Testimonials

Dear Anna-Lea,

I must say a different time of the year might have proved Victoria Falls to be far more spectacular.  It was, despite the reduced visibility, still amazing.  I took the shower-cap from the lodge as I found its label very amusing.  With the name Victoria Falls Shower Cap, I was thinking it might have been helpful while we were getting completely soaked on our tour of the Falls.  It puts a smile on my face as I think some enterprising person could sell those on-line and might be well rewarded for the effort.

The hotel and the African tour company were very nice, everyone was so helpful.  Meeting friendly, knowledgeable guides who know their country, the river and the locality made our short sight-seeing trip so much more enriching and personally valuable.  These are the things that you do not find in your geography or history lessons or read in novels, but only come to know with feet on the ground and some kind people to give pointers. 

We were introduced to the owner of the tour group while at the bridge.  He was a lovely man and indeed should be proud of his staff and their offerings.

I do regret not having time to see Zambia, Kruger, Durban, Lesotho, etc. etc.  In other words, staying for a good long while and touring the different states within South African and seeing more of southern Africa.

Thank you for the arrangements and your follow up.

Ann Margaret Ulrich

Dear Cindy,

I just would like to thank you again for arranging the wonderful safari we had last week in Tanzania!

We saw the big 5 again, two leopards hanging in a tree from very close and a cheetah for 50 m. distance crossing the road at the back of our jeep, many lions with cubs, three tree climbing lions hanging in different trees, hyena with cubs, 4 black rhinos and of course thousands of wildebeest crossing the Grumeti River full of crocodiles.

The Serena Lodges and Hotels were really fantastic with beautiful rooms and delicious buffets.

We really had a unforgetable time!

Best regards,
Annabelle and Mike Otten

Hi Anna,

We came back in Italy in these days and I inform you only that everything was perfect. Thank you and, in case, I’ll contact you for the next August .

Ezio

Hi Howard

Just a quick note of thanks for the tour that you put together for Michelle, Jamie and I.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience although Kapama must stand out as being the highlight. The game drives are quite fantastic and were made really special for Jamie, who through a very convoluted set of circumstances which I won’t go into, got to ride up front with the guide for all of them.

We also managed, on our 3 forays into Kruger, to see all of the big 5 – the leopard was only a fleeting glimpse, spoiled by an intrusive 4x4, but not the less I saw him.

We were so into Kruger that we only left at about 2.30 on Friday afternoon and consequently had an interesting drive into Joberg in the dusk – Witbank really looks like the approaches to hell but fortunately the road was well lit with all the oncoming holiday traffic.

Once again many, many thanks.

Regards
Gordon Hart

Cindy,

We have just arrived back home.  Thanks again for all your organisation.

Accommodation continued to be exceptional.  We stayed in the Treehouse at Delta Camp - incredible with the elephants and hippos in the water right below us.

The only minor comment we have was about the tours at Victoria Falls.  Tricia was keen to ride on an elephant, and we took the Elephant Experience the afternoon we arrived.  Three tours the next day was crowded.  Individually they were all great, especially the village visit where we were shown around by a very impressive chief (who was organisating a conservation zone across three nations).  However, we had to rearrange the time of this visit, and all the tours were almost back to back. Overall Africa was excellent, and a highlight of our six weeks of travel.

Thank you again.
Regards,
Ian Waters

Dear Howard,

We are safely back from our wonderful holiday, to find England under 15cm of snow!

Leopard Tours were really efficient, the drivers were friendly and always on time.

In Sand Rivers we were upgraded to a suite with pool which was great as it was 38 C in the shade!

We had our own vehicle with a good guide and our own boat on the river. The highlights were the bush breakfasts under shady trees on lake Tagalala. We had buffalo, elephant, giraffe and lots of birds in front of us when the lions appeared on the scene:So three of the big five for breakfast! We also saw a herd of 47 eland.

Selous Impala, the only camp we had not been before, was a nice find. We again had our own driver plus guide and our own boat. Highlight was seeing wild dog hunting impala and on the river we drove the boat onto sand 3m away from a resting pride of lion. On the other side a herd of some 200 wildebeest came down the hill in a cloud of dust to drink while we had our drinks on the boat.

Ruaha River Lodge was how we like it. We had a Masaai guide and again our own vehicle. So you can see we felt like millionaires all the time. The game viewing was good.

Mwagusi gave us the same beautiful Banda we had on our previous visits. Chris Fox was in camp and looked after us very well. Highlights: We saw Serval hunt and a beautiful leopard! Inka had a bull elephant almost on her lap who was high on testosterone!

On our last evening we had an amazing experience: We sat on the veranda overlooking the dry riverbed when the Mwagusi came down after heavy rain. This was only the second time that we saw that happen.

As you can see, we had a wonderful holiday and would like to thank you very much for organising everything so efficiently.

Kindest regards

Jens and Inka Mumme

Dear Howard,

I have had the good fortune of discovering African Travel Gateway quite a few years ago and these past years have definitely proven that find to be a great one. Thank you for all the service over the years. Each of my 1 or 2 trips per year has run smoothly thanks to you, and your recommendations have always proven to be great ones and I have the photos to prove it! I think that you having previous experience as a safari game ranger gives you a special insight and experience with the needs and desires of guests. You and your staff have always been to the nth degree in putting these safaris together from East Africa to South Africa and I look forward to many more years of fueling my African addiction with you!

M.E. Chidiac

Anna-Lee

Just wanted to thank you for organizing a fantastic holiday! Everything went like clock-work and the places advised by you and booked by you were the right choices.

The facilities were excellent. Some of the lodges, like Dunes in St. Francis Bay and Kapama were excellent, extremely children friendly and hospitable. That’s not to say that others were not great!

The Waterfront apartment was a beautiful and central place for us from where we launched into endless sight seeing that the city and the surroundings offered and of course, at night a stroll in the Waterfront area was a perfect end to the evening.

On hindsight, would I have done anything differently? On balance, I don’t think so. Maybe, if we had more time then we could have added one more day at the Crystal Springs Lodge (what a view!) and perhaps another day or so near Route 62. and the Garden Route?  But these are only feelings one gets after visiting the beautiful landscape and the endless activities offered and places to visit in the area. (I think South Africa is best seen independently in your own vehicle and the choice of vehicle is very important. With our size of the family, the VW Caravelle was ideally suited to us).

Thank you once again. It was a memorable trip and made even more memorable by the excellent service that you offered. (I have already recommended your services to some of my friends who are also keen to visit SA)

Regards
Nauman Ahmed

Dear Cindy and Howard,

Although we did not make it to the Palace in Sun City, I want to express to you my gratitude for the excellent vacations I had. The Hotels you had chosen were all very good, and the whole concept of my vacations exeeded my expectations. South Africa is a beautiful country, with nice people and good food and excellent wine. Funny enough I did find out only in Johannesbourg that your agency was situated in Hoedspruit, where I drove into town to shop at the Pick and Pack and I was addressed by a young girl asking us if we liked Hoedspruit. I wonder if this girl was not Cindy! The other shoppingmall with the fancy roof is wonderful. If I had realized earlier that this was the town where you have your agency, I would certainly have walked in to your office to thank you for the job you have done. I will certainly recommend you to my friends. It was a great pleasure for me to visit your beautiful country.

Rene Imboden

Dear Cindy and Howard,

Thank you so much for arranging my wonderful trip.

Emma and Richard’s wedding was of course fantastic but the rest of the holiday was fabulous too.

I was unable to go up Table Mountain on my first Sunday but the guide from Paradise Touring fitted it in for me on my Cape Point trip.

The trip to Robben Island was also cancelled because of the weather and I was unable to rearrange it because the rest of the fortnight was so packed.

I enjoyed my private arrangements at Addo Elephants but missed seeing some wildlife because of the thick scrub there. However I went on a game drive at Botlierskop, near Mossel Bay whilst on the Garden Route trip with Hylton Ross Tours and saw lots more. This drive was a surprise to me but the others on the tour knew about it so it was obviously not an afterthought. I would certainly recommend Botlierskop, if someone was looking for game drives in that area.

All the tour arrangements through Paradise Touring and Hylton Ross were excellent and the guides were efficient and good company.

The accommodation at Leeuwenvoet Guest House was terrific. The ‘Leeuwenvoet Team’ were very friendly and I would certainly stay there again and recommend it to others.

Everyone I met in South Africa was friendly and welcoming. I had a wonderful holiday.

Thank you again for all your efforts to arrange such a lovely trip for me.

Kind regards,

Val