Travel reviews by The Ss from Shrewsbury

"A well-run , quiet place with a nice garden. Well located for the falls which are undoubtedly a spectacular sight - well worth a 6am start to have them almost to yourself .

Spotting a Paradise Flycatcher by the hotel pool was a nice surprise!
Recommended for a VF stopover

The menu for the restaurant a bit limited for vegetarians - instead, walk for 10 minutes to the world-class pizza place at the train tracks and eat wonderfully well."

"We loved this camp and the wonderful team working there ( Moses, Savanna et al)
We were lucky to have it to ourselves for some of our time

We experienced freak weather that washed out a couple of drives but gave us incredible thunder and lightening in the bush as compensation.

The strange weather and the long grasses combined so that our sightings were very limited ( no predators other than hyaena on last day ) but nevertheless we loved the place as the green landscape was wonderful and Moses was such an insightful guide

We would like to return but at a different time of year.

Private guiding at Camp Hwange: Excellent

Moses is a legend and deserves to be. Having a tracker and also a trainee guide on board with us meant that we saw all that was feasible.

The walks were exciting and we got close to an elephant even if the buffalo eluded us.

We had a 7 year old with us and really appreciated that the team assessed her on her own terms rather than apply a crude age limit. As a result, we were able to walk as a family and felt very safe and privileged doing so."

"As before [Ed: see below]"

"A profusion of wildlife; a beautiful area; a terrific team at the camp; a life enhancing experience.

Josiah ( guide ) and Eba ( tracker ) excelled themselves - one off-road chase after a pack of dogs was a masterclass in driving combined with spatial awareness combined with deep knowledge of animal behaviour. Thanks goodness the mopane bushes bounce back !!

Having an elephant eating the bushes around our tent ( in effect about 3m away from us ) and getting it’s tusks tangled in the wooden veranda was a great highlight amongst many . Sitting with a pack of dogs interacting excitedly was also utterly memorable . And, sharing Josiah’s excitement, the number of Malachite Kingfishers spotted on our boat trip was something of a record - spectacularly beautiful birds !

We would recommend Splash very highly indeed. They were terrific with our 7 yr old daughter too.

Private guiding at Splash Cam: Excellent

Josiah and Eba were incredible. It wasn’t just the big things ( though they did a great job finding those ), it was the nightjar camouflaged on a tree trunk, the 4 varieties of kingfisher ( malachite ; grey ; striped ; pied ), the evident love of the place that shone through.

Josiah’s deep knowledge of the lion clans made for an almost Shakesperean account of their dynastic history !"

"We stayed here 1 night because we needed to get a PCR for our daughter. It was essentially a stopover.

It was fine but was overpriced for what it offered ."

"We were very pleased that we decided to spend a couple of nights in Maun before leaving on safari .This was for two reasons: First , we wanted to be fully recovered from the flight before moving to the camps; second, we wanted to see a little of a Botswanan town .The second reason became much the most important and later , as we moved to the camps , we found that without exception that all the Botswanan staff were really pleased that we had bothered to see "their town" !

Marina's is a well run , calm and very friendly place in a quiet location ....ideal for acclimatisation Marina herself is great fun!.The best basket makers in Botswana have their place just opposite Marina's entrance which makes for an excellent stop.We bought some beautiful items , stored them with Wilderness Safaris , and picked them up on our way back for the flight home .
Highly recommended"

"Our whole experience at Duma Tau was superb.The camp was beautiful and the staff were wonderfully friendly and attentive ....the best "customer service" we have ever experienced and that was because it was all so natural and unforced .

Our guide Ron ( Masule) with his trusty LandRover "Captain" was inspirational and tremendous fun too .He provided us with both sensational sightings and great friendship .We were very sorry indeed to leave there .

In 4 nights we saw Leopard, Wild Dogs ,Honey Badger , Civet , Wild Cat ,Dwarf, Selous and Slender Mongoose , Giraffe , a large herd of Buffalo , 5 types of antelope, Spotted Hyaena, Lions , herd of 300 Zebra and several large Elephant groups as well as around 70 different species of birds ."

"To see the Okavango in flood at Kwetsani was a great privilege .The highlight here is the place itself , the unbelievable skies , the magical light reflected off the water .We are keen birdwatchers and Kwetsani is superb for wading birds but also some real specials like the Rosy-throated Longclaw which , rather amazingly , we saw twice ( much to the mock outrage of our guide in a later camp who had been trying to see this bird for nearly 20 years!!). We will also never forget the leaping Red Lechwes , splashing thrugh the glistening water .

The camp is beautifully situated and agan the staff were quite excellent. Our guide OP was fascinating on local culture as well as a superb spotter and interpreter of the fascinating ecology , geology and character of the Delta...we now hold termites in the very highest regard ! He was also a great friend to us and a man of huge integrity , justly proud of his country .

Beautiful rooms , excellent food"

"When we arrived at Chitabe , the camp seemed nicely small and intimate .It was only on the second day that we realised that that was in part because earlier in the season most of the communal area had been burnt down!! That the excellent team of staff here had made that so unapparent to us is just one tribute to their hospitality !

Hee our guide was Simon Byron accompanied by Chief as his tracker .Simon put David Attenborugh to shame with his astonshingly insightful guiding...it was not just a privilege to be in this remarkable place , but also to share the time with him .

In four nights we saw ( just to mention the exceptional ) a pair of 6 week old leopards ( we watched them for about 3 hrs) , a stunning cheetah ( we shadowed him for about 30 mins ) , Porcupine, a fishtrap full of Yellow Billed Storks , Pink-Backed Pelicans ,Marabou Storks , and tremendous nightime sightings ( very close to) of lions roaring territorially and of an adult female leopard.
Once again , we were torn apart to have to leave the place and the lovely people."