Reviews of safaris to Moremi Game Reserve

"Stunning! A huge variety of memorable experiences, diverse lodges and special people made this trip everything we hoped for.

Tracy Lederer take a bow as your help, suggestions, comments and patient answers to our many questions made this trip work as well as it did. Everywhere we stayed added something special to our overall experience and your suggestions of adding a private safari and a trip down to San Camp made a great trip a spectacular experience. Our private safari with Kazuma will always be very special and you may have spoiled us for the future!

We did not know what to expect from Botswana. The old mantra was Botswana was high cost because of low vehicle numbers/tourists. In our experience that is not totally true any more. Chobe around Kisane is so busy from the land and the river that it is unpleasant in places and it looks like development is continuing at pace. Some of the companies who run river trips are aggressive and do not consider the animals or other boats. Having said all of that, seeing the hundreds of elephants on the Chobe River near Kasane and being able to watch them swim makes this still a wonderful place to visit. Moving quietly in boats is a fascinating way to see wildlife from a different perspective. Savute and Khwai are both busy with Khwai being particularly so at times. In Khwai and Savute you can, however, leave the crowds around the lions or the dogs and go off and find your own wonderful wildlife which we could do with our private guide.

The wildlife is not the wide variety of plains animals that you see in Kenya or South Africa. Botswana is not the place for a quick tick-list safari. What you do have is much more intense and lengthy experiences with the animals you see. We found most of the animals to be very relaxed and not bothered by vehicles or boats. The variety of landscapes is breathtaking. The guiding is very, very good in general.

We are used to travelling in a variety of little planes which are used like taxis so they were not a shock. The routes are not finalised until the day before you fly so be prepared for short hops to drop off and pick up other passengers from a variety of dirt air strips. You may not get to leave at a time that suits you. The small planes we took were a mixed bag but the young pilots all seemed professional. The planes could get a little bumpy but nowhere near as bumpy as the road trip would have been!

We did not expect to come away with an understanding of how the different management styles between Botswana and Namibia affected the wildlife and the land. Although explained to us several times we are still struggling with the geography of the Delta! We did not expect to learn so much about the Salt Pans and how everything managed to survive such a harsh environment. We learned so much about animal behaviour by being able to take the time to sit and watch what was going on and have everything explained by well-trained and enthusiastic guides. We listened to the calm debate about the possibility of reintroducing hunting in Botswana. We met some wonderful like-minded travellers and some that were not so pleasant but that is what happens on safaris: you learn when to speak and when to leave subjects alone! We met some really special Batswana people whose enthusiasm for their country is wonderful.

This was a special holiday for us that we had wanted to do for a long time. We have been lucky enough to travel to many African countries, some repeatedly but had never made it to Botswana before. We would llike to return!

A few hints.
- A number of tourists did not realise how cold it can get at night so take clothes you can layer, a puffer jacket or fleece and even gloves and a hat.
- Take a torch and spare batteries.
- Take a kanga or a kikoy with you so that when the temperature gets unbearable you can soak it and wrap it around your neck to keep you cool. It also helps when it is very dusty to cover your mouth and nose.
-Laundry is done almost everywhere so you do not need as many clothes as you think and it is certainly not a fashion show.
-Almost everywhere we stayed provided shampoo, conditioner, soap and mosquito spray so you can save weight on not bringing too much of these.
- Stick to the baggage size /weight recommendations if you are in small planes. They really can not take suitcases! Have something different like a bright ribbon on your handle. We saw one group of around 20 all travelling with the same bags that were just like ours!
- Cross pack with someone you are travelling with in case one bag goes missing somewhere!
- Money: Botswana Pula is not available out of the country. There is no cash machine in the new airport at Kasane. There is a cash machine at a shopping strip in Kasane town so your driver may stop for you if you ask. I do not know about Maun. We carried US dollars cash with us for tipping (with a number of small bills for porters) and we carried more than we thought we would need.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
You are streets ahead of the opposition and I recommend you to anyone and everyone. The knowledge of your staff is first-hand and they always take our likes, dislikes and experiences into account when suggesting holidays. Seems simple but not often done!

Your web site is amazing however too many of your description pages that I was browsing now say that the lodge has not been visited since ... (quite a few years ago) I know it is impossible to keep totally up to date but a lot of pages are well past their use by date so maybe time for some more visits to keep your pages up-to-date and the comments relevant. Chris and I will volunteer to help whenever you like! :D

You do not have Aardwolf or Elephants on your San animal list." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari

"We had a fantastic trip, i was expecting great things, but i was still surprised at how great the trip was .

i would go back tomorrow and the next day,...

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

the trip was wonderful, Im sorry but i do find you website a bit dull, i prefer to go onto other web sites for inspiration and pre-holiday excitement. however that is small and wouldn't stop me using expert africa. the knowledge of the team is phenomenal" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 17 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was mind blowing.

Richard Ball was instrumental in building the picture in our minds of what the trip could be like and he was definitely spot on about Gomoti Plains Camp! Megan Green delivered a perfect execution throughout including at the very last minute to arrange an additional activity as we were flying out to Africa.

Advice on photography by Chris McIntyre was helpful and really beyond the call of duty.

We thank everyone on the team and we look forward to working with them for our next trip!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The detailed knowledge that the staff have of the different camps including sightings and camp characteristics distinguishes Expert Africa from the many other operators we approached and really helped us in deciding what to do/where to stay. Their advice on travelling with children was also spot on and very helpful.

Perhaps more focus could be provided as the trip is planned on the safari guides, as they really make the difference to one's trip (even if we appreciate travellers cannot choose who they will be guided by).

Looking forward to the team living up to our newly heightened expectations for our next trip!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"Expert Africa was great to work with and Ellie was on top of everything." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We visited a wonderful combination of hunting and photo safari camps that not only provide outstanding experiences, but serve to illustrate how important BOTH are to sustaining/maintaining the value of so many wildlife species and the habitats upon which they depend." Read full review: 3 nights in Africa; 3 on a Botswana safari

"We had 7 amazing days at 3 camps in an around the delta in August (Gomoti, Machaba and Lebala). Compared to places like the Mara/Kruger/Serengeti, I'd say there was less volume of game (or the plains are less open, so it's harder to see) - sometimes you'd go a couple of days without seeing a lion - so you had to work a bit harder for the sightings. However, the fact that they're all private reserves (or private-ish) means that when you're driving around you are in total isolation, and your sightings can mostly be enjoyed without other vehicles for as long as you like.

Even though there are several reserves and concessions, nothing is fenced - that's great as it makes it truly wild, the downside being that animals can cross the dividing lines but people can't, so you need to go to a few different camps to minimize the probability that the animal you wanted to see crossed the border yesterday and so isn't accessible (this happens quite a bit).

We had great sightings of leopard and wild dogs, saw the big 5 in a single day, had some truly amazing night drives - lion hunts, wildcat, serval, civet, owls galore - and picked up over 100 species of birds in the week. We went on a motor boat trip once, which was very beautiful, really relaxing. We also tried the mokoro, which didn't do much for us (felt quite rickety, and didn't see anything).

In August, the temperature goes from 5 degrees in the morning to close to 30 in the afternoon - that contrast really enhanced the experience as it felt like you were moving from one place to another every day.

All in all, it was by far the most thrilling safari experience I've been on - the tranquility makes it seem so much more wild/natural - and so in future I think I'll be coming back to Botswana rather than Kenya or Tanzania.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No - Megan was fantastic as always" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Botswana safari

"Trip entirely met expectations and organisation was faultless with good steers on content

The excellent detail on website helped choose with Tracy the best options" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"Our trip was excellent and our expectations were not only met but exceeded. We enjoyed the varying landscapes, the animals and the people.

The trip, which we requested at the very last minute, was superbly organised. From the time of my initial contact, all requests/queries were handled in a timely helpful manner. All the components (fly, drive, transfers) fitted together well and all connections/transfers went smoothly.

The only changes we would have made are those that could only have been made with hindsight!

So again, thank you very much Maruska and Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: These are very minor suggestions and comments and are made purely to try and be helpful.

(1) An explanation off what one can expect in relation to meals when your accommodation is on a full board basis and you arrive around lunchtime. Our first full board accommodation was at Canyon Lodge and we arrived at lunch time. We were greeted with some information about the facilities and times for dinner and breakfast, but no indication of whether there was any lunch available or whether we were entitled to lunch. Subsequent enquires resulted in us being directed to the dining room.

At a later lodge, we realised that we could have had lunch even though we arrived early in the afternoon but had already had lunch just in case.

(2) If people are doing an overnighter at Cheetah View Lodge it would be good to know that the cheetah feeding is at 2 o'clock, which is the only time that this is held, is also included in the cost of the accommodation i.e. so that if possible you would make sure you got there in time for that. The other paid activities did not seem to be good value. I did note that on EA's notes of this lodge, that it EA thought that there needed to be a better integration of activities with the overnight experience, and we agree.

(3) I think that Hyena Pan did include laundry facilities.

I apologise if I should have known some of these things. I did look up all the accommodations on your website (which I thought was most extensive and the reason I choose the company initially), and make notes before our trip, but possibly I missed bits.

We wish that the tipping thing could be made easier. Australia does not have a tipping culture and so it always comes as a surprise and what seems like a lot of extra money on top of what are not insubstantial costs, at least in some places. While were tried to follow the guidelines, sometimes we were caught out when guides changed or we had an extra guide.

It is impossible to single out 'other' people, other than guides and polers for example, as there are always people behind the that contribute to your enjoyment and comfort on a trip." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"Provided a very well researched and considered experience for the four of us. Good variety of activities and accommodation. All transport and connections worked well. Maruska went to a lot of trouble to design a good trip for us at short notice. Would certainly recommend Expert Africa." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We arrange many of our own trips as well as using travel services. We feel we got high value from the service provided by Megan at Expert Africa. She took loads of time to listen, consider our requirements and preferences. She made the suggestion that boosted our trip from good to great, hiring a private mobile guide service. Especially well done that it was Andrew. Top notch guiding was our priority. He met that and then some. He also makes a super camp, it truly defined "glamping"! We are going camping this weekend and we will laugh to think of no longer having a staff to wait on us and make camp!

The back and forth of the entire itinerary was time consuming, paring down stopovers, arranging guest houses. Megan was up to it and then some. She never failed to respond with timely, logical ideas. If we end up in London soon enough we'd love to stop at the office and shake her hand in thanks for her very professional, expedient work.

It was a trip of a lifetime, though we travel a lot. It bears now only great memories and nothing we would change. We have hundreds of fine photos that we are thoroughly enjoying. Carolyn's journal is loaded with entries describing our encounters, and sketches and paintings of the abundant beauty we shared.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Megan deserves a large Christmas bonus. At least a larger portion of plum pudding! We will refer our friends to you and use you again when Africa hits the travel calendar. Perhaps Tanzania or Madagascar. We do a different continent most every year." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari