Oh man, the trip was really, really spectacular, was loved by all and generated so many wonderful memories of Botswana!

So, we arrived in Maun as scheduled and the daughter from the family that owns Maun Studios was there to meet us, she was super friendly and helpful and we are so glad that you chose Maun Studios for us to stay at because it was a lovely place, with such a lovely touch that it was family-owned and being able to meet the family there that owned it. They were super helpful in keeping us updated on when we were going to be picked up the following day for the island camping and the dad even offered to drop us off at a local restaurant for dinner and pick us up. The rooms were great and we had a nice breakfast there and were sad to go.

Then, the island camping driver picked us up from Maun Studios and we made our way to the mokoro station and met our guides and took the trip out to the camp and were pleasantly surprised when we got there as to how organized they were and how many camp staff were there to help us and cook for us and keep the camp clean and make our stay there great. The main guide was very friendly and knowledgeable and took us on walking safaris, mokoro trips and taught us about the wildlife and area. I am really glad we did that "roughing it" camping so we could feel even more connected to the land and do the walking safaris. It really wasn't all that rough doing that camping, because they kept everything clean and organized, so it was very easy to do. We saw lots of animals just around the camp also, which was just great. So, we really enjoyed this part of the trip.

Then we were dropped off at Maun Airport and got on the Cessna flight to Pelo, that all went smoothly and boy were we blown away by the Delta! Just totally blown away by seeing it from the air, finally seeing what we had been dreaming about with animals everywhere! Our Pelo guide picked us up at the airstrip and we could tell that we were in for a treat. Taking the vehicle and then the boat to Pelo and pulling up to the camp to be greeted by the staff....we couldn't believe how lovely it was. The camp was EXACTLY

what we would have wanted for us...small and intimate. I saw some of the other Wilderness camps nearby and Pelo was exactly our style, so glad we chose it. And we were lucky that we got there right at the right time so we could do boat safaris, mokoro, fishing, and vehicle safaris.

The camp staff, the food, the service, friendliness, cleanliness, comfort, all outstanding...I mean how can you beat staying in a luxury tented camp in a wildlife paradise like the Delta? Our guide was very knowledgeable, we saw leopards, lions, hyenas, elephants, etc etc, basically almost our entire animal wishlist within a few days of being there! Plus getting transported to little islands in the Delta to enjoy a beer sundowner while animals walked by? Truly an amazing place and experience. I think our favorite experience of the trip for us was being at Pelo and going on a game drive one morning where we got to see two leopards and a pride of lions and a hyena all within like 2 hours. The leopard was our top animal we wanted to see and we got right up close to one so that was so special for us, I attached a pic I got of seeing it! We were all giddy for the rest of the day after that experience.

After our 3 nights at the beautiful Pelo, we flew on to Shinde...oof...just when we thought the camps couldn't get any fancier...Shinde was a mind-blower. The staff picked us up in perfectly outfitted safari vehicles with camera rests on the sides and all. The location of Shinde with the lagoon and hippos and elephants walking by while you enjoyed a drink or a meal, wowzers! And the room, I don't think I will ever forget that tented room and the bathroom with the outside shower, it was like out of a dream. The service, the staff, you really felt taken care of and spoiled at every moment.

Our guide was great, he was very good at tracking animals by their footprints and taught us lots about the Delta and wildlife. Staying at such a wonderful place in such a beautiful spot was definitely a highlight, we even went fishing and my mom caught a catfish, a very fun moment we will all remember (I attached a pic of that too). I think we liked this area in the Shinde Concession the most because it was just on the edge of the water paradise and where there was lots of open land with a different type of feeling to it, where you could go on long game drives in the morning, then go on boat/mokoro trips in the afternoon and really just see it all. We had our best lion experience of our lives there too, with a pride of lions sitting just next to us in the vehicle, including a big male that was only feet from us. One of the best parts of this experience and the ones we had in Pelo is...we were all alone in doing this! No huge lineup of other safari vehicles all looking at the same lion like you get in other spots (Chobe included). So special to have it be silent while getting these wildlife experiences. Just lets you soak it all up. The secret helicopter trip went all according to plan also, the staff did a great job of not letting them know it was happening and they loved it so much, such a wild experience to see the Delta from a helo while only a few hundred feet off the ground.

So, then we had to say goodbye to Shinde and the Delta and moved onto Chobe, but we were in for a treat there as well. The Chobe Safari Lodge was also very nice, our room was comfortable and the location just along the river and close to the park entrance boundary made getting to go on boat safaris and vehicle safaris easy to do. We did a few boat safaris which were really, really good. Big change from being all alone on our private vehicle or boat, though! But, well worth the trip there, the amount of wildlife along the rivers edges was stunning and the boats got you right up next to them. We also did game drives which we really enjoyed, saw quite a few lions (including one hunting which was exciting) and the park itself was very beautiful, although yeah we had to keep telling ourselves not everyplace can be like the Delta, while being lined up with 15 other vehicles next to one lion, ha ha. But, it was still well worth a visit to Chobe for the amount of wildlife you can see there. We also did a day trip to Victoria Falls, which was a nice side-trip.

You asked me to provide you with "low moments" on the trip...I really don't think there were any low moments to speak of, it was all so very well organized and stress-free and the trip exceeded our expectations so I am going to have a hard time thinking of low moments to include, really. But, I suppose if I have to think of something to write like that I could say that I was slightly disappointed by the person

who worked at this lodge who was in charge of setting up our tours (the tour operator, I think they called her). I had written out a list of all the activities I wanted us to do during our stay at Chobe and she well just really wasn't all that interested in really helping me get us to do all those things and was kinda disorganized, so well long story short it was a struggle to get her to book all the stuff we wanted to do, but it didn't tarnish the visit to Chobe that badly, I'm only mentioning it just to mention one of the only "lows" of the trip.

After Chobe we flew on to our next destination and that was the end of our trip with you. Oh man, the trip was really, really spectacular, was loved by all and generated so many wonderful memories of Botswana, thank you so much for all you did to make it happen, can't thank you enough. Do you have a Tripadvisor or other way for me to write a stellar review for your company? I actually had one friend who saw all my pics on Instagram from the trip who wants to do the same trip we did, so I will defintely recommend her to you!

Thanks again,

Merrill Mc

Oh man, the trip was really, really spectacular, was loved by all and generated so many wonderful memories of Botswana!

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