marc1

Long time reader, first time writer.

My wife and I are thinking about spending two nights at the Chobe Marine Park in the second week of September followed by 2 nights at Nxabega on what I gather is the western side of the Okavango Delta. Has anyone been to these places? They look great but we would love some advice from any one who has been there? We were also planning a couple of days at Victoria Falls. I understand that at that time of year there may not be a lot of water running(?) Is the Zimbabwe side safe? I have been recommended the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge there. Or if we go to Zambia, the Tongabezi Lodge which looks a fair bit more expensive. We would love any comments people may have. Thanks!

sandi

We visited Vic Falls at "low-flow" and glad we did. During high-flow you see practically nothing but lots of mist and the sound can be heard from more than a mile away. Besides you have to be in raincoats and most difficult to take photos and not get your camera wet and maybe even damaged. Not that you can't take photos, but it's a challenge. Granted high-flow is an experience, but not much can be seen.

Zimbabwe is in political turmoil, people are hurting for food and there is more begging - but the people aren't dangerous. With all this, we never felt uncomfortable or in danger in any way. Granted more people are staying in Zambia, but Tongabezi is very experience. You might want to do a "search" on the first page of this board and select "Zambia hotels" or "Victoria Falls Zambia hotels". As to Nxabega camp, there have been a few recent trip reports on this camp. Again, do a "search" using "Nxabega camp, Botswana." Reponses to any search should appear on the left column, where you'll find information you need.

cjstobbs

I don't know anything about your lodges, but as we are going to Vic Falls this November, I have been doing a lot of inquiring about the safety in Zimbabwe, especially since the U.S. State Dept. issued another warning July 2nd. It appears that everything remains as normal in Vic Falls. The only people who may encounter problems are those who voice their political opinions, etc. or go out to the farmlands.

uhoh_busted

I don't know anything about Chobe Marine Park, but we did stay two nights at Nxabega in May. It was lovely, but you should know it is a "Water" camp -- there are as many water activities, mokoro and motor boat, as there are game drives. You should see plenty of big game in Chobe, and you will see game at Nxabega, and you will definitely see some wonderful birds, but MAYBE not as much in the way of big cats. That's only from my limited experience, because RuthieC was at the same camp a month after we were and saw plenty of big cats. The most romantic thing about Nxabega were the tents. And the option to dine by yourselves. The scenery is simply stunning -- and quite different from Chobe, so you've got two very different experiences in store!

tashak

This was such a big year for water that I think there will be PLENTY in September!!

I was in Vic Falls at the end of Sept a few years ago, and while it could have been bigger, it was plenty impressive as it was!

RuthieC

marc1,

As uhoh_busted mentioned, we stayed at Nxabega last month. We loved it there - in particular the staff are wonderful and the food was the best on our trip. As said, we had excellent sightings of lion each day we were there (3 days) as well as many other animals. Also Nxabega gives you the option to do night drives which are a great experience - very exciting.

Suggest you type "Nxabega" in the search box at the top of the screen and then read through some of the trip reports as I know other people have also stayed there recently.

BAMonahan

I've spoken to a couple of tour operators who talked about the Recent Floods. Almost Unprecedented! There should be Plenty of Water for everyone. They say that Vic Falls has more water than many have ever seen.

As a Newbee, I'm trying to read everything, but haven't learned about getting to other strings or keeping them straight.