Great Waters of African Safari: Okavango Delta, Selinda & Victoria Falls

All travel between camps was well coordinated and all of the accommodations were excellent, the job your travel company did was outstanding in every way.

Overall our trip was spectacular at each camp with one exception - Hwange, but this was a staffing issue.

Our comments on each are here:

01. Camp Moremi - 3 nights - The personnel at this camp were outstanding and very friendly and helpful. Our guide was very knowledgeable and highly qualified, good at finding great fauna and fun to be with. It did help that we could go off trail a bit. The accommodations were excellent, the lodge, food and refreshments were great, the location was optimal for land or river excursions and the overall experience was fabulous. Wanted to spend more time here!

02. Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge - 2 nights - The same as above, very nice & knowledgeable proprietor who spent time with us looking at the stars and learning the history of Botswana. Our guide was also knowledgeable and friendly, nice accommodations, food and refreshments were great, intimate experience, good game viewing after a long drive but well worth it and quite interesting location especially with the pan below the lodge itself attracting different wildlife each day and night. 2 nights was appropriate for this camp.

03. Chobe Game Lodge - 3 nights - The  lodge here is more like a nice hotel, but with an excellent location & also within the park. Again, Our guide was very knowledgeable, good at finding wildlife and fun to be with. The lodge area, and refreshments were great, the food not so good, just OK, but the staff were very friendly and helpful. The location was optimal for land or river excursions and the overall experience was fabulous. Wanted to spend more time here!

04. Victoria Falls Hotel - 2 nights - This was a culture shock after Botswana, but it's a nice hotel with a good view and location - just a lot of civilization after the first 3 camps. Hotel drinks A+, food C-. We did the hike around the falls, lunch at the overlook and a chopper ride above the falls which was excellent and the sunset cruise on the Zambezi was really the highlight of this experience where we could return to the wilderness on the river and observe the wildlife, the boat staff was excellent and the snacks & refreshments were great - as was the wildlife viewing. 2 nights was appropriate for this place.

05. Camp Hwange - 3 nights - This experience had some great highs and some low points as well. Upon arriving at the camp from Vic Falls we were picked up by an excellent, knowledgeable and friendly guide who wore a Camp Hwange uniform. We had a long ride into the camp from the entrance in which we viewed a lot of wildlife and made several stops. The lodge had a very nice staff and excellent location for viewing the pan directly in front of the camp for wildlife, the accommodations, food and refreshments were also great. Our same guide took us out that afternoon for a nice sundowner and animal viewing that included some spectacular nighlife immediately after dinner.  At dinner the first night at dinner we met our next guide and learned that he was one of two contract guides, and not part of the regular staff.

The next day with this new contract guide we spent the morning hiking without much success in wildlife viewing and searching for a buffalo herd. He did not have his radio turned on to communicate back with the lodge or other guides during the morning but finally turned the radio on at noon to notify the lodge that we were returning for lunch at which time we immediately learned of some lions to go see from another guide.  The afternoon was similar in that we were still in search of the elusive buffalo herd and didn't really see much wildlife. We learned at dinner that the other contract guide and his group seen a multitude of wildlife over the course of the entire day, but without our radio communication we never had a heads up.

The third day we went on a day trip heading out the road towards the entrance we came in on the first day, again our guide did not have his radio on and was searching for the buffalo herd without success. We did a morning hike and saw practically nothing, then found a spot for a late lunch during which our guide went and took a nap under a tree. After lunch we we finally drove to a large pan filled with elephants which we viewed for 2 hours, then drove back to our camp, stopping at a pan with a herd of hippos briefly for photos. It was nightfall when we arrived for an very nice picnic style dinner away from the camp. We also viewed some nighlife that evening which was spectacular.

The next morning we left, and we had our original official Camp Hwange guide from the day we arrived doing the driving - and again saw an abundance of wildlife along the way which included several stops along the way.

Bottom line - we saw more wildlife with the official camp guide going in and out of the camp than we did in two days with our contract guide. This guide was knowledgable but also a bit crabby, a little too in your face and interested in discussing peoples politics and complained that he expected bad reviews - understandably after our experience - so we left feeling that we wasted a day and a half with this guide when we could have been viewing a lot more of what Camp Hwange is known for. I am optimistic that 3-4 nights in this park is appropriate, but you need a decent guide - that makes all the difference

We contacted Zicasso not knowing what to expect.  We usually plan our own trips, but this was kind of a biggie to places we were not familiar with and I thought I would like someone else to do the legwork for a change.  We wanted to go to South Africa and Botswana and mostly just see animals in the wild at Kruger National Park, but, I also wanted to go to Cape Town because I had heard wonderful things about that city. 

We provided the information requested to Zicasso, and very shortly afterward we were contacted by three agencies.  We also contacted a couple of others on our own to see what they could offer.  The ones we contacted outside of Zicasso wanted to put us on tours with lots of other people with regimented itineraries... not what we were looking for at all.  Of the three agencies that contacted us through Zicasso, one was off the charts with pricing and we were able to eliminate that one fairly quickly.  The other two were both fabulous - the tours were just what we were looking for and the people we dealt with really went out of their way to mold the itineraries to what we wanted. 

It was a really tough decision between the two remaining agencies.  I think the deciding factor ended up being this travel agent had lived in South Africa and was a guide himself, and now lived in Florida (a few hours from where we live).  I'm sure the other trip would have been wonderful, but the one we chose was really terrific. 

Everything the agent planned worked like clockwork. We were met everywhere we went, driven where we needed to go, and treated very well at each stop.  The driver meetings and checkins and border crossings and internal flights were all on schedule.

We really liked Cape Town - wish we could have spent more time there.  The hop-on-hop-off busses went very well on the first day.  We spent quite a bit of time at the harbor - what a nice place.  Unfortunately the table mountain cable car was closed due to weather.  Can’t do anything about that.  We scheduled a private tour for the next day and and it went really well - we got to see some of the main points our agent mentioned.  We needed at least 2 or 3 more days there though - maybe a week - maybe 2…

All of the preserves we visited had their own charms and amenities.  I think we probably liked Pondoro the best - it just seemed to have everything.  I liked the guides and trackers at all three preserves - each handles the drives a little differently, and all were fun.  My wife really enjoyed the drives.  This was a dream trip for her.  Except for the flights to and from SA, this was a terrific trip.  (The flights were just too long, especially the trip home.  From the time we left the preserve until the time we got home, we were traveling 42 hours.  If we should ever consider doing this again, I think we’ll break up the flights and stay a couple of days somewhere in between, both coming and going.)

The only problem we had on the trip was the weather - nothing to be done about that.  It was pretty cool and a bit drizzly in Cape Town, but we dressed for it and were fine.  When we arrived at Mashatu Tented Camp, our third preserve, a cold front arrived with us.  It was very cold the evening we got there and our evening game drive about froze our butts off.  Showering under the stars was not an option.    We huddled under the blankets, which kept us quite warm, and slept until a cold early morning game drive called - put on a bunch of layers, and set off.  But it did warm up that day, and a shower was welcome around noon.  Every day was warmer at Mashatu and more pleasant after that, and our final night, we were finally able to shower under the stars comfortably.  

Monwana, our second preserve, was very pleasant as well. We liked it there and enjoyed looking at the pond where the animals came to drink.  One of my wifes favorite memories was watching about 35 elephants march down to the pond on a particularly hot day and splash around in the pond.  The staff, as with all three places, was very nice.

Our agent must have answered a hundred questions from me from the time I first inquired until final payment.  He was always quick to respond (even once when he was on vacation.  We are currently Facebook friends and share pictures.

We had a great trip.  I talked with our safari travel agent a few times on the phone and email to talk about what we wanted to do and she recommended places that turned out to be exactly what we wanted.  I felt that our travel agent really listened to what I wanted to get out of the trip.  It was a once in a lifetime Adventure so we wanted to get it right.  Thanks!  We had three nights at each location – Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Ngoma Lodge in Botswana and Dulini Lodge in South Africa.  We were taken care of from beginning to end with people at each place to get us where we needed to go.  Generally speaking, I can’t say enough about how well we were treated during the whole trip.

Victoria Falls is spectacular!  We took the guided walk to see all the viewing sites on the Zimbabwe side of the falls.  They will rent you a poncho for $3.  I’m so glad we got them because in some places we got soaked.  Our agent recommended that if we go into town we should stop at the Elephant Walk shopping mall.  We did and ended up getting several things.  It had artists who did various crafts, so I knew we were getting original and unique mementos from our stay there.  I was really happy with the place we stayed in Victoria Falls.  When we got there, there was a mixup with the rooms.  Our agent stepped in and got it fixed right away.  Our rooms had decks that overlooked the watering hole.  It was amazing to get up in the morning, step out on my deck and see elephants, impalas and crocodiles meandering around the watering hole.  One night for dinner we had a Boma, which is kind of like an African luau with local dancing and singing.  They get everybody involved so it was a lot of fun. 

Next we drove to Ngoma Lodge in Botswana.  It was truly in the middle of nowhere so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Every aspect of it was wonderful.  The lodge was on higher ground so we overlooked the flood plains of the Chobe River.  They had a multi-level deck with lots of places to sit and enjoy the view.  In our rooms the whole wall was windows so we had a view that just went on and on.  And we had a deck with a plunge pool.  We never got to use it because we were so busy.  Near the lodge, there was a watering hole.  Each morning the zebras, giraffes, impala and more came to the watering hole to drink.  We took our meals on the deck so we could enjoy it all while we ate.  The food and the service were good.  They really pampered us.  We went on game drives each day.  One thing I really wanted to see was elephants crossing the Chobe River.  I had heard about it and seen pictures.  We saw a herd of what must have been over 100 elephants crossing the river.  It was one of my favorite highlights.  We saw lots of impalas, kudus, elephants, giraffes, and so much more.  We saw a lion stalking a kudu.  Nearby there was a herd of giraffes that got scared and ran away.  They are so graceful when they run.  They really went out of their way to ensure we had a good stay.  Our game driver grew up in a nearby village so was really familiar with the area and knew exactly where to take us for the best game viewing.

Our last stop was at Dulini Lodge.  It is a private game reserve outside of Kruger National Park in South Africa.  The room was huge with an extra-large bathroom, living room and large deck with a plunge pool.  Elephants walked in the dry river bed off of our deck.  The grounds were all grassy and covered with trees.  It was beautiful.  Every day animals came up and grazed on the grass.  We ate outside here too with elegant dinners and excellent service.  Sometimes we ate by ourselves and sometimes in small groups.  Try the kudu steak and the wart hog.  They were both delicious.  We tried lots of foods we had never heard of.  Most of them were really good.  Both lodges had expert chefs.  We went on game drives every day.  We would tell our game driver what we wanted to see and he and his tracker would look for tracks.  One time we saw three lions resting after eating their fresh kill.  In another part of the park we saw a leopard with her cub and a fresh kill in the tree.  Then we saw a lion with three cubs.  We saw so much on every game drive.

I was really pleased with the whole trip.  The locations were just what we wanted.  We were really pampered with the food, service and amenities.  We saw game on every single drive we went on.  Three nights in each place worked out really well.  I would whole heartedly recommend this safari travel company to plan your trip.

My son and I visited Tswalu Kalahari, Victoria Falls, the Okavango Delta and Great Plains in September 2016.  We had the four very different experiences and enjoyed every one of them immensely.  Our safari travel company did an excellent job organizing our trip and everything went almost flawlessly.  At the last safari camp Selinda in Great Plains, they had one tent ready for the both of us when our reservations were for two single rooms throughout.  Fortunately, the camp was not full and they were able to provide my son with another tent as specified in our reservations.  It was just a simple misunderstanding and our stay there was totally enjoyable with comfortable accommodation, excellent food, impeccable service, fascinating game drives and, above all, the wonderful guide. 

I am interested in visiting Tanzania during the wildebeest migration season perhaps in 2018 and would definitely contact this agent again for that trip.

Thank you.