Reviews of Shinde Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
102 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Shinde Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Shinde Camp review"
"Shinde Camp review"
"Shinde Camp review"
"Shinde Camp review"
Our Guide (Noah) was outstanding - among the very best we have been fortunate to have on over a dozen safari trips. The food was wholesome rather than special. A choice of main course at dinner would be desirable. We mostly did game drives but also took a boat ride through the lagoon and channels from the camp one afternoon.
We were fortunate to witness a Wild dog hunt on our first game drive (a pack of 16 dogs) and had several sightings of lions and elephants as well as numerous antelope and other game species. Another highlight was watching lions attempting to feed on a hippo carcass, but being being repeatedly chased off it by one of the other hippos." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana
"Shinde Camp review"
The staff couldn’t do enough for you. I arrived with an upset stomach and they were very concerned offering to contact a doctor.
They catered a special meal and kept checking I was ok. I was fine following day.
Beautiful location. We fished went on boat excursions and guiding excellent.
Very well managed." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana
"Shinde Camp review"
The food was excellent. A great selection and all very tasty. No porridge at the fire but the breakfasts were just lovely anyway and we have no complaints.
Once again, the staff were lovely, friendly and helpful and remembered all our needs. There is a full laundry service here. No need to wash anything at all ourselves unless we wanted to. No problems with silk either, it was washed and returned ironed perfectly.
Our guide was Kenny. He was very good and made great efforts to find the wildlife, being the first from the camp to find Wild Dogs, which was an amazing experience. I think, however, we both felt that having a tracker at the other camps was a bonus. We had a good rapport with Kenny. He had an interest in photography and I spent one to one time with him trying to help him understand the intricacies of Macro.
Our Mokoro guide was very patient and understanding in trying to help me accomplish photographing a Painted Reed Frog……almost an impossibility on a moving boat 😊
However, I have his patience (and my husband’s) to thank for a great image. Once again we had a little difficulty persuading our guide that we were happy watching the bird life around the Lagoon and other water areas, but we got there.
There was only one ‘public’ loo…….but what a loo this is. The outdoor experience will never be forgotten. There was rarely a wait but this may have been because of easier pathway access to our accommodations. The pathways here were more compacted for easier walking. The whole camp was very lush and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. We came away happy and relaxed.
The Little Extras that were appreciated at this camp:
A pot of tea each at wake up time. Lovely. I got up slightly earlier to shower and dress so that I could enjoy this treat and set myself for a relaxed day.
I was very well looked after with great care and consideration after being stung by a bee on a game drive. The staff’s concern was very touching and very considerate. On return to camp a full medical kit was ready had it been needed.
We were offered use of the Enclave for wildlife watching as there were no other guests using it.
The down side:
I think our major item in this list, was reading the company literature on gratuities. This was in very stark contrast to Expert Africa’s own guidance on the subject. To say we were left in a state of shock to see how much more they recommended, is an understatement. When I told some other guests about this, they were as shocked as we were. I will await your company’s comments.
There were no water bottles handed out here. We used the ones we had been given by Kwando but there wasn’t quite the check on making sure the guests had water. There were less hot towel and cold drink arrival greetings but there was plenty available in central camp." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana
"Shinde Camp review"
The game drives produced some wonderful experiences." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
"Shinde Camp review"
This year (2022) more water is flowing in this NE channel so the camp was particularly good for going out in the various lagoons. Game drives were knowledgeably and well guided, and we were privileged to follow wild dogs on the hunt and see their successful kill, see leopard (and its cub) on a kill, and enjoy excellent sightings of a wide variety of game - particularly good herds of red lechwe and groups of kudu - and superb bird life.
Sadly, the lion pride in the area had left for a neighbouring Concession so we didn't see lion on this part of or trip. Gliding through the swamps and lagoons on a mokoro provided a peaceful and calming contrast to bouncing around on the game drives.
Shinde provided a superb introduction the the Delta and our thanks go to Simon, our guide, and all the camp staff who mad our stay so enjoyable." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana
"Shinde Camp review"
A subtle electric fence keeps elephants out of the camp, and the beautiful walkways through a forest garden lead to nicely spaced tent chalets (staff walk with you at night in case you turn up other animals -- we met a startled, beautiful little bushbuck just outside our tent on the first evening).
The game drives in particular are world class. With only the very few Land Cruisers from the lodge on the roads, you are going to see everything (no "you saw a leopard? I wish we had" at dinner) but never in a crowd. Our truck would pull up next to another, or call in another, and then gracefully move off so everyone gets a great view. And the guides are superb -- intelligent, cordial, and vastly experienced. They know their patch superbly, and they know the animals -- where to look, where to turn, where to stop, and the backstory of each mother leopard or lion pride.
The habitats here are a perfect and varied microcosm and introduction to the delta, with grassland savanna, isolated and clustered stands of beautiful marula and kigelia (sausage) trees, open bush, beautiful pond and hillock pans, and lots of varieties of swamp, river, marsh, pool, papyrus, and reeds. This leads to amazing views of birds and beasts, with huge variety.
Again, I could go on and on, but let me distill it to this: If I had only a few days to spend in Botswana, I would spend them here." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana; 2n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa
"Shinde Camp review"
The Game Drives were very good, and Chachos and his fellow guides knew where to find lions and leopards which we saw several times. I was keen to see wild dogs, and when a pack made an appearance for the first time for many weeks, we got there and saw them, and tracked them across the plain for a while - it was an unforgettable experience. This was where Chachos went the extra mile, as once one of the other jeeps saw the dogs, he came and found us on our mokora ride, with a faster boat, and took us back to the jeep and drove fast so that we wouldn't miss them - as this was our very last afternoon - last chance saloon to see them - we were delighted that he did this for us.
We did an excellent walking safari, and enjoyed the Mokora and the big boat ride where we saw lots of hippos. On the ride back - James Bond and a speedboat in the Everglades came to mind - but it was a great experience.
Although much is made of being able to do three activities a day, this was only the case on the day you could do the night drive - otherwise it was just the standard two events a day.
The food was mostly good, although some of the meat dishes were not such good quality. The wines served here were very good.
The Camp is just 3-5 minutes from the airstrip which was great." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
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