Michelle’s guests, Don and Mary Parkhouse, gave an intricate and honest critique of their holiday to the Sabi Sand in Kruger, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Cape Town.
As I said, we had a great trip and I do not want to give any other impression. However, there are things we liked and didn’t like about each place we stayed. I’m going to give you a quick rundown.
The absence of electric lights in the room was a big problem for my husband. Luckily, they provided a lamp for the second night and it was much better. People with cameras need to be able to see to clean them.
We saw the greatest variety of animals here. Saw the big five in the first 2 game drives.
Our driver, Tiny, and tracker, AB or AP, were great. Staff was very friendly and food was great.
Other than lack of lights, would heartily recommend.
Victoria Falls:
Due to tardy flight and slow border crossing, we were unable to make the visit to the falls that afternoon. It was rescheduled for the late the next morning which made for an extremely busy day. I would caution against scheduling anything other than a meal for arrival day.
The birding outing was a huge success. Our guide was very good. He kept a list of all the birds we saw and emailed it to me.
We enjoyed staying at the Ilala Lodge. Had a beautiful room with a nice view. The grounds were very pretty and full of birds.
This was the prettiest place we stayed. The view of the river from the main area was gorgeous. The food was great. It was nice to have a menu with choices at each meal.
Our guide, Chipo(?), was fantastic. We had a 7 hour game drive the first morning we were there. She said we would stay out as long as we saw things and we just kept seeing animals.
There was electric lights here but they were dim. Much better than nothing!
Would not hesitate to recommend Chobe Chilwero.
Machaba:
After leaving Chobe, I really wondered what I had gotten us into when we drove up to Machaba. First of all, we had just driven an hour and 45 minutes in a game drive vehicle over game drive roads from the airstrip. To say that the tents were underwhelming was putting it mildly. I’m glad to say, that in this case, first impressions weren’t correct. We really enjoyed our stay here.
The food here had less variety but was very good. I had the best steak I’ve ever eaten here. The staff was not as client friendly as some of the other places but, overall, were fine.
Our guide, Glen, was great. He knew we were interested in birds and would point them out whenever he could. The last day we were there we were lucky enough to have the game vehicle to ourselves. We actually spent the 2 drives birding. We saw lots of animals but also lots of birds. It was great!
There were less animals here. Glen said that it was because there was still a lot of water available and the animals were spread out. He said the animals would be driven to the area around the river as it got dryer.
The biggest complaint about the camp was lack of water pressure in the shower. I did mention that in their evaluation.
We liked the feeling of being nearer to the animals. We were awaken by lions roaring, elephants splashing in the river and hippos making whatever you call that noise they make. Not to mention all the bird noises. Did not get that feeling in a room with real walls.
Would definitely recommend Machaba.
Cape Town:
Should have reserved 3 days. I would recommend that you recommend using a private car if one is as pressed for time as we were. We did not do that, took a tour to the Cape, which was fine but we could have seen a lot more with a private car. My bad.
We loved the Victoria and Alfred hotel; particularly its location.
Used the Hop On Hop Off bus the second day to go to Table Mountain. That worked great.
Would highly recommend a visit to Cape Town.
The only glitch we had in any of the arrangements you made was the cancelled flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. They were able to get us on the next flight and you were able to get a message to our transport, so all was well.
If we can make another trip to Africa, I will definitely contact you.
Thanks
The below photos were all taken by Don Parkhouse.
Mary
