-Luisa-As mentioned to you over the phone, we had an awesome time. Mary was waiting for us at the gate on the last day. She had travelled about 8 hours from Kenya to meet us! We were very happy to let her know that all three of us were able to successfully summit. Thanks to all the help given to us by John, Freddie and Ben who were kind enough to not only be extremely patient with us, but also help carry our day pack with water. John and his crew are really awesome and they were all genuinely looking out for us and took excellent care of us. Just cannot understand how Joseph managed to make 'chapathis' (Indian bread) from scratch for lunch on the day we summitted!! He also sent juice and snacks through some of the porters to meet us on the way back, as we might become hungry before reaching camp. Very thoughtful gestures!!! Thank you and Mary to have arranged everything that went very smooth.
Kumari-rockclimbs@gmail.com
My partner & I booked a tour with Mary for September 2005 and had a
wonderful experience both with the pre-booking and the actual tour.
They are extremely efficient, and attention to detail is second to
none - we were taken care of from the time we arrived! The guides and
porters are very attentive and knowledgeable, and I was amazed at what
they could prepare for meals high up on the mountain.
Since our trip with Mary, I have started a small company in Vancouver
doing hiking tours and will be taking a group to Kilimanjaro through
Mary & Standout Adventures. Mary and her company will always be my
first choice for clients going to East Africa.
I hope this helps and if you have any specific questions, please
contact me at the information below, I would be happy to help.
Lois Tomlinson
Natural Trekking Tours
604-836-2321
ltomlinson@naturaltrekking.com
www.naturaltrekking.com
I am writing with a reference regarding Mary Kariuki and Standout Adventures. 9 friends and I traveled to Tanzania in December of 2007 to trek Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro-11 days lemosho route. We booked our package through Mary Kariuki, Mary and her brother John was our guides on our treks. All 10 of us made it to the top of both mountains, which we attribute to the extraordinarily good work by the team of guides and porters Mary provided for us. All of my connections were seamless, and Mary and her crew clearly put in a lot of personal effort and did an excellent job of making us feel welcome and safe, and we now consider all of them as new friends whom we miss and hope to see again soon. Special mention should be made of the fact that in spite of the troubles which were just breaking out in Kenya after our arrival and which clearly posed a serious threat to the well being of Mary, John, and their families, they never once dropped the ball, and followed through with their friendly professionalism in such a manner that we never would have known of the terrible stress they must have been under.
Based on our experience I can strongly recommend Standout Adventures as an excellent value and a solid operation.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any follow-up questions.
Sincerely,
Paul Lieberman
www.paullieberman.net <http://www.paullieberman.net/>
Kilimanjaro