The Trip of a Lifetime - First of all, I am not a big social media guy with only one follower on FB (the wife). As such, I have never written a review on TripAdvisor and had to set up an account to post this (it took me 2 days to figure it out . . . don’t laugh!). I say this so you know how moved I was with my experience below and apologies if I break any typical protocol. My family and I (wife and three kids 21, 19 and 17) decided to book a trip to South Africa for the holidays. I am not used to long vacations (last time I was gone for more than 8 days was my honeymoon 23 years ago). But given our family dynamic with the kids running in different directions, it will be difficult to get away all together like this again in the next few years. However, the kids are well traveled, we have been lucky enough to visit China, Bali, the UK, and a few resorts in Mexico or the Caribbean. As a flight attendant, my amazing wife followed a referral from other airline crew and booked the entire trip with Wildside. She worked with Tim Smith to create an itinerary that included activities in Joburg and Cape Town. The minute we departed customs in Joburg, Tim made us feel comfortable. He cracked jokes better than a stand up comedian and showed incredible flexibility in our schedule if we were uncomfortable with anything along the way. He even got my 17 year old daughter to laugh . . . not an easy feat. We spent the first 7 days playing with monkeys, walking with lions, petting cheetah and lion cubs, gasping at elephants, watching stunning sunsets and seeing these amazing animals in their natural settings. Tim’s educational information was at a high level, passing on facts and figures that complemented each tour. Every place we went, Tim met staff with personal greetings that displayed deep relationships across the region. Finally, he took over 2000 pictures with HIS Nikon camera and then gave us (my son) the memory card to download them before we left. We were sad to leave Tim in Joburg but landed in Cape Town to be met by Robbie who was great as well. Robbie took us to Table Mountain, Cape Point, wine tasting and an overall city tour. We ate in great restaurants and enjoyed the beach on our day off. So if you are looking to book a trip for 3-8 people to South Africa, contact Tim. If you have a slightly larger group, then Tim’s son Mike can handle the overflow. We are at the airport now heading back to New York. I miss Tim . . . he will forever be part of our family. Thanks, Tom Howland [email protected]

Johannesburg - I’ve done the Lion Walk three times and the monkey sanctuary with Tim and highly recommended using Tim for any adventure you want to experience in South Africa! Tim is funny and very knowledgeable about every aspect of South Africa and the bush! He takes great pictures so you can experience the tour without having to worry about your own pictures. Please use him for all your needs! You won’t be disappointed!