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McKenzie 4x4 Hire
McKenzie 4x4 Hire
3
This location was reported permanently closed
About
We hire fully kitted 4x4 vehicles for the self drive explorers to travel around Botswana. Self driving through the National Parks and Game Reserves of Botswana. We are also a small inbound travel agency for assisting in Booking of campsites in and around Botswana.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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3.0
14 reviews
Excellent
6
Very good
1
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
7
Jayne T
Sheffield, UK4 contributions
Apr 2022
we hired a self drive, fully kitted out safari vehicle though Mackenzie, in April 2022. This was originally booked in 2019, for travel in 2020, and had to be cancelled 3 times due to covid. Kay was fantastic, booking camps in the CKGR,Chobe, gweta,Savuti, Moremi, Mankwe etc, and fielding all the cancellations and re bookings etc.She's a real Star
Our van was delivered to the Cresta Riley Hotel in Maun by Sammy, another true star.
He took us through all the kit and tents etc, it turned out there was a few small things missing, but Sammy brought them out to us at Audi camp that night about 10 pm, so that we could set off first thing in the morning.
He also drove up to Mankwe, a six hour round trip from maun, to tighten up our tent mountings, which had come loose after 2000km of dirt road driving.
The Van was amazing, well kitted out for 4 people, comfy,and coped with some really nasty terrain, the automatic gearbox getting us out of trouble easily.
I would recommend Mackenzie every day, and we will return to this beautiful place soon.
Our van was delivered to the Cresta Riley Hotel in Maun by Sammy, another true star.
He took us through all the kit and tents etc, it turned out there was a few small things missing, but Sammy brought them out to us at Audi camp that night about 10 pm, so that we could set off first thing in the morning.
He also drove up to Mankwe, a six hour round trip from maun, to tighten up our tent mountings, which had come loose after 2000km of dirt road driving.
The Van was amazing, well kitted out for 4 people, comfy,and coped with some really nasty terrain, the automatic gearbox getting us out of trouble easily.
I would recommend Mackenzie every day, and we will return to this beautiful place soon.
Written 26 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SEAFOODDIET
HK14 contributions
Jul 2019
So here is my story.
We almost got scammed by someone pretending to be a representative of McKenzie 4x4. Lucky for me this guy had very bad english and I suspected something, so I emailed McKenzie directly and enquired about this person. McKenzie said they had some problems with this guy and thanked us for informing them and forwarded the info to the police and tourism authority.
(Tip of the day: don't try getting bookings in Botswana within one month of your departure day, you need to book a year in advance) Unless you know people who can help, like Brenda. We managed to fill in the gaps in our schedule with the help of Brenda and McKenzie 4x4.
Our 4x4 was rented thru Britz NOT MCKENZIE and it was poor. Even tho she did not rent us our vehicle Brenda helped us with park bookings and when it turned out that the blankets and sleeping bags in the vehicle were woofully inadequate to the task of keeping us warm (Botswana is cold in July), Brenda arranged for extra blankets to be flown up to Moremi Xaxanaxa.
About a week later, we helped a nice swiss couple who had broken down in their LandRover. They stayed the night with us and the next day Mac of McKenzie 4x4 drove all the way up to 3rd Bridge and helped repair the vehicle rather than towing it back to Maun, this saved the nice swiss couple lots of money.
Brenda and Mac are the kind of people who will go out of their way to help you and it is really sad that some bad people have taken it to try and scam others using their good name.
I will be booking my next trip with McKenzie and have recommended them to others.
Thanks Brenda and Mac for making our Botswana adventure super awesome, and keeping us warm>)
We almost got scammed by someone pretending to be a representative of McKenzie 4x4. Lucky for me this guy had very bad english and I suspected something, so I emailed McKenzie directly and enquired about this person. McKenzie said they had some problems with this guy and thanked us for informing them and forwarded the info to the police and tourism authority.
(Tip of the day: don't try getting bookings in Botswana within one month of your departure day, you need to book a year in advance) Unless you know people who can help, like Brenda. We managed to fill in the gaps in our schedule with the help of Brenda and McKenzie 4x4.
Our 4x4 was rented thru Britz NOT MCKENZIE and it was poor. Even tho she did not rent us our vehicle Brenda helped us with park bookings and when it turned out that the blankets and sleeping bags in the vehicle were woofully inadequate to the task of keeping us warm (Botswana is cold in July), Brenda arranged for extra blankets to be flown up to Moremi Xaxanaxa.
About a week later, we helped a nice swiss couple who had broken down in their LandRover. They stayed the night with us and the next day Mac of McKenzie 4x4 drove all the way up to 3rd Bridge and helped repair the vehicle rather than towing it back to Maun, this saved the nice swiss couple lots of money.
Brenda and Mac are the kind of people who will go out of their way to help you and it is really sad that some bad people have taken it to try and scam others using their good name.
I will be booking my next trip with McKenzie and have recommended them to others.
Thanks Brenda and Mac for making our Botswana adventure super awesome, and keeping us warm>)
Written 18 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jackson l
Melbourne, Australia1 contribution
Jul 2019 • Family
We had an excellent experience with McKenzie 4 x 4 and Lorraine with our vehicle totally prepared and ready when we arrived.
Our orientation with the vehicle was fast and the itinerary and the vouchers for the trip were correct and we were expected at each campsite.
We toured Moremi National Park and Chobe National Park and got onto lots of back-roads so the driving was quite extreme with lots of sandy sectors and we didn't get bogged at all.
The landscape was beautiful and we saw so many wonderful sights and animals along the way.
I would be happy to recommend McKenzie 4 x 4 to any adventurers wishing to get off the beaten track in Botswana!
Vivian Lees
Melbourne, Australia.
Our orientation with the vehicle was fast and the itinerary and the vouchers for the trip were correct and we were expected at each campsite.
We toured Moremi National Park and Chobe National Park and got onto lots of back-roads so the driving was quite extreme with lots of sandy sectors and we didn't get bogged at all.
The landscape was beautiful and we saw so many wonderful sights and animals along the way.
I would be happy to recommend McKenzie 4 x 4 to any adventurers wishing to get off the beaten track in Botswana!
Vivian Lees
Melbourne, Australia.
Written 23 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charlie
Cape Town, South Africa4 contributions
Apr 2019
My girlfriend and I had some fairly last minute plans to do a trip to Botswana. After getting frustrated with trying to find out how to book campsites in Makgadikgadi and Moremi we contacted Mckenzie 4x4. We dealt with Lorraine who helped us create a custom itinerary and did all the bookings for the trip efficiently and well. For a reasonable rate, this saved us a lot of time and frustration. The idea of needing to have original vouchers couriered was foreign to us, but once in the country and at the park gates etc they do want to see the actual vouchers and park entry fees. A major thing for us was that just before making payment to McKenzie, we saw several reviews on trip advisor about people being 'scammed' by them, having made payments and not getting the documents couriered. We were obviously concerned and spoke to Lorraine about this. We still dont know what exactly happened in those cases, but we certainly got everything we paid for. All booking documents were scanned and emailed to us as requested and the originals were couriered to our first overnight stopping point in Botswana. We had an amazing adventure and loved the trip! So, thanks Lorraine and Mckenzie:) NOTE: Be aware of long grass getting caught in the undercarriage of your vehicle as this almost caused a serious disaster for us with our Suzuki Jimny in Makgadikgadi. Always carry a small fire extinguisher!
Written 9 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
simongreenleaf
London, UK1 contribution
Sep 2018 • Family
I have paid about £4000 to McKenzie 4x4 for two trips and still have not received any of my vouchers. My emails are ignored. I've been chasing now for five moths. I can no longer get through to their office by telephone. I've reached out to the owners but they have not responded. Unless I get and immediate response and my bookings vouchers DHL'd to me (a fee I have also already paid) I will refer to the Department of Tourism (DOT) and seek compensation. Mckenzie 4x4 ???? Can you please provide the service I have paid for immediately ?
Written 6 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
konrad1710
Mainz, Germany5 contributions
May 2018 • Solo
10 weeks ago I paid McKenzie for some Nationalparks-Bookings.
They confirmed reception of the money, but since then nothing happened.
No vouchers have been sent.
E-Mails are simply ignored, phone-calls unanswered.
I´ll pay them a visit in Maun very soon.
Let`s see what happens.
They confirmed reception of the money, but since then nothing happened.
No vouchers have been sent.
E-Mails are simply ignored, phone-calls unanswered.
I´ll pay them a visit in Maun very soon.
Let`s see what happens.
Written 16 August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ronald A
Coolin, ID1 contribution
Jul 2018 • Friends
I booked with McKenzie 4/4 in April 2018 and paid by bank transfer for camping and entrance fees to the National Parks. To date I have received no confirmation, When I email all I get is the runaround. I'm out $2,935.00 USD. I'm very disappointed!! In the past I've had good results with travel agents in Southern Africa McKenzie's is giving the industry a black eye. I have until November of 2018 to find a reliable agent to get my bookings.
Written 26 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hjhstewart
London, UK15 contributions
Dec 2017 • Family
Made a booking for a 4x4, paid the deposit, never heard anything. Chased them up, "didn't receive any deposit, no vehicles available". Paid same people again for a booking with Wild Wheels, which went fine.
Res McKenzie then admitted receiving the deposit, and asked for my credit card details so they could refund it. I said no, refund it by bank transfer the way it came. Nothing happened.
I read some of the other experiences where Res McKenzie blame their staff - not very responsible of them.
Res McKenzie then admitted receiving the deposit, and asked for my credit card details so they could refund it. I said no, refund it by bank transfer the way it came. Nothing happened.
I read some of the other experiences where Res McKenzie blame their staff - not very responsible of them.
Written 12 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mck4x4 did a Forex transfer to Mr Steward over 2 months ago with FNB Maun. I will follow up on this and send him the proof of payment. We sincerely apologies for any inconvenience caused..
Shelleen
Accounts Manager
Written 13 April 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Tanya K
50 contributions
Oct 2017 • Family
As discussed with management of McKenzie, we are not happy with the service and feel scammed our of our money.
The father-in-law of the owner recommended us this place when we spoke to him at the car dealership in Maun. We said we were looking for a place to make bookings for a trip to Moremi.
In the office, a lady called 3 different companies to see whether 2 campsites were available and 1 place to do a mkoro boat ride. It took her 5 minutes. She did not make the booking for us or give us vouchers, but only called the lady of the mkoro boat ride company to pick us up and drive us to every place so we could finish the bookings there ourselves.
She then asked for a deposit of 1000 Pula (about 100 dollar), but mentioned that because she couldn't finish the booking, 400 Pula would be fine as well, and we could pay the rest when finishing the booking. They did not give us a receipt and demanded cash.
We were under the impression this was the commission of the booking which would be dedicated from the total.
The places we drove to had not done anything with our bookings or reserved the campsites for us. We still had to pay the full amount since they said they had nothing to do with our deposit.
To further illustrate: it costs about 250 pula per person per night to camp. Our total booking was about 2000 Pula for 4 days. This company thus demanded a 50% additional cash payment for making a few phone calls in 5 minutes.
When the lady of the Mkoro ride picked us up, and we explained what happened, she told us this was not an honest way of doing business. The amount we had paid would not be deducted from anything. A commission is only paid for a company when they prepare and do all the bookings and the payment. Not when you still have to drive around town for 2 hours to do them yourselves. A receipt would also have been nice.
We weren't sure if the owner knew beforehand his staff was doing this so we called the guy that referred us and told him what happened. He mentioned something about commissions and he would look into it. He never called back.
I have worked in tourism for many years and have NEVER in my life worked with an 'agency' that wanted 25% commission for doing as little as this company. Don't go there, make your own bookings with the actual campsites.
The father-in-law of the owner recommended us this place when we spoke to him at the car dealership in Maun. We said we were looking for a place to make bookings for a trip to Moremi.
In the office, a lady called 3 different companies to see whether 2 campsites were available and 1 place to do a mkoro boat ride. It took her 5 minutes. She did not make the booking for us or give us vouchers, but only called the lady of the mkoro boat ride company to pick us up and drive us to every place so we could finish the bookings there ourselves.
She then asked for a deposit of 1000 Pula (about 100 dollar), but mentioned that because she couldn't finish the booking, 400 Pula would be fine as well, and we could pay the rest when finishing the booking. They did not give us a receipt and demanded cash.
We were under the impression this was the commission of the booking which would be dedicated from the total.
The places we drove to had not done anything with our bookings or reserved the campsites for us. We still had to pay the full amount since they said they had nothing to do with our deposit.
To further illustrate: it costs about 250 pula per person per night to camp. Our total booking was about 2000 Pula for 4 days. This company thus demanded a 50% additional cash payment for making a few phone calls in 5 minutes.
When the lady of the Mkoro ride picked us up, and we explained what happened, she told us this was not an honest way of doing business. The amount we had paid would not be deducted from anything. A commission is only paid for a company when they prepare and do all the bookings and the payment. Not when you still have to drive around town for 2 hours to do them yourselves. A receipt would also have been nice.
We weren't sure if the owner knew beforehand his staff was doing this so we called the guy that referred us and told him what happened. He mentioned something about commissions and he would look into it. He never called back.
I have worked in tourism for many years and have NEVER in my life worked with an 'agency' that wanted 25% commission for doing as little as this company. Don't go there, make your own bookings with the actual campsites.
Written 26 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Good day Tanya198511k,
Thank you for your review. We only found out about this a few days after you had traveled through Maun. My father was querying it also ,as you had said to him they wanted to charge you the BWP 1,000 booking fee and had charged you BWP 400.
We spoke with the lady in question and she admitted to doing bookings with another company and she that she took BWP 400 'Commission' in cash for herself. We have reprimanded her severely and have issued her a written warning for her wrong doings. She admitted to the error.
We sincerely apologize to you and would be happy to refund you with BWP as a show of faith and by way of apology. Please contact us on info@mckenzie.com
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused during your trip and would like to also waiver the booking fee for any future bookings done.
Thank You.
KG McKenzie
Director McKenzie4x4
Written 30 November 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
WorldcitizenPortland
Portland106 contributions
Sep 2017 • Couples
When you visit a country on the African continent for the first time and you have to travel half around the world to get there, there will be a natural hesitation resulting in many, many questions. When you, on top of this, plan your first self-drive safari then the number of questions is endless. Luckily a friend of ours suggested McKenzie 4x4 and we were not disappointed.
Thanks to Mose and Shelleen for answering questions patiently and timely, when the technology was supporting it. Reservation document and vouchers were provided before the start of the trip as they were not finalized a month before our arrival to not jeopardize the high reservation fees in the event of a change in plans.
Mac awaited us at the Gaborone airport, made us feel welcome from the first minute, dropped the keys and off we went to explore another world. Kurt ensured that questions were answered when they arose and that our equipment was in top shape. At the end, Mac received the car in Kasane. In between, we covered 2200 km exploring 6 of Botswana’s National Parks and Game Reserves in 20 days. The adventure will be remembered as another once in a life-time trip for the very independent traveler, who is not afraid to explore boundaries and challenges. All of that would not have been possible without the McKenzie team and their many services.
Highly recommended!
Thanks to Mose and Shelleen for answering questions patiently and timely, when the technology was supporting it. Reservation document and vouchers were provided before the start of the trip as they were not finalized a month before our arrival to not jeopardize the high reservation fees in the event of a change in plans.
Mac awaited us at the Gaborone airport, made us feel welcome from the first minute, dropped the keys and off we went to explore another world. Kurt ensured that questions were answered when they arose and that our equipment was in top shape. At the end, Mac received the car in Kasane. In between, we covered 2200 km exploring 6 of Botswana’s National Parks and Game Reserves in 20 days. The adventure will be remembered as another once in a life-time trip for the very independent traveler, who is not afraid to explore boundaries and challenges. All of that would not have been possible without the McKenzie team and their many services.
Highly recommended!
Written 18 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank You very Much WorldcitizenPortland for the great review. We hope to see you again one day
Written 24 October 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No questions have been asked about this experience
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