Camille,
Thank you for making our honeymoon so spectacular! Camille was so attentive and helpful throughout the whole planning process and during our trip. As our first trip to Africa, this was definitely a memorable experience.
Notten’s Safari Camp was the clear favorite lodge for both of us. Every meal here was absolutely delicious and all of the staff and other guests were so friendly and helpful. It felt like we were just a part of a big family. The first morning one of the guests realized we didn’t have any hats or gloves and lent us spares that she had packed! (We didn’t realize just how cold it would be driving around in an open top car at 6:30 in the morning on a winter’s day. We bought our own hats at the gift shop later that day.)
On the second night, we drove into this open Savannah kind of area when our guide, Thomas, pointed out, “Look, there’s a dead lion over there!” Sure enough, we looked to the right of the car, and there was this dead lion sprawled out on its back. Of course, the other girl in the car and I were really upset, wondering what killed these two healthy looking lions and why we drove over to see this sight. And then Thomas pointed out that there was another dead lion on the other side of the car. The other girl and I were on the verge of tears when we saw the tail of one lion flip from one side to the other! We started yelling like we just witnessed a miracle as Thomas just cracked up laughing. Apparently the lions were just sleeping after a big meal, and the guide didn’t expect us to be so gullible. We had a good time laughing at ourselves. On that same drive, our tracker and guide spotted a leopard eating a steenbok in a tree! A hyena took a little nap right in front of our vehicle while waiting for the leopard to drop remnants onto the ground. It was just an amazing experience.
TIntswalo Safari Lodge was a very different experience with electricity (and heat!) in the rooms. As two of six guests staying at the lodge, service here definitely felt super personalized. We had dinner with the other guests and the owners of the lodge the first night. Food here was so different from Nottens but equally spectacular.
On the game drives here we ended up being surrounded by hundreds of buffalo. We also got to witness two lions mating. Our guide, Patrick, was so knowledgeable and always took care of us. While at Tintswalo we also we took an excursion to see Jessica the hippo. Petting, feeding and massaging a hippo was definitely a first for us.
At Indigo Bay Dustin arranged for a private boat to take the two of us to see Paradise Island for about an hour (the day long excursion to Paradise Island was the other excursion we wanted but couldn’t book). From that, we went straight to the sand dune boarding activity. At dinner, we had a romantic dinner on the sand away from the other guests. It was a great way to end the trip.
Thank you so much for a wonderful honeymoon!
Andrew
(Note: Indigo Bay has since closed down)