Linda
I really have to thank Petra at Discover Africa for making all the arrangements for us. She went above and beyond what we expected. Her attention to detail and her obvious emotional involvement made all the difference. Petra, we will never, ever be able to thank you enough for your help and advice in making this truly the "TRIP OF A LIFETIME".
Dennis E. Eckart
When we arrived we were treated like royalty, and while we were there we were treated like family.
Tom M
The details of our trip were organized by our USA travel agent, Discover Africa, in Beachwood, Ohio; working with Wilderness Safaris in SA. The planning, communications, and daily support/implementation was extraordinarily excellent. We were a little anxious about making such a long, complex tour alone. Your warm, caring assistance and the travel teams' expert, high quality support removed that anxiety---and resulted in this being a "lifelong memory bank experience!
Ron & Winalee Zeeb (Scuba Tycoon & Heartdance Pres)
Our Africa adventure expanded our hearts beyond our wildest imagination. We both feel the outstanding trip planning by Discover Africa allowed for that experience! The safari camps far exceeded our expectations; the delicious food, the helpful courteous staff, the knowledgeable guides & trackers, the comfortable, clean and sometimes quite luxurious accommodations all created the best experience possible. The flights and all transfers went smoothly as well. The service provided by Discover Africa made our trip a life changing experience and we KNOW that is the truth. We were well taken care of in all ways. And we WILL return and recommend them to everyone interested in traveling there.
Chris Shirtcliff
When you book through Discover Africa, no detail is left to chance. Drivers, accommodations and advice are all superb!
Dina
We've been busy catching up here at home. We spent a day with Robin going through Alexandra township. A remarkable day visiting the streets with attendant funerals and gambling, one of the hostels, Nelson Mandela's first home (a tin-roofed shack with brick walls), and the sights and smells of a thriving poor neighborhood. All the people were very friendly and welcoming yet we were the only white folks in evidence for most of that day. We had lunch in a pleasant hotel near the township and then visited the home where Mandela was arrested and finally the Apartheid museum. The tour is a "must" for your other travelers, although we would have been afraid except for the confident and knowledgeable guidance of Robin. We planted a bouganvillea in the yard of an Alex resident that was named "Dina" in my honor! I promised Robin a Sleepless in Seattle shirt and a UW baseball hat that I will send soon.
It is hard to describe the rest of the trip: so much to say about this experience. We have never felt so removed from our daily lives, so totally immersed in another reality. Antarctica paralleled this experience, yet there I felt closer to our urban life as we were on the ship several times during the day. In contrast, in Africa we felt very in touch with the rawness of nature. The felines and ungulates were so close that we could smell them. The endless dust of Africa lingered in our noses for many days after we got home.
Ken and the Bellons took many, many photos. I wrote a journal that I will type and put together with photos of Ken's. It will be fun to re-live the trip in this way.
Thanks for helping us put this together. We will definitely contact you when we want to return.
Jean Lindenbaum
Lesley Kaye organized a wonderful trip for our family to South Africa and Botswana, and we were so impressed that I have recommended several of our friends and their families who have been equally pleased. Lesley is extremely knowledgeable and can plan a very personalized trip.
Donna B MacKenna
I cannot express enough my deepest appreciation for your hard work in planning our family trip of a lifetime. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to go on an African safari and every dream was fulfilled. The contrasts among the 3 camps, both with the camps themselves and the terrains, was just right. Jao Camp is exquisite, Selinda was friendly, welcoming and a terrific introduction to the bush camp experience and Jack's Camp was like going back 100 years. All wonderful, all highly recommended by the MacKenna family. I went with 3 teenage boys and was so pleased to hear all of them to this day tell their friends that this was the best vacation we ever did. Attached are just a few of the hundreds of beautiful photos we came home with. I had them printed in bound books by Kodak online and the boys still pull the books out to relive the memories. In order, these 5 photos are of Victoria Falls, sunset on the Okavengo Delta, leopard on the Okavengo, a bull elephant and a malachite kingfisher.
Thank you once again for everything. I will recommend Discover Africa to anyone who asks.
I forgot one of the highlights of the MacKenna family trip to southern Africa last year. Your office kindly notified Jack's Camp that my oldest son, Duncan, was turning 20 during that part of the trip. In the middle of the Makgadikgaki Pans, the most desolate terrain I have ever seen (a picture of which is attached), while most of the crew was off fighting grass fires, the kitchen baked Duncan a chocolate birthday cake! A picture of Duncan being presented with the cake by our guide Cyrus in the tea tent is attached. And of course no picture of this part of Botswana is complete without a picture of meerkats, so I attached one of those (we have many and they are all cute).
Thanks again for wonderful memories.
Sheila and Orry Jacobs
Discover Africa did an outstanding job planning our trip to South Africa (Capetown, Franschoek, and Plettenberg Bay), Victoria Falls, and the three safaris in Botswana. All of the arrangements worked flawlessly, and the South Africans we met were very impressed with the itinerary we were provided. We have recommended Discover Africa to a number of our friends, and they have been equally pleased.
Wendy Taylor
We recently returned from our trip to South Africa. The easiest way to sum it up was 'unbelieveable.' We wanted to thank you for all your help and great suggestions. You may recall we originally went for a safari we purchased at auction and you convinced us to see Cape Town and the Winelands. You also convinced us to take a guided day-tour, which I was initially not too keen on. What a great decision you had. We were shown around by a guy our age who was very very nice and knowledgeable - in spite of the weather, it was the perfect day.
The Cape Cadogan is one of the most beautiful hotels I've seen and the service was impecable. The staff could not have been nicer or more polite. They genuinely made us feel spoiled and 'at home' at the same time.
If I recall, you had not had much interaction with Steenberg before you and I started researching them. Keep them on your list! Amazing. Absolutely amazing. It was my fiancee's birthday and everyone, and I mean everyone, wished him a happy birthday. We had champagne waiting in our room, the women at the spa gave him a candle and we had more champagne waiting at Catherine's, the restaurant (a great restaurant - worth recommendation!). I have a nice overhead photo of Steenberg if you would like to keep it on file...
In addition to thanking you, I am writing to tell you that we WILL be returning to Africa, at least once more, if not twice. This is saying alot, as I have never returned to the same place twice (it's a big world with much to see). But we would like to spend some time in the Winelands in the Franshoech and Stellenboch regions. We would like to consider 'camping' at the facilities at the Cape of Good Hope National Park (I can't believe you can spend the night there). We would also like to spend some time on the "Garden Route," this time with a car. Another trip we would like to consider would be Mozambique - for diving. We are told it is some of the best diving in the world. We would love some recommendations for other places near Mozambique to see.
We will definitely speak again, as we begin our planning to return to Africa. Thank you again so much.
Amy V. Marsters
Just a quick note to thank you (and Frank) for the wonderful care you gave us during our trip to your beautiful country. You went above and beyond any service position as tour guides, you are much more like family to us and we already miss you! We are back home with our dogs and are sifting through over 600 pictures (not counting the video we took with the camcorder). We are tired from the long flight, the customs, the security checks, the flat tire on our vehicle when we went to retrieve it, and the time changes. Needless to say, we all slept very soundly last night. We cannot tell you how much we appreciated all the information you shared with us and how honestly you answered all of our questions. We feel as though we now have a sense of your country’s struggles, history, and hopes for the future. Thank you for being so authentic. AND, South Africa beat England in the rugby games!!! We feel very different and this is hard to explain, but our visit to South Africa has changed us and we hope this feeling stays with us forever. It is kind of like we inhaled new, fresh air and exhaled the old, tired air that was filling our lungs. We do want to return and we probably will. If either of you ever need a letter of reference, please do not hesitate to ask. We would be happy to tell others just how wonderful and professional you are. And when you get to the US for a visit, at least give us a call and let us know where you are and if there is anything we can do for you. You are welcome at our home anytime. Thanks again and we will be in touch every so often with updates on our lives here.
Ezra Steiger MD
Our Discover Africa trip to South Africa in 2005 was very exciting and interesting thanks to your wonderful planning and suggestions. The safari at Mala Mala was the highlight of our stay and the attached photos attest to the wonderful opportunities we had to see the animals up close and personal.
