Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs L from Lincoln
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
3
Excursions taken
0
A memorable experience
Botswana between 1 Nov 2010 and 9 Nov 2010
"We were a little apprehensive about the trip not knowing quite what to expect but overall it was very enjoyable. My wife was wondering why we had only booked 8 nights but realised once we had been there a few days that getting up at 5.30 every day, being jolted about on the trucks for several hours and the heat meant that it was quite tiring, so 8 nights was just about right.
The wildlife experience was really fantastic and we loved every minute of the game drives dispite being bounced about. The sundowners were magical.
We met lots of friendly people from many different countries during the trip and made a number of friends.
We were surprised at the working conditions for the staff at the camps. From what we discovered the camp catering staff stayed there for 3 months at a time and then had two weeks off we think. The driver seemed to work 3 months on with one month off. Not sure about the spotter. This may be normal by Botswana standards but some of the women we spoke to had young children so being away from them for 3 months at a time seemed hard.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The only aspect of the trip that caused any concern, apart from the few comments on the camps, was the matter of tips. Most people we spoke to (from different tour compamies) were uncertain about what was normal or expected.
In these situations a lot depends on how much people depend on tips to make a decent wage and this was not clear. Nearly all the staff were friendly and helpful so if they needed the tips we would be happy to give them. While we would want to reward exceptional service in many counties (South Africa as we found which we went on to after Botswana) tell you in most restaurants that a 10% tip is expected at least.
A bit more definite guidance would have been appreciated. The British find tipping a difficult subject at the best of times!
The only aspect of the trip that caused any concern, apart from the few comments on the camps, was the matter of tips. Most people we spoke to (from different tour compamies) were uncertain about what was normal or expected. In these situations a lot depends on how much people depend on tips to make a decent wage and this was not clear.
Nearly all the staff were friendly and helpful so if they needed the tips we would be happy to give them. While we would want to reward exceptional service in many counties (South Africa as we found which we went on to after Botswana) tell you in most restaurants that a 10% tip is expected at least. A bit more definite guidance would have been appreciated. The British find tipping a difficult subject at the best of times!"
The wildlife experience was really fantastic and we loved every minute of the game drives dispite being bounced about. The sundowners were magical.
We met lots of friendly people from many different countries during the trip and made a number of friends.
We were surprised at the working conditions for the staff at the camps. From what we discovered the camp catering staff stayed there for 3 months at a time and then had two weeks off we think. The driver seemed to work 3 months on with one month off. Not sure about the spotter. This may be normal by Botswana standards but some of the women we spoke to had young children so being away from them for 3 months at a time seemed hard.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The only aspect of the trip that caused any concern, apart from the few comments on the camps, was the matter of tips. Most people we spoke to (from different tour compamies) were uncertain about what was normal or expected.
In these situations a lot depends on how much people depend on tips to make a decent wage and this was not clear. Nearly all the staff were friendly and helpful so if they needed the tips we would be happy to give them. While we would want to reward exceptional service in many counties (South Africa as we found which we went on to after Botswana) tell you in most restaurants that a 10% tip is expected at least.
A bit more definite guidance would have been appreciated. The British find tipping a difficult subject at the best of times!
The only aspect of the trip that caused any concern, apart from the few comments on the camps, was the matter of tips. Most people we spoke to (from different tour compamies) were uncertain about what was normal or expected. In these situations a lot depends on how much people depend on tips to make a decent wage and this was not clear.
Nearly all the staff were friendly and helpful so if they needed the tips we would be happy to give them. While we would want to reward exceptional service in many counties (South Africa as we found which we went on to after Botswana) tell you in most restaurants that a 10% tip is expected at least. A bit more definite guidance would have been appreciated. The British find tipping a difficult subject at the best of times!"
Arranged By Lucy Copson
Lagoon Camp
"Lagoon Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
1 Nov 2010
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Lebala Camp
"Lebala Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
4 Nov 2010
"We did not find this camp as friendly as the other two.
The driver and tracker were very good and we had good game viewing. The food and drink were excellent considering this is a bush camp.
The tent should have been the best since it was newer and more spacious that at other camps and more luxuriously furnished. However, from the outset there was a strong smell of the gas used to heat the immersion heater pervading the tent and outside on the veranda as well. This was rather a worry and not very pleasant to wake up to in the night.
The immersion heater did not work properly and so it was never possible to have a shower during our stay which thankfully was only 2 days. We did report the gas and heater problems twice to the manageress but although she said she would get someone to look at them nothing seemed to change. While we were ther another tent had continual problems with their electricity as the batteries kept failing.
While we had a good time here the shortcomings rather spoiled our stay."
The driver and tracker were very good and we had good game viewing. The food and drink were excellent considering this is a bush camp.
The tent should have been the best since it was newer and more spacious that at other camps and more luxuriously furnished. However, from the outset there was a strong smell of the gas used to heat the immersion heater pervading the tent and outside on the veranda as well. This was rather a worry and not very pleasant to wake up to in the night.
The immersion heater did not work properly and so it was never possible to have a shower during our stay which thankfully was only 2 days. We did report the gas and heater problems twice to the manageress but although she said she would get someone to look at them nothing seemed to change. While we were ther another tent had continual problems with their electricity as the batteries kept failing.
While we had a good time here the shortcomings rather spoiled our stay."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Excellent
Service
Average
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Poor
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Kwara Camp
"Kwara Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
6 Nov 2010
"A very friendly camp with lovely staff who made us very welcome. The driver and tracker were enthusiastic and knowledgable. In common with other camps they tended to concentrate on big game while we were sometimes interested in stopping for birds and smaller wildlife but we suspect this is what most visitors want. We did often have a 'sunalreadydowner' as they tracked something big.
Overall the game viewing was very good and we had a couple of very close encounters with lions, a hippo who made it clear he did not like us so close when we were in a mokoro and the tracker made a spectacular jump from the spotting seat to the safety of the truck when we nearly ran over a 8 foot black mamba. All very memorable stuff.
The food and drink were very good considering this is a bush camp. Lots of bottled water is consumed but one really needs plenty of liquids in the heat. Hopefully the empty bottle are recycled.
The only quibble was that our tent (number 6) did not seem very insect proof, as at night we had plenty of wildlife in the tent if the light was on."
Overall the game viewing was very good and we had a couple of very close encounters with lions, a hippo who made it clear he did not like us so close when we were in a mokoro and the tracker made a spectacular jump from the spotting seat to the safety of the truck when we nearly ran over a 8 foot black mamba. All very memorable stuff.
The food and drink were very good considering this is a bush camp. Lots of bottled water is consumed but one really needs plenty of liquids in the heat. Hopefully the empty bottle are recycled.
The only quibble was that our tent (number 6) did not seem very insect proof, as at night we had plenty of wildlife in the tent if the light was on."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
In common with all the camps the driver and tracker tend to concentrate on big game and to ignore birds and smaller wildlife at times which we would often be interested in also. If there was a chance of tracking a lion or leopard they tended to ignore everything else, but we think this is what most visitors probably want.
Having just four people to a truck was good. We also really enjoyed the sundowners!"