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Mt Kilimanjaro feedback----- Original Message ----- -----
Original Message ----- Hi Chris, Thank you very much for organizing the trip. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had in my life. I was able to see astounding natural beauties and I have met amazing people. Thank you for making sure everything went so smoothly. I was very impressed with IntoAfrica staff and the work you guys do on the mountain, safaris and with the various projects you have within local communities. It makes a huge difference on understanding the places and people one visits while in Tanzania. I have already told all my friends that if they ever consider visiting East Africa I strongly suggest they use IntoAfrica as tour operator. I would be very happy to provide references to any potential clients. There are some pictures along with a few comments I gathered in my trip: http://intoafricakili2007.blogspot.com/ I hope my fellow trekkers will post more pictures and comments to this blog. Would you please be able to forward the link above to Julius, Godfree, Godbless, and the rest of the team in Tanzania? It was very hard saying goodbye to those folks. I am actually thinking very seriously about coming back to Tanzania within a year and make another attempt on Kilimanjaro. Can't have a better excuse than this to visit again those amazing places. Would you please be able to keep me up to date with any updates you might have on the Kili treks? Do you think would be a good idea to do Mt. Kenya just before Kili, or it could be too risky and it might diminish my chances to make it to Uhuru Peak? Is Mt. Meru a better option to do just before Kilimanjaro? Sorry for asking already so many questions about my next trip, but I would appreciate any advice you could provide. I will certainly like to have Julius again as the chief guide. He is an amazing person, and he made the right calls on the mountains, keeping his team safe and the customers happy. Cosmin, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message -----
----- Original Message ----- Thanks Chris for a wonderful experience. I've put a full day-by-day blog up here: http://home.comcast.net/~robert.barta/ . You can also use me for anyone who needs a first hand reference. Thank you, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: Marek Cibor Dear Chris, Many thanks for your mail and first of all
thanks for organizing the trip to Tanzania. As you know we went 3 altogether finally from
Poland, and our group was made of 3 Poles + 1 North American (Robert
Barta - see his blog above. CM) + 2
New Zealanders. It actually was a very nice combination of people
from all the extremes of the world to try to reach same target. In general I rate the organization of the
trip as very high. We did realize from the beginning the
limitations of the what the trek to the summit might offer so we
were not surprised by anything, like size of the tents, quality of
toilets, washing conditions etc. What we however invited with great pleasure
was the quality of people you put together and ability to make
things happen on time. Indeed the staff at the guest house, the
person who collected us from the airport, the guides, porters,
cooks and all other really showed much care for us and made us
feel secure and taken care off during the whole stay, the hike
included. As you can probably imagine some of us had
more problems getting to the summit than others and I must say the
expertise of your guides eventually made all of the group to put
their feet on the top. I personally have travelled a lot together
with one of my colleagues, much of the trips to exotic
destinations, Africa included. I must say - probably we have been
lucky - almost everywhere we were confronted with positive
attitude of the local people. This is what we wished would have
happened in Tanzania and it happened. Please pass our best regards to the whole
team of IntoAfrica. We did it obviously ourselves when in Arusha
but it would probably be very good and motivating for all the
members of the team to know that you know it as well. I have absolutely no problem with you placing
my name on whatever site you may use to advertise your services. I
myself have worked for a service industry for more than 25 years
so I do realize what a word of mouth can mean. You can fully count
on my support in this respect. I made a film of that whole trip, it will be
some 40 minutes of a day by day hiking report, it will come on dvd
in some 2-3 weeks. I will be only more than happy to mail you one
copy for your personal or promotional use if you consider it
useful. Thanks again Chris for your assistance and
please remain proud of all the chaps you have on board in
IntoAfrica. Best Regards Poland ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- Dear Chris Thank you for your email, following up on our trip to Kilimanjaro. Our trip up Kilimanjaro was a fantastic experience. We had planned this trip, hoping to reach the summit to celebrate both of our birthdays on the top of the mountain. Thanks to the fantastic team of guides, porters and cooks, our whole group made it to the summit and had an amazing time getting there. Thanks especially to Julius, the chief guide, whose experience and support was invaluable. The food was fantastic and plentiful and certainly much better than we had prepared ourselves for! The trip was superbly organised and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone! We would both be happy to act as referees. Chris, we will also post to you by mail copies of some photos which we took of the team. Many thanks Deborah and Stephan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- Chris, Having
returned from Africa this morning and had a quick nap, I thought
I’d drop you an email regarding our trips with IntoAfrica. We
were lucky to have a good group on our Kilimanjaro Climb,
John/Rebecca from the US and Doug/Ally from Canada. All strong
characters, determined and never negative. They were a joy to
spend a week with and get to know quite well. I
am pleased to say myself and my father made the summit of
Kilimanjaro. Oforo and Julius were instrumental in the preparation
and our success of reaching Uhuru. On summit night, the group
started together but split after around 2 hours due to some
illness. Oforo made the decision to take myself, my father and
Doug ahead and leave Julius and Godfrey to hopefully get the other
3 to the summit. I was losing the will to live when Oforo notified
me that we were only half an hour short of Stella Point. We were
all struggling with lack of sleep (anxiety to start meant I got no
sleep during the day, needless to say it didn’t help my
attempt!) and my water bottles/bladder had frozen so I was
struggling to get any fluids. Oforo implemented a walking tactic
to keep us moving and gave me his Headlamp because mine had run
it’s brand new batteries!. One step, stop, next step, stop. It
did wonders for us and before we knew it we had reached Stella
point. We all cheered and hugged, it was refreshing to see Oforo
get as excited as us, he was genuinely happy for us. He got us
back into check and led us to Uhuru; he proudly posed for photos
with us before leading us back down to Barafu (my knees are still
hurting from that decent!) for a well-earned cup of Tea! Julius
managed to get 2 of the remaining to the summit but unfortunately
one of the party was brought down by Godfrey due to sickness which
was really gutting for both that person and the rest of the team
who’d successfully made Uhuru. The
remainder of your team was faultless, the porters were exceptional
and always polite. We were regularly amazed at what food was
rustled up by Ludiger and Elias along the way. Pastas, Soups,
Stews, Spiced Rices, Chocolate Puddings, we couldn’t thank them
enough. Elias was quite a character, always smiling and happy to
serve us our breakfast, lunch & dinner. He woke us in the
mornings with hot water and always ensured we had enough drinking
water for the day’s activities. Our
group found the tipping quite easy to deal with. We asked Oforo to
line his team up and we walked along them shaking all their hands
(23 – 3 Guides/ 2 Cooks/ 18 porters) and handing them an
envelope with a tip in. We found your tipping guide very helpful
and worked it all out within 30 minutes after dinner at the Mwenka
Hut. Emmy
and Rose were a pleasure to deal with. Emmy was always happy to
see us, often sitting with us to discuss our trips and also
checking we had a good time afterwards. She often reinterated how
happy she was we’d chosen IntoAfrica for our holiday, which I
felt very humbling and I realised how much it meant to her. The
guesthouse was comfortable but basic, I really felt like I was
staying with the locals (which is exactly what was required
for such a trip). The rooms were spacious and clean, Wilson was
happy to assist whenever necessary. As
you’re aware, whilst we were summiting Kilimanjaro, 3 female
members of my family were on your Tanzania Safari. They had an
exceptional time and the photo’s they’ve taken show what a
great time they had. Dennis was their guide and even he said they
were very lucky with the Safari they had. They really enjoyed it
and got on so well with Dennis that they’ve exchanged email
addresses and promised to keep in contact. I’d
like to thank you and your team for such a great experience in
Tanzania. My father has successfully reached his goal, to summit
Kilimanjaro. Please feel free to post any of my comments onto your
website. I wish you and IntoAfrica every success in the future and
would happily recommend you to a friend. Kind
Regards Simon. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message -----
----- Original Message ----- Chris, sorry that it has taken so long to get back to you with feedback on our two great trips. I have included my reviews at the end of this message. Once again I would be willing to act as a reference. With this message I have also attached some pictures that we took of Julius. We had promised to email them to him but do not have his email. Can you pass these on and send our regards and thanks. He, as you probably know, is a fantastic person and guide. Review - Kilimanjaro Machame Route Our seven day trek on Kilimanjaro was one of the highlights of our six month trip around the world with our 15 year old son and 12 year old daughter. The entire experience was wonderful - slogging through the mud of the rainforest, hiking above the clouds on the second day, making new friends with our travelling companions, the changing views of Kilimanjaro, as well as our long night to the summit. Every day my daughter and I said to each other "if this is as far as we get it is still fantastic". My husband and I had been concerned about how we (both in our fifties) and the children would handle the high altitude. The easy pace over the five days leading up to the summit and the fantastic care that we received from our wonderful team of guides, cooks, and porters meant that we were well fed, comfortable and suffered very little from altitude sickness. I will forever remember summit night with Julius our guide singing us up the mountain. All through the long, cold, night we were encouraged and warmed by the sound of his voice. Arriving at the summit with my family, our new friends Louise and Andrew from London and our guides Julius and Oforo was a very emotional experience for us all. My heartfelt thanks to IntoAfrica for such an incredible trip. Janice Laycock ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- Dear Chris, Our IntoAfrica experiences (Kilimanjaro &
Tanzania safari) were truly exceptional, in large part due to the
amazing personnel on your team. This included everyone -- guides,
drivers, porters, cooks, waiters etc.--who all did their
respective jobs very well, but more importantly added good humour,
and their own experiences, personalitites and commitment to the
group. All, in their own ways, gave us a wonderful impression of
Tanzanians and made us feel welcomed in their beautiful country.
Oddly enough, it will be these interactions with Dennis, Julius,
Oforo, Godbless, Mr Wilson, Gabrielli, and many others, that will
stick in our memories even more than Uhuru at dawn, the leopard
kill, the 160 bird species, mating lions and ostriches etc....
Without waxing on for pages, the other part of the trip that we
enjoyed much more than expected were the cultural visits at MtoWa
Mbu and with the Masai at Longido; we learned and felt so much
more about these communities after these interactions. Hi Chris Apologies for not writing sooner. Our trip (1-7 October) was fantastic. We had the most amazing time. We were so well looked after from start to finish - by you this end before we went, by Emmy and the team in Arusha and by Julius, Oforo and all the guys on the mountain. Emmy was lovely and picked us up from the airport personally. I was so impressed by her commitment to trying to improve the working conditions for those who make a living from Kili. I was also inspired by the new education initiatives she's setting up around Arusha and told her that I'd very much like to keep in touch to see if there's any way I could help out there at some point in the future. The guest house in Arusha was perfect. The trek itself was the experience of a lifetime. Tough at times but so much fun. I really enjoyed each day and was lucky enough not to get ill. The summit ascent and arriving at dawn was mind-blowing. Unlike anything I'd ever done. Julius and Oforo were wonderful. Lovely guys, lots of fun and particularly incredible on summit night. They did such a great job of motivating the entire group and their experience was invaluable. In fact I really valued their experience throughout the whole week - knowing that they'd done the trek 100's of times between them, that they knew all there is to know about mountain sickness and were great leaders (including managing the porters, cooks etc very competently) made me feel in extremely safe hands. When some of our group had to go down they handled it really well and Julius amazingly made it all the way back up to meet us at Barafu the next day and then go on to lead us to the top that night on top form! I'd agree with what Kat said to you about the porters. It's a shame we were only briefly introduced - although I guess lots of them didn't speak great English so more than an introduction could have been tricky! And the tipping etiquette wasn't entirely self-explanatory. I know you provided info in the stuff you emailed us but the whole thing was a bit overwhelming up there (although I know us Brits find it more uncomfortable than others anyway!) It would have been good if Emmy had briefed us on exactly how to do it when she gave us the briefing in Arusha the night before we set off. All in all I was massively impressed with IntoAfrica. When I saw how some other companies run their trips up there (unfed porters, very large groups, extravagant meals - some with plastic chairs, tables plus chef with hat for lunch!) I was relieved to have chosen you guys. I think you have it just right. Nothing too overboard on food, accommodation etc (although it was perfectly adequate) but small groups and great people in your team who are obviously well looked after and seemed to have decent job satisfaction. So thank you!! If/when you have the opportunity I'd be really grateful if you could pass this feedback on to those I've mentioned above. Of course I told them myself at the time but a month later I'm still thinking about our adventure every day and am so grateful for everything they did to make my Kili trek such a magical experience. I've passed your details on to lots of interested people already and I'm more than happy for you to put prospective clients in touch if necessary. Many thanks again and all the best. Catherine - sorry to go on at length (I still get a little emotional talking about it!) Catherine Carr
----- Original Message ----- ----- Original Message ----- Dear
Chris Only too happy to provide feedback.
First and foremost although we did not reach the summit of Kili we
did enjoy the experience. The decision not to do the summit
was ours entirely and was in no way a reflection on the guides.
Julius and Oforo were absolutely superb as were all the porters,
cook, etc on the trek up the mountain. We were
extremely pleased not to be put under any pressure when we decided
not to do the summit. The trek had been harder than we
anticipated and I think our major mistake was not taking Diamox.
Perhaps people should be encouraged to take this if their doctor
is willing to prescribe it. Had we taken it I think we would
have been better able to do the summit. We were with a
wonderful group of people and we had a lot of fun.
One other thing that might assist is, I suggested that the water
bottles should be filled with hot water on an evening and this
meant that after day 2 when I made my suggestion we had hot water
bottles to put in our sleeping bags. This certainly proved
popular and meant we got a better nights sleep. So for
future treks it might be advantageous if the crew were encouraged
to fill the water bottles on a night rather than on a morning. We
had a wonderful time. A holiday to remember for the rest of
our lives. We would be happy to provide
references to any prospective clients you may have.
The
only hiccup throughout was perhaps the plumbing at the Guest House
but then we appreciated that we could not expect western-style
plumbing and it did not detract from our total enjoyment of the
trip. Best
wishes ----- Original Message ----- First the short answer. Yes we are home &
greatly enjoyed our trip. I'd say it was a trip of a lifetime. I
will absolutely send you a full review, & you are most welcome
to use any & all comments on the website. I'm just waiting
until I get my photos uploaded, because I'd like to offer those to
you as well. Your team is doing you proud and they're all
very devoted & loyal to you. And they really did work together
like a family. Dennis told us how he was really close to Elias,
because when he was a young porter & wet behind the ears Elias
took care of him. Dennis, by the way is a real gem. I gather you
already know that, but never hurts to reinforce. Did you know that
Rose took us (just the ladies) to a "kitchen party?"
That was wild. I can see why she doesn't want to get married. I'll try to get you the feedback tomorrow
when I'm back in Denver on a better connection. If I can't upload
the pics I'll send that later. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- Special mention should go to Oforo your guide,
who is simply one of the kindest guys I have met and without whom
we may well not have got to the top; Elias too for producing some
amazing food and to Gabriel who provided service with a smile! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- chris, ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Original Message ----- Chris Secondly, I would like to extend my utmost gratitude to every single person who I dealt with over this trip from you in England, to every person at the guest house (especially Kacey and Rose) to every single member of the team on the mountain who made this trip incredibly enjoyable and a perfect end to my gap year travels. Every single element of the trip was handled in an incredibly well organised way and every effort was made to make me feel welcome and at ease. Even when my bag was delayed by the airline, Patrick and Daniel rushed to my aid and sorted everything out with no hassle at all. Especially in completely unfamiliar countries like Kenya and Tanzania it was so helpful to have such kind people to look after me when I ran into problems. Everything about the trip was made as enjoyable as I think it possibly could have been and I think that was shown by the fact that after not only making it to the summit first before anyone else that morning, me and Liz were the only two people I saw cheering and whooping on the summit, ignoring any effects of altitude we may have had! One word of warning I would say might be worthwhile to include in your pre-travel notes is to mention something about taking sealed containers up the mountain. I took a bottle of lens cleaning solution that ended up bursting due to the pressure change and leaking in my bag. It didn't cause a problem but it may cause a problem if people were carrying other fluids. Overall I had an amazing trip, met some fantastic people and rounded off my travels in one of the most enjoyable ways imaginable and I would like to thank everyone involved to allowing that to happen. Thank you again for all the liasing with my parents etc. over the yellow fever and airline problems, I really appreciate it. I may well be in touch if I ever head out to East Africa again, something I definitely intend to do! Duncan Bull ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -----
Original Message ----- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From:
laura.pearce@ Other
random pieces of advice that came out of our trip include: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- JAMBO Chris and Emmy! We would like to thank your entire team for the
trip of a lifetime. We weren't sure what to expect traveling
to Tanzania and the continent of Africa for the first time
and we have been touched by the people we met and the experience
that we had. Your accommodations at the
guesthouse in Arusha were great, but even better was the
staff. They did everything possible to make us feel
comfortable and to assist us with all of our needs. We
felt pampered by the attention and secure that we were
well taken care of. We really enjoyed meal times -
what a delight to eat at one table and share stories with
people from all over the world. And the food . . . CHAKULA KITAMU!
We had a great group for our Kili trip (both
the support team and the other travelers). Your
team was very attentive and interested in our health and
success on the trip. Hats off to the guides - Julius,
Oforo, Godfrey and Chimbe - as they were outstanding.
They are the reason that a good portion of our group made it to
the top as they warmed people’s hands, carried excess
weight and motivated us. Julius sang for the entire
summit trek which was both comforting and motivating.
This serves as a powerful memory of Kilimanjaro, probably for
our whole group. Asante Sana!!! We
vividly remember the warm feeling we had coming down off
of the summit to the camp crew as they all clapped and cheered for
us having made it. You have a very special team! We were both really touched by how
friendly everyone was, so much so that we wanted to return to the
guesthouse for our last night in Africa. Lucky for us
we managed to arrive before the next Kili group headed out and we
got to see everyone one last time. It felt like a
homecoming! Thank you Rose for your great
smile and contagious energy, thank you Mr. Kesse for being a great
host and a final thank you to Emmy for spending time
with us and allowing us to have a peak into your life in Tanzania.
Thank you for hosting us in your beautiful
country. Our experience at the guesthouse and on the Kili
climb was truly unforgettable and we would like to pass along our
sincere gratitude to your entire team. Thanks again for everything! Brad and Trina Hi Chris, Here are my pix from Tanzania: Please feel free to use them as promotional material.
Please correct me if I said something inaccurate. Adam ----- Original Message ----- Its odd really, as Kilimanjaro is one of the
more adventurous trips I have made, it is also the one where I
felt the safest and most taken care of. Does that make sense?? I
think to my fellow trekkers it does. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Original Message ----- Thanks to all your team and good luck for the future. Steve ..................................................................................................................................................... ----- Original Message ----- .............................................................................................................................................. ----- Original Message ----- ----- Original Message ----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- Hello
Chris, No
worries. My apologies for being so late in getting back to you. We
went to Norway for vacations after our trip to Tanzania, and upon
my return to Canada I was thrown into a new job with more
responsibilities. The days have just flown by.. Per
and I discussed on our way back home however what feedback we
would give. It is really hard to come up with much constructive
feedback - we were both incredibly happy with our vacation. The
main reasons for that being your high level of service throughout;
from before/at booking time, while at Emmy's and on the
mountain! Please pass our regards to all at Emmy's who went the
extra mile making it an enjoyable stay; 'Weileh' for being kind
enough give us a tour of Arusha one day. For the pickup service at
night in Arusha. For the pickup and dropoff at the busstop.
And of course Emmy herself being a "walking-smile".
Service at mealtimes was very good as well. Not to speak of the
excellent food we enjoyed on our entire trip, including on
Kilimanjaro! The guides and porters did a great job of taking us
up - all adding up to a true memorable experience. Too bad the
minutes at the peak go by so fast... In
terms of constructive feedback I could possibly mention that a
somewhat shorter equipment list would have been fine - at least
for us. We both realized that we brought along too much gear. Of
course this is a highly personal decision and different people may
have preferences for what they need and for changing more or less
often. :-) For the time at Emmy's House it would have been great
with a small TV in the room for the few times you feel like
vegetating in preparation for, or in recuperation after, the trek.
Catching some BBC news for instance would have been nice. In
short I cannot summarise it in any other way that we were
completely satisfied with your service and would be happy to
recommend you to anyone we speak to! I
hope your back is better by now!?.... :-) Kindest
regards, Per
and Stian -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Fabian Simeon I still would have one question: Can you
recommend a reliable and good organisation in Tanzania which helps
and supports people in their daily life? Caritative organisations? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter ......." Dear Chris, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "randy farmer" Hi Chris:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "msamuel"
Sent: Monday, August 05, 2002 8:29 PM
Subject: Feedback
Hi Chris -- We were incredibly impressed with your organization, particularly the guides and the rest of the staff. On Kili, first of all, we were amazed by the number of people we had supporting us. We were particularly pleased to find out that IntoAfrica has weight limits for the porters, especially when we saw how much some of the porters from the other companies were carrying. Damien is an exceptional guide, both in dealing with the clients and in organizing the team. I can honestly say that I don't think I would have made it to the summit without Damien's help and encouragement. We were very impressed with the efficiency with which the porters broke down, moved, and set up camp every day. We were even more impressed that even with all of their hard work, they always took time for a friendly word and a smile. Also, they always managed to find us the best camping spots - away from the crowds, but close to the outhouses. In addition, the food was excellent, varied, and plentiful. Eddiko (sp??) is amazing! My only suggestion re Kili is that we had asked before
we left whether it was possible to rent some gear in
Arusha because we were traveling beforehand and did not want to
carry heavy stuff. On your recommendation, we brought almost
everything we needed. It turns out that it is easy to
buy good quality used gear in the market in Arusha (we bought
two extra parkas and some scarves) and they sell trekking poles at
the Machame gate. While it may be that most people come just
for this trip and don't have a problem with carrying stuff, we
would have at least like to have known that we could buy
gear relatively easily in Arusha. All in all we had an excellent time. If you have specific questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Thanks for all your help, Mimi Samuel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Adrian Warman Dear IntoAfrica, I was planning to mail you soon and give you some feedback anyway - we only got back on Saturday and I am collecting some of my photos tomorrow. We had a fantastic trip overall and the week we spent trekking up Kili with Damian and his crew was everything we could have hoped for. On the positive side, the entire team couldn't do enough for us. Damian paced us perfectly and (despite us all having concerns about making it to the summit at some point during the ascent) he got us all there, and timed it so we reached Stella Point exactly at sunrise. We certainly weren't the quickest group, but he and his assistant guides, Joseph and Godfrey, who walked with us were extremely patient. The next thing I must mention is the food. It was fantastic - given that we were at 4000m+ I was frankly astounded to be eating crepes suzettes on day 4, and even more so that our chef, Bremmer (spelling?) had prepared all our meals in his white chefs hat and coat. Please do pass on all of our thanks to Damian and his team again. Emmy was also very helpful, not only in greeting us in Arusha, but also in advising us and answering questions as we finalised our plans after Kili when she was meeting the next group. On your "what might be improved" question there were only a few niggling things, looking back - none which detracted from our enjoyment of the trip in any way, just things which could be considered for future groups. We were never introduced to our porters and, with so many other groups it was difficult to ever guess as we were en route. In fact, it wasn't until the very end, when we all got on the same bus back to Arusha that we knew exactly who they all were. I appreciate we could have asked Damian at any time, and I know he'd have introduced them all to us, but it might have been nice to make that a routine at the end of the first day, maybe. In a similar vein, the first day was very frustrating. Having met at the Outpost at 8am we didn't start walking until gone noon. There was obviously a lot of paperwork to do with park fees and registrations, etc, but it really did feel like we were hanging around at the Machame gate for very little reason and I think that future groups would benefit from anything which could be done to get walking earlier. For example, I probably spent 10 minutes in the office at the gate writing my name, full UK address and passport number on the back of $1760 worth of travellers cheques which I could easily have done the evening before if I knew. Like I say, we had a fantastic week and, looking at some of the other groups on the mountain I was glad to be with Damian and IntoAfrica. Damian is genuine, always had our interests at heart and was professional throughout. I am collecting some of my photos tomorrow (though I think my summit pictures are still in the camera) and will put them on a web page when I have them all. I'll let you know when I've done that, in case you wanted to use any of them for your promotions. Thank you for your assistance beforehand and in booking. Thank you to all your team for a well worth while trip. Sincerely, Adrian ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "thanover"
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 11:22 PM
Subject: Re: feedback
Hello
Chris, You
asked for feedback regarding our IntoAfrica portion of the trip. It was
fabulous, beyond anything I expected. Of course, the land is amazing and
the people everywhere we went were great. I can't say enough nice things
about your staff. Emmy, as I'm sure you know, is remarkable. She couldn't
have done more. Her welcoming smile and assistance and advice were
priceless, far above and beyond the call of duty. For instance, when the
bank in Arusha refused to exchange our Kenyan money for Tanzanian, Emmy
took care of it. When she heard we were travelling to Zanzibar, she
offered to make reservations and arranged for a driver to pick us up on
arrival. And so on. You've got a real gem in Emmy. We
were equally enthusiastic about Damian. Couldn't have asked for a more
professional guide. It became clear very early in the trek that he knew
better than we the pace that would get us up the mountain. I was impressed
with the way he paid attention to every detail and demanded the best from
his crew. From sending a man ahead to get the best campsites, to
inspecting our tent after it was set up, right down to having one of the
porters clean our boots after the summit -- he thought of everything! On
top of all that, he's just plain a nice guy. Having him join us at
mealtimes added immensely to the richness of the experience. We got to
know one another and had some intensely interesting conversations. And in
the face of a minor medical emergency, Damian was calm, professional, and
knew just what to do. Our trust in him was complete. But beyond that, we
feel that we made a friend. At the end of our week together, when he had
the crew sing Kilimanjaro, I was downright misty eyed. Can I make any suggestions for improvements? No, sorry. You folks are doing a great job, and we haven't been hesitating to inform anyone who will listen. In fact, after listening to us rave about the safari, a couple of Englishmen who'd planned on only the Kili trek went ahead and signed on for the safari as well. Add us to your already large list of immensely pleased customers. We'd be happy to give references to potential
clients. Feel free to give out our e-mail address. Thanks ever so much, Lorraine Hanover ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I apologize for not getting back to you, it was certainly on my mind quite a few times, but getting back into the swing of things seemed to take over. Thank you so much for organizing such an incredible trip for us! You and the rest of the great crew that makes up IntoAfrica delivered on everything you said you would. I |