Hi Alex,







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Hi Alex,
Dawn and Leo took their honeymoon in Kenya, and returned this August with their two sons. This is their report:
Hi Alex,
So sorry that I haven’t been in touch sooner. We really got caught up in our trip, and I stayed away from email and any connection with the outside world. It was lovely.
We had an absolutely wonderful trip! Every single thing went off without a hitch, and I could not be more grateful to you for making it happen. Every transfer was smooth, and every pick up and drop off was as scheduled. After such a long journey, it was so reassuring to have someone waiting for us with our name on a sign.
We loved our choice of destinations and are glad that we spent so much time in the Mara. As you predicted, Amboseli was very dusty, but it did not ruin our time there. We saw tons of elephants as I had hoped, and Kilimanjaro was cooperative for almost an entire day.
The Amboseli Serena was perfectly situated for our activities, and the rooms and food were great. Food is a very big deal for my teenaged boys, and all of our meals everywhere were very plentiful and terrific.
The Mara Serena was just as we remembered, and the views from that lodge are unmatched by any place I’ve ever stayed in the world. Despite its size, the lodge remained quiet and serene, except for the dining room which was just fine for a family. The game viewing in the (Ed: Mara) Reserve was tremendous, and the scenery was spectacular! Being there for the migration was so much better than when we were there last (January). We saw so much more wildlife and all those wildebeest….simply amazing! We were lucky to see two river crossings (one with a croc trying unsuccessfully to eat), and we will never forget the feeling of excitement and anticipation….there are truly no words to adequately describe it.
The Mara North Conservancy did not disappoint either, and we were very impressed by how close we were able to get to the wildlife compared to the Reserve. After leaving the somewhat shiny and semi-luxurious surroundings at the Serena, I was very concerned that the Karen Blixen Camp would not measure up. I am happy to say I was mistaken. Karen Blixen was extremely comfortable, had fantastic food and is perfectly situated for game viewing on the river. The staff was exceptional, and our guide was incredibly knowledgeable. We were very well attended to, and the staff made sure to check on us frequently. We felt so much more important than we usually do on vacation! We loved the eco-aspect of the Camp and how well the employees are treated. The employees raved about the camp owner and how well they are treated compared to other camps. After spending some time in Africa, one feels like an overindulged Westerner, so it was great see a camp that tries to spread the wealth and treat people properly.
One of my biggest concerns about this trip was worrying that it was not long enough. However, ten days in Kenya seemed like a month. We were/are exhausted and would not have wanted to do another thing more. I loved spending the bulk of time in the Mara and am so glad that we didn’t have to trek from place to place every two days. As you know, travel there is so hard and tiring, and we enjoyed just soaking in the surroundings for days on end.
All in all, it was a spectacular trip, and I don’t think we will ever be able to top it! I can go on and on for days about it but I will spare you for now! Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have or if you would like me to post a review somewhere. I cannot thank you enough for all of your help, advice, tips and recommendations. You were spot on and provided honest and extremely thorough guidance. Nothing was left to chance, and I felt so much more knowledgable than I did going into other trips. Thank you for helping us to have this most special trip.
I am very late this morning and must run out the door, but will be happy to tell you more later! I’ll also send a photo when I muddle through the 1200 I took!
Thank you for EVERYTHING, Alex!
Very best and warm regards,
Dawn
We had fun sliding down the sand dunes to make them roar – (we’d never heard of that happening before) and the visit to the Himba village was an eye opener and also quite humbling to see how other people live and survive.
From the outset, we were looking for a company with that personal touch to help us to organise our honeymoon. We wanted someone we could trust and we certainly found it with Alex and Extraordinary Africa. The booking process was extremely straightforward, after discussing the official things like country, budget and dates Alex helped to develop a better understanding of our requirements and preferences before providing us with suggestions. The documentation that she sent through to us was more than you’d get from a normal company, it came with personal tips and advice about the best rooms, or best seats on the plane something I’ve not had before and a wonderful touch that reassured us that Alex really did know the place personally. Once we had decided on the location and hotel Alex took care of the rest with her in country contacts which made the trip itself very straightforward.
A week or two before the leave date we had our seats confirmed and a handy travel size pack was delivered to our door, we found this extremely useful as it had all our holiday details in one place as well as country details and emergency contacts. From the airport everything had been organised to ensure a smooth trip for us, the airline knew it was our honeymoon (I assume Alex had told them) and offered us extra legroom seats as we checked in. When we landed in Mauritius our name was on the board and our driver waiting. It’s worth noting that I have tried to organise in country transfers in a similar fashion on a number of trips abroad myself and something has always gone wrong, not with Alex’s in country partners though. We had a smooth, swift transport to the hotel and when we arrived at 20 Degrees Sud we couldn’t wait to walk to the paradise beyond the huge wooden gate. Our bags taken and we were seen inside, offered a complimentary welcome cocktail and their guest relations manager met us to show us around and to our room. What a place, Alex was right, beautiful, right on the beach but with the added extra of being a small boutique hotel with the personal service that comes with being so.
Alex had advised us on the ‘charm’ room, and it was lovely, the bed decorated with petals, a welcome basket of fresh fruit and two gifts on the bed, a lovely touch to a beautiful room. With its own patio area, a deep bath, shower room as well as an additional outdoor shower it was right next to the pool, which ensured we always got the best sun beds.
The hotel staff were very attentive without being intrusive, it was lovely to be at a hotel that just said ‘yes’ to sorting any issue we had. Our own travel adapter broke on the first day, within minutes a new one was delivered to our room. We wanted to hire a car for a couple of days sightseeing, it was delivered the next day with no fuss or issues. The food every night was excellent, we were on half board, but never found we needed lunch as breakfast was more than enough and besides at 4pm they had tea and cakes that changed daily. A couple of nights they had live music during dinner and on the Sunday offered a change to the usual waitered service with a ‘Traditional Mauritian Dinner’, although initially concerned as we aren’t that keen on shellfish it ended up being our best meal. Fresh breads, vegetable and chicken currys, dahl-type dips, stir fry, and plenty of it, my Husband had three helpings!
So when it came to leave the hotel and island it was with a heavy heart, but again the organisation of Extraordinary Africa helped smooth the process, we got a message two days before we were due to leave to confirm our pick up time. They arrived prompt (although we almost wished they would have forgotten so we would have to have stayed!) and we were delivered to the terminal building and our bags taken inside for us.
From start to finish Alex was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. We would certainly recommend the personal service provided by Extraordinary Africa, and indeed already have. From initial discussion through to booking and even while away we were reassured to know that Alex was there if we needed her. I didn’t think that a bespoke style holiday would be something we could afford, but with Extraordinary Africa we certainly could without the need to skimp on detail or quality. Thank you Alex!
Kirstie & Ed, Wales, travelled on honeymoon to Mauritius May 2016
Listening to our briefing in the baking sun of a late November afternoon safari in the Okavango Delta, it was hard to get excited about anything at all. We’d spent an exciting, but long and very hot morning on a game drive. After lazy lunch, adding another hour to my afternoon siesta seemed far more appealing than abandoning my bed at Little Vumbura for a wobbly dugout canoe. We were warned not to move around too much- “I have seen these capsize often,” said our poler, and not to trail our hands in the water for too long. Not because of hungry crocs apparently- it just made steering the mokoro more difficult.
Once we climbed aboard our mokoros and lowered ourselves gently into the seats, peace descended. I picked the back seat so I could snooze discreetly behind my sunglasses and bush hat if the heat overwhelmed me (and while sleeping would’ve been an utterly disgraceful waste of precious hours in the bush, it really was very hot). However, though the mokoro ride was the embodiment of tranquillity- this is Botswana’s equivalent to punting- and despite my tiredness, sleeping suddenly seemed a lot like missing out.
Travelling up front on hippo duty, our guide made sure the waterways were clear of unexpected four-legged surprises. Behind, our mokoro poler engaged us with tales of growing up in Botswana, and issued us with a challenge to spot the tiny Angolan reed frogs clinging to the top of swaying stems. We learnt the difference between night-time and day-time water lillies, how the jelly of the water shield plant could be used as sunscreen, and glided up on a pair of ducks so quietly that they shot away from us with startled squawks.
Our mokoro ride ended as all good days in Africa should: watching the sun set with a cold G&T on a sand island as a family of elephants padded silently past. Afterwards we floated serenely home, listening to the calling frogs and watching the poler in front silhouetted against the light of the setting sun.
(Please excuse any fuzziness- all pictures the author’s own)
When you’re flying to the Quirimbas for a long weekend, you expect something pretty special. A decent beach, world-class deep sea-fishing, and an ocean glittering with phosphorescence were vaguely on my wishlist, but when the manager of Vamizi Island asked “Did you know you’re sleeping in James Bond’s bed?” my trip was propelled into a whole different league.
Her statement threw me into disarray- my best Bond girl bikini was lost, forever looping the baggage carousels of Nairobi airport, and my experience in Aston Martin driving was limited. As I wondered if I could finish learning to fly a plane before dinner so I’d have something to discuss with the world’s most famous secret agent, I was kidnapped and whisked off to the far end of Vamizi Island for a remote beach picnic. After a lengthy lunch-and-champagne-fuelled snooze, we were hailed aboard Vamizi’s fishing boat for an afternoon of deep sea fishing. And while I still hadn’t met Bond, the sun and the sea and the speedboat were doing a pretty good job of setting a suitably glamorous scene.
A few hours later I waded ashore for cocktails, triumphantly bearing the 50lb tuna I’d reeled in that afternoon. Moments later, it appeared alongside my sundowner as sashimi. If this didn’t impress 007, nothing would. But where was the great man?
“Oh,” said the manager “Daniel Craig stayed here a few days ago, but he’s gone now. You’re sleeping in his room- you didn’t think…?”
Alex stayed at Vamizi Island Lodge and was very impressed, in spite of her deep and abiding disappointment in failing to meet 007. Vamizi has 6 exclusive private villas available to hire which Extraordinary Africa can book for you, please contact us for more information.
A lovely email from Faye and Alan, who’ve just got back from a beach honeymoon in Zanzibar, where it was (allegedly) the short rainy season! Lovely reading on a chilly morning at Extraordinary Africa HQ- thanks guys!
The reason I absolutely love my job, is for emails like this, which kept a smile on my face for most of my working day:
Thank you Calynne for this lovely report- it made our morning!
The first thing I should admit is that I wasn’t exactly canoeing down the Zambezi. Rather, as the lone wildebeest of the group, I’d been put in the guide’s boat and was admiring his broad shoulders and efficient paddling. And pretending to be paddling hard myself every time he turned around to ask how I was getting along. Obviously.
If you’re considering a boat safari the main thing to know is that it usually isn’t terribly hard work, even when you’re actually paddling yourself. You’re usually headed downstream, following the current with stops to inspect interesting birds, take a walking safari to stretch your legs or take a snooze on a sandbank. A snooze on a sandbank? On the ground? Was this safe, I enquired? What about thehipposandthecrocsandthesnakesand….? Well, nothing on safari is guaranteed safe (though crossing a road in London or New York isn’t 100% safe either), but I can confirm that once I got over my terrors I spent a blissful hour under the trees, listening to the lullaby of a fish eagle’s call and desperately hoping that I hadn’t snored in public.
When we first embarked on our canoe safari we were briefed about how to behave if we fell into the water (“Don’t do it”), but the closest we came to hippo was admiring the mighty tusks of a distant yawn. At night we were advised to keep close to the tents (hippos hop out to graze the riverbanks after dark), counted shooting stars, and chatted to our guides about life in the bush.
By day, life adapted a gentle rhythm. A somewhat early start, grumbling offset by a gloriously early sunrise, followed by a morning’s paddling on our canoe safari. Lunch (“Oh- I shouldn’t have a glass of wine. OK, I will then”) and then snooze. Later, a walking safari watching eagles and ellies and eland. (If the latter doesn’t sound too exciting, imagine an animal that can weigh nearly a tonne jumping a pile of logs taller than a man). Later, sundowners, dinner, and bed, being sung to sleep by crickets and chomping hippos.
In all- a boat safari is probably something I’d combine with a big-game fix to make sure you get enough cat sightings in, but absolutely magical in its own right and not to be missed.
Sorting through some old photos I found a series from my road trip around Namibia. In a fit of extreme modesty, I thought “Wow- I am a great photographer”. And then I remembered that it’s probably not my astonishing photographic skills, it’s just Namibia.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Namibia’s the most beautiful country I’ve ever visited. (Honourable mention for Mauritania though, which has the same amazing clear light, and a rugged coastline where the Atlantic meets the desert).
Though I’m not yet giving David Bailey a run for his money, I thought I’d share a few shots to show just how spectacular Namibia is, from the endless roads of Namibia’s Central Highlands via the sand dunes and petrified trees at Sossusvlei, to the parched Etosha pan. I think it might actually be impossible to take a bad photo there. Of the landscape at least…