Hi Liselle
We had a wonderful time in South Africa – fabulous! We enjoyed all the different accommodation venues you organised and all the drivers for the transfers were excellent too and drove very well in all conditions – especially Mike who drove us around Kruger – he was very informative, friendly and professional.
We were very fortunate to see the Big 5 (with the exception of the cheetah), including many leopard sightings – got goosebumps from seeing those magnificent animals up so close.
Simbavati was excellent with a very nice, personal atmosphere about the whole place. The guide and tracker were excellent with a great respect for the bush and the animals.
However, we felt that Arathusa was not quite up to the same standard, even though the accommodation was more upmarket. Our chalets were a long way from the main area and the restaurant along unmade pathways (with many ants & scorpions) that were not good when wet. The eating area was poorly lit and difficult to access along uneven walkways. Not good for the elderly and definitely not for disabled patrons.
So we enjoyed Simbavati much more – even though we saw many many animals at both locations and all the guides went to great lengths to find the animals on all the drives. Just different setups for different folks.
But the entire experience was wonderful and we will definitely be telling all our friends at great length and recommending they visit your country too – and soon!
Thanks for everything Liselle – we all enjoyed the wonderful experience and have returned to Australia with lots of photos and many happy memories of our time there.
Regards
Deb Campbell
