Most Inspirational Moment
There were lots of stand out moments but if we have to pick one it would be the game walks in the Okavango Delta. There were so many animals (hippos and elephants mainly) just a few minutes from our camp. The whole journey to get to the wild camp was peaceful and a fantastic way to build up the anticipation of visiting this magical environment, drifting along the waterways being steered by our poler. Even though we saw Vic Falls in the dry season this was still absolutely spectacular. I had originally considered a trip just to Botswana but I'm really glad I chose this combination trip instead, seeing the rhinos and the falls in Zim. We had also considered seeing the falls from Zambia - its way better from the Zimbabwe side.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Adonia (Ado) was great fun and made a real effort to get the group to gel together. He was open and realistic about his homeland (Zim) whilst passionate about its future. He had already done this tour 4 times this year before my trip, yet his delivery was fresh and his enthusiasm for what we would see and how much we would come to love both countries matched ours. Ado told us about the painted dog sanctuary and given how unlikely it is you will see one in the wild, the group wanted to visit. It was really interesting, and we all agreed it should feature on the official trip. The food he cooked for us in the Delta was great, and he tried really hard to cater for everyone's preferences. It was clear that giving us the best possible experience from the holiday was his number one priority. That was also true of our driver, Sefiso, who helped with booking up trips and told us where to get some great Biltong.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be prepared to be more "off grid" than most other holidays - electricity and wifi don't often coincide with free time. Buy plenty of water before visiting Matopo as the lodge there is pretty remote and only had tap water Buy a south african plug adapter (not part of a universal adaptor) Take something to read when you pack your small bag for the O Delta - this part of the trip does have a reasonable amount of free time, and not a lot to do between game walks
Suggestions
You may feel a little daunted by looking at the distances covered when travelling between all the places you'll visit. However, although you do spend quite a lot of time in the van, this is the best way to see so many beautiful and varied places, and thanks to Sefiso's driving it's a pretty comfortable experience. You will get a lot of use out of your camera and binoculars - we saw wildlife every single day, so it's worth investing or borrowing if you don't have either of these.