Travel reviews by J&K from Buckinghamshire

"Savute Safari Lodge is a very sociable place to stay. The staff that we met there were without fail friendly and efficient, and there were some real characters amongst them. There is a wonderful waterhole adjacent to the eating area where animals come in large numbers to drink the pumped water, preferring it to the water in the Savute channel. Be warned though, it is all too easy to spend hours after your excellent evening meal, sitting around the camp fire watching the wildlife perform at the waterhole whilst exchanging tales with fellow guests and staff, and then you remember that you should have had an early night to be ready for the next morning's game drive.

The chalet that we had was clean and comfortable, with remarkably crisp white bedlinen. There was a pleasant view from the chalet over the Savute Channel. We saw elephant, kudu and impala and a wide variety of birds, including pied kingfishers, whilst relaxing on our verandah.

We were able to recharge our camera batteries in the chalet.

Game drives are taken in the adjacent Chobe National Park, which is renowned for it's large herds of elephant and buffalo. We saw them both in their thousands, which was very impressive. We also had good sightings of lion, wild dog, and hippo, but the leopards remained elusive. The National Park imposes some constraints on the game drives, the most significant of which are :
a) You have to leave the park before closing time (18:30)
b) Off-road driving is not allowed.

The first of these constraints meant that interesting late sightings had to be abandoned and were followed by a "Ferrari safari" mad dash to get to the camp gates on time. The second of these constraints meant that, even with binoculars and telephoto lenses, many sightings were not as good as they could have been. We knew about the constraints before we booked Savute, but we still found them a bit frustrating. That said, we still managed to witness our fair share of drama on the game drives, and our guide (Issa) did an excellent job of being there when the predators left their kill to cross the road right by our vehicle to get to the nearest water."

"We received a very warm welcome at Kwando Lagoon Camp, where we were lucky enough to be allotted the family lodge. That gave us lots of space and an excellent view over the lagoon. What a treat to be able to watch elephant, waterbuck and baboons drinking from the lagoon at close quarters whilst having a bath!

The accommodation was comfortable and the food was excellent, but above all the thing that we will remember about Kwando Lagoon is the quality of the game viewing. Our guide and tracker, Paul and Ishmael respectively, were like a comedy double act, and when it came to the serious business of viewing wildlife they were exceptional.

We had excellent sightings of lion, including one magical session with a pride where the cubs were teasing each other playfully. This was matched the next day by the equally playful puppies in a pack of wild dog trotting to the water to quench their thirst after feasting on an impala kill. We also had good leopard sightings and a close encounter with a spotted hyena and two pups at their den. The elephants at Kwando Lagoon seemed to be friskier than at any of the other lodges that we visited, so they also provided some memorable moments.

We were able to recharge camera batteries in a cupboard behind the bar."

"Chitabe Lediba was the most luxurious of the 4 camps in which we stayed in Botswana, and it provided the best game viewing experience. An excellent rating does not do it justice, it was outstanding in every respect.

We landed at the airstrip at about 12:30, expecting a 30 minute drive to the camp. However, our guide (Oats) had seen some wild dog at a waterhole on his way to collect us, so we headed straight there. The dogs were relaxing under a tree, and in the tree, far from relaxed, was a leopard. Incredible! We stayed transfixed for over an hour, observing the interaction between dogs and leopard as the leopard tried to catch the dogs off guard and make her escape. It was stalemate when we eventually moved on, but the thrills did not stop there on our drive.

Within minutes we were parked adjacent to two male lions that had stolen an impala kill from a cheetah. From there we moved on to a leopard in a tree, who was joined by her cub as we watched. By now it was mid-afternoon, and Oats arranged for food to be brought out to us as watched the leopard and her cub interact. And so it went on, until eventually, at around 19:30, having just witnessed wild dogs scattering a large herd of impala, we arrived at the lodge. We realise that we were exceptionally fortunate to have had such a drive, but what we really appreciated was that throughout that time the sole objective of our guide and the staff at the lodge was to maximise our enjoyment. That attention to our enjoyment remained throughout our two day stay.

That first game drive was a very hard act to follow, but the quality of the drives remained exceptionally high throughout our two day stay with plentiful lion sightings (including a mating pair), more leopard sightings with cubs, and a spectacular spotted hyena sighting with a mother interacting with two pups, one of which was not her own. Bird sightings were also excellent, especially water birds.

Our accommodation was spacious, comfortable and tastefully fitted out, with high quality bed linen and towels. The common areas were also comfortable and well appointed. The staff were exceptionally friendly, efficient and helpful.

We were able to charge camera batteries in our room."

"Little Kwara was the most basic camp of the 4 that we stayed at in Botswana. We were a little concerned by the number of insects inside our room and the lack of mosquito nets around the bed when we first arrived. However, the staff that sprayed the room whilst we ate our evening meals were clearly experts as we were not in the least bit troubled by insects as we slept. An elephant with a bad case of flatulence that arrived in the early hours one night did disturb our sleep, but we did not mind.

Game drives were very good with excellent lion and wild dog sightings, plus the only cheetah sighting of our 8 day stay in Botswana. The night drive was very good too, with sightings of a genet and several bush babies.

A particular highlight, and good reason on it's own to stay at Little Kwara, was a boat ride to a heronry in Moremi National Park. Highly recommended!

Food was good and the staff were very friendly.

We were able to charge camera batteries in a cupboard behind the bar."

"Tongabezi was the perfect place to meet our two objectives:-
a) a base for visiting Victoria Falls
b) a place to chill out after 8 days of being bounced around in a land cruiser on safari

The transfer from Kasane airport to Tongabezi was in itself an interesting adventure, and we were very pleased to be well looked after at each of the several stages. We received a very warm welcome when we arrived at Tongabezi, and our valet, Dadu, ensured that warmth remained for the duration of our stay.

Our cottage was comfortable and it's terrace provided a wonderful view across the Zambezi river, complete with a group of hippo most of the time that we were there.

Food at Tongabezi was excellent. We particularly enjoyed evening meals in the boathouse and on a sampan tethered to the jetty.

Our guided visit to the Victoria Falls was excellent, and we also enjoyed a sunset cruise. Tongabezi also offers a wide range of external activities that we did not take up as our objective was to relax."