Anna-marie Mocke

My recent trip to Victoria Falls and the Western Cape was a great success, and one of my best vacations. This was mainly due to the excellent itinerary and arrangements suggested and finalized by the folks at Kimkim. They also selected all the lodgings, which were unique, perfect locations, and fun.

Starting in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe I toured the incredible Falls. I visited a local Matabele village, Mpisi, where I leaned how people live and work. They were so friendly and inviting, it deepened my knowledge of the place and was one of the highlights of my visit to Vic Falls. I also went on a sunset cruise of the Zambezi River. Outstandingly beautiful, and the boat, the Zambezi Vista, was superbly outfitted and the crew informative and fun.

In Cape Town I enjoyed a private tour with guide Zaki Harris of the Bo-Kaap neighborhood. Having grown up there, his insights and knowledge enriched my time there. Of course I visited Table Mountain, with its beautiful views.

Another highlight for me was my private tour of the Cape Peninsula. Rochelle, my guide and driver, was first-rate and made the whole experience rewarding. Her enthusiasm, knowledge and joy of showing me South Africia’s Western Cape was infectious, and the best part of my entire trip. The scenery was stunning, and one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.

We ventured to wine country, where Rochelle took me to a winey outside of Stellenbosch, where I sampled superb wines. With each wine, the staff provided with informative explanations of the grapes used and wine making process.

Another stop was Babylonstoren Farm. I toured the large establishment where various food and other products are produced. It was fun to wonder over the grounds and buildings, and taste the local specialities.

The day ended at Franschhoek, where I stayed in another marvelous property. Utilizing the easy to use Wine Tram I visited two stellar wineries and enjoyed some lovely wines and learned why South Africa produces exceptional wines.

My next and final stop was Hermanus on the coast, where I boarded a boat in the hope of seeing whales. To my delight we saw many in the Bay. It was very exciting to have the whales break the surface right by the boat.

Staying near Hermanus at a fantastic place overlooking the Klein River Lagoon. A local guide, Vitalis, took me on a nature walk and a water bird sightseeing trip by boat. Both informative and entertaining.

All the transfers went smoothly, with amicable and professional. The lodgings were excellent, as were the meals. Thanks to the great endeavors of Anna-marie and Deb and all their team members this first class trip was memorable.

We had the most amazing trip to Africa , Zimbabwe and Botswana because of the expertise , care and knowledge from Anna Marie. From the beginning of our communications she understood our goals , budget and desires and arranged for us the perfect trip .
tour guide , driver and transfer was on time , friendly and knowledgeable . All the hotels and lodges exceeded our expectations and were outstanding .
Anna Marie arranged a special wine tasting for us and then joined us which was a highlight to meet her after communicating for over 6 months . She is amazing and continued to check in with me during the 11 day trip to ensure everything went perfectly ( which it did)
We also really enjoyed Rochelle our guide for the wine tasting day who managed to fit in for us. 4 special wineries and lunch on a very rainy day .
We saw the Big 5 at our first lodge in Sabi Sands Umkumbe Safari Lodge including 3 leopards many rhinos , lioness , elephant and buffalo herd right outside our room on the river . In Chobe at Ngoma Lodge the abundance of animals we saw
herds of buffalo ,giraffe ,zebra , hippos, wild dogs , cheetah , impalas, kudos , elephants and more elephants and many others was astounding and breathtaking watching them interact .
We will return to South Africa . The people are so nice , kind and special .
My husband and I agree our favorite trip ever and we look forward to planning our next trip with Kim Kim.
Thank you Anna-Marie !

Hotel Reviews

The Victoria & Alfred Hotel

Cape Town

Excellent hotel , location and staff Loved the breakfast and also had dinner too that was delicious . Room was a great size

Authenticity & Character

Location

On waterfront near attractions shopping and dining !

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room

Umkumbe Safari Lodge

Hoedspruit

Staff are all amazing and work so hard for the guests! We loved Jessica our guide . Her expertise and sense of locating the animals was superb . We saw Big 5 and many more ! Food was delicious too!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Room right on the river ! Had everything we needed! Saw animals right outside our deck

Staff

Jessica rocks !

Cleanliness & Comfort

Insika Lodge

Victoria Falls

Beautiful hotel . Nice modern room great size Great bar and delicious restaurant

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful gardens

Location

Secluded beautiful offered a free shuttle to falls and town .

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ngoma Safari Lodge

Chobe

Impressive from The moment we arrived Personal care and attention from the entire team from arrival to departure . The food was amazing with menus designed daily from the chef . They celebrated our anniversary by preparing our room with wine , champagne and Decorated our room with flower petals candles and bubble bath . Ngoma is a very special place ! We saw so many animals . The safaris were truly Amazing We wish we could have stayed longer .

Authenticity & Character

Perfect !

Location

Located on a floodplain with a water hole .saw so many animals in front of our room . Beautiful lodge and location.

Staff

We loved everyone! The entire team is amazing

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dinner at GOLD Restaurant

Cape Town

So much fun

Quality of Experience

Food

Cape Peninsula & Penguins

South Africa

Although it was a rainy day we saw the penguins and cape .

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cape Winelands Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Excursion

South Africa

Amazing day with Rochelle and Anna Marie 4 wineries and outstanding lunch .

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive at Your Lodge in Kruger & First Game Drive

South Africa

Amazing lodge guide Jessica and tracker Saw big 5 on first safari .

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Victoria Premium River Safari Sunset Cruise

Victoria Falls

Very nice . excellent appetizers !

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Game Drives in Chobe National Park

South Africa

So many animals . Boat cruise and safaris Loved Chobe !

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

the recently completed a trip to South Africa including Capetown, Klaserie reserve in Kruger national Park, Victoria Falls and Chobe national Park.

right from the start Annamarie at Kim Kim was extremely attentive and knowledgeable. She even scheduled a Facetime call to make sure that she understood what we were wanting. Her recommendations were excellent and exactly what we were looking for. (in terms of accommodations). The only small part of the trip we regretted was Victoria Falls - it was a surprise to us that we had to pay $75US each for an entry VISA (we had been told $10) and the area was too touristy for us.

I would say the highlight was our safari in Kruger -we stayed at Ivory Wilderness Lodge and their accommodations and food were excellent. Most importantly our guide Wienand made the trip spectacular. He was extremely knowledgeable and put a lot of effort into making sure we got the most out of our Safari experience.

Hotel Reviews

Ivory Wilderness River Rock Lodge

Hoedspruit

top-notch lodge. Set in a very quiet area almost 2 hours from the airport. He will barely see another person. the accommodations are extremely comfortable and food was excellent. Most importantly their guide Wienand made the safari drives amazing - his knowledge and attention to detail were superb

Authenticity & Character

A very true African Lodge experience. We will definitely go there again when we are lucky enough to go on Safari in the future

Location

set far from any other lodges-you are in the middle of the bush

Staff

Great personal attention

Cleanliness & Comfort

rooms are just lovely

Tree House Boutique Hotel

Cape Town

Great location and very quiet. Easy walk to harbourfront and no issue getting an Uber to go out at night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shongwe Lookout

Victoria Falls

We just didn't love Victoria Falls - too touristy

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Day in the Kruger Bush with Two Game Drives

South Africa

Absolutely amazing - we saw huge variety of wildlife

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Wienand is amzing

Transport

Boat life on the Chobe River

Chobe River - Namibia Side

We didn't love the river safari as much as the driving one - saw less wildlife

Quality of Experience

lodge amazing - awesome lodge staff

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

guide was not great - pointed out animals but had very little knowledge about the wildlife

Transport

We had an issue with our transfers both ways - had to wait over an hour to get picked up in Botswana and then again 90 minutes when boat driver from lodge took us back (there was no airport shuttle to take us to airport)

Kayak with Penguins

South Africa

Didn't get to do this due to rain

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner at GOLD Restaurant

Cape Town

Touristy and loud but good food and enjoyed the dances

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

we arranged our own Uber

Victoria Premium River Safari Sunset Cruise

Victoria Falls

we didn't end up getting to do this-we had a very long wait at the airport and the timing was just tooo tight. Sadly this was nonrefundable

Dusty Road Township Dinner Experience **highly recommended by our team

Victoria Falls

Dinner was fairly good and Sarah is trying to do a good thing. It just lacks entertainment I think. There was a short dance done by some local kids which was very sweet. Otherwise there was too much time to just eat dinner - everything went fairly slowly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our transport was arranged for 3 hours after drop off - this is really a 60-90 min experience. And we couldn't get ahold of Transport to pick us up early. Sarah was very kind and arranged for one of her workers to take us back early to our hotel

Kimkim arranged a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us in South Africa. We told them some of what we wanted to see and do, where we wanted to go, and asked that they put together an itinerary that fit our time frame. Our South African agent, Anna-marie Mocke worked with us tirelessly and came up with a perfect plan. Pickups, drop offs, tours and golf tee times were all very well organized. And it was comforting to know that Anna-marie (or if she was not available, another agent) was always reachable and responded to queries almost immediately. Every one of our accommodations was lovely and the service was excellent. The warmth and welcoming of the staff at every location was outstanding. Our safari location was exceptional. It was a truly amazing journey. We highly recommend Kimkim.
Sincerely,
Brian, Debbie, Jamie and Bev

Hotel Reviews

Tree House Boutique Hotel

Cape Town

Very Charming Hotel. The staff were wonderful, so friendly and helpful. We could walk to the BoKaap area and to the waterfront as well. We would like to say how much we enjoyed our interactions with Melody, Tiffany and Sheila. They were great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Cotte Farm

Franschhoek

The surrounding country was spectacularly beautiful. Our accommodations were opulent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Schoone Oordt Country House

Swellendam

Very nice hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Lofts Boutique Hotel

Knysna

What a unique hotel. We enjoyed our stay here very much.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Walkers Beach

Plettenberg Bay

An intimate hotel with stunning architecture and stunning views. The staff was wonderful. We would like to mention Lloyd and Sindi and Maya. They took very good care of us. Jayne was excellent as well. The food was amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Walkers Plains Camp

This camp was wonderful. Our guide Millie and tracker Walter worked very hard to make our experience fantastic. And the staff at the camp - Cosmo, Charles, Carolina, Ntisiyo. They took good care of us! We didn't want to leave. It was very nice to meet the Walkers brothers and their pups! It was a very intimate environment that fostered friendships amongst the other guests.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full-Day Wine Tour

South Africa

The tastings were very good. We visited in the fall after the harvest, so we didn't have the opportunity to walk through the vineyards. And we were not offered tours of the cellars or other parts of the operation. The tram was a fun way to travel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bo-Kaap Walking Tour

Cape Town

Zaki was a very articulate and passionate guide. The fact that we were able to visit his home and taste some of the family recipes was special.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dinner at GOLD Restaurant

Cape Town

Somewhat touristy - but we were tourists... The food was fantastic and partaking in the drumming was a lot of fun.

Quality of Experience

Food

Knysna Featherbed Eco Experience

South Africa

The views were spectacular. And it was a very pleasant hike down the hill (thank goodness we didn't have to walk up - the drive up was scary enough!) The buffet meal provided was excellent.

Quality of Experience

Food

Transport

Anna-marie and team did an amazing job planning our family trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe. From unique local experiences we never would have discovered on our own to ensuring our trip had enough to engage and inspire both kids (ages 10 and 12) and parents, I can't recommend their services enough! You won't be disappointed!

Anna Marié was amazing at planning the trip. Everything was smooth and well thought. I loved it. Special mention for Delta Camp team in Okavengo Delta. The whole team was so nice and welcoming making the experience unique and exceptional. Highly recommend this trip.
Thanks a lot!