Khwai Bedouin Camp becomes THE highlight on our safaris!

We knew that our Khwai Bedouin Bush Camp was amazing and we predicted that our clients would love staying there... But, what we didn't know was that it would become one of the main highlights on our safaris. Yes, it seems that our Bedouin camp has sidestepped the usual highlights that we normally hear about on safari - game drives, big 5 sightings, dinner at the lodges etc.

How did the Khwai Camp become THE highlight? A few of our Botswana tours have already had the exciting opportunity of staying (three nights, two days) at our Khwai Bedouin Camp! Generally, when our clients return they fill in a feedback form answering questions like "What was your highlight?" and "What would you change?" Answers normally range from Mokoro trips on the Okavango Delta and game drives in Moremi to requesting more time in the Khwai area and more Big 5 sightings (which is all part of the fun of a safari... well, we think so). However, since our very first scheduled safari returned from our Khwai Bedouin Camp (about a month ago) the responses have all been very similar... they all loved it! Suddenly our feedback form responses changed with everyone agreeing that their highlight was the Khwai Bedouin tent and when asked what they would like to change... everyone suggested more time in the Khwai area at our camp!

Here are recent answers and comments from our feedback forms:

Jenny, USA "Your comfort camp was simply amazing, staying out in the bush was exciting and the resident elephant there makes its more thrilling! I just wish we could have stayed there longer"
Jules, Australia "Comfort camp was excellent!"
Adrian, UK "My highlight was the Bedouin Camp - it was great! Wish we could have ended the safari there as that would have been a fantastic ending"
Tobias, Germany "I really think we should have at least 4 nights at the Khwai camp"

And the positive feedback doesn't end there... When we uploaded all the images of the new camp onto our facebook page the responses (the likes, comments on the album, photo comments and the inbox messages) were great; seems that everyone loves the camp and wants to go there (including a lot of us in the office)! Click here to see our fan page and check out the images!

And if you want to stay at our comfort camp then have a look at our fantastic 5-day Khwai Bedouin Camp package including Maun, Khwai River Night Game Drive, Mokoro Excursion and Moremi Game Reserve from EUR 1120 / USD 1569 per person... Alternatively join one of our popular Botswana safaris which will include a night at our Khwai Camp! And we are sure the next batch of feedback forms are all going to say the same:

Your Khwai Camp was fantastic...

Exciting news... extra departure date for our most popular safari

We have some fantastic news for you -we have an extra departure date for our most popular safari; our Botswana Wildlife Breakaway! For those of you that wanted to join our safari this year but couldn't because we were fully booked, here is your chance! This 14-day popular safari departs on the 10th November 2010 (10 people)...! As you know the places are limited so it's best to enquire now to avoid disappointment.

Please email us on info@jenmansafaris.com to secure your seat!

Was it you, who won our Brochure Picture Competition?

After 2 months of waiting (we were really busy with finalizing our fantastic 2011 brochure) we are finally ready to let you all know who won our brochure picture competition. The winning picture (below) was taken by Claudia Müller - Congratulations!

Claudia took this image on our Southern Experience safari (in December) and this is what she had to say about her spectacular picture; "This picture shows a giraffe in the distance and an owl close by. As it was almost dark you can only see their silhouette with the sundown in the background. I took this picture on the waterhole in Okaukuejo, Etosha National Park. The picture reflects what people want to see in Africa: a beautiful sunset with the wild animals..."

Well done Claudia (your image and your name will appear in all our English and German brochures for 2011)!

Good luck Rebecca, we will be thinking of you

Our product manager for East Africa, Angola & UK Marketing and sales representative, Rebecca, is leaving us to go on maternity leave. We are wishing her all the luck in the world as she prepares to welcome her bundle of joy... and we can't wait to meet the little Marshall!

Don't worry... her maternity leave is going to be over before we know it (well for us anyway) as Rebecca has left us with some great East Africa updates and exciting changes for 2011 (see below) to keep us entertained & busy for the next 4 months until she is back!

If you have any questions while she is away then please feel free to contact our Marketing Manager, Katja, on Katja@jenmansafaris.com or one of our friendly consultants on info@jenmansafaris.com

Incredible Changes to our East Africa products for 2011!!

A big 'thanks' goes to Rebecca for all her hard work over the last few months (in-between baby talks and a fun baby shower)... she has managed to bring us some exciting new developments to East Africa for 2011 which we are very excited about!

NEW** Classic Kenya Highlights: Our new 2011 Kenya scheduled lodge tour brings you a great price with some fantastic highlights! Experience game viewing in the famous Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru, as well as Amboseli where you will have the magnificent backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro in your photographs. This 7-day group tour departs three times a week throughout the year with a minimum of 2 people, for a price of EUR 1490 / USD 1820 per person sharing.

Best of Kenya and Tanzania Safari: Continuing with our popular Kenya and Tanzania combination, we are featuring scheduled group departures from April through to November, which depart with a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 7 (all with guaranteed window seats). Private tours continue to be available throughout the year. The scheduled group departure is priced from EUR 3380 / USD 4120 per person sharing.

Tanzanian Northern Circuit: Departing on set dates between the months of April through to November, this 8 day scheduled lodge tour reveals to you Tanzania's top highlights - the famous Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, plus Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks. Departing with a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 7 - all with guaranteed window seats, this tour is priced from EUR 2365 / USD 2885 per person sharing.

If you have any question about East Africa and planning your dream holiday then please send us an email on info@jenmansafaris.com and one of our East Africa experts will get back to you.

Jenman Safaris' brings you another first...

A fully accommodated safari through Botswana's finest National Parks at an affordable rate? Yes... it is true! We are able to offer you our fully ACCOMMODATED Botswana Untouched Mobile Safari from EUR 1550 / USD 2170 per person (which you will soon see is more than competitive).

Generally if you want to travel through Botswana and stay within the National Parks at affordable rates you will more than likely have to camp. However, you can now save money and stay in comfortable accommodation for you entire trip if you join one of our Botswana Untouched Mobile Safaris! After lots of hard work and negotiations we have brought you this fully accommodated safari including highlights of; Tuli Block, Khama Rhino Sanctuary, Makgadikgadi Pans, Moremi National Park, Khwai River Game Drive and Night Drive, Okavango Delta experience including Mokoro excursion, Chobe National Park game drive, River cruise on the Chobe River and a tour of the Victoria Falls...

So, why not explore Botswana by day and relax in comfortable accommodation at night?

** And if you want to save even more money we do offer a camping safari too. Contact us for more information (info@jenmansafaris.com) - we offer a 9-day and a 12-day Botswana Untouched safari with prices starting from EUR 1550 / USD 2170 per person for accommodated and EUR 1150 / USD 1610 per person for camping.
* Prices apply to 2011 tours.

Dinner overlooking the Fish River Canyon...

Nothing is better then downloading all your emails and seeing one from a guide with the subject line 'Our dinner at Fish River Canyon'! Naturally it's the first one we opened! Blessed, one of our treasured guides, was on our Northern Experience safari when they stopped off at the majestic Fish River Canyon (Namibia) to enjoy a sunset dinner and spend the night. The sunset was so amazing and the scenery so breathtaking that he took a picture with his iPhone (therefore picture may seem a bit hazy) and sent it straight through to the office!

Imagine having dinner with that view... Wow... Thanks Blessed for sharing this with us!

Feedback in the form of a poem?!

We receive lots of feedback everyday from happy clients from our safaris; they send us emails, comments, blogs and images... But, last week we received a poem as feedback instead of a normal email or an image! We couldn't believe it - we have never received a poem before and what's even better is that it all rhymed and was very detailed about the guide, the areas, the scenery and the other travellers (great to read)! This fantastic poem was written on our Botswana Wildlife Safari by some of the participants of the early August Departure - Thank you! Unfortunately, the poem was all in German (all the rhyming) so below is our best translation of some of the verses, hope you enjoy...

Remember: Botswana & Caprivi Tour 5. - 18. August 2010

10 tourists from Germany and South Africa came along,
looking forward to a safari, some adventures and fun.
Our guide introduced himself "My name is Jan" and I am the boss,
Only his indemnity forms made us feel a little lost...

Nevertheless, we placed our lives in his hand,
with him being our driver and our cook while touring through "Botswanaland"
His driving and cooking is top quality
and his knowledge about people and animals is a great ability.
He loves this country for obvious reasons
but still keeps his critical spirit about it during all seasons

Yellow Fever update for South Africa

Yellow fever remains a major public health threat in the world despite the availability of an effective vaccine.

In order to prevent introduction of the disease into the country, South Africa requires a valid yellow fever certificate from all citizens and non-citizens over one year of age travelling from an infected area or having been in transit through infected areas. Passengers who are unable to produce a valid certificate of vaccination on arrival or in transit will either be placed under quarantine or refused entry into South Africa. Airports must therefore ensure that all passengers coming from infected areas comply with the vaccination requirements prior to being allowed onboard the aircraft.

* This affects our safari areas of; Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us... Ethiopia, Angola, Kenya and Tanzania are all amazing countries and we highly recommend visiting them. A quick vaccination means you will have no worries or concerns!

Introducing Jenman Groups'

Our Jenman African Safaris' Groups department consists of 4 (including one recently hired consultant) well-travelled, skilful and passionate consultants who specialize in the handling of group bookings of ANY size. Our Groups consultants (excluding our newbie) are; Silke (Senior Sales Consultant who loves travelling and is looking forward to her Madagascar educational this year...), Candice (Sales Consultant who believes that no other destination in the world can beat Cape Town) and Zaida (Product Assistant who is keen to explore Botswana on her next holiday).

Why choose Jenman Safaris' for your group bookings?

• Custom built itineraries according to age, group sizes and interests
• Experience in running lodge & camping safaris for more then 17 years
• Boast experienced and trained guides (incl. special languages guides)
• Take advantage of our custom built land cruisers, busses and trucks as well as our camping equipment
• Negotiate competitive rates
• And we keep YOUR identity by branding our vehicles...

Please email info@jenmansafaris.com if you would like to contact our Groups Department!

Our Khwai Bedouin Bush Camp - for children

Our Khwai Bedouin Bush Camp has become a great family holiday option... Kids love spending their nights listening to the animal sounds in one of our lovely Bedouin camps. But, please note, that we now require that all children are over the age of 12 when staying at our exclusive comfort camp. Chat to us if you have any concerns or issues!

New Staff; Jenman Safaris grows and grows!

We are happy to see some new faces within our team especially in the sales department which is getting busier each day. Since our new staff members all boast exciting industry experience & fantastic qualifications and, of course, have travelled throughout Africa... we needed to ask them something different and fun so that you can get to know them a little bit better... "What is the funniest thing that has happened to you on a trip?"

• Kirsty (Product Developer) - Where to start, was it the baby mice I found in my bed at a lodge in Kenya that sent me screaming outside in the middle of the night, or the fact that in the middle of a drought in Zimbabwe and Botswana, everywhere I went it started to rain and the locals called me the rainmaker, or trading my glamour magazine for coconut shell bangles made by a Masai warrior, or how I questioned why we needed an armed escort from our tent only to bump into the biggest hippo round the next corner! Its always fun whenever and wherever I travel.
• Djingy (Sales Intern) -Well nothing funny has happened to me - but something really FUN recently did! I went to Durban and discovered Umshaka Marine World which was one of the most beautiful places I've seen by far... I only wish I had planned to stay longer to have even more fun... next time I will!
• Mara (Sales consultant)- I was walking with some people in the Delta when we saw a honey badger near us. Two locals thought it would be impressive to chase it because we wanted a closer look at it. They ran and ran and ran after the honey badger when all of a sudden it turned around and started chasing them. The two locals sprinted as fast as they could away (one even lost his shoe!!)... When we finally stopped laughing at the site of the honey badger chasing them we turned around to discover another honey badger right by us!
• Cathrine (Sales Consultant) - After a particularly bumpy flight into the Mara on a stormy afternoon, a friend and I were trying to negotiate our ponchos and camera to get a picture of the plane together with the gazelle on the airstrip, while walking backward to get the full scope of the picture we both tripped and landed on our bums in huge puddle of mud, with our wet bums and bruised egos we giggled all the way to lodge deciding who got the better picture...
• Charnelle (Sales Consultant) - I was in Nosy Be, Madagascar, a few years ago when a lemur jumped on my shoulder, grabbed the banana I was holding, peeled it and handed it back to me and then jumped off my shoulder…. Was hilarious!

Thanks for sharing this with us!

Meet Rehana - your consultant!

Rehana has been with Jenman Safaris for just over 8 months and even in the short period of time she has already made her mark with her passion for sales and funky dress sense. She has even been promoted from a sales intern to a sales consultant in under 6 months (!!) AND she has already been on a fabulous Namibia educational... so, as you can imagine she has become a wonderful addition to our team!

Even though Rehana has just returned from Namibia she already has her sights set on her next educational... Madagascar! She says she would love to go to Madagascar and her reasoning is "I would love experience the snorkelling, lemurs and the beaches so that I can sell Madagascar even better "Hmmm sounds like a great "learning" holiday you have in mind there!

As we always do in each and every newsletter we ask the consultant of the month where their favourite place to eat in Cape Town is and why...? "I am a regular at the Food Lover's market in Claremont - their food is always tasty & healthy and they have such a variety of cuisine from sushi to salad and pastas to choose from... YUM! They have even been described as the "theatre of food" where every element is combined to create a unique food experience... Which is so true! Other favourites of mine are Andiamo's in Green Point (great Italian food in the super trendy Cape Quarter) & the Eastern Food Bazaar in Darling Street - they have the yummiest Chicken Curry as well as tasty Shawarma's and Falafel's... You can normally find me at one of those places on the weekend!"

Thanks for sharing this with us Rehana - you made us all hungry in the office!

Tobi bids us farewell as he returns to Germany...

Tobi was our treasured German intern who spent just over 6 months with us in the Marketing Department learning all about Jenman Safaris and Cape Town... and of course updating our blog weekly with all his news. He really became an important part of our team and we were sad to see him go home... But, before he left us he went on our Southern Experience Safari and then afterwards he kindly sent us his very last blog about his trip. For all our loyal blog readers out there and for those that are interested, here is a small snippet from his last blog:

"... But for now I have to be content with my memories and the thousands of pictures I took - especially during my "Southern Experience" trip with Jenman Safaris from Victoria Falls through the north-western part of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa back to Cape Town. Although the pictures are just amazing they don't even come close to the reality. Thinking about this tour I'm still overwhelmed by all the spectacular game sightings, cultural experiences and landscapes. Everything was so totally different to what I'd ever seen before and it's impossible to choose only one highlight. After the first two days on which I did white water rafting on the Zambezi River and visited the Victoria Falls - which are just breathtaking - I thought it couldn't get better. But I was already proved wrong the next day when we did a boat cruise on the Chobe River in Botswana, where we saw numerous hippos, crocodiles and big herds of elephants and buffalos; to name just the most impressive ones. And the tour continued like that; every day we saw something fabulous..."

Click here to read the whole story. And we are sure that we will be seeing Tobi very soon - the waves at Clifton are calling his name...