Hello old and new Fodor's Friends!

I've just returned from a wonderful Botswana safari planned by Bill Given. I joined 10 others, including ShayTay, in Joburg, then flew on to Maun where the adventure began. The itinerary was as follows:
Xakanaxa Fly Camp, 9/9-11, three nights
Mapula Lodge, 9/12-14, three nights
Savuti Fly Camp, 9/15-17, three nights
Ichobezi Safari Boat, 9/18-19, two nights
(I also spent 9/20-25 in Cape Town visiting my daughter who's there doing volunteer work.)

I'm very weak on trip reports - don't even keep a journal, (shame on me!) - but I've already gotten most of my pics online. For those interested, log onto:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/13977...27626686_svJY8

As I said to Bill, I'm in that post melancholy, wistful, can't-stop-thinking-about-the-trip phase. Coming home and re-entering society is very tough for me.

Anyway, I'm more than willing to respond to any questions you might have about these places, I'm just unlikely to ever post a "formal" trip report....sorry.
regards,
anita

Hey Anita, happy to hear you (and all) had a great time. Also lot of nice snaps you have.

Which camp stay was your favorite?

regards - tom

Anita,

Thanks for posting the photos, I so enjoyed them. In your can't-stop-thinking-about-the-trip moments, what experiences or images come to mind most often. We're very interested in visiting Botswana and I'd enjoy reading about a few of your experiences.

Thanks, Anita. Looks a great trip! If I can ask, where are the cheetah pics from?

You have some very nice pics in the gallery.

Regards,
Hari

Hi, Tom! Thank you and ccipups for the compliments.

Wow, hard to say which camp stay was my favorite... I can say that I didn't particularly enjoy the "roughing it" aspect of the mobile tent camps. My poor old back took a beating on the cots and I wasn't properly (literally) prepared for the total darkness - my only previous experience was with permanent tent camps and they're sheer luxury by comparison. So, having said that, Mapula and the riverboat both offered welcome relief as far as accomodations went.

I, also, think that I found both Mapula and the riverboat experiences additionally special/thrilling because of the added dimension of the water. Both locations offered excellent wildlife viewing, (comparable to Xakanaxa and Savuti), plus had the special features of boating and the natural beauty of the waterways. As an artist/photographer, I certainly appreciated the opportunity to shoot more diversity and landscapes, mixed in with the wildlife. I, also, just plain enjoyed being on the water, something I don't normally get to do. And, talk about African serenity! There's nothing quite like silently floating along a riverbank at sunset watching 50 or 60 eles emerge from the water while Kudu, hippo and crocs line the shore - gives new meaning to the word, "awesome."

Hi Hari,
The cheetah and wild dogs were at Savuti. Interestingly, the Mapula pack was nowhere to be seen, having been driven off by the winter floods. We were so disappointed, figuring Mapula was our best chance of seeing dogs. Then, go figure, we found some at Savuti! We were so delighted.

a

Thanks, Anita. A friend of mine was also at Savuti last week on a mobile safari, awaiting info from his current trip too.... but, sounds fantastic!!!

We have fond memories of our two nights on the Ichobezi in August 2008. After five weeks of self-driving along rough, dusty roads through South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, floating down the river was heaven. It is one of our dearest memories of that trip. Your photos are lovely - thank you for sharing. I'd be curious to know where you encountered such wet/muddy roads in September! Robin

Hi Robin,

Yes, the river trip is heavenly, something I've already highly recommended to a few people. It was, quite possibly, the highlight for me, certainly A BIG highlight.

This year had record winter rains, one of the worst in the last 50 years. We saw places along the Chobe where lodges and buildings were flooded and/or destroyed. The "up" side is that Savuti Channel, Selinda Spillway, and Boteti River are running for the first time in something like 30 years (I'm pretty sure that's what Nigel told us.) But, that also meant that the water didn't receed the way it normally does, hence the need for our jeeps to double as U boats. We had challenges at both Xakanaxa and Savuti but it just made for more adventure.

Anita - you have some GREAT photos!! I'm just beginning to plan my first trip to Botswana for 2012. It was fun to see some of what you saw.

THANK YOU, Cateyes, I really appreciate it! Really. It's very personal putting one's photos "out there" for all to see.

Is this your first safarior just first to Botswana?

Anita,

Your pictures are spectacular and I particularly like the welcome you received at Savuti!
Guess I have to plan my return; this time Bots!(Been on the Chobe and loved all the elies)
I think the African people are the warmest, friendliest and sincere folks I've ever encountered in my travels.
Thanks for sharing the pics,
Moneyburns

I had heard that the channel was flowing again, so I guess I should have realized that the wet conditions might translate into challenging driving conditions. I am hoping that there might be water in the Savuti Marsh for our next visit in 2011, but perhaps I'd better be careful what I wish for, given that we will be self-driving. Did you visit (the Sebeer village of) Injambwe when you were on the Ichobezi? I am wondering how the village did in the flood. Robin

Hi Anita - this will be my first trip to Botswana. My first trip to Africa was this past June - to Tanzania. I am mired in confusion all over again looking at how to organize a trip to SA plus Bots. But I remember feeling this way when I first began to look at Tanzania and the trip turned out great, so just need to put in the research over the next few months. Any tips from you would be much appreciated! I love the Smug Mug photo web site. Here is a link to my Tanz photos:

cateyes.smugmug.com

jean

Thank you moneyb! You know what they say: Travelers go to Africa to see the wildlife and remember the people.

Robin, I can't answer your question about the village but can tell you that the waters did exceed the banks.

Cateyes, my best tip is that you find someone very experienced who you can trust to plan your trip for you. That's what I've done for both of my safaris and it's worked out beautifully. It doesn't have to be a travel agent, just someone who really knows Africa. It's just too big a continent with too many unfamiliar options for me to do it on my own. Maybe that's a cop-out but, particularly now that I travel alone and have no one to plan my trips with, I just prefer the security of knowing that an expert's organized things. (I still plan my other travels, just not Africa.)

aknards - Beautiful pictures. Botswana is a special place and Batswana make it all the more special.

A sable and wild dogs. Wow. Your bird pictures are beautiful. Thanks for including the names of the camps. All the accommodations look interesting. How did you do with the Fly Camp accommodations? The restroom looks a bit "rustic".

I am considering a tape recorder as a diary for our next trip. I never write anything down, and then it just pops out of my head. Maybe a recorder will help me remember names and places.

Dreaming of going back...

I also dream of going back-gorgeous photos and the people are as beautiful as the wildlife!

Thanks, christabir and moremiles! Re: the fly camp accomodations: as I said above, I definitely found them to be a bit rough. The cots were thin and narrow and the loos had a tendancy to collapse - harrowing, at best, in the dark of night. My preference would certainly be permanent tent camps. However, if my only choice was mobile camps, it wouldn't stop me from planning another safari - the quality of guiding, food, etc., was certainly up to par.

Wonderful photos - What's the deal with the amphibious vehicle?

I was with Aknards on the safari; we all had a wonderful time, even if the fly camps were a bit more "rustic" than expected. The locations were great and wildlife, prolific. Canadian_Robin, your blog was read by more than one of our group prior to our departure. The trail up to the Namibian immigration office on Impalila Island was just as you had described and I was glad to have had your "heads up" on that. We didn't visit the village, although it was mentioned. It could be because we were only on the boats for two nights (we had 11 travelers and had people on both the Ichobezi boats.) I'd definitely recommend the experience. I've never seen more eles than I did from the boat. We also did "game drives" in small speedboats and got "up close and personal" with a lot of the wildlife. The giant kingfisher just sat there and posed as we drifted right up to it.