Kalahari Skies
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1994)
- Member Of:
- Hopitality & Tourism Association of Botswana
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $220 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Could have been perfect but too many big mistakes
I planned this trip for almost two years. Through internet search I stumbled upon Kalahari Skies. Eddy, the owner, was very forthcoming and ready to answer my questions. We were open to options and budget was not a factor, we were indecisive between a mobile safari or private camps. He advertised his services and a mobile safari as more likely to see game over any private camp in the delta. While we did see a good amount of game and of course it was beautiful, we actually saw more at the end of our trip in a private concession, with no cars around (versus the many cars in the national parks) and with more dramatic encounters (missed kill, lions, cheetahs....). In hindsight I would say that Eddy's recommendations were very self serving.
Upon arrival in Maun, after a 25 hour journey, no one was at the airport to welcome us. We watched as tourists after tourists were being picked up by their tour operators. We were stranded, tried calling the office with no luck and after one hour managed to get picked up by our hotel. This was quite disappointing and upsetting. Our guide later apologized for his mistake and took full blame for his oversight, but Kalahari Skies should have reminder/checks and not rely only on the guides they independently hire. They should also have someone in the office during the day answering calls.
The team we were assigned to was extremely nice, and our guide Newman was incredible. We all fell in love with him. He is knowledgeable, a very good driver, considerate, flexible, and I would recommend him to anyone. The food in the camp throughout the safari was excellent, the lunches in the road less so, mostly sandwiches and cookies. The tent accommodations were nice and adequate, with enclosed hot showers, the cots could use pads as they are quite hard. The nights were very very cold and much colder than what we had been told, we were not as prepared as we should have been. The temperatures were not in the low 50's but closer to low 40's. I would recommend bringing several long layers and a wool cap for the morning drives. Some blankets for the early morning drives would be nice.
There were a few things that did not work for us: 1. Too much driving between camps. Being on the road from 6:30 am to 4 pm is just too much. Arriving any earlier would mean that the camp is not set up and it is clear that they discourage you from arriving earlier. Animals are mostly quite during the mid day, as it is very hot, and driving around that time is not ideal. If I had to do it again I would only concentrate on two camps with just one long day of driving, and I would fly in and out avoiding the first and last drive. 2. The overall itinerary that we relied on Eddy to create, Moremi-Khwai-Savuti, leaves the least attracting area for last, with the least attracting camp. Again, this is not something that Eddy brought up and he should. We relied on his knowledge and were open to his suggestions. It was a mistake. A little research on my end would have made me realize the downsides of Savuti 3. We chose to do a mobile safari for the authentic feel of camping close to the animals. Savuti, unbeknown to us before we arrived there, is a camp with shower and bathrooms facilities that are mandatory, meaning you have to use the communal bathrooms. We found it took away from the experience. But what was really really upsetting was to arrive in Savuti and find that our camp site was the worst one, in front of the communal bathroom. The camp sites are not first come first serve. They are assigned as soon as one books. Some obviously have a much better location than others. There are other better camp sites in Savuti, so make sure to specify a private one. In Moremi and in Khwai we felt completely alone and away from everyone. We could not hear or see any other camp site. We booked this trip a year in advance. To arrive in Savuti and find that we were in the path of everyone else going to the bathrooms and with the view on the ugly facilities was such a turn off that we decided to drive straight to Kasane and cut our journey short. It was either that or having a less that magical experience, maybe taking away from what we had experienced until then. If I had to find a good analogy I would say imagine booking a flight a year in advance with an agency that is supposed to reserve you a seat, and finding upon boarding that you are at the end of the plane in the middle seat closest to the bathroom. This was a large oversight by Kalahari Skies and the main reason why I am giving 3 stars. If no better camp site was available they shoul dhave notified us as this particular one is absolutely not acceptable. I do not fly half way through the planet, plan a trip for two years, and rely on the tour operator to find myself stranded at the airport and my tent pitched in an open area next to the bathrooms with strangers walking through.
Reply from Kalahari Skies
Posted on Aug 21, 2017Dear Letizia, I have to answer on your comments as there is also our side.
- that you saw more in a lodge than on your mobile is just how it is, it's not a zoo and you can never know what you will see, we have many clients claiming the opposite. Your guide told me you continuously were saying "there's no game", not sure what you were expecting. He also told me that on the boat cruise you chose to add in the Moremi, you didn't want to go as "there was no big game to see" and let them turn back after 45 minutes ( I had told you it was an option to see the lagunes and bird colonies, to have a feeling for the okavango delta )
- your guide Newman was late at the airport because two days before his brother passed away and he was running to arrange the funeral ( which he missed because you only wanted him as a guide so he told me he was not letting you down and would do the safari )
- the weather was indeed colder than normal in August, not predictable and you were free to take your blankets from the tent on the game-drives ( our vehicles can close the windows and you could then could have the heating on )
- we chose the public campsite in Savuti as there are only 4 Hatab private sites and they are block booked by the big companies. Savuti is one of the best places for seeing big game so as for most people the game-viewing is more important then where they camp I thought this would be the better option. We also don't chose which site we get there, this is done by the company running this campsite. You didn't want to stay the second day so this also adds to not seeing plenty game.
All in all I feel sorry you didn't enjoy your trip.
Best regards,
Eddy
DE
Email Norbert | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tent safari in Botsuana- an very intensive experience of nature
Excellent guide and team (Spokes, Moses, Oti, Patrick). It can't be better.
We passed nine wonderful, exciting and interesting days with them.
Due to the flood in Moremi we need to avoid the campsite there and been sent to "Duncan's Camp", two hours away. These camp was unacceptable from location perspective, the more it was in a pitiable condition. You shouldn't offer this camp anymore, in everyone's interest.
That's the reason why the overall rating is only "good".
BE
Email Nicole | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best in Botswana
Thank you Eddy , Mano and the crew , you give me during 12 days the best vacation ever. !
SE
Email Lovisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic service and friendly
Our visit with Kalahari Skies was phenomenal. Our guide, Rex, gave us the best experience in the Moremi reserve. He went above and beyond to catch sight of as many animals as possible. We stayed in tents for two night, with wild animals walking freely outside our tents during the night. An incredible experience. The crew had a well prepared dinner ready for us when we came back from a game drive. They even met up with us in the reserve once, and set up a table with a cooked meal. Exceptional service and a great treatment by the employees. Many interesting conversations and always nice. Thank you so much!
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Email Philip and Mary Beth Cohen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had the Kalahari and Okavango all to ourselves with Kalahari Skies.
I searched the reviews for safaris on Safaribookings and followed their advice. Eddy Everaerdt of Kalahari Skies got back to us quickly. His advice was spot on. He suggested that if our time was flexible we should consider late May rather than busy July. He said that it sounded like we would like a mobile safari rather than being in the lodges. It turned out that the airfare was much cheaper in May. It was late Fall in Botswana. He asked me to tell him what I hoped to see, so I sent him my wish list. He designed a 15 day mobile safari for my wife and me. It turned out far better than any of our expectations!
Kalahari Skies took care of all of the arrangements, except airfare. I told Eddy that I would like to meet some Bushmen, see animals, learn about the natural environment, see the central Kalahari as well as the Okavango delta, and see Victoria Falls. It all happened for us!!! The tents with en-suite shower and toilet were the most comfortable camping experience of our lives! Eddy has the best camping spots scoped out. We had two nights in lodges and one in a hotel the rest was camping. We stayed 3 nights in Central Kalahari Game preserve, and two nights each in Moremi, Khwai, Savuti, and Chobe.
We started at a Thakadu Lodge in Ghanzi for our Bushman experience. It was beyond excellent! Bushmen took us on a walk, showed us various plants, explained some tracking and made a fire in a few minutes with sticks. That evening they put on an intimate dance and song performance. We had a surprise visit to the vulture restaurant which is not to be missed!
Although the Okavango is extraordinarily rich with wildlife, my favorite was the perfect remoteness of the Central Kalahari.
Eddy knows his animals and birds and was able to answer our many questions with great expertise. Even if you are not a birder, the birds of Botswana will make you want to be one.
During the trip every meal was prepared for us. Everyone showed great concern that we have what we wanted. Eddy noticed that we were drinking something we hadn't mentioned and immediately stocked up. He noticed that I liked hot sauce and made sure that there were several for me to choose from. Each home cooked dinner had a starter, soup or salad, main course and a dessert. All were very, very good, some were downright amazing.
Eddy is from Belgium and speaks French, German, and very good English. He also has native Botswana guides, Nueman, Gideon, and Mott who are fluent in English. Mott also speaks German. They all lead safaris.
Eddy's wife, Manu, was along, in charge of the kitchen for most of our trip. She is an inspired cook. We also had two wonderful Botswana, Mateo and Ez, preparing meals and camp. All four work as a team and were a joy to travel with making each camping site a relaxing and comfortable experience.
Our guide was an expert at knowing where to locate the animals and the wealth of wildlife we were able to see from lions, leopards and cheetah to honey badgers, bat-eared foxes, mongoose, and eagle owls was amazing!!! When you are in the vehicle you are safe yet able to get very close.
Kalahari Skies made all of our arrangements for Victoria Falls as well. They have local guides in Zimbabwe and, I am sure, Zambia. They also do safaris in Namibia.
We highly, highly recommend Kalahari Skies and their mobile safari experience!!!
Best guide, support, animal sightings, overall experience!
I have been on 5 safari trips throughout Africa. Newman is by far the best guide I have ever worked with. The support team was on top of every detail of our trip. We had the best time!
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Email Mark | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was the trip of a lifetime!
It was the trip of a lifetime. I had never gone on a trip like this and I was nervous about staying in tents, food, showers, toilets. But we were treated like kings and there were no issues with any of the facilities. The food was wonderful, the drinks were plentiful and always cold. Plenty of beer and liquor if you desired it. Took and fulfilled drink requests before the trip. Hot showers every day. Comfortable bedding, roomy tents. The guide, Newman, was outstanding. We called him Dr Dolittle as he always knew what the animals were going to do before they did it! Other trucks would follow animals from behind, he would go where the animals would be in a few minutes! He knew everything about the animals, he has been a guide for 30+ years.
I highly recommend this company without reservations.
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Email Phil S. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It's all about the guide
We had six men on a "boys camping trip" through Botswana and it was awesome! Our guide Newman was fantastic - immense store of knowledge about the area and the animals and we had great sightings the whole trip - he got us to the right places at the right times. Our mobile tented camp wasn't luxurious, but was quite comfortable, the food was great and the guys helping were both efficient and wonderful to be around. Highly recommended and great value!
2 families, 6 wild teenagers, plenty of wild animals and 2 wild guides!
It took us a long time to choose a Mobile Safari operator for our 10 night tour in Botswana and we are so glad that Kalahari Skies was the chosen one. There are a lot of people to keep happy when 2 Australian families of 5 are travelling and Kalahari Skies managed to do that with professional excellence. We were in the capable, friendly and caring hands of guides Newman and Killo. After 10 nights they were part of the family.
Every part of the safari was well planned with fabulous tents, hot showers, delicious food (keeping the vegetarian and gluten free very happy), friendly smiles, animal knowledge etc etc. However, the real reason you want to go with Kalahari Skies is because their vehicles are the best in the business. Many times we drove past other companies with open safari vehicles early in the morning to see their clients so cold and miserable while we stayed toasty warm behind the sliding windows. A couple of hours later we would just drop the windows right down and enjoy being mere metres away from the amazing display of healthy predators and their prey. Those vehicles were thrashed along the dirt roads and stood up to the test very well (we were bogged once but that's part of the adventure!)
The Bradleys and Bivianos would like to give their sincere thanks to the beautiful people that are Newman and Killo, the wonderful cooks that are George (who somehow managed to make a 50th Birthday cake on an open fire) and Matteo (who can speak Chinese), the fabulous bar stocker that is JT and our amazing 'jacks of all trades', Ronald and Matsuabe.
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Email Kaete Daum | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This trip will be a lifetime memory!
Gideon was our guide. Matheo and Sydney cooked and set up camp. My husband and I were on safari with our 18 year old granddaughter - a 9 day camping safari in Botswana. I have been on safari the "fancy" way several times in South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania in the past and wanted our granddaughter to experience something more authentic. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Our campsites were outstanding, the food was remarkable - especially for being cooked over a fire. Coming home in the evenings to the twinkling of lights and the smell of a campfire was magical. The outside showers were a treat. There was no detail left uncovered for our comfort and delight. I highly recommend a camping safari with Kalahari skies. If you can get Gideon as a guide - he is a treasure. All three together were the dream team. Go and enjoy the beauty!