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December 2005
To our Travel Agents, Tour operators & Partners:
Once again, we at Afrika Zambezi Safaris, team members and management would like to thank you all for your incredible support during 2005.
It is not easy to stand out among the many safari companies now operating, but we did it with your help. Your clients were all treated to one of the best safari tours available!
I must say that we could not have done it without the excellence and valuable support of our operating partners:
so to all our overseas and African travel agents, safari lodges and camps, hotels, transport and ground tour handlers: thank you for helping to give Afrika Zambezi Safaris our best ratings to date.
We are at your service and looking forward to a great year in 2006, and to giving your clients an exciting, friendly and safe holiday experience in the warm hospitality of Africa.
Best regards and wishes for the New Year
A Message To our Clients
My name is Obert Lusinga your Safari leader guide in Africa and on behalf of Afrika Zambezi Safaris, the staff, guides, management, partners and our precious clients, I wish to pass a great thanks to all of you for being so supportive to my small staggering growing safari company which has become a success story in your hands.
I am proud to say the year 2005 has been a great exciting year for us meeting new clients and welcoming old clients back to Afrika Zambezi Safaris.
Although it has been hard work for us to meet all clients demands and safari requirements, our team were superb in making this business journey a successful one.
The year 2006 is around the corner with lots of challenges but we are all excited to meet this challenges especially with your support. We have done some big upgrades to our website and we hope you will browse around to see the with new exciting safari destinations, e.g. to Zambia in Southern Africa, and lots more gathered information about camps/lodges to East Africa.
Obert Lusinga
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 A traditional tale from Africa was the inspiration for the AFRIKA ZAMBEZI SAFARIS logo - because we keep our promises, just like the Hippo!
Read the STORY OF THE YAWNING HIPPOPOTAMUS:
One day at the beginning of creation, the Hippo was grazing one day on the savannah and was caught in a bush fire. His hair was all burned off his body and he rushed into the nearest water and lay there, soothing his painful and blistered skin, with just his eyes and nose showing above the surface.
He found the water so nice and cool, and was so afraid of the fire again, that he decided to approach the Creator for permission to live in the water all the time.
“God, my Creator, “ implores the Hippopotamus, “I have come to tell you that due to my poor burned skin, I can no longer live in the sun on the grasslands where you placed me. I humbly request your permission to become a water creature from now on.”
“No!” replies the Creator, “You are far too big and hungry! I have already placed my creatures in the rivers and lakes. If you move in, with your huge appetite, you will eat up all the fish - and then what would become of all the other water animals and birds?”
“Please, my Lord, just give me a chance,” replies the Hippopotamus,”If you let me live in the water, I will promise not to eat any fish at all. And to prove it, I will open my mouth wide to the sky every day, to show you that there are no fish in my jaws.”
“How can I trust you?” asks the Creator, “You might catch fish behind my back.”
“Oh no, my Lord, never. I will come out of the water every evening when the hot sun goes down, and graze on the grasslands like before. And I will also scatter my dung on the river bank, so that you can see that there are no fish bones in it.”
“Very well,” says God the Creator, ”I will give you two weeks and if you touch a single fish, you will be banished from the water-lands forever. THIS IS MY FINAL WORD, and don’t think I won’t be watching you!”.
“Thank you for your mercy, my God,” says the Hippopotamus, “You have saved my skin and my life and I will always be grateful”.
And so ever since that day, the Hippo lives in the water and keeps his promise to the Creator. He yawns all the time, and when he comes out onto the land to graze, you certainly won’t see any fish bones in his dung.
THE END!
Major Upgrade for our Website:
We are proud to inform our business partners and regular internet surfers that we have revamped and updated the Afrika Zambezi Safaris website, with new easy to use navigation.
We hope you enjoy surfing our website for all the new links, pictures, information and advice on how to plan for your safari. Also included are detailed itineraries and a place to check out your destinations within Africa.
We would also like to pass on a big thank you to the team at Zero Gravity Design, who were so helpful in creating a website to be proud of.
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Afrika Zambezi People:
It’s always the people who make the difference between a trip to Africa and a GREAT Safari Adventure.
Our guides are rated by our clients throughout the year.
Compliments go to all the tour guides at Afrika Zambezi Safaris, who really have worked hard this year 2005 to ensure the success of every guided Safari trip to Southern & East Africa.
We are tremendously proud of our team of guides and staff who have conducted the Journey of business success, judging by the tremendous feed back and comments we received from all our clients in the year 2005. They have all contributed to our growing reputation for excellence.
“Well done team!”
Our Top Guide 2005 is:
Bryan Orford: was rated best tour guide, leading exceptional safari trips in East & Southern Africa and scoring the highest marks from our clients as a group leader.
Bryan’s Comments:
To work for a good Safari company in Africa, one has to understand what goes on behind the scenes. With good team leadership, management and indeed focus towards putting one’s passion, energy, and enthusiasm for what one does into the job. It’s also great to meet such wonderful clients out there.
2005, has been a good year for us as tour guides at Afrika Zambezi Safaris, leading all sorts of safari trips in Africa’s National Parks, the monuments and world heritage sites.
I would like to pass a good thank-you to our marketing team, and of course the clients who chose to travel on safari with us. I look forward to yet another successful safari year in 2006.
Very Close Runner up:
James Kydd: has been rated a close second in our best tour guide stakes, which is an excellent achievement considering he is relatively new to the company.
James’s Comments:
Its not easy to fly with a different group of people every Safari trip, but as guides we are committed to this profession and love our jobs as guides, making sure the clients are safe, having good time on safari and basically becoming friends by the end of the safari.
The company has grown a lot and we are rapidly earning a good reputation out there, with lots of good comments from our clients and everyone knows us now, unlike the past years when I joined Afrika Zambezi Safaris.
Definitely 2006 will be our best safari year and thanks to our marketing promoters out there.
Best Walking Safari Guide:
John Marira: rated as Afrika Zambezi Safaris’ best walking safari guide and for leading excellent safari trips in East Africa during the year 2005.
John Marira’s Comments:
When I joined Afrika Zambezi Safaris I thought I was not going to grow fast in the company. Little did I knew that I was going to be this far as a partner and safari leader with all these tremendous comments from the clients I have taken on Safari this year 2005.
Tanzania’s Serengeti National Parks has become one of my favourite walking areas with great animal migration viewing on foot with my clients.
Tanzania National Parks are definitely the way to go with excellent animal viewing. No doubt that all my clients I took there on each trip had a fabulous safari journey with a range of wildlife such as the famous wildebeest migration, big herds of buffaloes & elephants, great lion sightings, leopard, cheetah, Thompsons gazelles milling all over the Serengeti plains. I can’t wait to show it all again to new people this year!
East Africa Safari Destination
Our East Africa safari destination itinerary has just been added to our new-look website, There you will find information on Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar and the wonderful itinerary we have in store for you.
Lots of products to learn about on the East Africa safari page so check it out and select from the options available, to make your most suitable safari itinerary with Afrika Zambezi Safaris.
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The USA Marketing & Consulting Office:
A great thanks to Gene and Helen Olson for their initiative in running the USA support and marketing office, and consulting with lots of clients interested in booking safari trips to Africa.
Message from Gene & Helen
Helen says:
“It has been fun and joyful year 2005 for us running our small Consulting office in USA. Our motive is basically to advise travellers on what to expect on Safari with Afrika Zambezi Safaris.
We have been kept very busy answering telephone calls and e-mails from all corners of USA, and it is always a pleasure to talk to people and advise them about our great passion, Africa.
We are sure that 2006 will be another exciting year for us.”
Gene says:
“I met Obert Lusinga the Managing Director of Afrika Zambezi Safaris in 2001 when my wife Helen and I were travelling in Africa for the first time. Obert then stayed in touch with us for couple of years and eventually became partners after introducing us to his business dream: Afrika Zambezi Safaris in 2003.
I must say we had a tremendously successful Safari season this year 2005 and we look forward to recommending any safari trips to East Africa in 2006 as well as the exciting new destination, Zambia.
Thanks for all your calls during 2005 and we look forward to hearing from you in 2006. Call us - we’re only too happy to help!”
New Safari Tariffs For 2006:
Due to the cost of our Safari operations in each country we travel and new upgraded lodges/camps where we stay during our safari trips, we have slightly increased our safari rates.
Now it is easy to access our price lists and to understand on what costs are involved in each of the selected Safari itineraries.
Click here to see the new safari rates for 2006
Note - custom made tours are always available any time, on request. Just give us a call!
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What's New at Safari Corner:
Recent Report on a Safari trip to Zimbabwe, Oct-Nov 2005.
(By James & Candy Madison – Washington DC: USA)
From Oct 10th to 6th Nov 2005, my wife, myself and a group of ten others from the US took a safari trip to Zimbabwe - a destination which has become unpopular of late. I admit I was a trifle nervous about travelling in this troubled land - but it turns out I had nothing to fear.
This is where we discovered the little-known splendour of Mana Pools on the lower Zambezi river - an area which really lives up to its legends of spectacular wildlife and a great, unspoiled wilderness, all of which we enjoyed while relaxing in a Canadian canoe, drifting down the soft flowing Zambezi river with our guides.
The magic of this river adventure will remain the highlight of our unforgettable experiences in Zimbabwe.
When we met Obert our personal guide at Johannesburg international airport, we discovered that he is in fact, originally from Zimbabwe and is therefore the perfect person to guide a group into that beautiful land.
GAME VIEWING REPORTS: 2005
We received lots of fabulous stories and other unusual and incredible game-viewing reports from our clients and tour guides after each safari trip. Here are some extracts from client letters and entries in our guest book:
In Southern Africa:
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana & Namibia National Parks were just the best! Thank you Obert, we got to see absolutely everything on our wanted list - elephants, buffaloes, leopards, cheetah, lions, hippopotamus, impalas, red lechwe and so many wonderful new birds, I cant remember them all, but my cameral doesn't lie! We especially appreciated the opportunity to see the White Rhino in South Africa.
Spending three nights at Mana Pool’s Chikwenya camp was just a splendid holiday experience. This must be very close to God’s original paradise. We also learnt about the nature, legends and history of the Zambezi, and Nyaminyami the river God who the Tonga tribes believed to be their ancestral living spirit.
To our surprise as visitors travelling in Zimbabwe, we found Zimbabwe very safe country with friendly warm people at each place we visited including the country’s beautiful National Parks such as: Mana Pools, Matusadona, Matopos and Hwange National Parks not forgetting the famous Victoria Falls.
The whole experience in Zimbabwe was just fabulous, the food, the service, wildlife and the people were all piled into one excellent journey with Afrika Zambezi Safaris. What you hear about Zimbabwe is not what you see in reality. Our trip was great and we really enjoyed ourselves there.
The highlight of our trip was the Lion kill at Chobe (Botswana) - we followed a herd of buffalo in our safari vehicle, while the lions were hunting, and witnessed them actually pulling down their prey. Incredible pictures and a superb story to take home!
In East Africa:
I have never seen so many animals in my life - on the migration paths in the National Parks of Kenya, Tanzania. No wonder it has been rated the best game viewing for migration in Africa. After the classic safari experience, Zanzibar was a complete contrast - so beautiful and a wonderful place to relax. We will be back soon!
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