DESERT & DELTA

Our Clients’ Reviews

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  Devyani Patel

  DESERT & DELTA

  

  Written July 2009

  A fantasticly run trip. A lot to cover in two weeks and some great sitings. 

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  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  Star gazing, sleeping under the stars, and the true traditional bush camps was the real african experience!

  Really emjoyed the Sand dunes as well.

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Linda, Chris and Francis were our leaders, they did everything possible and developed a great team spirit. Really enjoyed their company and ability to deal with such a large group, accomdating everyone.

  Food was beyond expectations, every day was a suprise and absolutely delicious, thanks to our cook Francis and he was very considerate in looking out for everyone's food requirements.

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  Groups trips are always a gamble, but we lucked out with such a wonderful group of people, mix of ages and experiences and real team spirit.

  This was the first time I camped, so I did quite well, some of the camp sites were really nice with nice facilities. One drawback was that the trip at times felt like a bootcamp, with early starts at 5am almost every day, packing up the tents, and then being on the road for hours through the day.

  Time of the year is s also cold at night (some nights freezing at 0degree celcius). I would not camp in the cold in the UK, so be warned, it does get cold. 

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  Trip needs to be extended a few days, so that not every night is a stop over with early mornings.

   
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  Alison Buchanan

  DESERT & DELTA

  

  Written July 2009

  Great itinerary to a beautiful part of Africa - Namibia and Botswana are stunning and this trip certainly packs in the best bits. 

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  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  • wild camping in the Okavango delta - a magical place - especially enjoyed the mokoro ride (dug out canoe) to get there
  • amazing sand dunes at Sossuvlei - so much better than the pictures
  • seeing dozens of shooting stars at Spitzkoppe and all the beautiful sunsets
  • great game viewing at Etosha
  • my first ever skydive

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Linda, Chris and Francis were a fantastic team.  They worked together well, and made sure that we all had a great time.  This was the first time this itinerary had run in this format, and as such was a journey of discovery for them as well as us.  Plenty of communication and discussion of alternatives meant that we all got the best out of the two countries.   Thanks to Francis we all ate extremely well, with plenty of variety. 

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  Embrace the 11 nights camping - it really is the best way to see Africa, but don't expect hot showers every day, campsites in Namibia and Botswana are a little more basic than say South Africa.  My two favourite campsites, on the Okavango and at Spitzkoppe had no showers at all (or even proper toilets!), but I loved the tranquility of both.  

  Winter in Southern Africa - ie May - Sept does see some real extremes of temperature, so be prepared to get very chilly at night and pack your thermas/very warm sleeping bags....but the plus point is that the daytimes are much more pleasant, which is great for being in the outdoors.   The sun will still shine a lot and the sunsets in the Kalahari are like nothing else I have seen.

  Be prepared for some very long travelling days - which in the winter seem longer because of shorter daylight hours.   Bring a really really good torch - even in proper campsites there was little ambient light (so fab for star gazing).

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  This is a brilliant trip - we had a superb mix of people and all got on very well, which made the long travelling days seem much shorter.  But due to lack of daylight hours, we often arrived in campsites at dusk/after sunset and had to leave often at first light to fit everything in.  We all felt that we could have done with another 2 - 3 days on the trip to feel like it was less of a rush round Africa and would have liked to spend more than one night in a few places, instead of always being on the move.