On Track Safaris Reviews 189

We did the mobile camping safari because I wanted to get a true ‘bush experience’ which you really do and to see parts of Botswana such as the Okavango delta(you touch on the very eastern edge),Savuti and the Chobe riverfront without the high prices of many lodges.The experience is even better because by camping in the parks or very near it takes only 5 minutes max to get to where you need to be plus the drives stay out much longer particularly in the morning,sometimes till midday.During the night you can hear the roars of lions,the cries of hyena and general noises of the bush.The camping is exactly as you see it on photos and the odd video,it’s no frills but perfectly adequate and that comes from the two of us in our 60’s who don’t do camping.You are assigned a tent number at the start and so whenever you move on keep the same tent,bedding etc.and quickly adapt to the showering and bush ablutions.I found the evening meal really enjoyable,cooked over a wood fire in large iron ware pots and brought to the table and placed on trivets consisting of a meat and vegetarian option with potatoes and fresh bread together with a dessert,usually sponge and custard.
There was ample cold beer,gin and tonics and Amarula although supplies were getting low towards the end.Theexperience is really made by the guide and ours was called Degree who had worked for the company nearly 20 years and besides having a vast knowledge of all animals and birds was very pleasant,welcoming ,engaging and enthusiastic.
Patience is needed when on a drive and you can’t expect to see animals around every corner but when the highlights come they are truly memorable.Otherwise enjoy the birds,we saw just over 100 different species,the beauty of the African landscape and special trees like the Baobab.
We concluded our trip with a two night stay at Victoria falls where the park opens at 0600 which we took advantage of and were the only people there till nearly 0700 seeing a magnificent sunrise.We did a helicopter trip and got some great photos simply from mobile phone and would highly recommend.

We went to Botswana on a mobile camping safari with On Track Safaris in May, which was a fantastic experience. The booking process, pre departure information and communication was excellent and once in the country we were picked up by their local partner company which all went very smoothly. Degree was our guide and he was truly excellent. Very patient and knowledgeable about all aspects of Botswana’s birds and animals - and an excellent tracker- we saw lions, cheetahs and leopards. A mobile camping safari means camping in the bush with no hot and cold running water or luxury, but a wonderful sense of being at the heart of things with the sound of animals all around, the scenery and sunrises - it all made for an amazing experience.

This was a really unforgettable experience, everything I had hoped for and more!
The help and advice we had from Carol in the UK was excellent, as was the support we had in South Africa from Beth. The transfers from the airport and between Rukiya, Nzumba and Shimungwe were excellent.
Our guides and trackers were very knowledgeable and interesting. We had so many views of both various animals and birds including a pack of wild dogs right beside the lodge at Nzumba. On the second evening they had killed an impala and were having a noisy fight with some hyenas for the remains of the carcass!
Our accommodation was in beautiful locations and very comfortable. The hosts were all very welcoming.
I would not hesitate in booking with OTS again.

Will and Carol were attentive throughout and set up an efficient Whatsapp group together with local on the ground providers. The staff at Snow Leopard Lodge, Delhi and Leh were amazing and the epitome of kindness

This was an amazing experience which we will never forget. The organisation went smoothly, all of our questions were answered by the tour organisers. Will and Carol sorted all of our travel with the lodge itself. The people at the lodge were well organised and took great care of everyone on the trip. The staff were friendly and even brought us early morning drinks and the food was so delicious. We had a dedicated driver who not only drove safely, but pointed out animal prints in the snow and took amazing videos too. The experience itself surpassed anything we hoped for. Within hours of arriving in Leh we had been taken to the Indus where a leopard lay in full view. Over the next few days we saw 11 sightings of leopards, including cubs. We watched the Indus leopard sleeping and later eating a fox she had killed. The partner of the fox was spotted racing away along the river bank. We saw wolves, foxes, partridges, eagles, choughs, Urial, Ibex and blue sheep. We had the chance of visiting early morning prayers at Thixsay Monastery. But the true stars were the elusive leopards. We was watched two 3 month old cubs scaring away magpie whilst mum protected the ibex she had killed for their food. We saw one female walking across the sheer mountain face looking for the best way up to the herd of ibex. And when she found it she ran so quickly up, rounded up the ibex, chased it down the mountain. Together they fell some of the way, before continuing the chase, and then it was all over. A walk along the road saw us looking at the very tired leopard with the dead ibex below her. The final video we have of this family showed mum and cubs enjoying a meal. None of the sightings were close but the spotters helped us all take good shots using our cameras and telephones. How they saw some was amazing as we could not see them until we magnified the shots. What an experience. Magical and never to be forgotten.

I honestly cannot recommend On Track Safaris enough! From the first email to the last day of our trip and beyond, Carol and the On Track team were absolutely amazing. Is a safari experience expensive? To the average working person (which we are) - yes. Is it worth it?? YES! I also took great comfort knowing that our hard earned dollars were not going to a big box company who doesn’t care about people or animals. By going on safari with OTS, we are actually helping fund valuable research and doing our part to help these beautiful animals and their land. We planned our first safari with On Track 18 months in advance to give us an opportunity to save, get necessary gear, acquire flights, etc. We were a group of 5 and each one of our needs was met and exceeded. Carol and the team helped us plan a tailor made trip that included South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe to cap off our trip with a visit to Victoria Falls. I have done nothing but RAVE about OTS to everyone who has asked about our trip. The three lodges we stayed in (Rukiya, Nzumba, and Shimungwe) were nothing short of spectacular. We were blown away by (as well as completely humbled) by the excellent service, attention to detail, and the food….ohhhhh the food! We ate like royalty! Every single meal was delicious and beautifully prepared at every lodge. Rukiya is more rustic, but incredibly charming. Nzumba is quite possibly the most beautiful place I’ve ever stayed and the staff was so attentive. Shimungwe’s staff made us feel like family by the time we left. The animal sightings were phenomenal - that’s the whole point of a safari, right?? We took on every day with anticipation and an appreciation for whatever nature decided to show us that day. We saw lots of elephants, hippos, water buffalo, and impala at every location. For us, we saw lions when we went to Shimungwe, but I know there are possible lion sightings at Nzumba and surrounding areas at Rukiya. I have a new found love for hyenas! We saw the cutest hyena pups! We had an absolutely gorgeous leopard sighting at Nzumba. We got to see babies of just about every animal. The trackers are some of the most skilled people I have ever encountered. We learned SO MUCH! The guides and trackers are a wealth of knowledge and I thoroughly enjoyed soaking it all in. I also have a new appreciation for birds! People think our photos came out of a National Geographic issue. We purchased a digital frame after our trip and I absolutely love seeing our Africa photos pop up on there. This review could go on for pages, but here’s the bottom line - GO! :) We pinched and saved our pennies to make it happen, so we understand that it may take sacrifice. But everything that people say about Africa is true - seeing these beautiful creatures and meeting such wonderful people changes you for the better. Just go - you will never regret it. We are already dreaming and saving for our next adventure with OTS!

We had high hopes for a memorable holiday when we booked this Southern African trip with OTS and, having recently returned, can honestly say our expectations were not only met but exceeded.
Everything was perfect - from the fabulous accommodation, amazing game viewing (we saw the big five several times over, plus many more animals and some stunning bird life), top class cuisine and good company on our small group safari, to the relaxing beauty of the Indian ocean for our beach extension in Mozambique, where we were lucky enough to watch whales from our verandah.
From start to finish, the service and attention to detail from the whole OTS team was faultless and we would not hesitate to recommend them. Thank you for a simply stunning trip!

This was our second South African safari with On Track Safaris and it did not disappoint. We visited three beautiful lodges in three different areas of Greater Kruger. We saw everything we hoped to see and more. The organisation was perfect from the first communications to the final transfer to the airport, everything went smoothly. The hospitality throughout was wonderful. We could not have wished for a better trip.

We had the most wonderful trip to South Africa with On Track Safaris.
They were a pleasure to deal with and did everything they could to accommodate us.
We went on a 10 night safari to
3 amazing lodges where the staff were so friendly and we were thoroughly spoiled.
We saw the big five at every lodge.
We would love to come back to South Africa again and will definitely book with On Trek Safaris again.
Thank you for a unique experience.

What an experience! From the initial contact with Will and Carol to the very last moment this was a first class experience. Excellent pre trip and during trip communication. Top quality accommodation, thoughtfully put together by On Track. We stayed at Rukiya, Nzumba and Shimungwe lodges in and around the Krugar. We made our own flight arrangements and spent some time in Joburg and Cape Town too.
The food, lodges and game drive experiences were fantastic, the guides and staff were knowledgeable and friendly. I would need to write a very long review to pick out all the highlights, we saw everything we wanted to see and more. This was our first safari, we enjoyed the small group experience and we may well have caught the bug. I would highly recommend On Track and will remember this holiday forever.

Whether you’re a first time, Safari goer or an experienced Safari traveler you would have been thoroughly excited about the sightings we experienced on this trip. From multiple packs of painted dogs, lion cubs annoying their parents, cheetah cubs calling for their mother, elephants crossing the Zambezi or Eagles fighting over a kill there was a thrill for everyone. For bird lovers there were numerous sightings around every twist and bend of our game drives.

Our experienced guides and trackers, delighted in sharing their in-depth knowledge of the wildlife and encourage questions to ensure that each guests experience was maximizing and their expectations exceeded.

My fellow Safari goers started out as strangers with individual interest and expectations, but over the course of our adventure became closer and some lasting friendships were developed.

There is nothing like sharing memories of the days game drive while enjoying refreshments around a roaring fire. Stories are shared, laughs are exchanged and sooner than you think friendships begin to be formed.

The group of individuals that Carol and Will
got together for this adventure were some of the most interesting and diverse group of individuals you can imagine. So it goes without saying that you’ll have an amazing time looking for your favorite animal or bird and yet coming away with new lifetime experiences and hopefully friendships.

Ed

My husband and I enjoyed a great mobile safari trip to Botswana with 6 fellow travellers last week.
OTS were great in bringing us together with a what’s app group before the trip .
As a group we gelled and experienced many great moments together with numerous animal and bird sightings
BushWays safaris looked after us superbly- excellent guide Gabriel who brought alive the bush spotting the wildfire with incredible ease.
Great food all week - drinks could have been cooler despite fridge unit in the jeep.
Hard going with the heat around 40 but I guess it comes with the territory.
I would thoroughly recommend the trip as a more natural contrast to the lodge experience .

We met OTS at the 2024 Game fair having thought about our first safari.

Throughout the whole journey we had superb service including a WhatsApp group with our other two couples travelling with us. Will and Carol provided a superb itinerary for our three safari lodges as well as a superb recommendation to a beach holiday in Mozambique after for a bit of relation after the early morning game drives.

Overall everything was positive and will be using OTS again for a future safari

Simply stunning safari - thank you - everything ran incredibly smoothly from the first email to our return. It was a fantastic safari which we all thoroughly enjoyed - top marks to everybody.
The organisation and helpful interactions arranging dates and locations was first class - thank you Carol. In country, everything was first rate, the 3 lodges, all different, but superb in their own way, allowed us to see a plethora of animals from the Big 5 to cheetah, a hyena family den and a less than 24hr old wobbly baby elephant. A trip of a lifetime which was well worth every penny. Guides, trackers, hosts, transfer teams, What's App Group etc etc were excellent - well done to OnTrack Safaris a memorable holiday.

We had such an amazing experience on this safari. We don't often use the adage "once in a lifetime trip", but in this case, I think it will be. I just don't think we could have found a better company to book with.
All of the accommodation was superb, the front of house teams and staff were fantastic. We had such lovely food. The Game Guides and Trackers were very knowledgeable, and we appreciated the way they respected the animals. Everything went like clockwork - from picking us up at the airport, to the transfers between the lodges, meals, dietary preferences, game drives, etc. They were all just very practiced, and relaxed.
But the Rhino Dehorning Day was an experience I will never forget, and definitely the highlight of the trip. When we saw the extent of what it takes to do this, the team, the professionalism, the respect for the animal, we are in awe of On Track Safaris for sponsoring this. I found it quite an emotional experience.
We are so glad we chose OTS for this and we've raved to everyone about it. I know that based on our experience, two different sets of friends of ours have already ordered Will's book!

Great safari from a very well organised company. The booking process was slick and we were kept well informed before and throughout the trip.

The trip itself was also incredible, a great itinerary with a mixture of environments, each offering something a little different.

Had a fantastic wildlife holiday. Really enjoyed the holiday and the fantastic group of people we were with. Camping was very comfortable slept very well , my only suggestion would be that it would be great to have a proper long shower halfway through the camping, although the 'bush showers' were adequate. Victoria Falls at the end was excellent elephants, bush buck and warthogs in front of the room at the hotel. The best points were seeing pack of wild dogs and pups again on Safari traveling from Maun to Chobe, one walked past edge of the camp in the morning , we hadn’t seen them since 2015. I’ve never seen so many elephants together 20 yes but over 100 several times was fantastic. The sound of the light footsteps of elephants around the tent contrasted with their movement through the bush, still missing the lullaby of the spotted hyenas, although unfortunately we didn’t see any during the day this time, the sawing rhythm of the leopard’s voice at night and in 'person' by the river during the day etc etc lions hippo wildabeast antelope and birds
Gabriel our driver, spotter and tracker was a magician, the chef & camp guys did a marvellous job setting up and cooking.

Our holiday had 5 locations with 7 flights and additional road transfers. Very well organised and ran smoothly
Whole holiday exceeded expectations and was AMAZING !

The experience started by meeting Carol and Will. and their enthusiam and professionalism. I felt I was going to have the opportunity curated by them for a unique safari and it turned out to be better than I could have imagined. I highly recommend it.

Another wonderful trip with OTS, we visited three Lodges in South Africa, all of which were excellent. We also saw lots of wildlife, including some unusual sightings. The transfers were flawless and stress free, and really everything about this trip was perfect. We were celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary and even this had been taken into account, so we were thoroughly spoilt. Thanks again Carol and Will, we look forward to our next trip with you. Keep doing what you do so brilliantly 😀