35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We have done two safaris with Wild Things in the north and south and enjoyed them both
Wild Things responds to emails very quickly with suggest itineraries and are happy to let you change and procrastinate as muh as you like to design the best trip. We found the service of their staff very good, and the same of the lodges they recommended. We first did a safari on the popular northern circuit, and saw everything we wanted - incliding a lion kill, so the 2nd trip we went to the the south where we also, somewhat surprisingly, saw almost as much, and several species we didn't see up north.
Experience level: first safari
Review about South Africa by Kristin
South Africa is unlike any place I have ever experienced. It's modern yet basic, unique in it's own customs that draws one in personally.
Review about Okavango Delta by Patrick Smith
The Okavango River pours into northern Botswana from Namibia and Angola, then fingers into an immense sprawl of ephemeral marshland and forest containing one of the continent's most spectacular and diverse concentrations of wildlife. The geography is wondrously ambiguous -- deeply tropical at one turn, dryly wooded at the next.
Perhaps most startling of all the country's wildlife, if lacking the glamor of the larger mammals, are its birds, and the Okavango is the best place to see them. The country is held in high regard by birders worldwide, but the sheer volume of species in the Delta is overwhelming. Tent-side one morning, a scan of shallow riverfront resembled a field guide into which one of each endemic species had been dropped by an overanxious illustrator: storks, eagles, hornbills, vultures, and no fewer than a dozen of Botswana's prettiest creature (and also its national bird), the liliacbreasted roller. No less common here than a pigeon in Trafalgar Square, the roller is a brilliantly appointed avian with iridescent, powder blue wings.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very well organized, very service oriented and reliable
We got competent answers to all our questions and suggestions and Andre von Flotow our Guide made sure that we always received more than we expected to see.
To our advantage was that we travelled in the low season, so we had most of the excursions and activities arranged all to our selves.
We can advise anybody to travel with Impala Tours Namibia.
However we do advise fellow travellers to bring along the necessary time to explore Namibia.
By the way, the food that was served has always been excellent.
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Botswana by Marcus Abreu de Magalhaes
The best thing for animal viewing is that in Botswana they don't allow too many tourists and the drivers must keep on track. Because of that you will see a better preserved region of Africa. On others countries you will find better prices, but lots of tourists and not so scenic drives.
Review about Chobe National Park by Patrick Smith
Chobe was, in parts, the most touristed and commercialized of the areas we saw. There are areas of the park that I would not return to because of the crowds and zoo-like feel of the wilderness.
One exception was the gorgeous Savuti area. Savuti's exotic-sounding name is matched by its sense of isolation and eerie beauty. This is a harsh, jagged region of primordial vistas that seem to belong in another epoch.
The campground showers here are built like bunkers, to keep thirsty elephants from wrecking them. At night, the walks from tent to toilet are made in pairs, flashlights blazing.
Setting up our camp one afternoon, I heard a sudden thrashing of branches just to my left. As I watched, an elephant walked out of the trees not forty feet away, trundling past my tent and into the next clump of trees.
One of the best holidays we've ever had! 5 stars!
We had an amazing holiday! AndBeyond safari lodges were fantastic. We were blown away by the high standards and superior service. Everyone remembered our names, and all staff were wonderfully friendly. Nothing was too much trouble. The accommodation in Exeter River Lodge was a real highlight. A truly stunning suite, and although it was a bit too cold to use the private plunge pool (we missed the 40C day and had 25C weather for much of our stay), we did enjoy sitting outside watching the Nyala, warthog, monkeys and lions wander by. This is absolutely the place to go if you're on honeymoon or want a romantic getaway.
The AndBeyond game rangers and trackers were excellent - both at Exeter River and particularly at Ngala, where I'm sure because of our tracker (Fanny) we seemed to see more wildlife than anyone else! Rhino, lion, several leopard (incl. cubs), buffalo, dwarf mongoose, cheetah, wildebeest, African wild dogs and pups, hyena and pups (they were surprisingly cute!), elephant (incl. lots of babies), yellow-billed hornbills and lots more.
Additionally the food was an unexpected highlight of our stay in the AndBeyond lodges. Every day we were impressed at the spread and quality of the food. We asked for many of the recipes and ended up buying their recipe book. Really, it was divine! If there was any criticism it would simply be that there was too much food and it was too irresistible - we came back weighing 1-2 kg heavier than before we left :-)
The staff were incredibly helpful and welcomed us warmly and professionally with airport transfers from the remote airport (where part of the Ngala rangers role was to chase any animals off the airstrip!). The short flights (10mins) between lodges were definitely the way to go (saved a 2-3 hour drive through uneven terrain). We really didn't want to leave when our guide and tracker returned us to the little bush airport (well, runway) for the final time.
We then had 3 days at Royal Chundu in Zambia to see Victoria Falls. Royal Chundu River Lodge was amazing! It was a bit of a treck to get there - an hour's drive from Livingstone, mostly along an unfinished and very bumpy road. By the time we arrived we were feeling slightly motion sick and starting to wonder whether it would all be worth the long drive there. But it absolutely was! When we stepped out of the car and into the resort it was the most serene and peaceful place, instantly dissolving any doubts we may have had. There was an infinity pool overlooking the Zambezi, the restaurant tables also overlooked the Zambezi. There was a welcome drink waiting for us and a beauty therapist ready to give us a shoulder massage whilst we completed the paperwork. The chef at the Royal Chundu was amazing - he trained under a 2 Michelin star chef and I have to say the evening food was divine - both in presentation, innovation and taste. And the room was amazing! Both Royal Chundu and Exeter River were stunning places to stay - probably the nicest places we have ever stayed at before.
The only slight disappointment with the Zambia trip was that the Vic Falls were very dry when we went (mid-late October), as the rains hadn't started yet. So it was a little like looking at a regular waterfall. So the views from the helicopter ride were not the stunning gush that we had hoped for, and there was no roar of water from the falls. But being in low season did mean we got to swim in Devils Pool - right on the edge of the falls, which was very very good! Apparently you can't do that in high season as I guess there is too much risk.
This trip has honestly been one of the best holidays we've ever been on, which is saying a lot as we are both well travelled. We can't recommend enough the lodges we stayed at: Exeter River Lodge, Ngala Lodge and (in Zambia) Royal Chundu (River Lodge). We also thoroughly recommend Ute Sonnenberg of Roho Ya Chui for organising this amazing holiday. She was enormously helpful and even added a wonderful personal touch of collecting us at the airport when we returned from the safari. She truly helped to make this trip so great.
VG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Ken Okumura
It's ideal in that you can go a relatively short distance from civilisation and be in the wild outdoors of nature. South Africa does offer that, although I do not have a comparison point with another safari-offering country.
SG
35-50 years of age
Review about Okavango Delta by Kelly Cheng
Just a unique natural wonder of the world, period.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
24 years of top-class safaris
I first went with Bushbuck from the UK in 1988 and have been back many times since. It's great to lie in my tent in a truly peaceful African night and appreciate the atmosphere of the wild. All the guides have been professional, the drivers expert mechanics and the cooks are magicians. I love the flexibility of Bushbuck bookings; they will take me where I want to go and make all the arrangements seamless.
Their own camp sites in the Mara are wonderfully private, and that's what I prefer, but they do arrange for lodge-stays on request; the customer is king!
I have tried other companies, especially when I lived and worked for a few years as a professor in Nairobi, but kept coming back to Bushbuck for their reliability and personal touch.
I'd be delighted to recommend Bushbuck to anyone who wants to experience Africa, its scenery and its wildlife.