Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana
Shipungo Safari & Tours
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $360 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
FR
Email Radu | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A perfect blend of adventure and comfort, highly recommended!
Our safari experience with Shipungo was truly unforgettable.
First of all, when planning, Mark is responsive and will listen to your demands to build a tailored safari based on your wishes and budget.
Then, our guide's expertise in locating the famous Savuti Marsh Pride lions was remarkable. Kem worked seamlessly with other guides in the park to ensure we had the best sightings. We were thrilled to see a wide range of animals, including a majestic leopard.
The team took exceptional care of us throughout our stay. They set up very comfortable tents equipped with beds and a toilet, ensuring we had a pleasant and convenient camping experience. Chef Shine and Left prepared delicious meals that we enjoyed immensely after our morning and afternoon drives.
The entire safari was a perfect blend of adventure and comfort. Highly recommended!
NO
Email Stephan Daus | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A surprisingly interesting trip with more animals than expected in a dry season
All the feedback can be summarized like this: Car, camp equipment, landscape/animals and guide named Voice are excellent. Food ok, shower not as promised but hygiene arrangements ok. Dry season makes it a bit harder to find animals there, but we still found plenty different species!
Detailed comments for the agency, and a few pieces of advice to other travellers:
Communications
- Guides are not always reminding us tourists of the obvious: Always bring warm clothes (sweater/jacket, thin gloves, pants, etc) for morning drives, it gets surprisingly cold in the backseat of a 4x4 at 80 km/h 06:30. Also, boat trips sometimes lack adequate shade, so always bring sunscreen and sunglasses. And of course, ALWAYS bring binoculars (~10x30).
- Dietary restrictions (lactose-free diet for one person) had not been communicated to the chef at the camp.
Activities
- Our guide Voice was excellent. He worked very hard driving us around (6+4 hrs on the second day!) trying to find us animals and birds to watch. It is dry season so we knew it would be difficult to find anything. We were happy to see more than we expected. Unfortunately, no big cats but that is not your fault. Voice (and Left) also knew a lot of bird species and animals which was very useful. For our entire stay in Botswana we observed (and got the names of) 35 land animals and 49 bird species. So we are very satisfied.
- We also enjoy talking to locals about culture, society, politics, and getting to know people. We felt on the first evening that the crew were a bit distant; not socializing much. The chef (Rap) and the camp manager (Left) had planned to eat by themselves. We heard that this is because some wealthy guests do not want to have to eat with the crew. However, in our European and East-Asian cultures this is very strange, so we invited them to join us. Still, they did not seem very talkative, nor felt comfortable talking about their families, society or even sports. The second evening they opened up much more and we felt more comfortable. It is okay if they are introvert and shy. And Voice might be tired after driving so much. But I really hope they have not received instructions from Shipungo to avoid talking with the guests. Experiencing Botswana is more than just the animals. Especially since many of the animals are shy, so it would be nice to have some “entertainment” in the evening, such as just learning about Botswana.
Accommodations and meals
- Camp is of very high quality, and we felt spoiled being treated well by three staff. Bush toilet was good, tent was good, beds were good.
- We were promised in writing and with pictures that there would be a simple shower, but there was not. Voice explained that it is very dry there so water access is limited. Although we understand the situation, and we actually feel it would have been unnecessary to bring 50 extra liters just for a couple of showers, we felt a bit misled given what we were promised. They did provide water basins with a few liters of water for cleaning ourselves, but we did not realized before we left that we could have taken the supplied smaller towels into the water to clean ourselves. For the future, it would be advisable to remind the guests of this opportunity. We just used the water for cleaning our hands… It should also be said that we did not get that sweaty – either we are int the shadow of the car, or at the camp during night. Minimal personal hygiene is more about the private parts, underarms, feet and hands. Having a better setup for this would have been nice.
- Meals were decent, but not very exciting. Zimbabwean and Botswanan tour operators should not underestimate local cuisine, as not all tourists want to eat European food when travelling to Africa. We got spaghetti, rice, pasta and salad as accessories to our meat. Pap would have been more natural. Some other kinds of vegetables and starches such as pap would have been more exciting. We got such local food in the Okavanga Delta camp (another trip) so it is possible.
- Also, we were promised according to the itinerary to have dessert on the second dinner as well, but we did not get it. Even if I could not eat some diary products, my wife could have eaten it. Though there was plenty of food in total.
- We also informed beforehand that we would prefer the vegetarian sausages but we only got meat.
Other experiences
- Garbage is a huge problem (everywhere in the world). It gets sad when seeing it right outside (and sometimes inside) the parks. Local and central government must step up and fix this.
- Considering how important tourism is for the company and guides such as Voice, the government should disallow tourists travelling by themselves into the parks, or charge them much more than cars travelling with a guide. Those tourists leave very little money in the country, except for a small entrance fee.
Transportation
- Pickup was delayed 30 min, without us being informed. 20 min past we were informed by the hotel that they would be delayed 20 min… In the future, consider providing WhatsApp-contact information between guests and the crew for these things. Similar thing happened with another trip we went to (different company). And after picking us up, they went to collect water tanks and fuel, making us wait even further (collecting the water in the village near the park makes sense to do on the way, we are just referring to the water tanks). These kinds of delays indicate poor planning and lack of respect of the guests’ time. It would look better to arrange such things beforehand.
- Car has good quality seats.
- Much longer trip to the park than expected, but nothing to do about that. Bring an audio book.
CH
Email Mia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing and exhilarating
Our guide Voice was amazing. He picked us up at 6a.m and even brought us some blankets for the cold morning!
He was all the time very considerate and explaining everything to us. We saw a lot of animals and the whole day was just perfect! We would book this tour again anytime!
Email Pieter Koster | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent 1 day Moremi tour from Maun
During April 2024 we, a party of 4, were collected promptly at 06.00am from Audi camp by Kem, who was our driver and guide for the day. The whole tour was a pleasant experience, and Kem a knowledgeable guide. The tour included breakfast at the Moremi South gate, and lunch in the middle of the bush. We can certainly recommend Shipungo Safari & Tours to other travelers, and would most definitely make use of their services again.
Email Rumu and family | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic team led by Mark who are dedicated to providing you with a tailor-made trip of a lifetime.
We cannot recommend Shipungo highly enough - our experience from the very first email to the final drop off at Maun airport was 5 star - communications, service, value for money, reliability and the tour itself.
Mark was very accommodating and flexible through every stage of planning our trip; including making some changes at a late stage when our travel plans had to be adjusted. He answered all my queries patiently and very promptly, every question was thoughtfully answered.
The trip itself was conducted by 'The Dream Team' led by Kem; a highly knowledgeable guide, Shine; a very talented creative chef who baked fresh bread every day and prepared delicious meals that were hard to believe were rustled up in the bush; Left and Aaron; a wonderful double-act in charge of camp logistics and always considerate of our comfort. We were so well looked after by the team and enjoyed many memorable days and nights together which we will cherish and remember with great fondness.
The safari itself was extraordinary. We saw 4 cheetah, numerous leopards, hyena, jackal and lions and had an extraordinary encounter with a pack of endangered wild dogs amidst a thunderstorm. All this as well as incredible birding and encounters with herds of elephant, hippo, zebra, wildebeest, antelope and giraffe. Despite our safari being in the 'shoulder season' and on the cusp between wet and dry, we were spoilt for choice of where to look on many occasions; there was so much wildlife activity all around us.
Shipungo are also committed to supporting local communities and charities. At our request, they shared details of the needs of two schools that we delivered donations to in Maun and Khwai; which made our safari experience all the more meaningful.
So in summary, don't hesitate to book with Shipungo who you can trust to ensure will have your interests at heart and are a very caring company committed to ensuring you have a memorable safari experience.
A very big thank you Mark, Kem, Shine, Left and Aaron. We would love to go on another adventure with you!
CH
Email Rémi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very reactive tour operator and great service
We went for a customized 9 days tour in Kalahari and northern Botwana, organization was very effective, all question were answered in very short time.
We had a great mobile safari experience, the team was very dedicated to make the tour as good as possible and to feel in the bush like at home. Problems (which are expectable in the bush) with solved very quickly and the operator was very concerned to give us the best possible safari.
SK
Email Jan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Veru professional and flexible.
Very good communication with the tour operator. They were able to provide a customised product based on our specifi requirements (transport from Kasane to Maun crossing Cobe NP and Moremi Game reserve) and we also enjoyed the standard product (3-day camping safari in Okavango Delta). According to my research, they provide best value for money (only slightly more expensive than the cheapest option but with bigger, more confortable tents). The campin was just for our family, we didn't chare with other tourists. Savute (in Chobe) and Okavango Delta are beautiful and unforgettable. Very good guides who now the animals as they were born in Moremi or Okavango delta and lived there nomadic life when they were kids. I strongly recommend, you will not regret.
Email Cielle van Vuuren | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional, ensuring things ran smooth, kind and excellent
Me and my son just finished with an excellent 5 day 4 night tailored tour with Shipungo - the communication and service was punctual and professional. We had an amazing time at the magkadigkadi salt pans driven there by PH in a very comfortable and clean car. We were then taken to see the giant baobab and meerkats by Oneal. We enjoyed our stay at Gweta lodge. We then had a special night travelling by mokoro to camp in the delta. Our guide Heaven took us for an evening an early morning bushwalk . He was so knowledgeable about the delta flora and fauna and shared jokes and stories . Two wonderful ladies set up the campsite and helped Tour the chef cook up a delicious meal. Our last two nights we went with Kem , Tour and KG to camp in Maremi and this was incredible - KG and Tour set up a very comfortable campsite with shower and toilet and safari style dining tent. Kem went above and beyond to take us on game drives in the evening and early morning to maximise our time in a new and comfortable open safari vehicle. We saw two cheetahs , lions , jackal , wild dogs , hyenas , honey badgers, elephants, giraffes and antelope and spent some hours watching a leopard which was very special . Tour and KG supplied delicious food. For a private tailored trip to Magkadigkadi and the Delta that suited our available dates this was hands down the best value and an amazing experience. Thanks so much to all the staff at Shipungo.
DE
Email Daniel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect one day Trip to Moremi from Maun
The communication with shipungo was friendly, Professional and easy.
Our Guide Voice picked us up perfectliy on time and was very friendly. He was a Professional Guide and made the day to something special for us. Highlights of our Trip were a hunting female Lion, some Male Lion, a cheetah, Lots of elefants, giraffes, buffalos, and and and and...
We can highly recommend the Day Tour with shipungo when You are short in Time or You don't Like to Camp..
NL
Email Dennis Tax | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and great Moremi game drive
Early in the morning we were picked up by the guide. We drove from Maun to Moremi. After signing in we headed to the park. Nice views, beautiful game and professional guide. Happy we did this game drive with Shipungo.
