Kwando vs Wilderness Safaris

Old Apr 12th, 2004, 02:12 PM
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Kwando vs Wilderness Safaris

Am looking for any suggestions...

We are travelling to Bots in Nov 2004 and are planning on 6 nights on safari and 2 nights at Vic Falls.

Originally, we were only looking at WS camps doing 3 nights at Vumbura or L'il Vumbar and then 3 nights at Duma Tau.

Before committing, we wondered if we should consider going to Kwando camps or Sanctuary camps instead; they were less expensive. I assume then we'd stay at Kwara for 3 nights and then either Lagoon or Legala for nights.

Any comments on Chief's Camp or Stanley's?

Where would go you if this was your first trip to Africa and you wanted a quality safari experience at the best value?

Thank you in advance!

morrika is offline  
Old Apr 12th, 2004, 02:15 PM
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sandi
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There have been posts re Chief's and Stanley's Camps these past two days. Read all the posts re Botswana,, Moremi etc. and you'll get info to consider. At least in Nov the prices go down until mid December, so you should find some competition out there.
 
Old Apr 12th, 2004, 04:28 PM
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u wont go wrong with either kwando or wilderness safaris. basically the only difference between the two is that wilderness has more camps so you can be more specific to exactly what type of environment you want to visit. given that it's your first visit you will get a great introduction to the delta and the linyanti/chobe region with either operator so find the best deal and enjoy.
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Old Apr 12th, 2004, 11:06 PM
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As has been said, both are well considered by agents and previous visitors... I am sure you'll have a great trip whichever you choose. You may even want to mix camps from both operators.
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Old Apr 13th, 2004, 09:01 AM
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morrika,

I am going to top another recent thread for you regarding Kwando and Wilderness Safaris.

Personally, I am going to take advantage of Kwando's excellent reputation, guide & tracker system and excellent pricing. However, Wilderness Safaris does offer a lot more lodges to choose from in different parts of the Okavango Delta, meaning that I will also stay in at least one WS camp, likely Savuti.

I do think that having the guide & tracker system is very important to successful night game drives, and only Kwando offers this.

Anyway, take a look at the thread I topped about night game drives.
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Old Apr 13th, 2004, 10:30 AM
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Rocco, you'll have a great time at Savuti. Its one of two Wilderness camps I visited in August 2001, the other being Chitabe, and we had some great sightings at Savuti, including two rarities that I hadn't seen before or since (aardwolf and caracal), plus large prides of lion, wild dog and plenty of elephants right at the waterhole outside camp, plus all the regular stuff. You really felt like you were in the middle of nowhere, and the camp was less than half full when we visited (only two rooms occupied out of five) so we did what we wanted, including game walks in the afternoon between drives instead of sitting around camp.
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Old Apr 13th, 2004, 03:17 PM
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Thit Cho,

Thanks for the feedback. I am pretty sure that my final itinerary will look like this:

Kwando Songwe Village (Vic Falls, Zambia), 2 nights

Savuti, 3 nights

Kwando Lagoon, 3 nights

Kwando Kwara, 3 nights

Chief's Camp, 3 nights

I am also fairly certain that I will follow that order, as I would like to finish in Moremi and Savuti seems like it is the closest camp to Victoria Falls.
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Old Apr 14th, 2004, 01:41 PM
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This may sounds like a funny comment, but as a first-timer I actually find that I like the fact that Kwando has a limitted number of camps. They have circuit that looks great. I can call them up and say, "I'd like to do your circuit on these dates, how much will it cost", etc, and know what I'm getting. Working with tour operators for Wilderness Safaris is so confusing! They're constantly steering me towards a different camp, and there are SO MANY. It takes tons of research, and even then you don't really know what your getting. The opinions on this board seem pretty well-grounded, but most of what I've found elsewhere is marketing material regurgitation.

Anyway, just thought I'd point out that a fewer number of camps can have a positive side too....especialy for a newcomer to Africa.
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Old Apr 14th, 2004, 07:23 PM
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It should be noted that I discovered that the same game lodges that I am considering putting a hefty deposit down on for June, 2005, are still available for June, 2004. Perhaps the order of the lodges is different but it still makes me think twice about wanting to put down a $3,000 deposit.

Plus, I really do not believe that my lodges will go up 10% next year, as has been claimed by at least one agent. Right now I would pay just over $11,000 for this itinerary:

Kwando Songwe Village (Vic Falls, Zambia), 2 nights

Savuti, 3 nights

Kwando Lagoon, 3 nights

Kwando Kwara, 3 nights

Chief's Camp, 3 nights

I don't think that if the operator could get his hands on $3,000 of working capital/commission to sit on for a year that the operator would forfeit doing their very best to make sure that the pricing did not go up by more than, say, 5% max.

However, just to get it out of the way, I may put down my deposit upon my return from Zambia. At least then it is done and over with!
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