Review Highlights

“Great Way to Experience the Delta with Help of a Native”

This was a very unique way of spending a day. You may or may not see animals, but need to be... read more

Reviewed 22 July 2017

Namgah

Winston Salem, North Carolina

“DELTA RAIN CAMP”

An experience out of the ordinary. We set off in canoes guided by our own poler person, about 1.5... read more

Reviewed 28 March 2017

mike s

Mexborough, United Kingdom

Read all 15 reviews

d0c84

Galway, Ireland

Abandoned in the middle of nowhere ... simply unbelievable!!

Name: Abandoned in the middle of nowhere ... simply unbelievable!!
Item: Delta Rain - Day Tours
Rating: 1
Author: d0c84

Review of Delta Rain - Day Tours

Reviewed 25 June 2016

We traveled with Delta Rain for a 5 days safari from Kasane to Maun. The first day we had supposed to meet our driver and assistant around noon (to have time to check the equipment and buy the food for the 5 days camping in the park) but they arrived 2 hours and an half late because they had a problem with the 4x4 we supposed to use during our trip and they had to fix it in the better way they could.
The agency owner, Gerald, was aware of the problem of the car, but he didn't do anything about it.
The second day of trip we got stuck in the sand, during a transfer from one camp to another. The two amazing guys (Jack and Joseph) worked hard for three hours trying to free 4x4 and trailer, but everything was useless. So we decided to call Gerald with the satellite phone to ask for help, around noon. He didn't do anything, despite he knew the car has already had problems two days before . We finally managed to move at least the 4x4, leaving the trailer behind,and the two guys brought us to the first park gate. Since, at the gate, the Wildlife office didn't have any 4x4 available, and Gerald didn't even think to send another car, they decided to leave us with some luggages (to release the weight from the trailer) to the gate and came back to try to remove the trailer with all the other stuff (tents, water, food...)
At 16.30 still no one was back to the gate and we started to be worried of what could had happened to the two guys. Finally one of them came back walking, saying that the car was completely broken. Then we personally called again Gerald around 17.00 (who knew about our problems since noon and from other calls during the afternoon) and he said that he would send a car from Maun...that would take 5 hours!!!!
When we replied that he shouldn't let us in the middle of nowhere without water, food and tents, since at 18 pm is dark...he said "I am doing my best.This is all I can do, and anyway everybody got stuck in Africa"
I suggested him to call the closest lodge to ask for help, but since it was a really expensive lodge and, probably, he was afraid to have to pay the service he didn't call.
Luckily the girls working at the gate helped us,they called this Lodge (Ghoha Inn lodge) and they were so kind to come to help us. They arrived after few minutes and they went to collect our driver (who staid in the middle of nowhere alone with the car and trailer) and our stuff, so we were able to prepare the camp at ghoha gate and spend the night there inside our tents.
The car arrived after 10 pm that night and, despite their hard work, the guys managed to retrieve car and trailer just around 2 am.
So according to Mr Gerald we had supposed to stay in the middle of the park, without water and tents till 2 am...knowing that after 18 pm is dark...and it's not a zoo...it's a natural park with plenty of predators that hunt during the night...
When, at the end of the trip, we arrived to Maun Gerald's lodge, he didn't even show up or apologized.
Botswana is an amazing country and has an incredible population, so please go to visit it by relying on agencies with a proper organization and reliability!!
Mr Gerald doesn't deserve to be trusted!!

Date of experience: June 2016

Dear Maam,

Thank you for your review, we take the good with the bad.
Again we are terribly sorry for your experience.
I am afraid that these situations do occur from time to time. Especially in the dry conditions that we face in Botswana. The sand does create all kinds of problems. Given the weight of the vehicle with a trailer behind it is inevitable that this will happen. No matter what type of vehicle you are in.
I am not sure who decided that the guide should leave you at the gate (a bad decision)
In my opinion you should have stayed with the guide.

I would also like to point out that the guide is freelance guide who is a hired professional who made some bad choices in getting the vehicle out from the sand. infact it was so bad that he had no other choice but to blame Delta Rain (egged on by you or the tour leader). As a trained professional guide with an assistant he should have the knowledge on how to retrieve the vehicle and trailer.

Planning your recovery from Maun..

First of all if the vehicle is stuck in the sand it is normally up to the guide to get it out.
We did infact hear that you were stuck at 12h00 (8 hours away from us). We started preparing for all eventualities but with the satellite tracker we could see that the vehicle was moving so we called it off. Of course it didnt help that he got stuck again. If the guide had listened to me at the briefing he actually would have avoided that road altogether and used a much easier road and this would not have happened.

I have phone call records, satellite records and emails to the lodge 45 km away to prove to you that we weren't just sitting around doing nothing. Another thing that didn't help was the fact that you were phoning every 5 minutes and swearing at me over the phone while i was trying to co ordinate all of this to get you out.

Trust me when i say that this was as bad for us as it was for you. We do try our hardest to avoid these situations.

Please let me know if you are planning another adventure in Botswana. we will gladly look after you.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

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Shaun_Stell

Stellenbosch, South Africa

12544

Reviewed 13 August 2015

Amazing accommodated delta excursion

We recently went on a one night accommodated delta excursion with Delta Rain and can highly recommend it! We were transported to the delta with a game vehicle from Sitatunga camp. Thereafter we went on a 40 minute Mokoro trip into the delta. The tented camp provided for very comfortable accommodation, even with a bush shower! We sat down to a three course dinner expertly prepared by the polers. We also went on two guided nature walks. This was a truly amazing way to experience the delta and I can highly recommend this company!

Date of experience: August 2015

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Dan and Sarah J

Bristol, United Kingdom

11473

Reviewed 11 August 2015 via mobile

Great trip

We went into the delta with Delta Rain as part of a Botswana tour. They were great! From the mokorow ride to the tents everything was well organised and all the pokers worked tirelessly to ensure we had a memorable stay. The nature walks were a bit hot and miss the evening one was great (we split into two groups, one saw elephant and hippo, the other also saw kudu being stalked by wild dog!), but neither group saw anything on the morning one (but they are wild animals!). One of the highlights was the food - how they produce a 3 course meal in a camp kitchen is beyond me!

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sachadad

Southampton, United Kingdom

9451

Reviewed 8 July 2015

sample the wild delta

went with them to their elephant bush camp for an overnight stay in the wild on an island reached by moloko canoe after a 2 hour 4x4 drive through the bush. plenty of animals and birds to see really up close. some of our party were even charged by elephants!

Date of experience: July 2015

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DanLah

Stockholm, Sweden

10834

Reviewed 20 September 2014

Relaxing retreat to the Okavango

Had two really relaxing days out in the Okavango, staying at the Elephant Camp. Arrived in Mokoros and went for walking safaris which took us close up to both elephants and hippos, would really recommend!

Date of experience: July 2014

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Bean M

Hamilton, NZ

1811

Reviewed 4 November 2013

Misleading, but still nice

The mokoro rides in were lovely, I felt very secure. We definately sped up when hippos appeared, but the polers were very good.

The 'nature walks' were a bit of a let down - we saw a lot of poo and tracks, but only saw some actualy zebras. Our guide was also slow and was constantly on his cell phone. We had a to throw a million questions at him to get info about tracks and animals out of him. Sunsets were brilliant though, and we got to witness as epic lightning storm on our last night.

It was way too hot during the day to do anything, so we napped, played cards in the shade and swam a lot. Also learnt to do some poling by the willing guides. The campsites were obviously reused frequently, but they were still 'in the bush' and very rustic.

I guess something like this depends on who you get as your guides. Our group had 6 polers, and about 3 of them were engaging, enthusiastic and friendly. The other 3 didn't really talk to us, and seemed bored the whole time.
It's unfortunate that you have to tip them as a group and they split it, as there were some who deserved a tip, and others that I didn't want to tip at all. I also didn't like the pressure to tip - our Nomad guide said a minimum of 15 USD a day, regardless of their service.

Date of experience: October 2013

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Abandoned in the middle of nowhere... - Delta Rain - Day Tours

Abandoned in the middle of nowhere ... simply unbelievable!!