Reviews of safaris to Victoria Falls

"Excellent: it lived up to expectations, after the two year wait caused by Covid, we thoroughly enjoyed the holiday. Everything ran very smoothly, all of the lodges were good and we saw nearly all of what we hoped to see!

The food was generally very good but we did notice that when we went from one Wilderness Safaris Lodge to another the food options were rather similar because they seemed to work off the same menus!

In retrospect, we would have liked three nights somewhere. Perhaps at Ongava? If we were to have cut a destination it would probably have been one of Nxamaseri or Kazile Island Lodge where you are in both cases on the river, although we liked them both in their different ways.

The driving was generally OK but we did have three long days of driving early on almost wholly on untarred roads. Later on in Caprivi the roads were excellent. We got one puncture - caused by a screw and not the roads!

Whilst we were warned it would be cold at night it was more than that. In a lot of places it did not warm up until the afternoon, when it did become hot. We happened to encounter a lot of windy days which made it worse. On game drives you are perched up in an open sided vehicle and so the airspeed makes the cold seem much worse than the temperature would suggest. We took fleeces and gilets but a wind proof coat would have been better than a fleece. That said May still seemed a good time to go, however, because it was before the coldest time, and after the rainy season, and the lodges were not very busy and so there were no big crowds on the game drives.

Star attractions:
- Sesriem and the dunes
- Damaraland and the Daro Nawas lodge
- Ongava
- Muchenje" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"This was an excellent combination of camps in Hwange originally booked in 2020 but delayed by Covid. Expert Africa were very good at keeping me informed of restrictions and rebooking the trip. All elements of the trip ran like clockwork with the exception of a lost bag at the airport which Expert Africa and camp staff helped get returned.

The Hide is on the borders of the park and next to the rail line so you will see a reasonable number of other vehicles and occasionally hear the train. Accommodation is at the luxury end with roll top baths overlooking the waterhole, mains electricity and very solid 'tents' while maintaining the feeling of being out in the bush.

As it has its own concession separate night drives are available after dinner and well worth the time but if travelling in winter take plenty of warm clothes and wear the ponchos provided, not glamorous but effective.

Our guide was a Victoria Falls based contractor who exemplified the reputation Zimbabwe has for very high standards. In addition to masses of elephant and general game we saw two lion prides, one several times, sable and buffalo.

Two highlights were walking in a forested area getting close to elephant and a zebra herd, and the close up views of elephants afforded by the hide at the camp, just feet from where they were drinking. One curious young bull even put his trunk up to the viewing space to sniff us out.

We spent a night at The Dove's Nest sleep out treehouse. This was an amazing structure and a great experience even if time there was rather short. Be aware that the stairs, particularly to the sleeping platform, are rather steep.

Camp staff and management were friendly and efficient while the food was good and plentiful. While meals are generally taken together with other guests and staff there is some provision to eat separately if you have a special occasion like the honeymooning couple's first dinner. I also noted careful attention to the dietary requirements of some guests.

This is quite a high end comfortable camp within reasonably easy reach of the Main Camp transfer point. It's not quite as 'bush' as our next camp but a great place to start a safari and I bet the pool is really welcome in the heat of summer.

After 4 nights at The Hide our transfer to Camp Hwange went as planned delivering us in time for a great lunch.

Camp Hwange is also very comfortable while being a bit closer to a traditional tented camp, albeit with thatched roofs and running solar heated water.

Tents and the main area all look out over a waterhole with a moonscape near the bar for closer viewing of visiting game and birds.

The camp was very efficiently run by welcoming camp manager Shane and her staff who all managed to convey a real investment in making your stay as perfect as possible.

The guiding was excellent and we were fortunate to have both qualified guide Moses and trainee Savannah on our vehicle plus an additional tracker on occasion.

Moses was a fount of information and committed to getting good sightings in interesting places including sundowners with the hippo at Masuma Dam. As well as approaching elephant on foot we also encountered a herd of buffalo when Moses had us crawling up an elephant pathway to get within about 15 meters. a truly once on a lifetime experience. Moses took us walking for part of most drives, sometimes for a couple of hours and sometimes a short approach to game.

Even though she was in her first year of training Savannah was a great addition to the team and I'm sure will go on to make a very good guide. She's a wiz at spotting owls at night.

Overall Camp Hwange was everything I wanted from a safari, good food, comfortable accommodation, great staff and plenty to see. There were some drives when game was a bit thin on the ground, its a safari not Whipsnade, but Moses always seemed to find something interesting including African Rock Python, Wild Cat, a Porcupine and several Bat Eared Foxes.

The combination of The Hide and Camp Hwange worked well, thanks to Tom at Expert Africa for the suggestions, as they sit in somewhat different environments while also having access to a variety of different types of vegetation.

My last Expert Africa organised trip was more than a decade ago and it's good to see their high standards have been maintained despite the disruption of the last two years.

This was my fathers first safari shortly after his 80th birthday, he's already started planning for the next one." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Our thanks to Tom and the rest of the team at Expert Africa for helping us to arrange a memorable trip to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Overall it was a wonderful experience.

Claire steered us well in picking Ilala and Davisons...we were welcomed everywhere, particularly after a tough couple of years. We heard from other travellers of their experiences at other areas, and certainly we would like to explore these in due course." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zimbabwe safari

"We could not be happier with our trip. The planning process went very smoothly. We received prompt and helpful replies to our email questions. Maruska was very informative and in addition to arranging most of out trip, she kindly and helpfully advised us on aspects of our trip that weren't booked by Expert Africa.

The camps all exceeded our expectations in every way, accommodations, food, activities. The transitions from one activity to another were flawless; there was always someone expecting us at the appropriate time and escorting us to the next flight or camp or activity.

We have travelled extensively in developing countries and this was the most stress free trip we have ever taken. It was pleasant, relaxing, and simply wonderful.

Though masks are not often used in Botswana, we never felt threatened by COVID. During our entire trip, we were almost never indoors with other people. During the one exception, our flights, the pilots wore masks and we were instructed do the same. Game drives were in open vehicles and all meals were served outdoors with the option of being nowhere near other diners.

We are confident that our risk was less on the trip than it would have been had we stayed home.

After a couple of days, we just stopped thinking about it." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 4 on a Botswana safari

"The entire trip was incredible, none of us wanted to go home. The planning was excellent and everything went flawlessly. The guides inNamibia and Botswana were excellent. It was wonderful being in these countries and meeting the people who are very happy to have tourists returning.

Maruska designed a trip for us that matched all of our goals. She was outstanding during the pandemic in rescheduling a couple of times and kept us informed of everything she was working on and changes. She is the best travel consultant we have ever worked with. She is timely and precise in her dealings with suppliers and companies in Africa. She was very responsive throughout the 3 years of planning. We highly recommend her. Thank you Maruska!" Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"Excellent" Read full review: 38 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We had an excellent trip, more so after all the postponements due to COVID. Tom did a great job organizing it and amending arrangements over the last two years! He also recommended the trip to Save Valley which turned out to be a real highlight.

We wanted to see the parks in the “green season” and it was a very interesting and different time to visit. As expected we saw far less animals than we would in the dry season. But the engagements were deeper as we spent more time with each sighting and learned more. We also saw far more birds and learned more about the flora.

The three locations complimented each other with differing vegetation and wildlife.

All three guides were different and excellent. And great and entertaining characters - all recommended.

Having travelled just as the COVID restrictions ended, we found it very easy to travel, albeit still a little quiet for tourism but picking up. It was so nice to be back to normal out in the camps. It also meant we had camps nearly to ourselves.

Air travel was fine and we just needed to produce vaccine certs to enter countries. Masks had to be worn on flights to South Africa. Certainly Africa is back for business!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Taken all together, we had a superb trip, with great sightings, wonderful guides and faultless organisation.

We just can’t wait to return!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really - it was all very good
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Tom did advise that sightings in Hwange might be a bit thin in April but maybe that could be emphasised a bit more . We were very glad to go there but if we hadn’t had the abundance of Splash Camp in the second half we would have been a bit disappointed I suspect . But taken all together, we had a magnificent trip . Thanks !!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari

"After a traumatic year, this was an extremely welcome holiday.

The friendly and informative service from Tracy was fantastic. All aspects of the organisation from Expert Africa was as usual brilliant.

We were a family ageing from 70 to 9 and we all loved Andrew and his mobile Safari staff. We were sad to leave him.

Thank you Tracy for arranging such a super trip" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari