Hi Ted,
We had a great time and writing some lines on the lodges and you guys is definitely on my list of things to do.
In the mean time thanks for the great recommendations and organising the trip – everything went super-smooth and the whole family had a brilliant time – the one draw back was the holiday wasn’t long enough!
Thanks,
S Haniff 2011
Hey Ed,
I was meaning to write to you.
Firstly, we really had a wonderful time, it was the perfect trip. Thanks again for your help putting it together. Couple of quick things that you might find helpful
- River Club, good way to start the trip
- Lebala was great. The staff, experience, everything was great. We had an amazing guide (Kanowee) and tracker (Borman). Game viewing was good, saw a lot of cats including cheetah eating zebra, lions eating zebra and a leopard on the last morning – so we felt quite lucky. Based on our experience and others we spoke to, Kwando camps seem to be a bit more special than Wilderness
- Jacana was good, but didn’t seem as special. You suggested two nights and I wanted to go for three, as much for pace as anything. On balance I think your approach was best. There is alot of water which was wonderful to see. I would really recommend not expecting much in terms of game viewing as the island where you drive is very small & cut off given the amount of water (especially if you have done a land safari before). All the water activities were very good, boat rides, dug out, fishing etc very enjoyable. Guide wasn’t as good as Lebala.
- Vamizi, impossible to leave. Absolutely incredible. Can’t recommend it highly enough. Staff, diving, food, accommodation all fantastic. We just want to go back
Cheers
A 2011
I have been very remiss in not contacting you since our return from Botswana.
We had a fabulous time – thanks so much for recommending a marvellous
itinerary and such good places to stay. We loved all of it, without
exception, and saw so much wildlife. My favourites, there always
are, were Tau Pan, for its bleached grassy landscapes and its lions ( we watched a female lion move her tiny cubs to a new and safer den.) and Little Vumbura where we took part in a wild dog hunt, and then later, watched the aftermath of a wild dog kill and a fight with a
scavenging hyena. We had a marvellous guide in Little Vumbura too -
easily the best of the trip. Nxai Pan perhaps had the least to offer
- the animals all to be in the centre of the pan – and of course, as a
reserve, the vehicles couldn’t leave the roads. But we did see
leopard!
I remember you told me your mother is a keen birder. Tell her we saw
a pair of Pel’s Fishing Eagle in Little Vumbura. (I confess I hadn’t
heard of it before we arrived – but it seems to be the bird of all
birds to have seen.) See if she is impressed!
Thanks again for your help.
L Ramsay 2011
I have just ridden a five day safari with Okavango Horse Safaris in northern Botswana. It was absolutely FANTASTIC. There is a young, enthusiastic team of helpers, some of whom were recruited from the “escapethecity” website, and of course PJ and Barney Bestelink, the owners. The horses are amazingly well behaved and quiet around the game. We rode through the beautiful delta flood water about 50% of the time and saw masses of game and I counted one hundred and two species of birds. On almost every ride we saw elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, roan antelope, impala, kudu, tssesebe, red lechwe, reedbuck, wildebeest, duiker, steenbok, warthog, side striped jackal, baboon and monkey. We rode through a variety of outstanding scenery crossing dry islands to vast floodplains and open grassy pans. One day we were standing horse belly deep in water with a breeding herd of elephant on one side, a herd of buffalo on the other and giraffe, zebra and impala in front of us. We spent some nights in the comfortable base camp and also spent two nights in a fly camp where we heard the lion roaring and the hyena laughing all through the night. We saw a wild dog kill and every sunrise and sunset was dramatic and stunning. This is the ultimate, unforgettable bush experience.
S Ward 2011
We just got back from a fantastic holiday in Botswana. Little bit tired, but that is part of the game. I want to thank you for all your help. It was absolutely an unforgettable holiday and it was also great to see how Savuti has changed into a real paradise with all this water. We have seen there a mother Leopard, father leopard and their cub of 3 months. Overwhelming. At Duba Plains we have seen a buffalokill by a female lion and we saw a pride of 13 lions. They were all eating after also another buffalo kill and also 3 of their cubs of 3 months old joined the meal.
At Chitabe Lediba we have also seen a very relaxed male leopard. A mother cheeta with 3 cubs of approx. 1 year old, another female leopard and lions males and females. BEAUTIFUL!
Julian, we have enjoyed every minute of this holiday and everything went smoothly.
Thanks again for everything and as soon as we have decided what we will do for next year or another time we will come back to you for information.
Kind regards,
I Wardenaar 2010
