2016 Testimonials
Hi Mandy, A note thanking you for having organised a wonderful safari experience for my sis and myself , this December. Phinda Game Reserve was a pleasant surprise with the lodges being managed by &beyond. A totally professional management team , striving to satisfy discerning guests. They did a wonderful job! 😊
Amakhosi was different , old African charm 😄. We were lucky to view four of the " big five " , at both reserves, with the ever elusive leopard , hard to sight. On the downside , I have one comment to offer😕. Amakhosi disappointed us by providing a Ranger from Ireland , who had been with them since March of this year. He was a top class comedian and was in the wrong place ! He was of course given an extremely skilled tracker , who was exceptional.
I did provide feedback on this but did not elaborate as done above. Needless to say , Mandy's professionalism was at work once more 😊😀😄😃🍸🍷
VC, Dec 2016
We arrived home yesterday after yet another excellent trip you kindly organised for us, which makes it three such times in total. We greatly enjoyed Makanyane Safari Lodge finding it to be a perfect start for our trip. Again we have to use the word outstanding because every part of our four night stay was filled with memorable moments made such by a superb location, accommodation, staff, cuisine and a guide who catered for our bird-watching going the extra mile to locate in total 109 species which is really top class, we would thoroughly recommend Trevor to any visitor who not only likes game viewing but bird life.
Savanna Lodge exceeded every expectation and we easily could have stayed there many more nights. It was a dream location again boasting all the attributes aforementioned. Yet again our guide, David, went to no end of trouble to locate the local bird life for us in fact setting himself a challenge to beat the total we had seen at Makanyane which he did - by one. He also located numerous animals and we saw many leopards.
Rhino Post Lodge was a different experience in that it was a more traditional lodge. We had a very good room overlooking the river bed which, according to the staff, in the main remains dry. That did not deter various animals wandering along the bed and visiting our balcony. Here we encountered a special wake-up call at 02.00hrs from an elephant who came right to our door demolishing the greenery outside leaving us with a scene of devastation in the morning. When he had completed munching he slowly moved down the side of our tent making the canvas bulge inwards until he reached the wooden balcony where we could easily see him due to the enlarged full moon.
We would like to again praise the staff and cuisine, especially the local staff who were shy at our first meeting but each evening sat with us by the fire and slowly opened up thus we left the lodge knowing a great deal more about their lives enriching our own experiences.
It would be remiss if we did not mention the dedicated professionalism of the pilots with Federal Airlines. In total we completed three sectors with them and throughout they operated to a very high standard. The First Officer on the last sector maintained his professional discipline despite the never ending tirade from the passengers who seemed to know far more about weather limitations than he did, or so they thought.
Our greatest thanks for all your hard work culminating in another perfect, memorable trip for us. We wont hesitate to contact you for our next one, perhaps the Cape wine lands and the Bahia beaches.
D & PG, Nov 16
We are now putting ourselves back together after yet another fantastic African Super Trip. The success of which is, as usual, mostly down to you. The first time visitors to Africa were blown away with every aspect of the trip and, needless to say, you have acquired two more fans.
CB, Oct 16
Finally I find some time to give you some feedback from our trip. We had a wonderful time and I have to say that your organisation was just perfect. We were quite lucky with the weather as well as with the animals in the Kruger. The guide for Joburg was really good, the only thing I missed is to ask you for a French speaking guide because I had to translate everything to my parents in law … not a big deal anyway. I wanted to thank you for all you did and be sure I will recommend our agency whenever some friends want to visit South Africa. We know now that there are many other places to see and we look forward coming back in your country. Sorry again to have taken so much time to come back to you. Take care and have a wonderful end of the year.
OD, Oct 16
We returned from Zambia as scheduled, and we are thanking you for the great job you did sending us to Zambia, especially to South Luangwa. We’re safe and sound back home thinking about the joy we experienced. It was due to you, your excellent planning and recommendations. Our hearts are still smiling.
Well, to be honest, there were lows and highs in this trip.
*Pioneer Camp: everything went well. Actually, Pioneer Camp driver drove us from Lusaka to Musekese main camp without making a single mistake although it was his first time to Musekese new camp site and there were no signs. Paul, the owner of Pioneer Camp is a friend of Phil. They went to schools together (a boarding school in England as well as the guiding school in South Africa).
*Kafue: Kafue NP and Kafue River are big and beautiful. Musekese main camp is creative. The cabins have no front doors (totally open air), giving us marvelous views day and night. The mobile camp is not as private as the Letaka camp, but still acceptable (for 4 guests). Phil guided us by himself. It was very impressive how hard he drove, tried to spot animals, and how much he cared or even spoiled the guests. Communicative Tyrone joined us for a very informative dinner. Their third guide Alec who guided two of us for half a day, has 25 years’ safari guide experience. His knowledge is just next to none. However, so many positive factors didn’t help to bring us a fruitful safari. We had a lot of aggressive tsetse flies, but didn’t see many predators, or when we saw them, the distance (or the light) was not anymore ideal for photographing. After the 3 nights’ mobile camping, our cameras batteries were still 80% full without charging at all. Can you imagine how poor it was? Even Phil said this tour was very strange.
*South Luangwa: Thank goodness as compensation, we were so lucky in South Luangwa. Nearly every day we had the world famous Hollywood Pride with us (this pride of lions was in several films). Our guide “stole” an unhealthy but beloved toy from Hollywood Pride, just beside a lioness (see photos). We also had a pack of wild dogs twice. The first seen, they were feeding a bushbuck. The next morning at 6am (5 minutes after leaving the camp), they were just waiting for us on the dirt road in the morning mist, about 100m ahead of us. What an unforgettable moment! In addition to these, we’ve had leopard sightings daily, as well as some small animals, e.g., genet, civet, honey badgers (killed a puff adder), beautiful chameleons, etc. Last but not least, we loved Lion Camp and our chalet (Chalet No.1) so much, and enjoyed every minute there. Over all, South Luangwa has become our most favorite in Southern Africa so far. We hope you like some of our attached photos from this trip.
F&H T, Aug 16
Hello Mandy. Been back for a week and what a fantastic holiday we had…Gomo Gomo was very disappointing. Very arid and since they have been in a drought for 3 years. We saw one elephant, one zebra, one giraffe and not much of anything else. Nkorho was fantastic! Saw tons of wild life including a termite heap where dozens of hyena pups were cavorting all over the thing. Leopard up in a tree for a special photo op….dozens of lions and cubs…lots of ellies, wild dogs, rhinos and hippos.
Thanks for all your did for us Mandy….D had the time of his life….memories he will never forget.
Hope this find you well. JS, Aug 16
Just to say you everything was perfect as usual for my group!!!!!!!!!!!!
A, GT, Aug 16
Each trip you plan for us betters the previous!! We had a wonderful week in Durban and at Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge.Viewed the big five and enjoyed the hospitality and amazing views at Imfolozi .
Teremok Marine was out of this world!! Such a quaint and charming abode , with gracious hospitality.
We will return to this place the next time around.Thank you for putting this trip together for us.
Short trips of this duration are quite enjoyable in the middle of a hectic year.
VC, April 2016
I am contacting you to say a huge thank you for all the work you did in organising our trip. It all went so seamlessly with no glitches to speak of and we both enjoyed our return to Botswana and seeing some ‘old friends’. As usual you just don’t know what you are likely to see and in that department we were not disappointed. A lot of memorable sights and places.
Contrary to some comments on trip advisor we found the two camps we went to superb and different in their own right. Xakanaxa was very well maintained and very well run by Unami and her team and Little Kwara more remote rustic but better from the point of view of wilderness safari. Transfers went smoothly although I must admit I had a bit of a squash getting in the small planes, incentive to go that long promised diet.
We can’t thank you enough Mandy and we will certainly recommend Venture to Africa to all our friends and look forward to our next African adventure.
A&C McG, January 2016
