Jim and Sally Perry from Sydney enjoyed a thrilling multi-generational family holiday in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
My wife, Sally and I first went to Africa with friends about four years ago. We absolutely loved it and really wanted our kids and grandkids to experience it as well, so we decided to take everyone on a big family trip.
Our friends had organised our previous trip, but this time around we went with Encompass Africa. I basically just Googled “African agents” and made some enquiries. Three companies gave us proposals and I liked Danica’s the best. It turned out my faith was well-placed: the experience lived up to all our expectations and everyone had a marvellous time.
We left in May of this year [2024] for two weeks in Zimbabwe and Botswana. There were 12 of us in total: Sally and me, our three children, two of whom have partners, plus five grandchildren.
We spent our first night in Johannesburg, then flew to Victoria Falls, staying at Masuwe Lodge, where the hospitality was excellent. The next day, we visited the mind-blowing Falls, which were in full flow, and went on a fantastic zip-lining adventure. Later we boarded a jet boat for a 20-minute ride up the Zambezi River to Chundu Island. It was an exciting ride – we had to dodge rocks and crocodiles!
We stayed two nights at Chundu Island. The service there was fantastic and we stayed in beautiful waterfront lodges. Since the island is small, we took boats across the river for game drives in two mainland parks. We also enjoyed a sunset cruise on the Zambezi, with Zambia on one side and Zimbabwe on the other, and were impressed by the extensive alcohol selection!
Elephant Camp, about an hour’s drive away, was our next port of call. It’s a big camp set in the Victoria Falls National Park and overlooking the Zambezi Gorge, so it was a lovely spot for sunset drinks. On a game drive we saw lions, lots of baby elephants and a leopard – we had to race cross-country to find it, so it was an exciting drive.
Our next destination was Nokanyana Camp in the Khwai River region of Botswana, near Moremi Game Reserve and the Okavango Delta. We stayed in lovely tents, enjoyed great dinners, and experienced wonderful singing and dancing by the staff. The singing is so beautiful, it lifts the hairs on the back of your neck. There was a lot of excitement one night, when 13 lions came into camp. It was exciting and a bit scary – the staff were running around everywhere with torches! We actually tracked those lions the next morning on a game drive.
We then flew to Botswana for three nights at the famous Jack’s Camp in the Makgadikgadi Pans in the Kalahari Desert. After a Champagne reception at the air strip we were driven to camp, where the tents were luxurious and the food was fabulous. The landscape here was starkly different – there was so much water at our previous camps, but this was all salt plains and palm trees. Wildlife sightings included wildebeests, ostriches, elephants, a black-maned lion, and even an aardvark. We also saw dozens of friendly meerkats. They’re so used to people, so you can sit among them and they’ll jump on your legs. The kids loved it.
One highlight was a quad biking trip out to a salt pan, followed by pre-dinner drinks around a big campfire and then dinner under the stars – with hot coals under our seats to keep us warm! After dinner, we were surprised with an overnight stay in the open – they’d set up beds along the salt pan. Each bed had a hot water bottle, and a washbasin nearby. We were told to take our torch if we left our bed to visit the loo, because there was no light whatsoever and we’d never find our way back (they said an alternative was the salt pans – they love absorbing moisture!). It was pitch, pitch black, which made the star-gazing phenomenal. The kids and grandkids were just blown away by this experience. Some of them were a bit nervous about sleeping outside, but it was all good and we slept well that night!
Our final stop was Cape Town for two nights. Unfortunately, it rained nearly the whole time so we basically hung out on the waterfront until everyone left to fly back to Australia. Sally and I were taking a later flight to Europe, so we spent a fascinating day in town, visiting the apartheid museum.
When we got home and caught up with everyone, Africa was the subject around the dinner table, I can assure you! It was a very special trip and Encompass Africa did a terrific job; we’d highly recommend Danica and Jono. It was a holiday we’ll never forget.