Christopher Lewis
Awesome from beginning to end
“The best travel agent in the world – Angela of “Journeys of Distinction” recommended Tswalu in the Kalahari, very highly. She said it was romantic, had personal service above and beyond and guaranteed we would see animals like aardwolf, aardvark and pangolin that we had never seen before on fifteen safaris throughout Africa. Everything she said about this place was true and then some.
We spent five days and nights there and had a bucket full of fun. We were lucky enough to have Liam as our guide and David as our tracker. They both aced it. I have never seen a tracker as good as David and we have never, on our fifteen previous safaris had a level of personal service to equal that of Liam Charlton. He knew we were interested in Pangolins and arranged for us to meet with Wendy who is doing cutting edge research on these animals. She has already observed some remarkable behaviours that no one knew about before.
We observed a wild dog pack kill a young Oryx – not for the faint of heart – but nevertheless awesome and tracked a male cheetah coalition all day. How much did we like it? – we are returning on November 2, booked a trip there for October 2018 and a further trip in October 2019 after they complete renovations. If you are interested I will share the email of Angela – the best travel agent in the world. However, you must promise that you will not go when we want a room! There are only eight or nine altogether.”
Stayed: June 2017, travelled as a couple
Adean and Louise Kingston
“Dear Angie
We just returned from our Africa trip and wanted to thank you for planning such an amazing well-organized trip!!! We really loved our journey and hope to do another one again in a few years! We will definitively recommend your services to anyone seeking such a trip as well!”
Stayed: September 2017
Mr Wataru and Mrs Yoko Nemoto Tokyo
“Dear Palesa,
We’ve come back home safely and very happy from South Africa.
Thank you very much to you and to all the staffs for warm hospitality, we enjoyed staying at Mashatu and Rattray’s on MalaMala. We’ve got a lot of memories of amazing wild animals, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, lions, and so on. In the elephant hide, we could take a lot of shots of animals, of course including elephants, at close range.
Hoping to come back again to Mashatu and MalaMala very soon, we send you our big hello from Tokyo.”
Stayed: August 2017
Nathaniel Soriano
“Thank you, Angela! Your help in planning this trip was invaluable! Looking forward to our safaris!”
Stayed: July 2017
Tammy Chitwood
“Palesa,
We had a wonderful trip! Everything went very smoothly. Thanks for all you did to make it special.
The photography hide was an amazing experience. I recommend everyone going to Mashatu include this experience. You don’t have to be a photographer to love it. Bashi was our guide. He sends his best. He was great. Aaron was our tracker and it was great seeing him again. Joe came to the airport to see us before we left. It was a wonderful visit with him.
We got upgraded at MalaMala to the Sable Camp which was very nice. Our ranger was Daniel and he was excellent.
At both camps, we saw so many animals. Love both these places. We had a nice stay at Camp Moremi. It was great meeting you. Again, thank you for making our trip special. I hope I will get to come back again.”
Stayed: July 2017
Mrs Susanne Baden
“Dearest Palesa,
Back home, back to reality.
Unfortunately, there was so much to do, that I had no time for an email and a slow return into real life.
The trip was amazing and I am very glad that I have visited Mashatu.
I am sure that this was not the last trip. Kenose was a great guide and I had an amazing time at the hide. The camp is comfortable, the only thing missing is a private veranda/ deck in front of the room. That would be a nice addition.”
Stayed: June 2017
James Stauner and Melanie Lawson
“Hi Angela,
The honeymoon was absolutely incredible. It’s tough to put into words how amazing it was and the lasting impact it will have on us. Thank you so much for putting together such an awesome experience. We are already saving up and planning for our trip back!
Thank you again for everything.”
Stayed: April 2017
Christian Dohrmann
“Dear Angela,
What a fantastic trip! We all loved it and we were lucky to see more different animals than we ever thought was possible including two lion kills at MalaMala.
MalaMala was outstanding and our number 1. The girls are already planning for the next trip to MalaMala.
At MalaMala we had a most knowledgeable and bright Ranger called Greg.My daughters would like to write to him and thank him for taking so well care of us.
Again Angela, many thanks for arranging this fantastic trip for us.”
Stayed: February 2016
Nils Gliddi
“Hi Angela,
We had a great time. MALAMALA was incredible and the Botswana trip was also.
If I was going to do it again I would have stayed in Victoria falls for a short time and spend overnight in Botswana to get a morning and evening game drive. Since the experience was so different from MALAMALA
Thank you for all your help. It was a trip of a lifetime.”
Stayed: October 2016
Cheryl Schneider
“Hi Angie, I wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip to Mashatu and Rattray’s. Both were unique and charming each in its own way. Thank you for arranging everything for us. We had a wonderful time and everything went very smoothly. I hope that we will be returning before too long.”
Stayed: September 2016
Rae and Jerry Clark
“Thanks for arranging such an awesome trip. We loved every minute except for how very cold it was getting out of bed in Tubu Tree (going to bed with hot water bottles great but putting on cold clothes the next morning not so great). We did love Tubu Tree though. Next trip we need to spend three nights at each camp. Speaking of our next trip as you know South Africa and now Botswana are in our heart forever.”
Click here to read full report
Stayed: July 2015
Michel Lagoutte Party (USA)
“Dear Angela,
We are back in New York after un merveilleux voyage.
Our group felt that, on a scale of 1 to 10, you deserve a 12 for both the judicious selection of the camps we visited and the impeccable organization of the trip.
We loved everything. MalaMala was simply perfect….possibly too much so. Our 2 days in Mashatu were absolutely exhilarating and, if we could only go back to one camp, it would have to be Tobu Tree for the beauty of the landscapes.
In Zambia, the Falls naturally were great and, what you may find more surprising, even the crossing of the border to Kasane in the middle of this long line of trucks was memorable. An unexpected slice of African life in the middle of our safari! With our many thanks.”
Stayed: April 2015
Karen & Ira Gerard
“Dear Angela,
We want to thank you for all of your help in arranging the logistics and lodging for both safaris and our time in Victoria Falls and day in Johannesburg. It was an amazing vacation.
We particularly wanted to let you know that Joel, the tour guide you arranged for was excellent. We highly recommend him. It was a great day. Our only recommendation and I believe his too, would have been to start at 9 or 8:45, to allow for more time. We added on a visit to Mandela’s house and stopped to learn about the Kliptown Youth Program in Soweto. I work with many high school children who are interested in making a difference. I am going to present this as a possible project for them to consider forming an alliance with.
Thank you again.”
Stayed: June 2015
Liz MacPherson
“Dear Angela,
Just a quick note to thank you for the awesome trip that you arranged for us.
All of the arrangements worked perfectly. Mala Mala was even more awesome than we had been promised. We got to see the Big Five and lots more!
We also enjoyed Victoria Falls – thanks so much for recommending the Royal Livingstone; it was great.
Once again, many many thanks for all your efforts on our behalf – it was the trip of a lifetime!”
Stayed: November 2015
Thomas Rowe
“Hi Angela,
I just wanted to let you know that we had a truly incredible time at Mashatu and Mala Mala. Everything you arranged for us worked perfectly, and we would absolutely recommend your services (and the itinerary you prepared for us) to anyone. We rarely use travel agent services when we travel, but you can be assured that if and when we make our way back, we will absolutely be back in touch with you. Thanks so much for everything.
Thanks so much again, Angela.”
Stayed: July 2015
Tom and Brigid Bieber (USA)
“Dear Angie
We had an absolutely wonderful trip. There is nothing about the trip that we would change. Here are some specifics, but feel free to follow up if there are more details we can provide…”
Click here to read full report.
Carla Garrett and family (USA)
“Our trip was fantastic. Everything was absolutely perfect! Everything! Someone was waiting for us when we arrived at the J’berg airport. He quickly got us to our hotel…..
It was a wonderful trip. A special experience for my Dad’s birthday. Thank you so much for arranging everything. We will definitely be using Journeys of Distinction for our next trip to Africa and will recommend you to all our friends coming to Africa.”
Click here to read the full report.
David W. Hornbeck
“Angela, Namibia was terrific. Thanks very much…again…for helping put together this “trip of a lifetime”.
The two outstanding accolades go to Thys, our guide and to the Mowani Mountain Camp/Lodge. We strongly commend both for obviously very different reasons. From our perspective, the setting, the food, etc makes Mowani almost a several day destination/relax place as well as great for the activities. The guides there were very good.”
Stayed: July 2009
Click here to read the full report.
Trish and Larry Leake
“Dearest Angie
We are back in the USA and I wish I was (both of us) still in Africa. We had such a wonderful time. You did a fabulous job on our itinerary. You are tops. I only wish we could have met. Angie we are hooked and will be back. We love the bush. No tv, no noise, just peace and quiet.What more could one ask for and those beautiful animals. We saw the big five and also a leopard kill which we were told is extremely rare. Also watched it eat its kill,We got some great pictures and when I get them developed I will post them on the web and send you the site so you cans see them.
Do you do other camps other them Mala Mala and Mashatu? We would like to explore other sites of course not immediately but in a couple of years. If it were up you me I would go back today. Our daughter and Son-in-law also want to go next time. Nor with the baby of course.
Kudos to you Angie you are the best and I will most certainly spread the word here.”
Mimi Plum
“On behalf of my family, I want to thank you very much for arranging a FABULOUS trip. All the accommodations throughout the trip were excellent. We loved the food, the spectacular scenery, and the great services we received where ever we went.”
Stayed: March 2009
Click here to read the full report.
Pattemore Family
“What can I say. You did an amazing job. Your choices were outstanding. It was truly a trip of a lifetime. We are just getting back to normal but I will send some photos. I have already passed on your name to a few people that want to come over in the next couple of years. Thank you for all the work you did.”