Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Snorkelling with sea lions coming over to investigate & 'play' with these strangely inflexible wetsuited humans. With penguins cormorants & sea turtles all swimming past completely unconcerned.A feeding frienzy all around the dinghy with Pelicans & Blue footed Boobies dive bombing into the shoals of fish & Noddy's waiting for the small fry to spill out of the Pelicans pouch, all unconcerned with our presence. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

As there is no overall leader for this trip, I would consider the guides in the 2 locations to be the leaders & both were excellent

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go!

Most Inspirational Moment

Entering Annapurna Sanctuary after a 7 day walk.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Kind, considerate.....incomparable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get fit!

Most Inspirational Moment

The optional extention to Easter Island was the main highlight of the entire holiday.  The Geysers were also an amazing experience.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The Group leader had a lovely personality and was very caring and helpful.  However, there were certain times when she was not as communicative as expected with information relating to certain aspects of the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Two things stick in my memory.1. Being able to walk inside a Game Reserve knowing that the previous evening on a Game drive we had come VERY close to elephants, lion and cheetah with a recent kill. Then on the walk getting very close to the cheetah and her cub.2. Walking in  the Drakensberg Mountains. One day we walked along the Tugela Gorge and even though the rains hadn't come and the river was virtually dry we had lunch in the riverbed of the gorge (thankfully there was no flash flood!). The following day we made the ascent onto the plateau via the 'terrifying' chain ladders. Unable to climb a ladder at home this was MY achievement of the trip. Coming down was much easier thank goodness.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Bongani was an excellent leader. Quiet and efficient but able to impart his knowledge when required. He has a wicked sense of humour which took us a while to suss out. After a few days we just didn't believe anything he told us!!There was a lot of driving during the trip so while we relaxed in the minibus he was working hard and then had the camps to set up on arrival.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As said before there is a lot of travelling. South Africa is a huge country and the locals think nothing of driving 100's of miles on straight, quiet roads. We rotated our seats around the bus each day as some seats had better views/more legroom than others.As we move about regularly there is a fair bit of packing/unpacking and not much room in the tents to spread. I found using bags to store underwear, shirts, trousers etc in my main pack made getting the following day's clothes ready easier.

Most Inspirational Moment

I was constantly being surprised by inspirational moments on this trip, it's impossible to choose one. The mountain range is so majestic that it simply encourages you to have a think about bigger things in life.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose Miguel is clearly very enthusiastic and well-educated about the area. He was very outgoing and caring for the group and was definitely going an extra mile to ensure everybody felt comfortable and safe on the walks.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take at least one walking pole. I did the most of the trip without the poles, but I had to borrow one for a couple of descents.

Most Inspirational Moment

The one meaningful tiger sighting (during a total of 17 game-drives in 3 different national parks).

Thoughts on Group Leader

Harish was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the wildlife and birdlife, and he made considerable efforts to ensure everything ran as smoothly as possible. Communication and sensitivity to the feelings of ALL group members were not always up to the same standard.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip notes and  reviews published on the web-site do not make it clear that it is extremely difficult to sight tigers in October, when the rainy season has only recently ended, foliage is lush and there are many sources of water for the wildlife. This difficulty is further reinforced by the often unhelpful (positively obstructive?) approach of the park authorities and officials, apparently for political reasons. And running the trip during the Diwali holiday period, with its consequent large numbers of local tourists, is an additional disadvantage. A significant body of anecdotal evidence made it apparent that the far more regular sightings virtually promised by the tour leader are much more likely at the end of the dry season in March/April.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many inspirational moments that it really is difficult to pick just one. Being dropped by helicopter in a remote location on the Wilkin River in the Mount Aspiring National Park, the hundreds of waterfalls in Milford Sound after a day of rain, the latent power of the Tongariro volcanoes, the pristine wilderness of the Whirinaki NP, the vastness of the volcanic crater that is Lake Taupo, a close encounter with the rare Fiordland Crested Penguins and sleeping under the incredible, starlit, southern skies are all inspirational moments that will linger in my memory for the rest of my days.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had two group leaders, Kath Watzig in the North Island, and Chris Steele in the South Island. Both were capable, competent, diligent, knowledgable and inspirational. They both had to do absolutely everything from early morning to late evening with no support teams or assistants to share their load. They both approached their roles with such enthusiasm and comprehensive knowledge that the entire group derived the absolute, maximum benefit from the trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just do it!

Most Inspirational Moment

On our third day walking we started in rain and walked up above the snow line, had a snowball fight in the most beautiful setting beside a lake and then had lunch brought to us halfway down by mule. That was a great day.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Helpful, approachable, good fun.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a couple of warm layers. The gite can be chilly at night. Good waterproofs were very useful too.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking from the gite into the Atlas mountains was my favourite part of the trip - getting away from it all - this was made even more special by arriving into the hustle and bustle of Marrakech on a Friday night - amazing contrast. The main square in Marrakech and the markets came a close second - I've fallen in love with Morocco and can't wait to go back.  

Thoughts on Group Leader

Hassan helped to make the trip what it was, at no point did I feel rushed or hurried. He was knowledgeable and friendly, always being there for us and had a lot of fun with us. I have to give Hassan 10/10 for the week. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you go in November / December be prepared for the evenings being very cold. Always carry some toilet roll with you - you never know when you might need it.