Reviews
You will only find reviews here that I can trace back to their origin. Every published text carries its source with it — a booking it matches, the platform it was written on, the message it arrived in — and the consent of the person who wrote it.
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4.8/5 across 12 verified reviews
Due giorni che valgono il viaggio
We were afraid two days would be too few and instead it was the right choice. John told us straight away how many hours on the road we should expect, without dressing it up, and the second game drive at dawn paid us back for everything. I won't forget the elephants red with dust.
Original text
Avevamo paura che due giorni fossero pochi e invece è stata la scelta giusta. John ci ha detto subito quante ore di strada ci aspettavano, senza girarci intorno, e il secondo game drive all'alba ci ha ripagati di tutto. Gli elefanti rossi di polvere non me li dimentico.
Il tramonto sul creek
We set off on the right tide and stayed quiet almost the whole time. John knows every bend of the creek and explained the mangroves without turning it into a lecture. An hour and a half that went by in a flash.
Original text
Siamo partiti con la marea giusta e siamo rimasti in silenzio quasi tutto il tempo. John conosce ogni curva del creek e ci ha spiegato le mangrovie senza fare la lezione. Un'ora e mezza che è passata in un attimo.
Snorkelling done properly
John explained the marine park rules before we got in the water — no touching, no standing on coral — and it made the whole thing better, not worse. We saw turtles twice. The boat was small and the group was six people, which is exactly what we wanted.
Con due bambini, e ha funzionato
We were travelling with children aged seven and ten. John broke up the transfers, kept to the pace of the little ones and had the patience to answer two hundred questions. Amboseli with Kilimanjaro clear in the morning was the best day of the holiday.
Original text
Viaggiavamo con bambini di sette e dieci anni. John ha spezzato i trasferimenti, ha tenuto il ritmo dei piccoli e ha avuto la pazienza di rispondere a duecento domande. L'Amboseli con il Kilimangiaro scoperto al mattino è stata la giornata più bella della vacanza.
Marafa at the right hour
We arrived late in the afternoon and the canyon changed colour every ten minutes. John also told us the local story behind the name and was careful to say it is a story, not geology. Small thing, but it says a lot about how he works.
Gedi con qualcuno che sa raccontarla
The ruins alone say little: it's the telling that makes them interesting. We walked slowly and in the forest we saw the sengi, which I didn't even know existed. One note: bring repellent, seriously.
Original text
Le rovine da sole dicono poco: è il racconto che le rende interessanti. Abbiamo camminato con calma e nella foresta abbiamo visto gli elefantini dal muso d'antilope, che non sapevo nemmeno esistessero. Unica nota: portate repellente, davvero.
Giornata piena, organizzata bene
Punctual departure, boat in good order, generous lunch. The only thing I'd do differently is bring a long-sleeved top: under the midday sun on a boat you burn fast. But that's on me, not on John.
Original text
Partenza puntuale, barca in ordine, pranzo abbondante. L'unica cosa che rifarei diversamente è portarmi una maglia a maniche lunghe: sotto il sole di mezzogiorno, in barca, si brucia in fretta. Ma quello è colpa mia, non di John.
Honest before, present during
What I appreciated most was the planning stage. John told us what would not fit in the days we had, instead of selling us three parks in four days. When we arrived, everything happened as written.
Silenzio, uccelli e nessuna fretta
In the canoe we slipped into the mangroves on tiptoe. No engines, no music, only birds. Anyone looking for adrenaline will be disappointed; anyone looking for an hour of peace won't.
Original text
In canoa siamo entrati fra le mangrovie in punta di pagaia. Zero motori, zero musica, solo uccelli. Chi cerca adrenalina resterà deluso; chi cerca un'ora di pace no.
Mezza giornata utile, non turistica
It isn't the usual outing: you walk, you go into the market, you talk to people. The Vasco da Gama pillar itself is five minutes, the rest is the context that makes it make sense.
Original text
Non è la classica gita: si cammina, si entra al mercato, si parla con la gente. Il pilastro di Vasco da Gama in sé è cinque minuti, il resto è il contesto che te lo rende comprensibile.
Four days, three landscapes
Tsavo, the Taita hills and Amboseli in four days sounds like too much, and John said so before we booked. He rearranged the nights so the driving was spread out. It worked. The vehicle was comfortable and the driver careful.
Da fare con la marea giusta
The sandbank only emerges at certain hours and John had explained it clearly: we went on a different day from the one we'd asked for, and it was better that way. Very shallow, transparent water.
Original text
Il banco di sabbia emerge solo in certe ore e John lo aveva spiegato bene: siamo andati in un giorno diverso da quello che avevamo chiesto, ed è stato meglio così. Acqua bassissima e trasparente.
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