Cape Town, Botswana and Victoria Falls Safari

We really enjoyed our trip from South Africa to Botswana and Zimbabwe! Sometimes a lot of whether a trip is successful comes down to the logistics. In this case, Susan Veldman and the company took care of all details related to our accommodations, transitions between countries and transportation from day to day so that our trip was seamless. The vendors and their staffs (hotels, restaurants, drivers, etc.) were so helpful and friendly. The experience was amazing!

For organising just a great trip. Every destination was different, but all the accommodation was first class. The managers were first class and always had my transfers in hand. Took the helicopter ride at Victoria Falls really add to the walk along the Falls. The people in Botswana are wonderful and happy really added to the stay. The safaris were fantastic!

We booked our safari adventures in Kenya and Tanzania with Susan at Discover Africa. The trip was nothing short of amazing, one of the best safari experiences we have ever enjoyed. Susan was thoughtful and patient throughout the planning process and really took time to understand what we wanted in a safari. Her recommendations were perfectly on point for us and our travel needs.

All logistical elements were smooth, and the services and amenities at both lodges that Susan recommended were exceptional. Our stay at Nimali Mara was particularly special with guide, Benson, offering us not only great sightings, but amazing animal interactions – from curious lion cubs playing (some still in the den) to lions mating to a lion challenging hyenas to access a watering hole! Our big cat experiences were truly top notch.

Thank you Susan for arranging such a special and memorable vacation for us; we will surely be in touch to plan our next African adventure.

I had 2 months lead time to plan a Botswana safari so I googled tour companies. After emailing a few, I chose Discover Africa. Susan Veldman responded quickly and was able to figure out an 8 night safari, with stays in 3 different camps. Each one was amazing. The kindness of each and every staff member at all 3 was heartwarming. The bush flights between camps were so easy once we did our initial one. I was stressed about the suitcase and weight restrictions, but it was really a non-issue.

They don’t measure or weigh anything. I had purchased 30” roller duffles but then saw it was 24”, so changed to an over the shoulder bag. The 30” would have been fine. Each camp also provides mosquito repellent so no need to take. The food was absolutely delicious and so much: breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, cocktail hour, and dinner. The trip was surreal. After a week, we felt like we were gone a month!

Amanda's Botswana Safari Adventure

Excellent trip! Chrizaan was fantastic — she helped us every step of the way and organised a truly magical journey.
I 100% recommend Discover Africa.

We had been thinking about a Southern Africa safari trip for a few years and had some valuable input from Zimbabwean friends who had been on tour many times. So we had a general idea of when and where but needed guidance on the finer details and options, as well as someone to put it all together once we’d agreed on an itinerary (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana). This was possibly going to be our one and only trip of this type so we wanted to get it right!

I saw an ad for a tour similar to what I had in mind so contacted Discover Africa (DA). Devryn was able to clearly outline his preferences that would meet the brief. He suggested the order of travel, how long at each place, what type of accommodation (generally getting better as we progressed), how to get from A to B, etc., via several email conversations.

We had a Zoom meeting with him before finalising the plan, where we were able to ask further questions, which he was able to answer confidently and competently, given he had been to these places himself.

We felt confident enough with his recommendations to lock it in 12 months ahead of the trip.
Naturally, you anticipate some things will go wrong on tour, e.g., a missed connection, a guide not turning up, or accommodation not being as described, and we were mentally prepared for that.

Garry's Safari Experience

However, every connection was made on time and the accommodation exceeded our high expectations!

The Safari experience itself (which Devryn obviously couldn’t guarantee) was superb. The guides from the lodges we used were experienced, informative, respectful of the animals, and considerate of what we had and hadn’t seen previously and so every day (twice a day!) was another trip into the unknown. Everyone hopes to see the Big 5, which we did early on. After that it was a matter of literally sitting back in the jeep and seeing what would turn up. The birdlife was better than I expected (the lilac-breasted roller was a favourite), and seeing small animals like mongooses (4 different species), a chameleon and a steenbok were unexpected highlights.

The food was varied at the various lodges, with usually a buffet of 3 main courses of western-style cuisine (although I ate wildebeest, crocodile, kudu and springbok when it was offered). We finished off with 3 nights in Cape Town to let the Safari experience sink in, which was a very good move.

So in summary, we did some initial research, worked out a plan with Devryn, and he nailed the brief. We’ll never know if it could have been even better, but I seriously doubt it.