Wilderness & Wonder: Best of South Africa and Namibia

Our trip to Namibia and South Africa was nothing short of magical. We were a group of 5 friends and stayed at the Hoodia Desert Lodge in the Namib Desert, Cape Town for New Year's Eve and Notten's Bush Camp in Sabi Sands Reserve. Both lodges were amazing with one of kind accommodations but not to be out down by the warm and hospitable staff. All making you feel like you are the only guest in the world while also making you feel like part of the family. Our Africa safari tour operator worked diligently to satisfy all our "wants" for our trips and was patient with any requests we made through the booking process. We just returned from our trip and are already planning our return trip to Africa!

Zicasso matched us with two excellent travel agents who were both professional, responsive, and knowledgeable. We selected this travel company. Our agent, Richelle, worked with us to design an itinerary that transformed our wish list into an incredible African journey. Her prompt responses to our questions or needs were greatly appreciated.

We were attempting to see a lot of South Africa and Namibia in only two weeks. Throughout our trip, the accommodations, transfers, guides, restaurants, flights, and activities that Richelle had arranged or suggested were superb. She helped us create a portal for our trip that served as a source of information, pick-up times, e-tickets, and things like our allergies that restaurants knew ahead of time. Additionally, she was there for us as we were traveling in case we had a problem or question. We can't say enough about her professionalism, patience, and genuine concern that our vacation would be everything we hoped for.

Our itinerary was ambitious, but Richelle's preparation made it possible. First, we spent three days at Marataba. The accommodations, food, and staff were first-rate. Our guide on the safaris was excellent and the variety of game we saw was impressive.

The next part of our trip was in Cape Town. We arrived in a storm that the locals called "the storm of the century". There was extensive damage and some loss of life as well. While the storm certainly curtailed some activities, the following days had brilliant sunshine. We had a great time visiting the V&A Waterfront, a colony of African penguins at Boulders Beach, enjoying the gorgeous coastal scenery along Chapman's Peak Drive, and a too-short visit to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Our accommodations at the hotel in Sea Point were excellent for location and the professional staff.

After three days in Cape Town, our guide drove us for about an hour to the Cape Winelands. We arranged for two wine tastings in Stellenbosch. The winery was outstanding for the beautiful views and excellent wine. We also saw zebra and impala in the field just in front of the outdoor verandah. We had lunch at a boutique hotel and winery with spectacular views and delicious wine and food. Our accommodations at the hotel in Franschhoek were outstanding. The setting, service, food, and beautiful views were a highlight of our trip. Our room was large and beautifully appointed. An example of their generous hospitality was that all items in the minibar, including a bottle of wine produced at their winery, were gratis. We regretted having to leave after only one night's stay.

Our guide then returned us to the airport in Cape Town for our flight to Walvis Bay, Namibia. We were met by our driver at the airport to transfer us to the hotel in Swakopmund. The hotel was on the Atlantic Ocean and a perfect location to explore the town. The staff was top-notch. Warm, friendly, efficient, willing to help you arrange drivers, restaurant reservations, or figuring out how to work the TV remote.

After three days in Swakopmund, our excellent guide drove us to the lodge in the private Kulala Wilderness Reserve. Once again, the warm hospitality of the staff here and throughout our travels will stay with us for a long time. The lodge is a gateway to the magnificent dunes of Sossusvlei. Our guide was outstanding. He was an excellent driver over some awful roads and sand, and the depth and breadth of his knowledge were impressive. He cooked us a lovely chicken and salad lunch out in the desert. He drove us to Windhoek for our flight back to Johannesburg and our return home. 

There will be many wonderful things to remember about our journey in southern Africa, but Richelle's excellent guidance and the warmth of the African people are what will stay with us the longest.

I had a great experience with this safari tour planner and Zicasso. My sons and I wanted to go to South Africa and Botswana on two weeks notice at the end of July, 2017. I knew we needed to create a bespoke itinerary but I was a little bit intimidated by not knowing my way around South Africa at all. I had done some preliminary searching and received multiple quotes that were absurdly expensive. Somehow I came across this travel planner and from the outset I could see that he was extremely knowledgeable and understood what I did want and what I did not want. I wanted luxury but at sane price; to be in the hands of people I could trust on the ground; great game viewing; adventure for my sons. Our travel planner booked us at Sabi Sabi Selati in Sabi Sands in South Africa and Mashatu in Botswana. We loved both camps. Selati is like an old world safari experience as I had always imagined it to be in terms of decor. The food was great, the evening meals with other guests at the lodge were cozy. Mashatu is a different experience altogether - the game viewing is more plentiful and less of a trek to find, the suites more luxurious, the compound more extensive and overall less expensive than Sabi Sabi. In addition, there are bicycling treks at Mashatu which my sons really liked as well as a dug out they call a hide where you can view the game up close as the animals drink at a watering hole. I had insisted that I did not want to fly from Sabi Sabi to Mashatu and our planner did arrange for a great driver to get transport us by road but I would not recommend doing that - the trip is too long (6 hours) and we ran into some difficulties on the road so if we go back, and I hope we do, we will fly from Sabi Sands to Mashatu. He also arranged for drivers to pick us up at the airport when we flew into Johannesburg, to pick us up the next day to take us back to the airport for the flight to Skukuza, to drive us to Mashatu, to get us to Polykwane Airport for our flight to Capetown and to pick us up at the Capetown airport and every one of those drivers were prompt, courteous, polite, knowledgeable about the area. I had made my own arrangements to stay overnight at the in Johannesburg and highly recommend that hotel - fabulous rooms and suites, great rooftop bar, gorgeous views of the city from throughout the resort. Overall, five stars to this safari tour planner - he will listen to you and steer you in the right direction.

     Shortly after using the Zicasso site to send my safari inquiry out, I received a call from numerous agents all willing to help organize the safari of my dreams.      After careful consideration I chose our trip planner with this travel team.  She listened to my ideas, wish lists, hopes and expectations.  Not only did our trip planner fulfill all of my requests, she went over and above to ensure all my needs were met.  The entire trip was seamless.  I had to travel to Africa by myself one the first leg of the trip to complete a Medical Missions trip to Zimbabwe, and subsequently met my husband in Johannesburg, SA following my medical duties.  This trip planner ensured that my spouse was adequately care for in every detail.  She arranged transports to and from hotels and airports, helped get us through customs, porters, literally every small detail was looked after.      Our trip planner planned a most extraordinary adventure for us in Cape Town which was more than our expectations could ever have been.  We got to experience first-hand the rich Jewish Heritage of the Cape Town area, visit the Holocaust museum, the synagogue, and experience the rich culinary world Cape Town has become to be known.  Every restaurant was incredible!  We toured around the entire peninsula area with an amazing guide who was a Cape Town native.  Therefore we felt as if we got a genuine cultural experience and learned amazing things about South Africa which we had never known prior.      Then we were off to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in the greater Kruger National Park for the safari of a lifetime.  Not only was the lodge astounding, but the icing on the cake was the chef was very familiar with Kosher dietary laws and was most accommodating to my needs.  We saw all the big five gaming animals on the first day.  Each and every experience we had was life-changing.  We made so many wonderful memories.  We look forward to our next adventure and would rank our experience with this travel company the best experience anyone could possible have.