50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The world I live in got turned off and I experienced the world.
My family and I stayed with Tusk and Mane Safaris.
The Lower Zambezi National Park, with the company, offered no Wi-fi, no internet, no phone signal and solar power only.
It re-booted our world.
530am wake up. We were busy dawn ‘til dusk. The bush noises over night and the sound of hippos echoing of the Zambezi serenaded a deep sleep; the stars were the last thing you see before rest.
A Lion call in the night is fabulous to rouse to; beats the neighbour’s car alarm.
We are saving to go again.
Photos- Flickr Simon Ruffle (Nhsfatcat)
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Worst service at Addo Elephant Park
We arrived with no water at our accomodation and still had no water when we checked out. The park did not even have the decency to inform us of the problem let alone deliver a bucket of water for toilet use. We ended up having to go with bottles to reception to fill up so we could flush our toilet and at least wash our faces and brush our teeth last night and this morning.
This is disgusting for the amount you pay to stay in the park.
We won't be using Addo again.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
One of the best, but busy national parks in Southern Africa
Chobe National Park in Botswana is one of the most amazing national parks in the world. You can see four of the Big Five in a single morning. You can possibly see a leopard strolling around, lions preparing for a hunt or Bufallo sharing a bath with Elephants.
Best of all this can be done with a game viewer or boat and you will have some of the most amazing wildlife and birding experiences.
However, there are so many visitors to the national park as well as the surrounding lodges that it feels like month end shopping sometimes. Instead od trolley bashing at Walmart, you will see 30+ game viewers fighting for a spot next to lions or leopards. Unfortunately, some of the accommodations have also become complacent and customer service could be better.
GN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience, lots of animals and nice moments
El safari de una semana con Fede Tours fue una experiencia increíble. Vimos muchos animales, sobre todo en Masai Mara. Nos sentimos muy bien acompañados y con buenas explicaciones, conducción correcta en carreteras y los hoteles súper bien. Muy recomendable!!
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Walking in pure nature in a beautiful scene with a lot of wildlife was un unforgettable experience!
We stayed three nights with our guide Charles and his crew in the Okavango delta in a bush camp (very well organized by Walking Stick Travel & Tours). It was an experience we will never forget! Every day we were traveling by walking and by mekoros. In this way we were part of nature (and not only observer like in game drives). We have seen a lot of animals (elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalos, hyenas, impalas, waterbucks, lechwes, kudus, bushbucks, warthogs, etc and many different birds, we only missed the cats) and we learned a lot about animal tracks and animal behavior. We can really recommend this trip!
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the most amazingly diverse countries on Earth, yet not adequate for safari/larger animals.
Wildlife and scenery - spectacular wherever we went
Food - some western foods, obviously, but there was traditional foods also available; some delicious, some not so.
Transportation - No coaches, buses were more Transit vans with seats. Nevertheless we still managed to get around safely and in reasonable comfort.
Highlights - Lemurs, rare species of Gecko, and the spectacular views at Andringitra NP
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari is beyond amazing.
Everything was perfect and amazing. It was a wonderful trip. Professional guide/driver. Accommodations were surprisingly very nice. Transportation was comfortable. Food was very good.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The safari was Amazing!
The wildlife was great, our guide was great about spotting animals and pointing them out, the accommodations and food was good. We had a great time.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
once in a lifetime safari
I was investigating for more than 3 years how to organize a family Botswana Safari trip and chose in summer 2018 to put my trust in Moonstroll Vantage Expeditions. We wanted to offer our 2 kids (after finishing their university studies) a unique experience before flying out of the family nest. And what a unique experience it became!
The trajectory that we chose (after many interactions with Monametsi) was Maun - Makgadikgadi - Maun - Chiefs Island - Khwai - Savuti - Chobe riverside - Kasana (+ transfer to Victoria Falls). Monametsi quickly understood that we wanted to combine a variety of 'off the beaten track ecological experiences' with a private Safari experience and sufficient comfort. The trip formula we agreed on was to combine the private experience of camping in nature parks (1 night Makgadikgadi, 2 nights Chiefs Island, 1 night at Savoti, 2 nights at Chove rivers side) intermitting with a bit more comfort at affordable B&B lodges along our way (2 times 1 night at Maun, 2 nights in a container lodge at Khwai). The campfire dinners of the cook that joined us during our trip were also much appreciated. The cook really made the best out of the limited supplies he had available - ... - even succeeded in cooking a birthday cake for my daughters' 23rd birthday.
Monametsi chose to involve Teenage as a freelance guide for our family trip. He had quickly understood that we wanted to get accompanied by a guide with strong ecological experience (our son is a Biologist) who could also share with us all he has learned about the fragile balances in the wildlife and nature in general.
As a guide, Teenage was a fantastic match with the profile we had been looking for. He is an experienced guide, driven by nature preservation and he left no effort to match our expectations. Teenage really pushed himself each time up-to the end of the day to maximize our satisfaction. We also appreciate he joined our dinners, telling us about Botswana history, how satisfied he is with the recent evolution of his country etc.
As our trip really went in crescendo all along our trip we have been joking with Teenage about 'his challenge for the next day to surprise us even more'. And yes indeed, each day again we were really amazed. In taking up our challenge, Teenage systematically checked with the other tour-guides that crossed our path and made sure that we always were on the right spot at the right moment. His maneuvring skills were truly exceptional - we were always positioned in the optimal shooting position to take the best photo's - even if other jeeps would make it more difficult. With my 'big mama' lens (500mm mounted on a D850 camera) I now have a set of fantastic photo's from very closeby.
Some highlights of our Safari
- day 1 at Makgadikgadi: a cadaver of a giraffe with vultures, jackals & marabu feeding on it ... awesome as first impression during our trip
- day 2 at Chiefs Island: Elefant sights during our mokoro trip & crossing our path during a late Safari walk, one elephant shaking a coconut tree
- day 3 at Chiefs Island: traces of a hypo sleeping at & lions passing our camp + an unforgettable Safari walk with locals, and late evening mokoro
- day 4 arriving at Khwai: our only leopard sight; Teenage maneuvered our jeep through the bush so that we could follow it at just a few feet
- day 5 at Khwai: a barking hypo at just 5m from the jeep, and our first 2 hyena during a night safari
- day 6 starting the day at Khwai with 2 lions hunting for impala, ..., arriving at Savuti with a close sight of lions with pups (3 of 2 wks; 4 of 2 mths)
- day 7: we failed to find (the only 2) Cheetah or other lions in Savuti, and spend rest of the day crossing the landscape towards Chobe
- day 8: a Hyena as the first sight of the day, followed by lions mating along our path to a Chobe river cruise
- day 9: on our path moving out of Chobe park, still enjoyend some last lions
All along during our Safari, next to 23 lions - 1 leopard - 3 hyena - between 5 or 10 jackals - too many to count hypo pools, crocodile, vultures and marabu, sea eagles (on with a cath) many other bird types like spoon birds etc. We also passed many big herds of buffalo, elephants, zebra, gnu, .... and much more I here forget to mention here. We only seem to have missed cheetah, wild dog and rhino (these do not reside in this region) on our trip.
What an experience we received. As the locals were singing at Chiefs Island: 'we will never forget'
Teenage, many thanks for making this a trip of a lifetime!
(ps for others planning to go on this route : if you plan to take the same itinerary, I would recommend taking a day more at Makgadikgadi (combine with NXai pan ?) and at least one or 2 days extra at Savuti + to also travel from west to east to make sure the wildlife sightings improve as you move further on your safari ...)
DE
Perfect
Our family’s first safari experience and what a memorable one. Thanks to Shemeji.
Superb management, no loopholes in service. Everything was perfect. Special thanks to Emma for her super efficient service and our guide Elemesi.