WHAT THEY SAY

Lisa Byrne - USA, Dec 2011

Hi Boaz,

I just wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed the safari.  The accommodations were great and Andrew Njoroge was a excellent tour guide.  Everything exceeded our expectations and I would definitely recommend you guys to anyone who wants to go on a safari.

Thanks,

Lisa Byrne

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Jiaming Li - China, Dec 2011

Hello Siema,
How are you? We have come back to Shanghai from the splendid 9-days trip in Kenya.
Thank you for arranging this wonderful trip for us! We enjoy it very much from every aspect. We are also very grateful to have David as our guide. He is just great and must be a big asset of your company. David is very experienced and if you guys can exchange more in the future I believe your business will be very successful.
We wish you all the best in 2012 and will have more clients from China in the future!
Best regards,
Jiaming

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Jane Shepherd - UK, Oct 2011

Dear Serah,

As promised a few words about our safari.
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience in large part due to Joel our guide who was outstanding.
He is an accomplished driver who clearly knows the area intimately and is able to take advantage of opportunities that others seem to miss. He has a profound knowledge of the wildlife and their habitat and the ability to impart that information the right measure. He obviously cares deeply for the animals and their environment and that is infectious. A deeply caring man who is good company and has a delightful manner will all.
The hotels were comfortable and run efficiently. In all three the service and housekeeping were first class.
The second day on Lake Naivasha was a wonderful experience and the variety quite unexpected. Walking amongst the zebra and giraffe in particular we felt greatly priveleged. We loved the fact that at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge there were animals in the grounds so close to us and we had to be escorted to and from the restaurant because the hippos were nearby.
I particularly enjoyed a leisurely horseride through the grounds. The horses were in good condition and well cared for.
At Sentrim Mara Tented village which was our favourite the grounds were lovely (not too manicured) and being in a "tent" the sounds of the night were enhanced.
The balloon flight was a great success as we saw a variety of wildlife and to top it all had a lovely breakfast.
A once in a life time trip that we would highly recommend.
Best Wishes
Jane.

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Di & Fay Woolley - Repeat clients from Australia, Sept 2011

Hi Siema

A little belated, but I just wanted to say thank you for all your arrangements for our recent safari.  As always, your organisation was spot-on and everything went extremely smoothly.
It is very comforting to know that whenever you are involved in our arrangements we will not have any problems, and I am extremely happy to be able to refer you to others who are considering travel in your area (although I don't think anyone has got to the point of a genuine enquiry yet!).
I believe that you hadn't previously booked guests to Serian, and I am very happy to highly recommend them for anyone looking for a more 'remote' experience, especially in their mobile camp.  Our stay there was the highlight of my trip, and I really did not want to leave (we will have to stay longer next time!).
Again, thank you for your kind assistance with all of our arrangements, and the extra level of service in accompanying us to Westlands and resolving our booking problem at Fairview on our first evening there.  
Kind regards
Di Woolley

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Ruth Brader - USA, Sept 2011

Dear Boaz,   

Thanks to you and to Eastern & Southern Safari Co.  for setting up our fabulous trip to Kenya and Tanzania in September.   We loved the national parks and preserves that we visited; they were all so wonderful each in their own way.   Perhaps my favorites are Samburu, Lake Nakuru and the Maasai Mara.   I am so glad that you encouraged us to go to Samburu; it is a great place for animals like the grevy zebra and the oryx that don't exist elsewhere.  All of the lodges where we stayed were terrific, the food was good and the staff very friendly.  

Our guides were all very knowledgeable and patient in searching for the different animals and in their willingness to let us take as long as we wanted to see and to photo each animal or group.  Our guides were able to see animals far away and take us to them; they knew the animals habits and patterns which helped in spotting the animals.   We saw the big 5 many times plus cheetahs, a pair of wild dogs, a serval cat  and a genet cat plus many, many other  animals and birds.   The balloon trip at dawn over the Masai Mara is spectacular and should not be missed.   The balloon company you selected provided experienced pilots and staff and it was a safe and beautiful float over the plains.   

The Range Rover vehicle is a must for navigating through the rough roads in the parks and our driver never had any trouble getting around whereas some of the minivans got stuck.    This is a real plus for ESS trips. 

All of our travel arrangements were smooth and we had no difficulty whatsoever throughout the trip.   Our guides were always on time and professional while being friendly and representing their country very well.   We learned a tremendous amount from each of the guides about the animals and also about Kenya and Tanzania .  

We were thrilled with our trip and enthusiastically recommend ESS for anyone who is considering a safari in Kenya and Tanzania .

Ruth Brader

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Joe & Rosie Alberino - UK, Sept 2011
(Sent to Agent)

Hi Vera,

I am very happy to give a glowing reference to Eastern & Southern Safaris, we had a wonderful time.
Our guide Michael was 1st class, friendly, knowledgeable and made my wish come true to see Hippos. I had made my wishes known to Eastern & Southern Safaris beforehand that it was a priority to see Hippos, however this was not included in the itinerary. Michael to the rescue! he juggled our time of departure and our meal times and fitted in between transfer from one location to another.
Fot that reason I would give the company Eastern & Southern Safaris 9 out of 10. And a big fat 10 to Michael, thank you so much you made our trip.
The location of our accommodation were all very different, with different experiences in each location, all in all it was well planned and I would definitely do it again, and would not hesitate to recommend, infact I have given the details to a colleague.
Wishing you all well
Rosie Alberino

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Jingdong Zhang Group - China, Sept 2011

Dear Boaz,

Thank you for your excellent arrangement, we had a wonderful travel in Kenya exactly.
Please find our photo with George and Raphael in attachment, they are both good drivers.

Best Wishes

Jingdong

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Giantito & Olimpia - Italy, August 2011

Dear Siema,

Thank you very much for the perfect organization of the trip for my family. They enjoyed every single place and day in Kenya.
I will certainly suggest to my friends your agency and your help.
Thank you again.
Best regards,
Antonella Di Narco Burchiellaro

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Frances & Aaron Bell - Australia, July 2011

From the moment we arrived in Africa to the moment we left it, Eastern and Southern Safaris were there to make sure that we were both safe and comfortable. Just as importantly, every guide Eastern and Southern provided was an expert in finding interesting and exotic wildlife, and were fantastic people to spend time with. We'll certainly be using Eastern and Southern Safaris again when we next visit Africa !

Cheers!
Aaron

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Sabine Flinders - New Zealand, July 2011
(Sent to Agent)

Hi Brian
Well, where do I start? First of all I can tell you that Serah's arrangements were excellent. Everything went well without a hitch.
It was the best holiday in my life. Borneo was great, as you know, but Kenya and Tanzania were just absolutely amazing.
For Kenya I had "George" as my driver, Tanzania Meeshack. I enjoyed Kenya very much, and Tanzania was outstanding. I 've got 16GB of video and pictures, had to buy 2 more cards. I have also adopted a chimpnazee "poco" from the Jane Goodall centre. He is blind and my little dog Kelly is also blind, thats why I did it.
To see lions walking right infront of and beside your car is really something. Television has shown us a lot of the country and animals, but seeing it all in reality is totally different, I could go on and on, it would fill pages.
The one thing that bothered me was the tipping (you did that for us in Borneo) and having to buy things you dont really want, because they make you feel so guilty, in their eyes we are rich.

Cheers,
Sabine

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Elaine and Darrell Slauenwhite - Canada; Jan 2011

Dear Bernard,

We're home and still oohing and awing over all that we have been able to see and do since Jan.13 with your help. A great big thank you to you, Michael, and the company Eastern and Southern Safari Co. for the wonderful sights and experiences we had in Kenya and Tanzania. The Leopard part of the tour was very well done. We had a guide called Paul and he knew his birds and with 22 years experience he really knew where to go to get what we wanted. With him we were able to experience the migration of wildebeest and zebra through the southern part of the Serengeti. Michael was a great guide. We liked him alot and he guided us through the travel in Kenya in a professional but personal way. It was all just fantastic and yes we will be telling our friends about what we've experienced and telling them all about your company.

You listened to our requests, you answered all our questions, and you chose wonderful drivers who made our experience great. We will be back if at all possible. I look forward to seeing you at that time once more.

Thanks again Bernard,
Elaine and Darrell Slauenwhite

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Shweta and Vasanth - India, Jan 2011

Dear Bernard,
Thank you for setting up a wonderful safari for us. It was an experience of a lifetime! We had a wonderful time in Kenya and George was a great guide and companion. You have a beautiful country and we hope it can be preserved for many years to come. Vasanth and I will surely be back in the future and with more time to spend in the wilderness and hopefully witness the great migration.

Thanks again for everything and please pass our regards to George as well.

Shweta and Vasanth.

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Yen-ti and Raymond Verg-in - Micronesia, Dec 2011

Dear Bernard,

Thank you so much for your arrangement of our wonderful safari trip! Both Ray and I had a great time.
Our guides, Dave in Kenya, and Titho in Tanzania are both personable, pleasant, and knowledgeable. They really looked after us well.
Ray's birthday cake arrangement certainly was a surprise for both of us. We appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Thank you for everything.

Yen-ti.

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Chris Bower - USA Oct/Nov 2010

Serah;

I just wanted to send you a note to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed the Safari you arranged for Billy Dodson and myself. The accommodations and food were excellent at all camps and lodges. I especially enjoyed the Sarova Mara Tented Camp and their staff in Kenya.

This was my second trip to East Africa. My wife and I had a 2 week safari the last 2 weeks of September 2009 which was wonderful and resulted in my wishing to return someday. This trip far exceeded my expectations with respect to the animal and bird life we photographed and the guides you provided. Seeing and photographing the very young cheetahs was a huge bonus! I really enjoyed David Muteti. His keen eyesight for finding animals I would never have seen was remarkable. And I believe his knowledge of the animals and how best to approach them was better than I observed from most of the other guides we saw on our safari. Both he and Salvatore were very accommodating and made me feel we had known each other for many years.

Pending safari costs and our financial situation, my wife and I hope to be part of Billy's Ndutu Photo Safari in February 2012.

Thanks for organizing such a great Safari.

Chris

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Jack Burruano - USA. Oct 2010

Jambo Bernard,

Habari yako? How can I ever find the words to express my gratitude to you and everything that makes up Eastern Safaris? I don’t think that I can actually express and convey the gratitude I have with especially you, your company, and such a professional and friendly escort as we found in Christopher!

From the beginning, I not only enjoyed working on our itinerary together but felt as though I met a new friend! You were refreshing, informative, and always a joy when it came to receiving your professional letters! Your courteousness, as well as friendship, truly touched my heart! You were my first experience in coming in to contact with a new culture. A culture that will always hold a special place in my heart, thanks to you! I will truly miss you Bernard and receiving your letters!

Where did you ever find the BEST possible tour guide like Christopher? Let me tell you Bernard, he is incredible! It was such a delight to wake up every morning and find Christopher always waiting for you, so promptly, with the biggest smile on his face. His expertise, professionalism, teacher of Swahili, and his company proved to be an experience of a lifetime. I don’t think I will ever forget him as long as I live. Will you please tell him I gave his message to my brother? He will know what I mean. I became very close with him as we discussed so many things together from personal matters, worldly matters, to his knowledge on all the wildlife inhabiting the great African plains! Please tell him I would like his address to keep in touch! Also tell him I have attached a picture of my new dog named Molly!

As soon as I get my pictures together, I will send you a few good ones!

Once again Bernard ASANTE SANA!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will miss you both but hope that I now have two new friends!!!!! Keep in touch!!!!!!!

Yours truly,

Jack Burruano

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Diana Dell - USA. October 2010

Jambo, Siema!
Asante sana! With your wonderful planning, our Northern Tanzanian safari was one of the greatest adventures we have ever had! The Serena Lodges were all tops with excellent accommodations, food and service. Our driver/guide, Meshack, from Leopard Tours was terrific. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. He knew where to find the game for viewing and was patient as we stopped for every animal on the northern circuit. We always felt very safe as well. We were a little disappointed not to see the rhino but we saw cheetahs and leopards on several occasions and a serval cat! Meshack was wonderful at spotting game. In effect, hakuna matata! We will certainly recommend Eastern and Southern Safaris Ltd.

Diana

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Trish and John Moon - Australia. Sept 2010

Dear Siema

Well - home at last but hearts and minds still full of all our adventures in Kenya and Tanzania. Thank you so much for all your assistance in preparing for our holiday. It was so good to meet you in person in Nairobi.

Big thanks also to our wonderful guides, Michael in Kenya and Moison in Tanzania. They looked after us with great care. Their kindness and sense of humour was much appreciated and helped to make the trip memorable.

We both feel the best part of Africa for us was meeting African people, mainly in the camps and lodges where we stayed. At Kichwa Tembo in the Masai Mara and Pongwe Beach in Zanzibar (in particular) we enjoyed the warmth and friendliness of the staff - a candlelit dinner in front of our tent at Kichwa Tembo with rose petals, lots of hurricane lamps and great food was just fantastic. We are still unsure as to why this happened, but it was great fun. John celebrated his 75th birthday at Pongwe Beach in style - a seafood dinner on the beach, bottle of bubbly, and a birthday cake. So many memories.

The animals were amazing. We kept enjoying our game drives up to the very end of our safari - we must have seen many hundreds of elephants, wildebeest, impalas and others, but our enjoyment didn't wane. Highlights perhaps were the rhinos practising their head butting at Sweetwaters and the large pride of lions in the Serengeti resting their bloated stomachs after feeding on a wildebeest. Each day brought new sightings.

The accommodation at the camps and lodges was also very good - interesting structures, and amazing views and gardens. We always had a comfortable bed. Sweetwaters certainly merits an extra day, our tent looking out at a waterhole watching the animals and birds drinking.

If you want to include any of this on your website please do so. We will certainly be doing our best here in Australia to encourage family and friends to visit Africa.

Best wishes to all at Eastern & Southern Safaris - you excel in the service you offer.

Kindest regards
Trish and John Moon

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Maurice Curwood Family - Australia, Sept 2010

Dear Siema
We arrived home on 3 October after a wonderful time in Africa. It was good to meet with you in Nairobi. Thank you very much for your organisation of the Kenya/Tanzania Safari, which was a great experience. Your arrangements all went perfectly well and the lodges were all excellent. All went well on the safari, except for a very minor accommodation incident in Tanzania, of which Leopard Tours are aware.
As many safari websites indicate, the most important person for making the safari memorable is the guide. Francis Njoroge was an
excellent guide who made our experience one to remember for a lifetime. Francis was very courteous, but related to us all very
well, and we came to accept him as a good friend. He willingly and voluntarily shared his knowledge with us at all times, explaining
about the culture of the country and the flora and fauna that we encountered. He went out of his way to find the animals on the game
drives and gave unstintingly of his time to conduct game drives.

We saw many animals in your great country, including the "Big Five", four of which we saw in our first game drive in Samburu! We cannot praise Francis more highly for his knowledge and his effort which made this safari a memorable one for the four of us. We would be very happy to recommend him as an excellent guide to any friends who decide to travel to Kenya.

Our travels with your partner organisation, Leopard Tours, also went very well and our guide Joshua also related to us well and shared his knowledge with us to, overall, make this a wonderful safari. We can truly say that the safari went as described on your website, and as outlined by you on the first day, and exceeded our expectations. Thank you.

Finally, thank you to Eastern and Southern Safaris, to yourself and to Francis. I hope that you may be able to pass our comments on to Francis and to thank him for the excellent job he did for your company.

Regards,
Maurice Curwood
on behalf of Jennifer, Tania and Sarah.

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Katrin and Ulrich Roos - Travel Agent, Germany. Sept 2010

Hello Serah,
Katrin and I arrived back in Germany this morning, as we spend some more days in Kenya after the end of our safari (travelling to Mombasa and along the coast).
We want to say “asante sana” for organizing a fantastic safari for us! George is a very nice person and a reliable driver. Please say hello to him!
The offered route and the lodges were excellent and so we enjoyed every single day and had a great time.
We never regretted to have selected your company for our safari and we hope to return one day.

Best regards from Germany,

Uli Roos

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Pamela and Monojeet - USA. Sept 2010

Hi Boaz,
We wanted to let you know that we had the most incredible trip! It was so much more than we ever imagined! Everything was perfect - from Tony our guide, to the lodges, and of course, the setting. Tony was so knowledgable and helpful - he was a very safe driver and so considerate of anything we might need. He helped make our trip what it was and I would recommend him to anyone we know!

I can't express how thankful we are for the level of service you and your company provided - everything was seamless and we felt at ease the entire trip. We loved every minute of it and hope that we can go again soon! Our friends and family are jealous, looking at our pictures, and I will refer them to your excellent company and you and Tony.

I've attached a few pictures - if you could also share with Tony, that would be much appreciated. One includes the albino white baboon which he has been looking for for the past 6 years!

Thank you for making a dream come true!

Pamela and Monojeet

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Lynn Crawford - Wisconsin, USA. Sept 2010

Driver/Guides Ben and Rafael each had unique talents that added to the enjoyment of the trip. Ben is a superb bird guide with amazing spotting skills that extend to all species and has tales that would make a fascinating novel. Rafael is great at avoiding the Mara crowds and searching out animals independently, maintaining respect for the wildlife even when the masses of vehicles do not, and maximizing time in the bush.

E&S is a great value.
--
The final itinerary took an embarrassingly large number of email exchanges initiated by me, re-workings, lodging changes, and finally a shift of an entire month, but Boaz of E&S was always responsive, helpful and patient with my many revisions and tweaks.

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Aberdare’s Fishing Lodge had 360 degrees of beautiful mountaintop scenery. Spoor indicated lots of animal visitors and I saw a Duiker, Jackson’s Francolin, and Waterbuck. With less rain, I’d have seen more wildlife around the banda. The nearby Magura River could be heard flowing, even when inside but I was warned not to venture down the path to the river without an armed guard due to buffalo. Meru’s Kinnas Bandas were near the Bwathernrongi River and boasted an abundance of animals and birds—herds of impala, troops of baboons and vervets, agama lizards, two resident genets, woodpeckers, a variety of weavers, even several appearances of the Paradise Flycatcher with its flowing white tail feathers. Some nights there were non-stop baboon alarm calls and internal squabbles, plus lions roaring to each other. One night we could hear lions chase an antelope around the building and the tracks we saw the next day confirmed the pursuit.

In sum, I loved the KWS bandas and not just as a means for saving money on lodging.

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All food was fantastic, whether it was the extensive buffets at the lodges or meals prepared by Martin, the Eastern & Southern Chef who accompanied us to the bandas.

Chef Martin told me he had always enjoyed cooking and loved his job, which was evident by the fine meals he served. As part of the pre-trip planning, I had requested that the chef prepare a few typical Kenyan meals and Martin obliged with some excellent ugali offerings and fish dishes.

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In Aberdare, our 10.5-hour outing included three easy hikes to three waterfalls: Karuru, Magura, Chania. With 6 trained eyes of Ben, William, and the KWS ranger, plus mine, no Giant Forest Hog or anything else escaped us! This was a fantastic way to become immersed in the habitats Aberdare National Park and The Salient it is known for, and to view the wildlife that call it home. What a quality outing!

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My main reason for visiting Meru was the chance to see Lesser Kudus. Though they are abundant in Meru, they are not easy to see (thank goodness for Ben’s sharp eyes) and even harder to get a picture of due to their shy nature and preference for browsing in the brush. I managed a half dozen nice photos and views of about 30 Lesser Kudu.

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I had hoped to see a wildebeest crossing in the Mara since I was traveling during migration time. Thanks to Rafael’s patience and willingness to spend 11 hours at the river, I saw three crossings in one day, plus one more another day. One of the crossings lasted 45 minutes and contained thousands upon thousands of wildebeests and about 5 zebra with 1 hippo looking on.

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Asante sana for making my 15th safari a great one. Hope to return again.

----------------
Lynn Crawford
Wisconsin, USA

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Antony & Hayley Moore - UK, Aug 2010

FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE!
Tours Guides very knowlegable and helpful to enable the best photo/viewing experience. Would reccommend 'The Best of Kenya' itinerary to anyone looking to book a safari. Special thanks to Chris and Tom for making our honeymoon a special and memerable adventure!
Tony & Hayley Moore

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Pam and John Gee - UK, Aug 2010

Dear Boaz,
Thank you for meeting us personally at our hotel in Nairobi before we set off on our memorable tour of Kenya's Game Reserves.

We found the Lodges you selected for us to be very comfortable and well situated within the Game Reserves and our Safari bus was clean and nicely presented each morning.

David, our Guide, was courteous,friendly and helpful, quickly establishing our preferences and exactly what we wished to experience.

His extensive knowledge and skill in finding animals, birds and wildlife where we saw nothing, made our whole visit an adventure of discovery and deserves our special thanks.

He had found 'the Big Five' for us even before we visited the Massai Mara!

Thank you again for organising our visit so well, thus enabling us to experience so much in so short a time, although we found the journies from Lake Nakuru to the Massai Mara and the return to Nairobi very long and tiring due to the extremely bad road conditions and would have benefitted with a little more time allowed.

However, once again thank you, and especially David, for providing us with a most enjoyable and memorable holiday.
We shall not hesitate to recommend Eastern and Southern Safaris Ltd. to any of our friends who may be planning a trip to South/Eastern Africa.

Kindest Regards,

Pam and John.

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Amy and Patrick Woo - Hongkong. July 2010

Dear Bernard,

It was a wonderful trip in Kenya. We sat in a comfortable van running over the grassland to serach wild animals. Our driver Ben has a rich knowledge in wild animals and birds that we learnt a lot which we could not learn on schools. Under his leading, we could see big five, zebras, elephants, giraffe, water buffalo, topie, thompson gazelles and etc. Although we could not see the river crossing, we still have many many memorible pictures in our mind! The accomodations over the trip including locations, view, food and facilities were also wonderful. We sincerely recommend Eastern and Southern to the people who want to safari on Eastern Africa.

Lastly, we appreciate again Ben's warm hospitality over the trip.

Amy and Patrick - Hong Kong
July 2010

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Melody & Julien Carriere - USA. July 2010

Dear Bernard,

My husband and I had an incredible time on our African safari, and Eastern and Southern was wonderful to work with because I was able to organize a perfect itinerary and the cost was very reasonable. The guides were very professional and courteous, the accommodations far exceeded our expectations, and the wildlife (the main reason we went on safari!) was, simply put, amazing. Some of the highlights during our safari included seeing a cheetah run down and catch a gazelle, a lioness killing and then eating a wildebeest, and a pride of lions guarding a buffalo kill. We were VERY lucky in the Maasai Mara because a big beautiful leopard crossed the road right in front of us! We also saw a river crossing, one of the most unforgettable sights of the great migration. Our trip was extraordinary and I would certainly book with Eastern and Southern again for our next African adventure.

Melody

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The Battles/Wojdak Family - Califonia USA. July 2010

Dear Siema,

It was wonderful to finally meet you in Nairobi. Thank you for answering all our questions as we put together our custom safari. The vans were comfortable and easily accomodated our family of 5. Our driver David was very knowledgeable and had great spotting skills. We have wonderful pictures and memories of the herds of zebras, elephants, giraffe, hippos floating in the Mara, lions, rhinos, water buffalo, topie, thompson gazelles and so much more! He was able to make it fun and interesting for our teenagers. The accomodations at both Lake Nakuru and Masa Mara were great. We particularly enjoyed the comfort of the rooms and the views from the Mara Serena Lodge. We also appreciate the last minute changes to our last day in Nairobi.

Thanks again for all you help in arranging our trip of a lifetime!

The Battles/Wojdak Family
California, U.S.A.

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Federica & Teresa - UN Staff, Liberia. May 2010

Dear Boaz and Bernard,
Apologies for the delay in writing to you but a lot of work was waiting upon my return from Kenya.

I wanted to thank you for the wonderful service Eastern and Southern Safaris has provided to me and Teresa. We had a great time in Mara, Ambroseli and Tsavo. Our guide, Chris, was superb and we really had a good time. Rest assured we will advertise your agency with our friends! We loved the accomodation and itinerary. Perhaps the only suggestion would be to change the tented camp in Ambroseli since the food was not very good. Perhaps at the same cost there is another camp with better quality.

All the best,
federica

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Richard Sanders - USA, April 2010

Sent to the booking agent

My wife, daughter and I had the adventure of a lifetime in only one short week, thanks to the planning and arrangements made by Eastern & Southern Safaris. They worked with us patiently over the Internet to tailor the itinerary so that it accommodated our dreams of what an African safari should be, while fitting it into our travel and budget constraints. Our driver/guide was very knowledgeable, pleasant, drove safely and became our trusted friend. The Masai Mara safari was magnificent! We saw the "Big Five" in their natural environment, and came home with some awesome pictures. We went on to see the pink flamingos at Lake Nakuru, and walked amidst giraffes and zebras on Crescent Island. The accommodations were all first-rate and safe. We highly recommend Eastern & Southern.

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Nas Muhhammed and family- Saudi Arabia , April 2010

Dear Siema
Just wanted to thank you for the great job you did in organizing our safari to kenya. everything worked out as planned from being picked up at the airport to being dropped off in time. Thank you.
The mara intrepids camp was excellent. we had the family tent as requested and it was very nice. i would reccomend mara intrepids camp to anyone travelling with children due to the adventures club activities which the children enjoyed and also the kindness shown to them by all staff members.

I would also like to thank you for your patience in coming up with so many itinerery options and also making all requested changes. we are already looking forward to working with you on our next safari itenerary for 2012.

Thanks and best regards

nas

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Claudia and Matthew Langham - Germany, April 2010

From the first email to the final farewell at Nairobi airport, Boaz, Rafael and the team of Eastern & Southern Safaris made our first Safari to Kenya a truly remarkable experience. Our special thanks go out to Rafael for his patience and his excellent spotting skills (we were able to see all five of the big five). Even though driving conditions were difficult, Rafael was a cautious and safe driver at all times. Our accommodation at both Nakuru and Mara was excellent and we particularly enjoyed the great food. For this, our first safari, we could not have wished for a better safari operator. We will be recommending Boaz and his team to anyone we meet. And we hope to be back in Kenya again before too long.

Paderborn, Germany, April 2010

Claudia & Matthew Langham

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Rev Lynn Renne - Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Indiana, USA - March 2010

We all made it home safely and with so many stories to tell!
Thank you for making it such a wonderful trip and being a major part of our Mission Team!!!

Thanks, Boaz, for finding and getting my luggage to me. I had no hopes that I would ever
see it again!

Thanks to David and Michael for being such good and safe drivers, and for being so nice and fun to be with!

And thanks, Serah, for leading such a professional company!

Someone said that while we were gone there was a program on one of our major news shows that gave the top 10 list for places for Baby Boomers to visit before they die and one on the list was Kenya! I thought you'd like to know that.

We will look forward to working with you on our Feb. 2011 trip, dates to be decided soon, and to
finding a special place to stay in Kisii.

I will send you pictures as soon as I wake up enough to make copies.

Asante sana and Mungu Akubariki,
Lynn

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Danny Dukers Party - Netherlands, Feb 2010

Hi Boaz,
The safari we made last week was great, everything went very smoothly, we've seen many animals, Ben was a great guide (as usual I would say) and the upgrade to Serena Lodge in Samburu was a real bonus. Thanks! No negative remarks/comments everything very much OK.
Thanks again and I'll come into contact with you for a next trip to Kenya,
Tonny, Mick, Nicole and Danny

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Chris van Heerden - UK, Feb 2010

Dear Boaz,
I just wanted to thank you and all at Eastern & Southern Safaris for organising our excellent trip. It was good to meet you in Nairobi. Everything went like clockwork. Chris was an excellent guide. Very knowledgeable about the wildlife and local culture and in addition great company. The vehicle was reliable and ideal for game viewing.

The itinerary was arranged exactly as agreed. We thoroughly enjoyed the variety of lodges you booked for us. The highlight of the trip was probably Samburu. I did not realise there was such unique wildlife there. Chris was very patient and delivered exactly what we wanted. I was impressed with his high standards, particularly in regard to ethical game viewing ( minimal disturbance of wildlife etc ).

We are already considering returning and will definitely use you again. We have also recommended you to our friends.

Again thank you for providing a top class service.

Regards

Chris van Heerden

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Bob & Carol Grebert - Sydney, Australia, Feb 2010

Thank you to Eastern & Southern Safaris for organising our safari to Kenya and Tanzania. We had a wonderful time and will remember the experience for the rest of our lives. From the beginning we were impressed by the way in which Serah handled our queries so quickly and efficiently. The organisation behind the rest of our trip flowed just as smoothly.

Our drivers, George and Mashek, did a tremendous job in finding all of the big five within the first couple of days within both Kenya and Tanzania. They were very reliable and co-operative. Both were extremely knowledgable about the animals and were consistently able to locate the big cats which particularly interested us. We were lucky enough to see numerous leopards, cheetas, prides of lions including cubs at very close range, as well as herds of elephants with very young. In Tanzania we were amazed to see the wildebeest and zebras in their migration to the Serengeti.

Our accommodation at the Serena lodges was first class - in fact the whole trip was first class. This was possibly our best holiday ever! We are so glad we made the decision to travel to Africa and would like to return some day.

Bob and Carol Grebert, Sydney, Australia

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Raymond Noble - CA, USA Feb 2010
(Feedback sent to the booking agent)

Michelle and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip and both the travel and accommodations were well organized. We also had an excellent driver/guide and enjoyed our trip. There were no hidden surprises and we felt there was good open communication between Eastern and Southern Safari and us. I would recommend the tour company in the future. Thanks for asking and look forward to a future visit.
Ray Noble

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Juliette and Paul Reid - UK, Feb 2010

Dear Bernard
I just wanted to say a big thank you for organising our trip so well.
It went exactly to plan and we would have no hesitation in recommending you
to other travellers. In fact I did to two different couples we met along the way.
Chris our driver was excellent - very safe and very knowledgable and we also
enjoyed his company.
Thanks again and I hope to be in touch again when I return to Kenya.
Kind regards

Juliette and Paul Reid

Dear Bernard,

I think Juliette may have e-mailed you.
I just wanted to thank you for our recent trip which went very well. In particualr how much we enjoyed having Chris as our guide.

Very best

Paul.

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Mary Want Group- UK, Jan 2010

Dear Siema
I can't believe we're already back here in cold, wet London! Arrived safely this morning. We would all like to thank you for such a wonderful holiday. Everything we did worked very smoothly from the minute George picked us up at Jomo Kenyatta until Nuru of Leopard Tours saw us onto the bus in Arusha. Both the driver/guides were excellent, very careful driving and good knowledge of the areas, animals and birds that we saw. Most of all though, thank you for sorting out such a good tour for us. It was a good mixture of parks and different areas with highlights in each one. We saw all the "Big Five" - although this wasn't most important to us but nice to have seen them all nevertheless.

The accommodation was also well chosen - we really liked the tented cottage lodges best, particularly Flamingo Hill and Kirumu because they were both smaller and the food and service were both personal and excellent. The bigger lodges stood out mostly because of their positions - Sopa Serengeti for the lovely views over the plain and, most of all for me because I have wanted to go for so long, Sopa Ngorongoro. The Crater was really special, we had a marvellous game drive and back at the lodge our rooms overlooking the crater were great. As an added bonus we were there during a full moon which lit up the Crater at night.

Thank you once again. I will have no hesitation in recommending you to any other friends who want to do the same thing. And you never know, perhaps we will come back some day.

Kind regards
Mary

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Jennifer Trail - also in Mary Want's Group - UK, Jan 2010

Dear Siema

I just wanted to thank you and your team for organising a really wonderful safari trip for us in Kenya and Tanzania. We really enjoyed it very much.

Both our Guides, George in Kenya, and Nuru in Tanzania were excellent, and we would thoroughly recommend them, and your company to any of our friends and acquaintances who may be thinking of doing a similar holiday.

Best wishes
Jennifer

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Gerardo Michel - Argentina, Jan 2010

Dear Bernard
just a big thank you to you and our driver/guide David.
We had a wonderfull time at Masai Mara and David provided us with a lot of information about the region, the animals and the Masai. Very nice the Sopa Lodge.
Best Regards
Gerardo Michel

Jim Sinnamon - USA, Oct 2009

Jambo Boaz,
We want to thank you for arranging our 10 day Kenyan safari for us. It was everything we had hoped for - and more! Our guide, Michael, provided us with background information on the animals, the people and the area. Some of the best times we had on the drives were tracking animals off the beaten path. Michael's love of nature and animals came through as we sat and watched all of the animals. We saw the Big Five, which included two leopards (one of the leopards was in a tree with his kill)! Kathleen loved the lions, and Michael was able to find lions at each stop we made. We saw lions feeding after a kill, lions mating, and some cubs. Elephants, cape buffalo, rhinos and hippos, and more wildebeest and zebra than you can imagine!

The accommodations and activities were exactly as described. Throughout the safari, we felt that you and Michael were working hard to assure us the best experience possible. The Serena lodges were wonderful. The rooms, meals and service were top notch. The only lodge that we were disappointed with was the Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge. While the grounds and common areas were absolutely beautiful, our rooms were in need of cleaning and maintenance.

The travel between lodges was more difficult than we anticipated. Many of the roads are in poor condition, and when we were in the vehicle for more than a few hours, it was tough travel. The positive side of the travel was seeing so much of the countryside. Kenya is a truly beautiful country. We can only hope the rains come soon!

We would have no hesitation recommending Eastern & Southern Safaris to anyone considering an African safari. We will be back! And when we return, we will make our arrangements through you.

Jim & Kathleen
Michigan, USA

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Venkatesh Bagurv - India, Sep 2009

Dear Bernard,
This is to say THANK YOU so much for arranging an exceedingly lovely program. Raphael was a Fantastic Guide and driver.
He made our trip enjoyable and Comfortable.We all felt that he was a part of our Family. Please convey our sincere appreciation to him and a Very Special Thanks. We have absolutely no complaints. Every thing you arranged was just FINE and more so the vegetarian (that too Indian)
food we had.
My family joins me in saying a BIG THANK YOU to you and Raphael. Do stay in touch. I will send you a few photographs separately.
Just one more thing. I was very impressed by your Professionalism and honesty.
Thanks and Best Wishes
Venkatesh

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Jim Wold - USA, Sep 2009

Hello Bernard,
I just wanted to let you know that our safari was absolutely wonderful in every way. The accommodations, Samburu Intrepids and Kichwa Tembo, were excellent, all service was at a very high level. Game viewing was excellent in both places. Samburu of course, was extremely dry, but there were plenty of animals and they looked very healthy. The river in front of Intrepids was completely dry, and has been for months, and I do worry about the animals if the drought continues. There was a lot of water in Maasai Mara and the migration was there, so we saw many, many wildebeests and zebras. It was not a specific goal for us, but between the two parks we saw the big 5, so that was nice.

Food at both camps was excellent. Both driver/guides were outstanding, and the vehicles were the high, open sided Land Rovers, perfect. We were lucky that the camps did not add any additional people to our vehicles, there was only the 4 of us, like a private safari, nice. Air Kenya gave us good service and it was fun flying in to small, gravel air strips. Our airport transfers in Nairobi were fine, and we enjoyed the Nairobi city tour.

There is one thing I wanted to tell you about, this is not a complaint, it is just for your information. The hot air balloon company that you booked us with is quite a distance from Kichwa Tembo. It is located at the Serena, about an hour away. The balloon company actually sent their driver over the night before and he stayed at Kichwa that night and we had to get up about an extra hour early to get to the Serena. Apparently there are two other balloon companies much closer to Kichwa Tembo. However, one benefit of the early morning drive to the Serena is that on the long drive through the park we came upon a pride of about 10 or 12 lions sleeping on the road, including a very young cub about the size of a chunky house cat, and our Kichwa driver picked us up at the Serena and we had an excellent game drive on the return. Also, the champagne breakfast was excellent, hot, cooked to order omelets and crepes with full tables, chairs and linens served on the Tanzania border with plenty of good, cold champagne, pretty incredible.

Overall it was a most excellent trip. Our daughter and son-in-law were amazed, as were Judy and I. I plan to mention E&S on Trip Advisor.

Thanks again, and I hope the rains come soon.
Jim Wold

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Mark Foster - UK, Sep 2009

Bernard,
Can I just say that the 9 days we had with Peter on our Safari, was a pleasure. Peter was very professional, very proactive and looked after Andrew and myself to an extremely high level.

The accommodation that was provided was exactly what we where looking for (thank you for arranging the elephants to visit our tent at 4.30 in the morning, they put on a great display).

Both Andrew and myself where 100% pleased with the holiday, and have no problem recommending your company, or booking our next visit to Kenya with yourselves.

Please pass on our gratitude and thanks to Peter for a job well done.

Best regards,
Mark Foster

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Jim Shannon - UK, Sep 2009

We spent a week on safari with Eastern and Southern Safaris in September 2009. Michael, our guide and driver, was fantastic — not only a true gentleman but a very knowledgeable guide and an excellent driver too. Our accommodation was superb, as were the staff at the lodges. We'd thoroughly recommend Eastern and Southern Safaris to anyone thinking of visiting East Africa.

Images from our trip: http://www.jimshannon.net/photography/kenya

Thanks again and best wishes from London,

Jim and Rosie.

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Sue & Taffy Williams - Qatar, Sep 2009

Siema Edward

We would like to thank your company for the amazing safari you put together for us. We had the most amazing holiday and safari, every lodge was unique and beautiful - hospitality and service was the best we have ever experienced anywhere in the world. Our memories will remain with us forever.

Our holiday was made so special and wonderful in a large part due to the wonderful guide we had - Patrick Maweu - he was polite, patient, caring and so full of knowledge about your beautiful country and animals, nothing was too much trouble for him, and we will never forget him or our holiday. Please give him our kind regards, and thanks.

We will certainly pass on your company name to all our friends in Qatar and in Australia, we honestly could not have wished for one thing while away, our ever need was catered for. Thankyou again

Best wishes and thanks Sue & Taffy Williams

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Zaya Morris - UK, Aug 2009

Hi, Jambo Bernard,

We would just like to say a massive thank you for all your work putting our safari together we had the time of our lives in Kenya and are really missing it now we are back in England. George was a fanatic guide and we can't thank him enough, he was brilliant. We managed to see the Big 5 as well as a Chui :) Thank you again and we will be recommending your company to all our friends in the future.

Many thanks,
Zaya and Carl

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Hussein Fakih - France, Aug 2009

Dear Bernard,
Just a few words for recommendation.
Indeed my trip was really well organized, and everything was perfectly matching.
I had some worries because I have 2 smalls childrens, and wanted the trip to take in account this requirement.
And it was great, very professional, including accomodations, transferts time, and I got one guide speaking french.
The guides was experimented.
I recommend this company for your trip, do not hesitate.
Hussein Fakih
France

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Xavier Branlard Family - France, Aug 2009

Dear Bernard,

We had a great stay in KENYA
All went all right and we’ve seen lots of animals and different landscapes. George was a really great guide although not very “talkative” ! Not really saying what and where we were going … Our family is not used to be 100% guided and taken in charge.

George, always in a good mood, was very attentive to each of us.
The car was cleaned up every day. He made our trip really fine.

Xavier had a birthday cake on the 8th of August and the team at the lodge was very nice.
Your choice of Hotel in LAMU was just perfect !
It was hard to get back home. We finally got safely home on Monday 10 O’clock.

Best regards,

Veronique & Xavier

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Prof. Steven Goodreau and Prof. Eleanor Brindle - USA, July-Aug 2009

Our 3-day safari to Maasai Mara with Eastern & Southern was superb. All of
the arrangements from the US were handled efficiently and pleasantly. Every
thing went exactly as planned. Our guide Michael was charming, and
extremely knowledgeable and about everything - the animals, the landscape,
Kenyan history and politics (a topic we brought up) . He was very skilled
knowing when we wanted him to take charge and when he should let us make a
decision. We were particularly impressed with his approach to balancing our
interests with a respect for the animals' needs. We saw a wonderful array of
animals in all kinds of groupings and activities. The accommodations
(Keekorok Lodge) were also exquisite. All in all, our experience with
Eastern & Southern was perfect.

Professors Steven Goodreau and Eleanor Brindle, USA

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Cecilie Vollen, - Norway - July 2009

I had the vacation of my life!
I travelled with my son(12), and we both had a fantastic time. The animals were so close(you would want to get out and pet them), and the people were absolutely great!
The accomodation were super: \"Mara Sopa Lodge\" was beautiful, very clean, good food and the staff was so friendly and took good care of us.
\"The Flamingo Hill Tented Camp\" was also nice, with good food and friendly staff. The walls were tents, so you would listen to the sounds at night. You had everything you needed with your own bathroom and electricity. The staff followed us to our tents at night and showed us the way.
Our guide took us to all the best places to view the wild animals, and told us patiently their names many times.
We felt so good taken care of in every way, that I would recommend this to everybody!
Cecilie and Kristian from Norway.

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Meera and Ajit Kumar, USA - July 2009

Dear Siema,

We had an absolutely wonderful vacation over the past seven days. Your arragements were excellent and the trip went off very well. George was simply superb! From spotting animals behind trees, to fixing the van, to being prompt and ever so courteous, he was a delight. I would recommend your agency and particularly George, without hesitation to any and all who ask my opinion.

Ajit

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Ferradon Family, France - June/July 2009

Hi Bernard and the Eastern & Southern Team,

We are writing to you today to tell you how much we have appreciated our time in Kenya. Our entire journey, 18 days arranged by Eastern Southern Safari, has worked out according to plan and was a fantastic life experience for us and our 11year old son Andres. Ben, our guide had everything scheduled to the minute and we enjoyed the game parks so much, thanks to his knowledge about wildlife and his driving skills. We travel a lot and usually are more the kind of selfdrivers, but here in Kenya we realised how much more you can see and enjoy, if you have a guide with you. He knew where to spot the animals and where to wait to see a hunt and we saw many leopards and cheetahs hunting because we were at the right spot at the right time. So many thanks again to Ben for his professionalism, patience for our million photshots and friendship.

Part of the fun were also the great accomodations during those nights where we had a peacefully rest after an other long and exciting but also exhausting day of safari. And we particularly appreciated the Sentrim campsites in Masai Mara, Amboseli and Tsavo East, which was probably the most basic campsite, but the closest to nature. What a great experience to have a drink side by side with the elephants at the waterhole! In each accomodation, we found the friendliest and most helpfull employees, a great variety of good food and incredibly sophisticated tents, including bathroom, shower with warm water on top and even electricity.

Our last week in Mombasa was very relaxing between the pool and the beach and again every employee of Mombasa Beach Hotel was very friendly. On our depature day your organized driver, Joeffrey explained us kindly lots about the history of Mombasa on the way to the train station. The trip back to Nairobi was a great experience in itself, between the train restaurant, the good night sleep and the fantastic scenary we travelled through during the next morning.

To conclude, although we didn't think our Kenyan experience worked out particularly cheap, by comparing with other travellers we met, we can say that Eastern Southern is quite competitive. So we would like to take this oportunity to thank you again for this exeptional journey in your beautiful country, Kenya.

Best regards
Veronique, Gilles and Andres Ferrandon

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Thea Hinde - UK, April 2009

Hi Bernard,

I wanted to let you know that we had an amazing time in April when George took us around the Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru. George could not do enough for us and quickly identified which kind of animals we got excited about, and did everything he could to look out for them. We have never returned to the same place twice for a holiday, but - after this trip - have decided to make safaris a regular event.

Everything about the service we received from Eastern and Southern Safaris was excellent, and I have already personally recommended you to some other friends. We're delighted we chose your company, and wouldn't hesitate to use you in the future. Please pass on our thanks to George for such a great trip."

I wish you all the best for your company.

Many thanks,
Thea

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Val Smith - Clifton Springs, Victoria, Australia- April 2009

Feedback sent to the booking agent

9th April 2009
Not long back from a 3 week safari to Kenya/Tanzania including 4 relaxing days in Zanzibar, all organised with Eastern & Southern Safaris. From the day we arrived in Nairobi where Ben, our guide/driver for the Kenya leg, was waiting for us until 3 weeks later when a driver saw us off at Dar Es Salam Airport, everything went without a hitch.

The accomodation was well above what we expected.

Driver/guides very informative on wildlife, local history , flora and customs. Always on time with a smile.

I would have no hesitation recommending Eastern & Southern Safaris to anyone thinking of travelling through East Africa

It is hard to choose highlights from a trip where every day brings something exciting and special, be it a leopard sitting under a tree watching us watch him or a lioness with her cubs walking right beside our 4x4. The following are highlights for me from a trip that I would repeat

- Night Game Drive at Sweetwaters Tented Camp – We witnessed a lioness kill a gazelle, 2 lions roaring at each other before sitting down to enjoy the meal. The sight and sounds will stay with me forever.

- Hot Air Balloon Flight over the Mara – Well worth the early morning call. Watching the sun rise as you drift across the river, seeing an abundance of wildlife from above. Followed by champagne breakfast out in the bush.

- Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp – All our accommodation was great but this one we found exceptional. Imagine sitting out front of your luxury tent or floating in the swimming pool watching a rhino and two giraffe drinking from the waterhole 500 metres away. The management and staff, including the driver/guides all said they enjoy working here, it certainly shows in the happy atmosphere. Best camping I have ever done.

- Ngoongoro Crater- Breathtaking, both for the wildlife and the sunrise.

- Tarangire Natinal Park – Beautiful park and the place to go for elephants in great numbers.

Val Smith (Clifton Springs, Victoria, Australia)

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Julio Utrilla, Spain - April 2009
(Repeat Clients)

Hello Serah,

Once again the tour was incredible and everything was perfect.

Ben is more than a guide for us and we really feel good with him. Also Leopard staff are very kind and nice and Simon is a very good professional.

So, We have enjoyed a lot and hope see you soon climbing Kili or visiting other countries around Kenya. If you arrange tours in Ruanda, Uganda….please let us know and perhaps next year we will consider the option.

Thank you so much and Best Regards,

Julio Utrilla Cano

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Carol and Lauren Talley - Canada
(Feedback in March, safari in Nov 2008)

Dear Serah and David

We have been back in Canada for three months now and we had an amazing time on our 10 day Safari in Kenya. From the moment our guide David picked us up at the airport until we were dropped off at our Nairobi hotel at the end of our Safari all of our needs were taken care of beautifully. David always made sure we had the best rooms or tents at each of our stops and assisted us with accessing a doctor when my daughter caught a very bad chest infection.
David was very knowledgeable about the all of the animals, birds and scenery and he was endlessly patient in answering my many questions.

We saw all the "Big Five" and I was amazed at how close we were able to get to all the animals.

I would not hesitate in recommending Eastern and Southern Safaris to any Canadian. Dealing directly with a reputable tour group like Eastern and Southern Safarisis a great way to save money. Thank you again David for your fabulous guiding skills and Serah for your great organization.

Carol and Lauren Talley

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Christopher Brown - France, March 2009

Dear Boaz,

Just a few remarks following our safari.

First of all many thanks for all the arrangements you and your staff made to make our vacation an enjoyable one. The arrangements for my wife's birthday were in particular well received and our thanks go to those hotel staff who made it memorable.

Concerning our itinerary this was well organised and being a private party allowed us a great deal of flexibility. Regarding our driver and guide special thanks go to Julius for being accommodating, knowledge in both country and wild life, and in addition for his safe and consideration driving skills.

For the booking arrangements of the safari there was some initial concern of wiring cash to a company which we found by searching the internet, but you can reassure future customers that the system works and that some one will be there to collect you at Nairobi airport.

I have no reservation in recommending your services to friends and colleagues who wish to visit Kenya and we will certainly consider your services and facilities on our next visit, which will hopefully be soon.

Kind regards

Chris Brown

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Craig Baden - Living in Moshi Tanzania, March 2009

Hello Bernard,

Thanks for your email. It was good to finally meet you in person on Saturday.

Susan and I had an absolutely wonderful time on our trip to Amboseli. Everything worked out perfectly. David was an outstanding driver/guide, and we loved staying at the Sentrim Amboseli. We saw all kinds of animals and all with the beautiful backdrop of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was a wonderful two days, though we would have loved to stay there for a month!

Craig

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Kathy and Keith Caddy - UK, Feb 2009
(Feedback sent to the booking agent)

Our holiday in both Kenya and Tanzania can only be described as undescribably incredible - no words are sufficient for describing the beauty of the place. Everything was well organised, our guides, Julius in Kenya and Silva in Tanzania were both outstanding - they had great knowledge and were always full of enthusiasm. The animals, the bird life, the scenery, and the Masai village visit (well worth doing), have all left us with wonderful memories.

Please could you feedback to our guides how wonderful we thought they were.

Thanks

Kathy and Keith Caddy

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Christine Durant - Sydney Austraria, Feb 2009

Hi Boaz
We have just returned to Australia and I wanted to thank you for your work in organizing our safari. You were a pleasure to deal with and prior to our departure you were always helpful and prompt in answering my many questions. The safari itself was fabulous. Our driver was George, who was great and knew the parks very well, so was able to take us to the right places. On our first day in Samburu, we saw 4 of the 'big 5' animals!!! The lodges we stayed in were very good and the food was was of a high quality. We were at the Samburu Serena Lodge for Valentines Day and I was very impressed that they made a big effort to make the day special and romantic by serving dinner by the pool. Very nice!!!.
From 'door to door', our safari was well organized and I am extremely happy with the service you provided. Thank you for such a wonderful experience.
Christine Durant (Sydney, Australia)

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Dr Danny Dukers - Netherlands, Feb 2009
(Repeat Clients)

Hi Boaz,
The safari we had with Ben was great, we really enjoyed it. Everything went smoothly and we were lucky to see a lot of wildlife. I'm very glad that we had Ben as our guide, very competent and a great personality!

Danny

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Roy & Helen Clayton - UK, Feb 2009

Jambo Bernard
Sorry for delay in responding its been a bit hectic after returning from our wonderful holiday in Kenya, Tanzania & the Seychelles.
Apart from a small hiccup when we arrived in Nairobi ie; no one there to meet us from our flight (that was on time)from Eastern & Southern Safaris that was soon sorted by a phone call to a mobile number we had by a very kind chap from a booth in the airport, our driver Michael had been given the wrong arrival time 2hrs late! he was apologetic and welcomed us to Kenya and Africa (it was a bit worrying at the time as we had parted with a lot of dollars) we can laugh about it now though!!
We found Eastern & Southern safaris & their team & their Tanzania tour partners Leopard Tours to be fantastic without exception! from our first e-mails with Bernard Muchiri the tour consultant to our safari tour guide Fuhanael Kileo to Juileus who took us to & met us at the airport with our safari bags that had been looked after whilst we were away on our holiday in the Seychelles it was all just GREAT their whole team looked after us very well the service exceeded our expectations, our safari guide Fuhanael was great company & very knowledgeable who actually made the safari a trip to remember, we would certainly recommend Eastern & Southern safaris to anyone looking to safari in Kenya or Tanzania they were very professional and accommodating sorting the whole safari just as we asked fantastic accommodation Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, Mbuzi Mawi Tented camp & Kiruruma Tented Lodge all different but all very good. Score 9.5 out of 10 would have 10 but for the hiccup at the airport.
Asante sana to Eastern & Southern safaris & their team & The Africa Guide for the recommendation.
We are looking forward to another safari once we have saved up!!

Kind Regards

Roy & Helen Clayton

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Faylene Woolley - Living in Monrovia, Liberia, Feb 2009

Yes indeed, Siema, I'm safely back in Monrovia...although I must say I'd much rather still be in Kenya!

I had a fabulous time, even though it was very short and I want to thank you very much for the great service! When I have time to organise it I will send a longer email and some photos for David. He was a super guide and I have absolutely nothing but praise for every aspect of the trip.

More later,
Regards
Fay

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Gill and David James - UK Feb 2009
(with Lucy and Mark Hinds)

For the attention of Siema.

We are writing to say how much we enjoyed the Safari you arranged for us and our daughter and son in law, Lucy and Mark Hinds, on 28 Jan-1 Feb to Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru. We really appreciated the attention to detail of the itinerary and the hotel bookings made on our behalf and most of all, the friendliness and helpfulness shown by our driver and guide, Julius Ngethe who was a mine of information and showed great patience and understanding. We will certainly recommend your company very highly if the occasion arises.

Best wishes, Gill and David James

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Thilanka & Nimali - Sri Lanka FEB 2009

Dear Bernard,
This is just to say thank you for the everything you have arranged for us to have a marvelous time at Maasai Mara, especially with your kind staff Rafael and Karangi. Please give our special regards to them.
Once again THANK YOU for everything.

Thilanka & Nimali

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Imari McDermott - LA, USA - Jan 2009

Hi Serah,

I am finally back in LA and a part of me will forever be in Kenya. I wanted to say thank you for allowing me to have the most amazing trip of my life.

Every aspect of this trip was amazing from Rafael to the sites to the animals and all the people in between! I saw the most beautiful sites and more animals than I could have ever hoped for!!

The journey from Nairobi to all the reserves and back again was all very smooth and Rafael was SO accommodating to us. Both my mother and I had an unforgetable experience.

I want to thank you - from the bottom of my heart - for changing my life.

I will be recommending your team to everyone who wants to go to Africa!

Thank you again for everything!!

Imari xx

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Max Kaefer & Family - Ottawa Canada
(Feedback in Dec, safari in May/June 2008)

Jambo Bernard.

Well, we have been back in Canada for 6 months now and finally my report on our vacation.

First, everything turned out better than we anticipated. The safari circuit (Nairobi -Amboseli - Nairobi - Mt. Kenya - Lake Nakuru - Maasai Mara - Serengeti – Zanzibar - Dar es Salaam) you had chosen for us turned out just to be perfect for the time we had.

Our guide in Kenya, George, was exceptional. Not only is he a very safe driver but also he knew his stuff about geography, history, plants and wildlife. He managed to find the big five for us including the leopard and white & black rhinos.

George’s act was hard to follow but Charmy, our guide in Tanzania from Leopard tours, did it in style. My daughter Tanya & her school friend Natacha were especially impressed with him. I especially appreciated that Charmy made it possible for us to swim in Lake Victoria and he found us one of the wonders of the world: the Great Migration. At the time of our Safari the Migration was in the Serengeti.

Equally as impressive were our guide Armani and driver Mohamed on Zanzibar. My daughters Tanya & Nadine and friend Natacha and I truly enjoyed swimming with the dolphins. My wife really enjoyed the days at the beach resort. Our tour of stone town with its ancient & narrow streets and relics of the slave trade was an eye opening experience.

Our trip had many highlights, many special moments. I will list 2 here. One, the tree hotel at the foot of Mt Kenya. The whole concept of living in a tree, going to observation deck or observation tree, ordering a cold Tusker and watching a variety of wildlife at the watering hole below is an almost out of this world experience. The other one is the Great Migration. To me, over 1 million wildebeest moving through time is the greatest show on earth. The words “cow paddy” now has a whole new meaning.

Bernard of Eastern & Southern Safaris organized our vacation. Our trip from A to Z was organized seamlessly, including domestic planes and all transfers. Our trip needed some extra attention as my daughter Nadine, who was stationed in Nairobi at the time, joined & left the safari party as her work schedule required. All her transfers from Nairobi to the Safari party and back were handled very well.

We only had 2 hiccups. First, my daughter was living on 2nd Ave, which happens to be the safest street in Nairobi. No one at the hotel or our driver in Nairobi knew where 2nd Avenue was. As it turned out, 2nd Avenue was 3 blocks from our hotel. Second, Nadine had a confirmed e-ticket & seat on a non-existing Nairobi-Zanzibar flight. However, once discovered Kenya Airways & Precision Air moved quickly to rectify the situation. Turns out Nadine’s revised flight arrived only about 15 minutes later than our flight, witch was also late, on Zanzibar. Looks like the airline schedules in Africa are very similar to those of North America.

Our trip was very successful and very enjoyable. As with any three-week vacation, however, there were a few annoyances. The biggest annoyance I found occurred during our visit to the Masei Village near Amboseli. The cultural portion was quite informative but the aggressive selling of souvenirs was not appreciated. Other minor annoyances included “porters” posing as tour operator’s employees, complete with hand held tags with our name on it, and then taking control of your luggage and asking for exorbitant “pushing the cart fee”.

The most positive experience was Bernard and Eastern & Southern Safaris. Safaris are not inexpensive. Our safari had to be paid for in advance. I was a bit anxious transferring a fair chunk of money to a company on another continent that I have never dealt with before. Turns out Bernard and Eastern & Southern Safaris delivered everything they promised & more. Bernard and Eastern & Southern Safaris exceeded our expectations by quite a margin. In fact, we may be back to Kenya and Tanzania as soon as May 2009.

If anyone wishes to receive further details I would be happy to provide them. I can be contacted by E-mail or phone in English, German or French. It is easier for me to write E-mail replies in English.

Cheers

Max Kaefer, Ottawa, Canada

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Geoff and Nicky Jones, Brisbane, Australia Nov 2008

Jambo Boaz

W e just wanted to make sure we provide the feedback before we forget. We went to Kenya for a 9 day safari with Eastern & Southern during Nov 2008. Everything went very well. No hiccups. Mike our driver was very friendly and humorous. This made for a good atmosphere in the vehicle. He went out of his way to make sure we got to see the game we wanted. We also felt very comfortable in the car with his driving, especially on the rough roads.

The trip was amazing and thanks also to the well maintained vehicle - we weren't the ones who got stuck in the mud during some rains at the Mara. We saw 4 of the big 5 - unfortunately the leopard was too elusive.

It was also appreciated that we were met in Nairobi before the safari to provide us with extra information on our trip and the inclusions. Boaz was very informative and patient. It was very well organised and professional.

Our accommodation was 4* but we thought it was as good as 5*. People were very friendly and helpful. The accommodation was fantastic as was the food.

I would highly recommend Eastern and Southern Safaris for a safari. They looked after us very well. We are very happy to be contacted by anyone with concerns or queries.

Thanks again for a memorable experience. We would certainly love to come back again.

Geoff and Nicky Jones

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Emma Cooper - UK, Nov 2008

Dear Bernard,

Just to let you know we had a wonderful safari on the Masai Mara. George was the perfect guide, knowledgeable and friendly, and we saw lots of animals, even a leopard! The Mara Sopa was very nice, and although the drive there was long we found it very enjoyable to see Kenya's amazing landscapes. We would certainly recommend your travel company to friends.

Please extend our thanks again to George.

Many thanks

Emma

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Dr Jack and Michele Acheatel - Los Angeles Califonia, Oct 2008

Jambo Sarah,

Michele and I have just boarded our flight home, and I wanted to take some idle time in the air to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything that you did to make our dream vacation a perfect experience. To be honest, I had some reservations about booking our trip directly with a Kenyan agency that I had never dealt with before. Obviously, this type of vacation was quite expensive, and having to pre-pay for it in full prior to arrival was of some concern. Needless to say, I would like anyone who reads this to have the assurance that Eastern & Southern Safaris not only came through with the highest of accolades, but even went beyond all of my expectations.

From the very beginning, Sarah was immensely helpful with arranging and providing suggestions regarding our itinerary. Every aspect of the trip, from the air arrangements, hotel bookings, and transportation throughout Tanzania and Kenya was handled without the slightest hitch, and Eastern and Southern Safaris’ professionalism was evident throughout our trip. Even when I called you in a panic that my video camera mal-functioned, you were able to rent for me in Nairobi a replacement along with extra batteries and tape, even though you had to make arrangements for it to be brought to me in Samburu from Nairobi. Now that is what I call “going the extra mile.”

I cannot recommend highly enough the places that you suggested we try, especially Finch Hattens (tent #7) in Tsavo West, Elephants Bedroom (tent #2) in Samburu, and Mari Safari Club (tent #12) in Masai Mara. Each was so different and special in their own way.

Once again, thank you, thank you, for helping to make this one of the most special and exciting trips that Michele and I have ever taken. We would be more than happy to refer you to our friends and relatives, as well as anyone else, with the knowledge that they could not be in better hands.

Asante Sana, Dr.Jack and Michele Acheatel, Los Angeles, California

P.S. By dealing with a company based in Kenya, the rates were at least twenty-five percent less expensive for the same itinerary than what I would have been able to book with my local U.S. travel agency.

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Pooja Anu Anu - Mumbai/India Oct 2008

Sent to the booking agent

An African Safari was on my mind since many years, just had to choose between Kenya,Kruger,Tanzania. Kruger was way beyond my budget and so was Tanzania. Eventually finalised on Kenya. Eastern & Southern Tours Pvt Ltd (www.essafari.co.ke, Nairobi) made it possible for me. I had a completely off-track personalised itinerary- had my own cook - Easton and my driver - Rafeal. My Tour Manager, Boaz was extremely patient with my doubts and helped me choose the best places. The Safari van was well maintained and the resorts we chose were 100% comfort.I opted to use a conbination of a 5 star resort, forest lodges & executive tents inside the sanctuary too ! Easton cooked a lot of variety and served us HOT food everyday and Rafeal never showed a sign of fatigue.

So, we landed at Nairobi on 23rd Oct 08, and set off for Samburu-Mt Kenya-Nakuru- Naivasha-Masai mara. 10 Days of Wild life bonanza and 19 GB of some astonishing animal pictures/sunsets/tribal potraits and mara landscapes...Ofcourse we saw the Big 5 and loads of others too..

Tipping is important in Kenya, also because the Country is not so rich especially porters/Dirvers/your cook etc, and also because these people take care of you and your precious luggage all the time. I felt obliged and gave them tips out of love and not out of any pity...

You must use the tour operator mentioned here. They are professional and clean in their transactions. I will be reachable on beyond.sunsets@yahoo.com.
Bye."

THANKYOU AGAIN !!..to the Africa Guide Team.
I am coming back again...maybe to do a 10 day - Masai Mara special this time, ofcourse only with Eastern & Southern again.
regards
Pooja (Mumbai / India)

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Majed Ali - Kuwait, Oct 2008

Sent to the booking agent.

Tnx alot fot ur email again

and about my travel i am not that excellent in English so feel free to edit any thing

i would like to send a big thx for Eastern & Southern company because we enjoy a great time with them , every thing was great and very smooth with out great driver we did not miss any thing of the big five , all the lodges was fantastic and the schedule was prepared carefully and amazing i cant write my feeling in these small paragraph but i hope to return and try the same trip again and again

Majed

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Andrew Fremont - UK, Oct 2008

Dear Bernard,
I thought you would like to know that all went well with our safari last week. We have now visited all the main parks in Kenya twice and some three times and also Kruger and Entabeni in South Africa. This trip gave us the best sighting of lion that we have ever had. A group of 18 giraffe was also many more than we had seen before. Rhinos were also more plentiful. This time the flamingos were good enough to appear; last time at Nakuru there was not even one to be seen. David did an excellent job throughout.

One downside of the Mara was the vast mass of Maasai cows and goats. They seemed to be everywhere and appeared to be preventing the wildlife from using sections of the park. It is really not what one comes thousands of miles to see. We understood from David that the park rangers tend to turn a blind eye to what is happening. May be they need some re-education!

I expect that we will be back in Kenya some time and, if so, we will certainly consider Eastern & Southern in our possibilities.

Thanks,

Andrew

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Sam and James Trotter - UK, Sept/October 2008

Dear Serah,

We hope you are well.
James and me have now been back in England for two weeks and already post holiday blues have set in!!
We just wanted to say thank you so so much for the most incredible holiday experience. We both knew that a safari would be a different kind of holiday but nothing could have prepared us for the wonderful experience.
The pre-safari advice you gave us was thorough and really helpful, and the way that the whole trip was organised was superb.
We were extremely impressed with our WONDERFUL guide, Julius. He was incredibly knowledgable and we felt 100% safe in his company. The driving conditions were often very poor due to the roads but we always felt extremely safe as he was such a sensible and experienced driver.
We were astounded with the vast amount of wildlife we saw and found it to be a completely awe-inspiring holiday.
The lodges you chose for us to stay in were excellent, the food was great and the staff were very friendly and helpful (especially at the mountain lodge).
Even though the drives between the game parks were long and tiring (6 hours) we found it fascinating being able to get a real view of life in Kenya and would drive rather than fly if we had the choice.
We also really loved the visit to the Masai village.
We finished our week on safari with a fabulous relaxing beach stay in Breezes resort, Zanzibar.
Overall, we have had one of the best holidays of our life and really can't thank you enough for the wonderful experiences.
We would thouroughly recommend your company to anyone planning a trip to Kenya.

Please send our regards to Julius and thank him for us.

Kind regards,

Sam and James Trotter

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Borge Family - Norway, Sept/Oct 2008

Dear Boaz,

Now we are home again and are looking back at a wonderful holiday in Kenya with first an exciting safari filled by lots of experiences of animals, nature and people. In the baggage we have all the photos taken to remind us, and in our minds we have several snapshots for instance of the cheetah and her cobs which we will never forget. Secondly we in Mombasa got the time for relaxation , swimming and sunbathing and hot temperature we needed to meet the cold Norwegian winter ahead of us! So the trip became the great success for the hole family we had hoped for!

We want to compliment you for the quality and professionality of all your services. This includes the preparations with planning, suggestions , ordering etc, the transfers in Nairobi between airport and hotel before and after the safari and after returning from Mombasa , the Carnivour dinner and of course the safari. . Your two drivers Michael and Raphael (or the archangels as we named them between us) made a fine job and became important for the success with their skills both as drivers on the fairly bad roads, mechanics when this was needed and not at least regarding the animals. Furthermore both had the sense of humor and friendliness which are so important for the atmosphere in the cars between the game drives. So please give our regards to them from the hole Borge family. The same goes to your driver Ken who had to make an extra trip to the hotel because “mama” forgot her handbag in the car!!!!

If anything was to have been different we see that we might have had one more day , 7 instead of 6 days, as the stay in Nakuru became too short. In Masai Mara where we stayed at the Mara Sopa lodge , the lodge was situated in the eastern part of the park .The suggestion from the drivers to spend the hole day in the park and in that way manage to go to the Mara River resulted in experiences we would not have been without, but might have misted outherwise.

Totally there was only one experience we did not like and it was the visit to the Masai village in Amboseli, The visit in itself was ok, also to pay 20$ per person, but the pressure for buying goods at exorbitant prices and the way this was done by manipulating and exploiting the tourists both as to friendliness and money was a very bad experience and left you with the feeling of being robbed. This is in completely contradiction to the other experiences we got in Kenya. I would suggest either not to recommend your guests to go to this village, or to find another village with another policy. I have earlier been visitting a Masai village in Tanzania as a good experience.

However, except for this only one, all the experiences have been positive (including your bad roads which were an experience in itself). We therefore would highly recommend Kenya and especially your firm to those intending to go on safaris!

Once more, thank you for good services and we wish you all the best for the future.

With regards

The Borge- family group of 3 generations. Norway

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Susan Ross Party - US, Sept 2008

Dear Boaz,

Jambo! I hope you are well. It was so nice to finally meet you. We wanted to let you know that our trip was WONDERFUL! Everything went as planned with no problems what so ever. We would love to come back some day and we will surely contact you. Thank you so much for making this a "trip of a lifetime".

Sincerely,
Susan and family

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The Rev Phil White & Grp - UK, Sept 2008

Greetings Bernard, thank you for being in touch with CMS Oxford who we booked through. I have been meaning to let you know our response to the safari you organized for us Mon 8th Sept to Wed 10th. First of all we very much appreciated the personal greeting and pick up from Nairobi airport and the smooth transfer to Wilson. Our group was very tired after 2 weeks hard work in Bungoma and the personal attention was much appreciated.

Having had experience previously of a safari to MM I was 100% satisfied with the itinerary this time. The transfer by plane very easy and so much better than travelling by road!! The hotel Mara Serena was fantastic, couldn’t be better. The safari vehicle and driver was all that we could have expected. The breakfast by the hippo pool was very special especially as we had not realized this was in our itinerary so a very pleasant surprise. The drives being am and pm and allowing time during the day for rest was just right (previous experience was driving all day with an inexperienced driver). Extra drives from the hotel (I took a bird watching safari) was also appreciated. The return to Nairobi and transfer to Carnivore and ACK afterwards was very smooth. Carnivore was enjoyable although perhaps slightly overrated.

I cannot fault the trip and the cost was very reasonable. If and when I return I will book with you and recommend you (as I have instructed CMS to do also). You were recommended by my friend in Nairobi.

Many thanks

Phil

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Yvonne & Mark Elkin - CA, USA - Sept 2008

We have nothing but positive feedback for this safari package and Eastern and Southern Safaris. Serah, the Head of Sales and Marketing worked closely with us to plan and prepare for our trip. During the unrest in Kenya following the Dec. 2007 elections, she kept us up to date and helped us monitor the situation first hand to ensure we felt safe in travelling to her country. She sent us lists on what to bring with us, tips for travelling in Africa and even provided information on bringing gifts for bartering and giving to the children in the tribal schools. Upon arrival, we were given a comprehensive briefing before setting off on our adventure. During our flight to Nairobi, I had lost a bottle of our malaria medicine while going through security in London. Serah and our driver/guide, Ben canvassed local chemists and doctors to help us replace the pills that I lost. Anything we needed they were there to help us find.

The package itself was excellent. The accommodations are mostly at Serena Lodges, and they are beautiful places to stay, with more than excellent service. The staff at all of the lodges couldn't have been more welcoming and hospitable, the food was good and the settings/views gorgeous. My only semi-negative comment for the package is that for us 16 days may have been a little longer than we needed and the one night stay-over in Nairobi between Massai Mara and Amboseli seemed to serve no purpose in the itinerary. However, since you can never predict where or when you might see the animals most of us go to Africa to see, 16 days could be just right.

And saving the best for last. Ben our driver/guide in Kenya was absolutely the best. He was extremely knowledgeable about the people, the country, the birds, plants and animals. We learned so much spending 11 days with him and in the course of the trip made a new and dear friend. We went to see the animals of Kenya and take some great photographs and ended up with an in-depth education about the culture, the history and the ecology of a pretty amazing country. He is an awesome ambassador for his country and made us feel like part of the family. And, by the way we saw everything we expected to see. Got the "big five" in the first 5 days and Ben was as excited as we were.

So, we would absolutely recommend this package and this ESS to anyone traveling to Kenya or Tanzania. We will return, but next time customize our package to see a few new places and to focus on learning more about some places we have already been. And you can bet we will request Ben be our guide! Thank you, Serah and Ben for making my life dream come true.

All the best,
Yvonne and Mark

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Sandra and Michael Connolly - Ireland, Sept 2008

Hi Boaz

We had a fantastic time in Kenya. From the time we arrived your company looked after us so well. We had a lovely first night at the Samburu Mountain Lodge. We then travelled to the Samburu Game Reserve and had a fantastic two days safari and the lodge was just lovely. It had a lovely atmosphere and the food was really good.

We then moved onto Nakuru reserve and this was a really different experience. The land was less arid and the animals had lots of grass to eat. We saw a lake of pelicans and flamingos. We also saw black rhino's. The lodge was really nice but the food was not so good.

We left Nakuru and had a long drive to Masai Mara. It was really interesting as we could see the real Kenya. The people are so industrious and work hard to grow their crops and sell them at the markets. The roads were very bad in patches but it was good to see that there is some work on improving the situation.

We stayed for two nights at the Mara Sopa Lodge, it was lovely. Its in a beautiful setting high up on a hill and the accomodation was so good. The lodge has a lovely atmoshpere and the dining and bar facilities decorated to such a high standard. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

Our days in the Masai Mara were truly memorable even the unexpected rain could not dampen our enjoyment of the drives. We saw so many animals and our highlight was watching the lions stalk their prey. We saw a lion kill an Impala and drag it straight across the path of our bus. It was amazing to see. We saw a pack of lion devouring an Wilderbeast they had just killed. We have brilliant photos to keep as a memory.

Our stay in Kenya was made all the more memorable because of George our driver. His lovely gentle manner, his knowledge of Kenya and his careful driving were just a few of his good points. He looked after us so well and by the end of our time we felt we made a new friend. We were sad to say goodbye to him at the airport.

We will never forget our trip to Kenya and Eastern and Southern Safaris made it happen. So many thanks to you all and especially to George. We will be recommending your company to our friends

Best regards

Sandra and Michael Connolly

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Alie and Pete Fanson - UK, Aug 2008

Dear Boaz and the rest of the Eastern and Southern Safaris team,

Time has been very hectic in the last couple of months so this is a long time coming, but Pete and I must extend a huge thank you to you all for the most wonderful holiday in your beautiful country.

We asked for a holiday of a life time and like many long, and eagerly awaited events we were worried our expectations and anticipation may be too high and we would be disappointed. What we can not get over is that the whole adventure was, for us, better than and exceeded all expectations.

From the moment Jonathan (whom we had requested on previous friends recommendations) met us at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Airport through the safaris and lodges and transfers to Zanzibar ,back to Nairobi and our final flight home the service was with out hitch and faultless.

The organisation of the pre arranged extra excursions including transport and guides never failed us. The Itinerary you helped us devise was perfect.

We could not have appreciated or enjoyed the wonders of Kenya with out the knowledge, expertise and friendliness of Jonathon. It was always the most reassuring sight to see his huge welcoming smile (always there before us, never late) early every morning before the morning game drives and again in the afternoon for the evening drives. His knowledge of the animals and their habitats was amazing and never boring, as were his antidotes and naughty sense of humour, he caught us out a few times, very gullible! Ask him about the Jumbo Jets!!

The long drives between game parks were never dull as Jonathon filled us in on facts from politics, sports, industry, exports, customs, heritage and too many other facts to mention. And on the subject of the transfer routes, it was only down to his extraordinary calm and clear headed driving that we did not meet with an accident on route from Lake Naivasha to the Maasai Mara, as the journey was appalling on the main highway which was under construction with visibility, due to dust, down to zero!

Lastly, what helped make the whole experience one never to be forgotten, was how luxurious the lodges were and their quality. They just seemed to get better and better. Our personal favourite in Kenya was Lake Naivasha Sopa lodge, it just took our breath away. Nothing could beat the splendour and location of the Serena Hotel Zanzibar, again our room and view were outstanding. On top of this many places made our stay even more special with up-grades, complimentary fruit baskets, wine, champagne, and special meal invites, plus a champagne reception, all down to the fact that you had mentioned that it was our 25th wedding anniversary and second honeymoon, and for that we are exceedingly grateful!

If any one wants a holiday to remember with amazing service and attention to detail I would recommend your company with out hesitation. As we promised Jonathon we would, we have returned home and acted as ambassadors for your wonderful country, we fell in love with it and have the most amazing memories and photographs to prove it and keep our 'adventure' alive!

Thank you all once again (please let Jonathon know too).

Kindest regards,

Alie and Pete Fanson

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Robbie Dillon - Montreal Canada, Aug 2008

To whom it may concern:

I strongly recommend Easter and Southern Safaris to anyone who is planning to travel in Kenya and East Africa. The level of service, and the courtesy, efficiency and respect with which all of my requests were treated was remarkable and truly world class. I was able to arrange a safari that met all of my expectations with a handful of pleasant surprises thrown into the bargain – all at a price that was a fraction of anything I had been offered by several other companies that I had consulted. As an experienced world traveler, I can honestly say that Eastern and Southern Safaris are the first people I would contact for any travel arrangements in Africa.

Robbie Dillon

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Colin Amor - UK, August 2008

Dear Serah,

I felt that I must just send you a note about the above excursions that you arranged for myself and my wife on our
recent holiday to Kenya. The Mombasa trip was very enjoyable and the guides (I think their names were Ann and Jofi)
were excellent. They showed us many places of interest and were most knowledgable. Our favoutite place was the Akamba
wood carvers centre; we were amazed how talented and skillful the workers are, most impressive.
The trip to the Maasai Mara was unbelievable. We made the right choice to fly to Mara as the journey by road would
have been very uncomfortable. The flights went smoothly, the Mara Serena Lodge was perfect with magnificent views. The
only thing that we did not anticipate was how cold it was, especially at night, being over 5100ft above sea level. (Warn any
future guests !). The game drives were excellent with very knowledgable and helpful guides. We were fortunate to see nearly
all the animals (except rhino and leopard) and even saw the wildebeast crossing the Mara river.
Finally, thank you for all your help in arranging these excursions and, should I hear of anyone wishing to arrange
similar trips, I will not hesitate to recommend your company to them.

With grateful thanks,

Colin Amor.

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Douglas Crowell - Califonia USA, August 2008

My wife and I travel extensively in Europe and Asia and just returned from time in South Africa, Kenya and Mozambique. We always try to stay at unique 5 star locations that do not have a simlar feel to the rest of the world. Boaz at Eastern and Southern Safaris made the trip wonderful, but also made the planning painless - I made many, many changes to our itenerary, and Boaz was always patient and kind. Not only was the planning excellent, but their service when we were in country was also above and beyond. Not only did they have the customary airport pickups and intercamp flight transfers all arranged, but they also took the time to show up at our hotel the day after our arrival to walk through all the itenerary with us - really first class service. It was also rewarding to know that they were locally (Kenya) owned, as it gave us comfort to know that the money was going locally rather than to an international company. Our only advice to those travelling would be go as high end as possible - it more than pays for itself in terms of value." Douglas and Ashley Crowell, Malibu, California, USA

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Nigel, Pradip and Shweta - Dubai UAE, July/August 2008
(Feedback sent to the booking agent)

Yes we are just back form a safari in Kenya... and I can say that it will not be the last time..!!! It was really an experinece that will last a lifetime... the arrangements made by Boaz from Eastern and southern safaris were exceptional... the hotels were wonderful... our guide Francis Wathika was just faboulous... he made sure we saw the best in the time we had... and I must say that the arrangements made by Boaz were great... so much so that he even arranged for me to have a Kenya SIM card (telephone) before I arraived so that I could be in touch with my office and people back in Dubai even before I left for the safari. The hotels that we stayed in were exceptional... the quality of food food was great.. the staff very warm.. all in all a wonderful experience... I would recommed my friends to visit Kenya and use Eastern and Southern safaris as their agent for Sure..!!!

Best regards,

Nigel Smith

Dear Boaz,

Let me express my sincere appreciation for the professional arrangement made for saffari. It was unforgettable experience and everything went smooth and in order. Driver cum Guide Mr Francis was a very experienced and knowledegable person we ever met. You guys are great and hope to see you again in near future. If you ever wish to visit Dubai please feel free to call on us, myself, Nigel or Shweta we will be more than pleased to welcome you.

Pradip

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Sue Thrift - Australia, July/August 2008
(Feedback sent to the booking agent)

Hi Vera,
We had a fantastic safari both in Uganda and Kenya and Tanzania, all arrangements made by Eastern and Southern were great. We saw heaps of animals and the accommodation was unique. Our absolute highlight was mountain gorilla trekking, it was a real priviledge to see those rare animals in the wild.

Regards,

Sue.

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Jennyfer Watson & Family, UK, July 2008

Hi Siema,

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you after our wonderful holiday. We had a fantastic time and our Safaris with Michael and Julian were the highlight. Everything ran smoothly and the accommodation was very good, would definitely recommend the Serena lodges. Michael and Julian were both very knowledgeable and professional and managed to find something new and even more exciting to look at each time we went out on the game drives. We saw a family of cheetahs, young lions playing and fighting, groups of elephants, wilder beasts crossing the river Mara, a mother zebra feeding her 'baby', beautiful sunrises, crocodiles, hippos, ostriches etc, etc. Our guides seemed to know every animal, bird and plant. The flights and transfers all went to plan and we would recommend Eastern & Southern Safaris to anyone visiting Kenya.

Only thing we didn't really enjoy was the visit to the Masaii village at Amboseli, we felt we were under pressure from the tribes men to buy crafts, donate to the school and were even asked to give them one of our cameras. We didn't mind paying $20 each to visit but the whole thing was very uncomfortable. However this was a blip in what was otherwise the holiday of a lifetime.

Best wishes,
Jenny, Gus, Callum and Anna

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The Harshs - USA, July 2007

Dear Bernard,
I was planning to send you an e-mail after we returned and was delighted to see the one waiting for us from you. We were incredibly pleased with all the arrangements we made with your company. It more than lived up to our expectations and in fact exceeded them. Everything laid out for us on the itinerary proceeded exactly as described without a single hitch. I would definitely recommend your company to others. The accomodations were lovely and our driver/tour guide (George Kimeu) was very knowledgeable.
Thank you for all the services you so graciously provided.

Deborah

Dear Bernard,

I know that Deb has already replied to thank you, but I feel that I need to add my little bit to this as well. For not knowing what she was getting into by doing business with a company that was sight unseen, I feel that the treatment, planning, and execution of the trip was outstanding. Everything worked like clockwork and George was just a great addition to the trip. My hat is off to you people for pulling together a wonderful experience. However terrific it is to be back home again, the time spent in Kenya will be a lasting memory. I now know why it is that Cameron is so enamoured with the country. Again, thank you for my part in this tremendous vacation, and if anyone ever asks me who to go through for their Africa connections, I will not hesitate to recommend Eastern & Southern Safaris.

Thank you again,
Fredd Harsh

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DeFusco Family - USA, July 2008

Dear Bernard,

On behalf of the DeFusco family, we would like to thank you for providing such fantastic services to us. I miss not emailing you with all my questions.

Originally, I got your name off of Fodor's.com as many people had used you, and you came highly recommended. After "trying out" other operators "online" I decided ( for our group) to go with your company, and we were so glad we did. Your attention to detail was impeccable. Your patience with my questions, was commendable, and your help, immeasurable. Raphael, our driver, was phenomenal ( and we know good drivers). He took care of us like we were family! You were a pleasure to deal with.

Please feel free to use our name if someone wishes a recommendation.

Sincerely,
Dr and Mrs. Carmine J DeFusco

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Juliet Reid - USA, July 2008

Dear Bernard

I just wanted to say thank you very much for organising the first part of
our safari. We had a fabulous time and loved the Lake Naivasha Sopa lodge.

Also I would just like to add that Rafael was an absolute credit to you.
He was a fantastic driver and very reliable and charming.

Thanks again for organising it and hope to be able to use your services
in the future.

Very kind regards

Juliette Reid

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Peter Glass - Australia, July 2008

Hi Bernard,
Greetings from Australia - Katrina and I have returned home now - and are wishing we were still on holidays in Kenya! Hopefully you are busy now as I think the migration has started?

Thank you for organising an excellent safari for us, we found both the driver\guide and the cook excellent, both did their best to ensure we had the best safari possible. The accommodation lived up to expectations, we had comfortable beds and hot water. We saw a great variety of animals and have some wonderful photos (and memories) of our safari. Our Masai Mara safari was definitely a highlight of our holiday in Kenya.

Thank you once again for a great safari, and we will be sure to contact Eastern and Southern Safaris next time we are in Kenya.

Kind Regards,

Peter Glass

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Peigang Tang - Shanghai China, July 2008

Dear Bernard:

We have arrived home safely and are already missing Kenya!

My wife, my son and myself would like to thank you for your good organisation and arrangement, and especially thank Bernard and David, their experience and love of wildlife made our safari fruitful and memorable life-long. Our rendezvous with the animals were so wonderful, we saw gnus crossing the Mara River, we saw many elephants and lions and many many other games. We failed to see leopard and cheetah but it could be my excuse for come to Kenya again. Other important reasons for us to remember Kenya are your friendly people and the Harmony between human being and animals. Your love and respect towards the nature and your hospitality provide people around the world with such a paradise for holiday.

Regretfully we heard many of your guides have no work since January due to the turbulence, we trust your tourism will come back to normal soon and your company will enjoy good business again as we felt as safe as in any other countries in peace.

Thanks again and I'll highly recommend your good company to any people who wants to go safari in Kenya.

Asante sana and Kwaheri!

PG TANG

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Patricia Donovan - CA USA, June 2008
(Feedback sent to booking Agent)

Our safari with Eastern & Southern Safaris was wonderful. They did everything they said they would do, plus more. We were very well taken care of, the camp we stayed at in the Mara was excellent (Mara Sarova Tented Camp), our driver George was the best, all of our connections to and from airports went smoothly, we loved our stay in Mombasa (Whitesands Beach Hotel), and all of the drivers and staff we came in contact with were friendly and helpful. Yared in the Nairobi office was great, helping us with our planning both before and after we got to Kenya. Boaz was also very helpful and was great in making last minute changes for us. I would definitely use this company again, and would highly recommend it to anyone.

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Beverly & Frank Curson - Miami, USA Feb 2008

Jambo Serah,
We wanted to thank you for orchestrating a wonderful safari for us. We were amazed at how smoothly everything went. The coordinating of our schedules with three different driver/guides, arrivals and departures at various airports, the two lunches at the Nairobi Serena Hotel, and the arranged accommodations was flawless. We found the people to be very warm and welcoming everywhere we went. The lodgings and food were great. Each of our driver/guides, James Nganga from Eastern and Southern Safaris, Godwin Makundi from Leopard tours, and Wesley Kipkoros from Kitchwa Tembo Lodge was excellent. They were very knowledgeable about all aspects of the safari from finding and explaining the animals, birds, and reptiles to the vegetation that we saw. We ended up seeing over 50 mammals, 100 birds, and 12 reptiles. They all did whatever they could to get us to see as much as we could see and to help position us to get a multitude of great pictures. Each was very friendly and accommodating to our wishes. They displayed a true love and respect for nature as a whole and the customs of the tribes and people we encountered. They were excellent drivers, considering the roads and paths they had to maneuver. I would highly recommend each one of them for any future safaris.

In closing, asante sana and kwaheri

Bev and Frank Curson

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Mark Sherrell and Friends - Germany, Jan 2008

Dear Boaz
W e have now returned safe and sound from our week's safari with Eastern and Southern and the following week resting on the beaches of Zanzibar.

I just wanted to tell you what a fantastic time we had and how very impressed we were with the way we were treated by you and your staff. You were extremely helpful whilst we were planning our itinerary and from the minute we arrived in Nairobi to the minute we left. Your driver, George, was duly waiting at the airport on our arrival and after a very useful chat with Sarah and staff at your offices he took us under his wing for the remainder of the week.

George seemed to know everyone in Kenya and we received a very warm welcome everywhere we went! He was a very safe driver, very knowledgeable with regards the wildlife and the country as a whole and I cannot praise him enough for his efforts- he could not do enough to help us.

So, thank you again to all involved, in making our week with you one of the best holidays of our lives! Rest assured that you shall be our first "port of call" for another safari as soon as we are able to return to your beautiful country.

Kind regards

Mark Sherrell

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Toni Thompson - USA, Jan 2008

Dear Bernard and Boaz--

Thank you for the trip of a lifetime. Everything was perfect! The guides, George and Julius in Kenya and Chambuso in Tanzania provided us with incredible knowledge about the animals, the parks, the countries, the various tribes, and everything. They were very patient as we spent time observing the animals, asking questions and taking lots of photos. We felt as if we were family--we never felt like "tourists." They were all very good drivers too.
The accomodations at the Serena hotels and the Sarova-Nairobi were excellent. Food everywhere was outstanding. I really love Wakande Va Nazi and Bee Stings.
We enjoyed our city tour of Nairobi and the Carnivore restaurant, too.
When I asked my son his favorite part of the trip, he said, "Everything!"
I am truly sorry about the current difficulties you are facing in Kenya because we met so many wonderful people. Hopefully things can be worked out.
Thank you again for putting together a truly incredible journey for my son and me!!!

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Jennifer Redmond & Family - Ireland, Dec/Jan 2008
Dear Serah
It is a pity that we did not get to meet, but I should like to thank
you for the excellent organization of the itinerary of our recent trip
to Kenya, despite the political crisis we did not encounter a single
hitch , everything went according to plan. I see that the situation
has not resolved itself yet and want to send you our best wishes and
hope that the violence will not escalate and that your lives will
regain some normality again soon.
For our part , we had a wonderful time, we got on very well with our
driver and are enriched as a result of our trip , We absolutely loved
Kenya and its people, and would recommend it as a holiday destination
and plan to return some day.
With every best wish
Jennifer Redmond

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Debbie Neilson & Family - UAE, Dec 2007
(Feedback sent to the booking agent)

Having returned from our safari we are totally convinced Eastern & Southern Safaris was absolutely the best choice in tour operators. Bernard was wonderful to work with; the itinerary he put together for us was magnificent. We were grateful to have Raphael as our tour guide. His knowledge, experience and humor everyday was a joy. The animals well-being always came first which we truly admired and repected. The whole safari they provided had a "family run" feel but with price and luxury you assume only large operators could provide. We will use only Eastern & Southern Safaris when we safari again, and will recommend only them to anyone who asks.

Debbie, Rick, Jeremy, Tomi & Kelly Neilson

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Paul Engelen - Netherlands Dec 2007

Dear Julius & Francis,

I hope you are both well.
Thank you very much for the wonderful safari to Amboseli National Park, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara in December. I enjoyed it very much. Thanks to the excellent guidance of Julius we have been able to fully experience the beauty of Kenya and its national parks. Francis surprised us every day with another nice Kenyan dish. They were delicious!
Thank you very much! I will never forget this trip!

Paul Engelen, the Netherlands.

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