Comments
In planning for my safari, I was prepared for a unique adventure. However what Tasha & Karoma delivered to me with The African Touch was far beyond even my high expectations - it was a life altering experience.
Every day rendered something new of East Africa, whether it was game searching for its unique & exotic wildlife, dancing with the remote Pokot villages, drifting in a hot air balloon at sunrise over a magnificant bull elephant, or experiencing the mystery of the maze of Stonetown's historic streets.
With Karoma's extensive experience in guiding, his focus on a safe and professional safari, and his Masai/Kikuyu heritage and love for Africa, the African Touch indeed became palpable. With Tasha's own experience in the safari industry her highly developed organisational skills, and her equal passion for Africa, I was afforded the opportunity to indeed 'touch' African and momentarily feel its heart beat. Thank you my friends.
Dennis Stolen, Canada
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Tasha and Karoma,
What a stunning time we had. All our trepidations and misgivings for naught.
Thank you for the most fantastic experience of our lives. So well organised, so informative, great food, so much to see and do.
A new adventure every day with heaps of fun to be had.
Thanks so much
Gae and Rod Spencer
Northland
New Zealand
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Our 28 day Safari to East Africa recently was an EXPERIENCE OF A LIFE TIME. Our travelling was done in a very comfortable truck that was especially built for viewing the Animal Life in the various National Parks and countryside we travelled through.
I had imagined that our focus would be only the animals and it was great seeing them wandering around, totally ignoring us. But there was much, much more to our EXPERIENCE! The gap between the rich and the poor was huge but with the lack of possessions they seemed to have a wonderful sense of contentment! A lesson to us al!!!
Their clothing was spotless yet very few would have washing machines. Most of the children went to school in uniform and all looked neat and tidy. We had the privilege of visiting a school and seeing the keenness they have for learning. A boy we were told, had 3 hours to walk to school which started at 7-30a.m. and went to 3-30p.m.!!! Can you imagine our youngsters doing that!!
We travelled to five main areas to view the Animal Life in their natural environment. We sighted over 20 types of animals and quite a number of birds, some very colourful. The timing was right for us to view the Migration that takes place each year. Thousand of Wildebeest and Zebras leave the Serengeti and travel to the Masai Mara and surrounding countryside. The plantations we saw looked lush. Coconut and banana palms were plentiful, sugar cane, tea, coffee beans, papaw, pineapple, jack fruit were just some we saw. In all this we saw the Hand of our Creator. I could go on and on.
Thank you Tasha and Karoma for the trip of a lifetime.
Brian & Betty Moss, Tairua
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Are you nearing 80 and need a challenge? I am 82 just home from a safari with The African Touch; and enjoyed something new happening every day. Good company, good food, comfortable in my cozy tent, well looked after by Tasha & Karoma. Give it a go, this safari is not for the young ones only.
Jess Hansen, Thames
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Wow. What an adventure - our first African experience.
My husband and I didn't have the courage or confidence to travel through East Africa on our own, so when we cam across The African Touch; we knew it was right for us; and we weren't disappointed.
Tasha and Karoma were the best guides you could wish for with their years of experience and vast knowledge of the area. We slept in tents for 21 nights on comfortable mattresses, and we always felt safe even though we had hippopotamus grazing around our tents one night and Massai Warriors guarding us from the lions in the Massai Mara National Reserve.
We arrived in Entebbe and lived off a specially converted truck, Juju. We travelled through Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar. Our meals were all prepared for us by Johnny our Kenyan cook and we ate lots of beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables bought from the local markets etc. The game drives were always exciting, seeing all the animals in the wild; giraffes, elephants, lions the migration of the wildebeest and zebra. Thousands of pink flamingos were an awesome sight along with lots of other amazing birds.
But we found there is much more to Africa than just the animals; with the people, the culture and the landscape.
Karoma is passionate about his country and didn't want us to feel sorry for the people because they don'T know anything else and are happy in their lives.
It was heart warming, driving along with children smiling, yelling jambo and waving to us. We were taken into a Pokot Village and a Massai Village to mix with the people and learn about how they live. Another highlight was going into Ngondi, the home of Karoma`s Mama Wainaina. We had a traditional lunch and visited the local school. We also had our first hot Air Balloon experience over the Massai Mara. We watched the sunrise over the reserve and finished with a champagne breakfast under a thorny acacia tree.
We can't stop talking about our trip since we have come home and are now planning to go through Namibia and Botswana with The African Touch in 2010.
Adrienne Lynch, Waihi
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Dear Tasha & Karoma,
I just wanted to get some words of appreciation for a fantastic safari off to you.
Firstly the pre-departure literature you put out which I think was excellent and gave us all we needed to know to ensure that the traveller was well prepared for all Africa had to offer (including its unique laid-back culture) I can't think of any facts we needed to know to ensure the safari was as safe and enjoyable as possible. You completed this with great organisation on your part, kept us informed on a daily basis, particularly coming into the truck, with Tembo, whenever we stopped to inform us where we were and what was on offer and the time we were to spend there. It was great having all our meals supplied and of such good quality. Help was always at hand with tents and setting up camp. I wonder if the next occupant of Hungry Hippo tent will have the experience I had of the grazing hippo just the other side of the canvas, an amazing literate hippo!
I could find no fault with ANYTHING. Thanks again from me for a great safari and I will be happy for you to give my name to anyone who might like a bit more info on certain aspects of the tour; particularly with the more mature - but not 'old'person in mind
Thelma Chantrey, Thames
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It was wonderful! We saw all the animals we wanted to see and some we didn't expect to! The food from the truck was excellent and the wide range of activities made the trip one to remember. Mike added quite a few birds to his world list, and I was rapt with the tour of the bead factory and also the knitwear factory. It was wonderful to meet the African people in their own environment - something other tours would miss out on. I would recommend the trip to anyone with a sense of adventure and humour!
Regards
Ann & Mike Walmsley
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I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Africa in just about every aspect. The Family tour was well organized and had a great mix of African culture and Safari animals. It had a great atmosphere and everyone was so excited to be in such a unique and wonderful place.
The trip was awesome packed with many memorable moments & we have lots of fantastic photos and souvenirs to prove it. The Ngorongoro crater in particular was great. We saw plenty of animals extremely close on the game drive. The Jurassic Park like misty jungle surrounds heading into the crater on the zig zagging narrow dirt road was magical. The hot air balloon ride in the Mara National Park was breath taking and is defiantly a highlight (as well as the champagne breakfast amongst the animals).
There was so much more to the tour than just going on safari. Stone Town on Zanzibar Island was my favorite destination. It has so much history, historic architecture, and lots of activities to do like scuba diving, touring spice farms and shopping.
I really enjoyed learning about the African culture and ways of life. Being invited to an African school to do activities like making cards and playing sports was a very unique experience.
Thanks for the superb trip, It was also a great time to bond with my family as well as the other families and Guides.
Tasha & Karoma were excellent informative guides and also Vincent and Josh who did all the grouling tasks and made exquisite meals that we couldn't have done without.
I defiantly have no hesitation in recommending "African Touch" for any trip to East Africa.
Matthew Andrew
(Florida, USA at present)
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This trip is a rare and wonderful opportunity. It is different enough to be exciting for people who want an adventure and yet safe enough for less intrepid travellers who need a degree of security.
After I'd booked this trip but before it started I wondered if I'd done the right thing. Africa seemed quite a scary place to go and people I spoke to kept asking me if it was safe! But from the moment Tasha and Karoma met us in Entebbe I felt reassured and excited about all the things we were going to do. From then on the trip was just an amazing experience.
There were many wonderful aspects of our trip but perhaps the thing that I most appreciated was the attention Tasha and Karoma paid to us as individual people with our own requirements and special desires. They accommodated our wishes whenever possible and anticipated our needs at all stages of the trip. On top of all that they displayed a relaxed manner and exceptional good humour throughout.
They shared with us their love for the land we travelled through and we benefitted from their knowledge and insight. They took the hassle out of travelling in foreign countries and allowed us the luxury of feeling relaxed and confident. Tasha and Karoma made this trip special by being special people.
Regards,
Robin Murray - Dunedin
Mature Travellers Tour - 2006
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Dear Tasha and Karoma
Words can't describe what a wonderful experience it was travelling with you on safari in East Africa. You promised us so much, but delivered much more.
East Africa is a truly amazing place and you showed us so many examples of fantastic scenery, beautiful animals and most importantly, the incredibly resilient people who live there. We were privileged to see the people and animals interact with each other and the environment.
You are an amazing young couple with such patience and creativity. Nothing was too much trouble, the food was always delicious, the beds and the bus seats were very comfortable.
The tolerance, helpfulness, caring and sense of adventure and fun you provided our group of "old fossils" was outstanding. We think that anyone travelling to Africa on safari would be unlikely to find a better organisation to travel with.
We wish you all the best. Keep us posted. We will be interested in any new tours you plan.
Love David and Judith Cain
Mangawhai Heads - 16th January ,2006
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Dear Karoma & Tasha,
I have found your tour to be the best I have ever gone on, the way you have looked after me and answered all my questions is amazing, and taking our group into the wild and looking after us was fantastic. I never dreamed that we could get so close to the wild animals, meet the different tribes and talk with them, with Karoma's help, and the visit to the Pokot tribe and the Massai tribe was out of this world. Every where you two took us it was fantastic, every day was filled with new wonder and enlightenment and amazement. Your cook was excellent (Henry) and the helper (Vincent) was the best worker I have seen in a long time, the food was top notch and the way they looked after us was fantastic, plenty of food. Even rafting down the Nile was just beyond believe the water was so warm it was a pleasant shock and I might add a good time to have a great wash.
On closing I must thank you for the time and dedication you have shown us all on that tour into the past, another life style was opened up for us to see and the off track places we went to were amazing. Tasha and Karoma I must thank you for the holiday and I wish all the best in the future you are both a very caring couple.
I Remain
Yours Faithfully
Trevor Scott ....aged 60
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What an AMAZING journey we have shared with you both on "The African Touch" and the rest of our fellow travellers.
We would like to thank you both very much for letting us share with you the magic of your Africa, the animals in the wild, the game parks, the country side and the adventures it has to offer, the people and the children, those dear wee children with big eyes, smiling faces and those little hands waving frantically.
Thank you for imparting you knowledge to us, for your excellent wisdom and for your very adept organisational skills. Your guidance was always very much appreciated, and was always given with such politeness and grace. Thank you for sharing your family with us, this was a special moment for us and gave us a real insight into family life.
"Juju" became like part of our family and congratulations on doing such a fine job of building her.
We would like to wish 'The African Touch' all the best, we know with you two as the leaders it will be a huge success.
Kindest regards,
Dawn and Alan
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We would like to thank you both very much for such an exciting, well organised trip where we have learnt so much about other people, their cultures and how well off we are here in New Zealand, but that all we have here, is not really necessary to be happy. It makes you take a breath and think more carefully about wishes and dreams, to be sure.
We will never forget those little faces of the children out waving as we whizzed past in Juju, your very comfortable truck, it is something that will remain with us forever. Passing from Kenya to Uganda and then into Kenya again before entering Tanzania meant we covered so many Game Parks and these were all so fantastic and we saw the big 9 of the animals.
Tasha thank you for the great amount you put into having it all run so smoothly and Karoma thank you for all the hours driving you did and also for the smooth running of camp life. We really appreciated and understand a lot more how hard it can be on 'African time' to be so well organised.
Pamela and Colin Oldfield
Wellsford
New Zealand
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Thank you Tasha and Karoma for the experience of a lifetime.
Those little children who so happily waved to us and called out 'jambo' were just delightful. It was so humbling to see how happy they all are just living in their mud huts with so very little. And of course the big five animals were something very special to see.
The camp food was great and your careful attention to hygiene on the truck was much appreciated. We were very comfortable in our tent and really enjoyed camping alongside the others on our tour. The wide variety of locations that we found ourselves was quite mind boggling and the truck was really comfortable too.
We would definitely recommend the African Touch, with you two in charge, to anyone contemplating an African Safari tour. Well done!
Joan and Greg Lawson
Mangawhai Heads
North Auckland
New Zealand
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Hi Tasha and Karoma,
I bet your pleased to have Karoma home finally, I know he was dying to get home to you all and especially your new baby boy :) I hope all is well and he is letting you get some sleep. I just wanted to write and let you know how much I enjoyed my adventure through Africa. It was absolutely sensational!! I had a wonderful time, everyday was as good as if not better than the last. I woke up each morning wondering how this day could bet the last. The midwifery side was fantastic, it is something I have always wanted to do, and it was above and beyond my expectations. For me the Pokot tribe was the highlight, that was such an experience, one never to forget. Such a privilege. And as for Karoma, :) well you certainly have your hands full there tash :) I know Karoma will be laughing now. He was fab, couldn't have asked for a better guide, driver, african encyclopedia, entertainer, and friend. He was great, I can also see that it would be some else to have you and the boys with us, but even so it was every thing I imagined it would be and more.
I have told lots of midwives about your safari and they are all keen for next year. A couple said they have emailed you already. All the best for the future safaris, and hopefully I will be on one again soon. Never underestimate the the value of your trips, they are certainly once in a lifetime experiences. Thankyou so much, my love to the family.
Love Amy
Sept 2011
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