It just kept getting better. The safaris in Botswana left me speechless. The animals were far more numerous in both Chobe and Okavango. Pretty much the same animals, but far more of them. Both lodges were very nice, and the people working there were wonderful, but a quick word about Sanctuary Baines in the Okavango Delta. Not surprisingly, there was no air conditioning, and the huts were blazing hot, (much like the heat you feel when you open your oven to smell the baked cookies that are about ready to eat)! We noticed that there was only one other younger couple staying there during our visit. They told us that there had been another party, but they insisted on a different place to stay as they could not handle the heat. Members of the staff brought us iced towels to wrap up in, which helped, but it was a difficult situation. The day we were leaving there I felt rather sick…could have been partially from the heat, or perhaps from drinking some bad water, or a residual effect of the Malerone (Malaria medication) that I had to stop taking due to a bad reaction in Cape Town, but again the staff brought to our hut some supplies, and really made an effort to make me feel comfortable. We greatly appreciated this. This is a wonderful location and facility, but it might not be quite right for the over-65 crowd during the hot weather season. Or, some portable free-standing air conditioners might be considered.

A superb lodge with lovely staff and a great guide in Fred. Only having 5 rooms meant it was almost like a private booking. Great game drives, great location and great food. In fact the food sheer volume of food was possibly the only thing one could quibble with. A full English at 6 a.m., followed by a 3-course lunch and a 3-course dinner (not to forget afternoon tea) is more than most people are accustomed to. Fortunately, the chef seemed to realise this and changed the routine while we were there, to make the breakfast lighter and bring lunch forward to the end of the game drive, leaving uninterrupted time during the afternoon. Much more sensible.

A perfect romantic getaway experience, which is great for honeymooners looking for a private natural bush experience. Great option for first time safari experiences as it combines both land and water activities.

The differences between the three camps and the countryside around them made it all very interesting. The guides were incredibly knowledgeable and brilliant at finding the wildlife. All in all, a wonderful trip.

Baines Camp is very good, with great activities for the guests like the elephant walk safari, having dinner in the bush, the boat trip and the “star bed”. The service was excellent and also the food.

Our last stop was Baine’s Sanctuary. The setting is beautiful and again the tents and food all very good. The highlight here was of course the elephant experience! So, yes the elephant experience was fantastic! We thoroughly enjoyed meeting and communing with the elephants. I also, just realized that I confused where we slept out and had the baths on the deck. It was not Lebela…it was here! Both were very nice touches.

We enjoyed our trip to the Delta very much. I seem to always have my “travel agent” hat on when we travel because I’m always comparing and contrasting different camps, countries, etc! It seemed as though most of the guests were only staying at Wilderness properties but we were glad to have stayed at the Sanctuary camps to compare. Both of us felt that Baines’ and Chief’s did a bit better job all around and had a better management style. We heard that from a few other people as well and actually from a couple who had been to Ivory Lodge in Sabi before going to Botswana. We did get the room that I had requested at Baines and Kings Pool but not at Chiefs. We absolutely loved the “star bed” at Baines and slept outside 2 of the 3 nights. In the middle of the last night, an elephant decided to eat part of the tree that was less than 10 feet from the bed and that was an interesting experience!
All in all, we’re glad we went to the the Delta (the water was lower this year than in the last 3 years we were told but still beautiful) but don’t feel that Botswana offers good value for the quantity of the game that we saw. That seemed to be a fairly prevalent opinion that we heard from others as well. So, you’ll be glad to hear that we continue to sing the praises of South Africa and Sabi Sand and will continue to encourage people to visit!

Baines’ Camp topped it off nicely – what a way to end the trip. Each lodge and accomodation had different ways of making the stay enjoyable but Baines was beyond belief – taking the bed out onto the deck so that we could sleep under the stars and the bubble baths and champagne out on the deck were unexpected delights. They were very quick to react to our every request without any fuss whatsoever. Just magnificent

Lari & Andre of Baines’ Camp were so down to earth and friendly.The Elephant experience is something I would highly recommend to future clients.

Both the Stanley and Baines’ camps were fantastic with Baines being over the top. Meals at both were top notch!

Very nice camp and accommodation, good wildlife and nice staff. We spent two out of the three nights with our bed out on the deck and it was a wonderful experience. It is to be noted that the unusually high amount of water in the delta made all transfers logistically complicated (as in driving on a Land Cruiser that would go underwater for more than half its height!).

The highlights of the trip for me were the game drives at Baine’s camp. The staff was knowledgeable and we saw LOTS of wildlife (including leopard, lions with cubs, black rhino, hippos, etc).

It was outstanding on all counts and you can recommend it to your new clients.The people, the animals and the nature can not be better.

Nice facilities but just not as good as LV (Little Vumbura ). So glad we got to see the both of them.

Absolutely wonderful! – There again we couldnt fault a single thing! it was marvelous!! I’m not one to recommend places usually but two people in the office are travelling around next June/July and i have mentioned your company already to them, I would also go back to Baines. I think maybe two nights isnt enough – three would be better so you get two full days drives etc.