Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The final ascent and reaching Gilman's point at 5.06am, fantastic feeling you are almost there and most important the group you ae with, it is a team effort, we all help & support each other.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader was okay, direct and reminded us all "Pain is only temporary"

Advice for Potential Travellers

Train very hard and start months before you depart, insist your GP gives you a prescription for Diomoxfor the altitude, tese are a must have to prepare for the ascent, other group members who started taking them before we even started faired much better

Suggestions

The only negative point, the last two days when everyone is physically tired and some people maybe suffering they need more organised contingency planning to help, one trolley/stretcher was not enoughand tell people how far the walk actually is!I would really suggest after descending from Kilimanjaro to Kibo camp, you need more recovery time and water availability for all the group(we had no water available and then had to walk another 5 hours). This really made that walk very long and hard, not a pleasent experience, especially when some memebers who had preferential treatment received water whilst other members refused

Most Inspirational Moment

This was my first ever trip where i have travelled alone and the sense of personal achievement was enormous.Watching a glacier calveThe captain of the Vavilov turning around to extend a whale watching encounterThe stillness and beauty after climbing a mountain ridge for phenomenal views...quite humbling!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Absolutely fantastic. Demonstrated a professional but relaxed manner with all guests and always striving to maximise the experience with flexible itinaries

Advice for Potential Travellers

I had some "wobbles" before i went re- travelling alone mostly, but i would say to anyone who is hesitating to go for it. The comradeship between passengers is heartwarming and there is nowhere on earth quite like it. I would go back in a heartbeat. By far the most stunning place on earth i have ever seen!The ship is warm and comfortable so take some light clothing for the evenings. I almost overheated in my thermal gear ;-)

Suggestions

Thankyou to exodus. The support i had from the team in the booking office was invaluable. I almost missed out on this trip through self doubt but all my questions were answered honestly and gave me enough reassurance to go ahead. Because of this i look forward to my next adventure with them.

Most Inspirational Moment

The best part was the ascent of Mt Ouanoukrim. This is both visually and technically a far more interesting peak than Mount Toubkal

Thoughts on Group Leader

This is the second trek I have been on which has been led by Mohammed. He is an experienced and thoroughly professional guide.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Yes do not hire equipment from 'trek hire'. I hired both crampons and a ice axe. The ice axe had a very short strap on it making it difficult to put your gloved hand through and hold the head comfortabley. Each time we changed directions I had to stop in order to swap hands instead of being able to comfortabley do it on the move.The crampons were of a poor quality they kept slipping under my boots , and yes i , the guides and several other persons on the trek attempted numerous times to adjust them and secure them to my boot. Non of us managed it thus making everyday of the climb dangerous. The anti balling plates kept coming off , making my descent of Ouanoukrim potentially very dangerous as i constantly had solid balls of ice underneath both my boots. I feel Exodus should take some responsibility for this as it is your company that recommended the link to this company.

Suggestions

Apart from the hired equipment I enjoyed all other aspects of the trek.

Most Inspirational Moment

The views from the tops onf the mountains were just superb

Thoughts on Group Leader

Karl was a great leader who looked after our individual needs and was a font of knowledge and good humour

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take lots of layers of clothing rather than thick bulky items. You get quite warm while walking in the sun up the mountains but it can be quite cold while tucking in to the packed lunches and enjoying those fantastic views from the summit

Thoughts on Group Leader

My group leader was the rigth person for the  trip, his knowledge was very good he could always answer our quiston, but on  my first day in Marakesh we had a different person guiding as thorugh the city if I am right his name was Mohamed. His knowledge wasn't very good about the town, I have read more in my guide book about Marakesh than he told me, mostly he was talking about politics whish I wasn't interested at all I woulod have liked to hear more about history. I would advice exodus not to use him as he was a disapointment.

Suggestions

I wasn't very happy with the airline, we had an 8 hour delay and we were not told what is going on unless we looked for someone and asked, we have been driven for a meal to a hotel were we got left alone and the staff wanted to send us somewhere else. Nobody knew what was going on.

Most Inspirational Moment

Wonderful views from the Acroplois on top of Mount Kliosi on the first day - especially after a rather tricky scramble up!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thano was so knowledgeable about the history and culture of this beautiful island - his talks added so much value to the trip. We had very variable weather and Thano adjusted the itinerary at short notice so that we did as much as possible. Thano took us to a different taverna every day where we sampled as many of the wonderful local dishes as possible! He was a very entertaining host.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a map of the island with you so that you can track where you are visiting. The museum in the town opens on Sunday mornings - something to do on the last day.

Suggestions

The hotel was clean and comfortable and the rooms were warm and well serviced. The breakfasts were to die for! Local yoghurt, honey, bread, fruit, cheese ...and much more. The owners were very friendly and hospitable.

Most Inspirational Moment

It is so difficult to pick one moment out of such a wonderful experience and we all said 'How are we going to describe our experiences to our friends when we get home.' Ice berg alley was just fantastic with such colour as well as grandeur and crossing the circle was a very special moment. Seeing albatross flying behind the ship and of course the wonderful penguins, seals and whales was truely amazing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Absolutely fantastic. Woody made everyone feel special and was so caring as well as enthusiastic, encouraging and great fun.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go on the expedition as soon as you can and enjoy every moment.

Suggestions

We just had such a wonderful time and are now saving to go to go to the Arctic. It was amazing and a privilege to see the animals in their natural habitat, not being phased by our presence and showing us their everyday lives. The lectures given by the expedition staff were very well presented, interesting and informative in a way that didn't need us to be experts!The ships crew were so helpful, pleasant and efficient and the catering was absolutely fantastic. In the rough seas the staff were very caring for passengers who were not well.Words just cannot describe adequately the fantastic time we had so thank you for making this possible for us.

Most Inspirational Moment

Each time we saw a tiger was incredibly moving. But my favourite moment strangely was a leopard sighting. We were the only jeep and the leopard walked down a rock and drank in a pool right in front of us.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Harish was excellent. His drive, enthusiasm and organisational skills were amazing and he has so much knowledge about the local wildlife.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring plenty of patience. You may have many hours of game drives without seeing tigers - they are endangered after all! And don't forget that it's not all about tigers -  enjoy the rest of the animals and birds in the parks too!  In the winter months it is incredibly cold in the mornings - I was wearing 5 layers and a blanket! So remember your warm clothes, gloves and hat.

Most Inspirational Moment

Summitting at Uhuru Point at 1pm having set off late from camp and hence having the whole summit to ourselves.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guides were fantastic, Mathew was more than just a guide, camp manager for the team of 40 support staff plus the 10 clients, how they didn't leave anything behind I will never know.  Our assistant guides were also fabulous and looked after us extremely well, our morning routine of tea in bed followed by washing water was certainly a treat.  I have to add a particular thanks to Amos our favourite assistant guide who could talk more than me, an achievement, and talked so much whilst climbing that you didnt even realise you had been climbing for 6 hours at a time.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Its a challenge, but you can do and you will love it!

Most Inspirational Moment

There was not any particular moment as every day was different. Marrakech was colourful noisey and fun, the walks were great

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was quiet reiable and set a sensible walking pace that meant everyone was able to do all the walks.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go for it!

Suggestions

don't forget to check out the night sky but wear warm clothes!