Reviews of Splash Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
98 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Splash Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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96% success
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66% success
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84% success
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80% success
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100% success
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100% success
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99% success
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99% success
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98% success
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87% success
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71% success
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44% success
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34% success
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29% success
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1% success
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1% success
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0% success
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0% success
"Splash Camp review"
It's a very new camp and you can tell, with everything in great condition and the rooms much more modern feeling that other camps we have stayed at. It's still the familiar layout of a central hub and then rooms spaced out in their own bit of wilderness but maybe it felt just a little less in harmony with the landscape than other camps. However, this would be great for anyone who wants authentic safari with a touch more comfort (solid built lodges, mosquito nets, individual tables in a more enclosed dining space etc.).
And don't get me wrong, you are still right in the heart of a beautiful wildlife area! We had a male lion walk past at one breakfast around the fire and a genet scavenging after dinner in that not-so-enclosed-after-all dining space.
The staff were all excellent. Particular shout out to our guide KP and tracker Alan (but he might be a guide by the time you get there... good luck in the exams Alan!). As at our other Kwando camp we were super well looked after and the managers were always around to check in with.
The food we also thought was really good. Not fine-dining maybe, but really high quality offerings on a small buffet with lovely range of dishes. Worth mentioning that one of the other guests whilst we were there was vegan and it looked like they did a great job of handling it. A super open bar as well with lots of beer, wine and we even opened some port on our last evening!
At the end of one of our morning game drives they had organised a wonderful brunch out in the middle of nowhere with a large herd of zebra just 100m away. So special.
The stars of the show were of course the animals. We had amazing sightings of lions, both some big males with a great roar and some lionesses walking right passed the vehicle (I mean RIGHT passed. I could have reached out tickled her ears...) then spreading out into the reeds to hunt. We saw wild dogs and hyenas both at their den spots, two different leopards, some cute baby elephants and an absolutely incredible night time Serval hunt. It caught a springhare right in front of us!
No cheetah this time sadly, but not for lack of effort on KP's part. He asked us from the beginning what we wanted to see and set out to make it happen. Compared to our time on safari in south Tanzania the overall game density felt lower, or at least harder to find, but that led to much more willingness to search for specific sightings and it paid off in sightings we had never had before. EA are right to highlight that at Splash they are quite predator focused and you will sometimes drive fast and cover quite large areas to get to sightings, but that really worked for us and we also enjoyed the mokoro trip and a boat cruise for a change of pace. (Do take note that the mokoro are a short 30min taster as part of a game drive rather than a full activity. I don't know if it's done differently elsewhere but it worked fine for us).
In June, Splash is a little less 'splash-y' than you might expect as it was just at the start of the Okavango floods (it looked like Kwara might be wetter sooner) but the more we drove, the more we started seeing flooded fields and fording roads that got deeper every time we crossed. Very exciting!
Splash is a great camp and we had an amazing trip. Would definitely recommend for a taste of the wonderful Delta!" See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
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Elephant
6 sightings
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Giraffe
6 sightings
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Hippo
4 sightings
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Leopard
2 sightings
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Lion
5 sightings
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Sable antelope
1 sighting
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Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
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Wild dog
1 sighting
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Wildebeest
2 sightings
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Zebra
10 sightings
"Splash Camp review"
We arrived late afternoon and joined a game drive in progress. Almost immediately we saw a pride of lions with a male lion as well. The action we saw at Splash was amazing!!! Our guide KLB and Tracker Seymore were wonderful!!!!
I asked to see painted dogs as I had missed them at Arathusa, sure enough we found a pack that had surrounded a baby Koodoo in the water. Hard to watch, but incredible at the same time. Our guide also tracked a Cheeta and we followed it for nearly an hour, beautiful!
These were the first rooms without heat but the staff put bush babies in our beds each night which really helped. We were also provided with them on morning game drives, game changer for us!!! Lion in camp the first night, exciting and scary! Our guide also set up a private dinner for us on our last night, it was so special getting to know everyone !!" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in South Africa; 2n in Zambia
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Buffalo
3 sightings
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Cheetah
1 sighting
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Elephant
10 sightings
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Giraffe
10 sightings
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Hippo
10 sightings
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Lion
4 sightings
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Roan antelope
3 sightings
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Sable antelope
1 sighting
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Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
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Wild dog
1 sighting
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Wildebeest
4 sightings
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Zebra
10 sightings
"Splash Camp review"
Loved the landscape of the Okavango Delta. My favorite animal sighting here was “Mr. Special”, a 12-year old cheetah with such a chill and friendly attitude towards the game drive vehicles. Got to spend a lot of time with him over the course of my 3-night stay." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 5n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana
"Splash Camp review"
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Elephant
Multiple sightings
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Giraffe
Multiple sightings
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Hippo
Multiple sightings
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Lion
Multiple sightings
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Wildebeest
Multiple sightings
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Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Splash Camp review"
Josiah ( guide ) and Eba ( tracker ) excelled themselves - one off-road chase after a pack of dogs was a masterclass in driving combined with spatial awareness combined with deep knowledge of animal behaviour. Thanks goodness the mopane bushes bounce back !!
Having an elephant eating the bushes around our tent ( in effect about 3m away from us ) and getting it’s tusks tangled in the wooden veranda was a great highlight amongst many . Sitting with a pack of dogs interacting excitedly was also utterly memorable . And, sharing Josiah’s excitement, the number of Malachite Kingfishers spotted on our boat trip was something of a record - spectacularly beautiful birds !
We would recommend Splash very highly indeed. They were terrific with our 7 yr old daughter too.
Private guiding at Splash Cam: Excellent
Josiah and Eba were incredible. It wasn’t just the big things ( though they did a great job finding those ), it was the nightjar camouflaged on a tree trunk, the 4 varieties of kingfisher ( malachite ; grey ; striped ; pied ), the evident love of the place that shone through.
Josiah’s deep knowledge of the lion clans made for an almost Shakesperean account of their dynastic history !" See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe; 5n in Botswana
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Cheetah
1 sighting
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Elephant
10 sightings
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Giraffe
10 sightings
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Hippo
6 sightings
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Leopard
1 sighting
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Lion
5 sightings
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Spotted Hyena
2 sightings
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Wild dog
2 sightings
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Wildebeest
6 sightings
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Zebra
10 sightings
"Splash Camp review"
The food at Splash was particularly good.
The camp seems to be very well run and there is a very good atmosphere generated between guests and staff. Our needs and requests were responded to very well. We were lucky to have and excellent guide - Turlock - and tracker - Eric." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana
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Cheetah
1 sighting
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Elephant
10 sightings
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Giraffe
10 sightings
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Hippo
10 sightings
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Leopard
1 sighting
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Lion
8 sightings
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Sitatunga
1 sighting
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Wildebeest
7 sightings
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Zebra
10 sightings
"Splash Camp review"
I suspect that the lack of visitors has meant that some maintenance may have been neglected [vegetation outside the lodge is partly obscuring the view from the verandah]
The staff were delightful, friendly and obliging.
Because of the on-going problems of Covid we had the place to ourselves most of the time so we had great treatment although it was clear that the staff are well trained and motivated." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana
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Cheetah
1 sighting
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Elephant
Multiple sightings
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Giraffe
Multiple sightings
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Hippo
Multiple sightings
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Leopard
1 sighting
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Lion
Multiple sightings
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Sitatunga
Multiple sightings
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Wildebeest
Multiple sightings
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Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Splash Camp review"
There are loads of birds which the guides are interested in, at least Godfrey was. We saw black kites, broad billed roller, meyers parrot, steppes eagle, woodland kingfisher, I mention all those we had not seen before.
Two highlights here as far as animals were concerned. We saw our first cheetah, Mr Special, who had just returned to the area. We had three sessions with him, finally he tried to hunt an impala but unsuccessfully, the terrain was against him.
We saw wild dogs doing a pre-hunt ritual, lots of yapping and socialising to the lay person. Then off they went and finally after quite some time we saw an unfortunate impala killed.
We saw two hammerkops on a hippo on last morning game drive, not sure why, they do not pick up tics or blood like oxpeckers do.
To finish off our stay, on the way to the airstrip we saw another leopard in a tree, she was very relaxed with the attention. What a fantastic memory to finish on. Tracking of a leopard on a previous day had only provided a fleeting glimpse in the undergrowth, so this was a bonus.
The rooms here are really modern and hence not as affected by the winds.
One evening meal the meat was very tender, but the others not so. Having travelled twice before we know that food quality is not great, so our expectations were managed." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana
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Buffalo
1 sighting
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Cheetah
2 sightings
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Elephant
4 sightings
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Giraffe
3 sightings
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Hippo
4 sightings
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Leopard
2 sightings
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Lion
5 sightings
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Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
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Wild dog
1 sighting
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Wildebeest
2 sightings
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Zebra
4 sightings
"Splash Camp review"
The food was delicious, we often took not only a second but also a third portion!" See all these reviews: 4n in Botswana
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Buffalo
2 sightings
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Cheetah
3 sightings
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Elephant
8 sightings
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Giraffe
8 sightings
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Hippo
Multiple sightings
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Leopard
1 sighting
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Lion
2 sightings
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Sitatunga
1 sighting
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Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings
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Wildebeest
8 sightings
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Zebra
8 sightings
"Splash Camp review"
The guides and trackers here were top-notch, on par with Lagoon, the other Kwando camp we visited. COVID protocols were in place to keep everyone safe, with masks and daily temperature checks.
They also arranged for a nurse to fly-in for our exit COVID test so we could maximize our time on safari." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
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Buffalo
Multiple sightings
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Elephant
Multiple sightings
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Giraffe
Multiple sightings
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Leopard
3 sightings
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Lion
Multiple sightings
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Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings
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Wild dog
1 sighting
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Wildebeest
10 sightings
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Zebra
10 sightings
Holiday styles & special interests in Botswana
From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Botswana.
Other lodges in Okavango Delta Safari Reserves
Alternative places to stay in this same area.