Waterways & Wilderness, An Okavango Safari

This was my 6th trip to South Africa and Botswana and, as always, Matthys van Aswegen made it a happy, safe, and exciting experience! My roommate, Glenna, and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to South Africa’s Boulders Beach to visit the African Penguin Reserve and all the beautiful scenery in that area. Another Discover Africa staff member, Kayla Robson, joined Glenna and me for dinner one evening and it was such a delight getting acquainted with another Discover Africa person whose talents enrich the travel experience.

When we arrived in Botswana we were so pleased to have the two guides I have always requested and, even though I’ve been at Camps Moremi and Savute before, they provided us with safaris that added to my previous experiences, learning new things about animal behavior and, the bonus, twice seeing a cheetah – a cat I hadn’t yet seen in Botswana!

And I’m already planning my next trip to these two fabulous countries!

Magic tour, the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen in all my life, I really love this ancestral land: nature, wise animals, and humans with very big heart.

The tour was amazing. Everything was as advertised. The lodges selected for us were really nice All the guided tours allowed us to see all kinds of animals. The guides were very knowledgeable.
In general, we were very pleased with our experience.

Megan Warrington and Discover Africa made our 5 country African vacation a trip of a lifetime. She planned the perfect vacation for us. The pace was perfect, the sequence of countries was perfect, and the accommodations were truly amazing. She knew exactly what we wanted and needed along the way.

I would have never been able to put together such an amazing adventure. Discover Africa was there for us every step of the way. They made our connecting flights seamless, getting us through airports and border crossings quickly and easily.

They saved us so much time and energy, making the difficult things seem easy.

With Covid changing everyone’s travel plans, our trip was 2 years in the planning yet Megan was very understanding and patient with us. We changed dates and itineraries 2 or 3 times trying to make the trip possible and Megan just adjusted everything along the way so that our dream trip became a reality.

I just want to say thank you to Megan and Discover Africa for letting us experience your beautiful continent.

Right from the initial enquiry we were given useful advice on the type of trip to do in Botswana in February, the booking was handled efficiently, and all contact was of a friendly and courteous nature. We had some issues with our international flights, but our consultant (Judy Burrows) helped us to resolve these despite not having been involved in the booking process.

The safari itself ran very smoothly, from being met off our flight and assisted through the airport in Maun by representatives of the charter flight company (Moremi), through all the transfers between camps, and a final meet and transfer to our hotel at the end of our trip. The camps were all of an excellent standard, and we had many memorable sightings of animals and birds. The guides were very knowledgeable and skilled at tracking predators in particular.

The food was excellent, and rooms comfortable and clean. It was good to see that the safari company (Kwando) employed mainly local people at all levels including management, and the inclusion of a short session of singing and dancing by camp staff before dinner one night was a highlight of the holiday.

I would definitely use Discover Africa again for future trips.

Right from the first query till the last day of reaching back home, Megan was so responsive which made my decision to opt for discover Africa an excellent choice.

The challenges and positives of each option was clearly outlined at each step which made our decision matrix easier. The lack of water in okovango was disappointing which could have been given as a disclaimer by discover Africa. Maybe it got lost in the chain of communique.

The three days in Oddballs camp and two nights at Kingdom in Victoria Falls were well managed. ODDBALLS is a basic tented camp but they make up for it with the hospitality. It’s not extravagant on food per se, but then the focus is on safari walks so that was fully met by our guides Congo and Alfred.

Our aim was to undertake numerous makoro rides in the reeds but lack of water all over Botswana did not see that happening. That basically reduced our reach into the Chiefs island. The 20 minute flight from Maun to the Camp and 1.5 hour flight from the Camp to Kasane was well managed without any hiccups whereas there were some other passengers who were left frustrated by some tour operators.

Kingdom hotel is a royal place to say but I should say that some of the facilities are worn down and gives a vintage look. The hotel could not accommodate our children in closeby rooms which again in my review gives them a minus. The Falls are just 5 minutes away and the sun downer cruise and Falls walk organized through Wild Horizons by Megan was outstanding.

Overall an excellent five day package well coordinated and orchestrated by Discover Africa with minimum hassles. Thank you