Client testimonials

10 August 2010

Dear Kathi,[ Self Drive Namibia ]

This short e-mail to tell you we are back to Geneva since last Wednesday after 3 weeks in Namibia ! The 8 of us would like to thank you very much for the organization of our vacation. We all had a great great time and everything went smoothly from the car rental to all the accommodations and back to Windhoek. It was just perfect ! All the lodges were different and at the same time very well located. We had no problem finding our way around (thanks sometimes to the gps !)

We came back with 1 million of photos we still have to sort out. As soon as this is done, I will send you a picture of the Lamps party (I hope I will find one with the 8 of us !)

We also came back with 10 kilos of dust and sand, thanks to the now famous (for us) graveled roads + thousands of memories.

July seems to be quieter than August and it suited us well.

Many many thanks again and I wish you a nice month of August,

Kind regards,

Dominique Ecoffey

07 July 2010

Hello Silvia,

Just wanted to thank you for all your help with our trip. Victoria Falls was amazing and the best part of our journey to Africa.

Best regards,
Vanessa

Vanessa Pena

29 June 2010

Thanks for everything Alex!!!! Your call with Lion Sands could not have been better. On Father's Day I was with my Dad and he did not make the morning drive, but on the afternoon drive, we saw ALL big 5 in the 3 hour stretch....not sure what the odds are on that but I would imagine it doesn't get much better than that! Also, our first visit that day was a leopard....we watched it for a while and waited for the other group to come so they could watch, and right after we left they got to see the leopard take down an impala...even the guide couldn't believe it. Even though we didn't see it live we got to watch the videos they took and that was fine since it only took about 3 seconds for the thing to die. Our drive ended with our last big 5 sighting, which was two lion at night time. I couldn't believe we were driving through the brush at night looking for a couple lion...and then there they were! 2 male brothers that even wrestled aroudn a bit....What a rush!!!! And what a Fathers Day present!!!....we saw so many of the big 5 I had plenty time to take some pix with my iPhone as well....like the attached photo which Lion Sands could almost use on their website even though it was taken with a phone. Thanks again...you made me look like a travel genius with my Dad and brother.

We could not have had a better time in South Africa either....wonderful host country and experience.

Best Regards,

John Cusumano

05 July 2010

We are waiting for our flight back home, and I wanted to thank you for all your efforts and kindness into organising this wonderful trip for us. We had a fabulous time and enjoyed every minute of it. We will of course spread the word and mention your companies if anyone is interested in visiting South Africa.
Dorienne - thank for taking us around yesterday. We had a great time. Sorry if we did not call today. We just tried to rest as much as we could before our 21 hour journey back home.
We fully intend to come back with our daughter this time next year or the following year, and the organisation for the visits will be easier as this time we had to organise everything around the world cup games.
Thank you once again and I am sure we will in touch soon.
Kind regards

David Levy

24 June 2010

Silvia
Quiero darles las gracias a ti y a Matt por el habernos organizado en forma excelente el viaje a nuestra familia en este bello país.
Nos vamos con un grato recuerdo de la gente de Sud Africa por su amabilidad y gran servicio.
Nuevamente muchas gracias y esperamos verlos pronto en Mexico

Salvador Alva & Family

10 May 2010

I just wanted to send you a quick email to say thank you for all your help and our honeymoon was everything we could have hoped for. South Africa is an amazing place and Mark and I will be coming back for sure and will be using African Welcome Safaris.

We experienced everything African from bungy jumping of Bloukrans Bridge, meeting baby cheetah cubs, white lions cubs, riding elephants and even riding ostrichs (very interesting). Buffelsdrift Game Lodge was amazing, so nice to go to sleep listening to the hippos :) We spent a few afternoons on our desk just watching the elephants, hippos and rhinos. Accomodation in PE, Jefferys Bay, Plett Bay and Cape Town were also amazing and everyone was welcoming and friendly.

I have included a few pics of our adventure.

Thank you again.

J. Beddoe

31 March 2010

The entire holiday was fabulous. Starting out with the safari was definitely the way to go. Boulders Lodge was marvellous, our guide, Mark, and tracker, Johnson, were super. The private game reserve fulfilled all of our imaginings. I can’t for get to mention the food and wine....brilliant.
The rest of the trip with our guide Rhys was really fun too. He was knowledgeable and obliging. Cape Town, Stellenbosch, etc etc and the Garden Route all provided lots of scenery and entertainment. This was a perfect trip for the family. As you know, we were always on the go but it worked out really well.

The night spent at Buffelsdrift was interesting. The accommodations and service were spectacular. It was tough to sleep amongst all the nature. Every species of bird was voicing their opinion.
We ziplined, rode ostriches, golfed....rode elephants...Each location provided another adventure.
Too much to tell ...thanks for organizing the adventure, we all loved it.
I will send some pictures.

Gregus family

22 March 2010

Hi Kathi!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! The trip was awesome and every segment went off with no trouble at all. All the folks that were to meet us were on time and very helpful-most helpful was the woman who picked us up from Federal Air in Johannesberg and brought us back to the hotel after Safari. She was awesome and went beyond the pick-up and drop-off.
Made sure the Hotel gave us non-smoking rooms with king-beds- gave us useful information etc.

All the Lodging you set up for us was great-loved Victoria-Alfred-great location. Auberge Rozendal Windfarm was nice but it was 40-44 C and very hot. No air conditioning- but with a fan we managed. We ate dinner there and the food was good.
Altes Landhaus was beautiful-goregous rooms-wonderful setting-good food. Very hot again, but with air-and fan-very comfortable.(this was Judy and Roger's favorite). Leisure Lodge was awesome-great location overlooking the water-a little more like a hotel but this was my favorite-not counting Victoria and Alfred which was everyone's favorite and of course Little Bush. Victoria Falls Safari Lodge reminded us of something out of a movie-just what you would expect from a African Lodge. Now that I think about it. hard to pick a favorite-each one was unique in its own way.

Did Table Mt, the Cape of Good Hope -saw the Penguins.Had fun tasting wine in Windland (yummy-bought some to take with us), walked with the elephants and got to feed a baby elephant (I think that was on the Garden Route somewhere), drove up some very steep mountains for beautiful views-went through the Swartberg Pass. Couldn't have asked for a better Safari. Loved Victoria Falls, The Sunset Cruise was perfect and the Boma Dinner was way more fun than we expected. Even got our faces painted. Will send you a picture!

The Safari and Little Bush was the best. Finally felt like we were in Africa (although we felt more like we were in Africa when we were in the country-Cape Town is very cosmopo

Cindy Gacicia

25 February 2010

Hi Kathi!

We had, and I know this is a cliche, but we really did have the "trip of a lifetime!" We have traveled extensively; USA, Europe, Central America, Mexico, Carribean, to name a few, and never have I had a more thrilling experience. Thula Thula was wonderful, even though I got attacked by a monkey. (It was hilarious!!! I have a great picture, should you want to see it!) My only disappointment there was the lack of the "big 5". I may have to go back in about 5 years as they are still working on attaining that achievement.

Victoria Falls was unbelievably beautiful and I think we were there at a perfect viewing time. The people everywhere were so very nice and friendly and the food was fantastic! Yummmmmm! I figure I gained about 5 pounds! UGH! (Warthog was my favorite meat! I still can't believe it!)

Obviously I could go on and on but I want you to know that we thank you very much for planning such a wonderful trip and if you ever need an American reference, call on me!

Connie Humphrey & Family

22 February 2010

Dear Kathi,
We just got home, after a long, long day of flying, but just wanted to tell you how great the trip was.
All the arrangements were perfect, all the accommodations were great.
The people of South Africa couldn't have been any nicer. The food was great. The safari was fantastic.
Thanks again.

Barry Telsey & Family

01 February 2009

Kathi,

We have been delinquent in getting back to you. We both have been travelling pretty much since we returned. We did spend this weekend sorting through our pictures, however, and reminisced over the trip.

Overall, the trip was simply amazing. We loved Singita Lebombo. It was our first safari experience and it has unfortunately spoiled us into thinking that all safaris are that way. The game viewing was unbelievable, especially because we were fortunate enough to see all of the Big Five on our first game drive. The hotel, itself, takes extremely good care of its guests, even down to preparing a special anniversary dinner for us in our hotel room. The game viewing was truly the highlight of this part of our trip as our tracker and driver were superb at finding animals, almost by request.

Capetown might potentially be one of the most beautiful cities we have ever visited. From the incredible views from Table Mountain, to the drive to/from the Cape, to the wine country, this city has so many beautiful areas. In the US, you would typically have to spend several months travelling to get to all the different experiences we had in Capetown. We would highly recommend the Cape Grace hotel as the rooms were spectacular, the location was close to everything and their service was superb. We also had the opportunity to have the same tour guide, Rhys, with us the entire time. In addition to his incredible knowledge of the area, his language skills (he speaks fluent Khosa) were impressive. We cannot wait to return to Capetown and spend more time in the wine country, visit a township, visit Robben Island and go hang gliding over the beautiful water and city views.

As Kruger set the standard for safaris, given it was our first, we were concerned that Chobe would be a letdown. However, the density of animals in Chobe made it a completely unique experience. We saw elephants playing in the mud (which made it easy to see how Disney got the idea for Dumbo), giraffe r

Nishat

12 October 2009

Just wanted to drop you a quick line to say thanks for the BEST
vacation of our lives. Everyone, to a person, enjoyed the trip and it
was jam-packed full of wonderful memories. The team you put together
to assist us was also fantastic... and we felt well cared for at every step.
Vic and I arrived home yesterday (after getting the kids safely home) and we both agreed that all of the planning and, particularly, working with your team, made the trip.

As you might imagine, Sabi-Sabi, and specifically Little Bush was beyond our wildest expectations. Elephants off the back deck every day, incredible trackers and rangers, once in a life-time sightings (a female cheetah and her three little cubs, 8 week old elephant, baby giraffe, getting to watch the Southern pride of lions hunt a wildebeast and accidentally meeting up with a bull elephant on our walking tour), and exceptional host, staff and food at the camp.

Thanks again for an incredible experience

Vic

17 September 2009

We had an absolutely wonderful holiday in Cape Town !
In the three days there we saw and experienced all that we anticipated and more, courtesy of African Welcome Safaris. You contributed greatly to our stay in your beautiful city and countryside.
We loved the restaurants and the Winelands tour especially.
We are already planning a return visit and will do this within a year and bring some other friends along, hopefully.

Hope to do do business with you again before too long,

Regards,

Philip Sharp

04 January 2010

I’d like to thank you so much for the amazing safari that you arranged for me in Botswana. With arrangements to see friends in Gaborone having fallen through at the last minute, I had only a few days to arrange this trip and no time to do any research. The itinerary that you put together at a moment’s notice was perfect! All the arrangements worked like clockwork and Xugana Island Lodge in the Okavango Delta was the perfect spot… beautiful, relaxing, plenty to see and do and with exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff.

I will certainly use your services for future travel and will recommend African Welcome Safaris to my friends and associates.
Thanks again!
Kind regards,

Robin Back

21 May 2009

Sorry that didnt answer you on arrival, but was a little tired.
Everything was fantastic!!! Thank you so much!!! Atlantic view hotel is very good and i could recommend it to all your clients! Fantastic view from the balcony, incredible service!! I had business meetings, so they have prepared breakfast early in the morning and left it on our balcony. They also have a car lifts, so my girl-friends were transfered to any places she wanted!

ALso the staff is very friendly and helped us a lot to define our wine route!

Second hotel is the best one!!! Thank you very much, i suppose we would never find this hotel ourselves! Charming wine estate, fireplace in the room, fishes and black swine in the lake.. We decided that if one day we would like to return in South Africa, we will certainly stay in this hotel!

Knysna and Pletterberg Bay were nice, but probably its better to visit these places during summer time, but all two accommodation was great.

Shamwari is really luxury! Probably its too much "English" for us (we were there like babies :)), and a lot of babysitters were around, they met us after game drives with cup of hot chocolate, they asked every day about our mood etc), but ok, its nice also this! Tent, service, food and game drive were very excited!!!

All points of your program satisfied our expectation!!!! No one mistake!!
THANK YOU A LOT!!!!!!

If one day we will return without any doubt we will contact you again.

Sergio Cornali

16 July 2009

Joe and I loved Lion Sands and we were fortunate enough to see alot of 'game' and experience they're beauty in the wild (awesome)! The accomodations were wonderful and the staff made us feel safe and warm. I wouldn't change a thing!

The transfer to Johannesburg went well and your suggestion that Joe and I have some time together gave us some much together time - the Micheanglo (spelling?) met our needs because it was so complete in it's shops and restaurants we didn't have to go anywhere.

The Rovos Rail was a great experience - I saw alot of the various landscapes; from cattle and sheep; to vineyards and snow topped mountains; and osterichs and crops. The train is a great way to see parts of South Africa. One can also appreciate how the train has been faithfully restored and they try to keep to the spirit of the times with the various cars and dressing for dinner. Bravo!

Arriving a Cape Town again was a smooth transfer. The hotel stunning! I managed to eat at the 'Gold' and 'Marcos' for dinner and music.

All in all it was a GREAT vacation and I would recommend you to anyone planning to visit.

Annette DiRubbo

25 August 2009

No vacation in the future will ever measure up to this one!!"

Jill Catling

22 September 2009

Just a short note to say that we arrived back in Perth without any hassle - flight from George to Jo'berg got into Jo'berg eraly and our luggage made it all the way through. Jan and Claire even had time for some last minute duty free shopping!

Our last few days in Knysna were great - Pezula was fantastic - food outstanding, great accommodation and terrific service.

Thank you so much for the efficient way you dealt with our travel requirements - everything went off very smoothly, facilitating what was a trully great holiday.

Thanks once again and regards
Ken

Ken Williams & family