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 Miranda | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Adventure of a Lifetime!
I recently had the pleasure of going on safari with Walking Stick Travel and Tours. My family and I were truly impressed with the entire experience, from beginning to end. Prior to our adventure, Phillimon was wonderful to work with – customizing our itinerary based on a combination of what we were hoping to do and see and what he thought would make for the best experience for us. Upon arrival, he met us at the airport, brought us to our accommodations in Maun and even met us later in the evening to take us to a fabulous dinner spot.
Our safari included two nights in the Okavango Delta, two nights at Khwai Concession, and two nights in Kasane so that we could visit Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls. Phillimon, Kenny (our guide in the Delta), and our chef Joe, along with the rest of the team, were all so friendly and professional. They are also local, so their knowledge of the area and the animals is very impressive! Joe kept us well fed and was able to work around a number of dietary restrictions, cooking up some amazing dishes on the campfire. During our entire trip, Phillimon took care of every little detail and had everything pre-arranged. He is also an incredible guide! His knowledge and persistence led to some wonderfully intimate sightings. One night at sunset he tracked and found us a leopard that we were able to watch with no other vehicles around!
If you’re on the fence about camping while on safari, do it! Sitting around a campfire at night, falling asleep to the sounds of the animals, and waking up to a gorgeous African sunrise make it an experience you won’t ever forget. The accommodations were wonderful – comfortable and clean, and we never once felt unsafe. I highly recommend booking with Walking Stick and Phillimon for the adventure of a lifetime!
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Email Liz | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
An adventure - experiencing the African bush in true African style on a mobile safari
I went on a 7-day mobile safari in November, 2018 with my two daughters and their husband/boyfriend. We experienced the African bush as it should be experienced within our own private group! Philimon, owner and managing director of Walking Stick Travel and Tour,s worked with me to customize our safari vie e-mail. We spent two nights in the Okavango Delta with Kenny as our guide, two nights in Khwai Concession and two nights in Kasane to swim in Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls in Zambia. Philimon demonstrated knowledge of the parks when he suggested Khwai over Moremi because we coud drive off-road in search of game. That allowed us to view animals right alongside our truck! Philimon has a vast knowledge of the animals - where they frequent as well as general behaviors. He placed our safety first with campsite rules, mokoro (traditional canoes used in the Delta) rules and walking safari rules. The food was great; cooked over a campfire by our chef, Joe. Though the basics of our safari were top-notch, it's the little things that raise a good safari to an excellent safari. This is where Philimon and his team excelled. We were picked up at the airport by Philimon and Joe the day before our safari. Joe questioned our dietary issues and took our drink requests before shopping. Philimon drove us to our B&B and later brought us to dinner. Both he and Kenny, our Delta guide, sat with us for meals and at the fire at night. We had great conversations about the animals of Africa as well as Botswana's history and culture, and their personal stories. We experienced and learned so much more than simply viewing animals. Philimon demonstrated a true love of the animals (Imagine your guide photographing animals alongside you and exclaiming, "Wow!"). He also persevered when searching for game. He heard of a leopard sighting, so we drove round and round looking for the elusive leopard. Eventually we stopped to view the sunset, but Philimon did not give up. He heard an Impala's warning cry and we sped off to find the leopard. Sure enough, it was a fabulous sighting with no other safari vehicles. We had requested to swim at Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls in Zambia. Philimon had never been, but arranged our swim and navigated us through the border crossing. So, if you are contemplating a safari, book a mobile safari with Philimon and Walking Stick Travel and Tours. You will not be disappointed!
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Email Marielle Robinson | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Walking Stick Travel & Tours is top notch!
We used waking stick tours for a safari in November 2018! My boyfriend and I have done safari in Tanzania(Serengeti,Ngorongoro Crater and tarangire national park) and a self drive safari in Kruger national park in South Africa! We loved Botswana so much more than the other places. Botswana offered much more of an intimate experience! It was awesome! Walking Stick Travel and Tours was fantastic with answering all of our questions! We went with my family(mother, sister and bother in law) We had quite the email chain going back and forth! When we arrived Phillimon was at the airport waiting to pick us up! From there it was so easy! He took care of everything! We did two days in the Okavango Delta. We used Mokoros as transportation! There we camped two nights on an island and did a few walking safaris and a few mokoro cruises! We were also able to swim!!! We saw a variety of animals and birds as well! Kenny was our guide for those two days and he did a fantastic job! Joe was our cook for the entire trip and he had to deal with a few food allergies as well as vegetarians and nailed it! Food was fabulous and we were never hungry! Next we went up to Moremi! This place is awesome! We had really nice tents with a bucket shower and long drop toilet off the back! It felt like luxury in the bush! We went on multiple game drives and saw so many animals up close and personal! This is where Botswana really stands out. Instead of the mayhem of the Serengeti with a million cars following animals you had the animals to yourself! There was almost no one around! Pillimon knew so much about the animals! Its very refreshing to go with guides who have so much pride in their country and grew up in the area! Lastly we did a long drive up through Chobe up to Kasane. Its a really long drive so spend a few days up there exploring Victoria Falls. We opted to do Devils Pool on the Zambia side! Phillimon arranged all the transfers and tour for us! The entire experience was fantastic! We loved our guides and the camp setups as well as the food and game drives! Couldn't have asked for anything better! This safari defiantly surpassed our expectations!
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Email Alison & Nigel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful safari through northern Botswana!
Our mobile safari for 9 nights with Phillimon, through Moremi, Khwai and Savute was wonderful. Phillimon has an uncanny ability to spot animals and to predict what they will do and where they will go. Our tents were spacious, the food was amazing and to top it all we had elephants, honey badgers and a civet in camp, with lions roaring not far away almost every night. Phillimon is equally at ease explaining scientific facts about the animals and then giving an explanation from the perspective of the local communities. This adds an extra level of interest to the safari. I would definitely recommend Walking Stick Travel and Tours.
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Email Felipe Covarrubias | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience in walking safari through Okavango Delta
Definitely one of the highlights in our Africa trip, the walking safari in Okavango Delta was simply amazing! The walks through the different islands are an immersive experience, that allows you to really appreciate and understand the fauna and natural environment, much closer than what a game drive feels.
The staff in Walking Stick was incredibly knowledgeable, capable, helpful and really focused on us having an incredible experience, an amazing group of people!
Absolutely recommended!!
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Email Alex | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing Trip in Botswana with Phillimon and his crew !
Amazing 6 days in Botswana with Phillimon and his crew!
We are a family of three people. It was great that this was a private tour and that we weren't forced to travel with strangers who we might not get along with.
We were picked up in Maun and afterwards spend the first two nights on a small island in the Okavango Delta. This island is only accessible by Mokoro (a dugout canoe navigated and driven by locals of a nearby village) and the two-hour trip gliding through the side streams of the river was truly mesmerizing. Never have I felt this tranquil and relaxed.
Phillimon's Landcruiser brought us to the Moremi Reserve and afterwards to Savuti. Little did we know how much action and wildlife we were going to see in these four days.
Our days always started early and we saw dozens of big animals such as many lions (with their cute cubs, feeding on a hippo, roaring right into our faces, having injuries from the last night's hunt, hunting warthogs...), hyenas (waiting for the leopard to drop its prey down the tree or waiting very close to our camp site for us to go to sleep after dinner so they can search the camp area for food rests...). Once there was an "emergency" and he drove us during our and his lunch break to a great leopard sighting!) and he even found wild dogs
Phillimon Kamogelo is a great guide! He is a great driver and also ascertained that we always had the best position to take pictures of the animals. He is very knowledgeable and passionate about animals.
The equipment of the "Walking Stick Safari" company (tents, tables, toilets..) was throughout great and of good quality. We always had a very comfortable camp with everything we needed. The cook was able to cook delicious, healthy, vegetarian (our preference) food for us which gave us energy for the full, exciting days. The whole team was really friendly and helpful but thankfully not that fake kind of niceness! They seem like genuinely good, kind, smart and passionate young people. We felt very comfortable with them at any point of the trip and always felt safe and relaxed.
We can only recommend Phillimon Kamogelo and his Crew and we are even planning to do a four-week trip with Phillimon in the upcoming year!
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Email Sara Diez | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great mobile safari
Our 2-3 days mobile safari with Phillimon and his team was great! The 3 of them set up a big tent with an en-suite bathroom for me and my boyfriend. Game drives with Phillimon were also great. He is very good at finding and following animals. The food Phillimon's assistants cooked was very tasty and plentiful and they cared we always had some drinks, fruits or biscuits while we were resting at the campsite. We also enjoyed a speed boat trip with phillimon over the okavango delta when we return to maun and was awesome!
Wonderful and safe safari !
Family with two children aged 9 and 12, we loved the three days spent with Philimon, our guide and driver born in the Okavango Delta. Philimon is very well organized and always on time. He knows his area beautifully and we have always felt safe with him. He adapted our safari to our criteria. We wanted to see felines and mokoro. We were served! 9 lions and 4 leopards not counting wild dogs, elephants, hippopotamuses and all the others. The camp was beautiful, two large tents with comfortable camp beds, WC, shower for each tent. Jo, the cook, does magic on his fire! Stewed dishes, fresh bread and brownies! The food is really delicious, hearty and suitable for everyone.
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Email Roger | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Highly recommended
I recommend Phillemon and Walking Stick without any reservation. From our first communication all the way to the end of our six-day safari, he and his team were terrific. He was always prompt and clear in communications when we arranged the safari, and was flexible when we wanted to make a modest change. The two other staff with us, Kenny and Josiah, were unfailingly friendly and helpful. Four things stand out in my experience.
(1) Philemon is an excellent guide with astonishing ability to see and identify animals even from considerable distances. He knows every by-way and clearly knew how to maneuver our vehicle to get the best possible views of animals we encountered.
(2) While the relatively modest price tag for Walking Stick was one of the attractions to us, we felt like we were treated extremely well. The tent was very large, with a wonderful walk-out awning, and an enclosed area behind for the toilet and shower (which worked just fine). The food was very good - thank you, Josiah - and plentiful. Especially marvelous cakes baked on the open fire.
(3) We had a family emergency back in the States develop six days into our 10-day planned safari and had to rush back. Phillemon and his team completely got the situation, did everything they could to get us back to Maun, and then were invaluable in helping us figure out the complexities of making last-minute travel arrangements. We are indebted to him.
(4) Walking Stick is a small, locally-owned and operated company in a field largely dominated by larger enterprises with capital backing that local enterprises can rarely compete with. Going with an outfit like Walking Stick invests directly in the local economy - and you get tremendous local knowledge in the bargain.
Again, we happily and enthusiastically recommend Walking Stick!
Email Chris | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful and surreal experience!!
The holiday was fantastic. We were very well looked after by our experienced guides who were attentive to our needs and also informative and helpful in all aspects of the safari. With no wifi and no mobile phone coverage, this trip was the perfect get away and one I would thoroughly recommend to anyone wishing to do a 'proper' safari!