Travel reviews by Drs R from Hampshire
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
2
Excursions taken
0
My Feb 2022 trip - Travelling in C-19 times...
Botswana between 20 Feb 2022 and 28 Feb 2022
"Travelling in C-19 times and in the rainy season was always going to be at the risk of disruption but we are glad that we came, with camp staff so happy and grateful to see us in what is a lean time for them.
Our goals were not to seek the big five as we have experienced that many times before in other areas. New to Botswana, we were seeking the more unusual animals and also birds, which are often overlooked (if even available) in the rush to see predators. We got a good appreciation of what Botswana has to offer, and saw many smaller animals (steenbok, scrub hare, bat-eared fox, jackals, lion cubs and a hyena cub left alone) as well as about 130 bird species over the two locations.
The value of a travel agent shows its worth when things do not go as planned. Things certainly did no go as planned for us. The problems that we experienced were ALL outside the scope of Expert Africa and yet Tracy helped us all throughout. This was both in the planning stage when our outbound flight was cancelled some weeks before travel, and during the journey itself. Tracy joined ourselves, our VIP meet and greet helper, and the airline staff on WhatsApp when trying to put things back on track after the airline failed to make our connection. From what the airline originally offered, Tracy helped negotiate for us a loss of three days of safari down to just one."
Our goals were not to seek the big five as we have experienced that many times before in other areas. New to Botswana, we were seeking the more unusual animals and also birds, which are often overlooked (if even available) in the rush to see predators. We got a good appreciation of what Botswana has to offer, and saw many smaller animals (steenbok, scrub hare, bat-eared fox, jackals, lion cubs and a hyena cub left alone) as well as about 130 bird species over the two locations.
The value of a travel agent shows its worth when things do not go as planned. Things certainly did no go as planned for us. The problems that we experienced were ALL outside the scope of Expert Africa and yet Tracy helped us all throughout. This was both in the planning stage when our outbound flight was cancelled some weeks before travel, and during the journey itself. Tracy joined ourselves, our VIP meet and greet helper, and the airline staff on WhatsApp when trying to put things back on track after the airline failed to make our connection. From what the airline originally offered, Tracy helped negotiate for us a loss of three days of safari down to just one."
Arranged By Tracy Lederer
Kwara Camp
"Kwara Camp in February"
4 nights
Arrived
21 Feb 2022
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Elephant
10+ sightings
Giraffe
10+ sightings
Hippo
10+ sightings
Lion
6 sightings
Spotted Hyena
4 sightings
Wildebeest
10+ sightings
Zebra
10+ sightings
Nxai Pan Camp
"Warm welcome in Nxai Pan"
2 nights
Arrived
25 Feb 2022
"Throughout our time in camp, elephants in large numbers dominated the waterhole in front of camp, with zebra, buffalo, and wildebeest often waiting to get a look in. Giraffe and black backed jackals were also present in large numbers.
Further from the camp we saw springbok, bat-eared foxes and scrub hares. The excellent knowledge of our guide Mat and spotter Shoes helped us to identify and photograph over 65 bird species in two days.
As an elephant had disrupted the borehole pump overnight, on our first morning wake-up, staff brought bottled water for washing. A part was flown in and things were fixed before we returned from the morning's activity.
In contrast to the newly re-built Kwara camp, Nxai Pan camp whilst adequate and appropriate to the location, is showing it's age with limited lighting and less efficient sealing against insects, dealt with by mozzie coils.
But the warmth of the camp staff welcome overcame all that, hosting us as their only visitors for the duration of our stay."
Further from the camp we saw springbok, bat-eared foxes and scrub hares. The excellent knowledge of our guide Mat and spotter Shoes helped us to identify and photograph over 65 bird species in two days.
As an elephant had disrupted the borehole pump overnight, on our first morning wake-up, staff brought bottled water for washing. A part was flown in and things were fixed before we returned from the morning's activity.
In contrast to the newly re-built Kwara camp, Nxai Pan camp whilst adequate and appropriate to the location, is showing it's age with limited lighting and less efficient sealing against insects, dealt with by mozzie coils.
But the warmth of the camp staff welcome overcame all that, hosting us as their only visitors for the duration of our stay."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Elephant
10+ sightings
Wildebeest
10+ sightings
Zebra
10+ sightings
We had the camp to ourselves, apart from one other couple on the last day. Once, at a lion cub sighting, we did come across two vehicles from Splash.
Kwara camp is still pristine since it's rebuild completed just before C-19, with rooms very large and comfortable, well sealed against insects and the one night-time thunderstorm. Little Kwara is currently just used for the manager."