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
73% success
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"Shinde Camp review"
The people were very friendly and we had a great time there." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia; 1n in South Africa
"Shinde Camp review"
Game viewing was excellent - super leopards and on the final morning lions. Well-informed guides who were friendly and articulate. Trips on the Moroko boat and river boat through the delta were great fun - and we saw a Sitatunga on the riverbank from the Moroko which is apparently very rare and caused a lot of excitement on our return to camp!
Being English ladies of more mature years we really appreciated the early morning call with tea and the sherry provided on our return in the evening! Food was excellent - my friend though it was the best on the trip. There was a problem with our vehicle - which broke down on several occasions - once in front of a tree with a leopard in it. This did cause a few delays - especially to those in the other vehicles who had to give us a tow. And on the last day our vehicle, in turn, had to give another vehicle a tow. I guess this is part of the safari experience, and we didn't mind, however others were getting annoyed.
I was also surprised at a french gentleman in our car who on several occasions fell asleep and started snoring!! Our guide/driver was coped very well with this - although it was a first for him! How he slept over all those off road bumps I'll never know." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Great camp, good location, needs renovating"
The food was good at all three meals. Staff hospitable and welcoming.
The guide although very knowledgable, had an attitude problem and was a bit offish with us.
The night talk on the southern sky was very good." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 1n in Zambia
"Shinde Camp"
This camp seemed to be rundown and leaderless. The service seemed to be routine and we missed the large variety of foods the we have come to expect. Pierre was the temporary manager and he was like lighting bolt of energy, delightful, but contrasted with the ho-hum atmosphere by the staff.
We were lead to believe that Pierre was there to give the camp a facelift and the work was to start soon. I know that he will be successful, but my experience would lead me to not recommend this camp until the facelift is complete." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 1n in Zambia
"Pleasant staff and wooded feel"
Upon arriving at the lodge, I immediately felt like it was quite a bit larger than the others (too large for my taste) and lacked a certain ambiance. It's main feature is a large wooded deck, which houses the common areas (dining room, sitting area, fire/tea break area). It is covered by trees so I found myself not wanting to hang out there very much as it was very cold that week and the trees obscured the sun. The common area has a computer with dial up internet access, which was much appreciated in a region without cell service.
The walk to the room felt a bit like a KOA campground in the States. There wasn't a charm about it. The room was a tent-based permanent structure with a great shower. The small deck was shaded by trees and didn't offer much of a view. I heard a couple hippo sounds during the night but generally animals were not wandering through the camp, a feature I quite enjoyed in other lodges.
The managers and staff were friendly and meals were eaten as a group, Food was very good.
Wildlife and Guides
Unlike my other lodges, Shinde doesn't limit the jeeps so that everyone gets a "window seat". I skipped the drive on my first day, in part, because I thought the jeep would be too full. Ultimately, I only went on 1 game drive. The landscape is beautiful there. Bee, the guide, seemed very experienced and impressed us all with an outstanding sighting of a leopard. I still don't know how in the world he saw it! Beyond that, though, it didn't seem like there was as much concentration of game there as I had in Zambia. Also, they don't seem as keen about the night drives. They play them down and don't even have a separate person manning the light.
Given that this was my only wet camp, I was quite excited about taking a break from the game drives to do water activities. I did both the speedboat and makoro. It was lovely to be on the water..very tranquil. We didn't see too much..one tree frog, a few cool birds, pretty vegetation, 2 hippos and 1 elephant across the two outings. It was very nice, although in talking to other safari goers at my next lodge, I think there might be other wet camps that offer better bird and animal sightings from their waterways." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 5n in Botswana
"Superb Shinde: needs met;thoughts anticipated"
The previous evening we had a motorboat ride and on our way back, news came over the radio of a sighting of lions. We were asked if we wanted to try and see the lions. When we agreed we made a bee-line for the water's edge, landed and quickly transferred to a waiting vehicle. We then sped off in pursuit. This was a true James Bond-like experience. It also showed what lengths this camp will go to make your stay fulfilling, of which more below. We found the lions just before dark and were able to use an infra-red lamp to light them up. They were unbothered by this and we had another great experience.
On our walk, our main guide Aubrey explained the nutritional significance of the different grasses and trees. And the effects of elephants on various types of tree. We also learnt about the relative efficiency of the digestion systems of elephants, zebra and giraffe. Later we were instructed in how lions digest and excrete the remains of a meal; this after we came across a pile of fur which had once been a red lechwe.
A special mention to Jono and Justine, the camp managers. They are excellent. Nothing is too much trouble for them; they treat everyone individually and their attention to detail is a lesson for many hotels. One example is the provision of a decanter of sherry and glasses in your lodge prior to evening meal!" See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana
"Shindi Camp"
"Beautiful location, beautiful lodge."
"Shinde Camp review"
Staff friendly and helpful and good management on site.
Laundry facilities good - we flew in a small plane in a thunderstorm and our baggage got soaked, but was dried and pressed as soon as we arrived.
Guides managed to find pretty much every animal we hoped for (leopards every day, jackals, hyenas, baby giraffes as well as the usual elephants, lions and a huge variety of zebras, wildebeest, antelopes etc).
Food and drink excellent." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
"Best all round camp we have stayed at !"
We were extremely lucky to see leopard on every game drive together with assortment of lions, elephants etc and we owe so much to our guide Adam." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana
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