Travel reviews by Mr T from Los Angeles

"I had a great experience at Sandibe. Due to certain circumstances, I ended up being the only person in my vehicle on 4 of my 6 game drives (I was traveling solo). Still, I was treated like we had a full house in our vehicle. My guide and tracker, Shaka & Bring, were very good and quite knowledgeable. I never felt like I was getting less than the usual level of service due to me being the only passenger. I actually felt like I was getting customized service.

I visited 4 camps and I had some of the best game viewing here. There was a cold snap the first few days, so it was very cold early morning and late afternoon. (Tip: if you're going in the winter, bring a warm scarf or two!) However, that didn't deter us from some great game sightings. I got to see (usually fairly up close) lions, lion cubs, cheetahs, leopards, lots of elephant, giraffe, ostrich, hyena, hyena pups, warthogs, impala (and related species). One afternoon, we had a leopard walk right by our vehicle. I could have reached out and pet it had I not wanted to keep my right arm. The overall game viewing was great and quite diverse. I had an awesome time here.

The camp was very well kept up. My only complaint was the lack of hot water. Maybe I didn't keep it on long enough. At a later camp I found I had to leave the faucet on for a LONG time (4-5 minutes) before the hot water showed up. The staff took great care of me (and everyone) there. They went out of their way to make sure I was entertained since I was traveling solo. The rooms were average to above average. Now, this is in relation to other camps I visited while in Botswana. 'Average' is pretty nice and comfortable for being out in the middle of nowhere. I found the food to be pretty decent as well.

Overall, I was very happy with my experience there and would definitely recommend Sandibe to others. If you are interested, click here for pictures and short videos of my trip (from 4 different camps). Included are video reviews of my rooms at the various camps too. I hope this was helpful."

"The nicest accommodations of the 4 stops during my trip. Very nice rooms including electricity in the rooms and a great view of the Savuti Channel from each room. I could see elephants across the channel regularly. Had one elephant stop by to have lunch next to my front porch (within 5-10 feet) one afternoon. Went on a nice late afternoon boat trip and got to check out some hippos. Click here if you are interested in viewing a quick tour of my room.

The staff was great and very friendly. I spent 3 nights at each of my camps except this one. I was only at Savuti for 2 nights, but wished I could had stayed one more. I don't feel I gave it enough time to do it justice. Still, I got to see many lions, hippos, zebra, wild dogs, giraffe and LOTS of elephants! I got to see lions feeding on a small dead elephant. That was quite interesting. One afternoon, a herd of elephants wandered into camp and I was able to get quite close to them for some great pictures. The elephants were pretty mellow in this area as long as you kept a reasonable distance from them (10-20 feet).

My one small complaint about Savuti was that they did not use a tracker on game drives as all my other camps did. Now, our guide seemed to be very good at spotting game and even small animals while driving, but I have to think we might have missed some things that we wouldn't have missed had they used a tracker. I don't know if this is the norm though. Maybe they were just understaffed when I was there.

One of the highlights of Savuti was a walking safari. It was about a 3 mile hike for 1.5 hours. Our guide, Silas, was very knowledgeable. We heard lions roaring for much of our walk. He said it was nothing to worry about until at one point, he stopped, told us to get behind a fallen tree and sure enough a lion wandered by about 3 minutes later. Luckily, it was far enough away that it paid us no attention.

All in all, a very good experience. If you prefer nicer accommodations, this is an especially good choice. Click here for pictures and short videos of my trip (from 4 different camps). I hope this review is helpful for you."

"Staff was very good and friendly. Lots of great game viewing. My favorite tracker of my trip, Mustah, worked here; he was lots of fun and had a great sense of humor!

While I landed, there were two male lions hanging out right next to the landing strip! Surprisingly, the plane didn't scare them off at all. They just watched us like they were watching TV. We got good views of giraffe, ostrich, wild dogs, water buffalo, lions, zebra, wildebeast, elephants, baboons, wide variety of large birds, hyenas, jackals, cheetah and even porcupine.

Food was pretty decent. Service was very good. Guides and trackers were both very knowledgeable and personable.

The accommodations at Kwara were by far the most Spartan of my four camps. I knew this in advance, but I overlooked this because of the excellent game viewing reputation. Not that the rooms were substandard, but they really do need a facelift. One thing I did not understand: the staff made a point of telling you to always lock your doors because of baboons, yet there was only a lock on the outside, not the inside! (I propped one of my bags against the door at night) The canvas tents have seen much better days. This would be a prime camp if it were to be refurbished like its sister camp, Lagoon Camp (my final destination).

Luckily, the room conditions did not diminish my enjoyment much. I still had a great time at Kwara. If like me, game viewing is your primary objective and you can overlook a lesser level of accommodation, Kwara still very much worth your time! Pictures and videos of my trip, including video reviews of my rooms, are available if you click here. I hope this review is helpful for you."

"Very nice accommodations and staff. Lots of great game viewing. Wild dogs were kind of a specialty here during my stay. However, there were plenty of other viewings of elephants, hyenas (including lots of puppies), hippos, warthogs, impala, kudu, ostrich, giraffe and cheetah.

As you've probably already read, the camp was completely remodeled about a year and a half ago. The rooms are very nice. I actually had 2 showers (1 indoor and 1 outdoor) and a bathtub. It's a bit of a walk if you have one of the higher number rooms, but that was ok. If you want hot water, you need to plan ahead; it takes about a full 5 minutes for it to hit the faucet.

The food was pretty decent. However, I am still trying to figure out who came up with chocolate covered pineapple (must be a British thing). Meals were at a community table and most of the guides would join us. Meals were buffet style except for the appetizer and dessert.

Chasing the local wild dog pack was quite an experience. Tip: don't sit in the back of the vehicle if you're going to do that. I almost literally got thrown from the vehicle. I was hanging on for dear life. We got to see the dogs hunt. We saw a few feeding on an Impala (just missed the kill unfortunately). Probably the most fun was watching the pack just play for a good 10 minutes in a small pond. They had a blast just chasing each other around and through the water. They raced around full speed just chasing and playing with each other.

Overall, a very nice camp with very good game viewing. Pictures and videos of my trip, including video reviews of my rooms, are available if you click here. I hope this review is helpful for you."