Travel reviews by Mrs P from Arizona

"Tau Pan is in a beautiful location--pictures really don't do it justice, and it was very interesting to experience a different part of Botswana. We loved this camp, but it is definitely for people who want to experience the Kalahari and see some different game, birds and vegetation. It is not for people who need to see vast quantities of large mammals at very close range.

The staff were outstanding--Lebo did a great job as manager, and all the behind the scenes staff were terrific. Our guide, Hector, is a treasure--a truly wonderful person and the best guide imaginable. If I can return to Botswana, I will try to search out Hector and go to wherever he is working. We also loved our tracker KG--he has so much to offer, not only with his tracking skills, but his general knowledge of the bush.

I wish I had made the effort to find out more about his upbringing and culture; unfortunately it was not until the last morning that I spoke to him about these things. The food was tasty; I don't know how they make such great meals in the middle of nowhere. It is great that they are using solar power, however, the rooms are very dark in the evenings--especially the bathroom area. People might want to bring a good torch. We had a wonderful time there and would definitely go back."

"Muchenje is in a beautiful location, and the the all-day river trip was the highlight. It is a bigger and less personal camp than the others we stayed at which is why we gave it a couple goods--however, this is really just personal preference for smaller camps. If you want to visit Chobe, I would guess this is the best place to stay . The guiding was not up to the Kwando standards, but perfectly adequate, and the guides were all personable.

Aside from the river trip, the activity we enjoyed most at Muchenje was the visit to a local village compound and the school. This was our only chance on the trip to interact with the locals other than the staff at the camps, and we very much appreciated it. I encourage visitors to take advantage of this if they are at all interested in some interaction with the Botswana people. We also enjoyed the walk we took with JJ."

"As at the other Kwando camps we stayed at, the staff were terrific. Our guide, TK and tracker, James, were wonderful--cheerful, patient and knowledgeable. It was very special to find the pack of wild dogs, since they had not been seen for a couple weeks prior to our visit, and it the dogs were the main reason we had chosen this camp.

It was so fun to drive off road and track the animals--TK and James not only found the dogs, but also the 3 cheetah brothers. I loved sitting on the deck of the camp during the day--great birdwatching!

The tents were older; we understand that they are due to be redone."

"We saw the most wildlife at this camp, and Kwara is just great all the way around. As at the other Kwando camps, the guides and trackers are outstanding--we had Jacob and Justice.

The camp's location on the lagoon was scenic and entertaining with all the wildlife which could be seen from it--hippos, warthogs, monkeys and some good birds."