Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

We travel a lot, but this recent Africa adventure was our first safari. The most telling aspect of this trip, however, is the fact that we immediately decided that it would not be our last safari! Julian and his team put together a great variety of activities and places in our initial visit to Africa, and our preconceived perceptions about this continent were completely blown away. The African people are uniformly friendly and hospitable, and we were impressed by the high level of overall cleanliness that we encountered everywhere in our travels. The bush camps that Julian selected were amazing, and each of them had their own unique style with regard to the overall feel and vibe of the establishment. The game sightings were fabulous, and the food was superb. While each camp was indeed terrific, a special shout out has to go to Grant and Annamie and their staff at Gomoti Plains Camp in the Okavango Delta. In each location (including Cape Town and Victoria Falls) our guides were excellent; highly knowledgeable as well as enthusiastic about sharing their local expertise with us.

While I really enjoy my hobby of being a pretty good amateur travel agent, in my opinion this is the kind of trip that requires a professional planner to choose and coordinate the myriad moving parts that go along with it. Julian and his staff were responsive to our particular needs, and they very definitely got it right!

My husband and I just returned from a spectacular trip to Southern Africa designed for us by Christian. When I first spoke with Christian, I told him we were open to any time of the year and that are objectives were scenery and wildlife, but that we also wanted to visit Cape Town. Christian created a dream itinerary of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Christian suggested we travel in May for ideal animal sightings and good weather, which turned out perfectly as we had 21 days of sunshine and incredible animal sightings once we began our safaris.

We began our trip in Cape Town May 2 and stayed at the lovely Four Rosemead Guest House. Cape Town is a beautiful city in a magnificent setting. We had a wonderful guide for our tour of the Cape Peninsula, who then drove us to the gorgeous Whale Coast, where we spent two days at the exquisite Mosaic Lagoon Lodge on the Hermanus Lagoon. We took a boat trip down the lagoon, which is filled with exotic birds. We also did a beach and nature walk and learned so much about the area from our guides. From there we spent a day in lovely Franschhoek before leaving for Zimbabwe to begin our safaris.

In Zimbabwe, we got on our first of many flights on bush planes and flew to Hwange National Park, a remote and spectacular area, home to half the elephants in all of Zimbabwe along with so many other species. We saw cheetah with their kill, leopards, a pride of 21 lions, a huge herd of rare black sable antelope, elephants, cape buffalo, hundreds of zebra and more….. one peak moment after another. Our guide was superb with an encyclopedic knowledge of the area. We stayed at wonderful Camp Davison’s which has the loveliest staff and fabulous food.

From Hwange, we travelled to Victoria Falls and stayed at the fabulous Old Drift Lodge on the Zambezi River, where we took a sunset cruise and watched hippos and crocodiles gambol about. And, of course we visited the awe-inspiring falls, which are not to be missed.

Our next stop were 8 days of safaris in 3 different camps in Botswana, all of which were unique and special in scenery and wildlife. Each camp had superb guides, beautiful facilities, wonderful food and a caring staff who could not do enough for us. The wildlife and scenery was breathtaking in each camp.

Christian coordinated a perfect trip that was seamless in transitioning from country to country, in arranging for all of our guides and drivers and coordinating our many flights and selecting such amazing accommodations. The timing was perfect at each destination. It was truly a dream trip. For now, we are sated with our memories of the sights, the sounds and the smells of the African bush but hope we can return in the future.

We just returned from a glorious 3-week trip to southern Africa, from 4-13 to 5-3 2025. This trip involved so many details, from safari camp choices, to logistics of plane and land travel, including border crossings, visas, etc. It could never have been the seamless experience it was without the expertise of Julian and his associate Lisa! From our first conversation with Julian, we felt he was quick to discern our “travel personalities,” so to speak. We were pleased with our final itinerary, and Julian and Lisa provided all the knowledge we needed to assure a smooth trip. And it was! Not one glitch!

Starting in Cape Town, we enjoyed the intimate 2INN1 Kensington, with our view of Lions Head. Our guide Garth shared our interests in art, gardens, and wine. We thoroughly enjoyed our few days in the Cape Town area. Garth ensured a smooth exit for us, onto our flight to Maun, Botswana and our first bush plane. The next week was so incredible, spanning the Kalahari, Okavango, and Chobe areas. Fabulous places, people, food, and of course WILDLIFE!!! A wonderful surprise at Little Machaba was that we were their only guests our first night. When they took us to our luxury tent, our terrace was all set up for a magnificent candlelight dinner! Our chef Bianca and server Katy came to our tent and presented each course throughout this amazing meal. The game drives were so fun and amazing.

Another surprise was the manager sending us off to our WOW Moment—a helicopter tour of the Okavango! After four camps and 15 game drives (all were wonderful, except food disappointing at Savute), we crossed into Zimbabwe. Loved the Old Drift Lodge and Victoria Falls. So much history and magnificent beauty! Did another helicopter ride. A bit touristy, but still well done, and gives the only “total” view of the falls in all its sections.

Our final few days was relaxing on the beach at Anantara Bazaruto Island off Mozambique. Beautiful villa on the beach, wonderful people. The resort is 20 years old, and undergoing some needed facelift work. But it will preserve the isolated, peaceful beauty of this place, I’m sure. Then off to Johannesburg for a smooth direct flight to Newark, enjoying our thoughts, memories, photos of this trip-of-a-lifetime. So grateful to have finally experienced the magic of Africa.

Cape Town Extension, May 5th-8th, 2025. Paychi Karen Guh & Steve Sherrard.

My husband and I decided to add 3 nights in Cape Town as an extension to our safari in Botswana. Wendy recommended Julian to help us make this happen in the last minute. We had a great time in CPT. Thanks to Julian & his colleague Lisa for the prompt booking process and everything went perfectly since the start of our communication to the end of the trip.

We asked for a quiet boutique hotel. We got it!! The Blackheath Lodge in Sea Point is our perfect home base in many ways. The location is great—we walked to V&A waterfront in one afternoon and watched sunset on the boardwalk before dinner on another day. The staff is friendly, our room is very comfy, and the breakfast is great.

Natasha was our Driver/Guide. Based on the itinerary outlined by Julian, Natasha rearranged the routes, making the 2 day sightseeing (about 7 hours/day) both relaxing and exciting at the same time. We started the day early (8:15-8:30 am) to beat the crowd for Table Mountain cable car and Boulders Beach/Penguins. We visited other iconic sights without feeling rushed at all. A nice little lunch/coffee stop each day was also perfect. After the day tour, we were able to relax in the hotel for a little bit and walked around for sunset before dinner.

Overall, we truly enjoyed Cape Town. Since we did not spend much time researching where to go/stay in Cape Town, we really appreciate the organization & support from Julian & Lisa for the worry-free trip.

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