My husband and I having just returned from an amazing, fantastic holiday
in Kenya where we enjoyed several safaris and a very nice stay in Kole
Kole Beach Resort near Mombassa.
Since I was a child I’ve a big heart for Africa and by visiting Kenya my
hearts for Africa is still growing. The hospitality of Kenya had a
bigger impact on me than I ever could expect. During the whole holiday
we felt perfectly safe and enjoyed the warm Kenya welcome wherever we
went. Even we’ve got already a safari experience in South Africa, we
never used such an excellent tour operator as Southern Cross! We look
forward to a return visit with Southern Cross Safaris as soon as
possible.
We were very impressed with the professionalism of all your drivers and
guides. They were all very helpful, polite and amazing punctual. In
particular we would like to record our special thanks to Hezron Shiyuka
who assisted us greatly and was always very patient, courteous and
friendly. In less than 4 days he became our close friend. He is really a
very warm personality and we hope to see him again on our following
holiday.
In the mean time we’re recommending your company to all our friends and
family.
Maria, I am dropping
you a line to thank you for arranging all aspects of our holiday. We had
a truly fantastic time!!
We found all or our drivers and guides very helpful, polite and
importantly punctual. In particular I would like to record our thanks to
Benson your representative in Nairobi who assisted us greatly, in
particular collecting delayed luggage from the airport.
In the future we may well return to Kenya and if so we will use Southern
Cross.
Our sincere thanks again,
Steve Carr
United Kingdom
We have just returned from a wonderful 2 week holiday in Kenya. We
booked through KUONI but our safari was conducted by yourselves. Our
safari dates were 3/9 to 10/9. Thereafter we stayed at Leopard Beach.
Our driver and guide was Andrew Mongatana. We cannot praise him enough.
He was always courteous, extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. He
became our close friend during the safari and contributed greatly to
making our safari an unforgettable experience. He is number 1!
Please pass on our gratitude and warm wishes to him and his family.
Customer Name:
Helen, Harriet
and Victoria (Brandwood)
Hi,
My daughters and I have just had the most fantastic holiday anyone could
wish for. We were fortunate enough to have stayed at both Satao and
Elerai at the end of July this year.
Both camps were beyond our wildest dreams. The accommodation was second
to none. The staff were delightful and the food absolutely delicious!
It was a truly magical experience.
I would also like to say how fantastic our guide was. James Kuli (aka -
Julie) He was amazing.
I will recommend your company to my friends. Infact I already have
quite a few people asking for details having heard us rave about our
stay.
The reason I am writing to you is not only to thank you for making our
holiday such an unforgettable experience, but also to ask permission to
print some of your photos of Satao, especially of the inside of the
Suite, for my scrap book. (my daughters are producing a scrap book of
the holiday for my birthday!) I have a photo of the outside but the one
of the bedroom didn't come out! Also the map showing the location in
Tsavo would be good.
Please give our very best wishes to all the staff at both camps, and
thank them once again from us.
Many thanks again.
Yours,
Helen, Harriet and Victoria (Brandwood)
We've been on safari
in july 2008. It was a wonderfull experience to see all the animals in
the wild. It was my dream to go to Africa since I was a little child.
This dream came true, wow!
It has been a hard time for Kenya with the election of the president, so
we were a bit nervous to go, but Steve, our guide from Nairobi, made
sure we felt save. We would like to thank Steve (or Stephan) for the
feeling of security he gave us and everything he learned us about the
wildlife. He knows so much it's unbelievable! He should write a book
about it! We saw so many animals very active, like the lions, cheetahs,
elephants and the leopard.
Every time we show our family and friends our pictures they can't
believe it. And I must say I find it hard to believe as well. I will
never forget this journey, also thanks to Steve! Our greetings go out to
him!
Asanti sana! With love from The Netherlands!
Rutger en Annet
I have just returned this morning from a 15 day adventure in Kenya. we
started with an 8 day safari, followed by 5 days relaxing near Mombasa.
The whole event was organised by SXS and has been an absolute thrill
from start to finish. even covering an incredible 1900 KM in two of your
Toyota Land Cruisers never dampened the thrill.
However, special thanks must go to both of our drivers / guides Gideon
Kiluma and Kevin Apidi. For the whole 8 days on Safari both Gideon and
Kevin were constantly polite, attentive and knowledgeable. Thanks to
them both not only did we see the Big 5, we also saw a large Mara river
crossing, White and Black Rhino, a Cheetah kill plus lots more.
I can safely say the our party of 13 friends and family would not have
the memories we have without Gideon and Kevin. Please pass on our thanks
to them both, they are a real credit to your organisation and when we
return to Kenya we will definately be using SXS again.
Hi Phillip,
I trust this e-mail finds you and yours well.
We had a most enjoyable trip and wanted to convey our appreciation
I would be pleased if you wanted to use the below message as a client
testimonial on your website:
The Rennie Family, Toronto, Canada
As a university graduation present for our 2 "children", we decided to
take the family on a safari to Kenya in May of 2008. One of my business
partners had highly commended the services of Southern Cross safari's.
We were not disappointed.
Phillip Kosovo and his staff did an excellent job coordinating our trip
from Nairobi to a wonderful eco-lodge in the Mara called Olonana and
then from the Mara to Mombassa.
His staff was very courteous and always on time bringing us to and from
various airports.
In particular, 1 matter stands out for which we were extremely grateful.
We had made our own reservations for our last week's stay in Mombassa.
The resort we had booked was not what we had expected; it was well below
our standards.
Within 1 hour of checking in, i was on the phone to Phillip requesting
his assistance. Given the time of the call (we checked in late at
night), Phillip arrived early the next morning to pick us up and show us
alternate accommodations. We ended up making reservations at the Serena
Mombassa resort and checked in that day. Phillip did all this work for
us on a Sunday, which was his day off. He even arranged with the Serena
to get us the Southern Cross discount rate!!
Fundamentally, what he did for our family was above and beyond the "call
of duty"
As a result of his kind actions, our last week of the safari was spent
at a beautiful place and made the entire Kenyan trip a memory to last
for our lifetimes.
When we return for another safari to Kenya we will ensure that Southern
Cross plans our entire itinerary
Our deepest thanks and appreciation to Phillip and his team
Brian, Joan, Ryan and Allison
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Barey & Jane Carey
Dear Torben
We would like to thank you and the staff of Southern Cross for
organising our recent trip to Kenya. Despite the misgivings of friends
and family we took your detailed and balanced advice as instinct told us
that the picture we were getting in UK was very different to the
situation on the ground. So we came and we are so glad that we did. From
the time we stepped off the plane in Mombasa on Feb 7th to the time we
returned 5 weeks later we never felt threatened, saw no instances of
violence and received the usual warm Kenya welcome and service wherever
we went. During the 3500 kms of self driving from the coast into Tsavo
National Park (both east an west) through Nairobi to the Rift Valley,
the Masai Mara, the northern side of Mount Kenya to Meru we felt
perfectly safe.
We loved Satao Elerai, with its wonderful views of Kilimanjaro and its
spacious accommodation and particularly the skilful use of natural
resources in the construction of the camp. We certainly enjoyed the food
our congratulations to the chef for his imaginative and tasty menus.
The opportunity for varied bush walks was an added bonus. Thank you for
recommending Olonana Camp in the Masai Mara. Wonderful service from the
staff and we have to give the chef 5 stars for quality and presentation
when we thought that Elerai was good!! Next time we shall take ear
defenders to block out the noise of the hippo splashing about at 4am!
We thought it couldn't get better until we arrived at Elsa's Kopje in
Meru National Park after a 6 hour drive from Naivasha. Another gem.
Wonderful setting overlooking the plains, lots of game though often
difficult to spot, and even a friendly rock hyrax in the tent
supervising our ablutions! We can certainly recommend their bush
breakfasts.
We always enjoy our holidays in Kenya but we think that this was one of
the best we have had. We shall do our best to spread the word that Kenya
really is a safe place for a holiday and of course we shall return in
the near future.
Thank you again for looking after us and we hope that business will
begin to improve as the world realises that Kenya has now settled down
and is great country in which to have a wonderful holiday.
Our best wishes to you and all the staff at Southern Cross.
Barry and Jane Carey
************************************************************************ Customer Name:
Brian and Sue Goodson
Having returned yesterday to frosty but sunny Wiltshire we wanted to
thank you both very much for the really excellently organised holiday
you arranged for us over the last couple of weeks. We hugely enjoyed the
whole experience and met nothing other than genuine hospitality and
friendliness from everyone we met in the resorts, in the villages and at
the roadside.
We would most certainly not have come had we relied solely on the UK
based information and our Foreign Office website which implied that post
election violence and unrest was still current and applied generally to
the whole of Kenya. In addition, the FO website continued seamlessly to
include the Israeli (Paradise Hotel) bombing and the anti-aircraft
missile attack (“threat of terrorist activity remains high”) as though
it had happened recently as opposed to 6 years ago. Our decision to come
was due entirely to Torben’s most helpful and succinct e-mail briefing
on the situation which made it clear that Southern Cross Safaris had
made, and would continue to make, a continuous and comprehensive risk
assessment of all areas and advised that our itinerary would be
completely safe.
On our travels we met several other UK visitors who were there only
because they had taken local advice.
Quite apart from security, the whole organisation was exemplary: we were
met on time everywhere by friendly and helpful SXS staff (especially our
driver/guide Shuka in Tsavo, Wilson who drove us to Diani on arrival and
back to Mombasa on our departure, and Faiza in the Mombasa office who
fixed our itinerary) who smoothed out any wrinkles and gave such useful
commentaries on all that we were passing through.
It was sad to see evidence of low hotel occupancy everywhere (about 15%
at Diani Beach, perhaps 40/50% at Peponi and 50/60% at Hemmingways) with
some hotels having to close – with the upsetting knock-on effect on the
local economies of laying off staff. We did take the opportunity of
telling all hotels that SXS was the only reason we had been persuaded to
come!
Thank you very much also for the marvellous ‘Sundowner’ surprise you
arranged for us all to celebrate Barry’s birthday at Satao Camp – it
could not have been a nicer way to end our game park visit.
We would be delighted for you to use any part of this message publicly
and with your other customers.
It goes without saying that we look forward to a return visit – and will
certainly use Southern Cross again.
With our best wishes to you all and the staff of SXS, and with renewed
thanks,
Brian and Sue Goodson.
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Marianne Henstra - Boode
Dear sir,
I'd like to express our compliments on behalf of 6 persons,
2 Mrs Jonker and Mr and Mrs Nijnuis and 2 Mrs Henstra,
out of the Netherlands, about the fantastic way our driver Leonard
guided us all, through 6 beautiful Safari parks.
He explained to us very enthusiastic about all we've seen and we could
rely on him, driving very safely on all of the difficult roads paved
with asphalt and stones and through many deep holes and through sand. We
had a great time with him and he was a man of the clock, always on time
and so were we. We became very attached to him, cause we experienced a
lot together and after the safari week, we asked him and southern cross,
to book us for a Mombassa trip and Leonard again as our driver. So it
happened, and we enjoyed ourselves on a very nice trip and the tour
guide did very well. too. This was a memorable holiday time and Leonard
our very good driver added a lot to make our trip so successful !!!
Please, will you show this letter to Leonard as well, so he can read our
gratitude. Thank you very much for organizing these beautiful trips,
I would like to say a "special thank you" for organising our wonderful
trip to Kenya.
I was very impressed with the professionalism at all times, right from
making my initial enquiry, to taking us back to the airport. It was very
important to us that our trip went smoothly, as we have never used a
tour operator for any of our holidays, but we made an exception for
Kenya, as it is not as straight forward, as say going to a European
capital city.
I plan to write to Tripadvisor when I have a moment, putting in the good
word.
My husband has shown our photographs to his work collegues and there is
definite interest with some people who have already had ideas of
visiting, (and the photos have probably made them decide) so I hope they
can give you some business, as you deserve it.
Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that we had the pleasure of staying in
Satao from 20.10.07 for two nights. I would like to compliment you on
the standard of accommodation, service and food – it was excellent. Our
driver Frank was brilliant and made the experience even more pleasurable
because of his knowledge of the park, the animals and the masai –
nothing was a problem for him and answered every question we threw at
him.
We would definitely recommend Southern Cross Safaris to others and
hopefully we will be re-booking for next year.
Regards
Leigh Chelton (Mrs)
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Myriam & Frank De
Roeck-Dirven
Dear Gentlemen,
Is is because here in Belgium winter time comes more closely or is it
because we looked again to our Kenya pictures? I do not know, but may I
first of all apologise for the delay in writing to you but life has been
hectic since our return to Europe.
Our three kids and
both of us spent a wonderful safari in Kenya as from July 6 to 21, 2007.
Having got already a
safari experience in South Africa two years ago, if our youngest son of
15 years Tanguy would not have been so insisting on doing a 'real'
safari (he did not get that impression from South Africa...), we would
have missed this marvelous journey and stay in Kenya. It would have
been a shame for us!
Your staff is so
courteous and so gentle that we often thought to be a family of six
i.s.o. five! Your driver William was great, outstanding, fantastic and
even to date, I cannot yet understand his 'eagle eyes': it was really
unbelievable which animals he was able to spot like the black rino in
Nairobi National Park, or the several cheetahs in Masai Mara or the
hyenas chasing on flamingos at Lake Nakuru or the entire lion family in
Satao. Even stronger, he drove to places where these animals simply
crossed the road right in front of our vehicle. Our friends cannot
believe that our pictures were taken without high zoom...
The only thing in
which he failed was to remove the fog from the Kilimanjaro when we were
in Amboseli...We greatly forgive him...Perhaps a new reason to travel to
Kenya again one day...
At the time that
William was explaining very seriously why in a Tsavo park (Tsavo East?),
where we were, men eating lions are, one of the four tyres of the
vehicle started whizzling...There in the middle of the men eating lions,
William changed the tyre and our three kids helped him...Nevertheless,
we safely returned in Europe all together...
"Excellence through
experience" was certainly not exaggerating and is definitely applicable
to all your staff, from Benson at Nairobi airport over all other
colleagues to fluently Dutch and French speaking Harry at Leopard Beach
in Diani.
Would you bring over
our warmest regards to William? His sense of humour was great, his
nature knowledge was excellent and, before and after all, he is a great
personality!
Myriam & Frank De
Roeck-Dirven
Vincent, Frederic & Tanguy
Antwerp-Belgium
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
John Lindsay
Dear Michael,
With apologies for being so slow contacting you, I should like to thank
you very much indeed for so efficiently organising our safari last
month. The arrangements ran absolutely without a hitch and the vehicle
was excellent. Much more important though was your choice of Andrew
Mungatana as our driver/guide. Andrew was extremely knowledgeable about
the wildlife in Tsavo. He drove very sensibly and very safely at all
times and he was excellent company throughout our time with him. The
hours were long some days but he seemed never to tire and just managed
to keep cheerful and keep on driving; and Tsavo is a big place!
Having had a less than successful safari a few years ago with another
company (vehicle breakdowns, a sick driver, poor food), we were
determined that this year should be quite different, and it was.
Southern Cross did us proud and we shall recommend you to anyone who is
looking to do something similar in the future. It goes almost without
saying that, even compared with our stay in Watamu, Satao camp was the
highlight of our trip to Kenya.
Many thanks to you from me and my family.
Best wishes,
John Lindsay.
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Karen
and Stephen Hindley
Hello Torben,
We just wanted to thank you so very much for a super safari. We stayed
in Satao for 4 nights and it was wonderful. The staff were excellent
(Anthony was our driver) and so hospitable to us and the children. The
day at Luggards Falls was super and the Sundowner
was so perfect. You have some of the best staff we have ever come
across.
Another wonderful memory has been made. Thank you!
Regards,
Karen and Stephen Hindley
************************************************************************ Customer Name:
Olivia and Patrick Phelan
Jambo!!
I just wanted to drop a line to your company to say a very big thank you
to two of your staff in particular. We are a couple from Ireland who
travelled to Kenya for 2 weeks from 18th September until 02nd October of
this year. I felt compelled to drop you a line to compliment you on your
staff.
We arrived in Nairobi at 9pm at night after 3 planes journeys to find
our luggage had not transferred through to Nairobi. We were met by an
airport representative from your company called Benson who was extremely
helpful and very professional. He reassured us we would receive our
luggage over the next few days and also arranged for us to be able to
buy some clothes to keep us going. We left Nairobi the next morning
without our luggage and headed off on safari. Our luggage was flown out
to us in the Masai Mara within two days of arriving and we will be
forever grateful to Benson for the fantastic attention he gave to us.
Now we were able to start our safari and were introduced to our driver
who would be accompanying us for 8 days of our safari. He name was
Leonard and he has been working with your company for over 18 years and
his experience and expertise really showed. We got to see all of the Big
5, have fantastic footage and photos to name but a few: Lions in a hunt,
Leonard got our bus so close, the lions walked right beside us including
cubs; 2 Black Rhinos which are very rare, a Leopard lying in a tree
watching the zebra approaching and a “Red” J elephant from Tsavo who
came right up to our bus for a look. These memories will be forever with
us and we only have Leonard to thank. If you have an “Employee Rewards
Programme”, we would like to nominate Leonard for his professional
approach and fantastic expertise. He was very patient and never once
exhibited impatience or foul humour. He always greeted us in the morning
with a cheerful smile and a loud Jambo or Habari. We will always
remember him very fondly.
We did the Great Kenya Safari and it truly was a magical experience. We
visited a Masai Village and got to talk to the local people. We also got
the opportunity to stop at the community (Curio) shops to purchase some
amazing carvings, one of which I carried the whole way home in my
hand-luggage (23 hours and 3 plane journeys!)
As regards to the accommodation, the majority was first class. Our
favourite was Kilaguni Serena Lodge where we had a suite which had
fantastic views of the water hole. Our least favourite was Amboseli
Serena Lodge but I am aware there are plans to upgrade this next year.
The only suggestion I would have is that you should advise people on the
option to stay at the lodges instead of a game drive. Just in one
instance in Tsavo East, Leonard did advise us that the majority of the
animals had moved towards the Galana River due to a lot of the water
holes having dried up. I do realise it was too far to go on a game drive
but at Satao Camp there was herds of elephants and deer and it would
have been lovely to sit and watch them from your tent instead of driving
for hours looking at deserted scorched land with not an animal in sight.
All in all it was an experience of a lifetime and most definitely the
best holiday we have ever been on. Once again I would like to thank
Leonard for making our holiday truly memorable and thank you Southern
Cross Safaris for your superb quality of service. I will recommend your
company to anyone that wants a unique hassle free experience of a
life-time!
Asante Sana once again!!!
Regards
Olivia and Patrick Phelan.
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Jessica and Stefan
Jambo,
We booked a safari The great Kenya safari by Toerkoop de Groot in
Holland with Hotelplan. This safari was for the first time in our life.
We arrived in Nairobi and our driver Ishmael was waiting for us at the
airport.
Ishmael showed us the most wonderful things we had ever seen. We thought
that you can see animals like a leopard only at Animal planet, but he
showed us leopards 2 times very close. We have seen many many animals
very close. For example Black rhino´s, a lion who killed a zebra, Lions
who killed a gnoe, Cheetahs.
Very special were a 3 days old Hippo at the lake where we had a boat
trip (Ishmael told us that the boat trip would be great and it was
wonderful!!!). We have seen also a 3 days old giraffe in Lake Nakuru
with a family of 15 other giraffe's.
The lodges were unbelievable. The way that they made the lodges is
wonderful. At dinner when the sun goes down in the Kilaguni lodge in
Tsavo West we looked at the drink place and we see many animals.
Elephants came and play in the water. It is funny to see a giraffe
drinking, and many other animals.
Also at Satao camp we have been looking hours to animals by the
drink place.
The most beautiful thing you forget by this animals is the landscape.
There are so much different area's The lake's, the Kilimanjaro, the
savanna's, the rock´s, Volcano's and many more. The problem is when you
come home that the pictures and movies can't explain how beautiful it
is!!
In our last week we stay in Mombasa hotel White Sands. This was a very
luxe and amazing hotel. We booked a city tour and snorkling safari with
Franklin. Also the safari in the sea was like you think that it is not
real. Fishes in the most beautiful colours, turtles, sea stars, octopus,
and we have seen also dolphins!!!
We want to thank Ishmael so much for the lessons about the African
nature and culture. It was like a dream come true! We won't forget!
We want to thank Franklin too for his help and advice. ( by the way
Kyallo send the giraffe and he arrived on Amsterdam, thanks Franklin!)
We want to thank Southern Cross to make it happen that we have nothing
to worry about on this holiday (Hakuna mattata)
Yours sincerely,
Jessica and Stefan (from Holland)
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Anders & Solmaz Khallash Rasmussen
To whom it may concern.
We are a newly wed danish couple who were on safari from the 5th of
August till the 14th of August. During this time we were fortunate to
have with us a guide whom we got to know as Ishmail.
We had never been on safari before but soon discovered the wonders of
safari driving. At all times during this time, our polite guide did his
very best to ensure that we saw whatever there was to see in every area.
He was very skilled in findings various species in the terrain, hence we
later experienced that other parties attending other guides were less
fortunate than us in seeing such great diversity. When he wasn't finding
the animals himself he was always listening carefully to the radio,
making sure to swiftly go to the area where an animal of interest had
just been seen, thereby ensuring that we also got the pleasure of seeing
it.
We passed many kilometers on the bumpy Kenyan roads, but our driver and
guide revealed his driving skills that were much appreciated from our
side.
Moreover, he showed great flexibility and did at all times perform with
a high degree of service, and therefore it is our pleasure to give the
best of recommendations to Ishmail.
Please personally greet him from us and wish him the best of luck in the
future.
We are glad we
booked again our safari by Southern Cross Safari's.
This was the eighth time we made a safari by your company.
Special thanks to your driver and guide Mr. Joshua Muthama Munyele,
he is great.
Joshua is helpful, friendly and he made our safari again to a wonderful
and special safari, we shall never forget it.
The services he gave to us were very, very good indeed.
Also we found a special zebra.
Between the thousands and thousands of zebra's we spotted these very
special specimen.
We never saw a zebra like these before.
Hereby as proof photos of the zebra's.
Already we are looking forward to our next safari.
Of course by Southern Cross Safari's.
Thank you for everything!
Yours faithfully H.Bouter and friends
************************************************************************ Customer Name:
Tony Chattin
Torben,
I am just writing a quick note to thank both you and your staff for an
outstanding holiday. The professionalism, attention to detail, and
shear feeling of being welcome says much for the ethos and approach of
all of your employees that we came into contact with – be that Benson, Wanyoike, or the lads at Satao Camp.
I would like you to pass on our heartfelt thanks in particular to Andrew
– our driver/guide. You where absolutely right in one of your earlier
emails – the slight extra cost was more than out-weighed by the service
he provided. He is a very real asset to your company. Expert in all he
does, he has the knowledge, the care, patience, composure and keenness
that set him apart from most others I have come across in various
service industries. If you have such a thing as a ‘best guide/driver’
scheme then please accept my nomination for Andrew; he should be held up
as an example for all guides to aspire to. I was particularly impressed
with his work ethos and keenness to see Kenya as a whole develop (e.g.
spread of wealth by purchasing souvenirs from local village industries
rather than just the larger roadside outlets). As an aside, do you have
his surname so that I can drop him a personal note of thanks?
In sum, this holiday has been everything and more than we could have
hoped for – and that genuinely centres on the performance of your
company. I know a couple of other people who may well make use of your
services in the future, and even if they don’t; I will certainly be back
– for longer next time!
Look after yourself; and my sincere thanks again.
All the best,
Tony Chattin
************************************************************************ Customer Name:
Emma and Mark Hughes
Hi Torben
Mark and I got back to the UK on Tuesday and I just wanted to tell you
that we both had a fantastic safari! Mungatana was a brilliant driver
and we were lucky enough to see 4 of the big 5.
Satao Camp was wonderful and Mr. Bobby and his staff made us feel very
welcome indeed. We had a cake specially made on 10th June (anniversary)
and we shared it out with everyone!
The Tamarind Dow was another fantastic experience and the food was
delicious - compliments to the chef!
Anyway, thank you for your help in the run up to our holiday and should
we return to Kenya in the future we will definitely look you up again!
Kindest regards
Emma and Mark Hughes
************************************************************************ Customer Name:
Luc Debeer &
Jeannette Bonneux
Dear Torben,
After we had enjoyed your hospitality and company, we moved on from The
Great Rift Valley Lodge to Lewa Downs. The landscape was changing, with
more agriculture. Lewa Downs is a superb place, in all aspects: the
conservancy project, the landscape, the lodge, the local driver-guide
Tom, the wildlife (reticulated giraffes, Grevy's zebras, white rhinos,
cheetahs ...). We stayed there for three nights which gave us the
opportunity to value and enjoy all what the place has to offer. That is
probably the reason why Lewa Downs sits on top of our lodges' hit
parade!
We then moved on towards Amboseli. At that point, Hezron replaced Gideon
as driver-guide for the reason that we know. Hezron is not yet quite as
good as Gideon, who is really super, but we rapidly learned to
appreciate each other and truly enjoyed his capabilities and company for
the remaining of our trip. Again, the drive through changing sceneries
was a treat, especially driving through the rich and fertile area
between Sagana and Thika. As planned, we had lunch at the Carnivore in
Nairobi: quite something!
The second part of the day brought us to the Tanzanian border and from
there to Amboseli. We were surprised to drive on a very flat surface
that used to be the Amboseli Lake, just a few years ago. On the way to
the camp, we met a couple of hyenas with their pups, an unusual sight.
Tortilis Camp is absolutely superb and somehow we regretted to have only
one night there to enjoy the camp and its surroundings. The Kilimanjaro
played its usual hide and seek with us, but we had several opportunities
to have a good look at its beauty.
The next day, we drove to Finch Hatton's with an armed escort! Hezron
was a bit nervous! Frankly speaking, Finch Hatton's Camp is a bit too
luxurious for us, yet we enjoyed it thoroughly. We saw the Shetani lava
streams and the Mzima Spring providing drinking water to Mombasa, both
worth the trip. The next day brought us through Tsavo West to Satao Camp
in Tsavo East. During our evening game drive there, we encountered two
beautiful male lions, just waking up and getting under way towards there
evening meal! We were also impressed by the beauty of the red earth and
the corresponding red color of huge elephants, some of them with very
young babies.
Next, we moved to Satao Rock Camp, where we were welcomed by Henry
Baronet (I hope I caught his last name right): quite a character and
quite a camp! It is a real "tour de force" to have built this camp on
the rock, with its stunning view. Henry enthusiastically explained this
building project and your support, and the future plan to reopen
migration corridors for elephants. He treated us to the most impressive
sundowner with bonfire on top of another rock, with delicious drinks,
fine little things to eat, a fantastic view and his plea for the growing
hemp to ensure the survival of Africa if not the world! This was the
most beautiful evening of all and we could have stayed much longer
there.
The last leg of our drive through Kenya brought us to Mombasa over a
road that you know better than we do: quite something. Hopefully, the
new road will be completed soon. Tamarind Village was a nice surprise.
We thought it would be a hotel while in fact we stayed in a very roomy
and luxurious apartment. Unfortunately, the rain season had reached
Mombasa and we experienced some typical tropical rain. This did not
prevent us from visiting the city, driven by Hezron. After this city
tour, including a very interesting visit to The Factory, it was time to
say good bye to Hezron and he became very emotional, hugging each of us,
almost in tears and saying how much he enjoyed our company.
On our last day, we appreciated the presence of a Southern Cross
representative both at Mombasa and at Nairobi airport. This was typical
of the superb quality of the service we enjoyed throughout our journey.
We want to congratulate you and your staff and express to all of them (Maluki,
Gideon, Hezron, Azam Khan and others we did not know by name) our deep
gratitude for what they did to make our stay in Kenya enjoyable,
instructive, comfortable and safe.
With our best regards.
Luc
Debeer & Jeannette Bonneux
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Stephen, Karren, Edward and Sophie
Hobbs
Jambo Hezron
Many apologies for not writing sooner, life has been hectic since
returning from our fabulous holiday in Kenya. The highlight undoubtedly
was our safari with you in Tsavo West. We have wonderful memories of the
whole experience, especially of seeing the 'Big 5' in one day (8th
August 2006), highlighted by the euphoric feeling of seeing the leopard
on the way back to Kilaguni Lodge! It was no doubt down to some good
luck but also to some splendid preparation by you Hezron for which we
are extremely grateful. We told everybody at the hotel in Mombasa and
here, back in England, how wonderful you were and how well Southern
Cross Safaris had organised the trip. Our trip home went well. We
particularly enjoyed flying over Tsavo West with fabulous views of Mount
Kilimanjaro. Following our 'singsong' in the Land rover, Sophie has
continued to entertain us with her singing and dancing to the Jambo
Jambo song - we actually bought a cassette tape with an African group
singing this and other pleasant African songs.
On looking at the Southern Cross website we note that to book direct
would have been considerably better value but alas we were unfamiliar
with the whole safari idea and ended up booking through the company
called African Mecca. We'll know better next time!
Anyway we hope you and your family are all well and remember if you're
ever in London to look us up.
Our fondest regards to you.
Asanti sana
Stephen, Karren, Edward and Sophie Hobbs
************************************************************************ Customer Name:
Erwin en Natascha Musters from
Holland
Hello,
Me and my husband went three weeks ago on safari. The great Kenya safari
form Hotelplan. And voor us it was a dream come true. Everything was
great, the hotels where very good. And a specially are bus driver Steve
from Nairobi. He was very very very good a special thanks to him. We
never forget this Safari.
Thanks
Erwin en Natascha Musters from Holland
************************************************************************ Customer Name:
Julian Sankey &
Sallie Rainbow
Dear Phillip,
May I first of all apologise for the delay in writing to you but life
has
been hectic since our return to England.
We booked our first safari from England via an agent African Mecca
Safaris,
and were well satisfied with it, and especially with Mr. Khan, who
looked
after us excellently.
Having discussed with him that we would like to undertake a further
safari,
duting our second week, our transit driver delivered us to your office,
and
we were most impressed by how calmly you dealt with us when we truned up
in
your office, tired and scruffy, demanding a further safari. We were
amazed
that you personally dropped everything to arrange this for us, including
phoning around to find us an overnight stay in Tsavo West, and getting
us
into Satao Camp, even though it was otherwise full.
Your efficiency was most impressive, and the courtesy and friendliness of
your office staff was much appreciated.
Although we had expected to be taken back to Tsavo by your shuttle bus,
we
were over the moon when Mr. Khan met us outside our hotel on the Sunday
morning, and we enjoyed his company and proficient driving all the way.
It is good to learn from others who have used your services that tall of
your drivers are well rated, but we felt that Mr. Khan was "the best".
His
driving gave us confidence in him, his organization of the safaris was
quiet
and unobtrusive but perfect in every detail, his knowledge of the
wildlife
and birds was superb and he was very good company, and we learnt a lot
about
the country from him.
We really enjoyed our times at Satao Camp, and having to spend one night
in
the Pilot Tent did not in any was spoil our enjoyment, and we were
treated
with as much courtesy as when we had Sala Tent on our first safari.
At Satao and Satao Rock, we felt we were the personal guests of the
managers
and staff, and there was a really warm and friendly atmosphere, which
was
conveyed by everyone. By contrast Severin Safari Camp flet like a hotel,
and
sadly the service was not up to what we would have expected, although
the
accommodation and food were excellent.
Sadly the only thing to mar our holiday was the theft of our camera, and
pictures, but the memories are very deep and lasting.
We very much hope to come again sometime and will contact you first to
make
our arrangements for us.
With our eternal thanks to you for all you did for us,
Yours Sincerely
Julian Sankey & Sallie Rainbow.
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Marco E. Gaviria
Hello dear Benjamin,
We did have a fantastic couple weeks, well coordinated and taken care by
serviceable personnel; the lodges and camp sites nicely blended into the
land escape with out interfering with the wild life. Our expectations
were well satisfied and seen all the animals and more. We just have to
hope that these national parks will remain going long into the future.
We will have no problem in using your services in the future and
recommend our friends to use your organization.
Thanks for a nice vacation and please extent my best regards to Joshua
(Kenya) and George (Tanzania).
Best regards,
Marco E. Gaviria
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Jack Proctor
Hi
I just wanted to drop you a quick note as we stayed at Satao Camp from
12th to 14th August and had an absolutely fantastic time. I was very
apprehensive about the safari and about staying in a tented camp but was
immediately put at ease when we arrived. The camp was absolutely
beautiful and the standard of accommodation and the quality of food were
superb. This was by far the best part of out holiday and one of the most
memorable that we have ever experienced as a family.
Our Safari guide was Peter M. Kimanzi who was excellent. His knowledge
and enthusiasm were extremely refreshing and he obviously enjoyed his
job. He helped to make this part of our holiday a truly memorable
experience.
I am already telling all of my friends and work colleagues that they
must take a holiday in Kenya and they must visit your camp.
Thank you for being such wonderful hosts and for providing us with
memories that will stay with us for many years to come. The problem now
is how do we beat this when we are planning our holiday for 2007.
Once again thanks and well done Peter M. Kimanzi (you deserve a raise!)
Best Regards
Jack Proctor
Cheshire, England
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Patsy & Sandy Body
We had a wonderful safari!. The itinerary you set for us was an inspired
choice and our safari truly became a journey whereon we learned more
about rarer species, the country and ourselves. The day trip to Lakes
Jipe and Chala allowed us to observe a culture and environment little
changed for many years. The night game drives were sheer magic and the
early morning walk with the Masai was a memorable privilege, making me
feel that I had been allowed to touch the country. I have to make a
special mention of your camp Satao Rock. It is a place of enchantment
and the staff made us feel like honoured guests as opposed to customers.
As on previous safaris, Gideon was a great guide/driver demonstrating
his extensive knowledge and experience.
Many thanks to you and all your staff for ensuring that our personal
safari was once again a unique and special event. We look forward to
booking with you next year.
Hello,
I had the chance to do a 2 day safari with a friend and a colleague on
the 14th July to satao camp and would like to say how happy we were with
the organization. We had a fantastic time and could not be happier.
I would particularly like to say a big thank you to Franck....Now I have
got the feeling that there are two of them there. He is 30-35 is married
with a child. He wears a bob as a hat. What was particularly nice was
his knowledge did not stop at the big five but he also made us realize
that there also was a fantastic community of birds and made the
experience more complete.
So than you to Franck and all the lovely staff of your company.
Frederic Hardy
HOVE UK
************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Charles Hay
Gentlemen,
I want to compliment your driver/guide Raphael on his excellence. We
came to Kenya with a great many apprehensions about safety and disease,
but left Kenya both in awe of its scenery and wildlife, and with a
deeper understanding of its people - all due to Raphael. Language and
food are generally the means by which my partner and I connect with a
country. I had studied Swahili before I went on safari, but Raphael
graciously helped me with pronunciation and taught me even more. As for
food, we shall never forget the roasted goat and corn meal pudding that
Raphael treated us to at a road side stand.
Raphael also has an uncanny ability to spot animals at great distance.
In the Mara, he spotted a leopard in a tree nearly 300 metres away. We
were the only people in that location and got to spend nearly an hour
with the leopard and its kill hanging on a thorn. Raphael seems to know
everyone, which allows him to be in the know as to the best animal
viewing sites. When I show people the photos we took on safari, they
say things like "Worthy of National Geographic" or "WOW". However, I
was just the lens, Raphael found the animals and positioned the car.
He was very patient with two maziwas as he drove us about for two weeks
and never once exhibited impatience or foul humour. He always greeted us
in the morning with a cheerful smile and a loud jambo or habari and left
us at night with a lama salama (I hope I got that right?). We will
always remember him very fondly.
Thank you again, perhaps next year we shall book a Tanzanian safari with
your company.
Asantani sana,
Charles Hay, CPA, MBA
************************************************************************
Customer Name: Jim Harvey
While my colleague Charles sent
this thank you and used the plural “We” I would be remiss if I didn’t
add my appreciation of your company and especially our guide and
teacher, “Raphael”.
As Charles mention, Raphael not only showed us some of the most
spectacular animal shots, he educated us about them as we took pictures
and just plain stared in wonderment. He also educated us about his
beautiful country, its people, customs and future.
He is a happy and well like person, who has a lot to offer your company
and its clients. Additionally his driving skills are “second to none”
and you should enter him into the US Daytona Speed Races, he surly would
win, and if not he could drive any crazy US highway system; he would
have no problems or tickets, ha-ha. Overall, this trip would have not
be the success it was, without your company and especially without
“Raphael”
Raphael, Thank you so much, you will forever be in our minds, whenever
we think of Kenya, its people, its beautiful scenery and wild life.
We are glad we booked again our safari by Southern Cross Safari's.
This was the seventh time we made a safari by your company.
Special thanks to your driver and guide Mr.Juma Mwero Juma, he was
great.
Also Juma is a hero. By accident our film camera dropt out of the car
while we are filming lions. As lightning a lion got the film camera, but
later on Juma snatched the camera
back of the lion. Through that we have now our film of the safari and we
are very thankful of that. Juma made our safari very special, we shall
never forget it. Hereby as proof photos from the lion with the camera.
Already we are looking forward to our next safari.
Yours
faithfully
H.Bouter and friends
********************************************************
Customer Name: Jonna Miettinen
I would like to send you my best regards from freezing cold Finland;
after the most wonderful trip to Kenya and its safaris.
We arrived to Nairobi on 11.2. Friday late at night. There was a very
warm welcoming already at the airport by Your drivers.
We were a filming group of 11 people from Helsinki, Finland. We got 2
excellent drivers for our journey from Nairobi to Mombasa.
Our driver was called JUMA and the other maybe David- that I can´t
remember.
On our behalf we want to send You and both of the drivers our very best
wishes. Juma was truly a real gentleman during our drive through the hot
Kenya. We really enjoyed of all his stories, his passion for customer
service and his smile! He made us feel very safe and special- every
single day. We thought, that if we could have brought one thing back to
Finland- that would have been Juma in a bottle with his great, happy
smile! Best regards to him!
Thank You for making our trip so fantastic and memorable! We definitely
recommend You to all our friends and collegues here in Finland. Do You
do any advertising here in the Scandinavia/Europe? It would be a great
idea to promote Your services more for the tourists in Northern Europe.
If I could be of any help for that in here please let me know. At least
I´ve got the best experience of Your services ever!
Wishing You all the best
**************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Stuart and Annemarie Bain
You turned our dream into a reality. Our honeymoon and wedding in Kenya
was so much more than we hoped for. We've never in our wildest dreams
thought a vacation could be so perfect...and of course now we wonder if
any vacation will meet our now higher expectations.I look forward to
going back to Kenya as soon as we can.Thank you for everything. Everyone
made us both very happy.
**************************************************************************
Customer Name: Liz
MacKenzie
Just to say a big "thank you" for organising such a fantastic safari
for us.We all really enjoyed ourselves and saw an amazing amount of
animals and birds. All the lodges and tented camps were first class but
thought Satao Camp out of this world and the bush sundowner just the
most amazing experience. So thanks again for all your help and we will
be recommending Southern Cross Safaris to anyone we hear of who is going
to Kenya and wanting to go on Safari.
Customer Name: Mrs. Campbell
I feel I must write to congratulate you on your excellent staff. I
traveled with your company from December 15 to 03 Jan and precise
attention to detail leaves many travel agents standing! From the moment
our feet touched the tarmac EVERYTHING Michael agreed was 100%! Then to
be met by the lovely Nicole at Leopard Beach who again was fantastic.
Joshua our driver for SAFARI IS AMAZING. He was so kind and had such
knowledge what an asset for your company! Darius at the airport was
superb! Totally in control and attentive. It's obvious that service
plays a key element in your staff training well done. We may not get to
Kenya next year but we will be back. Thanks again.
**************************************************************************
Customer Name:
David Thomas
We have just
returned from Kenya : KQ102 arrived Londo 0645 this morning.
Thank you very much for organising the vehicle and driver for our 4d
trip to L Jipe and (new plan) Tsavo West. Thank you too for responding
so wholeheartedly to my request for a driver who could match our
interests and
experience: Julius Lamumba was absolutely excellent, not only thoroughly
professional and careful for our welfare, but good and interesting
company, so we all got on very well with him.
We spent only 1 day at L. Jipe as the dry conditions meant there was
very little wildlife to see away from the lake, while the excellent
birdlife of the lake did not need a second day. Consequently we returned
Mombasa-wards via a very effective day in Tsavo West, where Julius came
into his own, having greater recent knowledge of where to go.
On our return to Mombasa yesterday, Julius used his initiative to take
us through Taita ranch and show us your camp on the rock at Satao. We
were delighted to see such superb Commiphora woodland, so much of it
otherwise open at ground level and remarkably free of Acacia and other
low shrubs - very different from other areas we have seen with denser
bush of Commiphora_Acacia.
So, our experience of Southern Cross Safaris has been wholely positive,
from your initial highly helpful response to my first enquiries, through
to a very effective and enjoyable execution of the plan. Thank you.
Finally, my colleagues and I were impressed by Julius's keenness to
improve his guiding skills, but felt he was held back by the bird and
mammal books he has, particularly John Williams's now very dated bird
field guide. I don't know whether Southern Cross has any policy of
skills-promotion among your guides, but, if so, we suggest Julius could
blossom if he had a better bird guide: in my experience, Stevenson and
Fanshawe's guide is the best currently available, being both
comprehensive, practical and authoritative. You might find it a good
investment to equip Julius with a copy.
Thank you again.
**************************************************************************
Customer Name:
Patsy and Sandy Boyd
Dear Torben,
Although we met you in Mombasa I still felt I had to put our
appreciation in writing.
We had a wonderful safari again!!. Gideon as our driver/guide deserves
a special mention, he shows an understanding of and a sympathy for the
animals. We were more than happy to hand over our safari to him secure
in the knowledge that he would do his best for us whilst keeping the
environment and wild life in mind. The sightings of the wild life far
exceeded our expectations and although we realise that lady luck does
play a part, we know a lot of it was down to Gideon's training,
experience and patience.
It is seldom that a company of your size manages to maintain that
personal touch and attention to detail. The training of your staff is
superb and their loyalty to your company outstanding. We have
recommended your company many times and will continue to do so.
We were delighted with your new camp at Satao Rock and we are sure it
will attract repeat bookings as we ourselves intent to return. An added
excitement for us was to feel that we were in there at the start,
incidentally the staff there were superb and we have come home with a
recipe from your excellent chef.
Thank you for your advice and management of our booking, we will be
back.
