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Sable Alley
Sable Alley
Sable Alley
Sable Alley
Sable Alley
Sable Alley
Sable Alley
Sable Alley

Reviews of Sable Alley

Wildlife sightings and reviews

29 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Sable Alley and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in May-2018, 19 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Sable Alley.
Lion

89% success

Leopard

88% success

Cheetah

6% success

Wild dog

72% success

Elephant

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Giraffe

94% success

Wildebeest

78% success

Spotted Hyena

75% success

Buffalo

72% success

Sable antelope

47% success

Eland

33% success

Roan antelope

19% success

Aardvark

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 1-10 of 29
Duration
Arrival date
Mr and Mrs B
Herts

"Sable Alley review"

2 nights Arrived 11 Sep 2023
"Sable Alley is a private reserve rather than a concession. This meant one could not go off-road to the same extent as on the concessions. And there was only a guide rather than guide plus tracker.

The camp was very pleasant, the staff were friendly and the food was very good. Our guide was alright, but no more than that. He did not seem to be as enthusiastic as guides at the other camps we visited and not as competent.

Altogether, the experience felt more commercial and stripped down.

The game viewing was good, but not stunning so we neither had complaints, nor felt it was a highlight of the trip." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Average
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Sable antelope

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr D.
Stillwater

"Sable Alley review"

2 nights Arrived 4 Jun 2023
"This was the best overall lodging experience of this trip (though Mma Dinare and Xaro were also in the same league).

The tent cabins were very nice, the meals and services were outstanding, wildlife in and around the camp quite plentiful, safari experiences unparalleled, and the guide (Sy) was fantastic." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia; 5n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

5 sightings

Wild dog

6 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Miss J
London

"Sable Alley review"

2 nights Arrived 4 Jun 2023
"beautiful location with wildlife on your doorstep!" See all these reviews: 4n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs V.
Leiden

"Sable Alley review"

2 nights Arrived 15 Oct 2022
"Sable Alley was a bit of an adjustment for us.

As a last minute upgrade we didn't quite know what to expect. It's certainly a very luxurious camp with lots of amenities and comfortable chalets.

However, having spent a few days at the very intimate Footsteps across the delta, Sable Alley was all a bit too much for us. The guiding was definitely good, but the overall atmosphere was just not what we were looking for. Guests for a large part seemed more interested in their cellphones than anything else. The staff were correct, but somewhat impersonal.

The waterhole in front of the main building is productive, but our chalet was a bit of a walk and without a view. It's a resort kind of place and we missed the vibes of being in a real safari camp.

Overall, we don't think this is a bad place to stay and it doesn't have any true disadvantages. It's just not our kind of setting." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Average
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

8 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

8 sightings

Sable antelope

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

2 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs E
Cornwall

"Sable Alley review"

3 nights Arrived 24 May 2022
"Whilst waiting at the airstrip for some more guests to arrive were were lucky enough to see two sable that had to be chased away to enable the plane to land. This is a sophisticated camp in a beautiful setting overlooking a large waterhole occupied by numerous hippo which kept us entertained day and night. The food and service were first class and we were very well looked after. On day one animal sightings were a bit thin but this was more than made up for on days two and three. We were privileged to be able to watch a pack of wild dogs interacting with a small group of wildebeast in the morning and during the afternoon drive we came across 4 lionesses and their cubs. On our last morning we spent a truly memorable hour or so very close to these cubs watching them play and feed with their mothers. What a wonderful way to end a fantastic trip celebrating our silver wedding anniversary." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 5n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Sable antelope

Multiple sightings

Wild dog

1 sighting

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Explorers
Oklahoma

"Sable Alley review"

3 nights Arrived 17 May 2022
"We were very happy with Sable alley in every way. It was a lot larger than the more intimate Mapula Lodge and the accommodations and services made one feel at home. Lovely setting where the hippos were always snorting, eating and playing in the waterhole. In addition to hippos, one can see red lechwe, baboons and abundant colorful birds from the lodge and tents. The guides were very knowledgeable and attentive. They explained many ecological phenomena and sitings from the smallest plant to the largest animals. The days were filled from before sunup to after sundown with activities, mainly game drives. They provided a hot breakfast before departure and we were still in the field before the sun was much above the horizon. My preference was for time in the field. We even had a sundowner every evening.

Wildlife sitings were spectacular. The first day we started with a leopard kill of an impala. She had to feed on the ground, as the prey was too large to move. Later in the morning we sighted lions and spent nearly an hour following a pair of cheetahs through the brush. Later in the afternoon we returned to the leopard kill to see first the leopard, then a pack of wild dogs that took over the impala and finally a spotted hyena interloper who would not give up until he got some despite dog attacks.

I would highly recommend Sable Alley." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia; 10n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Cheetah

2 sightings

Elephant

6 sightings

Giraffe

2 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

5 sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wild dog

1 sighting

Zebra

5 sightings

Mr P M & family
UK

"Sable Alley review"

2 nights Arrived 1 May 2022
"Whilst the lodge was lovely, our overall experience was slightly disappointing because of the shortage of wildlife.

The vegetation was very high and overgrown with large areas of mopane woodland. It was only because an elephant had recently died that we were able to see lions and hyenas around the carcass. Without that we would have seen very little. Our guide was only average - he didn’t engage that well and he was nearing the end of his two month shift.

I think we could have omitted this camp from our itinerary without our overall experience suffering." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

1 sighting

Giraffe

1 sighting

Hippo

5 sightings

Lion

2 sightings

Spotted Hyena

3 sightings

Zebra

2 sightings

DeGoler Clan
CA, USA

"Sable Alley review"

1 night Arrived 30 Jun 2021
"This is a stunning property.

The furniture, decorations, artwork, design all fantastic. The food was outstanding.

The staff were perfectly wonderful and fun to be with.

Everything was top shelf." See all these reviews: 5n in Seychelles; 3n in Rwanda; 3n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

5 sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

2 sightings

Roan antelope

10 sightings

Sable antelope

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wild dog

10 sightings

Wildebeest

5 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Miss K.
Solihull

"Extremely Comfortable Camp"

2 nights Arrived 2 Nov 2019
"The camp was a very high standard and so were the staff. They looked after us extremely well - for example our flight was late so we arrived late at camp and our jeep had already set off for the evening game drive and so another drive rushed us out to join them.

I loved the tented ‘rooms’ - they were very comfortable and had everything we needed (inc. sherry!). The communal areas were also lovely. The food was good given that we were in the middle of the bush and it was c40C and there was lots of choice. The highlight for me was when we were woken up by elephants crashing through the camp and bumping into our tent.

I also enjoyed sitting out watching/listening to the hippos which live in the waterhole at the camp. We were there at the very end of the dry season but there was still enough water for the hippos.

The game drives were very good and in very new jeeps. On the drives there was no tracker just the driver/guide. Obviously, i don’t know if we would have seen more if we had had a tracker but at our second lodge we did see lots more game and we did have a tracker." See all these reviews: 5n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

4 sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

3 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

2 sightings

Wild dog

2 sightings

Zebra

4 sightings

RMN and AT
London

"Wonderful wild dogs"

3 nights Arrived 1 Nov 2019
"After Gomoti Plains, where our game total was 18 species, we were keen to see four in particular: Hyena, sable, roan and wild dogs.

We had a good guide, though not as good as Carl at Gomoti, and we failed to see either of the antelope. But we did have several viewings of three different packs of dogs including one family of 18 at very close range, so tat was a real treat.

The accommodation was excellent and the ambience very good. We had one day of rain when the temperature dropped from 40 to 20, but that'd to the bonus of the Termite Emergence, which was very exciting, so long as you are prepared for clouds of large flying beasties while eating dinner!!" See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe; 7n in Botswana; 7n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wild dog

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Showing 1-10 of 29
94%
29 reviews of Sable Alley by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
22
6
1
0
0
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