Gerry and Kathleen Garnett

What a fabulous tour of Africa we had this spring with the Pitchers. Everything was absolutely firsts class. I mean, FIRST CLASS. Accommodation, transport, safari tours, local knowledge, our wants and needs, everything. It all comes down to our tour Guides, Dee and Ronnie Pitcher. They organized the tour and they led the tour. They looked after us, cared about us, kept us laughing, educated us, bonded us to them and to each other. Thank-you to them and thank-you to our travel companions. Marvellous, absolutely marvellous.

For my wife and I, when our Travel Agent Phyllis first brought up a possible tour of Africa, we said “No. Africa sounds wonderful, but we don’t think we’re interested.” Every once and awhile she would ask again, and received the same answer.  Several months later, the Pitchers had finalized the day by details, so we checked it out. We immediately changed our tune and took the last two spots..

Now that the trip is over, all we can say is how lucky and  thankful we are that we took this tour to Africa. It was absolutely fabulous. It was more than we had expected, even with our high expectations from checking out the detailed itinerary of what we would be doing, where we would be going and the accommodations that had been chosen. And, it all revolves around the couple who organized the tour and took us on the tour, Dee and Ronnie Pitcher.

Our tour hosts are intimately knowledgeable about South Africa, and that meant they are aware of the areas we visited and their issues and the highlights. Their excellent advice began before we left home. They gave us great advice on what we needed to bring – and what we didn’t need to bring. They were right. During our trip they always ensured we were prepared for our various modes of transport and border crossings.

They’ve stayed in or checked out the accommodations – all were first class (or better!).  Camping?   I suppose it is “camping”, but king size beds, solid walls, glass windows and windows facing the bush with elephants and Kudus wandering around. WOW. They have been on many safaris and were as adept (or better?) at finding and identifying the wildlife as the rangers and trackers. We were in roofless “jeeps” which helped picture taking and visibility. We sat two in a row so everyone had a great view.

There are almost too many great things to say about this trip, but one I want to bring out is their attention to the needs of every one of us. Ronnie and Dee are very caring individuals, and were always keeping an eye out for us all, and our needs.

Before we left, they ensured they were aware of any physical limitations or special dietary needs  – they made sure it was always covered. I had a birthday – they made it special.  There were so many things like this that make a trip special. Our travelling companions, the beautiful leopards, monkeys, zebras, Cape Town, lunch in the bush, African singing and dancing, friendly caring staff, sunsets.

We have been on many trips, but we rate this one as the best we have been on. We give credit to the existence of such a beautiful place on this earth and to Dee and Ronnie for the skill, knowledge and care they put into making this trip the best we have been on.