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Email Arne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing price for value!
Probably the most amazing week of my life!
About safari in Botswana: it is a bit more expensive than e.g. Kenya but therefor you are not one of a billion vehicles surrounding the animals. I really appreciated the sustainable way they are dealing with the animals and the tourism.
Animals: we saw maybe a hundred giraffes, up to 200 elephants, 25 lions, ... all of them with babies, never would have dreamed of seeing so many! Note: we were in rainy season, you can google the differences.
About Tony / our guide:
Besides Tony there is another guide in the company called Vincent who was responsible for us. He was able to tell a lot about animal behavior, made us feel safe and it was always a laugh. Really cool guy, I really liked him!
Price:
Compared to staying in lodges (excluding those with privates reserves which are way in a different price league) you will see the same animals as everyone is doing their game drives in the same area of the park. The reason his offers are much cheaper is (as far as I can guess) due to being camping instead of staying at a fancy lodge. I didn’t mind it in any way as it made the trip so much more intense.
Staying in the bush:
For the camping we did go for the ‘luxury version’ which allows you to go toilet at night and gives you more time to relax. The latter was appreciated by all of us due to having to take in all the impressions.
The food was basic but well prepared. So there is nothing wrong with some good Spaghetti Bolognese, most food was actually really good.
The car was in a very good condition. I think up to 5-6 persons per car is comfortable, though Vincent said they usually don’t take more than 5 anyway.
PT
Email Ana | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Unforgetable safaris
It was an amazing wildlife experience. We made day and night game drives and despite of the drought and being the end of the dry season, we could make water and mokoro safaris in a beautiful place with very few tourists. One of the highlights was to see a mother cheetah with a group of 8 young cheetahs. It was amazing! We also made a walking safari where we saw lots of animals that we didn’t expect to see. It was a great experience to feel the natural environment of these animals.
The ambiance of the camp was very exclusive and the staff, the guides, the accommodations, the food were absolutely fantastic.
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Email Kelsey B. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I HIGHLY recommend booking a safari experience with African Bush Lovers!
My sisters and I booked a 5 night/6 day safari in Botswana with African Bush Lovers (for a party of 6 people). The entire experience from inquiry, to booking, to arriving, to game driving was magically organized and perfectly executed!
Before we committed to booking with African Bush Lovers, we were in touch with Kenewang (goes by Kenny), the co-owner of the company. From the moment of first contact, we knew we found the PERFECT safari company. African Bush Lovers is locally owned and operated by Kenny and her husband, Stanza (more to come on this GEM of a human!). Both Kenny and Stanza are natives of Botswana and they are super helpful and very friendly.
In late May, our party of 6 flew into Maun to meet up with the African Bush Lovers team. The moment we got through customs, we were greeted by our fearless Professional Nature Guide, Stanza. Stanza is a veteran nature guide with over 10 years of safari experience. Our group wholeheartedly agreed, Stanza was the BEST guide and we trusted him with our lives.
During our safari experience, we went to the Moremi Game Reserve, Savuti and Chobe National Park. Stanza’s safari vehicle (lovingly named the “Gods Must Be Crazy”) was incredibly comfortable and spacious. In addition, Stanza’s off-road driving skills were impressively good!
Stanza WOWED us daily with his knowledge about all of the nature and wildlife. The volume of wildlife we saw during our game drives exceeded ALL of our expectations. Some highlights include: 1 male leopard, 4 male lions, a pride of female lions (on a hunt!!), a handful of crocodiles, dozens of giraffes, a couple herds of zebras, at least 50 hippos, and at least 500 elephants. By the end of the safari, we were all convinced that Stanza was part eagle due to his amazing long-distance eye sight. Also, his ability to identify tracks/dung/bird calls was next level! In addition to the wildlife, Stanza shared a lot of information and great stories about the history, culture and people of Botswana. Such a treat!
Stanza and his team were quick to accommodate every need and desire we had while on safari. We had great camp sites, comfortable camping equipment (we opted for the semi-luxury accommodations), AND plenty of drinks and delicious food. Stanza and his team even included a tea time during our game drives! They planned for EVERYTHING. For meals, our chef Moffatt and his sous chef, Simba, prepared delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner meals. Every dinner was a decadent multi-course meal. It seemed like Moffatt was on a mission to make us gain weight
Email Jagruti Godhaniya | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Real life Lion King experience
Best Safari experience ever! Cannot believe some of the things we saw. food, guide and transport was all perfect! no complaints
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Email Thomas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip we have ever had.
Everything exceeded my expectations. The wildlife was everything that I had hoped for. The accommodations, food and service was first rate.
MX
Email Griselda Woo Gonzalez | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I fell that I was filming a marvelous Botswana film
Botswana was marvelous. Everything: transportation, accomodations, the guides ( excellents ), wildlife ( very exciting ), the staff ( really with a big warm heart ), only the weather is a litlle bit unpredictable !
ES
Email Daniel Seco | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fun but professional guides make a lot and Chobe is wonderful
Transportation between places is the main issue: due to the lack of population it becomes very complicated to move from town to town.
The landscape is beautiful and the people are nice and welcoming, and proud of being a very inclusive and open minded society.
About the safaris, the Okavango delta is fantastic and wild, but I enjoyed Chobe the most, seeing thousands of elephants and many other nice animals. Perhaps the best was that the guides managed to be nice and fun but at the same time very professional. Kalahari tours 3 days 2 night Chobe experience booked via Indigo Safaris, both companies 10 points out of 10. Thiza, our guide, look for him!
Email Kirstie Bankslyon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Blown away by Botswana
Booked a 10 day mobile Safari from Maun to Kasane.
First night was spent in Maun before a 3 day 2 night camping trip on the Okavango Delta. Fantastic experience to be poled through the reeds. Great walking safaris enjoyed. We then had one night back in Maun before embarking on the next leg - Moremi, Kwai, Savuti and Chobe NP
We were on a private trip - just my husband and I with a guide, camp chef and camp hand. Basic facilities added to the magical experience of being one with nature. The highlight had to be sitting with the Marsh Pride of Lions in Savuti at sunset - with no other game viewers present. Other top sights were the leopards in Kwai and the herds of buffalo and elephants at Chobe.
My top tip would be to take a buff to cover your face from the dust when travelling plus loads of moisturiser and lip balm!
We were amazed at the food our Chef rustled up on the open fire and enjoyed fantastic evenings at the campfire listening to music and learning more about Botswana.
Our trip was a budget experience - no air conditioning, no en suite etc as we were in tents on camp beds with bush toilet and shower! It was very hot and in the afternoons especially all you could do was sit in the shade but it was an amazing time - one that would be difficult to beat.
Email Louise | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fabulous!
What a beautiful, friendly, extraordinary place. We had very cold mornings but hot days. Xakanaxa Tented Camp was beautiful and very friendly with a lovely deck overlooking the river and a fire pit for evening get together to chat over the days sightings.TS was a fabulous guide - very knowledgable and keen to show us all the wildlife from elephant to beautiful birds. Having a sundowner whilst elephant were wandering past at the end of a hot dusty game drive is something very special. Khwai Tented Camp was small and intimate and as it was in the concession we were able to have night game drives and a wonderful Mokoro trip. We saw 2 leopards on the hunt and were able to follow them off-road. Chobe lodge is more like an hotel so much bigger and less intimate. The food was amazing. The wildlife is concentrated around the river and there were amazing sightings of elephant, beautiful sunsets and we had a brief sight of a pack of wild dogs. We asked to do full morning game drivers rather that split the morning into game and river safaris which gave us more time out though by about 11 am most of the game is seeking shade from the heat. So many fabulous memories of a beautiful country.
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Email deepchi1 | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Go during the dry season!
My first recommendation would be to go during the mid dry season. Too early and the vegetation is too thick and the grass is too high for optimal game viewing. Also with lots of water around, the game doesn’t concentrate at watering holes. This made for interesting tracking but less prolific game. Botswana is great. The accommodations were very nice, the guides were fantastic (pick a good company to travel with). The scenery was pure Africa. We had some cold weather because we went too early. Don’t forget to try to visit with some of the indigenous people like the Bushmen. Overall excellent experience.
