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Holiday to Botswana
Emil Hierhold, 10th March 2024The itinerary delivered exactly what we had asked for and fulfilled our expectations, actually exceeding them considerably.
Accommodation Visited
OR Tambo City Lodge
“A convenient location for our purpose, good value for money, nice atmosphere. The walk to the hotel is a bit long, but not a problem.”
Ilala Lodge Hotel
“Charming place, an elegant but welcoming atmosphere, and excellent facilities, perfect for a one-day stay. We also appreciated the walking distance to the many curio shops nearby.”
Lebala Camp
“We liked the hospitality of Barcos and his team; our guide, Elvis, was very knowledgeable and helpful without being overpowering. The tracker, Joe, was helpful and very friendly but needs quite some more training. We had expected a poor internet connection but were surprised that there was actually none at all. On the other hand, it was quite an experience to survive perfectly well without it for 3 days!
Lebala being our first Kwando camp, we'd like to state here that we very much appreciate the general attitude of Kwando towards preservation, sustainability, and respect for society and the environment: no plastic, glass bottles (labeled with our names), always refilled with fresh water. The information in the rooms is helpful and explains Kwando's approach and programs. We appreciated the little gifts (the scarf in Kwara, and the thermoflask in Nxai Pan). The folklore part performed by the staff (songs before the evening meal) is basically a good idea, but the dosage matters: in Lebala, it was on one of 3 evenings, and just three songs. This was perfect, especially as it was our first camp; in Kwara, it was okay, but in Nxai Pan definitely too much (every evening, half a dozen songs). The Kwando principle of having the guides eat with their clients was a bit strange initially but worked quite well, especially when the seating allowed interaction with other guests too.”
Kwara Camp
“Certainly the most luxurious camp (we heard that it is the "flagship" lodge), which was obvious just by getting on board the Landcruiser - fewer seats, room for storing things, upholstery everywhere... Our tent was very spacious, and of course, we were very happy to have internet again. Charles and Lizzy unobtrusively managed everything, the staff was perfect, our guide Shime extremely knowledgeable, able to answer all questions. Also, his tracker was experienced, spotted many things and was generally very helpful and forthcoming. The river cruise was beautiful and interesting, the Mokoro experience was valuable, albeit a bit frightening for me.”
Nxai Pan Camp
“We very soon overcame our initial disappointment with a much less luxurious camp compared to Kwara, and with the poor sightings on our first game drive. The semi-desert is, of course, a different environment, and the camp is much simpler. But it was exactly right for the cooling-down phase of our trip and we had explicitly asked to see different areas of Botswana, and the pan is quite different from the Delta! The greatest advantage was, for us, the waterhole close to the camp. We indeed stayed home one morning and just watched the coming and going there. Our guide, Gofa, was probably the best of all because despite his youth, he knew everything and was able to come forward with clear and easy-to-understand explanations in very good English. The tracker, Six, supported him very well, enhancing Gofa's words with pictures in his books of the things just seen (birds, animals, plants, etc). The camp is managed very well. Lets is a bit overpowering with her enthusiasm and should probably not force the staff to extend their performance beyond three songs...”
Staff Review
“After an initial misunderstanding, Ralph proved very helpful and supportive. Our big thanks, however, go to Greg for masterminding the trip at very short notice and proposing a plan that accommodated all our requests. The choice of locations and their sequence was perfect.”
