Chobe Camping Trip a Highlight

by Albert Sebastian
(Australia)

Just want to give you feedback on the trips you booked on our behalf. Everything went smoothly, and we thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it.

Transfers:

All were on time, good vehicles.

Rainbow Hotel in Victoria Falls:

While this was a nice hotel we had issues with the first stay. The bathroom had a major leak from the shower and flooded the bathroom. We had to report this to reception three times to three different people before they sent someone to have a look (changes in shift, no notes kept), and the maintenance person insisted it was the toilet blocked even when we told him it was the shower. We insisted to be relocated to another room which they did. Looked like a refurbished room with a stand-alone shower (the original had a shower over long bath). The second stay was better.

This hotel had a huge bull elephant that came into the gardens every day, much to our delight. The mango trees attracted the animals. Also warthogs and lots of baboons roaming around, but they didn’t bother anyone.

Breakfast service was slow (long wait for coffee), and they didn’t seem to be ready for opening in the morning (no bread, we had to ask for butter and one day we were told no jam or marmalade!). On the last night during dinner the duty manager came and spoke to us about the issues, but I wasn’t sure if she understood or even took notes).

Chobe (Kalahari):

Amazing. While the tented camp was basic, we managed. Food was great (chef Bernard and his helper) and we had an absolutely great guide (Axe). We saw almost every type of animal in the Chobe National Park and the riverside (lions, cheetah, leopards, elephants, hippos, buffalos, impalas and other antelope, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, crocodiles, rare wild dogs, lots of birdlife). The guide mentioned that he hadn’t spotted the wild dogs in over a year. Good photo opportunities. We had a small group of six which was perfect. Meals at the camp were great, fresh bread and salads plus mains cooked fresh daily. One could hear lions every night, plus a small honey badger that was scratching around the tent that scared us on the first night. Bush toilets were an experience. We had fresh hot water daily in a bucket to wash ourselves just using a towel, the bush shower was used only used by a couple as the lukewarm water runs out very quickly.

One small thing I may add is that the tented area was very dark, only dim solar lights. It would have been great if they had small LED lanterns at least when dining so we could see our food, plus inside the tents. We had small torches that were inadequate. I understand lights attract bugs but a UV light would have attracted more bugs and taken care of them. I would have taken a LED lantern for us to use if I had known. Bugs were everywhere, even inside tents that were kept zipped tightly.

Meals at the Coffee Buzz café were great, large portions. Nice to be able to use their clean restrooms and facilities such as Wi-Fi!

Victoria Falls:

Our tour of the falls was good. Pity there was not a lot of water in the falls due to drought and dry season. The Bamba tram was great, we did end up going to the Zambia border crossing to see the museum and lookout even though we didn’t have a visa. The Boma we really enjoyed the food and music. The Zambesi river cruise was great, unlimited drinks and good food.

Once again, I hope the feedback can be passed on to the relevant people.

Best regards,