Travel reviews by Family M from Phoenix

"We were glad that Maruska had the foresight to book us into the Safari Club upon arrival in JoBurg
after our all-night flight from London. We were not met at the airport as expected, but instead paid
about $15US for a taxi to Safari Club. After a short delay, we were led to our large ensuite family room with four
single beds, tub and shower. Since we hadn't slept on the flight, we all fell asleep for most of the day.
Dinner was served in the lobby table area. A plentiful breakfast was served in a separate room. The van
took us back to the airport for our flight to Maun."

"Khwai is a permanent tented camp with basic accommodations and great service. The tents had
modest beds with down comforters, flush toilet, bucket shower that they filled with water heated
over the fire, separate dining tent where they served surprisingly good meals. The staff met our
every need.

After landing at the Khwai airstrip, Pilot and MP took us on a great game drive on the way to the
camp. Since there were only five tents, my husband stayed with one of our daughters in one
tent and I stayed with our other daughter in another tent. We were zipped in at night and heard
lion growls, hyena laughs, and elephants strolling through camp to munch on the acacia pods.

A night game drive on our second night at Khwai we experienced many first sightings. Pilot would
stop the 4x4 vehicle at almost every sighting or when we asked to spend a bit more time.

We thought this was the perfect place to start our adventure in Botswana."

"The Stanley's Choir greeted us in song upon arrival. The first afternoon we heard crunching sounds outside and discovered a warthog foraging right off our deck. We were enchanted. Our family couldn't decide if this was our favorite camp or the next one, Sandibe -- they both stand out in terms of luxury. Our guide, Kot, was so knowledgeable and mostly self-taught!! about all the surrounds, animal habits and even the night sky. The night game drive allowed us to see the glowing eyes of a bushbaby.

The Elephant Experience with Doug & Sandi Groves is a must for elephant lovers. We learned so much about the ellies, and this added to our enjoyment in subsequent elephant viewings at other camps. Our daughters (ages 13 & 11) treasure their photos with Jabu, Marula and Thembi."

"We were so delighted with Sandibe that we spent our first afternoon luxuriating in our cabin instead of going on a game drive. Each and every meal at Sandibe was spectacular. One dinner we had the accompaniment of the staff singers. To have meals in the thatched open-air dining area while watching baboons or vervet monkeys or a wandering male kudu right off the deck made us all shake our heads in awe.

The game viewing was first rate, and our guide, Tsabo, and spotter, Bring, made sure to get us to the action. While watching a pride of lions, Tsabo noticed something moving in the far bush and off we drove. We came upon a leopard !! walking through the brush and finally climbing a tree to drape itself over a branch. Another sighting produced a mother cheetah and her two almost-grown sons.

By the end of our stay, we had seen elephants, giraffes, gnu, buffalo, leopard, lions, cheetah, warthogs, a myriad of bird species, zebra, kudu and even a monitor lizard. I told Tsabo that I would give him a crown if he could find an ostrich. A few twists and turns in the 4x4 vehicle, and we came upon a lone female ostrich. I owe you a crown, Tsabo."

"Kwando Lagoon is a great place for families because it's casual and offers a variety of activities. Meals are served buffet-style at a communal table. It was fun to catch up with the other guests and talk about our day's sightings.

We loved that our guide, Bali, and spotter, AT, took us to see the elusive wild dogs, but then they were able to bounce our 4x4 across the bush as the dogs were on a hunt. Thankfully we didn't witness a kill (in spite of our 13-year-old's insistence that this would be educational), but we saw the warthog prey, tail up in the air, run for its life and duck into a hole at the last minute.

We saw young hyenas emerging from their den, lots of ellies, a male ostrich, impala, hippos, giraffes, zebra, the lovely lilac-breasted roller (bird), kudu and more.

Bali and AT took us out on a walking safari (Bali carried a rifle, just in case) and we learned about termite mounds and other creatures' habits.

Late one afternoon, we took the boat down the Chobe River, and we got to fish and have sundowners. Coming back to camp, the sunset was glorious."

"Jonathan is the consummate host -- greeting us upon arrival, sitting us down to a late lunch, keeping track of our schedule for a helicopter flight over the Falls and our elephant ride.

How decadent to soak in the huge tub and then drink a cup of tea on the deck while observing the wandering elephants below and the spray from Victoria Falls in the distance. We could hear the roar of the rapids on the Zambezi River in the gorge to the other side. The beds are quite comfortable and romantic with the net surround -- too bad I was sharing with our 11-year-old daughter and my husband was next door with our 13-year old daughter. ;-)

The helicopter tours are controversial (noise & pollution), so, in spite of us being part of the problem, we thought this was the highlight of our trip. Of course we purchased the DVD of our footage. It was a great way to see the enormity of Victoria Falls before heading to the park and feeling the spray and hearing the thunder. By the way, the makeshift shops across from Vic Falls park seem to have the best souvenir prices if you're willing to put up with persistent sales pitches.

The elephant ride was fun for both adults and kids. We were able to commune with the ellies before being led to a platform to load. Our guide, Soloman, told my daughter and me all sorts of information, we saw buffalo and warthogs, had photos taken and even fed our elephant. And, yes, we bought the DVD of our footage. Great gift shop here."