Travel reviews by Mrs N &Mr S from Australia
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
3
Excursions taken
0
My May 2013 trip
Botswana between 23 May 2013 and 30 May 2013
"This was an absolutely fantastic trip - a holiday experience of a lifetime.
I was so close to giving up on the idea of a safari as I couldn't summon up the courage to fly in a light aircraft and camp in a dome tent with wild animals so close by on the other side. Then thankfully, Expert Africa came up with the idea of travelling overland from Maun to Xakanaxa and staying in a lodge and then going on to Little Kwara by boat.
The service from Expert Africa has been absolutely first class (I almost never have cause to give such high praise for service and it is not given out lightly). I raised many questions before having the courage to book this holiday and all were answered honestly, very promptly and without impatience. The almost 24 hour service was useful for me as I live in Australia. I only wish I could experience this level of service more often in my life, I know this sounds like an ad, but credit where credit is due.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Regarding the quotation: It did seem very expensive but we normally travel on a budget and I normally get several quotes before making a booking. On this occasion I didn't. It was also more difficult to compare prices because we paid in sterling and we live in in Australia and normally use AUD.
I have also dealt with Gwynneth and Megan and give them the same high rating as Maruska. The excellent communication between the London and New Zealand offices was seamless."
I was so close to giving up on the idea of a safari as I couldn't summon up the courage to fly in a light aircraft and camp in a dome tent with wild animals so close by on the other side. Then thankfully, Expert Africa came up with the idea of travelling overland from Maun to Xakanaxa and staying in a lodge and then going on to Little Kwara by boat.
The service from Expert Africa has been absolutely first class (I almost never have cause to give such high praise for service and it is not given out lightly). I raised many questions before having the courage to book this holiday and all were answered honestly, very promptly and without impatience. The almost 24 hour service was useful for me as I live in Australia. I only wish I could experience this level of service more often in my life, I know this sounds like an ad, but credit where credit is due.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Regarding the quotation: It did seem very expensive but we normally travel on a budget and I normally get several quotes before making a booking. On this occasion I didn't. It was also more difficult to compare prices because we paid in sterling and we live in in Australia and normally use AUD.
I have also dealt with Gwynneth and Megan and give them the same high rating as Maruska. The excellent communication between the London and New Zealand offices was seamless."
Arranged By Maruska AdyeRowe
Xakanaxa
"Xakanaxa review"
2 nights
Arrived
24 May 2013
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Little Kwara (Not currently featured by Expert Africa)
"Little Kwara review"
3 nights
Arrived
26 May 2013
"I loved the furniture and lighting which blended in with the natural surroundings.
The food was excellent and plentiful, staff friendly and I loved the communal dinner in the evenings with interesting conversation with people from all over the world.
We were also delighted with the amount of wildlife we encountered; highlights being the cheetahs, lions and hippos."
The food was excellent and plentiful, staff friendly and I loved the communal dinner in the evenings with interesting conversation with people from all over the world.
We were also delighted with the amount of wildlife we encountered; highlights being the cheetahs, lions and hippos."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Xakanaxa
"Xakanaxa review"
1 night
Arrived
29 May 2013
"There is one thing I would like to bring to your attention and to understand. There was a leopard sighting on our last day. At least 3 and possibly 4 vehicles arrived on the scene. I felt uncomfortable because at one point the animal was boxed in by vehicles on three sides with only one side open and I felt the animal was stressed. I would have thought that frightened and cornered animals are more likely to attack and I wondered what the official view would be on the situation I have described.
We were very happy with the way our driver handled a large aggressive male elephant blocking our path on the road back to Maun. When the animal came right up to our vehicle the driver turned off the engine. We waited in silence for a few minutes and when he turned it back on again the elephant showed signs of backing off slightly the driver then drove towards him and the elephant then turned around and ran off. Scarey but the driver seemed to know how to handle the situation."
We were very happy with the way our driver handled a large aggressive male elephant blocking our path on the road back to Maun. When the animal came right up to our vehicle the driver turned off the engine. We waited in silence for a few minutes and when he turned it back on again the elephant showed signs of backing off slightly the driver then drove towards him and the elephant then turned around and ran off. Scarey but the driver seemed to know how to handle the situation."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Feedback response
Expert Africa responded to these travellers and included the following comment: We are sorry that you were put in a situation that you werent comfortable with during the leopard sighting from Xakanaxa Camp. We certainly do not condone any activity that puts wildlife under stress from humans; in fact we are actively against operations that dont show respect to wildlife. In our experience the safari guides from the safari camps that we recommend are excellent at reading the body language of animals, and ensuring that the animals they are viewing are not put under any unnecessary stress. The wildlife in safari areas which see regular visitors are usually very habituated to vehicles, and tend to ignore them as nothing more than the occasional nuisance. There are more vehicles allowed in Botswanas national parks, such as Moremi Game Reserve, than in the countrys private reserves and so it can be harder for the park rangers to police drivers conduct, especially the conduct of self-drivers or visiting tour operators that arent based at any safari camps located in the area. But again its been our experience that the safari guides from the camps we recommend have a passion for the conservation of the area they operate in, and if they find others abusing the area or the wildlife they are quick to pull them up on it, or report the situation to the park rangers.
Manager
The food was excellent and plentiful, staff friendly and I loved the communal dinner in the evenings with interesting conversation with people from all over the world.
We were also delighted with the amount of wildlife we encountered."