Zimbabwe Wildlife Trips

This was an amazing experience and its memories will live with us for years to come. Very well looked after by the the team whose care, passion and professionalism contributed to the complete success of the trip from Chobe to Okavango Delta, from Matopos to Hwange and finally to the majestic Victoria Falls

This trip could not have been better. Everything was meticulously planned and flawlessly implemented, the lodgings were beautiful, and the itinerary was just what I wanted: wildlife-centered. The safari guides were truly super-human in their ability to track and find the animals. They seemed to communicate with them and read their moods, all the while talking quietly to us about the animals' diet, behavior, habits, and lifespans. Because we covered some long distances, we were able to see a lot of the countryside of Botswana and Zimbabwe, and we got to go to places that I couldn't have gotten to on my own. It was a all-around superb trip.

*The good: - Trip manager was great and planned the schedule well - with sufficient time given at the attractions/ sites. - Add-ons such as game drives, rafting, swing was highlight for me personally. - Cape town had the best accoms (don't set expectations too high based on the first nights) But otherwise the rest of the nights were generally good/ comfortable. - Loved the trip overall! *The to-note (personal views/ just for reference): - Be prepared for no proper toilet facilities in chobe special stay. No proper toilet. No electricity. No shower facilities. - There are many activities which require add-on costs, and need to budget quite a lot for them. That said, if you choose not to do the add-on activity, you’re pretty much wasting the time as there is usually nothing much else to do in the area, and will be waiting for the others to complete those activities. Charges for the activities were in ZAR, rather than USD. So there were some price discrepancies. - Personally felt that vineyard wines were not great (but then u’ll be sitting at the vineyard anyway); while the traditional african feast dinner in kruger and penguin experience in boulder’s were not worth it. - Depending on the season, you may end up visiting 4 countries (incl Zambia) instead of 3. Check in advance if u should get insurance/ data for the country (or prep extra $ for VISA entry to Zimbabwe - since there’ll additional entry back to Zim). - Some places are sandy to walk in/ requires quite a big hike - prep proper hiking shoes/ sandles. - Many (very) early mornings.

The trip exceed my expectations. It covered soo much, from the beautiful town of Cape Town and the gorgeous Table Mountain looming above it to the spectacular Kruger & Chobe National Park where we had our fair share of animal encounters both close and afar. The amount of activities we did to cover a broad range of things from learning about the local struggles, cuisine and language to jumping off a bridge over 100m high at the adrenaline filled Victoria Falls Bridge. This tour covered it all. Our guide, was magnificent. He was so informative making sure we knew what we were doing days ahead, gave us so much information and guidance with whatever the tour presented. He has so much knowledge and could answer nearly every question we threw at him. He was also so friendly and really connected with the group, which made it all the more enjoyable. Overall, it was the most amazing experience of my life.

I thought every single day was the best day of my life... Until the next day came along and overtook it, and then the next day and the next... The Okavango Delta is pure magic. Easily the best place to see wildlife in Africa (and I have been to most of them on Contiki's). Its remote, there are barely any other tourists on safari out there and it felt like we were truly in Africa, experiencing it for how it should be and not a tourist destination to see wildlife. The camping set up there is awesome, you arrive and everything is set up from your tents and bedding, to a fire place to sit around at night, to a dining tent and chill tent on the river to watch elephants come downt to drink in the middle of the day - right in front of us! On the Game Drives we saw lions and even Wild Dogs (Painted Wolf) pups as well as the adults on the hunt. The safari vehicles had fridges to keep the beers cold, charge ports for our phones and a roof to climb on to watch the sunset over the Delta's waterways while lions were calling in the distance. The Meerkats at the salt pans were amazing to see go about their day without even giving us a glance as we got close for photos and the sunset on the pans where you can see the horizon 360 degrees around you was extra special. And Chobe was out of this world... That sunset on the river when everyone had left the park but we stayed in it at Contiki Special Campsite, plus the leopard in the tree... Goosebumps... And I nearly forgot the adrendline and pure adventure of Victoria Falls. Bungeeing, rafting, heli flights, walking safaris... It has everything to get the heart racing but also some activity from sitting on safari vehicles. I guess some of the activities are pricey, but I felt super safe doing everything and would always rather pay a higher price for safety on the adventurous activities. I'd reccomend them all! The accommodation here felt so fancy with swimming pool, the spray of the falls in the distance, elephants drinking at the waterhole in front and out the back you could safely walk into town to do some shopping or exploring... A trip I could VERY easily do again and again. Every safari drive is different with varying chances of seeing different animals doing different things (drinking/eating/hunting/playing with babies etc etc). Every drive felt special and unique... The Africa bug has bitten me hard - I cant wait to go back

A terrific experience of seeing wonderful animals close up in their natural environments and enjoying the hospitality of so many people so proud to show their countries to best advantage.