Travelled in May 2024 |
“Words are inadequate to describe the awe and wonder of our experiences at Victoria Falls and the safari lodges in Botswana.
As you may recall, about 6 years ago, three friends and I spent about three nights at a safari lodge in Okavango Delta as part of a Zimbabwe/ Botswana/ South Africa trip arranged by Sikeleli Tours.
I loved the Delta and was determined to return. This time, with family, and with Sikeleli again as our travel agent, we spent 8 nights at safari lodges.
Given the additional time on safari, I expected this trip to be about twice as fun and educational.
Instead, it was, at least, 100 times more rewarding! Some highlights included:
Watching leopards, lions and wild dogs stalk and chase prey at Chobe and the Delta. One of the leopards climbed a tree which was surrounded by baboons. A baboon climbed the tree and pulled on the leopard’s tail!
Having our jeep surrounded by tons of elephants headed to a waterhole at sundown;
Seeing many, many giraffes
Seeing not just one or two hippos, but whole pods of them;
At Little Sable in the Delta, watching a lion saga unfold over a couple of days. If only we could have stayed to see the next chapters unfold! .
I occasionally found myself reassuring my fellow travelers that there was no need for worry, as Fungai and Sikekeli Tours had taken care of every detail and had arranged, in advance, for seamless transfers from place to place. Indeed, that’s just what we experienced! The staffs at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Ngoma Safari Lodge, Leroo La Tau and Little Sable were friendly, helpful and competent.
Standouts were our guides at Ngoma (Sam) and Little Sable (Chris). Thanks to Eddy, our driver from Victoria Falls to the Botswana border, we learned much about Zimbabwe. The executive chef at Ngoma, whose name I don’t recall, cooked continental style food in a very inventive way.
We enjoy trying local cuisine. At Victoria Falls, we checked out a “restaurant” called Nyota Zimbabwean Cuisine, which no one, including our taxi driver, had ever heard of. It was the backyard of a house owned by a gentleman named Mambo and his wife was the cook. The food was delicious. The “chefs” in our group, Tamara, Marc and Wylie, especially enjoyed our Taste of Botswana cooking class with Ednah Rosen. Even as a non-cook, I found Ednah to be a fascinating person.
I would, unqualifiedly, recommend friends and family booking with Sikeleli Tours.
Fungai, you are a dream to work with. Danni, I can’t wait to book my next tour with Sikeleli (Japan is next on my bucket list)!
Thanks for an unforgettable experience!”