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Family Safari Testimonials
We really liked Hluhluwe River Lodge - very small and personal and they made great efforts to help us with whatever we wanted to do. Plenty of monkeys in the trees, nyala and red duikers, the odd zebra, a large monitor lizard and even a snake or two confirmed we were in the bush (even spotted leopard tracks the last morning). Horse-riding with the kids was great – we did this twice – made me, at least, think I should practise more so we can do a riding safari one day. There isn’t the rich diversity of wildlife here you have in some places, but we saw good elephant, giraffe and plenty of rhino and were unfortunate not to see lion. More than enough for the kids to get excited about. We went to the Wildcat Rehabilitation centre and stroked a cheetah and to Zulu Croc and stroked snakes and crocodiles. Both are very good and informative visits and the chance to meet a cheetah was amazing. Overall, I wish we had spent a day or two less in Cape Town and more time in Hluhluwe. I love the bush and would choose it any time over any of Cape Town’s attractions. Funnily enough, when I asked the kids yesterday what they enjoyed most, now that they have had 10 days at home for it all to sink in they all said the safari too. It was a great family holiday. Kids were fine with all the travelling and enjoyed every moment. Next time (could be a while before we have the budget again!) it’ll be an all bush holiday. Many thanks for all your suggestions and for twisting a couple of arms to make the room arrangements possible for us. The Herrington family, Switzerland |
Cottars was pure luxury. Indulgent luxury! The game drives were spectacular. Our guide was perfect, so knowledgeable too. The camp has the most magnificent setting and again the staff went out of their way to look after us. Seeing a family of cheetahs twice was a highlight as well as being surrounded by over 30 elephants . Fabulous surprise bush breakfasts were a big hit with the children. We loved the sherry on your deck outside the tent. Most exciting part was crossing the Sand River at about its highest possible in the Land Cruiser. ...we are going to buy one now! Lamu was so different it was perfect for the end. A rest! Peponi has a wonderful charm about it as does Carol. A fascinating place to explore and get lost in. A dhow trip at Sunset was a highlight as was the surfing on Shela Beach. Thank you again. We will be going again...Zambia or Botswana next?? The Wagstaff Family, Surrey, England |
Thank you for organising a superb trip – we will have no hesitation in recommending Aardvark to others! The Clarke family, Derbyshire, England |
The second part of the holiday to the Laikipia region was also truly amazing but in different ways. The area felt so untouched and it felt like we had gone back in time to what Africa must have been like 100 years ago. The boys totally loved the walking safari and please pass on our thanks to Boniface, Shellingi and the rest the Masai crew from Karisia for making it such a memorable experience for us. The boys are still laughing at Shellingi’s animal call impression; he is such a nice guy and such a character. Whilst we had loved “roughing” it in a tent with Karisia, it was great to finish at Sosian. The remoteness of the place and how un-spoilt the area was was unbelievable. Annabelle, Steve and Rosie were fantastic and really made us feel welcome and the varied activities were superb. We saw wild dog, hyenas and amazing sights and really packed so much into 2 ½ days, the place and the area was simply stunning. We are all now officially in love with Africa and can’t wait to return! Thank you again for organising such a superb trip. David Conman & Family, East Riding, England |
As in insanely good, insanely beautiful, exciting, fun and unforgetable. We got stuck in a snowstorm in the Drackensburg and had to detour to Durban and dump a rental car to fly back to Joburg. The lodge in Livingstone was wonderful and the daredevil activities we did were crazy. At the end of the day, though, it was our safari with Brent Reed that blew us away. Just as you predicted. He, his staff, the camps, the drives, the baseball (yes baseball) at lunch, the fly fishing (yup), and the non stop game action made for the apex of a trip of a lifetime. And when Brent jumped out of the truck, dove into a bush and came out with an 8 foot python, well, I thought that only happened in movies. The O'Connell family, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Offbeat Meru was a good introduction to the safari experience – lots to see, including black rhino in the reserve and elephants in the camp itself! We also went to visit the local village which made a massive impression on the children. Karisia was my favourite section. Although you don’t see the animals quite so close up, it felt a lot more real than sitting in a 4 x 4. Naboisho camp is beautiful and the conservancy is really peaceful, which works well when combined with the bustle of the Mara. It was a lovely place to come home to. We spent our last day in the National Park and had a dream of a day: cheetah, a leopard (just), a lion kill, a zebra crossing (ha ha), and we even watched, holding our breath, as a huge crocodile caught and ate a zebra. The three parts of the holiday fitted together really smoothly. Everyone knew where we needed to be when and took responsibility for us right up to the point of departure. So, many thanks indeed – we would recommend you wholeheartedly to anyone. The Strudwick family, Warwickshire, England |
The Outlaw family, San Diego, California, USA |
Shooting Star was fabulous too and again lovely to be there before the season starts in earnest. We hooked up with a lovely Dutch couple and did a day trip down south to go swimming with dolphins and visit the red colobus monkey reserve - the dolphins were amazing. All my thanks again. I will be saving up for a return to Kicheche at some point. Kate Millar, Gloucestershire, England |
Your choice of Leleshwa camp in the Masai Mara was inspired and was the most beautiful, remote place we have ever been to. All of the staff at the camp made such an effort to make us feel relaxed and at home, and to design a safari trip which enabled us to see so much whilst not completely exhausting the kids ! Standards of food and all round luxury in the camp were sky high. The trip was worth every penny in giving us an experience we will all treasure, until (hopefully) one day we return. In two days in the Mara we saw all the game we could have dreamt of seeing, including a large pride of lions with 8/9 cubs, sometimes feeding from their mothers, cheetahs, a huge herd of buffalo, the Talek river full to bursting with hippos .. the list goes on. It was truly memorable. And that’s before mentioning the visist to the Masai village. We were privileged to spend time with a lady in her home and to learn a little bit about the way the Masai people live. It was sad to leave Leleshwa after such a short time, but there’s another reason to try to go back ! Thanks again - a big thumbs up to you and a recommendation for anyone thinking of travelling to Africa with young children. The Amos family, London, England |
Thank you to Aardvark – you got it absolutely spot on with each leg of the holiday. We shall not forget this one in a long time. The Kelly family, Surrey, England |
Acacia House and the whole set-up there was definitely as special as David and Wendy had built it up to be. What a magical place and we couldn't have been better looked after. We particularly appreciated knowing and seeing what else is going on there, besides giving us tourists a wonderful time. Seeing the computer school and hearing from our guide Fred all about the Guiding School, as well as meeting Jackson (then seeing him on Planet Earth a few days later!) all added to the wonderful memories. David's champagne and "dung" birthday cake was hugely enjoyed by all. After all the early morning game drivesand late nights, our time in Lamu was a welcome rest, though we were still quite busy there! After 33 years away we were delighted to find it still unspoilt and charming,we couldn't fault the way it is run by Carol with such energy. Many thanks for your efforts in making our holiday such a special one. The Perry family, Hampshire, England |
On to Sand River where our stay was incredible, there is nothing that we could think of to make it any better. We were met at the airstrip by our guide and went directly on a drive to see our first giraffes, impalas, … fantastic! Having dinner on one long table was lovely and our children have really enjoyed that part too. It was nice to hear everyone’s stories. The food was delicious, an incredible variety considering the distance everything travels to get there. I even had the surprise of a chocolate birthday cake! The level of service is fantastic. The fly camping will be a long lasting memory, all was so well organised and planned. We arrived just before sunset to a perfect setting by a lake with all the tents up and chairs out to have a ‘sundowner’ – what a treat. As you can tell by now, we are extremely happy with our holiday and to answer your question, I do not think anything more could have been done to make it better. The Hodges family, London, England |
The Hooper family, Essex, UK |
Like Alan said we had a really wonderful holiday that will be talked about for many years - the variety of locations, the variety of landscape and activities and the support were first class. It’s hard to find a holiday that pleases so many people of such varied age so quite an accomplishment. McGeoch family, Nigeria |
 From the moment we were met by Vivi, Naina and Fina we had a magical time.
Madagascar is undoubtedly special, but I am sure that it was this team thatyou gave us as our guides, travelling companions and fellow holiday makers that made the holiday so wonderful. They were so helpful, so cooperative, so interesting and so amusing that they were a joy to travel with. Nothing was too much for them or too difficult to organize. And their patience with my attempts at Malagasy was inspiring! The itinerary and the resorts were superbly selected, and gave us a most enjoyable and varied experience of Madagascar. Whether it was the dark forests of Vakona, the idyllic desert island feel of Bush House, or the luxury of Princess Bora, I think we all agree that the holiday, an inspired concoction of different experiences, will remain with all of us as one of our most memorable, individually, and collectively as families. Then our day in Faratsiho, (can you imagine dragging your wife on two three hour journeys on her birthday, four hours of which was on dirt roads?), was like a dream. We visited my old school and met a wonderful couple who run it, examined my bedroom and classroom, were taken into town to meet an old, retired teacher, who was a young teacher with me in 1967, who then took us to see the mother of my then girlfriend! Shrieks of laughter all round! Vivi and Naina were as entranced as we were! So, I want you to know that you gave us all the holiday of a lifetime, and I want you also to know how grateful we are to Vivi and the others for looking after us so perfectly. The Davies family, Nigeria |
All in all it ran like clockwork. Thanks for organizing it all, it was truly memorable. The Speakman family, Essex, UK |
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The Nowak family, Berkshire, UK |
Tor, I cannot thank you enough for organising such a most amazing trip. We’ve been on quite a few holidays over the years and some mishap always seems to follow us -but this was plain sailing and worked like clockwork. We all shed a tear as we boarded the BA flight home which probably says it all! The Whitehead family, Hampshire, UK |
The Kelly family, London, England |
Highlights for all of us were: Cape Point, whales at sunset in Kalk Bay, ostriches in Oudtshoorn, playing with the cheetahs at Tenikwa Cheetah Sanctuary in Plettenberg, Big Five safari at Impodimo in Madikwe, and probably best of all was horse riding at Ants Hill in the Waterberg – even the novice riders amongst us were cantering by the end of our stay Paul Rayner, Kincardinshire, Scotland |
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The Harris family (and Anthony Aardvark), Bucks, England |
 For the first time in my long experience of booking holidays I was asked by Victoria about previous holidays that we as a family or married couple had enjoyed the most, as opposed to being shoe-horned into a resort or camp that happened to have availability. We were immediately given a rough guide to average cost per head (so it wouldn't come as a shock when the suggested itinerary came through) and then we left it with Victoria to come back with suggestions. Within a matter of a few days we were given the full outline of a trip which sounded like the true holiday of a lifetime, which, on confirming that we liked it, was priced and detailed quickly. The safari leg was to be at a camp called Rekero, the beach bit on Denis Island in the Seychelles. Victoria had built the itinerary to make maximum use of our two weeks, using private flight transfers where possible to avoid wasting time hanging around airports for connections.
All I can say is that the holiday was unbelievable. At Rekero, Victoria had already requested a particular guide for us who she felt would be best suited to us as a family, and how right she was. Dickson was the best guide ever, and the memory of him and my children imitating the noise of wildebeest grunting as we crossed the Mara plains will stay with me for ever. We all had lumps in our throat as we said goodbye to him at the airstrip before flying back to Nairobi. The things that most impressed me were as follows - Aardvark listened to what we wanted, and then suggested destinations accordingly; they were very responsive; they clearly know all their destinations personally, and very well, so were able to give first hand, balanced & independent commentary on each; they organised every aspect of the trip; and just before we travelled they sent some lovely literature such as animal and bird spotting guides to get us in the mood. I would have no hesitation in recommending to anyone that they use Aardvark, and I would guarantee that, like us, they will have the holiday of a lifetime. John McConnell, Kent, England |
Judy Acton, North Yorkshire, England |
 We just wanted to say a huge thank you to Aardvark for organising a fantastic trip to Zambia and Malawi for us this summer, in addition to the equally wonderful trip organised for us to Kenya two years ago. Both itineraries have been perfectly pitched at our family group which included a young teenager and an 80+ year old. All the travel arrangements, camps and lodges were very suited to the needs of young and old alike and staff everywhere did all they could to ensure that the grandfather of the party took part in as many of the activities as possible. We would have no hesitation in recommending Aardvark to plan a broad based family safari and we will certainly be using them again!
The Wilderspin and Chatters family, Hampshire, England |
Ernst Schlogelhofer, London, England |
Minor-De Pauw family, Belgium |
Kasaka – Lower Zambezi, Zambia Their children, Chloe and Daniel, each wrote the story of an African safari day. Both are fantastic, so we’ve given them each their own website page: Click here for Chloe’s story of her family safari day Click here to read Daniel’s story of his day on a family safari |
Thank you do much for organising such a brilliant trip, we loved every moment of it. Louis, Mary-Jo, Dion, Emilie and Richard were great and took us under their wings and we were do fortunate to have three other fab families there over Christmas, it was the prefect start to the holiday – 110% relaxation! The people working there were wonderful. Off Beat Mara was fab as well, the tents were great although Muffet had an interesting night with a buffalo scratching its backside on one of the guy ropes – not much sleep for her that night! Frank and Julietta looked after us really well, a good way to spend Hogmanay. We loved Sosian. What a fantastic place and such a treat to have the place to ourselves with Steve and Annabelle and his family. I managed one ride and even jumped off the middle waterfall jump – Malcolm could not quite believe his eyes! It was a prefect break. The Leslie Family, Gorebridge, Scotland |
Miranda Arkwright & family, Dublin, Ireland |
As a family we have many special memories of this stunning trip. We were cared for by wonderful people, we learnt heaps, we laughed lots, we ate delicious food, saw beautiful sunsets while drinking sundowners and listening to lions roar. Every day we had an adventure. Would we do this holiday again? Yes, most definitely and we would not hesitate to contact Aardvark to help us. Penny Dickson, Perthshire, Scotland |
The Body family, Chelmsford, England |
The Sayer family, Wantage, England |
I would also like to say how awesome Nicola and Patrick at Ride Kenya were. They really looked after us and once Patrick realised we were up for a bit of an adventure and would pretty much give anything a shot then he went into a sort of overdrive. It all culminated in a human pyramid with the camp staff on the last night. I have attached a photo. Thanks again and please pass onto your team how much we appreciated their efforts. Alex Reading, Edinburgh, Scotland |
Debbie O'Sullivan, Hampshire, England |
Englehardt family, Singapore |
We really couldn't have been happier with everything you arranged. it all went like clockwork. The Capes family, Hampshire, England |
Our two children had the experience of their lives and really thrived during their stay - if anyone says that children are not able to go on safari we would love to tell them about how well it went for us. The Griffin family, London, England |
As an example, I will never forget playing 'hunt Henry', when one of our guides pretended to steal our goats and then with the help of the other guides, my boys and myself tracked Henry and captured him with our spears! Great fun and a good use of the bushcraft skills we had been shown. Mike Armstrong, Leeds, England |
The Cowper family, Herts, England |
I would like to say a big thank you to Aardvark, and Victoria in  particular, for making our first trip to southern Africa such a great success. My 16 year old daughter and I wanted an individual safari experience, with less time in the car and more time walking and canoeing through the wilderness. From the first phone call to receiving the travel documents our personal objectives took centre stage. Zambia met all our expectations and more, we not only saw a wide range of animals, including lions and leopards, but we saw them on foot and from canoes, which was what we had set out to do. The lodges, which Aardvak had chosen for us, were small and individual; they blended beautifully into the African bush and we felt perfectly safe. We will be back for more!
Ernst Schlogelhofer, London, England |
It is because of this approach that we had, in the words of my daughter, “the best holiday ever”. And that is from a 14 year old on a two week holiday with just her parents, and no access to the internet, to mobile phones, or to hair straighteners. Mind you, we didn’t tell her about the lack of electricity until we were packing! Maria Gee, Berkshire, England |
Thank you all so much for giving us all such a wonderful time together as a family and so many happy memories and pictures of our once in a lifetime holiday. Sarah and Stephen Vantreen, Devon, England |
The Whalley family, Roxburghshire, Scotland |
The Youngs, Glasgow, Scotland |
Geoff Hall, Shropshire, England |
The trip was a good one overall. As you anticipated, it was a compromise for Anna and I, but the kids had a fantastic time. Rick and Lola delightful and passionate hosts at The Stables, and were at great pains to help us with our choice of activities. The cottage was perfect for our purposes, and three kids sharing one room was no problem at all. If the sun had come out a bit more we’d have made more use of the plunge pool and BBQ. The kids still speak fondly of them and the breakfasts were awesome. Essential to have a car there though, even if only staying for a day or two, as you can’t walk anywhere.
We had a the most amazing time in Kenya. Your suggestions for the three part trip were perfect. We felt you had really listened to our wants and needs . 
We have had an absolutely amazing holiday – we cannot fault any aspect of our Acacia House stay – it was absolutely superb – the house, the staff, the food, the setting– we saw loads of game (lions and lots of cubs, leopards, elephants, giraffes and a small wildebeest crossing) and just had a great time – Salaash our guide was superb and his knowledge of the culture and the issues facing it was really, really interesting. I think my son and daughter are thoroughly hooked on Africa now and we would not hesitate to go back to the same place or indeed recommend it to others.
We owe our friends a lot for recommending Aardvark for our first taste of Africa. Our holiday to South Africa was truly amazing. Having just got back from Kenya we just had to drop you a line straight away and thank you for organizing such a superb holiday, we never thought our South Africa experience could be matched, but we were delighted to be wrong! The Masai Mara was breathtaking and we saw just about everything including leopard, cheetah, a wildebeest crossing, baboons chasing a leopard, ele’s chasing lion. Special mention must go to our guide Salash who really connected with my teenage boys and who was fantastic throughout, they were really sad to leave. 
Just a note of thanks for putting up with me and ultimiately booking a wonderful and exciting trip. Our stay in Africa was, as our kids repeatedly said, insane.
The whole trip was brilliant and the three sections were sufficiently different for each one to feel like a fresh start. I was reading the guide book on the flight home and it occurred to me that, even after we’d been there, a guide book was very little help in deciding on an itinerary. So we really appreciated all your expert advice. 
A visit to Zanzibar was a wonderful way to celebrate and relax after our Kilimanjaro climb and work in local villages with the San Diego based non-profit Plant With Purpose. The Breezes Beach Club and Spa offered beautiful accommodations, excellent service and was perfect for our 6-family group. Thank you Aardvark Safaris for paying attention to every detail and making our trip a success.
Now back and I just wanted to say a huge thank you for organising such a great trip for us. It all worked out really well. Kicheche has to be the highlight – we were so well looked after, it was ridiculous! Everyone charming and lovely to be there before the crowds arrive. We saw the Big 5, not that it was on our list of things to do, but it was fun nevertheless, and it was an experience never to forget. 
Now that I am back in the UK and have collected my thoughts from the amazing experience of visiting Kenya with my children, I wanted to write to thank Sarah, Victoria and all at Aardvark for your help and careful thought which went into planning the trip. I have not ever before felt moved to write to people who arranged my holidays. 
AWESOME holiday – Thank you. Everyone absolutely loved every moment of it. We had such a fantastic time. Trying to reduce 1500 photo’s down to a reasonable amount to put into an album. I’ve attached a few of the reduced sized pictures I sent to the family whilst away. 
The holiday was FANTASTIC! We felt as if our nearly two weeks was twice as long, due to having two distinct parts to it.
It all went extremely well, all our travelling went according to plan, being met when and where we should, on time. Kinasi was great, we loved the hotel and its location. It was wonderful being in such a remote place, so beautiful. We did some great diving and saw a lot of fantastic fish and coral. 
I can honestly say 'best holiday of our lives', the trip of a lifetime and I have already had demands to go back for the migration in the summer. Also it was one where I thought I got full value, if not more, for my money. I am recommending Cottars and Aardvark to my colleagues several of whom I have already passed your details.
It really was a great holiday and we are busy selling both the location (Madagascar) and the company we booked with to anyone who will listen. The guides were wonderful, discreet when we wanted space but able to join in and even to look ahead and surprise us. Vivi twice went out of his way to meet us in his own time to provide a service he felt we would enjoy - to see King Julian at Vakuna and then again at the end to take us shopping in Tana - and we did.
Francis, we had a fantastic time thank you. Kenya Airways were very efficient – on time or early both ways (unlike Virgin and BA last time!) Ol Donyo Wuas was as good as last time – fantastic facilities - we made full use of the riding, cycling, bloodhounds, walking etc., etc. Rachel, the relief manager was fantastic – very friendly, thoughtful and organized. Venetia and Patrick were lovely too and all the staff went out of their way to make sure we had a good time. The elephant orphanage was fab too and we adopted a baby! Kizingo was a real experience, very different to the Peponi last time – a real Robinson Crusoe experience! Again the family that run it and their staff were fantastic and the bar in the evening had a real atmosphere, even though they were less than half full. There can’t be many places in the world where you can lie on the beach for 3 hours and not see a single person!! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the dolphins – maybe next time!
We had a wonderful, very exciting time in Africa and saw a lot of game (lions, buffalos, hippos, elephants, even a leopard, our son was very pleased). The lodges were excellent and we’ll always remember that trip! Highlights were Sausage Tree Camp because of its beauty. And of course Seba Camp in the Okavango Delta. We had a fantastic guide called Matamo. Our son is now his friend, he was very special. And he was a really good game tracker as well. So it was very hard for us to leave the Okavango-Delta! To our surprise the food was excellent in every camp - we even wanted to hire the cook in Mozambique (Londo Lodge) and tried to persuade him to move to the UK - but it is too cold for him...!” 
It was without a doubt the best holiday we have ever had. The safari was sensational and quite an experience, we saw everything and our tracker and spotter (Foreman and Jack) were terrific. Mozambique proved to be the relaxing tonic we needed, Marlin Lodge was simply spectacular and we were very taken with the staff. I played football with the local team on the beach on Boxing Day which nearly finished me. We went to the local school on Christmas Eve to hand out presents which was very humbling. Cape Town was brief but good, we packed a busy two days there seeing all the sights. 
Bravo. We literally can not think of anything Aardvark could have done better. What is all the more impressive is that we’d not booked with you before. Victoria, you clearly have superior skills at not only listening, but interpreting. Throughout our journey, we met with others who, though at the same or similarly exclusive properties, were in some way disappointed-and they had booked with agents who they’d known for years. While we’d only just met, you managed to book us on the PERFECT itinerary. We loved every camp we stayed at. We experienced varied views of Kenya, its wildlife and its people. We were catered to and cared for by every driver, pilot and host and we loved every minute. Our time at Sirikoi, in Lewa, was magical and ‘not to be topped’, and we feared that the rest of the trip would be a downward spiral, but this was not the case. We would do it again, just as before, in a heartbeat. We are in love with Kenya, and will always remember this enchanted journey and be forever indebted to you and Aardvark for this wonderful, surreal journey. 
Just returned from a fantastic holiday in South Africa and I would like to thank everyone at Aardvark for all their help in making it happen. I had done quite bit of research before contacting Aardvark, but Alice and the team were incredibly helpful in figuring out what kind of holiday we wanted and shaping the plans accordingly. It really helped to talk to someone who’s actually been there! Everything was wonderful – the accommodation was fantastic and although we never seemed to have enough time in each location we were never rushed, we managed to do most of the things we wanted and we didn’t spend too much time in the car. 
I have found Aardvark Safaris an excellent company to deal with.
The information and advice about where to stay on our trip, was excellent and thorough. All communication prior to the trip was faultless and friendly.
The trip that was eventually decided on ran extremely smoothly. All our expectations were met, and in some areas exceeded!
My family and I had a wonderful time visiting Zambia and Botswana. I am sure we shall use Aardvark Safaris again.
I knew next to nothing about Africa when I approached Aardvark in the first place in January this year, except that several people had recommended Namibia to me. From my first discussion with Victoria it was clear she was an expert and she spent a lot of time and effort in talking through exactly what we would enjoy and put together a fantastic trip for us, three weeks in Namibia driving ourselves (mother and daughter team), finishing with three days on the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls. It was just an unbelievable holiday which ran seamlessly - organised by Victoria and the excellent Wilderness Safari team in Namibia who not only met us from all our flights and transported us to hotels and back but provided us with a huge cold box full of drinks which lasted for half the holiday! From the dramatic scenery of Fish River Canyon in the south, to the dunes at Sossusvlei and the wonderful wildlife in the north we were completely captivated and can't wait for our next trip. A big thank you to all involved but particularly, of course, to Victoria. 
A trip of a life time! … this is what we said last year after our return from Zambia, but already then I knew the “African Bug” had bitten us badly and that we will be back for more … again we called upon Victoria, the best listener in the business, she did her magic and listened to Eva, Hannah, Lara and me, which is not easy with everybody talking at the same time and wanting different things … but Victoria quickly noticed a common theme and suggested Mozambique. It was a wonderful choice, with thousands of miles of Indian Ocean, an exciting mix of Portuguese and African culture and music. The people are friendly and beautiful and the sea is always close. We followed Victoria’s recommendation and went to the more remote north eastern part of the country known as the Quirimbas National Part and Marine Reserve. At the breathtakingly beautiful Londo Lodge we did the PADI Open Water Diving course and were released into the Indian Ocean with its teaming sea life. We saw big fish, small fish, dolphins, whales and we swam with turtles. We walked along empty, unspoilt beaches, visited local villages and admired the catch of the day from local fishermen; we felt safe and welcome above and below the water. Was it a trip of a life time? Oh yes, definitely, but Victoria be warned we will be back for more.
Our first holiday with Aarvark - to Kenya, in 2007 - was such an effortless success that the company was a natural port of call when planning this year's trip. Victoria's helpful and friendly advice was impeccable, the itinerary perfect. I fulfilled a lifetime ambition to trek gorillas in Rwanda: being able to experience these amazing animals from only a few feet away was unforgettable. We were then fortunate to be among the first guests at the new Sayari camp before relaxing in Zanzibar. For once, teenspeak has it right - 'awesome' 
The Nelson family travelled with us on a family safari holiday to Zambia and South Africa staying in the following camps and hotels:
I am sitting at my desk in a state of depression after the most fantastic trip to Kenya, I keep having to look at photos to remind me that it was not all a dream!
We had the most fantastic trip to Kenya. We love it! It exceeded all our expectations! 
Riding with PJ and Barney in Botswana was the highlight of our trip. We felt as if they were friends who had invited us to stay for a while. The care and attention they gave to every part of our stay with them was fantastic. The Lower Zambezi national park was also spectacular. We canoed down silent backwaters filled with drinking hippo and buffalo. 
Thank you for some fabulous suggestions and organising. It was truly the holiday of a lifetime. You were personally toasted with wine one night in Tswalu for your excellent choices. 
