanks again for creating such an unforgettable experience for us in South Africa! Elane and Scott Martin 2008 Just a wee note to say we had an absolutely brilliant time in Tanzania in July. The tented camp at lake manze is amazing - the staff are soo friendly and everything is so laid back and informal. The standard of accommodation was far higher than we anticipated having read other reviews. In terms of wildlife we saw pretty much everything except leopards. The river lodge at Rhuaha was really nice, although I think we were spoiled first at lake manze. We really enjoyed the different scenery at Rhuaha - it felt more wild than lake manze - unsure why, perhaps because we had to look harder to see the animals. Ras nungwi was fantastic and a perfect end to our honeymoon. Kilimanjaro was amazing - Roy's safaris did a tremendous job. We had James as our guide and truely felt that we had the best guide on the hill. Both of us summitted (Christina somewhat in a healthier condition than myself!!). One serious suggestion I would like to make is regarding spare outdoor gear for the porters. Our international flights allowed 25kg whilst our internal flights allowed 15kg. As we packed light for the internal flights, this meant that we had considerable spare luggage allowance on the international leg of our trip. Had I known the lack of decent footwear and clothing available for the porters, I would have happily packed an old pair of boots, jacket and fleece for donation to the locals. For others who plan a similar trip to ourselves (southern safari and kilimanjaro) I would like to request that you enclose a small note or request/recommendation asking them to use any spare luggage allowance to pack some hiking boots - you can pick second hand ones up on ebay for a lot less than a fiver! Think what a difference this would make to a porters life. I feel we have a duty to do something........... Many thanks, Neil & Christina Farquhar 2008 Hi Marc, we are back from Tanzania and I wanted to give you a little feed-back. Your organization of our trip was excellent. Thank you very much indeed and we are happy to recommend "tanzaniaodyssey" to our friends who might plan a trip to Tanzania as well. We liked Selous Safari Camp the most and were very lucky to see a lot of animals there. In Ras Nungwi Hotel there was the question for the full board basis booking, but obviously that was solved between you and the hotel management!? One thing might be added as an information only to your customers: when people travel to Chumbe Island they should prepare the luggage in such a way that it can be carried easily when there is low tide, because you have to wade some way through the water on both sides and trousers do get wet. Thanks a lot once again and all the best for you and the team. Kind regards Peter Engel 2008 Hi Julian Just a quick email to say Thanks for arranging a superb Honeymoon! It was absolutely brilliant, and we enjoyed every minute, shame we had to come back! some feedback in case you need: - Costal Aviation were superb and no problems with being met or transferred anywhere throughout the holiday. - Palm hotel at Dar Es Salaam, wasn't anything special, and pretty expensive for what it was (pretty dated) - but only there to sleep so fine. - Jongomero Camp was amazing to start with, beautiful tents and great personalised service from the staff and management there. Was also relaxing as not many people in Ruaha driving around. Food was very good here as were the sundowners on the game drives. - perfect for a honeymoon couple! (our pick of all the places we stayed) - Lake Manze wasn't quite a camp for honeymooners, as no electric in the tents had to eat dinner with 20 other Italians every night on a big table, but was fine and the game viewing was very good, and management very nice and accommodated my request to have dinner just the two of us one night at our tent! Food wasn't anything special though and no choice as all inclusive. Have to say wasn't quite as relaxing as Jongomero, and lots more jeeps everywhere jostling for position to see lions etc in Selous compared to Ruaha. - Zanzibar Palace Hotel , nice hotel with great staff and management who provided personalised service and looked after us very well. Good location for heart of Stone town, though 2 nights there would prob have sufficed to see everything instead of the 3. - Ras Nungwi was perfect end to holiday, Good chalet rooms very near beach, excellent service and facilities as well as good food , Very relaxing place and the Dhow Cruise and Snorkel trip was prob the highlight. we even managed to get upgraded by Emirates on way back which was good way to end. So thanks again, pretty much spot on to what we wanted. cheers Conrad Da Cunha 2008 Hi Nick I just wanted to echo Rosie’s comments and say what a fantastic job you did organising our honeymoon. Everything went like clockwork and everywhere you recommended was absolutely superb and spot on. It was a trip of a lifetime and one which we will never forget and always cherish the memories of. The perfect start to married life. With regards to highlights, it’s hard to pick any one thing in particular as it was all so good. The suite at Ras Kutani was amazing, the safari was exciting, beautiful and fascinating (and so much luxury for somewhere so remote) and Pongwe beach is the best I’ve ever seen. Once again, many, many thanks to you and all the team at Tanzania Odyssey All the best Doug Mitchell 2008 Hi Julian, Thank you for organizing a fantastic trip for us. Everything was perfect! We particularly loved the remoteness and true safari experience of Botswana and the Wilderness camps (not to mention the luxurious treatment at Vumbura Plains!) It was also great to end the trip at Sabi Sabi and slowly re-acclimate ourselves to civilization. When we started thinking about this holiday, we thought the trip would be a "once in a lifetime" adventure. Not so - we're already talking about going back in 4 years and bringing my brother and sister-in-law! We will be contacting you and I promise to give you more than a week to arrange the trip next time! Throughout the 14 days we had only one bad experience and it was certainly not a result of the travel planning. On our first night in Cape Town we went to the V&A Waterfront for dinner. My husband decided to stop in a Vodacom store and try to reset his Treo, while my son and I headed off to the restaurant. Within 15 minutes, his camera bag with lots of Nikon equipment and US dollars was stolen. It was pretty devastating. Fortunately, we managed to pick up a little digital camera in the Johannesburg airport the next day, so we at least have a photographic record of the trip. (We're also pretty well covered with insurance, so the loss won't be permanent.) In any case the safari experience was so awesome we were quickly able to put the experience behind us. Julian, once again, thank you for putting together the perfect trip, especially on such short notice. Please pass our thanks on to your Managing Director, as well. Best wishes, Janet Presley 2008 We had such an amazing time and wanted to say thanks for organising us the perfect honeymoon. We will definitely be recommending you to anyone we know who is planning to go to Tanzania and Zanzibar. Thanks again. Best wishes Rosie and Doug 2008 Hi Julian, We just wanted to write and thank you, and others involved at Tanzania Odyssey, for organizing such a fantastic trip. We really did have the most amazing time. We were looked after exceptionally well in all the camps and hotels, with every transfer running very smoothly. We didn’t need to think about anything, apart from enjoying our trip! Now it’s time to go through our 1000’s of photographs! Many thanks, Nick and Vicky Mckenzie 2008 Hi Julian, We are back from our honeymoon and wanted to give you a quick feedback on the trip: EXCELLENT! We really enjoyed it and I am very grateful to you for the suggestions. Both Lake Manze and Ruaha were exceptional, and indeed two very different environments. We had great game drives, some nice bush walks and all together it was a sensational experience. Accommodation was good, all in all very very good. Funny enough on the June edition of Africa Geographic the safari in South Tanzania was very much praised in comparison with the north, so thanks again for the tip. Quilalea was as expected, great place, great service (although a bit more food would have been better! their portion are very light). Even the strong tides were manageable, from our villa we could access the sea straight away and even with low tide it was just a few meters to the deep waters. A very relaxing stay, a couple of days more would have been more than welcome! The last positive surprise was the Oyster Bay hotel: from the setting to the furniture to the food to the kind hospitality it was a pleasant surprise, the best way to finish a wonderful holiday! All connections worked fine, no trouble at all. Thanks again for the great job. Cheers Davide & Juljana 2008 Dear Julian, I have just gone through a computer/e-mail melt down and just hope it all works out! I have written my 'thank-you' e-mails to Selous Private Camp, Jongomero and Echo Beach and copied them to you so I just hope they all arrive. There is little I can add to the contents of those e-mails other than to say a very great big THANK YOU for your services in facilitating what was a truly memorable holiday. Everything worked out perfectly and the only minor hiccup was when we were not met by 'Monarch' on our arrival at Zanzibar. Our mobile would not work but a local gentleman lent us his so we could telephone the number given on your contact list and they eventually turned up after about another half hour! Everything else worked out perfectly and we appreciated our 'Shepherds' at each transfer. The two camps were impeccable in every respect and whilst Echo Beach might have had some problems, the sheer joy of the location made up for any failings. I have attached an assortment of the many photos I took there but if you want any further info I am happy to oblige. As I hope I made clear in my e-mails, your requests regarding my need for minimal walking distances were met in all locations and I am very, very grateful to you for ensuring that and for all your service in arranging a very memorable holiday, With very many thanks and best wishes from Bernadette V Duke 2008 Julian, we just returned from our honeymoon in Tanzania and had a wonderful time. Thanks again for all the help and planning. You guys did a great job coordinating everything. thanks! Peter Rosenblum 2008 Dear Julien The trip was wonderful and perfect!! The camps were amazing , the guides were great, the flights on time and the pilots good! It was more then we ever anticipated and were so very pleased with the trip you set up for us, Thank you, thank you! If you would like any more details please let me know and I would be glad to share more info. Our oldest daughter is spending a semester of school in London next winter and we would love to meet and have a pint take care and thank you again for everything warmly, Liz Leibowitz 2008 Hello Julian, I wanted to report back to you how very much we enjoyed our trip. We wouldnt have changed a single thing. It was just the right amount of time in each camp and the transfers all went off without a hitch. Mombo was the most extraordinary place we have ever visited-it exceeded all expectations. It is difficult to find superlatives to do it justice. I know Usa Sono has already contacted you about the glitch we had about being together with the Thomsons but we were relentlessly adamant that we would not take no for an answer and a solution was found. I am glad for that because it simply would not have been the same trip had we been separated and seeing as we had made these arrangements over 12 months in advance, there really was no excuse beyond simple-minded bureaucratic rigidity. In any event, all's well that ends well. I also wanted to point out that the renovations at Cape Grace are superb and they were kind enough to upgrade us to a penthouse suite which was divine. I feel reconfirmed in my notion that it would be the better choice for us as we all walked a good deal around the waterfront. The only unfortunate episode of the trip is that Anne Purcell had a suitcase lost or stolen most likely at Maun. We were on the trip from Maun to Joburg and it never appeared at the airport nor was there any record of it having left Maun. The Purcells spent many useless hours tracking it. Air Botswana was hopeless, the Joburg airport as you know, can feel somewhat menacing and the entire episode was dispiriting. In no way, however, did it impact the absolutely marvelous time we all had. Thank you for all your help and good advice. We are thinking about a trip to Namibia (only) and would very much appreciate your input. I think we can give it about 10-12 days. Any thoughts? All best, Diane Perros 2008 Hi A note to let you know all DAR, Zanzibar and Selous arrangements went well. Small hitch when no tickets to Selous at DAR airport, but we were on the manifest and no one seemed too concerned about the lack of a printed ticket. Limited power in Zanzibar added to the overall character of Africa and didn't impinge upon the experience at all. LakeManzedefinately the highlight and the camp clean, friendly and with an abundance of wildlife of all sizes and shapes. Congratulations on a well run operation and many thanks. Mike & Helen 2008 Julian: So good to hear from you! We did call you once in London but we couldn’t find you. The trip was excellent one of the best in my life, It was all great! I’m really thank full to you, and It was really nice meeting you. We are also looking forward and saving to go to Botswana next year. Thank you very much JavierDe La Concha Menendez 2008 Julian, Matemwe was great......the retreat is really excellent with the butler, plunge pool, terrace etc- you really do not have to do anything if you don't want to! Apparently we were unusual in that most guests stay only a few days rather than 2 weeks in a villa. We did a bit of diving, though Carol got a cold half way through so that curtailed what we could do as she couldn't equalise. Depending on the time of month (and tides therefore) the diving can involve a lengthy 1.75 hrs road transfer (via dive centre) to a beach north of Matemwe before you get to a boat which is a bit of a turn off, though every 10 days or so the is swaps to a boat transfer from Matemwe bungalows, but we caught the road transfer time! Anyway we both thoroughly enjoyed it and thanks to you all for the recommendation as we may not have found it otherwise. Only downside I can say is that there is a lot of development (hotels etc) all down the east coast and some virtually in Matemwe village so in the future it may feel a bit more hemmed in. Regards John Clarke 2008 Hi Marc, Magda and I have just returned from our 2 week holidays and just wanted to say thank you to you and the team at Tanzania Odyssey. We had a great time and loved Tanzania. And everybody at each hotel was well aware that it was our honeymoon, which I think triggered some specific attentions, such as fruit baskets, wine bottle, and each time a room with a great view. So I suspect you might be for something behind this. Thanks again for that : Magda and I really appreciated it. We will send you a few pictures once we have finished our selection among the 1800 pictures we took !! Kind Regards Magda and Wilfrid GUILLO 2008 Marc Sarah & I just wanted to thank you and the team over there for your efforts in arranging our honeymoon. It was a simply wonderful holiday, the game viewing was spectacular, accommodation superb and all of the arrangements throughout were immaculate. The balance of the itinerary that you developed worked out perfectly and contributed enormously to our enjoyment. It’s very difficult to pick a highlight but memories of the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Mahale will remain with us both for a very long time. Tanzaniais a truly amazing country and we are both delighted that we chose it as a destination. We have been equally delighted with the service that we have received from you and would absolutely recommend Tanzania Odyssey to anybody interested in visiting. Thanks again Peter Morgan 2008 I am writing to let you know that we had an excellent holiday in Tanzania. The arrangements were flawless and our guides (Thomas from Roys Safaris and Ernest from Nomads) were extremely knowledgeable and great company and made a big contribution to our enjoyment. One comment re Breezes in Zanzibar: the food was very disappointing but, having said that, everyone was charming. We now find ourselves thinking about another safari and were wondering about Botswana which I understand you also cover. Could you put a few thoughts together about how we might do that including a few days relaxing at the end, perhaps at Victoria Falls, or elsewhere. We would be aiming to do this around the same time as our Tanzanian trip ie depart 27 Dec and return say 12-14 days later. Many thanks John Marshall 2008
Tim and I wanted to say a huge thank you for organising such a wonderful honeymoon for us. We had an amazing time and everything went perfectly. We were met when you said, where you said and all the local representatives were highly professional. Our local guide for the safari, was very knowlegeable and highly experienced in dealing with the (often very muddy!) terrain.
All our hotels were of an extremely high standard and we would like to thank you for recommending the Pongwe Beach Hotel - it was absolutely perfect and just what we were looking for to end our holiday. Due to the size it felt very personal, the setting beautiful and the food excellent. Thanks once again. We will be sure to recommend you to friends who visit Tanzania & Zanzibar in the future. Regards, Joanna & Tim Stanbridge 2008
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Dear Marc and Julian, Terry and Katrina have emailed to say that they had a fantastic trip and very much enjoyed the whole experience. They loved all of the resorts and thought they were of a great standard, (they didn't mention anything about Rocktail being too long). The only thing they mentioned that might be worth passing onto Wilderness, was that the guide at Mombo was extremely unfriendly to the children, ignoring them for most of the time. However this was just a small aspect of the trip and they saw the rest of it as a huge success. Thank you so much for all that both of you did and all the hard work going backwards and forwards, it was a pleasure working with you both. I'm sure we will speak soon. Kind regards Felicity Garnett 2007 Dear Mark Very many thanks to you and Julian for organising such an outstanding holiday for us. As mentioned on the phone, all of the little things that you organised, such as people to meet, greet and organise flight transfers, made a huge difference – and all of your recommendations were exactly as described. Of most importance, however, has been the truly outstanding service and attention both you and Julian have offered to my wife and me – where frankly nothing seems to have been too much trouble. I have already been asked by 3 different groups of friends as to who had helped us organise this very special holiday and I have unreservedly recommended your good services - and will continue to do so and hope it results in plenty of business for you. Kind regards Nick Tubbs 2007 Dear Marc Thank you so much for organising a wonderful trip for us to Zanzibar and the Selous this December. We were so impressed with the way you accommodated our last minute changes to privately charter all our internal flights and of course to divert disaster when our international flight was so delayed and we were faced with missing our safari altogether. We have since decided that next time we will do the safari at the end of the holiday as we would have been too exhausted by the travelling to have enjoyed it at the beginning. Ras Nungwi was wonderful and the beach really does beat anything Mauritius has to offer. We loved the fact that although luxurious it was also laid back and didn't insist on jackets at dinner. In fact we didn't put a pair of shoes on the whole week! The Selous Impala Camp was definitely the highlight of the trip. We adored everything about the camp - the staff and management were wonderful and we saw all the animals we wanted to including lions. Two nights is not enough and next year we will have at least four.......we are already thinking about our return! Anyway thank you for being unflappable and making those last minute changes - I think if we wanted to go by elephant you would have been able to arrange it. Kind regards, Lucy Miller Hagerty 2007 Dear Marc My husband and I have just returned from the trip to Tanzania which you booked for us. We would just like to say how pleased wwe were with all the arrangements. Everything worked like clockwork and the choice of hotels was perfect. The only slight disappointment was the Arusha Coffee Lodge, our choice. The cottage style rooms are excellent and its grounds and situation are wonderful, but it seems to be in need of a bit of care and attention, towels were a bit tatty, service was slow. Maybe it needs more enthusiastic management. However, it was not a serious complaint, it just did not measure up to the excellent service we had at Ras Nungwi, Kiruruma and the Serena Lodges. The choice of Roy's Safaris for our trip to Manyara, Serengeti and the Crater was excellent. All the arrangements worked well, we had a comfortable vehicle, a very friendly and knowledgeable guide and when we wanted any extension of pre-planned activities they were happy to oblige. We will definitely recommend your organisation to any of our friends thinking of visiting Tanzania. Yours sincerely Liz Barry 2007 Dear Marc, You were absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! Everything was amazing, fabulous and beyond our wildest dreams!! The level of service and professionalism was 7-Star!!! Sid loved every minute, and that was my dream!!! The exceptional rooms, cuisine and diversity of animals was the perfect marriage!!! Thank you for organizing every last detail so perfectly!!!!! I have shared your contact information with others. Thank you, again Marc!!!!! I may call on you again in the future, if that is ok. Happy Holidays!!! Cheers, Marta White 2007 Dear Julian just a quick e mail now that we have arrived back to say thankyou for putting together the holiday of our lives. It was truly amazing. everything went perfectly, all the intinerary, not a single hitch. The lodges, the people, the game viewing, the food and Mnemba to finish with! You guys really are good at what you do. We are seriously thinking of taking our daughter ( 17) back to East Africa in February. If we do and if she wishes to then we will, we will only use you. Well done to everyone at Tanzania Odyssey and at CC Africa who did you proud. Kind Regards Paul and Tracy Feeney 2007 Dear Nick, It's been now a few weeks since the end of our safari in Mwagusi & Sand River last october, and I've been quite busy at work since. But Bertrand and I really wanted to let you know that we found your services simply perfect in the preparation and the booking of that trip. We notably appreciated your promptness in email responding. And once in Tanzania, everything ran smooth, without a glitch, and the program was exactly as scheduled and expected. So thanks for everything! Best regards, David Edderai 2007 Dear Julian, We got back about a week and a half ago from the trip to Tanzania. It was great. We really had a good time. Our favourite was the camp at Serengeti. Thanks for all of your help. Regards, Elizabeth Chester 2007 Good Morning Julian Ref Holiday to Zambia in the names of Martin and Jill Holt. Now back from a very good holiday,all arrangements went perfectly ref flights, connections and accomodation but would make the following comments. Chiawa. Excellent.This was certainly the best camp for activities,quality of management,food etc etc.Would recommend this as one of the best safari camps we have been to in Africa. Kapani.Very good.On arrival advised no room ready for several hours.Then for first night only standard room available with the Lagoon suite then being available for the next 3 nights.Communications from management not the best but the everything else very good,even the tree crashing through the roof of the bar..... Kapinga.Excellent.Probably the best accomodation and food.We were the only guests staying so very personnel attention but lacked a little atmosphere. The helicopter transfer to Kapinga was one of the highlights and when advised that the transfer out would be by vehicle to another nearer airstrip we were very dissapointed.This was advised the day before departure as well as being advised that it would not be a direct flight from Kafue to Livingstone but back via Lusaka.After complaining flights were arranged direct Kafue-Livingstone but we still lost the morning game drive and the helicopter transfer. River Club. Very Very Good.On arrival we were placed in one of their open fronted rooms.In view of our converstaion when booking regarding enclosed facilities we were surprised at this arrangement.After speaking with their management they changed the room to one of the 2 storey enclosed buildings advising that they were not advised of our requirement.The facilities,trips, management all very good. Lilayi.Dissapointing.Very nice setting but the operation lacked any management, communication,left on our own to find out facilities.Food poor,one mouthful and meal left.This was a dissapointing last night and we were frankly glad to be out of the place.Would suggest that any itineries planned with last night in Lusaka then arrange nearer the airport at the Taj or Intercontinental. Best Regards Martin Holt 2007 Julian Just to say we arrived back from our safari last week and had a great time - thankyou! David is now a convert and we are considering another trip! We particularly liked Beho Beho and we are thinking of a Mahale, Ruaha, Selous trip next time with only two nights on the beach at the end. If you have any suggested itineraries please let us know. Thanks again Suzi Smales 2007 A million apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I came straight back in to horrific16 hour days at work without a second to breathe. So - We had a completely BRILLIANT time - and can't thank you enough for the recommendations. Mwagusi was amazing - so worth the extra money. We couldn't believe how prolific the wildlife was and had some incredible experiences in our banda including a male lion growling about 5 metres from our heads when were in bed one night and a herd of elephants coming and wallowing right outside our banda. Really up close and personal with the wildlife and wonderful staff, food - everything really. Manze - we also had a super time. Elephants by the tent every morning and some great lion feeding frenzies. We also got to see the wild dogs which was a real treat. Camp had a very different feel to Mwagusi - much younger, bit less structured - but we felt very well looked after. Ras Kutani - was a little slice of paradise. The thing we loved was it captured perfectly the relaxed yet attentive attitude you want in that kind of holiday. The suite was a treat and we are already plotting our return there. One thing I think it might be worth while warning people about is the unpredictability of the internal flights - just so they are prepared We had one jounrey where a couple of extra stops were added on which meant instead of arriving just after lunch we didn't get to Manze until 5pm ish. We had no food and water had run out and were absolutely starving and vv thirsty. Might just be worthwhile warning people these things can happen (this is Africa darling!) so they can be prepared. I wouldn't have minded at all if I'd been pre-warned! I attached just a a few of the 700 odd photos for you. We have some amazing ones. Let me know if you want any more for your website etc - I guess Dan might consent without royalties ;-) Thanks again for your help. We are thinking possibly gorillas in Rwanda next year. Do you go there? Nicki Sheard 2007 Dear Great One I have just got back and would like to thank you for organizing the end bits of my holiday for me. I met others at Ras Kutani, for whom you all had organised holidays, so we slagged you off together over a drink! I loved Ras Kutani and tried not to think of the bill. All my transfers etc worked and Beyt al Chai was divine. The staff there were very good to me and looked after me well. I intend to go back to Zanzibar for the Film festival if money permits and to stay there again. And I loved Stone Town. I may have explained that I am getting better from ME and so this was a test to see how I was doing. The safari part was not brilliant for me as my body was just not robust enough yet and I was sick for most of that part of the trip. I found lying down suited me better so the second half of my trip was great. I may be up for a Safari Lodge where animals go through the Lodge so I do not have to go far. Thanks to all of you for organising a bitofa holiday for me. Tessa Crockett 2007 dear Nick and Marc, we just got back from Tanzania and wanted to let you know how very happy Bambi/miranda and I were with the whole holiday. All 3 Selous co. places were exceptional so a big thankyou from us for all your help and spot -on suggestions. We have both fallen in love with Jongomero, and our Rus Kutani stay was perfect. We may have to go back in a year or so. Big old elephant walking right by our tent in Selous, 4 lions at the end of the day at Jongo got really near and they werent alseep! delightful temporary manager (Ibrahim Khatri) in Rus Kutani, too many others to mention really. Also we loved Stonetown Zanzibar (Dhow Palace lovely) I know this wasnt part of your trip but it was a good way to the end the trip and get back to a bit of reality. thanks again yours Gilly Clarke 2007 To Everyone at Tanzania Odyssey, Just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for organizing our honeymoon. We had a superb 2wks in Tanzania & Zanzibar & cannot say enough good things about our accomodation. Breezes was incredible - they really made everything so special for us. As for Beho Beho, it was simply heaven on earth. The safari drives & guides were great, food was much too good, and the rooms were spectacular. We literally showered with an elephant our last morning there. Ras Kutani was the perfect place to unwind and end the trip. We absolutely loved the monkeys that often visited us in our room. Everything was amazing!!!! This was by far the best trip we have ever taken. You really must offer some sort of diet plan upon returning home though. We ate far too well over there! Thanks again for everything. You are highly recommend by us! Highlight definitely was Beho Beho. Everything about the place was incredible. This was our first safari and my only worry now is that we will never find anything we can even compare with Beho Beho. Words really can't even describe what a great time we had at the camp. If they'd have allowed us to stay forever, we would have! We missed out on rhinos though so have a good excuse to go back. We were fortunate to see 3 lioness (and 6 cubs) lounging after a kill, had a nearly close call with a hippo, and as said before had an elephant right outside our shower the last morning. It was within arms length which was absolutely amazing! We also saw a suni and genet, which I'm told were quite rare to see. It was by far the best trip either of us have even taken. It was very refreshing to go to a place that was so untouched by humans. My fingers are crossed that I have a good enough picture to win that photo contest!!! Thank you so much again, Joe & April H 2007 Hello Nick, could you let me know what has happened with this? We haven't had any refund through the post? I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank you for organising our honeymoon. We had a fantastic time with the highlight being our stay in the Mdonya Old River camp. Also the complicated stopover in Dodoma was worth the inconvenience; our friend organised us a second wedding with everyone from her workplace, orphanage she works at, tribal drummers, food etc. Best wishes, Ben Sadler 2007 Dear Julian, Thankyou again for all your patience and help. Our northern circuit and Zanzibar was perfect. They met us at every destination precisely. Our driver/ guide was outstanding . His name was Jabshir. He worked for Ranger Safaris. I already sent them an email about his excellent qualifications. If you have a moment ,maybe you can do the same. We spoke to other guests from other operators and we definitely experienced more than they did. His driving was slow,careful and pointed out every animal , bird , plant and rock!! We are planning on selous/ruaha in 2009. Can we book in the begiining of 2008? Can you suggest a beach resort after the safari? Can we go to one that has diving? I do not know if you have many clients from the United States, but if you would like to;please use us as a reference . Stay well- Dr. Matthew and Elizabeth Eannaccone 2007 hello, Just to let you know we had a great time in Tanzania. The choice of the Jongomero Camp was a very good one. The Ruaha offers a very different safari experience to the Selous due to the different animals that can be spotted there, mainly the huge herds of Buffalo and the Sable Antelopes... We thoroughly enjoyed the communal atmosphere of the camp as well and mealtimes were an opportunity for some great laughs... I wouldn't however recommend the Royal Palm in Dar. Service is very poor. Everything was a hassle, from checking-in to checking out via ordering breakfast and having dinner. The amenities in the room certainly weren't up to scratch. Thank you for organising such a fantastic trip again - I don't think it will be our last safari in Tanzania!! Laurent Despax 2007 Hello Julian, Sorry for the delay in writing... Monica and I just wanted to thank you for a fantastic trip. We absolutely loved both Mwagusi and Beho Beho, and Ras Kutani and Nungwi were also excellent. Chris Fox at Mwagusi, what a facinating person. I loved hearing of his experiences - he seems to be a local legend. The camp was very nice and the game was excellent. Beho Beho - beautiful place, couldn't ask for nicer. The game wasn't quite as good, but that was no one's fault of course... Personally I think the combination of these two places is perfect. Beho Beho is a bit more plush, which Monica loved, while Mwagusi is a bit more rustic, a bit more no nonsense safari which I thought was great... Additionally, the guides were excellent - very knowledgable and patient, and also passionate and protective of the land and the wildlife. And Ras Nungwi - a beautiful place with unbelievable location - perfect way to finish up. We may be referring someone to you shortly... Many thanks, Nauman Ansari 2007 hey Julie. I'm back and still in one piece. The trip was amazing. The Selous Safari Company properties (Selous Safari Camp and Jongomero) were gorgeous; I can't say enough good things about them. We saw so many amazing animals and birds---lions, elephants, zebra, giraffe... The food was great, the lodging was amazing, and the people were incredible. We had an amazing time in Zanzibar too. Rus Nungwi was gorgeous and so relaxing. We went snorkeling, took a dhow cruise, had spa treatments--the whole nine yards. We also took a spice plantation tour on the way to Stone Town and got a tour of the old city as well. Beyt al chai, where we stayed in Stone Town, was amazing. All the transfers were perfect. Always someone waiting for us and always got us where we needed to go. Everything was flawless. It really was a great intro to Tanzania. Alexis C. Kelly 2007 Hi Marc, Just wanted to add to Ed's email and say thank you as well. The whole trip was out of this world - beautiful locations, food and people. Thanks to your generosity and knowledge Ed and I can say we must surely have had one of the best honeymoons anyone could dream of. I only wish I was still there sitting by our dipping pool enjoying a G&T, instead of staring at my computer screen wondering how one country can be so wet and miserable! I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you and Annie very much on the day and do hope that we might all be able to catch up soon. Thank you. Lisa Andrews 2007 Hi TANZANIA ODISSEY This is to tell you that our trip in Jongomero and Selous Safari Camp has been great, and that we shall remember you for a future trip there. Yours faithfully Giuseppe DE ROSA and Monika RUTHENBECK 2007 Julian Just a quick note to let you know that we arrived back today from our honeymoon. Your choice of Vamizi Island was spot on and both Gina and I thought it was amazing and a very special, unique place. The whole trip was perfect with no delays or hiccups and the travelling and connections were seamless. The Island itself was even better than we expected and was exactly what we wanted. We didn't want a Sandals type resort with pools and 30 honeymooners! On the Yellow Fever, I consulted the Tropical School of Medicine and they confirmed that if you travel from Uk- Joburg-Pemba you don't need Yellow fever. This turned out to be correct when we arrived there. We ended the honeymoon on a safari in Soth Africa ( Richard Bransons Ullusaba Private Game Lodge) which was spectacular, not as relaxing as Vamizi! Both Gina and I would like to thank you for your help in pursuading me to go to Vamizi instead of Quilalea! It was the perfect honeymoon and we will never forget it. Regards Jonathan and Gina Davies 2007 To all at Tanzania Odyssey, Well we're back from honeymoon and I have to say it's rather depressing!! We had the most amazing time at Selous Safari Camp and Ras Nungwi and I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all. From the start you were so attentive with all our questions and gave real honest answers. It was such a personal level of service and made such a difference that everybody I spoke to had actually visited the camps and hotels I was asking about. Such a difference from Kuoni who we also got a quote from (several hundred pounds more expensive by the way!). The whole trip ran without a hitch and all the transfers went really smoothly. Julian and Nick - a huge thank you for advising us to go to Ras Nungwi instead of Breezes! We had the most amazing time and we met a few that had come up from Breezes and said whilst lovely it just lacked the personal touch and was far too much like a big European hotel. We have had the most amazing honeymoon and we would not hesitate to recommend your company to all our friends. Our only one disappointment was the Serena Inn in Stone Town. Whilst they were lovely to us and gave us a huge suite we just felt it wasn't in keeping with the other two places we stayed. We were a bit overwhelmed to walk into reception to be met with about 50 Australians, all over 60 wearing their name badges for their stay and the food wasn't really great. We would have perhaps apprecitated a smaller, more intimate hotel similar to Ras Nungwi. However I realise this is down to taste but it may be worth noting for future recommendations. Other than that it was great. We are going to thank Ras Nungwi and Selous Safari camp too but we just wanted to say a huge thank you to you guys for arranging the best honeymoon we could have hoped for. Kind regards Chris and Sarah Brewer 2007 Dear Julian, We returned last Sunday from the holiday you arranged for us in Tanzania, and we are still re-living the wonderful and awesome experience, and feel that we will continue to do so for quite some time. We had high expectations of the package you put together for us but the holiday not only lived up to everything, it exceeded it in most respects. Firstly, the logisitics and arrangements, from the wonderfully organised (but apparentl) chaos of Coastal Aviation to the highly slick and professional approach of the 3 camps, was efficient and comfortable which helped the holiday to run smoothly. we particularly enjoyed the private charter to Saadani (private 4 seater plane) and the lucky(?) upgrade to BA Worldtraveller Plus on the return journey. Secondly, the three camps, (Saadani, Jongomera and Selous Safari Camp) were all different but in their own way superb. The personal attention we received at each camp was first class, from the moment we arrived, around the camp and on safari. Eric and Angel were most congenial hosts and their staff were equally so. The cottages were delightful and the river and jeep safari, together with the beach location made an ideal start and taster for what was to come. We have to say that Jongomera stole our hearts. The absolute wilderness, the remoteness of the camp itself, the 'hunt' for the wildlife each day made it awesome. But what made it special for us was a combination of the intimacy of the camp and the so called 'Jongomera Family', as that was exactly how the staff , everyone of them came across. They made the stay special. Gregg and Claire were caring and efficient, but not in your face, the waiters and domestic staff were tremendous, what fun to be with, and their attention to detail was so impressive. however it was Priscus, our guide, who stole the show, he was a delightful person and worked so hard to satisfy our requests and demands on safari. The camp itself, the tents, the swimming pool, the dining and reception arrangements were brilliant. On safari, we were also very lucky, the highlight being 14 lions on one day, including a pride with 4 x 1 month old cubs, having just killed a baby elephant! On to Selous Safari Camp where we were upgraded to the private camp which delighted us. In many ways the camp was equally as good as Jongomera and Janey was very helpful and again attention to detail and every attempt to satisfy our every need ran through our stay. There was a greater variety of scenery and safari options here which complimented Jongomera superbly. Our highlights here were the flat tyre on the way back from the village after sunset and a broken jack resulting in a rescue mission, which in turn resulted in the sighting(and chase) of two leopards after dark on the way back! If that wasn't enough, the following day we found a pride of lions which had chased a leopard up a tree in competition for a kill! At both camps, the variety of mealtime scenarios, candlelit and al fresco, plus the 'picnic' meals out on safrari and sunset drinks in unbelievable locations were all way beyond our expectations. So with sad hearts we left the bush and travelled to Stonetown and Beyt al Chai, not sure whether we really wanted to. However this also proved to be an enjoyable experience, mainly because Beyt al Chai was a special place,(and what wonderful seafood !) and Stonetown we found fascinating. . As experienced world travellers and wildlife holiday enthusiasts, we have to conclude that this holiday was right up at the top of our many experiences (equalled only by our Galapagos holiday) and we can't praise yourselves enough for organising and providing us with exactly what we wanted. We will obviously recommend you unreservedly to anyone who may be interested. In talking to the acquaintances we met whilst on holiday, it was quite obvious that we had the best provider at the best price! Thanks again to you and your colleagues who helped to organise this for us. David and Lynda Mobbs 2007 Tom We got back on Friday from a fanastic holiday which you arranged for us (Amani Beach / Selous Safari / EMC in Ruaha / Ras Nungwi in Zanzibar). It was truly wonderful. We are so grateful to you for your excellent advice on where to stay, which enabled us to get absolutely the most out of our trip. If you'd be interested in more detailed feedback on the places we stayed, we'd be happy to give it. In the meantime though, thanks again, and we hope to go back to Tanzania with you in the future. with all good wishes, Charles Fraser 2007 Hi Tom, I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip to Tanzania in July. Everything went very smoothly and we appreciate your putting together this itinerary for us. It was spectacular, and I think we got lucky with the wildlife experiences in Ruaha. As you may recall, we were booked first at the EMC in Ruaha with Owen and Colleen as our hosts (I saw your name in the guest book, btw.) We had a wonderful time with them, and we were the only guests after the first day of safari, so it was like having a private driver and guide. We didn’t even see another vehicle for 3 days! Lions had killed a giraffe right by the road the night before we arrived, so we got to see it reduced to nothing but bones after 3 days of lions feasting on it. We then went to Beho Beho for 4 nights, which was the right order to experience the two camps/lodges. It was a fantastic place, as you had told us it would be, with excellent guides and staff and food and accomodation. We met the owner, Charley, as well, who is a most gregarious individual. The hiking safari provided an adrenaline rush for all of us when a young bull elephant was surprised by us as he came around a bush. Other than the discovery of poaching of elephants that occurred right before we left, it was a very enjoyable stay. Zanzibarwas different, and it wouldn’t have mattered where we went after Beho Beho because it would have been a transitional shock either way. Breezes was pleasant enough, fine for diving and snorkeling and relaxing, but too touristy for our taste. I knew it would be like that, so I’m not complaining. We had two full days there, and then one night in Stonetown, which was plenty. The Amani resort at the start of our trip was excellent. Again, we were the only ones there one night, and only one other family was there the other nights. The staff walked us to a local village about an hour away where we could see how the locals lived. This was not a tourist venue, and it was the only chance we had on this trip to experience native living conditions. Because Ras Kutani burned and we couldn’t stay there, and because Ras Kutani is listed at $275 pp/night vs. $245 for Amani, do we get a refund for the difference? That would be $270 for the three of us for three nights. Please let me know. Our last week was in London, which was also enjoyable, as we seemed to have missed almost all of the rain that deluged your country. We stayed one night at the Park Sheraton across from Green Park when the Tour de France was kicking off, and when we returned from Tanzania we stayed at Jurys in South Kensington. Both locations were great. Jurys had the better hotel, even though the room was smaller. London is just too damn expensive for us Yanks right now. If you get the chance to see the play ‘Billy Elliot’, we highly recommend it. It is playing at the Victoria Palace. Anyway, thanks again Tom for your great service and for recommending the trip that you did, as it met our needs perfectly. If only we could have seen a leopard! My son, Tristan, loved the whole trip, as did my wife and I. I’ve attached a photo of us so you can see the beneficiaries of your expertise. With sincere appreciation, Harald Loeffler 2007 Colleen and Owen Many thanks for a superb holiday - unforgettable thankyou for making us so welcome please pass on our very best wishes to all the guys now back at work in rainy England ( still saw no leopards in Selous - we'll have to come back - Sean( from Beho-Beho ) says he is coming to see you - hope his visit goes well - we thought the two sites complemented each other really well ) thankyou again The Spencer family 2007 Hi Julian, I wanted to drop you a note and tell you what an absolutely fantastic trip I had to Mombo and Vumbura Plains. I walked away with 2900 photos and am, by no means, a serious photographer. Thank you again for all your wonderful suggestions. They really paid off for me. You can be certain this is not my last trip there. All the best, Adriana Luchechko 2007 Hi tanzania! i just wanted to thank you for a wonderful holiday.we had the best time. i didnt realise i was so interested in animals and birds but we were truly honoured to see so many creatures in such an unspoilt environment going about their daily lives. i have to agree with Julian who said that jongomero was special- it really is and to have such luxury and beautiful accommodation in such a remote place was amazing.we were spoilt with the food, the company and everything about the holiday was perfect. Zanzibar was a surprise- i hadnt appreciated the extent of the poverty . ras nungwi was lovely. three of us had severe stomach upsets here however, but we survived! rob and sam spent a lot of money on the biggest boat for their once in a lifetime game fishing and were disappointed that they didnt catch anything at all! but megan and i had a lovely sunset cruise on the dhow. we also had massages, henna tattooes and hair braiding-my daughter's dream! just for info- i mentioned that emirates offer a hotel when flying from glasgow as the plane lands at 12.35am in dubai and leaves at 7am for Dar-however if you have any other customers taking this route-you might advise them that by the time you arrive at the hotel (and as we were really hungry we had a quick sandwich via room service) we only had 2 hours sleep-the hotel wasnt particularly nice either so on the return flight we just stayed in the airport. we were so impressed with the people at both selous and jongo-what fantastic people.Kim, our guide at jongomero, asked for our email address and we hope to keep in touch. We didnt see lions,but as the wildlife was so abundant it wasnt too much of an issue! we also managed THE picture in jongo of us in the pool looking out at the elephants crossing the river bed,then impala,then baboons-how lucky! anyway, thanks again .we have some fantastic memories The Hughes family 2007 Hi Julian Following our fantastic trip to Tanzania (29 June-15 July '07), i just wanted to write and thank you so much for helping us plan and arrange such a memorable holiday. From the moment we arrived in Tanzania, we were highly impressed by the level of service and courtesy paid to us by all involved in our stay, from the people managing our transfers, drivers, hotel and camp staff. We particularly appreciated your advice in putting together a suitable itinerary. We shall highly recommend Tanzania and your company to family and friends alike. Kind Regards Julie Martin 2007 Anyway…thanks again it was a wonderful trip and if anyone asks about “how to go to Africa”……Tanzania Odyssey it is! Cheers, Jamie Wile 2007 Dear Julian, Just got back from our trip to Botswana and wanted to drop you a line to thank you for everything. The trip was amazing and everything went perfectly, except that it was too short! I fell in love with Botswana and Africa and cannot wait to go back. The lodges were all very different and I think that was a good thing. Our favorite was Tubu Tree (one of your choices). I also appreciated your initial suggestion of starting in the bigger more crowded places and going smaller and more remote. Many people were doing it the opposite way and I think this worked better for us. Again, thank you for everything and I hope that we can be in touch soon to plan another trip. Best, Esrin Gozukizil 2007 Hi there Julian and the team ;) I meant to write earlier however time just flies once you get back from hols Had the most fantastic, exotic, romantic, supreme time away!!!!!!!!!! Ras Kutani was the absolute BOMB!!!! We had the best suite room with the new fancy paint on the plunge pool!!! Was rocking!! Matembwe was lovely but Ras kicked it's butt so thanks for pushing the whole issue of the mainland stay!!!! We were met everywhere on time and loved Stonetown!! The small plane flights were rocking and all in all GOOD TIMES!!! Great place.......... Next on the list must be Madagascar!! Anyway many thanks again for all your preparation etc..... Suze and Chris Lamont 2007 Hello Nick & Marc We are just back a week from our trip to Tanzania / Zanzibar which you helped us plan and realise with success beyond our expectations!! We would just like to say a big "thank you" to Tanzania Odyssey for the the wonderful and seamless way that our holiday of a lifetime came true.From the moment we arrived at Dar on the 11th March to the moment we left on 23rd everything worked like clockwork. Nick, your advice was spot-on re the length of time we needed to get from A to B and the minimum time we needed to get the most out of all the activities on our ambitious itinerary. The safari was definitely the highlight of the trip and Roy Safaris were fantastic....a truly professional organisation. Our guide, James Chitede was just amazing.....we saw all the animals (Big Five) we hoped to see and more....including a leopard, which apparently is quite rare to see in daylight. We had a cheetah sit on the pop-top roof of our jeep, something James said in ten years of being a guide had never occured to him! We intend writing directly to Roys Safaris to tell them how pleased we were with James as our guide. He was courteous, friendly, had a great sense of humour and always had our safety as a priority. The baloon flight was teriffic, again, all organised to perfection and by then we were well ready for some R&R in Ras Nungwi.....wonderful 30th Annivarsary candlelit dinner on the beach...how romantic was that?? Beit el Chai in Stone Town was a real experience...they are now doing lunch and dinner and we recommend it highly....some of the best food we had and wonderful service. Anyway, we are back to reality now but have wonderful memories and over 600 photos to remind us of Africa. You may have more Irish clients when we are finished making all our friends green with envy with stories of our travels! By the way, the definitive answer to the visa query is that citizens of the Irish Republic do not need a visa to enter Tanzania and we only had to pay $5 each to exit!! Also must mention, that the Tanzania / Zanzibar guide book by Annabel Skinner was our "bible" for the trip....highly recommended! Once again, a big thank you Nick for all your help and patience way back at the planning stage from Jan onwards. Now that we have been bitten by the "Africa bug", I am sure you will hear from us again at sometime in the future Kindest regards Joe and Liz Moran 2007 Dear Tom, I just wanted to let you know what a fantastic 10 days Frances and I have just had. Our itinerary was perfect, the lodges truly superb and our wildlife viewing absolutely amazing. We had a super guide, Raphael, who looked after us wonderfully from start to finish, despite such hiccups as our luggage not arriving with us from Nairobi and having to be tracked down on day 3 of our trip (in that regard, as I understand that this is not an uncommon happening it might be advisable to suggest to clients that they pack any real essentials in their hand luggage). We have definitely repeated the unforgettable experience that my parents had on their trip and would most certainly recommend it ourselves. Many thanks for all your assistance. Kind regards, Joanna Sampson 2007 Julian, Very sorry that this reply is so late. We had a fantastic holiday and were ready to hit the ground running when we got back to work to find that a key member of our export team had resigned and so there really has not been a moment to spare with the need to interview and do the job until we have someone new. Tanzaniais a marvellous destination and it was obvious from the first time that we spoke to you that you really knew the country. We were less sure that you would really understand our needs as so many other agents had failed to listen and were more interested in fitting us into one of their standard categories than in putting together an itinerary that suited our desires. Having been there and had such a wonderful time you really did manage to find exactly what we were looking for and we are so glad that we took your advice. We met a few other guests of Tanzaniaodyssey at airfields and they had very different aspirations and itineraries and were enjoying their holidays just as much as we were. The EMC was the most superb experience. The combination of luxury and isolation in such a remote setting was exactly what we wanted. The camp layout was perfect and the décor beyond expectations. Most evenings, Carlo the owner was our host and it is obvious that he brings his Italian perfection to everything in the camp. For the guest, it was relaxation but we know that such perfection is only achieved by the best management and a willing and interested staff. We really did not want to leave. The safaris were excellent and seeing leopard almost became the norm. We have experienced many other safaris and therefore we were more interested in viewing the animals in our own time at close range than in ticking off as many species as possible. There was an abundance of wildlife and the riverside walking safari was just something else. The very best memory, however, is of the two hours we spent on our own with our guides watching a herd of elephants bathing in a mud wallow from a small rise so close that we felt as we could reach out and touch them. The Selous was quite different and was a very good experience with a superb location and attentive staff. They put together a full day safari into the bush close to Beho Beho for us and we saw lion chasing a giraffe. We enjoyed the stay but it did not get our soul like the EMC. IT seemed to be more of a routine where guests were processed through the options. The Bayte al Chai in Stone Town was the perfect place to be. Again, this was exactly the place for us. Luxurious and homely and perfectly located. We explored stone town every day and really got a feel for the local way of life. Another hotel that we found and viewed was the Zanzibar Palace Hotel run by a Belgian couple and that would also appear to be a very fine set up at the opposite end of town. Whilst we enjoyed Stone town we did not fall in love with it. Some friends of ours who also took a holiday to Kenya and Zanzibar stayed at the Serena (we went in and hated it) they loved the hotel but absolutely hated stonetown! Thanks for a very good holiday and keep in touch. Alan and Liz Bamforth 2007 Dear Nick We returned in extremely good order on Friday evening having had a really magnificent holiday in Tanzania. I will in due course let you have a more detailed review but we did want you to know that it was a very successful trip in which we saw the big 5 even if the leopard was up a tree 500m away!! Roy Safaris looked after us extremely well and provided comfortable Landcruisers with excellent drivers/ guides – we were very sorry to bid them farewell as we took off from Serenora. The accommodation was excellent with just one exception – Serena Ngorongora – which seemed to have a considerable management problem. We will be letting you have a report on this but it was the only blip in an otherwise faultless programme. It was good to have a few days at Ras Nungwi at the end which enabled us to draw breath after our very full programme. What a terrific spot with a great team. I will give you a ring in the next few days to catch up. With many thanks to you from us all Regards David Greenwood 2007 Dear Nick Just wanted to send a mail to thank you so much for the trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar. It was fabulous, even better than we hoped. The connections all worked perfectly an all the lodges / camps were fabulous. The guides great and Ras Nungwi a wonderful place to relax after the safari. Emerson and Green was an amazing to end the trip. Many thanks again. Do you arrange or recommend anyone to organise trips in other parts of Africa, eg, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa? Kind regards Chris Wells 2007 Thanks! We had a great time--Ras Kutani was just as you said it would be. cheers, Cassia Van Der Hoof Holstein 2007 Dear Marc, We returned home yesterday after a wonderful holiday to Tanzania, and just wanted to thank you for your advice, and for booking all our tickets and transfers so efficiently, and for sending us to Ras Kutani which we simply adored. What a blissful place - delightfully low key and relaxed but with undercurrents of brilliant efficiency, thoughtfulness and excellent food. We were really well looked after. Annabel and Tim, who are there at the moment in the capacity of managers, were both completely charming and helpful. All our flights happened on time and without hitch. Kenya Air was very comfortable and it was heaven to be horizontal during the night flights. Our nine days at the CCAfrica camps were magic, but the Ngorogoro crater is a disaster at the moment because of the incredible amount of rain....it's a complete quagmire with vehicles getting stuck all the time, and very hazzardous and frankly terrifying driving conditions. Thankfully we were only there for 2 nights, because one game drive was enough for me, and I stayed at the lodge for the second day. Robin went down at 0830, returning at 1600. Four hours of that time was spent travelling up and down and having picnic lunch. When they found a pride of lion, there was a cavalcade of 25 vehicles around it!! Anyway, we have fallen in love with Tanzania and I am sure we'll return there and have a go in the Selous. I'll be in touch! Sincerely, Judy d'Abo 2007 Hi Nick, We just got back from our trip and just wanted to say a big thank you - we had an amazing time. The trip was seamless as we were met at each point and everything was taken care of. The game viewing was superb - managed to see the Big 5 and we even say a cheetah kill! Thanks again, Bharti Agrawai 2007 Jambo Nick I just wanted to let you and the TO group know what a wonderful trip we had. It was truly life-changing for all of us on so many levels. You did a magnificent job of organizing and sorting out all the details and it really resulted in an adventure to always be treasured. I plan to call you sometime next week – I’m still somewhat jet-lagged and jet-logged, but am slowly coming to my senses. (Not that I really want to). The safari was unbelievable and in case you hadn’t heard, we saw the Big 5. On the last day of the trip on the Serengeti, we went to Seronera at the suggestion of our guide, Gadi Lazier (that’s just a whole fabulous story unto itself) and we saw the elusive Leopard. My heart practically fell out. He, Gadi, and the Roy Safaris company were excellent. All the connections were made as planned, and actually every accommodation and guide we had seemed to be top-notch. The food was quite tasty as well. So asante sana rifiki and have a nice weekend. Let’s try to talk next week. I picked up some lovely CDs of East and South African music. My best regards Andrea Kapit 2007 Hi Marc Just wanted to thank you for a brilliantly organised trip - everything went incredibly smoothly and we really did have the most fabulous time. I'm so glad we did Zanzibar first as, much as it was great, we just totally loved Ras Kutani and all the people there. It was completely fantastic and we're gutted to be back! Henrietta Colvin 2007 ----- Hi Nick, So we are home, and a big thanks to you and the team - we had an absolute ball. Loads of memories, stories for life and photos to back it up. To be honest we were going completey into the dark, none of us having done anything like it ever before. But how our eyes have been opened. As a summary: - all the transfers worked perfectly, we were met at every point and shown where to go (apart from at Dar national terminal yesterday, but no probs). - the Coastal service was at first exciting and scarry, and then admired as it somehow always turned up on time, and it was great fun. - we stayed at Beho first - and this was the highlight by a country mile. We really hit it off with all the staff and guides there and they led us to some remarkable sights. We enjoyed the most the walks out with the guides and creeping up on the game, and even saw a kill by wild dogs out on a plain (on foot!). In camp we had some fairly wild partys and games of snooker, so where sad to go. Fantastic food, creative meal times, elephants starring in from the bedroom window, it was really something. - next stop Jongomero, where it had been raining so much the bush was high and so alot of the tracks were closed. The pace was different with an efficient but a little characteless couple running the show - Claire and Greg. We had the impression of it being part of a chain with rules that we didnt experience in Beho at all. Lovely set up, nice rooms though. - then Zanzi and Gemma, and this did everything we thaught it would - nice and relaxing, pretty good standard, and with the overbooking of our villa for the first night we managed to persuade them to give us the Presidential Villa with 100 staff and fab private pool. 5 nights enough though. Overall a first class holiday, and something that we had hoped for but was surpassed. Many thanks. Happy to act as a reference for you guys, your organisation and recommendation were top notch. We will be back!!! Duncan Frazer 2007
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I thought Iit only just and proper that I wrote to tell you what a FANTASTIC time we had in Tanzania.. The Selous Safari Lodge made us truly welcome, and helped to make our honeymoon something we will never forget. Although it was organised directly through our friends, the Breezes was also truly superb… Thanks again, and we WILL be going back!
Paul Bell 2006 Dear Mark/Julian Can't believe we have been back nearly a fortnight already. It really was the most wonderful holiday - thank you so much. Everything worked brilliantly - all flights on time, and we particularly enjoyed the private plane ride out of the Selous back to Dar. We loved the Selous private safari camp and also Zanzibar although we did prefer Matemwe to Ras Nungwi (a bit too "butlins" for us!!) Can you let me know the breakdown of the different places ie was Matemwe a lot more expensive than Ras Nungwi for instance? Thanks so much Regards Harriet McCalmont 2006 Julian, Everything was great. You have caught us with this email before we managed to write you a letter thanking you for everything. The holiday was really magical and we have now up-dated the Blog so that you can read about it in more detail (http://andrewnina.blogspot.com). We have also added a few photos that we were proud of. We have plenty of others, but have rather spent the last 2 weeks getting back into the swing of work - Nina has been traveling around the UK and somehow I have had more work evenings that usual (three weeks away - we have to pay sometime!) We really loved the Old Boma. The atmosphere was great and is was really educational to spend some time in a part of Africa where the residents do not treat you as a target for purchases or begging. I think that we would happily have spent a little more time at the Old Boma, but also gather that it is expected to grow in tourism in the next few years - so it may be "now or never." Ras K was super - rained rather a lot, which was a shame as we didn't manage to make full use of the boats, windsurfers, canoes etc. The staff were great and the location and ambiance exactly what we were after. The highlight for us both I think was probably Selous - such a lovely place, amazing game, great camp and very friendly staff - I cannot recommend that too much. The one thing that I think that we would change is the camping, or at least the length of camping without showers! It is such a shame that the camp facilities are so poor. At the Tarangirie Park they have just completed new toilet blocks at the gates and pic-nic areas which were superb - if they provided the same standard of loos and showers at the campsites then they would have many more visitors. That said the hardship of no running water would not have been so bad if we had managed to break up the 6 days from Tarangirie to Lobo with one night with a shower as I know that you had planned. The Kempinski was a great relief and the Souk was perfectly adequate - the only thing that I would add about the Souk was that it is quite a way from the airport and whilst it is a good location for a 24 hours it was just a room for our stop-over and something closer to the airport might have worked. Have a look through the blog as it sets out much more of our thoughts and, as we write it whilst we were there, probably gives a better view of our thoughts as we went round. On another line we would both like to thank you for doing such a super job for us - and at such short notice. We had a holiday of a lifetime (although we do hope that we have many more to come that measure up to this too). You did that rare thing in that you managed to deliver a holiday that lived up to our expectations. We could also like to thank you directly for coping so well with our views on Pongwe and getting us not only back on the rails but giving us an end the the holiday which added to the already marvelous experience that we had had until then. We both believe that you went well beyond the usual level of help and made sure that everything was sorted with minimum of fuss and with a great outcome for us. We have been recommending you to everyone that we have talked to about the trip. Thank you for making the holiday so special for us both - I am now hoping that we can both be persuaded to go again next year - how about the West side? I also hear from another of your Clients (Julian Keeble) that you sent him to "heaven" on an island just of Mozambique (I forget the name for now). Regards Andrew & Nina Charlesworth 2006 Hi Julian, we are back from our trip, enjoying the last day before heading back to work tomorrow, so I thought I'd drop you a line with some feedback. Logistically everything went well except for a minor problem with the local air tickets. When we arrived the coastal envelope only contained one ticket, DAR-Selous-DAR, returning on the 14th. We explained that we should have a private charter to mafia on the 14th and a flight maf-dar on the 19th. After some checking they changed the ticket to selous-maf on the 14th. We were also told that the maf-dar ticket for the 19th would be sent to pole pole, but it never arrived. The coastal man at the airport also didn't have the tickets. In any case we flew back and everything was alright (though there was some confusion when we arrived as the transfer man was expecting us on the mid day flight from Zanzibar!). Having flown with coastal a few times before we knew they were flexible and competent and were confident everything would be ok. But had this been our first trip to africa I am sure we would have worried. Beho Beho: excellent throughout. The guiding met the very high standards set by SSC and Sand Rivers on our previous visits. The camp is very nice and the service was excellent. The atmosphere was friendly. The area around the camp is more diverse than that around SSC and Sand Rivers which is a plus. Overall very good and I would recommend it and go back. Diving: you may recall that I asked you for information on the dive operation attached to Pole Pole/Mafia Lodge before going, but you didn't hav much information. I therefore thought it would be useful to tell you about our experience. The dive operation is run by Moez Kassam, and his calm, friendly and highly professional manner sets the tone for the whole operation. The dive masters and boot crews were excellent. Enthusiastic, friendly, and totally relaxed, but also very professional. They made a big effort to get us to the dive sites in optimal conditions - island time won't do when you need to catch the tide at the right moment. Every day the boot left exactly as advertised, like a swiss watch. We were able to do two dives on the incoming tide, which is a first for us in East Africa and really makes a difference for experienced divers trying to maximise their diving in the best conditions. Service was excellent - every day our gear was washed and waiting for us on the boat when we arrived. Overall this is a world class operation, and I would highly recommend and go back (and we have been diving for 15 years all over the world, so we have some perspective). Hope this is useful, cheers, Thomas Rose 2006 Dear Marc, First of all, thank you very much for checking our airport transfer and changing the pick up time for earlier time in Stone Town. We came home on Friday evening. I just wanted to tell you how wonderful time we had in Tanzania. I am so glad you convinced me to choose Crater Lodge and The Palms. My husband was so impressed with the Crater Lodge on our first day in Tanzania, but when we got to The Palms in Zanzibar later, we soon realised it was the best place we had ever stayed! In Morongo we loved the lodge, and all the staff we met there were very kind, helpful and knowledgeable. Although the lodge itself wasn't as good as the Crater Lodge, the safari at the Klein's was superb. We did all the available safari there, in the private concession area, Serengeti National Park and walking safari with Alistair the general manager of the Klein's. The chef at the Klein's was the best chef of all the places we stayed during this trip in Tanzania. Again people there were all so good. We had a wonderful time there. However I must tell you that the service we received at The Palms were most exceptional. At the beginning of our stay, it was very quiet and only two out of six bungalows were occupied, so Peter, the manager treated us with "The champagne & canapé on the bed in the beach"! The Palms was certainly the most luxurious place of all and the degree of the personal service we received was just so outstanding. We didn't want to leave there. Regarding the safari, we saw almost everything we wanted to see except Rhino, but we didn't expect to see any Rhino, so no disappointment. We saw so many cheetahs including the moment of the two brothers hunting a gazelle and succeeded, and a mother with four cubs eating their kill. We also saw lots of lions and lioness and luckily we were able to see a leopard walking round as well at the Klein's concession area. There was one funny incident though. When we were leaving the Klein's for Zanzibar by Arusha, we were told that our names weren't on the passenger list of the plane other people were boarding at the Klein's airstrip and also told there was no other planes coming to the Klein's airstrip on that day. Luckily the pilot said he had enough space to take both of us on board to Arusha, however when we were approaching Aretha airport, the weather turned too bad for landing, so we were diverted to Kilimanjaro. It was OK for the rest of the passengers, because the same plane was taking them to Zanzibar anyway, but we were supposed to change the plane from The Regional Air to Coastal Aviation at Arusha and by this time we had missed the connection. Anyway, the pilot kindly called the Coastal Aviation and informed them where we were and made some arrangement to take us to Zanzibar. When we told this story at the Palms, they said, it's quite common... We were so grateful that everything was so casually amended. Anyway I would like to repeat that how truly superb the people of CC Africa lodges and The Palms were. Also I would like to thank you for helping me to choose the right places when I was organising this trip. (My husband was so impressed with my choices!) We had the most unforgettable holiday. Thank you again. Kind regards, Mie Kasai & David Salgado 2006 Nick Just to let you know that we had a fantastic time in Tanzania – so thanks a lot for putting it together. Ocean Paradise is lovely – really well set out and the beach is just amazing. And good food. We did a great boat trip with a company called Safari Blue which I’d definitely recommend to anyone going there. The Selous was also amazing – we saw loads of animals – elephants, lions, hunting dogs, more giraffe than I could imagine…….. Although it’s quite a big camp, there were never more than 4 people and a guide on any of the safaris. Isobel Arthur 2006 Nick Just wanted to give yourself & Tanzania Odyssey some positive feedback (especially as feedback is often negative). We had a fantastic honeymoon, everything went extremely smoothly & according to plan. Having lived in Africa, many years ago, I have to compliment you on a fantastic job as making things go smoothly is often extremely difficult. Beho Beho was superb, Ras Nungwi amazing & Serena Inn very impressive. Thanks for all your help in making our Honeymoon something to remember. Regards James Cornish 2006 Hello Marc. Glad to tell you that the trip was absolutely first class and everything after we left London went like clockwork. We were both hugely impressed by all the places you arranged for us to stay in. The quality of the accommodation was really good and all the people at Selous, Jongomero and Ras Nungwi were extremely welcoming, friendly and eager to help. Both the bush camps were great fun. The accomodation was gorgeous and the standard of dining was very high. At Ras Nungwi we thought the hotel was super and extremely well run and even our last day in Stonetown was thoroughly enjoyed and we thought the guest house was very charming and comfy. We had good times everywhere, saw a lot of big game at very close quarters(bit too close a couple of times!), soaked up a lot of the atmosphere of living in the wild, and met a lot of interesting people. I am glad we had a chance to sample two fairly different camps at Selous and Jongomero. A lot of people we encountered asked us which we preferred and we could only answer that they were both terrific and if you were only going to one it would be very hard to choose which. As you know, I was already an 'Afrophile' and this trip just reinforced my views about it being a place everyone should visit at least once in a lifetime. Margot had never been to Africa but was bowled over by everything and came away saying "Which part of Africa are we going to visit next? " I can honestly say we couldn't think of a single even slightly negative aspect of this trip and you can be assured that will be reflected in what I write. Thank you for everything you did to make it such a memorable adventure. I will be in touch again in the next few days, will try to drop in, because I will need to include some typical prices and options for this type of holiday with your company. Once again, thanks for all your help. Jeff Edwards 2006 Hi Julian, Had forgotten to drop a line to thank-you for arranging our honeymoon. We had a fabulous time all the way through, no hitches or problems and where we were being met along the way the person was there waiting for us, polite and efficient. Can't believe how well it went. As our first safari experience we were spoilt, saw everything we wanted to and stayed at the greatest of places. Don't think we can ever go on safari again as nothing will live up to this trip.... Cheers again, Steve Ballinger 2006 We've just come back from our trip to Tanzania and it was FAN-*******-TASTIC!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for arranging such a brillant holiday.The hotels you chose for us were brilliant and the Selous and safari camp was the real highlight. We can't wait to go again, pobably to the Ruaha reserve, hopefully in January and we will definitely be in touch with you to organise that. Thank you so much again for an amazing 10 days. Laurent Despax 2006 Nick, Thanks for arranging a fantastic trip! We enjoyed the Sand Rivers Lodge and Mwagusi very much. Sand Rivers was exceptional because we had a private guide for just the two of us, the opportunity to take a boat trip upriver and do some fishing in addition to the standard game drives was also a nice change. The number and diversity of game that we saw at both places exceeded my expectations! The treehouses at Chole Minji were also quite unique. I have attached a few of my best photos for you to see. Thanks again for a great trip! Deborah Shafer 2006 Marc and Nick: Many thanks from Michele and me for your spot-on advice. We loved each of the places more than we could have hoped. (Didnt love the black mamba we ran into at Ras Kutani, but oh well). We also ran into many of your clients. You seem to have a good hold of the UK market. Let me know if there is anything I can do to promote you here. Craig Waldman2006 Dear Marc and Julian ... I appreciate the compassionate class service T.O give to those less fortunate than themselves ... such as I ... and believe it making known my appreciation ... I will write ... the following Testimonial: "Tanzania Odyssey ... could not have been more kind to me on my recent Safari ... they made me feel normal! Never once ... not once ... did they comment upon the weeping wounds from which I an afflicted ... nor the fact that I have highly contagious leprosy ... and as for the Black Death Plague ... they took that in their stride too. Whilst I took the medication prescribed by the ... prison psychiatrist ... my occasional (indeed, sadly frequent) outbursts of homicidal violence towards those with whom I was forced to share a Jeep ... was handled with unfailing courtesy. Not even the blood on the seats was too much trouble for their staff. Nor did they chastise me when I set fire to the tent of the other clients ... when they were in it! I have no hesitation of recommending this fine company". Best wishes Reg the Axe 2006 Julian, A note of thanks for the excellent organisation of our honeymoon which was flawless. Thanks also for your superb recommendations. We had an absolutely fantastic time and enjoyed all of the places we stayed (Ras Kutani, Beho Beho, Jongomero, Emerson & Green, Ras Numgwi). In particular, having the two days at the start of the honeymoon at Ras Kutani was great as we needed the time to relax and take in the events of the wedding. The highlight of the trip was definately Beho Beho. Whilst we enjoyed Jongomero very much, Beho Beho was a notch above in all departments, especially the guides. We didn't appreciate at the time just how good the guides at Beho Beho were and feel almost privileged to have had Spike and Sean as guides. A close second would be Ras Nungwi, which was the perfect way to end our honeymoon. Many Thanks, Howard & Charlotte Roberts 2006 Dear Julian, Today I have sent you a DVD with some photos and video clips from out honeymoon. We had a fantastic time and it was better than we imagines and definitely the holiday of a lifetime that we wanted. Many thanks for all your help in making it all happen for us. We hope that you can us some of the pictures on your website. Thank you once again. Suzanne Nicholas 2006 Hi Nick, Just got back to my desk today (oh joy) after a really great holiday so I thought I'd take a few minutes to let you know how it all went. We had a fantastic time Nick. Everything went really smoothly and we really felt we got star treatment in both the Serengeti and Tarangire parks. As you had predicted, Nomads are the real deal. The accomodation was just great - really comfortable and excellent service. Our guides were both really great - although I feel our guide in the Serengeti definitely has the edge when it came down to it. Having said that our Tarangire guide was also great - and he was such a laugh that it made up for any shortcomings on finding game. All our flight connections went very smoothly, shame we can't get around like that here. Thanks also for the recommendation for the Clove Hotel in Stone Town. We really loved it there. I hope all is going well and thanks again for sorting out our trip at such short notice. Regards, Niamh McCarthy 2006 Marc Just to let you know, all went well in Namibia. We had no hassle at Heathrow, although our bags joined us in Sossusvlei 36 hours late – I think the baggage handlers in Johannesburg are overloaded!! We had a fantastic time, the scenery in Namibia was awesome and, as I guess you know, Mauritius and Le Prince Maurice were spectacular. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to take any video footage of any of the camps. Thank you for organising the trip. Regards, Chris Smelt 2006 Dear Marc and Julian I am just writing to report our impressions of our Tanzania trip 19 August/4 September. It was magic - not just up to our expectations but well beyond. Each camp and park complemented the others, becoming more specialised, always with lots of game and without the distraction of other tourists. Everywhere the standards of guiding, accommodation, food and service were absolutely first class. Ras Kutani was idyllic. A honeymooner's paradise - we were treated like honeymooners after 42 years of marriage! Either TO has considerable influence or they really thought we were honeymooners because we had one of two new beautiful secluded suites high up overlooking the tree canopy and the sea, with a ten foot bed, two verandahs and our own pool. Charming service and good food - altogether an absolute delight. Mwagusi in Ruaha was an ideal introduction to safari. The camp is very comfortable, the guiding superb, the countryside very varied, and a huge quantity and variety of game. Our only minor grumble relating to the whole trip is that they seemed a little disorganised. As our plane from RK was delayed 4 hours, it was almost dark when we arrived for our first safari ever. We were met on arrival by an assistant manager, taken to our banda, five minutes walk from the central area, and simply told that someone would fetch us at 7.30 for drinks and dinner and that we must not leave on our own - no other explanation whatsoever about anything. As a result we were totally disorientated until the next morning. From then on however we had a marvellous time. Katavi was quite different. The drying up flood plain had huge herds of buffalo (one of over 3,000) and lots of hippo, crocs, zebra, giraffe, lions, etc. We discovered that after the first night we would be the only guests. This might have been a little awkward but it was in fact quite the opposite. Manie the young Afrikaner manager's bushcraft was unparalleled, and he was a great host. He, Apollo, and the other six staff catered to our every whim with great cheerfulness - no need to fit in with other guests' plans. We will never forget our surprise sundowners way out in the bush at the end of a walking safari! The only problem at Katavi was some particularly determined tsetse flies! As everyone told us we would, we loved Mahale. Chimps galore, many of whom did not understand the 10 metre rule! The place was beautiful and laid back, with very entertaining and imaginative young hosts in Edward and Donna. I shall long remember snorkelling in Lake Tanganyika - thousands of cichlids in crystal clear water - and diving for giant freshwater mussels for supper, to be greeted with champagne on our return. And there was no bar bill whatsoever! All in all, we had the time of our lives. This was to a large part due to your advice, organisation, and I suspect, influence. It appears that out there Tanzania Odyssey is a highly thought of name. Everything ran like clockwork apart from the one plane delay, and all without any tickets! In hindsght it is difficult to see how it could have been improved, and it met exactly our criteria of abundant game in natural surroundings without crowds, with real variation in terrain and camps. The surprise was that the birdlife was almost as fascinating as the big game. As you will probably gather, we enjoyed ourselves! This was very largely due to your advice and organisation, which we appreciate greatly. It was worth every penny. Very many thanks from both of us. Regards and best wishes Peter and Celina Bullick 2006 Hi Julian This is just a quick e-mail to say thank you for organising a wonderful honeymoon for Katy and myself. We had an absolutely amazing time at Selous safari camp and then Shooting Star on Zanzibar. Everything was so well organised and efficient and made for such a great holiday. We'll definitely be recommending anyone we know who is planning to go to Tanzania your way. Thanks again Ross McMillan 2006 Nick and Marc I just wanted to let you know what a superb holiday we had in Northern Tanzania and Zanzibar and to thank you for your impeccable organisation. After the nerve-wracking preliminaries (10 August), we finally left Heathrow only one hour late and arrived in Dar on time. From then on all the arrangements, transfers, flights etc worked like clockwork. Our guide Chamillas Madji was brilliant - very knowledgeable, helpful and informative, and with an unerring knack of finding the animals we were looking for. It's hard to imagine how the safari could have been improved. Thanks to Serena Hotels' overbooking, we had a wonderful two nights in Kirawira Luxury Camp, which was an unforgettable experience. The other hotels were also excellent, especially Ras Nungwi, which really lives up to its brochure. We've been raving about the holiday since we came back and there's a distinct chance that another branch of the family will be in touch with you to discuss 2007... Kind regards and many thanks once again John Beardsmore 2006 Julian/Marc Thank you for the cheque (sorry about my tardy acknowledgement). Your response has enhanced the already high regard we have for the Tan. Odyssey operation. We all had a truly memorable holiday and were very impressed by all the arrangements you put in place. Many, many thanks. My colleagues, although widely travelled, who had never been to Africa were really excited and are talking about taking their two sons as soon as their respective diaries can be made to fit. They may get in touch with you directly; I have passed all the info to them. For my part we are already planning next year. Zambia plus beach over say 3 weeks next August, seems a favoured choice. Do Tan. Odyssey have a presence there? Perhaps it might be best if I called to discuss options rather than to rely on e-mails. Please let me know what you think. Very best regards John Field 2006 Hi Mark, We returned from our honeymoon on 25th August despite British Airways attempts to further wreck our plans by not changing our flight from the 22nd to the 25th correctly! Needless to say, a strong letter of complaint has gone into BA for their total incompetence in handling the security crisis (lack of information, incorrect information, inability to contact them by phone or change flights on the internet). Anyway, enough of the grumbling. I wanted to say a very big thank you to you and your colleagues at Tanzania Odyssey for two reasons. Firstly, for being of great help when our flight was cancelled. It was great to be able to talk to you outside of office hours and we were grateful for the smooth and efficient way you assisted us with the extra accommodation at Amani Beach and the changed flights with Coastal. Secondly, for organising a fantastic honeymoon for us. The recommendations made by Tanzania Odyssey were unbelievable. The quality absolutely fabulous. Beho Beho was amazing. We saw some great wildlife, the guiding (Spike) was brilliant, and the quality of accommodation second to none. Palms was equally fantastic. Lovely place and the staff were so kind, friendly and attentive. I won't have second thoughts in recommending Beho Beho, Palms or Tanzania Odyssey to all my friends and family. We are now trying to get a refund from BA but we are also looking into getting compensation for the missed accommodation and internal flights at the beginning of our trip. To help us to do this, could you please let me know the cost breakdown of our two missed nights in Ras Kutani and the missed flights from Dar to Ras Kutani and return. Thanks again for all your help. Best wishes Kevin Hartley 2006 Dear Julian Firstly apologies for not being in touch sooner. Zoë and I just wanted to thank you for organising a superb honeymoon in Tanzania. It really was exactly what we were after, in terms of having to think about nothing apart from what time the next meal was! Ras Nungwi was excellent. The food was lovely and it was very relaxed. The only comment I would make was the accommodation was looking very tired especially the bathroom. I cannot remember the name of the place we stayed at in Stone Town but once again this was very nice and central. The place is now having a restaurant built, which should add to it, as we felt that was the only thing missing. But overall it was fantastic. The Selous Safari Camp was brilliant and I cannot recommend the whole experience high enough. The fly camp was an experience not to be missed. The food and service was amazing and we just wished we had longer there, but I think this would have been impossible. Ras Kutani was also the perfect ending and also went far too quickly. Thank you very much for organising the whole trip which was done so easily, which is exactly what we needed with everything else leading up to the wedding. Also a huge thank you for coming within our budget. I gained the distinct impression that you reduced your prices by quite a bit to meet us, which we are very very grateful for. I have recommended your company to two other friends getting married next year, called Edward Every and Hugo Shorten. All the best and once again many thanks. James and Zoë Lane 2006 Dear Julian A big thank you for the perfectly organized trip to Tanzania. We had a wonderful time and were treated with respect, courtesy, kindness and PATIENCE at every step of the way. Despite all the many flights it coordinates, Coastal was on time and the pilots inspired trust. Even though BA left A's bag in London, Coastal was able to deliver it 4 days later at Selous. When we missed our flight to Zanzibar due to extra pickups on the way from Ruaha, the staff made sure we got there within an hour and phoned the hotel re: transport. I was fairly anxious about both these little incidents and yet (as has happened in the past) not one staff person displayed impatience with my worrisome questions. Our family vacation was probably the last altogether since our children will be going to University soon. In addition, I had been working extra hours to pay for it. How delightful it is to have only positive things to say about this luxurious adventure. Thanks again, Dale Northcote 2006
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Dear Marc Just dropping a line to say thank you so much for organising our holiday. It all went very smoothly and we didn't have to worry about a single thing as we were looked after all the way. Our safari guide, Tesha, was excellent, very knowledgable and accommodating, we were passionate about seeing everything not just animals, but plants, flowers, birds and insects. We saw the big 5 plus everything else and in abundance. Tesha encouraged us to leave at 6 every morning to miss the other cruisers and to see animals in action; we were rewarded with a leapord walking up so very close at 6.10am followed by lions with 2 cubs eating wildebeest shortly afterwards. The landscape is amazing just like I remembered from my childhood. Your choice of the Serena was great, the staff are wonderful and efficient and so naturally friendly, we were also in the right spot at the right time for animal spotting (we met people from Grumeti where animals were sparse and they hadn't even spotted elephant, of which we saw 100s). The only thing we didn't like was the ghastly piano 'classics' played every evening - not authentic mood setting at all - but they're working on this aspect. The Ngorongoro was very special as expected, again the staff at the Serena were the best ever encountered. On to Zanzibar to the delightful Ras Nungwi, with the beautiful beach with the most amazing clear warm sea. (The manager (SAfrican) asked after you too). Again, totally amazing and so relaxing. We got to hold baby turtles at the nearby turtle tidal pool. My husband has now found his 'best ever' hotel - Emerson & Green - what a magnificent experience. Its a bit knocked around the edges but in this hotel it doesn't seem to matter. Dinner on the roof was divine. My only complaint, which is my own fault, is that we didn't stay longer in either location, I should have added a few extra days into the schedule. We are looking forward to our next trip out there, but it'll have to be a few years off tho. Thanks again. Helen Bales 2005 Hi Marc, We´ve just returned from Tanzania/Zanzibar. I would like to tank Tanzania Odyssey the excellent advice concerning the program. The acommodations and service level in ALL aspects allways exceeded our expectations. Please also extend our thanks to Roy Safaris team (Theofilo and Habib) for their professionalism and courtesy. We will be back next year to cover the Southern parks and to dive in Zanzibar. Best Regards! Miguel Almeida Neves 2005 James I booked Sheila’s & my honeymoon through you last year. I meant to do two things: (1) congratulate you on the arrangements. Ras Kutani and Selous in particular were both excellent, and it was clear that your customers were getting particularly good treatment; but (2) ask you whether Ras Kutani was OK post-Tsunami. I am aware there were a couple of deaths in Tanzania and Ras Kutani is very close to the beach. I would be grateful to hear and thanks again for organising a first class trip. Nick Armstrong 2005 I'm not sure if you have spoken with Caroline but we wanted to thank you for your assistance with organising our week at Fundu Lagoon. The "Lagoon" was of course magnificent and Julia Bishop is obviously an excellent manager with a skill in maintaining civilisation against the odds. The diving there was also very good and the organisation relaxed, accommodating and helpful. The two "suites" were far more than we needed in that the boys could have bivouaced (sp?) with us but I guess that we all did a special service in testing them out and providing an impetus to get them ready. We would certainly choose one of them again if we return. Coastal Aviation were also excellent and all went smoothly, if in an African kind of way. They seemed to be better than ZanAir so maybe that is why you chose them. Beyt al Chai in Stone Town was OK but it was a Saturday night and the neighbouring open air nightclub was very loud unti 02:30. I'd advise people not to stay there unless they sleep soundly or you know when the night club stops early. All in all, an excellent week so thank you. Caroline will no doubt give you a blow by blow acount if you need any further feedback. With best wishes, Richard Underwood 2005 Hi Julian, Marc, Thought I would just drop you a note to let you know that our trip was absolutely awesome!Without a doubt it was the best trip we have ever had, and I just wanted to thank T.O for all the expert advice and arrangement making! The safari lodges were superb,we found it really hard to say which we preferred as we loved them both for very different reasons! If you're after any specific feedback on lodges... Mwagusi - The warmest welcome we have had anywhere in the world I think! Dinner under the stars = an experience that really differentiates it. A couple of minor issues (e.g. lights not working, lack of hot water) were instantly resolved, so magnificent service Selous - Beautiful rooms, amazing fly camp experience (you could maybe make more of this, a lot of people who were thinking of it seemed quite unsure about what it involved but it was truly wonderful!) Mafia - beautiful place, great chef, great diving, quite windy! The only thing I would say is that while the arrangements were totally seamless and everyone else knew exactly where we were supposed to be and with who, we could have done with a little bit more info on the itinerary (e.g. that there is a Kinasi office at Dar airport/that we would get a Kinasi plane etc - we were a bit confused when we didn't get our Mafia tickets from Coastal!) Anyway, that was just a small point, we would recommend T.O. to anyone, and perhaps we will even return for our real honeymoon one day!! (and yes, we did get a lot of teasing about that particular typo on the itinerary!) Perhaps I will send you a photo of the cheetah and tiny cubs we followed for a day when we get our pics back!! Thanks again, Lucy (& Chris)2005 Dear Marc, I just wanted to say thank you for organising such a fantastic honeymoon for us. The arrangements were excellent and everything went very smoothly. I suspect you would like some feedback on the places we stayed and have set out our impressions below. Ras Kutani was amazing. The setting is very beautiful and the simplicity makes it very relaxing and just what we needed after the wedding. The staff there were very friendly and professional and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. In particular, the food was excellent. Selous Safari Camp was also fantastic. We were staying in Private Selous which is the new part they have recently opened and it was great. Because it is only 4 or 5 tents it makes for an intimate stay and provided plenty of opportunity to meet and talk to the others staying there. The staff there are also great. Angela, who is running Private Selous, was very welcoming and helpful and our butler, Mohammadi, was brilliant and always seemed to be around whenever we needed anything without making us feel like it was a chore for him. Ras Nungwi was a slightly different experience from the other two places because it was much larger and more like a normal hotel. The setting there is beautiful and we enjoyed our stay but felt that it did not compare to the first two places in terms of service (particularly in the restaurant) or quality. Having said that, it was quite busy when we were there and this may partly explain it - a friend who stayed there a couple of years ago when it was quiet tells me the service then was very good. We only stayed one night in Stone Town at Emerson & Green but that was a fantastic experience. We had a beautiful room (a garden room on the third floor) and dinner in the rooftop restaurant was very enjoyable (and there was certainly no shortage of food!). Anyway, we are very happy with the arrangements you made for us and feel we had a fantastic honeymoon. Thank you very much for all your efforts. Kind regards, Peter & Suvi Hayden 2005 Wow what a hotel ! Beho beho is a must, like being in someones home with food to die for, views to die for and extraordinary beautiful rooms open to the view in the middle of nowhere, literally. The guiding was exceptional and the animals..... To sit quietly for 2 hours amongst a pride of wild lions snoozing whilst cubs play..... To be lying in bed in the pitch black when hippos scream at lions to get them to back off, 20 metres from your wall-less room.... To watch the dawn break and realise 3 lions have been watching you from 20m away.... To stop a stampeding elephant from running you over by shouting at it.... To stalk crocs and come round a corner and find a full english breakfast laid out with all the trimmings (including silver topped Marmite jar!). All this whilst learning so much and seeing what Africa is like with no people in it. Thanx for suggesting this Corinna. Send all your friends and clients ! Well not the weak hearted maybe Peter Massey 2005 HI Julian Hope things are well with you. This is the first chance I've had since we've been back from our honeymoon to send you an email to say thanks for arranging what was a truly fantastic holiday. We loved every minute of it! I have to say, the safari was definitely the highlight although I couldn't have done more than 3 days of it - those 5.30 starts were a killer! The internal flights were actually ok (God bless valium) but I really didn't enjoy the hovercraft experience - Paul really wasn't happy with me by the end of it. Anyway, thanks again for everything and also a huge thanks for your help with getting our camera back. We really appreciate it. take care Nelina Kime 2005 Dear Marc, In amongst my well organised floor filing system, I have just found the honeymoon itinerary you put together for me (Oct 04). I note you wanted some feedback – and I have only got praise! The trip was superb: we stayed in Zanzibar for 2 nights, then onto Selous for 4, Jongomero for another 4, then Ras Kutani for the last 4. All were excellent, but particularly the welcome we received at Jongomero from Stuart, Karen and the Guides. We were also impressed with the organisation of the trip, which went amazingly smoothly. I’ve had no problem in recommending Tanzania to my friends, and hope someday to go back there myself. If you want any specific feedback about the places we went to, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Best wishes, Ed & Ellie Wood 2005 Hi Juls, How's it going? I have just had the most incredible 2 weeks!! It was awesome and I can't believe it's over. At the Ras Katani we could have been the king and queen!! none of the other people could work out who we where - I think they thought we were celebrities or something! Every meal we had came with complimentary champagne and usually in a special place with lanterns and candles everywhere!! Then of course, we were lying on the beach on the 2nd morning and these horses came up next to us. I was so excited to see who was going on the horses and turned over to have a look, only to find out they were for us! It was fantastic! - I was riding a horse in my just a bikini with no shoes or anything. I had the sorest bum after that I can tell you! Anyway, after the champagne lunch in the jungle that was cooked next to us by Juma, we thought it could only be Juls that layed this on!! Thanks so much for everything Juls, I had a truly fantastic time and can't wait to tell you about the rest of the trip. I have taken pictures of all the other places we stayed, you might find them useful. Anyway, please thank Mark aswell, Rors said he was great about everything. Are you free for a catch up anytime soon, would love to tell you everything. Also, I will need to grab the marriage thingy off you quite soon. I think you had it, but I'm not sure. I need it to change my name over! I've already got a new signature! Rebecca Wade 2005 Very late with my thankyou to you and Mark - as usual cant find the bloody time. If I write a letter as well can it go on your site? P.S For the meantime can you tell Mark (and yourself) it was the best holiday Bex and I have ever been on (and we have been on some bloody good holidays) - Thank You!!!!!!!!!! Rory Walker 2005 Highlights? Well, how about the pride of lions that decided to take up residence IN Beho Beho while we were there. One of the guides had to lock himself in the bathroom for a couple of hours until a particular lioness got bored. Barri Bonapart 2005 Highlights? Well, how about the pride of lions that decided to take up residence IN Beho Beho while we were there. One of the guides had to lock himself in the bathroom for a couple of hours until a particular lioness got bored. Adam & Asami York 2005 Dear Tanzania Odyssey, I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for sorting out an amazing honeymoon. I'm pretty well travelled and I have to say Tanzania and Zanzibar were much more than I could have hoped for. And more to the point the accomodation you recommended and organised for us was fabulous. The safari lodge was as romantic as I'd hoped possible and the entire safari experience was ideal. Polly and I didn't want to roast on a beach for our honeymoon and thanks to your honest and well informed advice we managed with your help to tailor our honeymoon around our needs...and the result was a dream holiday that will live long in our memories. Thanks for all your help and expertise, Alex Bushill 2005 Dear Julian and Marc, Sorry for the delay in sending you this email (loads to catch up at work after 2 weeks off!). Florence, Robyn, Woody and I would like to thank you for our fantastic trip to Tanzania. We had a great time (we still have the holiday blues!!) and we rated it as one of our best holiday ever!! Thanks a million for all your advice on the camps. It was spot on. They were all marvellous, very welcoming, set in amazing sceneries and extremely friendly people. In both reserves, we saw so many animals we didn't know where to look. We saw loads of lions, elephants, hippos, crocs, impalas, buffalos, wild dogs (a pack of 21 including puppies!!), leopard, elan, giraffes, zillions of colourful birds, etc... And we truly enjoyed our fly-camp in Selous. Zanzibarwas so different from the mainland but as marvellous and so relaxing that it was very difficult to leave. Thanks to Agnes at Beyt al Chei, we went to some delicious restaurants (Emerson & Green is overrated. We went there for lunch and the terrace is miniscule. Sorry we cancelled our dinner booking but glad to have done it as we met some people who went & were very disappointed by the food/service. Great place to go for a pre-dinner drinks though for a wonderful view of Stone Town.). We will definitely recommend your services to anyone who wishes to go to Tanzania and deal with an agency which has truly experienced the camps and the country. Thank you again for all your efforts and for making our holiday an unforgettable one. Sandrine Duval 2005 Marc Jayne and I had an absolutely fantastic time, thanks very much for sorting everything out at such short notice and also addressing my ineptitude at leaving the Air Mauritius tickets behind. We have some digital photos of the Oberoi that I will send you shortly and I also took one of their resort maps so you can show potential guests the layout and facilities etc. I recall that you were moving office so if you let me have your new address I can pop it over or post it. I am also hoping you may be able to help on two matters. 1. We walked away from Ras Katani (The initial beach resort) with their multi-way power adaptor (cheap here but not sure how easy they are to come by over there), not sure if you have any way of getting it back to them easily. 2. To resolve the left behind ticket issue we had to actually but 2 new tickets which they said they will refund us in 12 months time, unless we could produce the original tickets. I have relocated the original tickets and was wondering if you knew what the formal process was for getting an immediate refund by returning them. Cheers Andy Whitton 2005 Julian,Mark, Just a short note and apologies for not emailing sooner to say how much we enjoyed our honeymoon package that you organised for Heather and I. The arrangements were excellent and everything went like clockwork. The pleasure and confidence we had with the smooth organisating you both did was immeasurable. As the holiday progressed so did our contentment and relief that we choose your company to deal with. Thanks allot guys it was superb. Do you have any connections with tours to the Galapagos islands??? Regards Adrian Hobbs 2005 Hi Julian/Mark We just wanted to say how much we enjoyed our honeymoon. It really was incredible and the safari was definitely one of the best things I have ever done – so a honeymoon to remember! Thankfully the start of the honeymoon wasn’t a sign of things to come...We exchanged contracts on our new house the day before we went so were pretty stressed before setting out. We arrived in Tanzania minus any currency, video tape, films or any kind of safari gear – well me anyway – we ran out of time (and I was sulking a little as we weren’t upgraded on the flight)! Being new to Safaris, we also weren’t aware of the luggage restrictions (didn’t have time to read the small print). We came across several unhappy pilots grumbling about our huge suitcases! So we did feel like complete amateurs but it was funny and didn’t spoil the trip! Next time we’ll also know to take things like binoculars etc. Anyway, we really would find it hard to fault anything at all (other than perhaps a few too many flights on small planes – not my favourite thing! The service, food, hospitality, scenery etc was amazing everywhere. Everyone was so friendly too. My favourite place was probably Ras Kutani and Matt's was Mnemba Island. We really loved Beho Beho too. The staff were fantastic and it was nice to have 3 days there. We thought the itinerary was perfect, a great combination of beach and safari and nice to see a variety of places, although we would have like a bit longer at Selous Safari camp as it was a bit of rush as we had to go off for our fly camp. So we didn’t get the chance to fully appreciate it. I loved the game drives & boat safaris, the walking ones were a bit too energetic! Anyway, as I’m sure you can imagine, we saw loads of animals, lions, elephants etc, although no wild dogs and have some amazing footage and photos. One of the best things about the trip it was the number of people – ie there weren’t many, most game drives/boat safaris etc we were on our own – just with the guide. You hardly saw any other cars either. The people we did meet were lovely, including a couple who had just taken 7 weeks worth of Larium in one week who were feeling particularly horrible! And there were still quite a few private dinners for 2 etc so it did feel like we were on our honeymoon. The only place that wasn’t quite as good as the other was, Matemwe Bungalows, mainly because the pool broke the same night we arrived, and due to the tides we couldn’t swim in the sea either, so we did get a bit hot! We actually bumped into quite a few other people that had booked through you guys including a couple called Roger and Helen who we are definitely planning on keeping in touch with. Anyway, I can’t wait to plan the next trip to Africa and just wanted to say thank you so much for all your help and for booking us the perfect honeymoon. I am really hard to please and even my expectations were exceeded throughout the entire holiday which is saying something. We have been recommending your company to everyone we meet! Best wishes from both of us Janine Ackerley and Matt Clements 2005 Marc and Julian This is a terribly overdue note and i apologise, but i did want to drop a quick note and thank TO and yourselves for organising our Honeymoon trip in September. We had a magical time and everything went incredibly smoothly. Your local operators did a great job and on all the numerous connections we made, we did not have to wait once for a pick up and not once was our arrival unexpected at a hotel. The hospitality at all the venues was exceptional especially so at Kleins and Ng Crater Lodge which are unbelievable places. The Ras Nungwi Ocean Suite was spectacular too (but talking to others there , there was some disappointment about the normal rooms given the cost so just a heads up!) The only one constructive feeback we wld give , was that we left Ras Nungwi on the day prior to our DES departure at midday and had an obligatory overnight in DES but we also saw several people on that London flight the next day at 1030ish that had left the Ras v early that same morning, thus getting themselves an extra half day and night at RN. That wld have ben preferable i think so again, just a heads up it can be done. Happy to provide a formal recommendation for TO if you shd ever need one and sorry i dont have any video to share , it broke the first day! thanks again for all yr assistance Simon Aird 2005 Dear Marc Rupert and I had an amazing honeymoon, it really was the best holiday ever and we were very sad to come home. Beho Beho was amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Thank you so much for organising such a once in a life-time trip. Best wishes Laura Doggett 2005 Returned last week from Tanzania, an absolutely marvellous trip. Our guide was very pleased with the itinerary Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Manyara with time enough to see an awful lot and not feel desperately rushed or exhausted and an added bonus for him- guide accommodation at Serena Lodges apparently amongst the best. All the accommodation was superb, the views just kept getting better and better, always a room with THE best view, just wonderful. All arrangements faultless, no hassles at all. Roy Safaris very welcoming and efficient and Clamian, our guide, was quite superb. His knowledge, understanding and appreciation of all flora and fauna most impressive and his Masai background gave us a fascinating insight into a rapidly changing country. Zanzibarwas a great way to unwind after that, Ras Nungwi an idyllic spot to lie on the beach and not be on the lookout for lions etc. The views to die for still, and the great food and wine an unexpected but much appreciated bonus. Their friendliness and helpful service could not be faulted. Just writing this has taken me right back there again, wonderful memories to see us through the winter, thank you. Dr Lynne Harrison 2005 Dear Julian and Mark Having recently returned form our holiday in Tanzania and Zanzibar I thought I would take this opportunity to thank you for organizing such an amazing trip. We stayed at Beho Beho for a wonderful 4 nights. Far from being busy we were the only guests in the camp! The accommodation and hospitality were second to none and we were made to feel like house guests rather than paying visitors. Nothing was too much trouble and I was even provided with travel sickness pills for the return flight following a rather bumpy inbound trip!! The game viewing was fantastic, Spikes knowledge is incredible and we were able to get surprisingly close to lions and a leopard. We would highly recommend this place it really is everything you could wish for. Ras Nungwi was a little disappointing on the accommodation front and rather more commercial than we had anticipated. I guess we had been rather spoilt at Beho. However the beach was beautiful and the perfect place for us to unwind after all the early morning safaris. All in all a wonderful trip Thank you and kind regards Nikki and Matt Bere2005 Dear Marc, thanks for this response. It was a great holiday and driving through the night on the road north to Dar was an 'experience' but it got me to the airport on time! In a few year's time there will be a fine new road completed, to make Mtwara to Dar a better drive, than the 12 hours it took me with driver and an escort of two nuns! But I think Coastal should have known and told me on Dec 29th there were no Saturday return flights running; if the airline does not refund you (which they should) then I accept your offer that you will pay me equivalent. Despite these troubles I hope to go back yet again in a few year's time. The two tented safari camps you advised were really excellent and most attentive driver/guides. Our thanks again Dick Lane 2005 Hi Marc - A very happy new year to you all. Thank you so much for arranging such a superb holiday. Everything worked like clockwork. We could not have enjoyed it all more. The guide we had at Ndutu - called Nicholas - was outstanding. He couldn't do more than he did to make the whole experience memorable. One of our thrills was not only seeing the animals but that there was such a variety of bird life - and Nicholas was a great ornithologist too which was fun. The lodge itself was great and everyone so friendly and helpful - also met such interesting people. We met the boys and the visit to the school was a huge success - they seemed overwhelmed that we went. Johnnie thrilled to see that the money that the Volunteers had given had been well spent on a stand pipe and a new classroom. Ras Nungwi was again just great - and all the staff were not only extremely friendly but put themselves out. The boys had a ball and befriended the chef and the diving instructors. So all in all a huge thank you for arranging it all for us. The first hiccup occurred on arrival at Heathrow - not enough baggage handlers! We did feel that it would have been helpful to have had some local currency on arrival to tip people - and we were also thrown by the number of times we seemed to pay airport tax - so hadn't enough dollars at Zanzibar! We hopefully will go again - I just loved Africa. Penny Hume 2005 Dear Marc, Paul and I would like to thank you for your excellent planning of our safari to Tanzania. There was only one little "hiccup" and that was soon corrected. When we arrived at Niarobi there was no CC Africa agent awaiting us to take us on the arranged tour of the city. The head office was contacted by an agent and it was all sorted out within a few minutes. It was evidently their mistake and not yours. Marc, your suggestions were excellent and we're glad we listened to you and took your advice. One day in the Ngorongoro crater was certainly enough. We thought it was rather over-rated actually, even though we enjoyed it. The rest of our safari and the three camps were simply marvellous and Jongomero Camp in Ruaha NP was our favourite, mostly thanks to the fun-loving staff. Thank you for your assistance and Happy New Year! Angela McGarry 2005 Hi Julian This is a VERY VERY belated thank you! I recently realised that I never wrote to thank you for organising an amazing honeymoon last July. Oops! We had an amazing time and wanted to thank you for superb organisation, inside knowledge and attention to detail. Every part of the honeymoon from the week on Safari to Zanzibar was a dream come true. We also wanted to say a special thanks to our guide - Habib - from Roy's Safari's. He was incredible, so kind, so knowledgeable. Having spoken to fellow travellers, it was obvious our guide was the best of the lot! The lodges were amazing. We're now very hooked on safaris - I took over 2,000 photos (thank goodness its a digital camera!). The week at Ras Nungwi was just the tonic needed after a week of bumpy roads. The staff were fantastic. We were initially disappointed not to have got a chalet room, however, there wasn't much difference between them in the end and not all the chalets had a view, so we were very happy to have got a lodge room after all. The Spice tour rocked and I'm still using the spices we bought back. If there was on bit of negative feedback - which is in no way your fault, but you might want to pass on - its to do with BA! The honeymoon ended on a sour note when we arrived at the airport in Dar to find that our flight on BA was full and we were told that we could not get on. Myself and at least 20 other passengers were pretty upset. After 2 hours of pleading, begging and even a few tears we managed to get on board - in business class. The BA crew on board were excellent, but the grounds staff at Dar were awful. I know some of this may be the laid back atmosphere, but the way we were treated was disappointing - thank goodness it was at the end of the holiday! It really was a dream come true and we hope to return to explore more of Tanzania one day (wish we'd won the big lottery last night!). We'll be sure to use your services next time. Cheers! Miranda Ash 2005 Just to say thank you the holiday was great and your organisation of it very impressive. No problems at all. Loved the Selous. Saving up for Gorillas. Paul Yate 2005 Hey Julian, Thanks again for a wonderful vacation. It could not have been better. Everything was planned out perfectly. On a personal note, I want you to be aware that I spoke with Jen, our Director of Operations, regarding your company. I told her that if we were not 100% satisfied with our current tour operator in Africa that I would highly recommend you and your company. I will keep you updated. Also, I do have some pictures of Olakira and our tent. Let me know if you would like me to send these to you. Warm Regards, Jenelle Olsen 2005 To Marc and Nick I thought you should know that the trip you organised for us was once again excellent. We had an interesting time in Dar at the beginning and end of our trip. We visited Bagamoya - well worth a trip and also you need to know how good the Amani Beach Hotel is. 4 blissful nights/5 days that could not have been better. Ibrahim Khatari the manager and his staff were excellent. It is true to say however that the swimming either from Ras Kutani or Amani Beach is not much good. Safe and warm in the Indian Ocean but little or no sea life. All in all an excellent trip. Emmanuel our driver and guide from Roy Safaris was very good. We need to know what we can do when we next go back to Tanzania. Answers please. Thanks again. Heather, Andrew and Freya St John 2005 Hi Nick, Sorry it's taken a while to get in touch after returning from holiday - been busy getting back into the normal routine and recovering from a bug we caught on the plane back to London! We had an amazing trip and everything worked just as smoothly as we hoped it would, so thanks again for all your help with the planning and booking. Nadine was especially reassured to see someone waiting for us whenever we stepped off a plane and was pleasantly surprised that all the transfers were completely trouble-free (not always the case with previous holidays)! Staying with the Nomads was definitely the highlight - the camp was excellent, the guide (Felix) was fantastic and the animals were amazing. Selous was also a perfect start to the trip (we were greeted by impala when we landed on the airstrip and saw lions mating on our first ever game drive!) and Ngorongoro was as you described it - lots of animals and lots of cars! We were glad we included it in the itinerary though because if we hadn't seen it for ourselves, from the comments other people made about Ngorongoro while we were in Tanzania we would have felt as though we were missing out. Ras Nungwi was beautiful. The only minor disappointment was when my phone was stolen, we think from the checked in baggage on the final flight between Zanzibar and Dar. Obviously there's nothing you can do about this but I thought you'd like to know so that you can advise others to beware... We've put some of the photos online: www.nadineandstephen.co.uk/photos/tanzania - let me know what you think! We've also been recommending Tanzania Odyssey to everyone, so you should have a few new customers coming your way! Thanks again for helping us have a perfect honeymoon :) Stephen and Nadine Pain 2005 Dear Marc and Julian - We travelled with you guys to Zanzibar and Tanzania last October and had a great time, at Ras Nungwi, Serena Stone Town, Sand Rivers and Ras Kutani. Apologies for the delay in feeding back how great it was!! life has a habit of taking over on return from holiday! Also, we had to make a claim from our insurance when we came back and that is the main reason for the email - our insurers need a copy of out itinery and confirmation of the dates we travelled. Helpfully i have lost this and i wondered whether you still had it on file. If you could email me the same as soon as convenient that would be most appreciated. Kind regards and look forward to the next holiday we can boopk through yourselves! Rick Mattison 2005 Hi guys We had a great time in Jan in Nogorgoro/Serengeti/Zanzibar. All went well guide Maji was particularly good, saw all game that we had hoped to see and more. We will probably be back to talk Botswana in 2007/8 Lost your letter re other locations, do you cover any parts of South America, make a change this winter Regards Graham Arrow 2005 Dear Julian, Thought I'd drop you a line to let you know that we both came home last Sunday regarding this trip as being one of our most enjoyable experiences. The whole period went like clockwork and what we saw far exceeded our expectations. It really was a wonderful time. I probably mentioned to you when we first arranged the itinerary that I would dearly love to see all three of the big cats but at the same time appreciated that luck would play a big part. As it turned out our driver for the week worked wonders and we witnessed some of the best scenes possible. I could go on and on and on here enthusing over the trip but I'll resist other than to thank all involved at Tanzania Odyssey very much for your part in arranging the visit - absolute magic. As I mentioned, our driver, Adam, was an absolute gentleman, very knowledgeable and I will also email 'Roy Safaris' to let them know how pleased we were with everything. Best Wishes, George Mathers 2005 Hi Marc Sorry not to reply to this earlier, we were already enroute. Just wanted to give you some feedback on the honeymoon. It was absolutely fantastic, really really amazing. Both SSC locations were exceptional, such wonderful personal service, great food, great accommodation, great hosts. We loved every minute of SSC and Ras Kutani. Ras Nungwi was good too, but not a patch on the other 2. I think going to Ras Nungwi 1st then the 2 SSC locations would have been best, save the best til last etc. Thanks you so much for organising it all. We’re still adjusting to the real world- very slowly. All the best Sarah and Pete Goss 2005 Dear All, Just a quick note to thanks everyone at Tanzania Odyssey for a truly memorable holiday (honeymoon). We could not have asked for a better time. All transfers were remarkably well organised and straight forward and the recommended places to stay were superb. I would recommend our itinerary to anyone. I think this was reflected in the fact that we did not want to leave each place we stayed at. Thought it may be useful to jot down a few remarks about the trip. Ras Kutani was the perfect starting point and a really relaxing couple of days. Even invited to the staff quarters to watch the World Cup! The Selous camp was a superb start to the safari experience and being taken out for a boat trip on the afternoon of our arrival and cracking open a beer at sunset on the lake was fantastic, followed by a good couple of days mixing walking and driving. For us though, I think the absolute highlight of the two weeks was the Beho Beho camp. The incredible views, fantastic rooms, service and quality of the guide (Spike in our case) coupled with the incredibly warm and friendly atmosphere that Rita and her team provided has left a lasting impression on us. Whilst only our first safari, so no real comparison, these guys seem to have got everything spot on and I genuinely think it would be a shame for anyone to visit the Selous without a stay here. We also experienced their bushnight, which again, we would highly recommend. We finished the trip with six nights in Ras Nungwi and one in Stone Town, which was a nice way to chill out at the end of the trip. After the first three places we stayed, Ras Nungwi came as a bit of a culture shock as we'd got used to not being around too many people. If I were to make any comment, I would say that the rooms seemed a little tired, particularly the bathrooms, but please don't take that as a criticism as we had a fantastic stay there and I think the comment is probably more indicative of the quality of accommodation we had become used to. Thanks again for a fantastic holiday. From start to finish Tanzania Odyssey have been nothing but professional, honest, knowledgeable, helpful and informative. However, above all is the non-pushy approach of the staff, which makes a big difference when you are spending not an unsubstantial amount of money. I would have no hesitation in recommending you guys to anyone and would be more than happy to provide a reference for any prospective customers you have. Best regards Jim Piper 2005 , Hi Julian, Just a note to thank you for organising a good itinerary for us in Zanzibar and Tanzania. Richard’s wedding went well and the safari was really good. I would thoroughly recommend Roy Safaris and in particular the driver/guide, Habib. Regards, Sharad Karia 2005 Julian Heather and I are just back from our safari and we would like to thank you for arranging what has been a fabulous holiday. We have special memories of the four locations - Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater and Zanzibar - each of which was magnificent.We have only previously seen the wildlife on TV programmes but the big cats, hyenas, elephants, giraffe, hippos, eagles, vultures, pelicans and others too numerous to list are indeed so amazing and exciting in the flesh that it is easy to understand now why people dedicate their lives to studying and conserving them. It is the people that can make or break a holiday and the Tanzanians are clearly naturally very friendly. Special mentions must go to Roy's Safaris for providing a very comfortable Landcruiser and to our driver Chamillus who was safe, friendly and very knowledgeable.Chamillus was happy to go at our pace giving us plenty of time to stop and observe whenever we wanted - he was the perfect guide. We stayed at five hotels, Rivertrees Country Hotel near Arusha,a small hotel with beautiful grounds and vegetable garden, and this was ideal for a rest day after the overnight flight.All the three safari hotels had such magnificent views with swimming pools that their other services were almost irrelevant - however Lake Manyara Serena was excellent and probably the best of the three (apart from their band of entertainers who would have been appreciated more if they had taken breaks for rests),Serengeti Sopa was very good alround (the Sopa has a staff choir which provided excellent after dinner entertainment).the Ngorongoro Sopa seemed to be the biggest and busiest of these three hotels (the central heating in the bedroom was much appreciated but yes it is very cold at night in the dining room so we would advise travellers not only to take a fleece but to wear some extra layers as well). Our final hotel was the Fumba Beach Lodge on Zanzibar for a couple of days relaxing after the week's safari.This was an idyllic Indian Ocean beach location, quiet, warm seas, outstanding views, dining on delicious food under the stars - something that we had dreamed about and was very special to experience. On top of all this African day to day life is just so different to Europe that it does have to be seen to be appreciated. Once again thank you to all of the Tanzania Odyssey team. Mike and Heather Wear 2005 Dear Julian A big thank you for the perfectly organized trip to Tanzania. We had a wonderful time and were treated with respect, courtesy, kindness and PATIENCE at every step of the way. Despite all the many flights it coordinates, Coastal was on time and the pilots inspired trust. Even though BA left A's bag in London, Coastal was able to deliver it 4 days later at Selous. When we missed our flight to Zanzibar due to extra pickups on the way from Ruaha, the staff made sure we got there within an hour and phoned the hotel re: transport. I was fairly anxious about both these little incidents and yet (as has happened in the past) not one staff person displayed impatience with my worrisome questions. Our family vacation was probably the last altogether since our children will be going to University soon. In addition, I had been working extra hours to pay for it. How delightful it is to have only positive things to say about this luxurious adventure. Thanks again, Dale Northcote 2005
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Dear Marc, 3 months have passed and I have just realised that we have not given you the feedback about our honeymoon in Tanzania and Zanzibar. Fear not, it was brilliant. I must admit that we were greatly impressed with the level of timeliness and efficiency of the people who picked us up etc. at airports, hotels etc. That was a major positive and we were never left worrying about travel details. The holiday itself was a dream come true. We saw some of the most beautiful wildlife in the world and words or pictures can never describe what one feels when a pride of 17 lions crosses your safari vehicle's path in the Serengeti, or the sight of a Thompson's Gazelle giving birth in the Ngorongoro Crater. Add to that the spectacular scenery, lovely weather and great people and you have the makings of a great holiday. Our safari guide Richard Urio (Roy's) was excellent. Always patient and always ready to explain fine details. A dedicated person. Lodge accommodation was also fantastic and the food was delicious. In Zanzibar we had a great time too. The 3 days in Ras Nungwi were three of the most relaxing ever and the perfect opportunity to unwind after one sitting down in a safari vehicle for one week! Stonetown was great too. The Tembo Hotel may not have a service of the level of the other places we stayed at, but it is clean, nicely decorated and also in an excellent location. Maya Tours gave us an excellent walking tour of Stone Town and a great spice tour. We will recommend your company to any friends interested in travelling to Africa and look forward to returning one day! Eric & Claire Cordina 2004 Malta Marc, Well, we have returned home safe from our honeymoon in Africa. The trip was so amazing, it's hard to put into words. Everyone was unbelievably friendly and all of the transfers went smoothly. The drivers and representatives were always on time and helpful. Everything was perfect. Regarding Roy Safaris, i was extremely pleased with their operation. Having multiple vehicles in each of the parks made game spotting much easier as the drivers were able to communicate sightings with each other. The vehicle was first class and our guide, Klamian, made our trip that much more special. I met some of the other guides, and while they were all very nice, they weren't as good as Klamian. If you any very special clients, i would strongly recommend that you reserve Klamian for them. He is wonderful. I would also like to express special gratitude to you for assisting with our last minute request to transfer to Stone Town for our last night. We are really happy we got to see Stone Town and the Serena was great! We really enjoyed the shoppping and restaurants. As far as the credit i am owed (for the difference between the price of the Serena and Ras Nungwi), please feel free to credit my Mastercard or send me a check in the mail, whichever is easiest for you. Thanks again for the most wonderful honeymoon imaginable! Regards, Andy Jurkowski 2004 James, Many thanks for a wonderful, exhilarating holiday – we had the best possible honeymoon. Everything ran smoothly and we loved all the lodges. Thanks for all your advice to make ours a most memorable trip. Warm regards, Matthew Kay2004 Dear Marc Just returned from a wonderful honeymoon. I have to thank you and all your colleagues for your great organisational skills. All the connections worked perfectly. Managed to get upgraded to Club on the way out- Great start. Safari was wonderful- Highlight was the staying at crater lodge- stunning ! Zanzibarwas just the tonic after 6 days on the dusty roads, with early starts - worth it though. The wildlife was simply increadible. Thankyou once again. I would not hesitate to recommend you and your colleagues. Kindest regards Bryn Jones 2004 Hi Marc, This is just a quick note to thank you for organising a fantastic trip. The whole thing went perfectly and we felt that we were in very capable hands the whole time. All the camps were very impressive and we particularly loved Grumeti (though Manyara was a close second!). Ngorongoro was, of course, stunning..... Anyway, we will certainly recommend you to others and will be in touch soon to organise our next safari! Regards, Simon McElhinney 2004 Marc Back after a wonderful time away after the initial KLM balls up at the start All accommodation was wonderful in particular Crater Lodge and Ras Nungwi. Serena had a few too many Americans but there we go. The wedding went off perfectly and they forgot to charge us for the champagne which is always good! Game viewing was excellent and Roy Safaris were excellent (Clem and Raphael, the drivers in particular). We got picked up successfully at Kili after our late arrival and driven to Lake Manyara. Thanks for organising On the KLM compensation front. It would be useful to get the prices for missed accommodation at Moivaro lodge, a days safari and any other costs we could add to this for KLM to pay for (cost of extra drive to Lake Manyara?). Any thoughts on further ways in which to generate further compensation from KLM? Regards Keith Faquharson 2004 Hi Marc: It has been a while already that we are back from our trip. So I am a little slow, but I wanted to let you know we had a great trip. The country and wildlife are outstanding and we saw everything we expected and more. The drivers were excellent. Joshua was our Tanzanian driver and he was very informative, a good driver, very accommodating. We had a great time. We would have no hesitation recommending this (and you) to our friends. Thanks for all the help in making this a great trip. Regards Joseph J.G.M. Vermeer 2004 Dear James, Just a quick note to say we had a marvellous honeymoon and thankyou for your help in organising everything. There were no hitches to speak of and both Ras Nungwi and the Selous were great. If you do speak to Natasha at the Sand Rivers Lodge please pass on our thanks. Kind regards, Jon and Sophie Mutimer 2004 No problem James - as I said, we still enjoyed ourselves at Ras Nungwi but felt that had we not have been so spoilt by the previous places we would have been even more satisfied. A hotel will always be a hotel after all and you cannot get the same level of service, privacy and exclusivity as you can at a resort consisting of individual bungalows. We have been advised that the Mahale Mountains National Park is an amazing place and we are especially interested in chimpanzees etc. Do you organise trips here too? What would be ideal is to either combine with a couple of days at the Norongoro Crater to see the scenery more that anything, or with a trip into Ruanda to see the silverbacks. I would be very interested to hear your thoughts - this would be something that we would like to do perhaps next year when we have finished paying off our wedding and honeymoon debts.........should have married in a registry office and had the honeymoon in Blackpool instead.......apparantly the wildlife is very interesting there!! Again, thank you for all your effort and we will definately recommend you to our friends. All the best, Rob. Robert J Green 2004 Hello Marc, Just to let you know that we’re back safely and that we had a fantastic holiday. The itinerary worked very well and the accommodation was excellent. Africais an extraordinary place and some of the many wonderful memories will, I’m sure, stay with us for ever… Both Roy safaris (we all thought our driver/guide was excellent) and Coastal looked after us well… Thanks for sorting it all out for us (Jess got to SA without any problems, in fact she was able to get earlier flights which was helpful…) Best wishes, John Linton 2004 Dear Marc and James: I wanted to thank you both for arranging my and Cheryl Bailey’s trip to Zambia. It was simply wonderful and everything went smoothly. We were meet and greeted at every point and the transfers were seamless. We were so glad that we chose (with your encouragement) Zambia. It seemed that everywhere we went we ran into repeat Zambia visitors who had “discovered” it after several trips to Africa. In Livingstone we encountered people who had been to Botswana, but had not encountered the diversity or density of game (or interesting experiences) that we had. Lower Zambezi and a unique environment with close encounters with elephants and Chiawa made us feel at home in Africa. Nsefu was “rugged Africa" with lots of game including leopards. Following stampeding buffalo that were being hunted by lions at night was an adventure. Kafue –Lunga and especially Busanga was a special place. The plains were just beginning to be populated with game and we were able to follow a pride of lions for our entire three days there. It boggles the mind that the American agent we almost commissioned tried to talk us out of Kafue! Victoria Falls was a wonderful end to a great trip. We will recommend your firm to anyone planning a trip to east/southern Africa. For your information we had interesting experiences with Air France --maybe because we paid more for the routing (with a stop in Paris). They upgraded us to business CDG-JNB and CDG to Washington on the return. William McClenahan 2004 Dear Tanzanian Odyssey! I am writing to tell you that we had a WONDERFUL trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar. All accomodations and services were excellent. Thank you so much for all your help. MargaritaZubkus 2004 Dear Marc I just thought I should let you know that we had a superb time in Tanzania and everything worked out fine with a couple of exceptions. Flight to Dar went well and met by Coastal Travel and Freya SeaCliff Hotelexcellent - once they had found us on their list (we have a silly surname) 5 nights in the Selous were brilliant and could have stayed for longer - The Fly Camp was the best and I might be tempted to do more of that. 4 nights in Ras Nungwi - food not as good as the Selous and probably stayed 1 night too long - I am not much for lying/sitting about. 2 nights on Chumbe - once again brilliant - should have been here longer. You need to warn people that they will almost certainly get wet getting to and from the island and they need strong sandals when wading out to the boats to avoid the sea urchin spines - I still have mine in my foot! 2 nights in Serena - they had difficulty finding us and for some reason we were helped by Fisherman Travels who had a help desk in the hotel - I don't remember them coming into the conversation when we were planning the trip. The time in Stone Town was excellent and we managed a trip to a spice farm. Missed a trip to the forest. Could have done with another day or so. All the links worked. Everyone was very caring and efficient and on time! If I could go back tomorrow I would. Heather, Freya and I would like to thank you for your help and advice - well done Andrew St John 2004 Just a quick note to say thank you very much for helping with the honeymoon - we had an amazing time and Sand Rivers is totally unforgettable. Really appreciate your help and for tailor-making our holiday and being so thorough - I have already recommended you to several engaged friends of mine. You could have told me that Amani was next door to Ras Kutani though!!!!!!!! Cheers Shami Shami Iqbal 2004 Dear James We are back, unfortunately, and would like to thank you for your suggestions for what has been a wonderful trip. Ras Kutani is a beautiful place, despite lack of diving, the ocean is a bit rough. The beach, the accommodation, the food and the people working there are absolutely amazing. We loved it. Jongomero is a great place, very remote, very good taste (without pretending to be on conde nast!) and Stewart and Karen are great hosts. They are doing a very good job there. The food is great and the way the place is organised is excellent. Game view is great as well. we manage to see some rare animals (sable antelope, honey badgers, black mamba...) Selous Safari is great game viewing (we saw lions killing an impala on our first day!) and it is great to do walks, boat trips and fly camps (we did for one night). The ambience and the food are not as good as Jongomero but overall it is a great safari camp. In the end we enjoyed Stone Town and it was good to stay at Emerson & Green. It has to be said that after ten days in the bush, a town is a bit of a shock. But worth it. Thank you again and if you pass by Ras Kutani or Jongomero gives our regards to the people there. We enjoyed their company very much. Kind regards Giovanni & Satnam Baldini 2004 Though it has been almost three months since Cheryl Bailey and I were in Zambia the memory of it will stay with us for a lifetime. I don't want to say that it was the "trip of of a lifetime" because we hope to get back to southern Africa, and maybe Zambia soon. When we finished our two plus weeks at Victoria Falls we met many people who had been to Botawana and other places and they had not had the experiences that we had on our first trip to Africa. We wish to thank Ed Smythe and his staff and especially Dave, Dennis, Ellsbeth, Lexon and Benson for a memorable five says. For me Kafue Park and your hospitality was the high point of the trip. Busanga and its lions, our close encounter with hippos and warthog, and the luxury of Lunga were experiences that Cheryl and I will never forget. William (Mac) McClenahan2004 Hi Marc, Just a quick note to thank you very much indeed for organising a wonderful honeymoon. It has come as a considerable shock to the system to drop back down to reality. All the resorts and hotels were some of the best and most original we have ever stayed in with exceptional friendliness, service and food throughout. It became a monotonous wrench to leave each in turn. We are looking forward to writing a glowing feature. Hope everything is good with you and I'm sure Lucy will be in contact soon. The advert looks very nice. Thanks again, Paul 2004 Dear Marc / James - all at Tanzania Odyssey, Thank you so much for booking / organising our truly wonderful honeymoon – the memories of which will last with us forever!!!! Every aspect of our honeymoon – the flights, connections, transfers, accomodation, food and drink, the staff and general hospitality has been amazing. This was our first trip to Africa and it certainly hope that it won’t be the last!!! At the Selous – as our plane landed in the game reserve the Land Rover was hurtling along beside us with two beaming faces smiling at us to welcome us in, from there on in we were treated like kings, everybody and everything was fantastic, so helpful, so cheerful and so wanting us to have an amazing time. Our guide for the five days ‘Apollo’ was brilliant he took us over terrain that we never dreamt we would cross – came much much closer to animals than we ever thought we would and his knowledge of the animals and birds was fantastic!! We have many many unforgettable moments – to name a few, we saw Lions mating, Mrs Warthog and her four tiny babies, 3 baby hippos which were approx 5 metres from our tent at 2am in the morning. Breezes – was the perfect relax after our safari – again everything was lovely we were thoroughly relaxed after being there for about 2 hours!! We felt completely like we were at home and the whole experience far exceeded our expectations. So I just wanted to express my thanks – and will hopefully be speaking to you again the future to organise another amazing trip for us. Do you produce a brochure? I have noticed that you are updating your website – do you ever send email updates or newsletters out – if so please include me!! Many Thanks
Claire & Peter Swinfen – Northants – 2004
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Marc We're finally catching our breath now that reality has kicked in and we're back at our desks. I thought I should drop you a line to say a quick word of enormous thanks for organising such a wonderful itinerary for us. Amazingly, considering the number of transfers we had, the whole trip went without a single hitch, each transfer being absolutely seamless. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the holiday, and are hugely grateful that you bolted the whole thing together for us so skilfully. Serena will kill me for saying this, but the only blemish (if you can call it that - and strictly for feedback's sake) was the proliferation of pigeons on Mnemba. We think it's mating season at the moment (most of the year round apparently you wouldn't even notice them), so thousands of the little buggers flew across to the island every evening and droned and crashed around in the trees around all the bedrooms from about 6 every morning, and for the rest of the day! However the island was such a paradise that this was scarcely a hardship, and everything else was exquisite, from the service, the food to the spectacular scenery. I'd be happy to provide you with any other feedback that may be of use. Kind regards Charlie White 2003 Dear Marc I just wanted to report back to you on our fabulous holiday from which we returned a week ago today. It was everything we had hoped for, and more. Everything (bar one detail) went according to plan and we were well looked after everywhere we went. I have to admit to feeling slightly nervous as we left home, but there was no need. We have to thank you for your advice and recommendations, and we will definitely recommend your services to anyone else interested in travelling to Tanzania.
Thank you very much for helping us organise such a memorable holiday. I hope our comments are of use to you and please do use us as a reference for any future travellers. Likewise, we will pass on any friend of ours who are interested. Yours sincerely Juliet Stirrat 2003 Dear Marc I wanted to thank you and your team very much for your really excellent arrangements for our recent holiday. Everything worked like clockwork and we had a fantastic time. Both the Selous Safari Camp and Mwagusi were great, lovely accommodation and great game watching. Zanzibar and Ras Kutani were also fantastic. Above all, all the staff everywhere were so pleasant and eager to make our stay enjoyable, we felt really spoilt. Particularly memorable was the wonderful folding of our clothes in Mwagusi!! Thanks again for all your good advice and help and thank Tim for re-arranging Zanzibar for us and answering my many questions! If you have Irish clients that need encouraging, feel free to put them on to us. Regards, Bairbre & Barry Redmond 2003 Hi Marc, Just to let you know we got back to UK. Had a fantastic time in Tanzania. All connections to flights, hotel bookings etc etc went without a hitch. Security for the BA flight back was unbelievable - there must have been at least 5 baggage checks before we got on the plane (even having to take off our shoes and put them through the Xray machine). We both made it to the summit of Kili with no major altitude sickness problems (the only problem was with me on the day before the summit climb - I ate too much, and with the blood all diverted to my gut my brain was a bit hypoxic so had a bad headache for a couple of hours, but this had settled after a few hours sleep). We set off up to the summit a bit late (1.45am), as we think the guide overslept, but we still made it up well before the sunrise at 6.25am!! We had really good conditions with a clear sky and no wind. Even so at about 4.30am the temperature must have been at least -30 to -35C. The last couple of hundred metres up to Stella Point were a killer for me - my legs didn't want to move. All exhaustion was completely forgotten once the sun came up when we were on Uhuru (at least until it was time to descend - my thigh muscles were burning all the way down). Safari was great. Had a good driver who spoke excellent English and who was keen to tell all about the habits of the animals. Saw everything we wanted to see - the only exception was we didn't get to see a lion kill a wildebeast (but there were so many wildebeast on the plains that we think the lions were doing most of the killing during the night so that by morning there were just the vultures picking over the carcasses). Even managed to see 3 different leopards - one in Ngorongoro and two in the Serengeti! Got some excellent close ups of cheetahs (my favourite cats and the ones I desperately wanted to see - we had to wait until the third day in teh Serengeti to see them) and lions, and were lucky enough to bump into a couple of prides with a few lion cubs. Ras Kutani was the perfect end to the trip, although we wish we could have had a couple more days there. Very surreal getting there though by plane, 4WD, and then finally rowed across the lagoon. The chef there was superb and the manager/manageress were so friendly. The Rough Guide was a little less than complementary about the place but I have written to them and expressed my annoyance at their impartiality (a trait which is also present in their Nepal and New Zealand books) - we weren't really looking forward to going there as a result of their comments but how wrong they were. Expensive it may be, but the Rough Guides always seem to want cheap accomodation everywhere which would completely ruin the quiet, relaxed feel of the place as well as ruining the flora/fauna (and would also piss off the locals I suspect). Anyway, enough of my ranting. South Americawill be next on the holiday list I think sometime in the next 18 months - do you organise trips there? Thank you for arranging the trip - it all went like clockwork. Joe Green and Kirsty Rodger 2003 Marc Many thanks indeed for all your work on the honeymoon. We had an absolutely superb time and it was clear that you had made a great effort to ensure everyone knew it was our honeymoon. If you would like a brief summary of each bit for your future reference, we are more than happy to repay all your efforts on our behalf with a run-down on the each place. Many thanks again for all your patience in the many changes we made before the final, final, final version. I hope all your "Nairobi horrors" are now behind you. Kind regards Angus Murdoch 2003 Dear Marc and James. First day back at work so it is the first opportunity that I have to personally thank you both for arranging our magnificent holiday, it was brilliant in nearly all areas (the Zanzibar accommodation in a few areas was a bit of a disappointment) and in particular I would like to thank you in going both in going out of the way and arranging the flight for me to Sydney so that i could attend my fathers funeral. Lastly could you please give me Chris email address at Ras so that i can also send him and Theo a thank you. If you want a testimonial happy to oblige. regards David O'Sullivan 2003 Hi Marc, Just thought I would send you a quick note to say Alex and I had an absolutely wonderful honeymoon and we are already planning our next trip to Africa! Sorry about the confusion over the room at Ras Nungwi, didn't really matter I just thought I had order it, but as I hadn't all was cool as we were more than happy. Alex and I did our open water padi course and did 6 dives, which was amazing and the Safari was just beyond imagination (Selous Safari Camp is remarkable). Anyway just to say well done and thank you! Dunstan and Alex 2003 Just had to drop you a message and say how wonderful our holiday was at Rhas Nungwi and Selous Safari Camp. Thank you so much for your recommendations, they were perfect. All travel arrangements made by Rhas Nungwi while we were out there meant that we didnt have to worry about anything and it is such a beautiful place to stay and so friendly. Jan and Dave Mercer 2003
marc
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Just wanted to thank you for a wonderful honeymoon! We had an amazing time and everything was far better than we ever expected. Once we were over there, we couldn't believe we were ever worried about our safety. We always felt completely safe. If you need a reference, I would love to speak to anyone about this incredible trip. Thanks again for a great honeymoon!
Kristen Narlinger
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