Our Botswana safari from January 15-January 29 2026 was fantastic!

An introduction to Africa could not have been curated any better. Jamie Thon helped us create a custom trip of 3 days at 4 camps: Tau Pan in the Kalahari, Rra Dinare and 4 Rivers in the Okavango Delta, and Muchenje Lodge at Chobe National Park. He also created an excellent start and finish to the safari portions of our adventure with a night at the Maun Studio Guest house,😊ending with an overnight at Batonka Guest Lodge in Victoria Falls; both were absolutely perfect.

Jamie communicated responsively as we developed the itinerary. The digital layout of our journey was beautifully depicted and the app that showed each step as we traveled was very helpful. The logistics from arrival at JNB to departure from Victoria Falls back to JNB were flawless; each driver knew exactly where we were going and easily got us to the airport, lodge or camp and we enjoyed our conversations with them.

Every single accommodation was simply wonderful, even posh, and hosts and staff were warm and welcoming. We loved each of our guides and trackers who were clearly knowledgeable and skilled. We enjoyed learning how to recognize prints and listen for clues to find animals such as the dogs. We also enjoyed learning natural history such as the mushrooms gardens tended by the termites. It was the rainy season and there was apparently more rain than usual but that didn’t get in the way of finding animals. We saw all the animals people come to see but in a lush landscape and with far fewer people than the dry season. We even had a camp all to ourselves and only shared the Land Cruiser with 4 others at Chobe. The rest of the time we shared the vehicle with two or no others which is great for bird watchers. We hung out with a lion family, watched the four cheetah brothers several times - once eating an impala - and watched wild dogs at both Okavango camps. We identified 160 birds, had lunch with elephants and hippos, admired giraffes, laughed at baboon baby antics.

One of my favorite photos is not a close-up but one with a male lion lying in the green grass and white flowers while some distance off is a line of oryx with their painted faces watching the lion. Equally memorable, though, was the warm hospitality of the staff, owners, managers, drivers, trackers and guides. Their smiles will linger for a long time in my memory Jamie Thon and Conservation Safari/ Botswana Safari Company made this an exceptional life time experience.

Check out Karen's photos and review on Google - https://share.google/gNZ6Ym5RIlVTqSOoT

Here is their itinerary - click on the image >