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| The decision of a
great friend and I to take our children away during the half-term break
meant finding a lodge in Madikwe that was child friendly but that
offered the comforts that would afford us a break. |
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| Our two night stay was outstanding.
We were overwhelmed by the personalised service, willingness of
management and staff to accommodate us in every possible way to ensure
that we had a wonderful stay. On the second day, our children were
entertained in the river bed making plaster of paris moulds of animal
spoor and were taken on a most informative nature walk by our wonderful
and very knowledgeable ranger, Patience, while we both enjoyed a
fabulous massage. |
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| The meals were cleverly planned to
cater to adult and childrens' tastes and were always well presented and
very tasty. We enjoyed the simple, yet stylish accommodation in luxury
family tents. We left on Friday around lunchtime, having had a wonderful
bush experience and vowing to return at the soonest opportunity. |
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| About 30 kilometres from the Camp, we
experienced a flat tyre and another one that almost resulted in a blow
out. We were stranded on the Molatedi road, near a small trading store.
I phoned the Camp and spoke to Carmen, the Camp manager. She immediately
got in her own car with two of the maintenance staff from the Camp and
came to our rescue. In addition to this, she organised for a local
farmer and owner of the trading store to come to assist us. She stayed
in cellphone contact with us, reassuring us that everything would be
fine and Johnny, the farmer, arrived on the scene within 10 minutes. |
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Carmen then offered to take both tyres to Rustenburg - well over an
hour's drive in each direction from where we were stranded. She also
arranged for us to be looked after at Johnny's lodge. Carmen and her
team arrived after dark with the new tyres and replaced them on our
vehicle. By this stage, it was almost 19h00. Carmen phoned the Camp and
arranged to accommodate us (two adults and our 4 children) in the only
available tent. She then drove back with us in convoy to the Camp. We
were naturally anxious about the drive, given our experience. She had
arranged for the Camp staff to make up the beds at short notice. The
team then arranged drinks and produced a delicious meal for us of
spaghetti bolognaise and salad, in Little Thakadu as well as a roaring
log fire to welcome us. We were met there and welcomed by our ranger,
Patience, and a team of 4 staff. |
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| We had a good night's sleep. The
following morning, Carmen arranged for one of the mechanics from the
Camp to rotate the tyres and to check them to ensure that we would be
safe for the return journey. We were served warm refreshments and
cereals for breakfast, before packing for our trip. In addition to this,
she arranged for individual lunch packs for each of us to be delivered
to the gate before we left the reserve! |
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| We were absolutely overwhelmed by the
exceptional service and the caring that was shown towards us. We have
never encountered anthing like this before. We will never forget this
amazing experience and Thakadu will be on our lips whenever we recommend
a great bush destination! |
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Thank you to
all the management and staff for this exceptional service!
Kind regards,
Kim Rey |
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| Thank you to all the staff @ Thakadu River Camp for making us
feel so at home on our first trip to Africa. The Browne family, baby
Freddie included, have all enjoyed wonderful game drives with Pule and
Patrick, lovely food and especially the fabulous welcoming atmosphere
here at Thakadu. All our requirements were met with a smile. Special
thanks to Kedibone for all the babysitting and for our sparkling clean
bedroom. |
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Love
and thanks to you all from
Nicholas, Naralie, Julian, Marcus, & Freddie
Browne
PS See you again!
23rd August 2007 |
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| Thank you everybody at Thakadu- we have had a wonderful time in this
beautiful place! Fabulous food, friendly service and the most helpful of
rangers - Patience and Thabiso we will try and remember all that you shared with us
in terms of knowledge and experience! |
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Debbie, Gordon, Cameran and Kirsty Frame
Plus we saw a Thakadu
(Aardvark) on our first game drive - perfect!! |
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You have given me and my daughter the most wonderful experience.
Ruth, plus the kitchen staff, have been fantastic with our special
diet. Tsholo and Patrick were excellent guides. Thank you a million
times.
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June Smith
Surrey, England |
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To all at Thakadu, thank you. Pule thanks to you for the great
game
drives. To all at the lodge - wonderful service, rooms, food and
location.
And last but certainly not least John Dee - you are our hero. You saved
yourself from the jaws of the lion without even breaking a sweat - we
will remember you for ever.
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Best regards
Leigh, Tracy, Derek and Morne
(Go
2 Africa team) |
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