Kimkim turned a dream into reality

South Africa | Jun 18 - Jun 26, 2024

I found kimkim by chance as I planned a trip to South Africa with my nephew. I am so glad I did — I cannot recommend kimkim enough and our local expert, Esther, was amazing. This was my first trip to Africa and though I have traveled widely in Europe and Asia, I needed a lens into South Africa and what was possible. The itinerary that Kagiso started and Esther perfected made for a the trip of a lifetime, and though that's a cliche, it's meant sincerely. Throughout the planning, the kimkim team was responsive and so helpful as we kept refining our itinerary. My nephew is going into the Air Force and we kept having to trim back on time to accommodate boot camp, and there was never any pushback. Just "here's how we can fix that." And though my hoped-for visit to Robben Island was canceled due to bad weather, Esther tried so hard to make that happen! On the trip, we got check-ins from Esther and our concierge Lucy and help each step of the way as things came up. And even after our trip ended, Esther indulged us by letting us send her photos while we were still over the moon about what we had just experienced. Specifically, I want to call out the itinerary which we could never have crafted on our own. Umkumbe Bush Lodge was a gem...small and perfect for us. And though I initially thought "Four days of safari! What!" that was the right amount of time. I would never have booked that correctly on my own or found Umkumbe. We started our trip in Cape Town and Esther wisely suggested we stay in Camps Bay...a perfect spot to launch our tours of the city. We then went to Umkumbe which was a safari oasis. And yes, we saw the famous Sabi Sands leopards. And Johannesburg was also magic. Esther sent us to the Mandela Foundation and the bike ride we took in Soweto was an unparalleled window into history. We are in awe of what we did and saw and that's truly a credit to kimkim and Esther.