Essential South Africa & Zambia Safari

We had a very enjoyable trip to Victoria Falls, back to the Republic of South Africa (via Botswana) for a typical safari experience in the Northwest Province at Madikwe Game Reserve, and then a week in the Cape.  Our travel agency suggested the Victoria Falls stop and Elephant Camp in particular.  Elephant Camp was very nice (and we were in the intimate four "tent" family camp that opened just in March) with excellent service and good food.  However, our agent oversold the opportunity to interact with the somewhat tamed elephants on the Wild Horizons/Elephant Camp Reserve.  We had literally no more than five minutes with the elephants, feeding them, so far less than we expected.  We enjoyed the visit to Victoria Falls National Park, as well as a canoe safari on the Zambezi above the falls.  We also very much enjoyed our time at Madikwe Safari Lodge, a very nice facility with an excellent guide, good food, but not always top-rate service.  However, I wish the agent had suggested the opportunity to fly in and out of Madikwe because it has an air strip, and this would have saved us a great deal of travel time doing mostly road transfers to and from Madikwe.  Our travel company was responsive to our requests for particular accommodations in Franschhoek and Cape Town, though they were different than the accommodations suggested by Born Free.  In both cases, we enjoyed our choices very much, as much because of location as because of the facilities themselves.   In Zimbabwe and Madikwe, service was not always up to par at all facilities, and meals were not always as excellent as we expected, but our travel company is not responsible for this.  

When our son left his Kindle on one of the transfers, Born Free helped track it down and get it sent by courier to catch up with us at Cape Town.  This was very helpful, but instead of charging us the cost of the courier and telling us what that cost was, they passed onto us the round figure of ZAR 500. I would have preferred transparency on that.  One of the other transfer operators officiously collected form the safari lodge things of ours (plaster imprints of animal tracks) we had asked them for--she did this while we were having breakfast our last morning.  But then the transfer operator forgot to give the things to us when she dropped us off at Oliver Tambo Airport--even though they were on the front seat of the van next to her!  Again, we were able to get these items sent by courier to catch up with us on Cape Town, but I didn't think we should bear the cost of that.   

Great relationship between ourselves and the agent. We had a general idea of what we wanted to do, but having never been to South Africa, we weren't sure what we should be aiming to do in our fortnight let alone how to plan it.

Zicasso came up with an itinerary and some options on top of that and we were able to plan our holiday. The prompt response from our travel agent was very helpful in this process.

We've never done this type of holiday before. We had some great tour guides, and the holiday was hassle free. Entrance to museums, etc were paid for by the guides and all we had to do was turn up and enjoy ourselves.

The safari in Simbavati was outstanding. we did 8 game drives and we always got to see something of interest, and we got so close to the leopards and lions! It was winter, so the nights got a bit chilly.

Cape Town was lovely, and our guide was top notch and gave us so much history about the area. We had a tour of Cape Point and went up the funicular railway. Once the weather was okay we had a fascinating visit to Robben Island (crossing was a bit rough) and got to see Nelson Mandela's cell. Taking the cable car to the top of Table Mountain was an experience, and the cloud did disappear so we could have a wonderful view of Cape Town.

We got taken on a trip to the wine region staying in a beautiful hotel in Franschhoek. We stopped off at three wineries on the way! The following day we found the Wine Tram and visited three more wineries! 

One the way back to Cape Town airport we briefly stopped at  Victor Verster prison, which is the prison famous for Mandela being released from.

The last part of our trip was Victoria Falls. We stayed away from Victoria Falls, down the gorge. We saw a bit more of Zimbabwe and a bit of village life. The Falls were outstanding, but you got very wet from the spray, I'd wish I'd worn flip flops and shorts! We also did a helicopter ride over the Zambesi and the Falls, which was quite incredible! The evening involved a trip up the Zambesi which was more interesting than expected (we saw an elephant swim across to an island).

A great fortnight, exceeded our expectations on so many levels. Thanks to Zicasso and their organisation.

In one word - AWESOME!  We are a party of 8 from NY -  we started at the PUMBA Private Game Reserve, saw every animal under the sun and more, ate wonderful food, loved the accomodations, felt like we were taken care of in every way.  Next stop was Capetown and the Mount Nelson Hotel - old world luxury and charm - beautifully appointed rooms, wonderful buffet breakfast.  We toured the Peninsula, saw the sunset from Table Mountain, hiked Lions Head - ate at the waterfront and had tons of fun at Star Dust and Moyo.  Final stop was Victoria Falls - we toured the falls from both the Zimbabwe and Zambia sides, took a dip in the devils pool and had a fantastic lunch on Livingstone Island.   We spent a morning walking with the lions - got to touch and pet them and walk thru the wilderness with them - what an experience!  We spent the day at CHOBE in Botswana and saw so many hippos and giraffes and cape buffalo.  A trip of a lifetime and all arranged by the caring staff at our tour company.  They asked what we wanted to do, listened to all our requests and made it happen for us.  Such a smooth trip from start to finish.  

This was certainly one of the best trips of my life! Initially, it was supposed to be a family trip, to celebrate my father’s milestone birthday. After many changes to the itinerary, it ended up being a trip with my best friend, more customized to our preferences. Throughout the numerous emails & phone calls, our travel designer was extremely patient in answering our questions & allowing us to further alter the itinerary. 

From the moment we landed, our trip was seamless. Our personal driver, greeted us at the airport, & gave us great information regarding Cape Town. Our hotel was stunning. A small, boutique hotel; we were regularly greeted by the owners. The entire staff was warm & friendly. Our room was more like an apartment, fit with living room & a kitchenette. We enjoyed going to Table Top Mountain, Walking Tour, Robben Island tour, the Biscuit Mill Market, the farmer’s & food markets at the Waterfront, our private drive along the coast, and eating at a few of the many restaurants in the area: Gold, Canteen, Burger & Lobster, & Bocca. Our private wine tour & stay in Franschhoek was short & beautiful. Our stay in Zimbabwe was absolutely perfect! We loved the Victoria Falls Lodge. The staff at the lodge as well at the Tour Group made us feel right at home. We cannot thank our travel designer at this travel agency enough for planning the trip of a lifetime!!

I spoke to this Africa safari travel company just about 2 months in advance of our planned trip and was very surprised about how easy it was to arrange the trip we had hoped for.  Our contact was knowledgeable and within a few days of our request, knowing our budget, she had prepared a complete itinerary to include sightseeing and wine-tasting in Cape Town and Franschhoek and 3 days safari in Sabi Sands, next to Kruger as well as 3 days in Chobe, Botswana, concluding with a day at Victoria Falls.  The best part about the entire trip was the ease with which we were able to accomplish everything.  We arranged for our international plane and told our agent the dates and she arranged for everything else.  The cost per person excluding all air and gratuities to guides was <$6000 each and we had really 4-5 star accommodations and most meals included.  The transfers were flawless as we were met at each transfer site by a greeter with our name on a board and we never worried about missing a connection. The information packet we received before the trip prepared us well and we could not have been more pleased with the results!!