Review: Safari in Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Chrizaan was friendly, organized and extremely knowledgeable about lodges and safari options that we were interested in. We booked an 11 night tour through Zimbabwe and Botswana starting in Victoria Falls at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge then going to Botswana to Chobe Game Lodge, Camp Okavango, Camp Xakanaxa and Leroo La Tau.

All the lodges were 5 star safari lodges or tented camps. The food was delicious and plentiful and the staff and guides were friendly, fun and very knowledgeable. We saw 4 of the Big 5 (no rhinos) plus hundreds of elephants, zebras, wildebeest, crocodiles and more.

The thing that stood out the most to us was how organized the tour was with Desert & Delta Safari Group managing timely flights between camps that coordinated flawlessly with game drives and meals.

Discover Africa Safaris made the entire experience very enjoyable. If anything went wrong Dev and his team were on it in moments. Every part of the trip was conducted by professionals from Federal airlines to the two safari lodges.

I can’t say enough about the Impodimo Lodge. The guide and tracker were excellent in both knowledge of the area and all the different animals we saw. All the meals were excellent and the staff were all so helpful and pleasant. We especially enjoyed sitting each night with our “jeep mates” for a great dinner and conversation. Sebastian, our guide would also regale us with wonderful stories. Sebastian, even ensured we made the last day morning trip because of a chance that there were cheetahs in the area. Sure enough we were able to take numerous photos of the 5 brothers and still make the flight back to Johannesburg.

Moving on to Hoyo Hoyo Safari lodge proved to be just as great. Although the meals were structured with only Trish and I at our table, the food was to die for with local dishes and wonderful desserts. Again the staff was of a caliber designated for 5 star accommodations. It also didn’t hurt when the afternoon elephant parade interrupted lunch time. I believe the only downside to our entire excursion was the return flight from Hoyo Hoyo as it was a commercial flight. That is how great of a time we had when the only thing to complain about was what every traveler complains about no matter where they are.

May I just say that if we were to make another trip I would be hesitant to use anyone other than Devryn and Discover Africa Safaris as our planner for another trip of a lifetime. Thanks to all!

Booking with Justin at Discover Africa, to plan my safari and Victoria Falls adventure turned out to be the best choice I made. Right from the start, Justin was friendly, responsive, and incredibly thorough—he answered all my questions and provided a detailed itinerary with great accommodation and tour options.

The wildlife encounters were amazing, thanks to local guides, and Victoria Falls was spectacular.

I really appreciated how Justin checked in with me throughout the entire trip to make sure everything was perfect and answered any questions.

My experience with Discover Africa was exceptional, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I’d recommend Justin and the Discover Africa agency to anyone without hesitation.

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!

We just returned from our first African trip and had an absolutely amazing and memory making trip. We are usually self planners for our vacations but with essentially no knowledge I attempted to do research on Africa and felt overwhelmed. As suggested from different sites I did contact several companies and ultimately chose Discover Africa and was certainly glad we did.

We worked with Susan and after a lengthy phone conversation and some e-mail follow ups she put our itinerary together. Revisions were not an issue for her and Susan provided some great knowledge when it came to deciding our ultimate plans. In hindsight, I never would have been able to co-ordinate all the different aspects of accommodations, air and ground transfers, and paperwork the way she did. The availability of using the TravelKey App was great.

Our 15 day safari far exceeded our hopes. Each camp/lodge had their own unique qualities and all the guides and staff overflowed with knowledge and kindness. As I told Susan, when the experienced guide gets his camera out because the siting was rare or exceptional you know you have had a WOW moment.

Susan was great about keeping tabs on us and assuring all was going smoothly. She even contacted the lodge to assist in getting my husband some food items more to his liking. Our trip itinerary consisted of:
2N-Xugana Island Lodge- Okavango Delta
2N-Camp Xakanaxa- Moremi Game Reserve
4N- Camelthorn Lodge- East Hwanga National Park
2N Insika Lodge- Victoria Falls
4N Sable Camp- MalaMala Game Reserve

We have been blessed with many wonderful travels prior to this trip but it’s fair to say we will go back and explore more of what Africa has to offer and Discover Africa, and Susan will take the lead!

Our experience with Discover Africa was great. Justin Van Wyk, our consultant, was extremely accommodating, worked through a number of options to meet our dates and requirements, and checked in at numerous occasions before during and after the trip to check that everything was okay and that we were having a fantastic time as to plan. Justin was extremely responsive and fantastic to deal with. I would highly recommend Justin and Discover Africa to anyone looking to organise an amazing safari.