Malaria Free Safaris

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.   

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!!

Our agent was friendly, knowledgable, responsive and worked hard to put together a great trip that did not blow our budget. The trip was incredible. We started with 3 nights in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe at a lodge that provided 5 star service and accomodations. The game drives there were a bit more tame than our later safari activity at Sabi Sands but we saw lots of elephants, Zebra, Giraffe and even a lion. Every transfer was arranged and if anything could have been upgraded perhaps it was in this area though the transfers were private and vehicles adequate. 

Our next stop was Sabi Sands reserve where we stayed at Savanah lodge. They were terrific in every way. The guides and trackers were top notch. We saw all of the big five as well as wild dogs and other animals. Great food and room as well as personal touches made this place special and overall a great value and choice among the many options. 

We flew to Capetown where we started at an elegant old world hotel on the waterfront, great choice. Trips to the cape point and wine country were very nice. If we were to change our itinerary at all it would have been to stay one less night in Capetown and stay one night in wine country on our way to the next stop which was at Grootbos a world class high end resort on the whale coast. Terrific high end cuisine, wonderful private suites and incredible views were the highlights and a great way to finish our trip. 

Thanks to our agent for making our vacation the best one yet!!

Our safari travel company and our tour designer were the perfect choice for our 3+ week southern Africa vacation. We have used Zicasso referrals for several monthlong vacations, including Vietnam [2015], and this 27 day trip to southern Africa [2 Tanzania safari locations, Zanzibar Island for a beach stay, then into South Africa's Cape Town and Franschhoek in the Winelands, and finally several days the Dulini Private Game Reserve in the Sabi Sands section of Kruger National Park. Our travel agent recommended terrific lodgings (save one, more on that later) and arrangements including transfers were flawless. We have already begun a conversation with her about a future trip to the Maldives or Seychelles. She wisely steered us to the right regions for safari for our January/February travel, knowledgeably aware of where to have the best viewing opportunities, she listened to our preferences and understood our style of travel perfectly.  I cannot recommend this agent and her safari travel company highly enough.

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.