Botswana Safari – Client feedback by Anne-Marie Mulder

Anne-Marie’s clients stayed at Banoka Bush Camp, Xigera Camp and Chobe Game Lodge where they experienced a game-rich Botswana Safari.

“Hi Anne-Marie,

I’ve been remiss in not getting back to you sooner after our recent trip.

The trip was fantastic.  The arrangements you made for us were perfect.  Each place we stayed had unique differences from the others, which gave us a broad range of experiences.  And each was great in its own ways.  We had excellent guides at Banoka, Xijera and Chobe.  And saw a spectacular array of wildlife.

I took many pictures – 2500+ in all.  I’ve been working my way through them building a set to put up on the web on Picasa.  I’ll send you a link as soon as they’re ready.

I’ve been telling people this was the best trip of my life.  And I’ve made many trips.  Maggie and I plan to come back to Africa soon.

Thanks you so much for an excellent job.

Best Regards,

Hal”

 

“Dear Anne-Marie,

It’s difficult to know exactly what to say about our safari.  There are some experiences that simple words do no justice.  To start, we were very pleased, didn’t want to leave, and are ready to go back!  Does that tell you how much we enjoyed it?  The people of Botswana were incredible, the camps were beautiful, the guides were excellent, the food was way too much and way too tasty, and the experiences with the animals and the country was magical.  It was so above and beyond anything I might have imagined, had I been able to do so.  Since I had no idea what I was getting into, I had very little to imagine or be concerned about.  I read the websites and they all looked lovely but I’m a bit skeptical of what I see and read on the web.  You just never know exactly what is or is not true on the Mighty Web.  All along, I felt like I was “along for the ride”.  This was Hal’s gig as he is the true animal/bird person in our family.  I tend more toward flora than fauna but I can tell you that I have an entirely new take on wildlife now.

A brief rundown:

Joburg and the Fairlawn–amazing.  I thought if this was what our entire trip was going to be like, I knew I’d love it!  Talk about creature comforts! The Mandela Museum gave us a wonderful overview of the recent social/political history of South Africa and an entirely new take on racial persecution.  It was a very moving experience.  I grew up in the Southern US and racial issues have been a part of my life since childhood.  The museum presentation gave me a far better understanding than anything I have experienced or read about.

Banoka was fabulous.  We had a very special guide who was knowledgeable and willing to share all the details.  And, when Vinny discovered we were seriously interested, he really opened up to us.  What a special person.  Comforts with a capital C within the camp.

Xigera was a camp not to be missed.  The first day, Dennis took us for a brief boat ride to spot the Pell’s Fishing Owl and spot it we did.  And there were many, many other birds and game that we saw.  Dennis’ love was birds so he and Hal really hit it off and he made every effort to be sure that Hal saw (and photoed) everything he could.  A swim in the lagoon of the Okavango for our sundowner was the perfect end to a perfect day. Beautiful place run by folks who’s sole job it seemed to be was to make us feel welcome.

Chobe Game Lodge was a bit of a culture shock in the beginning.  Johan picked us up at the airport–the GM of the lodge.  He immediately took us out to a boat that had a trip in progress.  We felt as if we had entered into someone’s private space and didn’t belong.  We were ready to leave thinking we should have stayed in the bush.  (And by the way, we live in the “bush”.  We are 30 miles from the nearest town and our nearest neighbor is over a mile away so being out by ourselves, or nearly so, is a way of life for us.)  Dinner was a bit of an elaborate production for which we were simply not mentally prepared.  However, next day, when we were back with our guide, Tshidi, on a game drive, things turned around. Tshidi quickly learned that we were very interested and took every caution to be certain that Hal got just the photo he wanted.  After this, things were fine and we loved the place and the animals.  Plus, our jeep was never packed or crowded and that helped.  It was a beautiful, wonderfully relaxing spot.  My favorite experience of the trip took place there with a herd of elephants crossing the Chobe River.  Awesome!

Zimbabwe and The Kingdom hotel was a very different experience.  The falls were incredibly beautiful but had none of the magic of the animals for us–especially with all the tourists.  Neither of us really enjoyed the hotel nor the food there–just too “cheezy” as my kids would say.  Too much of the sadness of the casino scene and there were virtually no clientele so that made it seem even worse.  We ate most of our meals at the Victoria Falls Hotel and really enjoyed the evening show and the views there.  We also saw a couple of other places we would have preferred to be other than The Kingdom but we survived.  In the total picture, this was NOT a big deal!! [The Kingdom Hotel was booked due to availability].

Then the Peermont.  You can probably guess that I felt the same about that as The Kindgom.  The “Las Vegas of Africa” was just too funny. However, it did have the effect of causing us to be ready to go home which we had previously not been!  So, it had it’s place.  I surely would not want to stay there again.  The room was fine, tiny though it was, but there was no decent food and the only stomach problems I had during the trip, I had from eating that awful food in the food court of “Caesar’s Palace”.  ICK!  But, once again, this was only a tiny flaw in the entire picture. [The Peermont Hotel was booked due to its close proximity to the airport].

The flights–our first bush pilot, Bianca, looked to be about 12 and was a cute, tiny blonde woman who needed a booster seat to reach the controls.   I suspected she was older than she looked! <:)  She was a great and very attentive pilot who got us where we wanted to go and safely.  Cameron who was our last pilot, obviously had far more hours than Bianca and was probably on his was to some major airlines as soon as he accumulated enough hours.  The flying was great fun!

Overall, it was the most perfect and incredible trip we’ve ever taken and everything went like clockwork.  We are almost ready to plan the next one!!  We think that one will be Switzerland (our son in law is from there so we’ll visit his family), Cairo/Luxor, Tanzania–at least at this moment!! When?  Who knows!

So, many thanks to you for all your planning and replanning.  Your knowledge and understanding of what Hal wanted out of this trip was excellent and he got what he wanted–2500 photos which he is now beginning to edit.  One of the very poignant moments for me was when I was talking to Tshidi (our guide at Chobe) about Hal’s photography.  I said something to the effect that he would certainly “drive me crazy” with all these new photos–in a joking manner, of course.  I LOVE his photography.  She said to me, “Oh, don’t ever let him know you feel like that.”   Something straight out of Ma Ramotswe’s mouth!  She would have told me the very same thing and so it became clear to me that Alexander McCall Smith does indeed have a deep understanding of the people of Botswana.  They are very special, indeed.

We greatly appreciate all that you did for us.

In gratitude,

Maggie”