Africa Wildlife Trips

The Tour was great, and as with all good things, there can be improvements. While a pickup service to the airport and back was offered, it presented far too much stress, given that there was only one pickup per state and it had to be within a 50-mile radius of the originating airport. Too much time was spent meeting and organizing how to meet these requirements. I thoroughly enjoyed the safaris, but 8/9 was exorbitant, and one of South Africa's major attractions, Robben Island, was not included as a tour site. We captured amazing photos of the wild kingdoms, so this is not negative, except everyone is keenly aware of the decades-long history of Robbens Island! Kudos on the inclusion of the family visits, as I was able to learn more about the communities, the general political terrain, and it provided opportunities to deliver messages from our states to their homelands. The culinary choices were awesome, and the last evening's offerings of local foods were most informative. Special shout-out to the entertainers and especially the drummers. What a way to begin our dinner experience! Your choice of a Tour Manager was impeccable. He was knowledgeable and shared not just his knowledge but his passion for his country. Clearly, he was not doing this for a paycheck, but rather to extend friendship to other countries, showing that we are indeed "one!" He left no one behind; he was keenly aware of his group and their capabilities, as well as any physical abilities. Uriel is a KEEPER!!! The various drivers were the best; they shared amazing facts about the animals and highlighted key details of their natural habitats. Your selection of individuals who were hired to make our trip an epic journey did just that! Would I recommend Collette Travel/Tours to others? Absolutely!!!!!

This trip was mainly about bird watching and there were many boat trips. Highlights included seeing the roosting tree on the optional boat trip (I recommend you go on that), a carriage ride around St Louis, the giant boabab tree, the markets. The guide Assan was amazing. Any discomfort is indicated in the trip notes - public toilets not to Western standards, some hotels with no aircon nor hot water but this shouldn't impact on the overall trip.

A packed and varied itinerary with the extra bonus of seeing the king at the Akwasidae Festival, walking with elephants, visiting a monkey sanctuary and seeing the strange Picathartes bird, meeting local communities and seeing the castles where slaves were held. We had a great trip made possible by our helpful and very knowledgeable driver Prince and guide Oscar.

Overall excellent. One comment re. Georgetown. Super hot, 45 degrees. My body began to heat up at Wassau stone circles. compounded by heat within the rondavel ,where the fan only operated by the door. On the boat L developed heat stroke which was treated promptly by Asan and group members. Thanks to all.

Our travel agent, Shelli France of Air Bear Travel in Cheboygan, Michigan, recommended the Collette Southern Africa experience. At first it was a maybe but after reading the Collette brochure and saw the reasonable price, we decided to start our adventure. Got to admit most of the accommodations were beyond 5 star. The hospitality in Zimbabwe and Botswana were outstanding. Two locations The Wallow's and The Ivory Coast resort were exceptional. Victoria Falls was amazing the pictures and videos don't do justice to being there and feeling the roar of the Falls. The highlight of the trip were definitely the animals. Our numerous guides were excellent in locating the "big five" plus all the wild animals most of the world associate with Africa, giraffe, zebra, impala, warthog, baboons. Of course my highlight were the elephants, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, several different groups of lions and my wife's favorite the leopard. Getting to Cape Town was a nice way to slowly bring the trip back to a more relaxed pace. The Mandela experience was very moving. Couldn't believe all we did in just two weeks. I would highly recommend asking to get Gregory Jaftha as your tour manager. An incredible individual who made small changes so we could see everything we wanted.

We had an amazing time on this trip and it far exceeded my expectations. We saw lions, giraffes, elephants, jackals, zebras, ostriches, impala and countless other animals and birds. Our guide, KK, was excellent, patient and with a wonderful sense of humour. We marveled at his ability to spot animals and his ability to get close to them without scaring them. The camping support teams were excellent at cooking and setting up the camps. If you are considering this trip t is important to understand before going what the trip is like. We travelled in April which is at the end of the wet season and hence were impacted by rain on many days. In fact, because of flooding our itinerary was changed to include 3 nights at Kwalape Lodge because the camp planned for the first two nights was under water and we had to go to Nxai Pan instead of Moremi (which was too wet). You will spend many hours in a vehicle bouncing around on roads that run from excellent to terrible. The bush roads can be very bad whether it rains or not. The tarred roads often have potholes, and you will have to slow down for animals on the road both domestic and wild. Sometimes my body felt like it was still vibrating even after I was out of the vehicle. The camping experience is a step up from ordinary camping since the crew sets up your tents with bedding and cots. The food provided while camping was excellent - I still think about an apple cake the cook baked for our afternoon snack. For the evening meal they always provided a starter (usually soup), a main course with vegetables and a dessert. That being said, it is camping and if it rains you may have to use the outdoor toilet (ensuite to your tent) in the rain since there is no tarp over the toilet. The lodges we stayed in were great. In particular, we liked Batonka Lodge in Victoria Falls. It had a lovely outdoor covered patio with lot so comfortable seating. The meals at Batonka Lodge were also very good. Kwalape Lodge was ok - much better than camping - but it felt dark due to the thick bush it was surrounded by. Thamos Telele was very luxurious, but I did find the "captive" animals a bit disconcerting after having seen so many animals in the wild. The houseboat cabins were quite cramped, but we spent our time on the boat upstairs in the lounge/dining area looking out at the view. I really felt relaxed on the houseboat. In summary, I recommend this trip very highly for people who have a good sense of humor and can appreciate seeing the beautiful Botswana landscape and amazing animals while perhaps putting up with some physical discomfort.