Reviews of safaris to Moremi Game Reserve

"All of the arrangements worked well. I'll comment on each lodge later on but would like to say how impressed we were with MackAir, not only from the plane/info side but how helpful there were as well.

As you may have gathered, I managed to fall off my bike just four days before going. Nothing broken but a lot of bruising on my right side which, even with the max paracetamol and ibuprofen made things a bit painful. Ok when walking on the flat but turning / balancing / going upstairs required a lot of thought to be less painful. The MackAir people as well as the lodges were all very helpful and I was able to do everything ....

As you probably know, Botswana had the 'best' rains in Jan/Feb for 19 years. This was good for them but did mean that the migration of the animals from the interior to more permanent sources of water was much delayed. Chobe for instance was far greener than when we went 12 years ago even though we were there three weeks earlier in 2013. At a guess, we thought that the drying out of the waterholes away from the rivers was perhaps 6+ weeks later than on our previous visit. Curiously, the flood into the delta seemed later than before.

As a result of the changes in weather patterns, we saw far far less animals in Chobe than we were expecting and the density of animals everywhere was lower than expected. On our previous visit when we stayed at Muchenje for 3 nights and Camp Okavango for three nights we almost certainly saw a larger total number of animals than we did in 14 nights this time.

We did manage to see the wild dogs briefly in Savuti but nowhere else. At Splash we heard that the pack was in the adjacent concession at the moment. Our other target, which was cheetah we saw in three places, all lounging under trees/ bushes which we'd seen before. We'd have liked to see them walking or better, hunting.

New species that we did see: Aardwolf - very good sightings at Lagoon, Roan Antelope in Savuti (just one), Brown hyena (Savuti) several birds including a great sighting of a Martial Eagle, Barred Owlet, Pel's Fishing Owl and two bee eaters. After several trips to Africa, we have seen a lot, so less scope for a huge number of new sightings.

We saw a number of new behaviours including quite a clashing of tusks as a Matriarch forced an adolescent male elephant out of the troop; two big hippos fighting wildly, all the hippo 'chattering' at Lagoon; a leopard going up a vertical tree with it's kill (baboon) after recovering it from a hyena who had pinched it..and some new grooming behaviour in baboons. One mock charge from elephants ...

Participants in vehicles: It has been 10 years since we shared game vehicles with others. We don't have a problem sharing but none of the lodges made any attempt to match the group with previous experience of safaris or nature watching in general. Vehicles seemed to be mainly filled with people who arrived at a certain time. At two of the camps we were with people who had been to Africa which was great before but two in particular had people who were notionally interested but spent too much time talking amongst themselves and not listening to the guide. Curious given the cost and how far they had travelled but irritating all the same. Appreciate we could have requested private vehicles at a considerable cost though several camps didn't have the capacity for this. We actually like going around with like minded people, so it was a shame that camps couldn't sort that.

Overall, we found all the booking and arrangements that you dealt with to be great. It turned out that we should have gone maybe two months later - as you may remember the timing was for my birthday last year and when 2024 wasn't possible I should have gone for a later date in 2025.

The trip itself we would rate as on the better side of good rather than fantastic for the reason mentioned above." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Botswana safari

"As per our previous trips, Megan Green was just brilliant at organising our itinerary, super fast to answer emails, helpful and friendly.

I can’t imagine booking a trip to Africa without going through Expert Africa and Megan, so thank you Megan for all your work in making this trip happen and for our previous two trips." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Our safari experience was incredible.

Anton did a great job of organizing our trip and ensuring that it was a huge success.

Every staff member was helpful and kind.

The Ker & Downey safari camps were exceptional." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"We always recommend Expert Africa to friends and acquaintances because from experience we know that we will receive the best advice and the best outcomes. All travel has the potential for hiccups and this is when the rubber hits the road - we know we can count on EA..

We have gone with the knowledge that we will see amazing things, will be well-prepared in what to expect, and happily surprised by the level of care and hospitality we receive.

I don't know how it all seems to come about so effortlessly but am grateful that a vacation with Expert Africa is also an adventure of the best kind." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 16 on a Botswana safari

"This time we wanted to experience the rainy season in Botswana and that was exactly what happened.

EA prepared us very well and provided everything we needed to have a memorable trip. In fact, we recommended EA to fellow travellers who were less fortunate in their preparations.

We started planning our next EA trip on the plane home." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Thank you for the organisation of my holiday.

As always, everything went smoothly, a very pleasant experience." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"A first visit to Botswana in green season and generally a success - we knew that the viewing may be more challenging at this time of year, but the trade off is lush greens, flowers and fewer vehicles on the sightings.

It was great to see Botswana in a different light, albeit we never got any rain and moody skies! Climate change makes the seasonal rains far more unpredictable.

On the downside, low season meant fewer camp mates, and chatting around the table is part of the fun of safari, plus last minute camp changes due to maintenance was not something we had expected nor want again - a free upgrade is not always a positive.

Great service from Lucy and the Expert Africa team once again." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Botswana safari

"Overall, this is the most amazing experience I've had in my life. Small issues in camp were just that- small. Nothing could have prepared me for seeing these animals in person, and I just felt so grateful to be there and to see all of these amazing things. Botswana sunsets are like no other, and I cannot wait to return. Have an open mind, and bear in mind that bush luxury is not the same as 5 star hotel luxury- but you don't come here for the hotels, you come for the animals." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"A fabulous trip , really well organised at every stage . The guiding throughout was of a high standard and the staff in all the camps were lovely.

Saw every kind of wildlife you would expect to in that area.

A good time of year to go..hot but fewer crowds.

Have used Expert Africa several times before and would again." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari

"Overall a wonderful trip and cannot wait to return to Africa. We saw so much and enjoyed some really special interactions between the animals rather than just looking at them thanks to the great guides. We even saw honey bagders, which Sue was very keen to see. Feisty little animals!! Driving, walking and boat trips all very enjoyable. We actually saw 7 different leopards over the 3 camps, which must be a record as I beleive they are quite elusive. The only downside I would comment on was there were reps visiting in Lagoon & Shinde who both tryed to take over the direction of our activities. I think they should be put in seperate vehicles." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Botswana safari