Travel reviews by Ms V from USA
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
6
Excursions taken
0
My Mar 2018 trip
Botswana between 18 Mar 2018 and 1 Apr 2018
"Four years age we went to similar camps (also at the end of March) and the wildlife was extraodinary. This year the wildlife was more touch-and-go. At all camps we could drive for several hours and see few animals, and then we would encounter many animals, similar to our 2014 experience. What we were did not realize was that the 2014 trip coincided with exceptional early water, and our 2018 trip was the normal dry period. Kanana was so dry that we could not use the boat, and were able to mokoro only in a single channel. Our 'satisfactory' ranking simply reflects picking the wrong time to visit. If this was our first visit we would have ranked the trip much higher.
Thank you for ensuring that all camps were aware of our food preferences. All camps worked to accomodate them. With the exception of Little Tubu, all camps served vegetarian rather than vegan meals. The meals at Little Tubu were incredibly delicious, and the chef is fantastic.
With the exception of Savute Safari Lodge, we enjoyed the diversity of lodges and experiences. Savute was a poor choice for us for five reasons: disregard for acceptable viewing of wildlife; excessive crowding of vehicles (we knew this was a national park, and anticipated seeing other cars, but not so many and so constantly); so-so guide (our guide sometimes made comments that indicated he was a knowledgeable guide, but he generally said little and rarely shared this knowledge); rodents in our rooms (which were otherwise very nice, and had wonderful porches); and overall a lower quality in food, service, and facilities, compared to our other camps."
Thank you for ensuring that all camps were aware of our food preferences. All camps worked to accomodate them. With the exception of Little Tubu, all camps served vegetarian rather than vegan meals. The meals at Little Tubu were incredibly delicious, and the chef is fantastic.
With the exception of Savute Safari Lodge, we enjoyed the diversity of lodges and experiences. Savute was a poor choice for us for five reasons: disregard for acceptable viewing of wildlife; excessive crowding of vehicles (we knew this was a national park, and anticipated seeing other cars, but not so many and so constantly); so-so guide (our guide sometimes made comments that indicated he was a knowledgeable guide, but he generally said little and rarely shared this knowledge); rodents in our rooms (which were otherwise very nice, and had wonderful porches); and overall a lower quality in food, service, and facilities, compared to our other camps."
Arranged By Megan Green
Thamo Telele
"Royal Tree Lodge review"
1 night
Arrived
18 Mar 2018
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Average
Service
Good
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Kalahari Plains Camp
"Kalahari Plains Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
19 Mar 2018
"Lovely camp, friendly staff, good food, relaxing and pleasing atmosphere.
Our guide was Paul, who worked with us to see and experience wildlife; at one spot we simply sat for 30 minutes and watched all the wildlife around us - oryx, eland, honey badger, bat eared fox, guinea fowl."
Our guide was Paul, who worked with us to see and experience wildlife; at one spot we simply sat for 30 minutes and watched all the wildlife around us - oryx, eland, honey badger, bat eared fox, guinea fowl."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Kanana
"Kanana review"
3 nights
Arrived
21 Mar 2018
"Most comfortable jeep of our trip! Only 2 rows of seats, each with padded arm rests that raise and lower and can be used as camera rests, and lots of leg room.
Very good guide, and welcoming friendly staff.
All meals are family style at fixed times, which requires the guide to be very mindful of how long it takes to return, regardless of the viewing opportunities. I would prefer to have flexibillity in dining times, particularly dinner (8pm is a bit late for us)."
Very good guide, and welcoming friendly staff.
All meals are family style at fixed times, which requires the guide to be very mindful of how long it takes to return, regardless of the viewing opportunities. I would prefer to have flexibillity in dining times, particularly dinner (8pm is a bit late for us)."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Savute Safari Lodge
"Savute Safari Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
24 Mar 2018
"Be forewarned: Ground squirrels enter cabins both day and surprisingly night as well. Manager is well aware and as part of the welcome speech warns incoming guests to lock away all important items so the squirrels do not destroy them. It was disconcerting to have these rodents, as well as either a large mouse or small rat, running in the rafters, and to find their droppings on our luggage.
Uninspired guide. The Lodge policy (echoing the Park policy) is a maximum of 3 vehicles, no more than 5 minutes each, when observing an animal. The reality is different: We consistently had all 6 of the lodge vehicles at most obervations, plus other lodges and self-drives. At one point 10 different vehicles chased and circled two wild dogs, even cutting between the dogs. On multiple occasions we had our guide simply leave, as this harrassment of wild animals is completely unacceptable.
The landscape is lovely and varied, and the wildlife is abundant, but the lodge is poorly run with (mostly) uninterested staff, and is less appealing than other camps."
Uninspired guide. The Lodge policy (echoing the Park policy) is a maximum of 3 vehicles, no more than 5 minutes each, when observing an animal. The reality is different: We consistently had all 6 of the lodge vehicles at most obervations, plus other lodges and self-drives. At one point 10 different vehicles chased and circled two wild dogs, even cutting between the dogs. On multiple occasions we had our guide simply leave, as this harrassment of wild animals is completely unacceptable.
The landscape is lovely and varied, and the wildlife is abundant, but the lodge is poorly run with (mostly) uninterested staff, and is less appealing than other camps."
Poor
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor
Location
Good
Service
Poor
Activities
Terrible
Rooms
Good
Food
Poor
Facilities
Terrible
Little Tubu
"Little Tubu review"
3 nights
Arrived
26 Mar 2018
"A wonderful camp in all respects. Wonderful staff. Beautiful rooms, and relaxing decks with a fantastic view.
Fantastic food with meals individualized for each guest's preferences (and the only camp that managed to create truly vegan meals).
Dinner was served under the stars in a different location each night, and each arrangement had a magical atmosphere."
Fantastic food with meals individualized for each guest's preferences (and the only camp that managed to create truly vegan meals).
Dinner was served under the stars in a different location each night, and each arrangement had a magical atmosphere."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
DumaTau Camp
"DumaTau Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
29 Mar 2018
"Our guide was quite good, and the boat activities are excellant. And an excellant masseuse.
The view is lovely from the room. The rooms are on 2 levels, necessitating mindfulness when coming and going.
Duma Tau appears to rely on its reputation as a premiere camp, rather than striving to be a truly premiere camp. We missed several of the pleasing attributes of other Wilderness camps. For example. we were greeted by the manager and a cold washcloth, rather than the customary assemblage of the entire staff with beautiful singing and introductions. And when we entered the room it was clean but undecorated - at all other camps the beds are artistically decorated with towels shaped like birds and flowers and leaves strewn in beautiful arrangements. And we felt limited connection with the staff, in surprising contrast to our other camps. However, when staff realized that our anniversary was just a week away, we were surprised with a lovely decorative arrangement, including champagne, fruit and cheese - an unexpected delight.
Lunch on the boat was a wonderful experience and the best meal we had during our three day visit. Otherwise, meals were uninspired and the selections were very limited. There appears to be a bit of cost-cutting in both food and beverage selections. Both breakfast and dinner buffet are unlit so it is helpful to bring a flashlight. We several times asked to have a private table (and were assured this would be available) but at every meal we were seated with 3-6 other guests."
The view is lovely from the room. The rooms are on 2 levels, necessitating mindfulness when coming and going.
Duma Tau appears to rely on its reputation as a premiere camp, rather than striving to be a truly premiere camp. We missed several of the pleasing attributes of other Wilderness camps. For example. we were greeted by the manager and a cold washcloth, rather than the customary assemblage of the entire staff with beautiful singing and introductions. And when we entered the room it was clean but undecorated - at all other camps the beds are artistically decorated with towels shaped like birds and flowers and leaves strewn in beautiful arrangements. And we felt limited connection with the staff, in surprising contrast to our other camps. However, when staff realized that our anniversary was just a week away, we were surprised with a lovely decorative arrangement, including champagne, fruit and cheese - an unexpected delight.
Lunch on the boat was a wonderful experience and the best meal we had during our three day visit. Otherwise, meals were uninspired and the selections were very limited. There appears to be a bit of cost-cutting in both food and beverage selections. Both breakfast and dinner buffet are unlit so it is helpful to bring a flashlight. We several times asked to have a private table (and were assured this would be available) but at every meal we were seated with 3-6 other guests."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Good
Service
Average
Activities
Good
Rooms
Poor
Food
Poor
Facilities
Average
Peaceful and relaxing, and very comfortable beds. At the time of our visit (at the end of the rainy season) the nature trails were overgrown and it was difficult to locate the trail markers.
We did not locate the nearby river as the vegetation was too high and we were told it was not safe to walk there as hippos were active."