Botswana and Zambia Tours & Trips

I thoroughly enjoyed my first ever safari experience, and would definitely do another one. The whole organisation of the trip was excellent, and the tour ran very smoothly. From being collected at Walvis Bay airport, to being dropped off at Livingstone Airport, nothing was too much trouble for any of the drivers and guides. I think my only 'complaints' would be that arriving in Namibia is NOT cheap. Although a tourist holiday visa can be dealt with on arrival, it is expensive. I was charged N$1,600.00 for a seven day stay. At least crossing the border into Botswana, and then Zambia is cheaper. They just stamp your passport at immigration control! Also, at our first campsite at Spitzkoppe, although in the trip notes it says, 'guests can enjoy hot showers and there are shared bathroom facilities', where we pitched our tents, there were no hot showers or bathroom facilities. We had two long-drop toilets. At least, if you get out in the night, you can always enjoy the starry night sky and Milky Way! Fortunately, we were only there for one night! As for the safari drives themselves, they were all first rate, and I have many fantastic memories and hundreds of photos to look back on. Some off them were very early starts, (5am at Chobe for example!), but they were definitely worth it. From seeing the sun rise over the Chobe River, to driving close to a pride of dozing lionesses, and seeing elephants, giraffes, baboons and other herbivores at close quarters, was something I'll never forget. Also, the cruise on the Chobe River, was excellent, with very close views of buffalo on the bank sides, elephants, crocodiles, and a large herd of hippos, plus many different bird species. One of the main highlights at the start of the tour was spending a day and a half on game drives around Etosha National Park in Namibia. Again, fantastically close views of all manner of animals and birds, including a very obliging cheetah, who sat and posed on a tree branch for about half an hour, completely oblivious to all the tourists and their cameras! Finally, a big mention to our guide for the tour, Joe, and the ever reliable driver, Harmony. I would recommend both for any awards going. Joe was everything a tour leader should be. Extremely well organised, punctual and efficient, friendly and supportive, and a great cook, ably assisted by those who helped him! Harmony, as driver, was also brilliant. Given the lengths of some of the road trips we went on each day, he never lost his sense of humour, despite, presumably feeling very tired at times. Again, he was always on time in leaving and arriving at destinations, and was very good at assisting people in putting up, dismantling, and packing away their tents, and helping to store them in the truck. He was a very safe and competent driver, and made frequent stops for 'bushy-bushy', toilet breaks along the way! Both Joe & Harmony are a credit to Acacia Africa, and I hope they are used together on future safari tours.

Absolutely loved this tour! My dad & I embarked on the accommodated version of the 12 day Okavango Delta & Etoshia Express Safari and had the time of our lives. Our guide & team leader Pili Pili was a wonder, so efficient & knowledgeable and possibly the kindest, friendliest human I have ever met. He also cooked us the best fried chicken I have ever had. The amount of wildlife we saw was amazing, you will not be disappointed. The water hole at Halali was a surreal once in a lifetime experience. The food on our trip was simple but delicious & although our guides did most of the cooking it was expected that everyone help out prepping & cleaning up. The accommodations were all comfortable and warm showers were available at all but 2 nights. For those camping it was colder than anticipated so make sure you have adequate sleeping bags and warm clothes for at night. We definitely appreciated having a room with comfy beds after the long days. Especially with my dad who is 73, it was nice to not have to put up & take down a tent every day. The only difficulty I had was that a couple of the days were long driving days 10+ hrs. The trip covers a lot of territory & they are big countries so unless you’re spending a lot more money & flying it’s just something you have to do. If you have a bit more time, picking a tour that spends an extra night in places so that you have more time to take it all in would have been nice. The days are jam packed with early starts and late evenings. There was wifi pretty much everywhere, not always great reception but enough to check in with loved ones. We had a nice small group with only 8 guests so there was ample room on the tour bus & everyone had their own window seat to take in the scenery. Rest stops are mostly “bushy bushy’s” which basically means peeing behind a bush, so be prepared. Not sure how well it would work out if you had a bad tummy…. My only other suggestion is to use ATM’s. The instruction info said to bring US $$ which we did, but there were ATM’s that everyone was using and it was easier & more convenient than trying to change money over as each country uses a different currency. Also most excursions took visa and then you also don’t need to carry a big wad of cash around with you. I would highly recommend this tour. The people they have working for them are so amazing, they really go out of their way to ensure that you have your best vacation ever.

We had a lovely trip with Cynthia and Nock. They really looked after us and made us feel welcome showing us around there home country. We loved zambia and this tour made it extra special.