It is not easy to satisfy six totally different people, all with different expectations. Sikeleli did a good job in achieving just that! Danni was very responsive to all enquiries and tactfully guided us back on track in the initial planning, with gentle reminders that Africa is a very large continent where it is best to confine one’s search to one or two countries and not ALL. Her knowledge and experience in working through every detail of a safari is exceptional. There is a great deal of background work and connection bookings that go into putting a trip together. Our safari went without a hitch with well-planned transportation and inter-camp transfers/flights. We came back home with memorable experiences of Africa, as we would have expected, but with so many additional unexpected experiences that made this trip special. The friendliness and professional quality of the Botswana people and camp staff; the unexpected helicopter ride; the night-drive to find a leopard; the rush of excitement when a group of lions went through the camp at night; meeting a hippo and then the elephant wondering down our pathway; the smell of death and the sight of the kill; the vultures in the tree tops; the safari walk tracking a family of elephants; the crisp, cool early morning drive out to a new day of “what will we find today” and all those bird names you have to try to remember; and then, the return to the camp in the late evenings with unbelievable sunsets – just too many amazing things to mention but enough to want to go back and do it all over again, as there will be more!
All the camps were comfortable, and tastefully decorated. Certainly the comfortable beds and quality linens were appreciated! We voted the Linyanti Bush Camp as being the more authentic to an actual bush camp, where the tents had open views to the marshes. We soon learnt that knowledge and experience of your guide is of key importance in making your safari memorable. Although our guides were good in all three camps, Paul, our guide at Linyanti, was exceptional and by far the most experienced. He went the extra mile (literally!) to make our day-trips different and memorable. We were certainly not disappointed with the amount and variety of wildlife we were able to see at such close quarters. The private game reserves offered more exceptional viewing without too much ‘crowding’ with other game vehicles at the same sight, as experienced in the busier park of Chobe. We loved ending our trip at the Vic Falls Hotel, and finally meeting Danni!