Reviews of safaris to Kwando-Linyanti area

"Before going out to these places, I had very high expectation. Nothing and nobody changed my opinion. I have once again seen what I wanted to see and achieved just what I wanted.

South Luangwa, still the best, Northern Botswana a close second. Very happy and I hope to produce a Dvd that will be sent to all the lodges and camps concerned, last year's Dvd has already been shown and went down rather well. It has been a pleasure to go and stay at these magical places, where the animals, the birds, the grasses and inland seas humble me. Africa beckons, please go and see for yourselves.

Thankyou to everyone that contributed in making this another special trip to 'minha' Africa.

Ashante sana.

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The bush camps that Norman Carr safaris operate can be a great selling point, Kapani lodge is already perfect." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"This vacation – our fourth in four years with Expert Africa – was definitely the best we have done so far. We achieved in full our two main objectives, ie seeing Africa green from the rains (including a storm in the Kalahari while we were there); and focusing primarily on birds (with copious help from our expert guides, nearly 200 species identified over 12 days including some real rarities). Furthermore, we managed to see more species of mammals than we have on any of our previous three trips despite the more abundant vegetation and the national park restrictions in the Kalahari; and, of course, we had the pleasure of the Victoria Falls.

The high bird count was in part a reflection of the season. But we also felt that we benefitted in that respect – and similarly with mammals – from staying in four very different terroirs during our trip, ie the “mighty Zambezi” just above Vic Falls, Linyanti, the Delta and the Kalahari. And, needless to say, we would not have been anything like as successful without expert guides in all four camps in which we stayed.

Given the amount of moving around we did – more than usual, especially when one includes the day-trip into Zimbabwe – we should also note that the logistics worked throughout with commendable smoothness thanks to a combination of your planning and extremely competent and pleasant people looking after us locally.

In sum, this was a great trip." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"FANTASTIC!!

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I thought you were one of the best travel agents I have dealt with and would unhesitatingly recommend you.

All the arragements you made worked perfectly and the camps were as you had described them to me, if not better. This was a very expensive trip but I certainly feel I got value for money." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We had an amazing trip to Zambia and Botswana, in no small part thanks to Anna and Expert Africa. I don't think that we made Anna's life easy because we did not know where exactly we wanted to go but she really listened to the things that we said we did/didn't want and came up with 3 suggestions for places to stay that were perfect for us. When we had questions about booking a particular camp, Anna answered our questions honestly and we really felt that we knew what we were getting.

This was our second trip with Expert Africa and the things that most impress us are the fact that the people you speak to at Expert Africa really know the reserves and camps and can tell you what they are like and the fact that all of the logistics (flights/transfers etc) work so smoothly. This is not the kind of trip that we would want to organise independently and it is so nice to just be able to turn up and have everything arranged for you.

Thanks Anna for a great holiday!

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No!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"A fabulous trip - although Expert Africa was only responsible for the first week (in Botswana) and the flights / car hire - which worked according to our booking." Read full review: 40 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Overall the trip was just fantastic, the only moan (if you can call it that) was at Lagoon where we felt as though we had no options to do anything other than go with the flow. To give the driver and tracker their due they did find us some birds but to satisfy every one on our cramped vehicle we felt that we just had to go with the majority.

The other three camps we visited were just brilliant and we would not hestitate going back to them again.

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As you show Special Interest trips in your brochure would it not be possible to group like guests together." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"The trip overall was a fantastic experience of pure escapism into a luxurious safari world, free from mobile phones and the internet.

Every request was granted: if we wanted a boat trip, we had a boat trip; a walk in the bush, and one was arranged. We had some excellent sightings of lions and leopard, although the wild dogs and cheetah were hiding on this occasion. Two big thunderstorms added to the excitement of the trip!

We greatly appreciate the expertise of Expert Africa in advising and organising the details of the trip which we enjoyed without any hassle whatsoever! Definitely an experience for the discerning tourist." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Congratulations on a very well organised safari trip. You gave us everything we asked for and we thank you for that.

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No problems - so no suggestions!" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"excellent" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"1. Botswana delivers the ultimate in high-quality, varied and abundant game viewing, in a beautiful setting. Also, it seemed that all the camps have a policy of ensuring that there are no more than 4 people in a vehicle - often, we had the vehicle to ourselves as a pair.

2. The lodges are run very well, and are also high quality - albeit, they lack any individuality or idiosyncrasies. The Wilderness experience is, therefore, very reliable, but a bit corporate. Nevertheless, it does what it says on the tin, and does it very well.

3. The company needs to be more thoughtful about how it manages interaction between staff and guests. The staff are a constant presence - breakfast, coffee breaks, brunch, tea, pre-dinner drinks, dinner - and, while always lovely people, are not necessarily the most gifted conversationalists (true of quite a few guests, mind you). It can be quite oppressive having to 'manage' the conversation, and it can interfere with one's ability to socialise easily with other guests. One can in theory choose to ignore the staff, but this is hardly British. I understand that safaris are meant to be communal, and that the company doesn't want an atmosphere of servile staff and snooty guests (not at the classic camps, anyway) - but the balance is absolutely not right at the moment.

4. Standards of guiding, while competent and friendly, falll a long way short of the standards we have experienced in Tanzania and Zambia from guides trained in Zimbabwe. The knowledge of the guides is often superficial, and they can get quite flustered by questions which take them out of their comfort zone. Standards of tracking seemed low. There is a need for significant investment in training if the standards are to reach the levels whereby a guide can transform your experience of a game drive.

5. There should be more active management of a variety of options for activities - too often, it was assumed that a day drive was all that was ever wanted.

6. Except at Chitabe, the main meals were very uninspiring as a rule.

7. On the other hand, I have never had such a mosquito free trip! Well done to the camps for making the nights a really relaxing time for sleeping." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari