Hi Anna-Lee,
We are home from our trip now and wanted to pass on some of our thoughts about how it all went. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! The people we dealt with were so pleasant and helpful and the variety of places we visited was just great. We saw all of the BIG 5 on the game drives and lots of other critters too of course. We probably did one too many days though and too close together. By the final day at Idube we weren’t too excited about getting up at 5 and as it turns out there was nothing new to see that day.
We were very lucky with the weather. We experienced an incredible thunder and lightning storm in Botswana and we were so lucky that we were back in camp when it hit. One day in Ballito was a little disappointing, but the second was sunny and warm. I’d like to give you some of our thoughts about the package you put together.
African Rock Hotel is a great place! The rooms are comfortable and the staff is just wonderful.
Lokuthula Lodge - the units were very dark with inadequate lighting in the hall and livingroom area. We enjoyed watching the animals at the local waterhole and the canvas wall onto the patio was interesting. We had to retreat behind it though when a warthog decided to come very close to check us out!
Gifts that we took for the Monde school were not really appreciated. They really just need money and after the tour we all gave a little. So, please tell anyone who asks not to buy anything before going.
Ngoma is a beautiful property and the rooms are very nice, though not as clean as some of the other places. We were warmly welcomed by the manager and staff there.
We wondered if we could have flown directly from Kasane back to Johannesburg. A travel visa for a Canadian in Zimbabwe is $75 for each entry and they do not offer a multiple entry option to Canadians. So that day in transit cost an extra $150 a couple.
We thought the Toyota Fortuner was huge when we first got into it. And maybe we could have managed with a car one size smaller so the drivers were more comfortable on the narrow roads, but it was nice to have the luggage room.
The Boathouse in Ballito was lovely and we had the best rooms in the house!
The Crystal Springs lodge was not the best place for our one night stay. We probably could have managed very well in a hotel in Graskop. Or a two bedroom unit for us to share at the lodge would have been a better option. The units are a long walk from the restaurant and a reasonable walk from each other too.
NKaya is a very small camp with only 8 rooms. We were the only ones there and so had the full attention of all the staff. The food was excellent. This was a great spot! We enjoyed Idube very much too.
We had lovely accommodation at the Alpine Heath Resort where we looked out onto the mountains. This was another spot where, given the option, we might have considered sharing since the units each had three bedrooms.
Thanks for all your work. You were patient with our many requests and seemingly endless agenda changes and we appreciate the effort you put into the plans.
Take care,
Terry and Sharon