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Compliments
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Comments from some of our guests 2007 |
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These
are letters written by guests to Djuma Game Reserve, we thank them for
taking the time to write us. We want our guests to leave Djuma Game
Reserve at the end of their stay rested and happy with a perfect holiday,
the letters below attest to our success.
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Archives
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| Dear Charmian,
Graham, Pippa, Jurie, Some news from that strange couple that recently stayed 15 days at Djuma. First of all a big thank you to all of you. We've had the time of our lives. It was like living in a National Geographic documentary all the time. The things we've seen during our stay far exceeded our already high expectations. And that's only the animals! The staff, both at Bush lodge & Vuyatela, were again amazing. Staying for a longer period makes you feel part of the family and what a family you've got over there! Every single one of you went the extra mile to make us feel happy. We'll sure be back and hopefully it won't take us an extra 4 years. On a more personal note: Charmian: Sorry for not coming to say goodbye when we left. Things got a little emotional on my part (leaving the bush has never been easy for me) and with the packing & stuff we completely forgot. We really apologize! I also want to thank you again for making it possible to stay 15 days. The rates you provided were amazing and gave us the possibility to live the experience for a longer period (where it exceeds watching animals and becomes 'living the day to day evolution of the bush'). Graham: Wow! Not only are you the most knowledgeable ranger I've ever met, but the stories you tell and the passion for the bush you have, has placed this bush-experience in a category which can not be exceeded. All of us here (An, Wim, Kyo & myself) have enjoyed every minute on the drives and all of them say hello. It's a good thing you didn't join us on our journey home (although when waiting for the plane we were joined by a herd of buffalo of over 400) since you would have killed people ;-) Jo'burg airport was packed with people leaving on holiday (no square meter was left) and so was the plane. Anyway, I've attached a picture which I'm sure you will like. I will send other pictures (only the best) a bit later. I have also been checking some websites about Botswana that you gave me. Looks good but I have to dig in deeper. Thanks for a great time!!! And watch your mailbox for 'the Belgian Birds' book. Pippa/Jurie: I hope you're having a great time in Mozambique! And keep us posted on the lodge thing ;-) It was really nice meeting you once again. All: I don't have the e-mail addresses of the other people I want to send a message, so, if possible, please forward to James & Charles. James: Thanks for an incredible week. On top of being a great ranger you're also an exceptional guy, with whom both Kyo and I could connect. It was great spending time with you and Andy and we surely hope that we'll meet again (maybe for a trail in Kruger Park, when the ladies are in Mozambique ;-)) Charles: The MAN, sorry we didn't say goodbye! Although we spent only 3 drives with you, they have been amazing (you showed us the cheetah!) and you're without a doubt the most funny guy in Sabi Sands! Final note: Please pass our gratitude to Marietjie, Warren, Solly, Amos, Jim, Andrew, Jimmy, Mandla, Life, Noungkou (or something like that) and all the others that I forget. If it can be of any value, feel free to put extracts of this mail on your website (pictures will follow later) See you soon, Kyo & Jan Belgium December 2007 |
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Dear Jurie, |
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| Charmain, Thanks we had a wonderful Christmas in the bush and just want to complement on Aubrey our guide it was a pleasure going on drives with him, we had the two little guys Keegan 2 and Jonathan 5, he had so much patients with them and the way he drives, careful and you can see he has a lot of respect of the bush. The staff at the camp also great. Many Thanks The Fouche's South Africa December 2007 |
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| Dear Warren This email is to thank you for the excellent customer service that went beyond expectations. Our time at Djuma Vuyatela was wonderful but I am referring especially to how accommodating you and your staff were when our plane was delayed. Thank you for allowing us to return to our rooms for a couple of hours despite these having already been serviced for your next guests and thank you for the thoughtfulness in giving us a packed lunch for the plane. We had a great time at Djuma and this was in no small measure due to the extra effort that Charles and Amos made in ensuring we saw whatever there was to see! All staff were very friendly and the overall vibe and hospitality was terrific. Thank you again and best wishes to all for a merry Christmas and happy New Year. Kindest regards Irene, Robert and Symmie Swil Australia December 2007 |
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| To all at Galago
camp, Just a quick note to thank all of the staff for the experience given to our group during our stay at Galago from the 8th to 12th Dec. My family and our friends, from across the world, have had the privilege to meet up and enjoy your hospitality since 1998 and the magic never fails to deliver. Aubrey and William were great guides and trackers and gave us some wonderful viewings and tracking advice, special thanks to them. Aubrey also took us to Utah which reminded me of home as he knew everyone and he informed us of the family connections (Irish thing needing to know relatives), Nellis, Thembi, Mildred and trainee provided a great service. What Nellis can do to produce a meal from the ingredients provided is second to none., so will be trying her roast spuds. Hoping to see you again Brid Smyth South Africa December 2007 |
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Hi Char & Marietjie, |
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| Dear Ed and Pippa I'm sorry I haven't written to you before, but work has just gotten absolutely crazy around here in the last few weeks and the Christmas buzz didn't help either. I just wanted to write you a little note of appreciation for a wonderful stay at your lodge in November with my Dad. He was also very impressed and we had a really good time together. I hope, you had a good Christmas and I wish you all the best for 2008!!! Best regards Esther + Ernst South Africa November 2007 |
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| Dear Solly and
the crew; I am missing you all so much. How are you doing? I showed everyone my fantastic photos and my fantastic crew!!!! In school I had to do some work about what we wanted to be when we were older and I said I wanted to be a tracker/ swimmer!!! Thanks again for letting us stay at the lodge it was really a holiday of a lifetime! Hope your are all well and lively, keep the good work up and don't get any more flat tires in dangerous situations like you did with us!! Hope you see lots more exiting animals and send all the Djuma staff lots of love hope to see you soon in the future lots of love from Georgina and Lottie P.S I was the one who wrote the whole kiddies letter! Georgina Dear All at Vuyatela Just to add to Georgina's sentiments above - we knew it was going to be good but we had no idea how busy we would be, how many animals we would get to see and how amazing every day would be. So thank you to each and every one of the staff and belated congratulations to Marietjie and husband! The trouble with a holiday like this is that it makes you want to return one day... And of course, our hearts are always with and will remain with Solly and William! What a gift you have! We have laughed so much about the tyre change/lions/buffalo evening, have talked constantly about the dingos/hyena/impala scene, couldn't believe our luck seeing an elephant at the camp on the last morning, witnessing the post kill scene and of course the baby cheetah! We hope you enjoyed your very well deserved couple of weeks off with your family. We can't really thank you enough but we hope you will know that you do a wonderful job and you seem to genuinely care for Utah and Dixie too. With warmest regards, the Marple family - Lisa, Lee, Georgina, Lottie, Carol and Brian xxxxxx UK November 2007 |
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| Hi Warren, Just a quick note to thank you and all your staff for making our holiday so special. We decided to go on holiday to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and the experience met all our expectations. Everyone at Vuyatela was so helpful and friendly it added to our wonderful stay. Please do thank them for us and we can only pray we will be able to return one day to repeat the experience. A special thanks to Solly, Amos, Pinky, and Pretty who we spent most of our time with. We were also impressed to receive back the pair of shoes we left behind in the post - thanks for taking the time and trouble. Please also thank Solly for his postcard. We hope he's being good and his family are all well. So one more massive thank you. Very best wishes Calvin and Linda Cole UK October 2007 |
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| Hi Charmain Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you after our stay at Djuma, but it has been so hectic and then my computers motherboard got attacked by a virus, so have been off line for a while. Anyway, just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you to you and all the staff at Djuma. It was one of the best experiences I have had in a long time - the location is superb, the food fabulous, the rooms great and the staff were just unbelievable - it was an experience that I will cherish for a long time and will most certainly be telling everyone I meet about. If you can forward me an email brochure I already have had a few clients asking me for details, and I will forward that to them. Looking forward to receiving info and once again thanks a million. Kindest regards PENNY South Africa October 2007 |
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| Please direct
this email to the staff at the Djuma Bush Lodge. Just sending a quick note to say Hello and Thank you for an Amazing experience. I loved my time at Djuma and can easily say it was the best part of my whole trip to Africa. The staff, service and camp were all excellent. I met some great people on my trip. I hope to be able to return some day. I took many great pictures while I there. I have posted them on a photo sharing website. If you are interested in looking at any of them or having a copy of any of them just let me know and I will send an invitation for you to access the website. While I was there I had some delicious meals. I was hoping I could get some or all of the recipes. If you could send those to me that would be great. Thanks Again and best wishes. Karen Kunz USA September 2007 |
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| Dear Team, Julie & I would like to thank you for your outstanding service, hospitality and generosity during our stay. Collecting the Big 5 was really great and our certificate has pride of place in the kitchen!! We had a superb time at Vuyetela and will definitely recommend it to friends. Please keep up the great work. Ben & Julie UK October 2007 |
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| Hello to you
All at Djuma, What an evening! Well done, South Africa!! You certainly deserved to win. We had a wonderful time with you in late September. Many thanks to you all and particularly to Morris and Patrick who made sure we saw everything, particularly the lion with his six lionesses devouring the buffalo, then the cheetahs and a leopard. It was a fantastic experience. Your hospitality and service were great. Again, congratulations to the SA rugby team. Thabo Mbeki looked as if he was enjoying himself holding the Cup while being supported by the team. Best wishes to you all, Margaret & Robin UK September 2007 |
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| Dear Charmian I just wish to let you know that the Djuma staff took excellent care of us during our visit to Galago in early October. We had 6 visitors from Sweden who are experienced safari goers in East Africa, but they were very impressed with what they experienced here. Firstly, Elizabeth and her helpers provided most delicious meals and things ran very smoothly from the kitchen. You should congratulate them and also convey our thanks to Jurie and Pippa. Then, maybe we were lucky, but Ephraim and William were able to conjure up marvellous game sightings. All in all, a very satisfying experience. Looking forward to our next visit to Djuma - it is addictive! Regards Delene South Africa October 2007 |
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| Warren, I just wanted to drop an email to say what a fantastic time we had. Marietjie, Iphriam, Handry and all the staff were incredibly friendly and attentive. We were sad to leave. Please do pass on our thanks to all the staff. I was also thoroughly impressed and truly grateful for my meals being cooked separately due to my stomach condition. It enabled me to have a wonderful time without having to worry about any health issues and I felt really spoilt. Our candlelit dinner was a real treat, thank you. We have some very happy memories and absolutely mesmerizing photographs. As you know I went a little crazy with taking pictures. Sunset will never be the same for us now - we miss our evening sunset drink whilst looking at the stars and the bush with new found friends. I hope your wedding was as fantastic as ours was. I am sure you had a great time with lots of laughter and smiles. We wish you every happiness together. Best wishes and our thanks to you all. Sam & Mike UK September 2007 |
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| We arrived home
from South Africa yesterday, after a tremendous two and a half weeks stay
in which we had so many wonderful experiences. Our stay at Djuma has to
rank as something truly exceptional. Our stay at Djuma exceeded all expectations. The quality of the game viewing was excellent. Chris, our guide and Abel, our tracker were just so knowledgeable and we were treated to some spectacular views of the Big Five up close, an exciting night-time stalk by lionesses of a young leopard who had strayed too close to their territory and rare viewing of two cheetahs basking in the evening sun atop a huge ant hill. We were also privileged to witness the capture of one elephant prior to its removal to another game reserve. Everyone, including the Reserve Warden and Vet couldn’t do enough to ensure that we got the best views possible, including being allowed to stroke the sleeping giant and have our photos taken with him. The welcome and accommodation at Djuma were first class – we couldn’t fault any aspect of our stay. Our ‘hut’’ was clean and well appointed with evertything we needed for a comfortable stay – not that we needed much given that our stay was so busy with two game draves, a walking safari and a visit to the local village (this latter really demonstrating the close link between the lodge and the local community), as well as all the eating to do!! We really did feel special but alos tremendously privileged to be allowed into this special environment. In fact we left regretting that we hadn’t booked longer than the three nights there. The only thing we might have done differently, had we known, would have been to fly into the Reserve from Nelspruitt, rather than drive. Those last few kilometers on dirt roads were hard going for us softies from the UK who are not used to such things. Nevertheless, the journey was very interesting in itself as we acquired areally good understanding of the transition from High to Low Veldt, which again was a new experience for us – and to us, that’s what traveling is all about. Best wishes to you and thanks again, John and Ceris. UK August 2007 |
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Our experience at Vuyatela was definitely
the most memorable. For a first time, safari, the trip was ideal. The
staff at the lodge provided excellent service and were also just very
nice people. We were impressed because Djuma appeared to be a very well-run
organization that cared a lot about its employees and the surrounding
communities. Our ranger and tracker were outstanding, and we were able
to see a lot in the time that we were there. We really enjoyed the relaxing
setting and thought that it was nice that there were open areas where
you could socialize with other guests or just relax and read a book
on your own. The food was very rich, and they certainly ensure that
the guests eat often, but that's nothing to complain about when you're
on vacation! |
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Hello Charmian, |
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Hi Chris and Kim click here to view their photographs in our Guest Gallery |
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Hello Kim |
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| Thanks a lot Tammy Our holidays were just wonderful ... I enjoyed a lot South Africa, actually even more than I thought. … I send you some feedback on the bookings you made for us: - Vuyatela Game Lodge: absolutely top, the place is incredibly nice with rooms that overlook the waterhole and animals passing in front of the room, staff are very friendly and food excellent. Probably the best place we've been throughout the whole trip. … Basically you made us very happy: no complain. … Ciao Marco Falcone Netherlands August 2007 |
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| Hi Char I just wanted to let you know that recent guests Dot & Ken Souchek had so much praise for all of the staff & guides at Djuma. They loved Vuyatela and said it was the highlight of their trip. In particular they mentioned Graham as being a phenomenal guide and a person. Jim Reeves who was one of the nicest people they have ever met and Pinkie who couldn't have done enough for them. I thought It would be nice to pass on the clients wonderful feedback to your great staff! Thanks Char, Best, Lisa July 2007 USA |
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Charmian: Djuma was fantastic! Thank
your staff for a very enjoyable and professional experience. We will
definitely recommend the facility to all and everyone. Kind regards-Irving |
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| Warren, Solly and Maritje requested I send an email when my pictures from our trip to South Africa and Botswana were posted on the Internet. My wife, Debby, and I were guests at Vuyatela in March. We have visited a number of safari camps over the past 9 years and rate Vuyatela as one of the best. Although there was a succession of two large groups in camp, which limited our interaction with other guests, we thoroughly enjoyed every other aspect of our stay. The staff and facilities are first rate. We hope to return in the future. The photos are posted here: http://www.pbase.com/h4xintl/africa_2007 Click on a gallery to open it. Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge it. All images are best viewed on "Original" size. I hope you enjoy them. Please add comments or corrections on PBase or email them to me. Thanks. John and Elizabeth Fletcher March 2007 UK |
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| Subject: RE: Vuyatela
Booking Tammy, It was absolutely great. The lodge was perfect and they made all the effort to keep it at highest standard. Too cold to use external jacuzzi but surely great thing to do in the summer time. Food was great and staff very professional. We saw Big 5 (minus leopard, so Big 4 really) and all worked out great. As it was our honeymoon they treated us to special dinner in front of fireplace in a private room with good champagne. It is difficult to suggest what they can do better. Thanks Martin Majdaniuk July 2007 UK |
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Hi Char |
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Warren, click here to view their photographs |
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| Djuma
Bush Lodge Overly anxious to reach Kruger National Park for our first safari it was only natural that our takeoff from Johannesburg would be delayed by one hour due to some schmuck who wasn't supposed to be on our plane. ... Travel Blog | Travel Journals,... - http://www.travelblog.org/ |
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Warren, |
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Hello Marietjie |
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| Hi Char, I just want to thank you and your team at Djuma for a wonderful 2 night stay last month. My wife and I really enjoyed ourselves and were really impressed by the organization and efficiency of the lodge, your staff were so friendly and very helpful with our questions. Sorry about not thanking you before, but we have just returned from a weeks holiday in St Lucia, we haven't been there for over 20 years, so what a difference we saw, still very enjoyable. We will be upgrading our web site shortly and will definitely be putting in a comment about Djuma Once again thank you all for the wonderful time Cheers Richard & Hazel Greenaway Hillwatering Country House Sabie May 2007 South Africa |
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| Dear Owners,
Management and Staff of Vuyatela Lodge, Thank you for a great stay at "Vuyatela". It was indeed a wonderful prize! Thanks to: Warren and Mariekie for the smooth running of the lodge; Solly and James for the interesting, informative and exciting game drives, walks and bush experiences you provided us with; the chefs and kitchen staff for the superb and delicious meals, teas and snacks; Nonku for the Swedish body massages carried out in such a professional yet friendly manner; all the "unseen" staff in admin, cleaning, gardening and maintenance, who do the necessary but unheralded tasks so efficiently; each one of you helped to make our visit a memorable one. What was the highlight of our stay? We cannot say - the whole "Vuyatela" experience was a continuous highlight! Thank you all. Kind regards, Val + Ethne Odendaal May 2007 South Africa |
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I won the
trip to the Sabi Djuma Game Reserve - Vuyatela Lodge Femina Competition
from last year. My husband Anthony and I went to the lodge from the
30th March to the 1st April; we had such a relaxing and entertaining
two days. The staff was so friendly and accommodating to all the guests
needs. The meals and accommodation were both enjoyable. While on the
game drives we saw all the big five, as well as a kill by a leopard
and a lion - extremely fascinating! This has been a weekend that we
will never forget and want to thank you, FEMINA Magazine and Djuma Game
Reserve for the experience and opportunity, it was stunning! Just the
kind of break away we needed! I've included a photo of us from the Lodge,
a herd of elephants from our deck and on a game drive. click here to view their photographs |
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To whom
it may concern |
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My Pleasure.
Our group consisted of 6 new first timers and all I can say is that
they were totally amazed by what we saw and the beauty and intimacy
of the lodge. Once again a great time was had by all . Chat to you soon
re next years booking |
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| Hi
Phips, What a fantastic trip! Let me give you a short breakdown of one of our best ever Djuma trips, the one of many that we have been lucky to share with friends and family over the last 15 years or so. At 1630 we met Solly, our guide, James the tracker and 2 other English couples. Solly had us in stitches even before we left the parking lot. The drive took us out via quarantine and past Gowrie dam straight into a pride of Lion. One large male and 5 females, all in pristine condition. The pride male (who turned out to be the younger of the 2 pride males) was been lured repeatedly from his afternoon nap by an attention seeking female - she was later to be the cause of a bloody conflict between the 2 males. After a tremendous 25 min we decided to continue with the drive and hadn't gone 500 meters before we came across a young female leopard lying in the dirt track. She finally got up after a Natal Franklin inadvertently stumbled upon her. We followed her for about 15 minutes while she marked and smelt the edges of the road. We filmed and watched as she studied the 'shlatien' (bush) at about 15 metres. She then turned and made her way back to the road directly under the back seat of the landcruiser! From the leopard it was onto a lone elephant bull. On closer inspection Solly noticed that he was in 'must' and decided it was best to retreat to a safer distance before leaving for our sundowners. Then next morning we started off in the direction of Galago. About 300 meters from the camp we came across a +4 meter Black Mamba crossing the road at speed. It was strange seeing this huge snake so active early in the morning. Solly gave it a wide birth! Before long James was leaving his usual perch at the front of the 'cruiser' to join Solly in the front which by now we had knew was the cue that a big cat was about to be seen - like clockwork we came across the honeymoon couple again. They had moved quite a distance from the spot we had seen them the night before. From there we moved onto a dam where Solly promised hippo. We sat and watch them snorting and yawning when 3 rhino approached to drink. Before long it was time to move for a tea break. This game viewing was becoming hard work and we needed a rest. Solly demonstrated that you could sex the elephant dropping by taste - we took his word for it that the male's are sour and females sweet. This was getting more and more like hard work. I needed 2 sleeps after breakfast and another after lunch to prepare myself for the afternoon drive. Again at one of the dams we came across a small herd of Buffalo males - all male. The big 5 had been seen in 24 hours and not fleetingly. We drove away from each sighting with them left behind. Galago seemed to be the place again. On the open ground in front of the camp we came across our honeymoon couple again. First the male arrived followed about 5 minute later by the female. They drank in turns at the water hole before the male became fascinated by the staff from Galago who were walking back too their accommodation. I wondered how many times we had been observed and watched by lion in the past. It felt as though we had only slept for 15 minutes when the wake knock came at 5 AM the following morning. It was time to game view again. The live feed camera had spotted a lion at a dam. When we arrived it was quite and deserted but Solly was determined to find him. As he and James tracked a roar was heard and we came across a huge male walking back to the dam. At the waters edge he started roaring - it is deafening and made my hair stand on edge. After a drink he lay down to groom himself and a minute or 2 later out of the bush came the other pride male - the one who had been so busy with his lady friend. They rubbed heads, groomed each other and then lay down for a snooze. Minutes later the amorous lioness bounded out of the bush straight to the males. The males only woke up when she was on top of them. In an instant they were on their feet with lots of roars and grunts, she turned and fled and they gave chase. Snarls and fighting could be heard from the bush. Solly followed and when we got up to them found that the 2 males had been separated with the older one now with the lioness and huge cut now bleeding on his cheek for his trouble. She continued with her advances, but with the other pride male - I suppose one could call it keeping it in the family. After all this excitement it was time for tea. En route we came across 4 rhino. We stopped to watch them grazing. They came to within 5 meters of us on their way past. Time to move onto the dam for tea. No sooner than the engine was turned off another 3 rhino came down to drink - this tea was going to have to wait. In all my time of going to Djuma (and other reserves and Lodges) I have never seen such good viewing of the big 5 in one trip. I know that we were lucky and look forward to the next time to do it all over again. A huge thank you to you and Jurie, Charmian and the rest of your staff who made this trip so fantastic. Love Clyde and Mocs March 2007 South Africa |
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| Hello
Charmian! I just arrived back to Norway - where I can feel that spring is coming soon. You would probably call it cold - it is only about 6 C. I am writing to you to thank you for the fantastic stay I had at Vuyatela with Brit last week. It was a lovely place and I will warmly recommend it to all people who (I hope) will go to South Africa. Two game drives and we saw "The Big Five" - it is just fantastic. The friendly staff at the lodge made my stay even more memorable! I will be coming back - already looking forward to it. Give my regards to your staff! Best regards Aagot von der Lippe Norway March 2007 |
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| To
Charmian Cooke and everyone at Djuma, I just want to thank all of you for giving my daughter Hillary and her girlfriend Ali such a wonderful and fulfilling experience at your lodge. Hilly spoke several times with me during her stay at Djuma this week and it was quite apparent that all of you took great care of them and enabled the girls to have the most fabulous safari experience, from your hospitality to your game drives which were absolutely perfect for Hilly. She was so touched by your warmth and genuine care for your guests and especially since her parents were not with her she felt very safe and comfortable with all of you. She loved learning from her game drives and her tracker and guide were terrific--thank you!!! Hillary was so happy to have visited the village and spend time with the children in the two schools and I've already seen all of her photos from her entire stay at Djuma --they look like she had an incredible few days with you. So thank you very much for all that you did to insure her safari to be worth every moment. I will recommend your lodge to others as well. Sincerely, Penny Hecktman March 2007 USA p.s. Hillary appreciates good cooking and she was so excited over your delicious meals, especially the surprise torch-lit dinner that you provided for them one night--she loved it all so much, so thank you again. |
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| Hey
Chris, Hope things are well, and you're not inundated with stupid questions like the ones Gracie, Julian and I asked. Anyway, we thank you for putting up with us, and you have to realize what a great experience it was for them. Hope your kid is here, and everything is fine with Kim. Good luck, and thanks again for everything. Peter Watrous New York, USA February 2007 |
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Dear Solly,
James, Pinky & Nonku, |
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Djuma Game Reserve |
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P. O. Box 338, Hluvukani, 1363, Mpumalanga, South Africa |
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Tel: (+ 27 13) 735 5118 |
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Fax: (+ 27 13) 735 5070
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Webmaster: |
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