Go2Africa & Jenman "Botswana Wildlife Breakaway" Overland Safari
I recently (29 Jan 2010) returned from Jenman's "Botswana Wildlife Getaway" overland safari. This 14-day tour, in a converted Toyota Land Cruiser pulling a camping trailer, leaves from Victoria Falls,
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Cat:Middle East and AfricaForum:0EEAA5DA
Cat:Middle East and AfricaForum:0EEAA5DADiscussion:8cfb4999-bcea-43f3-9beb-51426e405d8a
I recently (29 Jan 2010) returned from Jenman's "Botswana Wildlife Getaway" overland safari.
This 14-day tour, in a converted Toyota Land Cruiser pulling a camping trailer, leaves from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, circles Botswana's Okavango Delta and enters Namibia's Caprivi Strip, ending back at Vic Falls. Highlights include Chobe Nat'l Park, Moremi Game Reserve, Nata Bird Sanctuary, mokoro canoe through delta, Kavango River, Popa Falls, Kwando River and Mudumu Nat'l Park.
Despite January being the rainy season, we saw lots of usual game animals (especially red lechwe, elephants, hippos and giraffes) but no lions. Were lucky enough to see a leopard and two cheetahs. Also spotted roan and sable antelope. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, were out in force.
Only two of nine clients camped in tents. The rest upgraded to "fully accommodated" lodging, which consisted of safari lodge or, more often, permanent tented camps. I would definitely recommend this option. After a long day on the road and game drives, the last thing you feel like doing is putting up a heavy tent and setting up camp in general. It was quite the luxury to relax or take a shower while our guide/driver/cook prepared dinner.
This is a participatory itinerary, meaning you help with the dish washing and other light camp chores. It's not exactly taxing but you do need to keep in mind "group dynamics" and who will pitch in and who won't. After two weeks on the road, groups generally sort themselves out.
Days in the somewhat cramped Land Cruiser can be a bit long but it's all part of the adventure. The middle seat in the front, however, basically sucks. As one fellow traveler described it, it's like being on a big, never-ending conveyor. All you can see while sitting up straight is the unwinding of the road as you cover mile after mile. Fortunately we had only 9 clients, leaving this undesirable seat reserved for a cooler.
Food was OK but certainly not gourmet. Granted, this is camping and you are living off the local economy. The menu is limited by what the guide can find in local supermarkets, then prepare using two propane burners. Consequently, you're often eating casserole style dishes - pasta, rice with toppings, local beef. Breakfast is cereal, muesli, bread with butter and cheese or luncheon meat. Once in a while you have lunch or breakfast at one of the lodges or a local cafe/restaurant, which makes it nice to break up the monotony. Lunch is usually a quick sandwich picnic on a portable table while on the road.
Camps are nice, some better than others. My tent at Mankwe Bush Lodge almost caught on fire when a hot water heater malfunctioned and went up like a torch. Fortunately our guide, Jan, was quick with the fire extinguisher. Other camps have an attendant who heats the water by wood fire, taking two hours before showers are available. Poor chap is stoking fires at 4:30 AM.
At Guma Lagoon Camp, which is where you take a motorboat to launch area for mokoro canoe day-trip, one client (one of the two tent campers) had her very valuable camera and money stolen from her tent while she and her companion slept! Totally unsatisfactory! Nearest police were 70 kms away. They DID show up at 6:30 AM to take a report, which is fortunate for insurance purposes. As an example of how remote this camp is, after they'd done the paperwork the police took photos of each other at the edge of the lagoon. This unfortunate incident put a damper on the experience at this camp and had everyone on edge the following night. There's no way to secure your tent or your valuables other than possible hand-to-hand combat with an intruder.
Mahangu Safari Lodge (on Kavango River - Namibia) was great. Owned and operated by an expat German couple, the chalets and tents even have AC, which not only gets the humidity out of the air so you can sleep but helps cut down on the mosquitoes as well. The proprietors are very hospitable and eager to please. The ice cold beer on tap is a definite plus. Kwando Camp (on Kwando River - Namibia) is another gem. It's very rustic but in a gorgeous setting, right on the river, just down the road from Mudumu Nat'l Park. A traditional village is right up the road, a five-minute walk to see real life in rural Namibia.
All in all this itinerary is well worth the money. I'd recommend it for anyone who wants a more "authentic" safari experience - in comparison to the crowds and masses of vehicles in the big, famous parks of East Africa. In the rainy season, though wildlife is more scarce, it's a treat to have solitude. Often we were the only vehicle on a game drive.
Finally, my agent, Huntley at Go2Africa, was wonderful. I had to postpone the trip due to a family emergency and he took care of the re-booking and all the details. On top of that, I had to delay meeting the group by a day thanks to a medical emergency in Johannesburg. Huntley worked around that as well. Calm, laid-back and super to deal with, Huntley made the hurdles of actually getting to Vic Falls and on the safari much easier. He came through when it counted. The same for the folks at Jenman, who let me re-book without a penalty. That was greatly appreciated.
Jan, our hard-working, tireless Jenman guide/driver/cook was fantastic. He never stopped, often putting in 16-hour days, driving for many hours, leading game tours, setting up camp, cooking, unloading luggage, making a hundred and one special arrangements, serving as companion and expert on local flora and fauna, etc., etc., etc. I often wondered how he did it. He had to drive three days from Cape Town to Vic Falls before the safari started. When it was over he turned the vehicle over to a colleague and took a four-day bus trip, via Windhoek, back to his home town! My hat is off to him and many thanks for all he did to make our group more comfortable, entertained, safe and informed.
