Special greetings from all of us here in Zimbabwe – and our apologies for the long silence! We have been happily busy with safaris and concentrating on other grand schemes; we will tell you all about it in this newsletter…

But before we go on, and because we haven’t had a chance to send many of you our holiday and New Year wishes, we do so now! We hope it was peaceful, restful, fun and full of promise for a bright, exciting year ahead. If that includes an African safari, so much the better!

Going back to last year…

 The 2009 safari season began in Tanzania in March after we returned from a wonderful family holiday in Australia and New Zealand; you will have received our news at the time. What turned out to be a great year ended with a Christmas safari in Kenya, which was a magical time for all.

There are many highlights on our 2009 list, but one of the best parts of the year was definitely the introduction of 25 under-18’s to Africa! All enthusiastic, eager to learn, fascinated by what was on offer to see, do and absorb from our incredible continent, we are sure that many of them were inspired and uplifted. The experience should equip them with various life skills and many happy memories. John, himself, finds this a truly rewarding experience, sharing his knowledge and love of Africa with youngsters – “they’re like sponges, they just soak it all up!”



Many of you may have read the very touching letters written to John by the Davis boys.  Please refer to this link: www.johnstevenssafaris.com/news.htm

As you receive this, we are in Australia and then travelling on to New Zealand – for 2 months this time so that Nicci can be near her mother for a good while; in the meantime, John can familiarise himself with New Zealand’s wonderful nooks and crannies a little better – with the idea that some of you might like to join him in this incredible ‘world in one country’ for  a bit of walking one of these days!
 
 
 Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand January 2010 (with thanks Martha Dwyer)
 
We will return to Africa in early May to begin another busy safari season, with bookings in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.  Sadly, we don’t have bookings for Tanzania this year - but do get in touch if you suddenly get an urge to return to Africa, as there are some really great offers available, especially in Tanzania.  And certainly if that urge overwhelms you, do also think about a week or so in Mana Pools with John – he has a few spaces in early September and during October, both prime times in the Zambezi Valley. 

A new and exciting part of 2010 will certainly be that Briar, our eldest daughter, who lives in Melbourne, has now joined the family business, working a few days of each month.  One of Briar’s first tasks will be helping us to organise a planned trip to the US in November this year. We will tell you more about this in our next newsletter, but at this point our itinerary includes New York, Washington and Chicago.
 
The year has begun full of expectation.  Foremost in every Zimbabwean’s mind is whether the fledgling unity government will continue to take the country forward. For us personally, we are looking forward to the people we will meet, seeing old friends - and the very special African experience we plan to give those that venture our way. 

If you are planning to return to Africa, or visit for the first time, either this year or next, with John as your private guide or simply to have us put together your itinerary using our experience and knowledge of Africa’s best wildlife areas, camps and lodges, do get in touch with us soon.  This is critical in order to get your preferred dates and bookings. We will always do our best to come up with a wonderful itinerary for you.

Best wishes from John, Nicci, Sarah and Briar