Travel reviews by B & H from Uckfield

"By coincidence we have been to the exact same location before but at the end of July 2018 when the experience was really just a bit too cold, especially in the morning and overnight. No need of 'Bush Babies' (hot water bottles) to keep us warm this time. We enjoyed our 3 days here and had an excellent guide to take us to the remains of the lion-kill on several occasions (a small elephant unfortunately), initially just a male Lion (North Pride) feeding but eventually the complete pride of lioness's and cubs.

Good sightings of Elephant, Giraffe, Kudu, Tsessebe, Warthog as well as glimpses of Scrub Hare, Black Backed Jackal and African Wild Cat. We also had a visit to the Bushmen paintings on a rock face and walked up fairly close to them.

The crew at the camp were very efficient and very friendly, being welcomed back after each game-drive with traditional singing, etc. As usual, the chef produced great food and fresh cake from his simple wood fire."

"Clearly a lot of time and money has been spent in creating this new camp away from it's previous location but our overriding impression was that it was more akin to a Holiday Resort rather than a place to absorb the true experience of the sights and sounds of the African bush.

The well-constructed cabin was too large, with separate areas of a lounge, entrance hall, bedroom and bathroom, plus an outside shower and a plunge pool. But - with early wake-up calls and 2 game drives every day, which were very enjoyable, how much time was there to enjoy such amenities.

We were not happy with the maintenance. we reported a bedside light not working and, after a few reminders, had to solve that problem ourselves. Also, there was a hole on the ceiling that allowed a Tree Squirrel to enter the room and this was not repaired properly so it came back every day. On our last day we found it on the lounge floor, barely alive, and later saw it outside dead, on the ground.

However, we did enjoy all animals that we came across on our drives, including a single Wild Dog that had split from the pack and met up with a male and had pups, only for the male and all the pups, except one, to be killed. There were multiple sightings of Lions, one group comprising 2 male, 4 female and 6 cubs, and the other group just 2 male and 3 female. Being near permanent water there were numerous Hippo pods as well as Crocodile, Elephant and Waterbuck. There were also Kudu, Steenbok, Reedbuck, Warthog, Baboon, Vervet Monkey, Wildebeest, Buffalo, Giraffe and Zebra. We were also lucky to see a Wild Cat, a single Honey Badger early in the morning, as well as a lone female Leopard.

Being located on a lagoon/river there were boat rides available and the opportunity to watch an elephant, with a young one, cross one of the waterways.

On Monday evening we were treated to a 'Boma' event where we all sat around in a semi-circle and were then treated to most of the camp staff performing traditional dancing and singing; then we had a buffet-style dinner in one long row of tables."

"The lodge was well constructed and a perfect size for two people staying for 3 nights. It was nestled among the surrounding trees and connected via a raised walkway to the other lodges and the central area where the restaurant and bar were located. This seemed to us to be the perfect set-up for a comfortable stay yet retaining the ambience that one aspires to in the African bush.

The wildlife here was very good. We caught up with a large pack of Wild Dogs, along with their many pups, and experienced the interaction between them all, with much yapping and playing going on. We waited around until the hunt started but, after rushing after them over bumpy terrain, we lost sight of them.

On another day we visited the sett of the Spotted Hyena's where there were several adults (6-8) resting nearby and several pups venturing out but then disappearing again down the hole. This was the first time in our many visits to Botswana that we had seen so many Hyena together during the daytime.

This camp was also where we had several sightings of Leopard, some up a tree, one of them at the foot of a tree (adult and young) and one at the foot of a tree along with its kill (impala). Then, to cap it all, we found a group of Cheetah (2 adults and 4 young) together on a slight mound in the full sunshine - a really tremendous sighting."

"We came here in 2018 but felt that it looked a bit jaded and the food and service overall was not quite as good. It had not been upgraded as far as we could see yet it's daily rate was nearly as much as that of Chitabe. Plus, they suggested tips of $20 per person for the guide, and for the general staff, which was the same as that suggested by Duma Tau and Chitabe, whereas Expert Africa are still suggesting $10 per person.

The 'Boma evening' (every Monday), where all the guests sat in a semi-circle, while the complete camp staff performed traditional dancing and singing, was very enjoyable; ending with a buffet-style dinner on a long table and under the stars.

We enjoyed the mokoru trip on the adjacent lagoon and the sundowner was held on an island where we all ended up in our mokoru's, Then a speedy return to the camp before the sun finally disappeared below the horizon.

The guide was good but there seemed to be a lot less to see than previously - subject to normal movement/migration, etc., of course. We did, however, see a very large herd of Buffalo (1500-2000) which seemed endless and look a long time to pass us by. We also saw a good herd (15-20) of Sable Antelope, several Lions, Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Waterbuck, 3 or 4 Ground Hornbill, and the proverbial 'Leopard in a tree'."

"Very hospitable personnel and a good guide made this a perfect start to our 11-day safari Two days were enough because the nights (and 5.30am wake up time) were very cold and we didn't have quite enough layers of clothing although we had been fore-warned. Much warmer during the day of course.
Conditions were comfortable enough but we looked forward to having a proper hot shower in the next camps - since showering was very basic here (but we knew it would be). Food was very good despite the primitive cooking conditions.
We had a cloudless view of the 'Blood' moon during the eclipse.
We had good viewings of Elephants at a waterhole (2 separate family groups), Cheetah, Leopard and Lions (including a mating pair) as well as many groups of Wildebeest, plus Jackal, Tsessebe, Giraffe, Hyena and Dwarf Mongoose."

"We were lucky to see a Wild Dog pack (6 adults and 4 pups) during the morning drive and the afternoon - in the afternoon we left them alone as they started out on their hunt. Very satisfactory occasion all round.
Also lucky to see 2 young Aardwolf at the entrance to their den on the way back to camp on the night-drive.
No large quantities or variety of wildlife otherwise during our 3-day stay.
We were concerned by the amount of time spent searching for a particular animal in a particular area when we should perhaps have done more general searching throughout the concession.
Apart from the Aardwolf siting (location previously known) we gained very little from the night-drives and arrived back at camp quite late (7.30 to 7.45) - just in time for dinner but with little time to freshen-up."

"Very diverse wildlife and good sightings of Buffalo, Cheetah, Elephant, Hippo, Leopard, Wildebeest, Zebra, Tsessebe, Jackal and Waterbuck. Also saw a Civet on one of night drives but very little else (also arrived back late into camp on all 3 nights and also missed our sundowner!).
As with Lagoon Camp, our driver and tracker tended to spend far too much time searching for a particular animal (1 hour looking for leopard in this instance - on 2 occasions) when we had already had good sightings of it. Then we missed viewing elephants at a waterhole which was the stated intention of this drive at the outset. This detracted from our otherwise extremely good experience at this camp. We stayed in the Enclave section of Splash (4 lodges) which was about a 6 minute walk from the main camp (8 lodges). Breakfast and then after-dinner drinks around the camp-fire was an added bonus."

"A very well designed and run camp throughout with a separate dining area, bar and lounge area; also a fire-pit on a raised platform of sand in a raised decking extending out into the reeds. Very well designed and comfortable accommodation with continuous hot water and battery charging-point in the room.
Everything was kept really tidy and the service from the staff was exceptional - remembering our names and providing really good and friendly service during our 3-day stay.
The land-cruisers were open-topped which we were initially concerned about because we try to avoid the sun but all turned out well (apparently the tops are put on during the hottest months). We even enjoyed the mokoro trip through the rushes and the boat ride although these took place during the late-afternoon when it was less hot and included a sundowner as well.
Our guide (Emang) was very efficient and gave us a lot of information during our drives where we saw a very varied selection of animals including Cheetah, Leopard, Lion and Elephants (crossing the water in a group) as well as Lechwe in good numbers and a herd of Buffalo in number about 400.
Little Vumbura provided a memorable ending to our 11-day safari."