Reviews of Botswana Private Mobile Safari
(100%) From 33 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Botswana Private Mobile Safari review
The private mobile safari is an excellent way to live the wilderness of Botswana.
However, one should be aware when he / she initiates the travel that it is a totally different experience from the lodge. The game drives were excellent.
Honey Badger Heaven with Andrew
We had read really good reviews of Andrew private mobile safaris, and we weren't disappointed! We had a wonderful 8 nights with him and his team in Khwai and Savute. Andrew's knowledge of the wildlife and landscape was really impressive and his relaxed and friendly approach was underpinned by great attention to detail and an ability to adapt to his guests and understand their level of safari experience. We called this the Honey Badger trip. We had never seen one before and with Andrew we saw ten. The best sighting was the two who decided to come and do some foraging outside our tent in the middle of the day.
We were the only two guests. We spent 4 nights in Khwai, where we were near the the river; and then moved to Savute and a very different landscape. Andrew's team of 5 moved ahead and set up the camp. It was a very well-run operation and a lot of work went into creating a seemingly simple and old-style camp. Our meru tent was comfortable, with solar lamps in the evening; and an integrated bucket shower and long-drop at the back. It was attractive to passing wildlife too. There had been very little rain this year and so the elephants were particularly interested in our bucket shower and one looked over the top when we were in it! In Savute, hyenas came at night to drink from the canvas washbasins outside our tent. There was also an open-sided tent with a sofa for lounging in the middle of the day; some interesting old books on Botswana and its history; and, of course, the drinks cabinet.
The food was truly amazing, with menus chosen by Andrew's wife Pippa, and cooked by Alec over an open fire or in a metal box under the ashes. He produced a huge range of dishes, from tasty game stews, to Okavango fish, and delicious puddings, cakes and bread every day. Kene announced the menu each night; Tiny looked after the tents and washed and ironed our clothes (using an old-fashioned coal iron); and LB and Julian made everything run smoothly. It was a friendly, informal and tight team and we learned a lot from talking to them about their lives and plans for the future.
There had been very little rain and so the game was concentrated around the water. In Khwai, we saw many hippos and crocodiles on the river and elephants, zebras and giraffes coming down to drink. A highlight was the pride of lions feasting on a buffalo. There was a wide range of antelopes; vervet monkeys and baboons; and we had a glimpse of a leopard. We came across quite a few other vehicles in Khwai and there were other mobile camp sites nearby but Andrew was very good at finding his own routes and own sightings. You can walk in Khwai and we spent a great morning with Andrew pointing out the small stuff that you can never see from a vehicle - although we did also get close to a herd of zebras.
The drive to Savute was long and took us into very different landscape with rocky hills and dried up lakes, with water pumped into the few water holes. We pitched camp on a ridge on the edge of an escarpment. It was a leafier environment and we were miles from any other travellers. The huge and beautiful dried-out marsh held a very wide range of wildlife. We spent an hour watching the King of the Marsh Pride walking across and then lying in the shade by our vehicle. Lion sightings were generally good here and included a pride of females with 5 young cubs, who were completely at ease with vehicles. We also saw wildebeest, jackals, elephants, giraffes and hyenas. And we should mention the birds. Andrew was an amazing spotter and we saw 63 different species on this trip. As you can tell, we really recommend this trip!
As we were there in winter (end of June), it was really cold in the early mornings and quite cold at night. We had taken lots of thin warm layers and a woolly hat and we were fine with those plus the hot water bottles that were provided in the beds and in the open vehicle on the early drives.
Brilliant
One of the best experiences ever. Andrew was superb, we will return!
Read more about the whole safariMobile Safari
Our trip with Andrew Harkness and staff was the most memorable experience we have ever had. We have been fortunate to travel a lot, but have never experienced such marvels before. Everything was top rate, professional, informative and worth every penny.
Andrew was able to find hidden animals, birds, and plants, track animals, and share history of the area, country and continent. He catered to everyone’s interests with ease and congeniality. The transportation, accommodations, amenities and staff were also top notch. We have never had our clothes not only washed but ironed! I don’t even own an iron, let alone one that is heated with coals.
Everything had attention to detail about it, for example, the fancy jams every morning at breakfast, the fancy cookies at morning tea, the nightly bush babies in our beds, the hot water at morning and night and the cool water in the afternoon, etc, etc. I cannot start to say how incredible the food was. Every meal was a gourmet feast. I do not know how Alex managed the complexity of cooking the many delights we enjoyed over the campfire. We all gained weight on his delicious meals as nothing could be turned down. We were so fortunate to see such a huge variety of animals including many babies.
Andrew was very astute about safety, and kept us informed of daily events/activities.
Fantastic experience with Andrew
Loved everything about the mobile safari. I am not usually a camper but this was the best way to experience the land and animals in a remote wild wilderness.
I enjoyed waking up each morning from my comfortable bed as the staff gently called good morning and filled our basin with warm water. Andrew is a very knowledgeable guide that led us on driving and walking safaris. I was amazed at the daily fresh bread and gourmet meals prepared on the campfire.
In the evening, the stars and milky way captured our attention as we sat around the campfire and listened to the discordant metallic ting of bell frogs, roar of fighting impala, grunts of hippos, and huffing of lions.
The trip was both relaxing and exhilarating with sensory overload.
Botswana Private Mobile Safari review
This was an amazing experience. Our guide, Andrew, was very personable and knowledgeable. We were collected from Khwai airstrip and taken to our remote camp which was set up and waiting for us. The tents were light and airy with comfortable beds. The camp team made sure that everything was just right, they were all friendly and keen to make our safari special. We all agreed that the food produced by Alec was superb, especially since it was cooked over a fire. My unusual diet was well catered for. The drives were full of anticipation and Andrew found us many animals and birds. Our bird recognition improved as the time went on.
Next we drove to Savuti. The camp team expertly packed up camp and managed to get ahead of us and set up the new site. We, meanwhile, meandered through different landscapes on our route which meant that we saw a variety of wildlife. For the first time we saw hills. The camp site was in a beautiful, quiet position. The channel was dry but there were still many animals to see.
We enjoyed sitting by two cheetahs as they rested and seeing three male lion brothers laying out together early in the morning. But most unusual for us was to see several Carmine bee eaters escort our vehicle across the grasslands so that they could catch the insects we disturbed. One night whilst drinking by the camp fire we had a visit from two lionesses. We followed Andrew’s instructions and sat still. Eventually they skirted around us and exited the camp, it was the closest we had been to lions when not in a vehicle.
We all considered this to be the best way to experience a safari, we felt close to nature and enjoyed a wonderful guide. We thoroughly recommend this safari.
Botswana Private Mobile Safari review
A huge thank you from all five of us for a fabulous trip, which went so well.
Your recommendation of Andrew was brilliant: he was a great guide and we loved his approach with his mobile safari, the staff and the meals, and particularly the campsites he took us to, their remoteness and beauty. We had amazing luck seeing most of the bigger mammals in the first couple of days - the great sightings carried on through to the very end of the trip with Andrew.
He was also great at birding, my recent passion, so we had funwith that too.
Botswana Private Mobile Safari review
The private mobile safari with Andrew was SUPER and definitely the best experience of our holiday in Botswana!
Everything was top! The tents, the location, the service, the food, the safari....etc...
We had a very authentic feeling. With Andrew we had a very real safari experience, alone in the middle of Moreni NP.
When we go back to Botswana we will certainly do it again!
Botswana Private Mobile Safari review
Beautiful area and well advised / chosen as just what we wanted , wonderfully isolated .
Game viewing was a bit disappointing but that is always a risk and Andrew was a great guide and host and tried very hard to find game in such a vast area
Camping as expected, staff lovely and food very good.
A great change from the loges and a wonderful experience , game so relaxed that we had great views of everything and lots of time to watch animal behaviours. Lovely to be the only vehicle around for most of the time.
We are hoping the visit the Kalahari with the team in the future!
Simply the best
Although we have been on lodge safari's before they cannot compare to doing a mobile safari. Andrew and his staff are exceptional and the food cooked by Patrick the chef was outstanding, more so as it is all cooked on a bushfire!
I am not someone who likes camping so I was a little apprehensive before we got there, although I wanted to have this experience. The tent was spacious with hangers and shelving and the beds were comfortable. The attached bathroom is also spacious and the long drop loo has a comfortable enclosed seat. I would definitely say its glamping not camping!
The guys would usually top up the water canister for the shower before we had our afternoon snack. They always checked you were not using the bathroom before they went in and they kept everywhere looking neat and tidy. We even had various towel sculptures each day on our beds. All of the staff were friendly and polite and Andrew was a great host.
Andrew knew both the Savuti Marsh area and Moremi Kwai Concessions. He is very respectful of the animals and is relaxed and patient. He doesn't race around rushing from A to B like many of the other guides seemed to do. It was therefore much more comfortable in the truck as we tracked the animals. It was also nice that he did not use the radio, so it was very quiet and felt like there was nobody else around.
My husband enjoys bird watching and Andrew was very knowledgeable about them as well as the animals. We saw 113 species of birds during our stay as well as leopards, lions, wild dogs and more.
We decided on a private safari after reading some blogs and reviews and it did not disappoint. We felt very well looked after by Andrew and his team. We found we had flexibility to do what we wanted, although Andrew would make suggestions in relation to what we wanted to see, he is very easy going. Our mid morning tea break and sun downer stops were always accompanied by one of Patrick's creations, amazing. These breaks were usually taken in a hidden spot where we could view the animals and birds.
If you want to do something out of the ordinary, even if you don’t like camping, I would recommend doing this. It’s a fantastic experience.
Thank you Andrew and your team we had a fantastic time and loved every minute of it.
