Hemingways Client Feedback

Nov 05, 2014

The team at Hemingways is always excited to receive feedback from clients. Sometimes it is so good, we just have to share it! This group of six recently traveled with us in East Africa and enjoyed a fantastic trip. It was wonderful to hear just how much the loved their holiday! We received the following from their travel agent Ceri Pritchard, Director of Black Rock Travel in Australia:

We had a wonderful time and I would just like you to pass the following on to your Hemingways representative in Africa and everything of course, applies to you as the conduit of the information and approver of the holiday.

The Rawlinson, Taylor and Seamer group had the most outstanding holiday, with every aspect of it surpassing our expectations many times over.  Most of all, we would like to thank our driver guides who were astonishing in not only their local knowledge, exemplary driving skills, familiarity with the local fauna and flora but also were extremely professional in their relationship with us at all times. 

We would like to extend our thanks to Tarzan in Rwanda who was justifiably proud of his country and the advances it has made since those terrible events of 20 years ago.  We just loved Rwanda, its cleanliness and its people and the scenery which was awesome and which we were not expecting at all.  We will certainly recommend it as a destination to all of our friends.

In Samburu we were ably assisted by Ezekiel who knew where to find just about any animal we requested – though he did have some difficulty with polar bears and kangaroos.  He quickly and accurately identified all birds spotted and knew each and every bird call we asked him about.  We were sorry that we continued to fail his antelope identification tests but we were pretty good at it by the end of our trip.  The staff at Larssens Camp were exemplary in the attention they paid to us and really enjoyed having Kelvin stand guard, protecting us from monkey attacks while we ate – though the foolish can't be fully protected because our morning biscuits were quickly stolen when we left them unattended.

Ntuala in the Masai Marai was also astonishing in his knowledge of the birds, animals and reptiles in his park.  We were impressed with his dedication to his job and with his commitment to improve his knowledge even further.  We wrote a letter to the management of Governor's Camp, expressing our gratitude for his work but felt that the person we spoke to was quite off hand with our comments.  Ntuala is an absolute treasure and should be encouraged in his commitment to his work, consideration for his customers and concern for the environment. An honourable mention should also be given to David, the keeper of the gate at Governor's Camp.  His cheery smile was always eagerly anticipated.  He is destined for better things!

Lastly, Paul in the Serengeti continued the standard of excellence.  I hope he wasn't too disappointed with us because by the time we met with him, we were more familiar with all of the ungulates and less excited by the sight of elephants and lions, though we were at all times pretty keen to see the wildebeest.  Paul even managed to find us a couple of rhinos in Ngorongoro.  We were pleased to be able to tick them off.  He even pointed out the shimmering pink of the flamingos at Lake Manyara, proving that we hadn't missed too much by leaving out Nukuru.

Perhaps the guides would be interested to know that in total (we kept a running list), we saw 49 different animals, 106 different birds and 7 different reptiles.  Pretty good really!  We are impressed.

...  …..  it was all exemplary, but special mentions should go to Serena Kigali and  Serengeti Migration Camp, with special thanks to hosts Lauren and Ryan who do a terrific job keeping all of their guests happy.  Sundowners on the deck were a particular highlight for us.  What a view!!  Sanctuary Escarpment Lodge was also a fabulous choice with outstanding views over Lake Manyara and ably hosted by Quentin and Yolande.  Lasty, Essque Zalu.  What a spot to finish off an awesome holiday!!  I still pinch myself when I think about it. 

In addition to the above, we would all like to thank you and Leopard Tours for the excellent organisation.  From the moment we stepped off the plane in Rwanda we knew were going to be well looked after.  All of our connections were met in plenty of time, tummies were full, changes advised well in advance and concern shown for our welfare. We thought that once we arrived in Dar Es Salaam we would be on our own but the excellence continued as we were met there and escorted to the international terminal.

None of us are used to a holiday where we haven't had to think for ourselves at all, or to worry about the origin of our next meal and the process of arriving at our next destination.  We all felt truly spoilt all of the time and will be advising our friends that Africa will give them memories that will stay with them for a lifetime.

Thank you once again

Source: KenyaRwanda & UgandaMaasai MaraUnique Safari ExperiencesTanzaniaZanzibar