Reviews of Sandibe Safari Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
76 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Sandibe Safari Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Sandibe Safari Lodge review"
More difficult to spot things in December as the rains produced a green explosion, but more than compensated for by the plethora of birds - I saw 125 species in 6 days ! I never ceased to be amazed at the expert knowledge of the guides and their fantastic eyesight." See all these reviews: 4n in Botswana
"Excellent time at Sandibe Safari Lodge"
Once again the habitat here was slightly different from the other two lodges. One of the highlights of the safaris here was seeing, on two differnet occasions, a pack of 18 African wild dog. The first time we came across them after they had finished a kill and they were in a playful mood. We were able to watch them playing around as it got dark and they eventually settled down for the night - what an amazing experience. Also got good views of steenbok, reedbuck, bushbuck and several different types of mongoose.
The rooms at the lodge were lovely and spacious. We got very close views of an elephant that had taken a fancy to fruits on the tree just outside our room and this really brought home why it is important that you get escorted back to your rooms after dark, you never know what might be round that corner!
The food at this was lodge was to a very high standard and always hot and freshly cooked." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana
"Sandibe Safari Lodge review"
The food is great, rooms were very comfortable. But the most important - the quantity and variety of wildlife we saw here blew us away. Every game drive had exciting moments and one day we saw every possible animal you can see outside of a unicorn. Also, the terrain you drive through is extremely varied, more than any other.
Overall, everything clicked at this place and you get the impression that it is very well run." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Sandibe Safari Lodge review"
Very friendly and convivial and again at this time of year some storage heaters in the rooms would be a benefit for the Ladies." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana
"Sandibe Safari Lodge review"
The staff were excellant and our guide "Speedy" was knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.
Game drives were great with plenty to see, though missed the elusive leopard." See all these reviews: 4n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Really part of the landscape"
Trouble with monkeys snatching food made breakfast not very relaxing but a small price to pay to be part of the environment.
Really liked the different settings for the evening meal. One evening around the candlelit swimming pool, another was a barbecue. Individual tables meant it was no so easy to meet other guests and chat to game drive people as meals." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Sensational Speedy (guide) at Sandibe!"
Speedy was another amazing guide and his partnership with Ba-Ba the fantastic spotter, really enhanced our enjoyment of the game drives." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Sandibe Safari Lodge review"
The only hiccup in transfers was when WIlderness Air picked us up at the Chitabe airstrip on our way out: The plane arrival time was erroneously given to Sandibe as later than when the plane actually arrived (we were just able to make it); and when we got there, the co-pilot told us that they only had seats for 4 on the plane, despite our party being 7 people. We were told that they had to call to order another plane for us and started to depart with none of us. Just as they were about to depart, the plane suddenly returned for four of us and another 3-passenger plane showed up. It was quite confusing but fortunately it all worked out. All the other transfers went very smoothly. In any case, we could hear Katherine (was that the Sandibe manager's name?) on the radio figuring out what to do for us, and I could tell that she was working hard on making our transfer work.
We also were able to have our own vehicle because we had 7 people, so our 2.5 year old son was able to join us on all the game drives and boat ride. It was wonderful. Our guide/driver and tracker were all very good and we were able to see many animals, some of which we had to hunt down! It was fantastic.
One suggestion for the Sandibe would be for the store to have more smaller sizes available, especially for men's shirts. There were plenty of 2XXLs available!" See all these reviews: 3n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
"Lots of animals in February"
Our guide, Tsoba, and the tracker, were both extremely professional and good. They did an absolutely super job tracking down a pack of 24 wild dogs, stopping the vehicles, getting out and walking out to areas where they could get a better sense of what the animals' tracks indicated in terms of the direction they were moving, etc. And once we found the dogs, the guide was able to tell us a lot about their behavior, movement, and so forth. Indeed, all along the guide was not only able to spot and identify animals and an incredible number of different birds, but he was able to tell us a lot about them, about the environment in that area, and so forth. We thoroughly enjoyed a couple of late afternoon boat rides into the sunset, a morning walk with our guide, a surprise brunch prepared for us at a small lake with lots of birds and giraffe nearby, and so much more.
Once more, there was flexibility and a great effort by the staff to see that we had a good visit. When staff learned that my husband really likes a South African dried meat as a snack, the meat appeared promptly in the snack bottles in our tent, though we never requested them. When we found the dogs in the afternoon, we stayed on for some time watching as the whole pack jumped up, played and "kissed" each other, and generally romped before lying down again. As a result, we got back to the camp pretty late for dinner. No one was flustered. In my comments on Nxabega, I mentioned the wonderful coordinated effort by staff at the two camps to get my husband's cell phone, left at Nxabega, back to him.
The down side of Sandibe is that the view from the main camp area is limited because of the surrounding reeds. Also, this is one of the earlier &Beyond camps, and though the tent is extremely nice, it is not, in my opinion, quite as nice as the Nxabega tents. I heard what might be rumors that they might add another site nearby with better views. This said, the view is not bad, and the whole experience of being at Sandibe was just super.." See all these reviews: 5n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe
"Sandibe Safari Lodge review"
The hospitality was wonderful, from the cold water bottles offered before drives, to the cold towels given to us when we arrived back. The food was excellent, including kudu steak and other local specialities.
Our guide (Gee) and our tracker (Steve) worked extremely well as a team, and made a huge effort to make sure that everything was explained in great detail. We saw 3 different leopards in 3 days!
Their enthusiasm was contagious, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company!" See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe
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