Botswana Tours for Experienced Travelers

The Explore web page opens up with a statement “An adventure holiday company you can trust.” and this holiday proved that. Due to the extreme rain before we arrived the tour itinerary had to be changed. The new itinerary was just as good and our plans changed on a daily basis due to circumstances and events. Thankyou Explore, you gave me the opportunity to have a holiday of a lifetime. Thankyou fellow travellers, your company was amazing and we had so much fun and many laughs on the trip. Thankyou Bibi, as a tour guide you were brilliant, sorting unexpected events on a daily basis whilst ensuring we had an amazing wildlife experience. At our final group meal we sat around the table and discussed the holiday. Non of expected a holiday like we had just experienced and agreed our trip had been a proper adventure from start to finish! My holiday summary. Proper adventure! So much fun! Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!

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.

We had an amazing time with our guide Joe Kandjou. What knowledge and intuition he displayed, finding ourselves in prime positions for viewing wildlife. Joe had to drive on challenging roads, slippery mud in the parks after the heavy rains Botswana had had and we all felt very safe. The food we had everywhere was exceptional and the camping lads were just outstanding. Sitting in our mess tent, listening to lions roaring in the distance, hyenas whooping in the night, birds singing at the crack of dawn was just astounding.

Safari through Game Parks in northern Botswana with 2 days on the Okavanga Delta in a houseboat - BRILLIANT!! It was not easy for our Driver/Guide. There was unexpected flooding of the sandy tracks, designated campsites had to be changed to accommodate the prevailing conditions. The advanced party arrived before us to set up camp. All was in place when we arrived, with the evening meal being prepared for us. Our tents had built-in ground sheets which kept out insects and a private outside shower and earth closet toilet with seat and lid - all very neat and hygeinic- enclosed to the rear of our tents. We also stayed in wood-framed cabins with canvas walls and private bathrooms, plus some others, more substantial and very upmarket. We traveled in a 12 seater Safari Wagon, solid roof with open sides, (except when it rained or we were traveling quickly on main roads- then the transparent sides were attached to keep out the elements.) The houseboat on the Delta was lovely - it took us up river, then back, and we explored further into smaller channels in a motor launch. Saw lots of nesting birds, hippos and a crocodile. Tsodilo Hills rock paintings were interesting too...... When out on game drives we met lions. leopards, cheetahs, all with young. Elephants, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, warthogs and many different deer.... Wonderful! This is a VERY sedentary adventure - NO WALKING ALLOWED - You can walk inside the campsite but not outside it. The safari wagon travels, you sit. For 2 weeks. Expect swollen ankles, unless you can elevate your feet or do lots of exercises..... But it is worth it - a wonderful experience, not to be missed.

Our Botswana trip was a real adventure. There had been a large amount of rain prior to the trip so the destinations and itinerary had to be changed. As a result some of the camping areas were inaccessible and so the truck had a real problem getting in and out of them. We had to be towed out! Our guide Bibi was very experienced and we probably would not have been able to do the trip without his expert guidance and experience.

Great itinerary; visiting a variety of wildlife hotspots and scenery. It was the rainy season with many animals having recently produced offspring. We were lucky and saw a great variety of animal families from elephants, giraffes, hippos, jackals and various species of antelopes to lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs, not to mention the huge number of birds. The quality of accommodation varied from luxury lodges to simple tents. Camping in the rainy season has its challenges; everything is always damp and roads can be flooded. Our tour leader was excellent. Not only did he expertly navigate the roads there was nothing he didn't know about the animals we encountered. He also made sure that we had enough time to observe them and take plenty of photos. The tour ended with a visit of the spectacular Victoria Falls and we took the opportunity to go on a helicopter flight over the area which was well worth it. A memorable trip overall.