Seasons Greetings

Friendships across continents

Friendships are formed on our safaris that will last a lifetime and across continents! Our November safari is proof to that!

Anja, Ursula and Kirsten

Ursula and her inspiring twin daughters from German formed a great friendship with Steven & Lisa from the UK. Facebook is a great way to keep updated ;)

Kirsten with Jessica the Hippo

Steve and Lisa celebrated their anniversary and Lisa’s birthday by treating themselves to an African Safari, what a great present!

On this note; ‘never give up and believe in yourself’, that is exactly what Steve did:

Steve Burns had a freak accident about 3 and half years ago, where he just fell over for no reason, his head twisted back and broke his neck. He was paralysed at the time and was told he would never walk again, however, through hard work and determination he is now able to take a few steps with crutches. He thought they would never be able to travel again, so this trip was a dream come true for them. 

Anja and Kirsten in our Epic Safari vehicle

5th Gehandicaptenreizen tour!

We feel very privileged to welcome back the 5th Gehandicaptenreizen Group from The Netherlands back to South Africa. This was a small group but with amazing people! :)

Emilia, Greetjie, Ivo & Pieter @ Cape Point

Ivo @ Boulders Beach with Penguins in the background

Beautiful caterpillar the size of you smallest finger!

Baboon monitors checking that no FOOD goes in or out of the shops ;)

Emilia showed us all that you should never stop travelleing! What an awesome lady with all her travel stories all over the world.

October Safari

On our October tour we had the pleasure of welcoming Heike, Werner and Volker (DE) on our safari. Unfortunately Mr and Mrs Winstanley (UK) had to cancel in the last minute due to poor health. We hope we will be able to welcome you on one of our future tours! 

Alfie learnt some German and Heike was the official translator ;) Thanks Heike! They had a great time exploring the bush in the Kruger with lots of animal sightings and in Cape Town they enjoyed the luxury of our Epic Guest House with day tours to our amazing scenic sights.

They said they had 2 holidays in one! The first part is in the bush on Safari and the second part in Cape Town with more sightseeing’s.

We look forward to welcome you back! ;)

-Alfie and Sabine

New Zealand is back - 3rd time round!

Thank you Moira for your report:

Kruger Park lunch

Had a great time in South Africa with Epic Enabled - Joburg, Kruger, private game reserve, and Capetown.

Natalie with Jessica the Hippo

Great people and very eay to deal with - as a group we had pre-requested some items of the trip and the guide was flexible and had some great alternative ideas as well - Accommodation excellent , as well as the equipment provided - a great stress free holiday for everyone.

Chrissy with Cheetah @ Tshukudu

Within our group of friends we had peole in wheelchairs, mobility issues, visual impairment , and brain injury -quite a variety of complex personalities however everyone commented on the relaxed, yet smooth running of the tours.

Inside Epic's safari vehicle

For several in the group it was a repeat experience - though when animals are involved there is no repeat experience - each one is different and special at the time to the various individuals.

The focus of the group was to view the wildlife and also have the opportunity to get up close to others - which is certainly a possibility at Tshukudu - yes many of the animals have been orphaned and it has been necessary for them to have had human contact but they are not 'tame'.

Lift into Epic's Safari vehicle

None of the group had any issues with any of the vehicles in which we were transported - they appreciated the efforts of Alfie and Jakes for them to be able to transfer to sit and travel in the usual game drive vehicles.

Dan @ Robben Island

 
Capetown Accommodation was five plus star - "absolutely marvellous" was one comment, and the mix of organised tours and free time was appreciated.

Everyone had a great time - and some are already saving for yet another trip.

Moira - Laura Fergusson Trust, New Zealand

Should I shave first?

Congratulation on your Engagement – Stuart & Bridget

What a nice surprise! Around the Fire at the Tshukudu Bush Camp we heard of the happy news:

Stuart and Bridget got engaged! The African Bush has worked its magic again :D

Congratulation and we wish you all the best for your future life together.

Sabine & Alfie

If I am a bird...

Where is that biscuit?

Copy Cat?

What...

-Alfie and Sabine

100kg nose!

You look ... delicious!

Marshmallows over the camp fire bring back memories

I went on safari with my two daughters- a trip that I never thought would happen. Thanks for a great time, for me the holiday just got better and better. I can't believe I'm home. 

A few highlights for us: Jo loved walking with the caracal, a small cat called Tenerye at the private game reserve. Jakes the ranger made the walk special- entertaining and informative- as well as making sure that I in my wheelchair had a great experience. Both Jo and Emma enjoyed the game drives there as you got very close to the animals. Emma loved seeing up close and personal a rhino mother and baby. Both were amazed that a cheetah they had stroked killed an impala and was eating it in front of the vehicle! For me, my wow moment was spotting a lion in the bush from the safari truck.

Everyday we did something enjoyable. One night Alfie got marshmallows to toast over the camp fire which made Emma feel like she was a back at Brownie camp. Alfie and Sabine take the hard work out of the holiday as their years of experience of what you can do makes a pleasant change. We left everything in their hands and were told what we would be doing a night in advance.

Sometimes the things we did do were unbelievable. Because Alfie said I could go round monkey land, when the guide took us over the suspension bridge I just went across though I am scared of heights- I FELT THAT WAS A BIG ACHIEVEMENT! Not only for me but for the wheelchair. Turned out that wasn't the route the guide was supposed to take with wheelchairs but I felt able to do anything thrown at me because we were on an epic enabled holiday!

We all agreed that the last thing we did where Alfie took us to the elephant sanctuary and the girls had a ride and walked with trunk -in-hand, I touched and fed them, was a great ending to a brilliant holiday.  

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE TO EVERYONE.

Corinne Alexander, a satisfied customer.

This is my HAPPY FACE :)

Back with more exciting adventures from Epic Enabled

What a wonderful tour with such an amazing group of people making it another memorable tour for everyone. Corinne with daughters Emma & Joanne, Amada, John & Angelina - all from the UK! We hope to see some of Corinne’s amazing ‘water-paintings’ of the animals and scenery.

Amongst the numerous impala and giraffe, they were lucky to see two adult male impala butting heads, quite a sight to see and amazing neither of them sustained any injuries. They were very lucky with the weather as it didn’t rain. Even with winter approaching, and the weather slowly getting colder. Well cold for a South African? Temperature averaging about 12 degrees Celsius, at its coldest!

Even while the group keeps their eyes on the horizon, eagerly searching for a glimpse of Africa’s infamous big five, nature is always adding little wonders to their adventures, like the mischievous vervet monkeys trying to get into the fridges to eat the fruit, or the African Elephant, the world’s largest land mammal scratching his back on a tree or even the millions of stars under the clear African sky, it always brings you closer to mother-nature and gives us as greater sense of how truly brilliant and wonderful life is.  And maybe these marvelous animals and attractions are simply nature’s way of showing us the vast beauty and complexity that the African wild life has to offer.

John & Amanda went back home from Cape Town and we said our good-bye's (John promised to be back :), but Corinne, Emma, Joanna & Amanda's adventure was not over yet! We carried on along the Garden Route via Hermanus, Mossle Bay, George, Oudtshoorn, Wilderness, Sedgefield, Knysna,  Plettenberg Bay, Natures Valley, Storms River,  Tsitsikamma Forest - ending in Port Elizabeth.

Corinne & Emma @ the Elephant park

Joanna & Corinne @ the Birds of Eden

So, this is your ball...

-Alfie and Sabine

Zebra crossing...

I don't do camouflage...

Great article on 'wheelchairtraveling' website

Thanks Ashley for your great article! Read more here:
Tour South Africa with a Wheelchair

Mom, can I...

He called me ...

-Alfie and Sabine

Happy Easter

That big mouth...

eew - vegetables!

Einstein said what?

Does he really think...

How?

I am telling you...

We have been collecting a wide range of funny pictures which have been taken by us or our clients while on tour with Epic Enabled :) Now it is time to share some of them with you to make you smile :D

Lion spotter

Hi, my name is Geoff and I recently was given the opportunity to accompany Alfie Smith on one of the Epic safaris to the legendary Kruger National Park, as well as Tshukudu Private Reserve.  Not having been to either one of the reserves, I was highly excited to not only view the spectacular sightings, but to also be involved in what Epic Enabled strives for.

Reaching the Malelane Gate, the southern-most gate of the Kruger, we started our drive towards our first rest camp, Skukuza for two nights. We spotted Giraffe, White Rhino, and impala (which we later found out, are huge in abundance in the park and known as the “McDonalds of the bush”).  All this excitement, and we hadn’t even reached our first camp. It was a perfect start of things to come. Later the following day, we spotted our first leopard, the more elusive of the Big 5.

Satara Rest Camp would be home for the following two nights. We enjoyed several interesting safari drives, the most entertaining and exciting of these drives was the day of the Lion spotter! While keeping a watchful eye for any movement in the surrounding foliage, two majestic black mane male lions, (possibly brothers) casually came strolling down the road towards the van. Undisturbed by gasps and camera flashes, the two brothers stopped to quench their thirst at a nearby puddle. They then continued to stroll down the road without a care in the world, an expected attitude from the king of the wild.

Excited about our luck so far and what more could be in store, we decided to drive on. Stopping suddenly on the empty road, to snap shots of a vulture, perched in a tree to the right of the van. Thinking this was a great sign as vultures mean the remains of a recent kill which means carnivores must be close. In fact they were closer than we thought. As we were about to drive off in pursuit of these carnivores I looked over to the left side of the van and right there were a pride of approximately fifteen adolescent lion cubs and lionesses. Shocked that no other cars were around, we had front row seats to view these stunning animals, animals we so nearly missed.

Following the two nights in Satara we made our way to Tshukudu Private Reserve to add to the incredible memories. After walking with year old adolescent lions, feeling their velvet coats under our fingers; Meeting Jessica the hippo and feeding her sweet potato; walking with adolescent cheetahs, watching these graceful animals drink from the pond and meeting a baby caracal, feeding her a bottle before letting her play in the garden. This brought our adventure to a very memorable close.

During the adventure Alfie informed us of various facts about the animals seen, answered everyone’s questions, and even enlightened us with a few personal stories and encounters of his own. It was a pleasure to see how everyone interacted together as a group. Throughout the tour we were lucky enough to see the Big 5, which is always a great experience for everyone. Of course seeing these magnificent creatures, and all the wild animals and birds in their natural habitat, leaves you with a deep feeling of awe and gratitude, building memories not easily forgotten by anyone.