Now this is a good company, without any doubt you can make a choice for Siver Africa. All is arranged on time, the guidance is brilliant and the service superbe.
I don't have any personal interest in the company but they are the best I ever did business with in Africa.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Best regards, Abraham Flach.
We (my husband John and I), have just returned from travelling around the
world last week, arriving home on Friday the 16th of October, 2009. I am a
school teacher and my husband John is a postal manager, so for us this was
the trip of our life time. We left home on the 6th of August, spent a few
nights in Dubai, before arriving in Nairobi on the 12th of August at about 4
am. Like you we were wondering if Fred Odek and Africa Silver Tours were
"the real deal". We had paid our deposit 6 months in advance and 45 days
prior to our arrival in Nairobi ,we had deposited, as requested, the balance
owing for our tour into Silver Africa Tour's account. This was several
thousand dollars in US currency and were anxious to discover if Fred was a)
a real person and b)if he was real would he able to deliver the quality
safari, flights, meals and accommodation he had promised.
To our great relief and subsequent delight, not only did Fred exist, but he
was there in person to welcome us to Kenya! We were able to relax as our
airport to hotel transfer became effortless on our part. When we arrived at
the hotel we again were able to relax as Fred had everything under control.
He accompanied us to our hotel room to check if everything was OK for us and
explained that he would see us again in the morning to introduce us to our
safari driver and explain any final details of our tour. Having lived in
Kenya 25 years ago, I wondered if our morning meeting would be on the
timescale that westerners usually work on or whether Fred worked on
'African'
time (usually a hit or miss type of timeframe).
The next morning Fred was there punctually at the time he had proposed. He
introduced us to Maxuel, one of his drivers, and went over the final details
of our trip with us. He had all our aeroplane tickets, game park permits,
accommodation vouchers, hot air balloon and trekking to see the gorillas
permits all in order, together with a copy of the completed itinerary. It
became apparent to us that he was very well organised, punctual and as a
bonus, very good company! He gave us his mobile number in case of any
emergency (you can use a mobile anywhere in Kenya, even in the Game Parks!)
Maxuel proved an extremely safe and skilled driver. As well he was very
knowledgeable about the wildlife in the parks we visited. We went to Tsavo
West, Amboselli and Masai Mara game parks. Often the roads in the game
parks were better than the normal roads. We were also pleased to see that
many of the major roads outside of the game parks are undergoing major
repair work. Maxuel was able to drive safely whether the road surface was
gravel, sand, mud or tarmac. He did not take any unnecessary risks and
proved very patient when delayed by heavy traffic ( in Nairobi and when
delayed by roadworks). He also took care of all the face to face
arrangements with park entry rangers, security personnel and hotel
check-in. We enjoyed his company immensely and were sad to say goodbye when
the Kenyan safari section of our tour was over.
The safari vehicle we were in had a pop-up roof. It was a mini bus with the
capacity to carry 10 people. We had been anxious about whether this type of
vehicle was going to be comfortable as it did not have air conditioning. Our
fears proved unfounded as the open top roof or open side windows kept us
cool. The seat belt was broken on one of the seats, and the seat that tipped
forward to allow entry to the back could not be secured firmly to the floor
to prevent it tipping if the vehicle was to stop suddenly. Neither of these
were a problem for us as we were the only 2 passengers in the whole vehicle
All the other seats and seatbelts were in good working order.
As well as the 3 game parks in Kenya we spent 5 days in Lamu, 3 days in
Malindi and a week in Uganda. All connecting flights, transfers to airports
and hotels went very smoothly. Not only that but because we had booked early
and because Fred has personal knowledge of the hotels in which we stayed,
he had paid for and secured specific rooms for us, choosing the best rooms
with the best views. For example at Kilaguni lodge we had our own veranda
as well as a view of the animals at the water hole from our room. His
attention to detail in this way made us feel very special.
In addition to the regular services offered by a Tour Operator, Fred went
above and beyond. For example: The camera we had brought with us proved
inadequate in the 1st game park. Fred not only selected, purchased and
delivered a new camera to me but noticed the memory card that came with the
new camera was very small, so had the foresight to purchase a 2 gig memory
card, batteries and a battery recharger as well. We did not pay for the
camera until the end of our tour and we were not charged anything for the
money, time and effort Fred had invested to provide this service. And if
that was not enough, Fred invited us to dinner at his home on our last
night. We met his wife Caroline, his 2 children, 2 of his nieces and enjoyed
a beautiful Kenyan meal. Fred helped to make the African section of our
travels the highlight of our world trip.
Before we decided to take a chance and book with Silver Africa Tours I had
100s of questions for Fred, all of which he answered. During the course of
our email exchanges I got the sense that Fred was what we Aussies call "fair
dinkum" or a decent, honest bloke. So based on my gut feeling we took a
chance. We chose Silver Africa Tours over several other companies. This
decision was also based on his competitive prices, the fact that the company
is a registered Tour Operator with KATO (Kenyan Association of Tour
Operators) and because we didn't want the 'regular, impersonal group based'
package tour type experience offered by many other tour operators.
Committing our money to Silver Africa Tours was a risk, but it proved to be
the difference between a good holiday and a truly great holiday. Our fears
that he would rip us off (eg steal our money or abandon us in some game
park) happily couldn't be further from the truth. I can honestly say Fred
Odek did everything in his power to ensure our holiday went as smoothly as
it did.
I don't know if this answers all your concerns but I would be more than
happy to answer any questions you may have about Kenya. I lived in Nairobi,
Kenya as a child before my family migrated to Australia. I returned to Kenya
as an adult and taught near Lake Victoria for 2 years. Following that, I
then went to live for a year on the Kenyan Island of Lamu (World Heritage
Listed Town) and married my first husband Mote, a Kenyan, there. Mote and I
lived in Australia for a number of years after that. We divorced in
Australia some years later. (Mote now lives in Bondi, Sydney Australia and
we are still in contact. It was his family we visited in Malindi).
Please feel free to contact me again if you have any other questions about
either our Kenyan trip or Silver Africa Tours. I hope your trip there is as
wonderful as ours was.
Kind regards,
Alison Masters
Australia.
I
write to thank you and also Catherine and Steven for doing such an
outstanding high quality job in organizing our two month trip to East
Africa including safaris in both Kenya and Tanzania beach holiday time
in Kenya and especially Zanzibar .
In hindsight I would have chosen more expensive accommodation for the
beach holiday time. It appears that there is plenty of budget and
expensive accommodations , but the mid -range accommodation is not that
good and I put this down to inexperienced managers. Regardless , with
the exception of the African Pearl Hotel in Malindi , the beach holiday
hotels were acceptable . The hotels during the safari components of our
trip were without exception excellent.
Kathie and I wish you and the rest of SATS team all the very best for the further development and growth of SATS.
Jack and Kathie Massey.
4 Parkstone Avenue
Dulwich , South Australia 5065
Australia.
Thank you very much for organizing a great trip for us.
Our whole trip went fantastically.
Kenya was a very friendly place to stay and we really enjoyed our experience there – the staff were all very hospitable.
It was nice to stay in Mara Sarova Lodge and wake up every morning with sounds of birds and animals, really great.
The flights from Nairobi to Masai Mara were great – the views magnificent.
Mara Sarova Lodge was all that we hoped for – animal sightings were great.
The staff all friendly and welcoming, the accommodation was excellent as was the food and everything else.
Our game driver Kisio was amazing and the game drives were superb
The game viewings at each were all great and different we saw all animals and get very nice photos.
We have no complaints in any way shape or form.
We would like to plan another trip for next season possibly looking at
the migratory route of some animals and following them along as they
move.
Any advice would be welcome.
Again thanking you for a great experience.
Vlado& Monika
Dubai
We found Silver Africa via the internet. Odek gave the best replies and was the most flexible in setting up our safari.
In short they were fantastic. They delivered on every promise, met us at the airport, were always on time for appointments gave a lot of info on the way, first class service. We were alone in the bus so that made it easier during the safaris to roam from one area to the next. Ben, our guide, was very knowledgeable, and an excellent driver.
One point I would watch is the distance you travel in one day. We went out to Sheba Lodge on the first day and returned to the Lion Camp a day later. Ben wanted to avoid a thunderstorm so we deviated from the planned route and were 6 hours enroute. That is too long on the roads in Kenya. I would advice no more than 4 hours traveling per day. The safari dirt roads are however no problem!
Any advice would be welcome.
One last point we enjoyed it so much that we are talking to Odek to arrange a honeymoon trip for our son next summer.
Now this is a good company, without any doubt you can make a choice for Siver Africa. All is arranged on time, the guidance is brilliant and the service superbe.
I don't have any personal interest in the company but they are the best I ever did business with in Africa.
If you have any questions, let me know.
