Hello Brett
The trip was great overall. The air transfers wee amazingly efficient and smooth. There was a slight problem with the man picking us up at Kasane airport. He was a little confused about where to meet us. There was a long line at the Zimbabwe border as a tour group got there just before us but our guide was able to expedite the process for us for a small fee.
Xugana camp was great. They had a place called hippo pool where thousands of birds nest and it is really magical.
Savute Safari Lodge was also great. We saw lions and leopards there.
Banoka Bush Camp was quite dry at the time of our visit and the animals were few in number. The breakfasts were quite simple. The water based activities were somewhat diluted version of what we did in Xugana. We would probably choose to go to an additional water based camp similar to Xugana instead if we were to do it over.
We self drove in Kruger and also visited parks in Swaziland on this trip. We were in East Africa a few years ago. Personally I enjoyed the self drives in Kruger as we had the freedom and flexibility to do whatever we wanted. The volume of animal life in Kruger is amazing and there are enough self drivers there to help each other out. They do a great job of conserving rare antelopes in Swaziland so if that is what you want to see Swaziland is the place. There are virtually no cats in Swaziland.
Thanks for your planning.
Dan Kanada
