Ilze –

First of all we want to thank you so much for all of your efforts in organising our trip. As always it went like clockwork and was perfect in every way. Tom has over 3,000 photos to edit and will make another photo book of this trip.

We saw some amazing things and enjoyed meeting the people who make African tourism so fantastic. Australia has a lot to learn in this regard. We had a terrific time again with SP, a great guide and a great person, too.

Thanks for the late checkout today. It’s really appreciated. Thanks also for the offer of a massage but we have decided to just relax and maybe go for a walk before being cooped up in the plane.

Both the Kruger and Botswana were fantastic. We couldn’t be happier with everything so far. Best of all, we saw hunting dogs, a lioness with three cubs, a cheetah with cub and a honey badger.

We are at the Acacia Farm tonight and are very impressed – lovely place and friendly people. We also really enjoyed Treetops Lodge near Tarangire. It was quite a hard drive to get there but really worth it. SP has been taking wonderful care of us. The visit to the crater today was great – so much wildlife!

Just a couple of comments about the lodges. Every one was different and all were absolutely excellent with only some minor quibbles about the Linyanti camp. The lighting in the tents was a bit sparse, making reading at night pretty difficult. They provided a thermos of hot water to make morning coffee but it was delivered in the evening instead of with the wake-up call so was lukewarm. There were chairs outside the door but they were just in the dirt, when a small wooden deck would have made it more attractive. As I said, these are minor quibbles but a comparison with a similar type of camp at Lemala Ewanjan made these things obvious. On the other hand, the staff and food were excellent and we had a free helicopter ride over the Chobe, which was an unexpected pleasure.

We would like to single out the African Rock Hotel for special mention. They were really terrific to us, allowing a late checkout that was extended due to the 2-hour delay in departure of our flight. It’s a great little hotel and we hope they continue to do well. It made all the difference to have such a great place to come to, especially four times during the course of the trip.

Even though our trip is over, we hope you keep in touch from time to time. Who knows, we may get back to Africa some day. It is a place we will never tire of.
All the best.

Tom and Heather