Mt Kenya feedback
----- Original Message -----
From: Cameron Fergus
To: IntoAfrica UK Ltd
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 12:56 AM
Subject: Re: feedback request
Dear Chris,
Apologies for the delay in getting back to you and thanks for the
opportunity to submit feedback on our recent trek – here it is:
The Mt Kenya trek (Sirimon ascent, Chogoria descent) was extremely well
organised, well equipped and the rare hitch in proceedings (vehicle
breakdown) was handled quickly, professionally and without fuss.
Our guide Isaac was a highly experienced mountain guide who provided
reliable information on Mt Kenya, its environment and the daily trekking
conditions throughout the trip. The cook and porters were friendly,
sociable and approachable, providing great assistance throughout. The food
was plentiful and of a high standard. We very much enjoyed the
interactions with our trekking team, learning a great deal about Kenya,
the Swahili language and the political events which coincided with our
trip.
Whilst the ‘on the mountain’ side of the trip was faultless,
invaluable assistance and guidance was also provided by Chris Morris in
the UK during the booking and lead-up to our trek. As our arrival in Kenya
coincided with the December 2007 elections, Chris ensured that we were
well informed in advance of our arrival and our guide kept us appraised of
the situation in Nairobi throughout the trek. Of particular note was the
great service provided by Chris in keeping our families back in Australia
informed of the situation in Kenya and reassuring them of our safety on
the mountain.
The mountain trek on Mt Kenya is a spectacular experience, so different to
Mt Kilimanjaro, and in many ways superior to its more popular neighbour.
The mountain presents great challenges each day and trekkers are
constantly rewarded with spectacular vistas throughout. The low numbers of
people on the mountain means that trekkers are able to enjoy the
surroundings in virtual silence, at times providing the feeling that you
have the whole mountain to yourself. Our trekking team ensured that all of
the technical aspects of our daily treks were taken care of which allowed
us to simply enjoy the wonders of Mt Kenya every day. I strongly recommend
the Mt Kenya trek and thank Chris and all involved for the professional
and friendly manner in which they organized themselves and for a truly
wonderful experience on the mountain.
Best regards
Cameron
Fergus
Australia
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From: Cormac Macdonnell
To: IntoAfrica UK Ltd
Cc: susie mitchell
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:28 PM
Subject: RE: feedback
On our Mountain Trek- 30th Sept to 6th Oct 2007
We really enjoyed this week and we most pay special
tribute to our guide Sammy, our chef Wilson and porters. They were
excellent - very professional and friendly and I think that when compared
to other companies (and their guides) , we were very happy with out team.
They made the trek up Mt.Kenya very enjoyable indeed, and I`d say there is
good scope to offer other treks in Mt. Kenya National Park as its a
spectacular area.
Perhaps its worth thinking about offering the Mt.
Kenya treks over 5 days? (
still allowing for one day acclimatisation day at shipton's) Overall, I
think the Shipton/ Chigoria route is a very pleasant trek!
Overall, Chris - thanks a million for your
assistance. We think Into Africa offers
some very good tours and is about more that just making a few ££ . We
are glad we booked our tours with you and would be happy to serve as a
contact point for others thinking about booking with into Africa.
Warm Regards
Cormac & Susie ( in Ireland)
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----- Original Message -----
From: MarcVigeant
To: enquiry@intoafrica.co.uk
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 6:54 PM
Subject: After the trek
Dear Chris,
Now that our trek is over, a few words to tell you that it has been
an extraordinary trek, thanks to our guide Francis and the whole staff.
Everyone was friendly and efficient. Francis knew how to adapt the trek to
our expectations and we are very grateful for that. We can only say :
continue like this. And if some friends ask us which organization is
liable for such a trip, we'll recommend Intoafrica.
Best regards
Marc
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----- Original Message -----
From: Geoffrey Wilkinson
To: IntoAfrica UK Ltd
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 11:26 AM
Subject: RE: Mt Kenya feedback
Chris
On behalf of the group I have been asked to send on our appreciation for
all you and your staff did for us. From our arrival to our departure your
team were always efficient, courteous and unfailingly smiling! In
particular I would like to thank Frank our guide up the mountain who had
to arrange to bring Andrew down because of his bad reaction to altitude.
It took nine hours to negotiate our way with Andrew down to Moses camp and
Frank then (at 6pm) had to turn round walk back up and then proceed to
guide the others on their final ascent! Not a word of complaint throughout!
Also special thanks to Peter for being so uncomplaining about our constant
change of arrangements at the end of the trip when he was driving us. I
now several of our group have every intention of using your company again
and we will be singing your praises locally. I have down quite a few treks
with Explore and The Adventure Company but would have no hesitation in
saying IntoAfrica was the equal if not better in the way it adapted to and
met our needs.
Many thanks for all your help.
Geoff Wilkinson,
Scotland,
UK
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----- Original Message -----
From: gskoszednar
To: enquiry@intoafrica.co.uk
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 1:33 AM
Subject: Re: feedback
Chris,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back with you, Since I was in Africa
for five weeks, I am finally getting back to my old routine at home.
I totally enjoyed my trip on Mount Kenya. My guide, Isaac, and the
cook and porters made for a very nice experience for me. They went
out of the way for me by preparing great meals that catered to my special
health needs, and added extra side trips to view the areas around the
Gorgeous Gorge with its many lakes and waterfalls. My Christmas was
a very different and a special one with a fire in the fireplace at the
last cabin I stayed at. Also, thanks for the last minute ability to
tour the elephant orphanage and snake museum in Nairobi with my spare time
left before going on to Arusha. When I get things together, I plan
to send you some of my pictures and possibly a video if you are
interested.
Thanks again.
Jerry
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----- Original Message -----
From: Simon & Lucy
To: IntoAfrica UK Ltd
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2005 12:12 PM
Subject: RE: Mt Kenya that glorious mountain!
Hi Chris
It is somewhat late in the day and the euphoria died down but as I am only
just back I thought it would be worth dropping you a line regarding our
trip with your organisation. We had many a high moment during our lovely 5
weeks in Kenya seeing friends, family and familiar places. I had no real
expectations of the Mt Kenya aspect of the trip and did expect to be
pushed out of my comfort zone..... However I was really just pushed into a
completely different comfort zone ably assisted by ministrations of Denial
at the start and then Sammy, Denial the chef, Daredan, Steven, Bernard and
the rest of the team. The walk was amazing, the route stupendous, the
company great, the food fantastic and the accommodation great.
As an aside, I found your advice to travellers very useful and would like
to suggest the following additions based on my observations on the
mountain and discussions with Sammy (I also have an inherent interest in
waste management!)
All rubbish should be carried off the mountain - dispose of it at either
the huts or gates this should include toilet tissue - carry a bag with you
for the purpose, avoid using it unless absolutely necessary (women could
consider sanitary protection if worried by the drips!!) Just a though as
this was the one thing wrong on the mountain and it could have been a lot
worse.
The other thought I had was if there were more "Responsible Travel
agents" like yourself that you could get teams of porters in the low
season to clean the mountain getting contributions from your satisfied
clients? Just a thought!
Thank you for organising it all so well
Best Wishes
Lucy and Simon Pierpoint, NZ
PS I am sorry we have no old gear to pass on but I would like to send
something to Sammy and a group photo - have you an address for him or can
you take him something if I were to post it to you?
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From: Jon Lambert
To: IntoAfrica UK Ltd
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2004 2:42 PM
Subject: Re: feedback
Dear Chris,
Thanks for the email. Got back yesterday - we spent a further week in
Zanzibar with friends.
The Mt Kenya trip was extremely good. Very well organised - things ran
exactly as planned, and Francis, our guide, adapted the schedule
appropriately on the day when it tipped down. He was also generally well
informed and patient. The pace over the six days was about right too.
Food was plentiful and consistently edible, always served with a smile. We
weren't able to convince Patrick the cook that we didn't need a cooked
three-course breakfast every day.
The information you sent us prior to the trip was also very helpful, esp
relating to the diamox and the kit list. Perhaps there was not enough
emphasis that the climb, particularly the final ascent (which was over
ice, in darkness, fog and sleet), is actually quite demanding - we were
surprised at times how hard it was.
On balance, we had a fantastic time, and still plan to come back to
Kenya/Tanzania (when we've saved up enough!) to do a walking safari.
Many thanks, and Happy Christmas.
Jon Lambert and Gareth Beddoe.
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-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: IntoAfrica UK Ltd [mailto:enquiry@intoafrica.co.uk]
Gesendet: Montag, 5. August 2002 12:57
An: Herbert Dollenmeier
Betreff: feedback
Dear Chris
Thank you for your e-mail. Sorry for the delay in responding! We are all
back to work already here in Switzerland (unfortunately.....) and I was
out of the office and wasn't able to respond earlier.
Our trip to Mt. Kenya with your organisation was just perfect. We cannot
tell you, what should be or can be improved, because there is nothing that
needs improvement. We had a wonderful time with your people on the
mountain and would like to thank again all of them for the great
hospitality during our trip. William was a very gentle guide (and good
friend) for us, and our cook was so great, that we will give him at least
four stars! It was just great, what wonderful meals he and his crew cooked
for us on his "portable" kitchen. None of us ever had any
problems on the stomach, and we appreciated always the nice "handwashing
service" before each meal. You are doing great!!!!! I think, we even
gained weight, although we were expecting to loose some grams....Perhaps
you did order the good weather for us as well?? Perhaps you arranged all
the animals for us during the game drives??? Everything was perfect!
We can always recommend your organisation to any interested person and we
already (proudly) show around the T-shirts with your www.intoafrica.co.uk
logo here. As soon as we get together the pictures (photos) we will e-mail
you a couple.
Let us know, whenever we may be of assistance to you!
Best regards
Herbie Dollenmeier, Juerg (George) Noti, Gaston Vonlanthen, Martin
Huerlimann (the Dollenmeier couple)
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Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2002 7:19 AM
Subject: Re: feedback
Hello Chris,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I've just kind of
been swept up with things since getting back.
We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed ourselves
immensely. Both Patrick and Emmy were wonderful hosts and made us
feel very welcome and well attended to. All of the staff we dealt
with were very professional and helpful.
At the risk of meandering with my thoughts, I'll try
to put together a few recollections.
Our first day - in Nairobi- was a little
disconcerting. It seemed that everyone was warning us about walking in the
city. I understand the issues but remember thinking that maybe we should
just sit in the hotel room and stay safe. We did do some walking and it
was an adventure. It would have been nice to have a suggestion on what to
do with that day. I know that David Tepper arranged to be taken right to
the Mount Kenya lodge. That was a very nice and relaxing spot - I
don't know if that would have been an option for us or not.
As it turned out, we had some health concerns while
on Mount Kenya. David was getting over a bout with the flu as we started
and wasn't sure if he would be able to handle the altitude. He was
pretty weak as we left from the Sirimon Gate but wasn't ready to cancel
his trip. The first night while at Old Moses Hut, my son Mark and I
seemed to have a stomach upset, and on the day up to Shiptons ended up
quite weak by the time we got there. If we hadn't had the scheduled
rest day, neither of us could have hiked to the summit early the following
morning. Unfortunately all of this happened on our first few days
and that probably heightened our uncertainty and concerns.
That aside, Sammy is a great guide and we really
admired his professionalism. I liked him alot and I talk about him to
everyone here. Mount Kenya was awesome and I would recommend it to
anyone. A couple of other thoughts:
We wanted to purchase a good map of Mount Kenya as a
souvenir but couldn't find one. I've obtained one on the internet since I
returned. It would be a nice service for Patrick and Emmy to offer maps
for sale to your clients. I bet you could also sell a nice T-shirt with
your logo to most every client if you were to offer it.
John
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Dear IntoAfrica
Thanks for your email and apologies for not replying more promptly, but
I've been out of the office for a few days. I travelled in July
this year on your Kenya trip which combined trekking in the Loita Hills
with a visit to the Masai Mara and then a climb of Mt Kenya. There were
eight of us in our group.
I was a very inexperienced trekker - this was my first trip of its kind.
However, the guides inspired confidence and were clearly very competent.
This was reassuring, particularly on Mt Kenya where their obvious experience
and advice helped many of our group to adjust to the altitude and conditions
where, otherwise, we may have had difficulties. Also on Mt Kenya there
were Rangers posts with rescue services and radios. I do not, however,
have any idea of how effecient these are as, fortunately, we did not need
to test them! I do not really know about contingency plans for emergencies,
but as we had two vehicles and a number of staff/crew I never felt unduly
exposed or vulnerable in the event of any accident or problem. One or
two the group had mild altitude problems on Mt Kenya but, again, our guides
were competent in dealing with that and inspiring confidence - we all
made it to the top as well.
I hope I have given you enough detail here. As I am sure you have gathered,
I would have no hesitation in recommending IntoAfrica- I had a very memorable
and special holiday and would certainly use you again on a return trip.
Kind regards
Rozanna Niazi
Burke Niazi Solicitors & Advocates
London
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Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 18:13:35 -0600
Subject: Re: Feedback
From: "philippe delesalle"
To: IntoAfrica UK Ltd <enquiry@intoafrica.co.uk>
january 16/01
hello Chris, just back from London, last night , after an absolutely
fabulously successful trip !
Naturally I wanted to touch base with you. Firstly to say thank you for
your very good service, in helping me plan that trip. the planning was
quite involved as we had to meet some friends along the way... We like
to thank Patrick and Charles for their very WARM HOSPITALITY. They gave
us good accomodation- excellent service- excellent food and above all,
they made us welcomed and comfortable. The treking crew was EXCELLENT-
very kind and courteous people. I like to recommend particularly SAMMY
KAMIRI, who brought Daniel ( very good cook ) and 2 porters of his choice.
Mireille, my wife and I, are specially impressed by the quality of leadership
of Sammy, quiet, thoughtfull and most respectuous of people and environment.
I highly recommend him for your demanding clients ...
On recommendation from Patrick, to visit Samburu, we accelerated our
summit day by walking from Mackinder's Camp to Lenana Summit- down on
icy snow (marginal conditions without axe ) to Shipton's Camp, to Old
Moses Camp, to Sirimon Gate...where Sammy managed to get transportation...
Not bad for Mireille just out of hospital ! Anyway it was a first for
Sammy to lead a 71 y.o.on the summit ! and we enjoyed the beautiful day
.
Question : If I send a parcel ( approx. 10 pounds ) to your address,
could you deliver it to Sammy at MRH ? Apparently parcels sent by post
to Nairobi do NOT get there .
After that we walked 2 weeks with the Masai... another great human experience...
then we went to Tanzania to Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti... Fabulous.
then few day in Shela and back to London! Quite a trip for our 40th, wedding
anniversary...
Thank you again Chris,
Best regards, Philippe
N.B. : Please do pass this note to PATRICK and CHARLES with our thanks
and our regards, we appreciated very much their attention to our needs.
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From: "ian.rogerson"
To: "IntoAfrica UK Ltd" <enquiry@intoafrica.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Africa trip feedback
Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2000 20:25:02 +0100
Chris, the trip was most enjoyable. Everything ran smoothly when in Kenya
and Tanzania, all Into Africa staff appeared organised and were very keen
to help where ever possible.
The guides, Peter (Kenya) and Nicholas (Kilimanjaro) were first class,
both were very easy to talk to and were keen share their vast knowledge
of the mountains. The food was also very good.
I would like to finish by saying a big thank you to everyone who helped
in any way to make the whole Africa experience so enjoyable, especially
Pete and Nicholas for guiding us to the tops. I will be recommending Into
Africa to anybody in the future who should ask and look forward to visiting
Africa again myself before too long. Thank you again
Ian Rogerson
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