Travel reviews by R & P from Belgium
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
5
Excursions taken
0
Our trip to Botswana and Vic Falls Sept. 2015
Botswana and 1 other country between 3 Sep 2015 and 16 Sep 2015
"We had much looked forward to our North Botswana and Vic Falls trip, and we found it one of our best and most memorable holidays ever ! Botswana is a truly great safari destination, if you are passionate, as we are, about viewing and photographing wildlife.
The Okavango delta is among the most stunning wild places we have visited on this planet, both from the air and on the ground. The length of our stay (10 nights on safari in total, in 4 different camps) might seem a bit long at first, but we were very pleased with it, as it allowed us to take a more relaxed pace and we didn't mind the odd "non eventful" game drive too much. Indeed, the big five do not hide behind every tree or bush in these huge concessions, and we soon learned that good sightings require skillful guides and trackers, but also a good deal of patience !
We found the way in which our trip was planned, ideal for what we wanted to see during this trip and for our length of stay: i.e. first the Kwando area in north Botswana, followed by the Okavango Delta, and the magnificent Vic Falls at the end.
We were also absolutely delighted with the very smooth organization of our trip: every single aircraft (big or small) or road transfer we took left on time; we were always welcomed by friendly staff upon arrival; rooms/tents were always ready for us upon our arrival... Top marks ! We would like to add a special comment for Mack Air here as well: flights over the Delta were a great experience !
Finally, although in our reviews per camp, we have mentioned some smaller points for improvement where and when we found it as needed, but we honestly can't think of anything that we would have wanted to add to our trip, that would have made it even better than it already was. This trip has made our love for Africa even greater, and we can not wait to return to explore more of this marvelous continent!!
Special thanks to Megan, who was extremely helpful in organizing our trip, and really went out of her way to answer our many questions before departure ! Truly top service !"
The Okavango delta is among the most stunning wild places we have visited on this planet, both from the air and on the ground. The length of our stay (10 nights on safari in total, in 4 different camps) might seem a bit long at first, but we were very pleased with it, as it allowed us to take a more relaxed pace and we didn't mind the odd "non eventful" game drive too much. Indeed, the big five do not hide behind every tree or bush in these huge concessions, and we soon learned that good sightings require skillful guides and trackers, but also a good deal of patience !
We found the way in which our trip was planned, ideal for what we wanted to see during this trip and for our length of stay: i.e. first the Kwando area in north Botswana, followed by the Okavango Delta, and the magnificent Vic Falls at the end.
We were also absolutely delighted with the very smooth organization of our trip: every single aircraft (big or small) or road transfer we took left on time; we were always welcomed by friendly staff upon arrival; rooms/tents were always ready for us upon our arrival... Top marks ! We would like to add a special comment for Mack Air here as well: flights over the Delta were a great experience !
Finally, although in our reviews per camp, we have mentioned some smaller points for improvement where and when we found it as needed, but we honestly can't think of anything that we would have wanted to add to our trip, that would have made it even better than it already was. This trip has made our love for Africa even greater, and we can not wait to return to explore more of this marvelous continent!!
Special thanks to Megan, who was extremely helpful in organizing our trip, and really went out of her way to answer our many questions before departure ! Truly top service !"
Arranged By Megan Green
Lagoon Camp
"Good start of our Safari holiday"
3 nights
Arrived
4 Sep 2015
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Lebala Camp
"Great stay at Lebala!"
2 nights
Arrived
7 Sep 2015
"Everyone at Lebala really went out of their way to make our stay a memorable one, and they succeeded! Co-managers Jessica and BK are truly doing a great job at this camp. Top marks for the whole staff for their friendliness and genuine hospitality! The singing and dancing on our last night will remain with us as one of the best memories of our trip!
We loved the camp's setting; very cosy rooms and those nice little touches to make us feel welcome. Lunch and dinner were always delicious, with plenty of choice of fresh vegetables and fruits. Our guide was Jacob and our tracker AT. These guys really worked very hard to give us the best safari experience: wonderful leopard and lion sightings, and to top it of, we saw a caracal ! Jacob is an extremely knowledgable and most entertaining guide. We truly enjoyed his tales buy the campfire!
Some points for improvement:
- early breakfast: not enough porridge for all the guests, and not much else to choose from.
- they might consider
a) moving the power generator out a bit further from the guest tents or
b) getting a more silent model.
We were in room 2, and it sounded like the power generator was standing right next to us, and it produced the sound of 10 heavy trucks. On our last night, the generator had to stay on all night because of one of the other guest's health issues, which is, of course, understandable, but it resulted in us not getting any sleep at all.
Anyway, we would absolutely love to go back to Lebala one day (but in a room further from the power generator...) !"
We loved the camp's setting; very cosy rooms and those nice little touches to make us feel welcome. Lunch and dinner were always delicious, with plenty of choice of fresh vegetables and fruits. Our guide was Jacob and our tracker AT. These guys really worked very hard to give us the best safari experience: wonderful leopard and lion sightings, and to top it of, we saw a caracal ! Jacob is an extremely knowledgable and most entertaining guide. We truly enjoyed his tales buy the campfire!
Some points for improvement:
- early breakfast: not enough porridge for all the guests, and not much else to choose from.
- they might consider
a) moving the power generator out a bit further from the guest tents or
b) getting a more silent model.
We were in room 2, and it sounded like the power generator was standing right next to us, and it produced the sound of 10 heavy trucks. On our last night, the generator had to stay on all night because of one of the other guest's health issues, which is, of course, understandable, but it resulted in us not getting any sleep at all.
Anyway, we would absolutely love to go back to Lebala one day (but in a room further from the power generator...) !"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Kwara Camp
"Beautiful memories of landscape around Kwara"
2 nights
Arrived
9 Sep 2015
"The location of Kwara Camp is extremely beautiful, typical Okavango scenery ! This does make up a bit for the quite "rustic" tents, which are, as many have said before us on here, in urgent need of a refurbishment.
Food was less varied then the other Kwando camps we visited during our trip (Lagoon and Lebala) and there always seemed to be something missing (e.g. no eggs at breakfast; no fresh fruit for lunch, no milk to put in the tea...). Staff was not unfriendly, but didn't seem very interested in their visitors. During dinner, guides mainly kept to themselves and talked in Setswana to each other. Overall, the general atmosphere in this camp was not as warm and welcoming as we have experienced in the other camps we visited.
That being said, we did have a memorable stay as, again, the landscape around Kwara is among the most beautiful we saw during our trip, and we wouldn't have wanted to miss that. And to top it off: we had stunning sightings of lions and cheetah at this camp ! Reason why our overall appreciation of the camp was "good" instead of "average"."
Food was less varied then the other Kwando camps we visited during our trip (Lagoon and Lebala) and there always seemed to be something missing (e.g. no eggs at breakfast; no fresh fruit for lunch, no milk to put in the tea...). Staff was not unfriendly, but didn't seem very interested in their visitors. During dinner, guides mainly kept to themselves and talked in Setswana to each other. Overall, the general atmosphere in this camp was not as warm and welcoming as we have experienced in the other camps we visited.
That being said, we did have a memorable stay as, again, the landscape around Kwara is among the most beautiful we saw during our trip, and we wouldn't have wanted to miss that. And to top it off: we had stunning sightings of lions and cheetah at this camp ! Reason why our overall appreciation of the camp was "good" instead of "average"."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Average
Activities
Good
Rooms
Average
Food
Average
Facilities
Good
Little Tubu
"Truly memorable stay at Little Tubu !"
3 nights
Arrived
11 Sep 2015
"We had chosen Little Tubu as last safari camp for our trip, and it absolutely delivered, in any possible way, as a "grand finale"!! Everything was perfect: truly stunning rooms and views; inventive, extremely varied and fresh, and always seriously good food (!); extremely high service level, genuine friendliness and helpfulness of the staff... all were the best we have experienced on this trip, and on many previous holidays!
We were a group of five, and as such, had the camp to ourselves, which made it an extra special experience, one we shall never forget! We absolutely want to thank everyone at this lovely camp, because they all went out of their way to make us feel genuinely welcome and to not want to leave at all ! We honestly can't think of anything that could have been improved. Keep up the extremely good work guys, we would definitely love to return to Little Tubu !
Finally, a special note goes to our guide, Dennis. He did an absolutely fantastic job! Always enthusiast, positive and humorous, and very knowledgeable ! We thoroughly enjoyed our game drives - loved the leopard-mother-with-teenage-son-sighting - and boat/mokoro trips (saw some beautiful birds during the latter!). Finally, we also very much loved the walking safari: we found it exciting and perhaps a bit frightening at first, but learned everything we always wanted to know about termites, and bush men hunting/firemaking techniques!
Top marks for Wilderness Safaris, for having sent Dennis to be our guide, as he is a qualified walking safari guide, and there aren't that many around in Botswana. As we had indicated beforehand that we were interested in doing a walking a safari, they specially transferred him from the camp he usually works at (Kwetsani) to Little Tubu for us. That is what we call splendid customer service ! Thank you !!"
We were a group of five, and as such, had the camp to ourselves, which made it an extra special experience, one we shall never forget! We absolutely want to thank everyone at this lovely camp, because they all went out of their way to make us feel genuinely welcome and to not want to leave at all ! We honestly can't think of anything that could have been improved. Keep up the extremely good work guys, we would definitely love to return to Little Tubu !
Finally, a special note goes to our guide, Dennis. He did an absolutely fantastic job! Always enthusiast, positive and humorous, and very knowledgeable ! We thoroughly enjoyed our game drives - loved the leopard-mother-with-teenage-son-sighting - and boat/mokoro trips (saw some beautiful birds during the latter!). Finally, we also very much loved the walking safari: we found it exciting and perhaps a bit frightening at first, but learned everything we always wanted to know about termites, and bush men hunting/firemaking techniques!
Top marks for Wilderness Safaris, for having sent Dennis to be our guide, as he is a qualified walking safari guide, and there aren't that many around in Botswana. As we had indicated beforehand that we were interested in doing a walking a safari, they specially transferred him from the camp he usually works at (Kwetsani) to Little Tubu for us. That is what we call splendid customer service ! Thank you !!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Ilala Lodge
"Nice stay at Ilala Lodge"
1 night
Arrived
14 Sep 2015
"We stayed one night at Ilala Lodge, our last night in Africa on this trip. We asked to change rooms, as our room was located next to where they were building the new hotel wing, which went flawlessly. Location is excellent, as it is only 10 min. away from the Falls by foot. Rooms are not that new any more, but very much OK for a one night stay, and even longer.
Staff at breakfast were friendly and helpful. Breakfast was good.
Overall, Ilala Lodge is a good place to stay if you want to visit Vic Falls, offering good value for money."
Staff at breakfast were friendly and helpful. Breakfast was good.
Overall, Ilala Lodge is a good place to stay if you want to visit Vic Falls, offering good value for money."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Our guide and tracker were Carlos and Timo. We found Timo a very friendly guy, enthousiast and good at his job. Our views about Carlos are somewhat mixed: our game drives were, overall, interesting and varied. However, we would have appreciated Carlos to be more communicative during the drives and during dinner. At times, we honestly had the impression we were bothering him with our questions.
Personal highlight: the Sunset Boat trip on our last evening, which offered truly wonderful sightings of elephants and hippos bathing in one of the most amazing sunset we have ever seen..."