Walking Stick Travel & Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Budget camping tours where clients assist with camp chores
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $350 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Polo | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful experience - privatized camping safari - great game drives
We experienced the privatized camping safari for our family and enjoyed every moment.
Throughout the 5 days safari we experienced a very high reliability and trust. Our guide (Philimon) is highly professional and we enjoyed the combination of a native local guide (and his stories) combined with his empathy for tourists and his high working ethics. He and his team (in the second car with cook/tent etc.) worked hard to make our experience unique and unforgettable.
I was travelling in Botswana (also Moremi) 25 years ago with my own car (self-driver) and I used to have some detailed information upfront. For this trip we had less detailed information upfront, means also less marketing. That was ok.
We had all the necessary information and our guide optimized our journey during the safari (e.g. added a boat-trip).
We assume that the longterm working-experience as guide/driver in the Okovango-Delta makes it possible to relate to both worlds (local and international) - and we enjoyed that a lot.
We do trust Walking Stick Travel & Tours and we recommend them to people who look for a privatized camping safari (with good value for money).
Email Natalie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Ethical local company, fantastic experience.
Fantastic locally owned company. Phillimon and his team took the best care of us and we were treated like royalty. Actually, more like treasured family. Food was great and Phillimon's skills as a tracker and guide meant that we had some incredible sightings. We booked and paid a deposit with Phillimon only weeks before Covid hit and had to postpone this over and over. He honoured our deposit for FOUR YEARS!!! Many other companies would have taken the money and run, but he not only held it, he kept the price the same. That's ethics!! I highly recommend Walking Stick Safaris!!!!
Email Jules | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experienced, local, run by a trustworthy professional.
In October 2023 three friends and I had the absolute pleasure of doing a 7 day safari in Botswana with Walking Sticks Travel & Tours. The great service began before we left Australia as we emailed to and fro asking questions and clarifying details about the trip and were provided with all the info we needed by the very helpful Kealeboga James. It was a mobile safari which meant we camped in 4 different areas. As such, we got to see different landscapes and animals through Okavango Delta, Khwai Community Area, Savute area and Chobe National Park. I arrived in Maun the day before our tour started but still I was greeted at the airport by Walking Sticks manager Phillimon who drove me to my hotel. He immediately struck me as a polite and respectful person and as we spent the week in his care he proved to also be professional, humble, flexible, trustworthy and extremely knowledgeable with regard to flora, fauna and all things nature. He was supported by a terrific, hardworking team including Chef 'Prince' (a funny fellow), another expert guide, and multi-skilled back-up people who did everything from poling the Mokoro canoes to setting up tents and completing many tasks required to look after our needs so all the hard work was done for us. Our tour began with an enthralling Mokoro trip through the beautiful pristine wetlands where we were amongst hippos, crocs, elephants and birds. Mokoro's are the main form of transport and our camping spot was inaccessible by road and located in a shady nook near the water where we could view elephants and hear the sounds of nature (eg lion's roaring) day and night. Our tents with en-suite were adequate and we enjoyed the food and gin & tonic 'sundowner's whilst watching the gorgeous sunsets. Each day we spent hours game viewing either on foot or by jeep and Phillimon had a gift at being able to track and locate all manner of wildlife including lion, hyena, wild dogs, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, baboon, leopard and a variety of antelope and birds. We learnt so much as he imparted his knowledge of their behaviour and the landscape. All our campsites were different and in lovely settings. If you are a person who loves nature and living amongst it, can be up at sunrise every day and handle the challenges of dusty, bumpy roads and hot weather (October) then this tour is for you. It is one of the most memorable experiences in my 40 years of traveling. Thank you so much to Phillimon - your integrity is a true asset. Walking Sticks is a small, locally owned and run business and deserves the highest praise.
Email Tam | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing. Exceeded all expectations. Phillimon is an outstanding guide, tracker and tour operator.
We (4 friends) had booked a Walking Sticks 7 day mobile safari “The Best of Botswana” during covid and finally made it in October 2023. An eagerly awaited holiday and safari that exceeded all expectations and the highlight of our trip to Southern Africa.
The trip was great value and Walking Sticks such an ethical company who honoured our deposit paid in 2020.
Phillimon is the best guide and tracker you could hope to meet. We saw some amazing sights including a wild dog hunt and kill.
Lions hunting, at a kill, lounging about, elephants and more elephants, hippos a plenty, cape buffalo, leopard and lots of giraffes, zebra and antelope and loads of birds. Seeing hyena pups at a den with mother was yet another highlight.
The first 2 nights was spent on the Okavango Delta and we did 3 walking safaris with an amazing guide. Watching hippos from
a mokoro on the water was a dream come true.
Magical African sunsets with G&T’s & cold beers. Dinner prepared by Chef Prince with a camp fire and great wines.
You couldn’t find a better safari company than Walking Sticks with Phillimon, KD, Prince, Comfort and Kealeboga. Highly recommend.
Thank you for making our dreams come true.
Tam
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Email Agne | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Every day was special!
We had 7-Day The Best of Botswana tour. First days was our guide Jacob. He was really good about the nature, wildlife and history. Other days was our guide Dylos. He is the best! We had some bad surprises, but he really did his best that we still could see all the animals. You are so lucky if Dylos will be your guide. He knows the local languages and has good contacts as well, good humor. It all is important if you are stuck together with the guide 80% of your day inside the car. In our trip, first days we were on wetlands and without a car .So no charging from car. You need to take your battery to charge your phone and camera. But if you have all days with camp car, then you can charge from car. Also be aware during bushwalks. Me and my husband hurt ourselves stepping on the thorns. They came though the camping boots! For ladies- washing your hair can be tricky. It is Africa, so there is not so great opportunities for shower. There is not so much wildlife as you see from the commercials. Lions, elephants, hippos and giraffes can see every day, but cheetah, leopard, wild dogs, hyenas you maybe cant see at all. It is all about luck and how good guide you will have.
Email Milo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A once in a lifetime trip with a few issues...
We had a 13 day tour with walking stick tours in August of 2023. Botswana itself is an incredible country with some of the friendliest people, and some of the most incredible wildlife we’d encountered anywhere. All 5 of us highly recommend a trip to the country for safari. Unfortunately our experience of walking stick tours was less stellar.
I’ll start with the good (of which there is plenty) :
- The food that Jo & team prepared for us was absolutely incredible, better than we had In restaurants elsewhere, and all cooked over an open fire! The team were always friendly and happy to help with any requests, we had beer and wine at dinner and no shortage of clean bottled water. We were really well taken care of at camp the entire 2 week trip.
- Prior to the trip communication was good and we were picked up at the airport.
- We had a great guide, Wago. He spoke very good English and had excellent knowledge of the flora & fauna of Botswana. We had a lovely time getting to know him and he got us some truly amazing wildlife sightings.
- Onto the sightings generally, we had great views of lion, leopard, cheetah, even an early morning wild dog sighting - really special.
The negatives:
- Our vehicle (named desert honey badger) was in a constant state of disrepair. We broke down several times every single day, the brakes on the car weren’t functional, and we had to veer off road at points when vehicles approached along the same stretch of road. We were repeatedly told that the car was being replaced or fixed but the issues persisted for the entire trip. This impacted our game viewing and massively impacted our travel time, by the end of the trip we were taken in an alternate vehicle, but this was far too little and much too late.
- Communication on the trip itself was poor, the issues with the vehicle and what was (or in fact wasn’t) being done was never properly communicated to us. We were misled daily about getting the vehicle repaired or replaced, but this never happened. We’ve been on safari before and know how ad-hoc things are sometimes, but this was a step beyond.
- In an attempt to make up for the constant issues with the vehicle we were offered a “complimentary” trip to Victoria falls in place of a game drive as our vehicle wasn’t functional. This was in fact not complimentary, and we paid $500+ for the day ourselves.
Since our trip we have reached out to Phillimon to open a dialogue with no intent for compensation, but we have been ignored. We absolutely loved Botswana and can’t recommend it enough as a safari destination, but we’d recommend you go with another operator instead of walking stick.
Reply from Walking Stick Travel & Tours
Posted on Oct 3, 2023Thank you for taking the time to share your good and bad experiences on your recent 13 day tour. We're sorry to hear that your visit wasn't up to your expectations. We take all feedback seriously, and we appreciate your honest feedback.
We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration you may have experienced. We also acknowledge the fact that the vehicle you were travelling in was in a constant state of disrepair.
However, the vehicle broke down once, not several times every single day. In Khwai (Day 7), the break fluid pipe had to be replaced, but the vehicle did not break down. The guide contacted headquarters in Maun to report the problem. A vehicle was then dispatched from Maun to Khwai to deliver a brand new break fluid pipe and two cans of break fluid. The repairs were done immediately at the campsite. This did not impact on any game viewing activities or travel time.
On day 11, in the Chobe National Park your vehicle broke down. In approximately 15 minutes, the vehicle following you - also our game viewing vehicle carrying 2 clients (a couple) arrived at the spot. You then joined them in their vehicle and continued your journey to Chobe Riverfront. Again, this did not impact on any game viewing activities or travel time.
You contacted me later that evening to lodge a complaint. I did apologize but you felt that an apology was not enough. You also mentioned that you did not want to travel in the same vehicle (named desert honey badger) again - even if it had been repaired. I then offered you a different vehicle to take you for a Victoria Falls day trip (still part of your 13 day itinerary), the following day, and you accepted.
Unfortunately you did not inform me that you were charged border fees and entrance fees at Victoria Falls, amounting to $500. VISAS and border fees are not included in our package prices, but I would have been more that happy to refund you the fees you paid to see the falls.
We did apologize to you in a follow up email we sent you at the end of your tour. So your attempts to open a dialogue with me have not been ignored. I also responded to this review, directly to you, on the 29th September but I have not heard from you.
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Email Bernie Daina | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrific guide, cook and assistants, itinerary and safari.
Phillimon Kamogelo <[email protected]> was a wonderful guide, driver, and camping leader to remote areas of Botswana, where we saw many, many species of wild animals and had a good trip. His cook and assistants were great, too.
Email Mike | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing wildlife with a bush camp experience
Organising the safari with Walking Stick was easy. Our questions were quickly answered. Amazing wildlife throughout the 10-day camping safari. So many big cats. Our guide was brilliant, very knowledgeable, and funny, and we largely avoided the crowds. We had limited washing water at times, but our camp assistants did their best to provide for our needs in each of the five campgrounds. Highly recommended, particularly for those with a sense of adventure.
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Email Michele and Alessia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 10 days safari private tour with an excellent crew
The tour has been very well organized.
Comfortable tent, excellent food, very professional driver and guide.
Thanks a lot to Philimon for the organization and to Dylos for guiding our safari, to Titous for the meals and to Keys for the support.
We will never forget such experience and we recommend walking stick as a reliable tour operator
ES
Email Fernando | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Walking Stick & Tours
Very well organized travel. Attentive guides. They know their work and so we can see many animals, camp sides and tents are safe
I recommended this company