Travel reviews by Mr F from Amsterdam

"Overall a good stay in a stunning location with excellent guiding and food. Our guide Villa was a very kind person with very extensive knowledge.

The concept here feels a bit formulaic though with limited flexibility to change the schedule. When we indicated that we did not want to do the quadbiking (communicated to the camp already long before our arrival by our travel agent) an alternate guide had to be arranged at last minute to accommodate our vehicle companions so that we could do a regular game drive instead.

Also one can question if the latest renovation has changed it into a better camp. The tents are now humongous and feel cavernous with very limited lighting. Although the design is very consistent 1940’s in all the details, a sense of intimacy is definitely missing and with the limited time one actually spends in the tent the space feels wasted.

Another peculiarity was the fact that the mess tent has no public toilets other than those at the main swimming pool, requiring an escorted 5 minute walk after dark; not very convenient during dinner.

Despite these observations overall all camp employees did their very best to accommodate every guests’s needs and the service level was very high."

"A hidden gem in a very impressive environment. Honest and kind people making us feel at home. Good guiding and food.

Not the most impressive in terms of wildlife sightings but a great sense of disconnection in such a remote part of Botswana, the Kalahari is truly overwhelming. Lucky though to see the rare brown hyena on two occasions and the day trip to Deception Valley gave a real sense of the vastness of the area.

The family style dinners with the guide and camp manager felt really intimate, a vast contrast with our previous camp (Jack’s)."

"Overall the most satisfying camp of our trip. Great tents, excellent food, very knowledgeable guides and good wildlife sightings. A spectacular arrival and departure by helicopter to the otherwise inaccessible Omdop airstrip as the Vumbura airstrip was closed due to flooding.

Our guide Isaac is a true gentleman, kind and caring, with very extensive knowledge, using in vehicle guidebooks to illustrate certain wildlife sightings, always positioning the vehicle for the best photography light. His trainee KG is lucky to have him as a mentor. The highlight wasn’t the numbers of wildlife but the upclose encounters: we followed a leopard for 1,5 hours and a lion for over an 1 hour, gaining a real insight in their behavior instead of just a snapshot photo moment.

The water activities, mekoro and boat trip, were a welcome diversion from the gamedrives. Camp managers Anastasia and Teddy were always there to send us off or welcome us back and always in for a good conversation at the campfire, we felt taken care of. A minor detail: apparently the forms we filled out at home and were sent by email did not come through as we had to redo everything on arrival."

"What an amazing camp. The wildlife sightings were slightly disappointing as the grasses were still very tall as a result of abundant summer rainfall. After 3 rather fruitless gamedrives a good talk with the guide and camp manager resulted in a different approach more focussing on a relaxing stay and taking pressure of the guide. Sure enough the ensuing walking safari, expected to be an just an educational walk, resulted in a classic sighting scenario: baboons calling, impalas fleeing, giraffes running followed by three lionesses scouting the area: priceless.

Zarafa has a real homey feel to it, small scale, ultra comfortable, excellent service. Camp managers Alexandra and Ron made us feel like staying at their private residence, more like B&B owners than managers. Always in for a chat, always there to see us off and welcome us back. The strong point of Zarafa is the ability to totally personalize your stay, hang out with fellow guests or do everything in your own space. We could pick our favorite wines from the extensive cellar and Ron even organized a winetasting for us.

Their commitment to guests was truly above and beyond. We were very sad to leave Zarafa and found it the perfect end to a remarkable journey through Botswana."

"Wonderful stay in the Superior Unit: spacious, very private, felt like our own desert palace, at quite a distance from the main lodge however.

We choose the all in package which included all meals and drinks and two private excursions: a sundowner and a day tour to Sossusvlei.

Our guide Simon did an excellent job on both occasions and shared a wealth of knowledge about life in the dessert, showing us little details about plants and animals that really make you understand how special this area is."

"What a special place and spectacular setting. The silence of the desert is overwhelming. The room makes you really connect with the surroundings, we left some of the canvas walls open during the night to catch the fresh breeze. It's not about top luxury here, to some the rooms may feel a bit too rustic for that, but it's all about being part of a landscape.

We were a bit spoiled by the excellent guiding at Desert Homestead Outpost where we already learnt a lot about desert life, so the excursions at Wolwedans did not add so much in terms of new information. But we still enjoyed driving through the breathtaking landscape and the kindness and hospitality of our guide Jason.

The communal dining table works well, we had wonderful conversations with fellow guests while enjoying great service and good food. There was always an option for a private table however.

We can easily imagine ourselves going back to Wolwedans in the future, just doing nothing, soaking up the landscape, contemplating, like a retreat."

"Very well run hotel, highly professional staff. We forgot some things in the safe at checkout and this was handled very well: a phone call within an hour, everything taken care of smoothly.

The breakfast was very good, the room clean and comfortable. After spending a week in the Namib Desert it all felt a bit too smooth, but that is very much to the credit of the hotel."