Randy Bringol

Wat hebben wij een mooie reis achter de rug! Zoal ik je al vertelde was dit onze eerste ervaring met een georganiseerde busreis en wij kunnen alleen maar zeggen, dat wij genoten hebben. Het was een leuk, niet te groot gezelschap (17 personen), die het ondanks leeftijdverschillen heel goed met elkaar konden vinden.

Je hebt ons prima begeleid en heel veel wetenswaardige dingen verteld over land, cultuur, geschiedenis en natuur van Zuid-Afrika. Wat ons betreft zouden wij zo weer zo’n reis onder jouw leiding willen maken!

Heel hartelijk bedankt daarvoor en misschien tot ziens!

Hartelijke groeten,

Gerrit en Mijnie den Heijer

Rijnsburg, Nederland

I wanted to email you to thank you again for the amazing experience I had in Cape Town (just about a year ago). I was reading through the news online and saw that today celebrated 20 years since Nelson Mandela was freed from the Victor Verster prison. Spending those couple days with you were much more than just a little side trip, I felt that I got to learn a great deal about the country, and especially from hearing your stories when we stopped at the prison for our little picnic. You really gave us a unique experience, as I am sure few people from my ship made it to this prison.

So again, THANK YOU!

Max Slutsky
University of Michigan ’10
College of Literature, Science & the Arts.

Dear Quinton,

Sending Best Wishes from both Margaret and myself, I apologise for not contacting you sooner and will not proffer any of the standard excuses popular at this time of the year like Christmas, New Year, even the lack of sun (well, the Weather generally, I guess).

We have booked again with the company for a holiday in July although on this occasion it will be much nearer to home than our visit to Africa with yourself last year. This time we will be travelling into Europe for ten days to include three nights in Vienna and then a cruise along the River Danube to Budapest. We will also have companions in Peter and Jean Pascoe who were also with us (and you, of course) in South Africa where we all met for the first time and formed a friendship.

Just looking back at that last paragraph reminds us how much we enjoyed our World in One Country tour with Saga (ie, yourself) last year. In fact it was just one year ago now and we keep getting out the diary and playing that game of "Where were we this time last year?" (and without wishing to bore you, actually today was the day that we booked into the Riverside Hotel in Durban for overnight prior to flying Durban-Port Elizabeth tomorrow and on to the Mossel Bay area – Happy Days!).

We really did enjoy our holiday in South Africa and have always intended to write and thank you for the success that it was because we consider that the manner in which you handled your role made that so. For instance…

…Administration: Our first time in Africa, a long overnight flight into Johannesburg from London and you were at the airport to greet and quickly get us organised onto our coach and away to Lyttleton for our first stay. Once there we were smoothly booked in and made to feel "settled" with a welcoming meeting – and that is a recall we have of all the movements we had on our tour concerning coaches/airports/hotels/extra tours/indeed anything concerning the itinerary.

…Guiding: ‘Top Marks for your knowledge of the South Africa that we saw‘ might sound like a cliché. However, we were genuinely impressed with how much information you knew as we progressed and I guess that must be because we were being led by someone from their own country. And I’m not talking "information overload" but interesting details – sometimes little local "asides" – which made the journeying so much more informative.

…Sociability: Thank you for the friendship you always showed us which must have been stretched on occasions by various antics that probably occur on every tour. We always felt that your interest in us was genuine and are quite sure that this did stimulate the general "bonhomie" that we felt across nearly all of the group. We think of Saga’s special Last Night of the Proms in Cape Town and also the very enjoyable Last Night Dinner with the group’s appreciative words spoken to you at that.

We don’t know what you are doing at present but hope that it is still tour-guiding because we did sense a fulfilled vocation and if we do ever return to South Africa we will consider ourselves fortunate indeed to meet with you again.

With our very best wishes,

Yours sincerely,

Chris and Margaret Pond,

England.

It is clear that Quinton has a tremendous enthusiasm for and love of his Country. He is knowledgeable about the many aspects of its Geography, History, Culture, Wildlife, Political and Economic Challenges, etc. This enables him to work successfully with groups in which diverse interests are represented.

Very importantly, Quinton was an excellent companion. His cheery disposition and great sense of humour were much appreciated. He was vigilant in terms of ensuring that high standards of care were provided for his guests and one felt confident that any unfortunate eventuality would be dealt with efficiently and sensitively.

Janet and I both feel that we can unreservedly recommend Quinton as a Holiday Manager. We would certainly be pleased to join him for another holiday in the future.

Lewis Woolnough.

13-12-09

England

Now I am safely home and back to ordinary life, I just wanted to say a huge thank you for a very extraordinary holiday and your part in it.   I have had dozens of holidays with different companies in many parts of the world, but this was the best.   You worked so hard to look after our many needs and requests, and added a whole other dimension to the programme arranged with information, commentary, humour, extra experiences and care.   Even during my extended 3 days I followed your suggestions of what to see and do and that was very good too.

You turned a very good holiday into a very special holiday by ‘quintonizing ‘it.   I would surely like to return to South Africa.

With thanks.

Yours sincerely,

Lesley

Revd Dr Lesley Kaye-Besley, Minggay, Surrey,  England

may I thank you once again for making our tour in SA such enjoyable and memorable. We really enjoyed your professional guidance, pleasant personality and knowledgeable experience.

Wish you well

Mr. & Mrs. Mandal

England

He always undertook his role in a responsible and pro active manner and I would have no hesitation in joining a travel group where he was known to be the tour leader in advance or indeed to tell friends of his capabilities in the industry. Neither would I shrink, if organizing my own group, to do a tour and he would be one I would turn to for assistance.
Yours sincerely
Martyn R Folland

(a very satisfied former passenger from United Kingdom)