Gondwana Tours & Safaris on safari in the Okavango
Gondwana Tours & Safaris
- Offices In:
-
United Kingdom
Portugal
Germany
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $1,200 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Sue | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Rock solid organisation and knowledge of the destinations.
I don't normally write reviews but Steffi from Gondwana Tours & Safaris recently arranged a trip for me to Botswana, Reunion Island and Cape Town. She listened to my ideas, told me about other things I would not have known about, then carefully crafted a tailored itinerary for me. She kept in touch throughout the process and it all went smoothly even though the logistics around some of my ideas were a bit challenging to begin with. I highly recommend their service and can't say enough about their practical knowledge and expertise. Thank you so much for organising a trip I'll never forget !
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Email Yasmin | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent service, superb game viewing and seamless transition from Safari to Gorillas
This was my second Safari thru Gondwana Tours and once again it was fantastic. Communication with Mark is very easy, he listens to your requirements and offers suggestions and then puts together an itinerary for you. This adventure was a little different since we were doing a safari in Kenya and Gorilla Trekking in Uganda. Everything went off without a hitch and the local partners in Kenya and Uganda were excellent. Game viewing at Porini Lion Camp was amazing, a pride of 20 lions, cheetahs and leopards amongst the cats.
Gorillas viewing was the highlight of our trip and the service and care we got, when my friend broke her ankle was outstanding.
Have been recommending Mark to a lot of friends now.
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Email Alex | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mark Hathaway of Gondwana planned an excellent and seamless Botswana tour for us
Mark’s progression of our trip from Victoria Falls to Kasane to the Okavango Delta was well planned.
To some extent our venues were dictated by availability, and maybe we would have enjoyed alternate venues as much, but it worked out marvelously well. In retrospect, I would not want to have visited Victoria Falls without staying at the Victoria Falls Hotel. I enjoyed staying in that Edwardian colonial hotel almost as much as the Falls. Likewise, in Kasane, one day in the Garden Lodge, and two days at Pangolin was perfect, but I would not have wanted the full three days at either. And then to be at Rra Dinare with only a few other guests (between 2 and 4 depending), basically alone in the concession, was wonderful, especially following the busier Chobe National Park.
The arrangements were virtually seamless. Flame of Africa was always prompt. All the transfers worked without a hitch or worry on our part and we were able to participate in both morning and afternoon events at each venue. We appreciated Rodney of Gondwana meeting us at Maun on our return. Our private (there were three of us) helicopter flight over Victoria Falls was great, as were our private game drives in the Okavango Delta, and our bush plane flight out of hte Delta.
Mark’s advance information was complete and very helpful. Even though the Visa process at the Victoria Falls airport is very poorly organized, the Flame of Africa driver waited for us without complaint. The Pangolin Lodge was a photographic safari for everybody. I wasn’t sure it would be my cup of tea, but it was great and improved the rest of the Botswana game experience. Despite all of the above, Gondwana's price was very reasonable in comparison to others.
CA
Email Anne | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful vacation and perfectly planned
We had great communication with Mark Hathaway from the very start. Mark was very patient with us, changing our itinerary to suit us and our price point and timeline. He was very knowledgeable about all of the lodges and camps that we planned to stay at and gave us pros and cons for each. Everything was planned to the tiniest detail. Our vacation was outstanding and we can't wait to go back. When we do we'll be using Gondwana again.
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Email Becky | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Another great experience with Gondwana
We just returned from 3 days in the Motswari Private Reserve in SA. Once again, Mark and team organized an incredible trip! I can't say enough about the safari staff and their unending effort to make our stay wonderful. We saw so many animals, that I literally have to try to remember on which day we first saw a leopard eating its "fresh kill" , a lion pride, the pack of wild pups being fed by their mother, or the mama elephant nursing her baby. Our guide and tracker, Landon and Brian could not have worked harder to make sure we saw everything possible. The food was fantastic, as was our accommodation. This is our 2nd trip with Gondwana and I would highly recommend their company!!
Email Robyn McCabe | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
TAILOR MADE HOLIDAY TO BOTSWANA, NAMIBIA, ZIMBABWE, and MOZAMBIQUE
Pom Pom Camp (Botswana) was our favourite. Guides, accommodation and meals were exceptional. A vast array of animals to view considering that the Okavango Delta in suffering from drought conditions.
Chobe River Princess: Highly organised. Comfortable accommodation and amazing 5*restaurant meals and service. This was relaxing time for us
Bayete Guest Lodge (Victoria Falls): Great ambiance. Meals and service excellent. The Lodge was running on generator power due to Government load shedding of their power supply. No complaints as this was out of their control. We walked through the Victoria Falls National Park viewing points as well as the historical Victoria Falls Hotel. We also did a quick flight over the falls which gave us a great perspective of The Falls from above
Elephant Express Train: Most enjoyable way to travel to our Bomani Tented Lodge
Bomani Tented Lodge: Great accommodation, Guides, Staff and especially the manager Karen who went out of her way to make us all feel at home.
Meals here was exceptional as well. There wasn't so much a variety of animals at this camp as at Pom Pom. We did have up close encounter with the Elephants drinking at the watering holes from inside the viewing hide. We visited the Nagamo Primary school here which was a highlight for us
Bahia Mar: (Vilanculos): We had a nice relaxing time here. Amazing accommodation with a beautiful view of the waterfront. Meals and service were fantastic.
We did a day trip out to one of the islands on a Dhow boat. I joined some locals of a 'Beach Clean Up' walk which was rewarding
Thank you Jonathan for your expertise in organizing our Southern African adventure
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Email Lissa Halliday | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent
They interpreted our needs perfectly and the holiday exceeded our expectations.
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Email Eric | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Birthday in Botswana
Mark with Gondwana was extremely helpful. I emailed him to suggest an itinerary that fit my budget. Within a few minutes I had several options to choose from. I picked one that looked good and emailed Mark. There was some confusion on my end with whether my daughter could join us. At one point she was gong then she couldn't and finally she ended up joining us. Needless to say Mark handled all of our going back and forth with no problem. We did alter his suggested itinerary a bit and stayed a little longer in the bush camp so we could do an elephant activity. Again Mark handled this no problem. We ended up staying 2 nights in Vic Falls, I booked my own Devil's Pool and an incredible dinner cruise with Zambezi Explorer. We then transferred to Kasane, Botswana and stayed at the Bakwena Lodge for 2 nights and 3 days and then flew to Stanley's Camp in the Delta. Mark arranged all of the lodging and ground transfers. Everything went smoothly, including special requests for vegetarian meals for my daughter and he also informed the staff at Bakwena about my wife's birthday and they sang a nice song. Overall it was a painless experience and fit our budget with no surprises.
Email Kelly Foster | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Serengeti
We added a short, 3 night safari in the Serengeti to our holiday , after spending 10 days in Zanzibar in September this year.
All ideas for camps and lodges were made by Gondwana Tours & Safaris. We found all their suggestions spot on and had a fablous time.
Olakira Camp in the north Serengeti was, in short, fantastic! Pascal, the camp manager, and his team were wonderful, polite, well informed and amazing.
We saw more wildlife than we expected - thanks to very knowledgeable rangers who drove us around. We saw the Big 5 nearly every day! the river crossing was quite an experience too! The meals were absolutely delicious - them taking into account of different dietary needs.
Sitting around the camp fire, having sundowners along the river beds (with crocodiles and hippos wallowing nearby!), adventurous and exciting game drives, resting in the magnificent tents, sitting in the communal lounge area - each and every experience was priceless!
We could not have asked for a better experience, and would recommend it to anyone.
Thanks to Gondwana Tours and Safaris for making all the arrangements for us. They all worked perfectly without any delays (except for our friends from Fastjet on the day we left Zanzibar).
A trip of a lifetime!
Thank you again to Gondwana Tours & Safaris
SG
Email Kin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Knowledgable, responsive and overall very effective. Excellent value!
We decided to do a last minute safaris trip to Botswana during the peak season. We reached out to several tour companies, but not many responded. Mark Hathaway at Gondwana responded and proposed an initial package that has largely met our requirements. He was very patient in answering our questions and adjusting the itinerary accordingly. Email communications were responsive and effective. Able to find us good camps at a last minute and at a very reasonable price. I would definitely recommend Mark and Gondwana....