Tuli Safari - Botswana

Kimberly who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Tuli Safari - A wonderful riding experience | The riding was excellent. The long canters weaving around the vegetation were great fun. The horses were well cared for and the tack in good condition. They are trail saddles so no knee pads as we tend to have in the UK so they took a couple of days to get used to. The guides helped you mount and checked girths each time. We felt very safe with the guides and the horses.

[ITS replies: We're so pleased you enjoyed your safari. Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about it].

Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?

Kgotla camp - the availability of one toilet for the night was limiting especially since a few of us developed an upset stomach whilst there. It is an amazing place to sleep and I felt safe even though the male lion walked right past the enclosed sleeping area during the night, calling to another lion! We all wondered if the raw springbok tartare caused the upset stomach (?) which we had for the rest of the trip unfortunately.
Treetops camp - my favourite - an ideal combination of being outside sleeping under the mosquito net on a very comfortable bed and up off the floor from predators! I slept so well here. Hanging out on the deck looking over the river bed was great. The bathroom facilities were excellent too. The food was excellent here.
Two Mashatu tented camp - felt very much part of the bush. A bit hot in the afternoon to late evening, but didn't dare leave the tent door open as the lions sounded very close, but cooled down during the night. Loved the outdoor bathroom!
Overall we all said that a few more vegetables/salads would have been good but appreciate the limitations of catering in the reserve.

[ITS replies: Many thanks for your feedback. Sorry to hear you experienced upset stomachs - we'll discuss with the ride operator].

How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?

Nothing! We had all the information we needed and Abbie was excellent chatting through the equipment requirements and making useful suggestions.

How could we improve the way we handled your booking and payment?

Nothing

Do you have any other feedback for us?

On the penultimate day, a decision had to be made as to whether we wanted to do an afternoon ride or game drive. This was given to one of the group to discuss with the rest. She and another of the group really wanted to do the game drive and the others didn't speak up as to their preference saying they didn't mind. It turned out that they would have preferred to ride. The drive was also at the other end of the reserve so took ages to get there on very bumpy roads. (At least an hour each way) I think it would be better for the guides to discuss over the dinner the night before what the options are, including how long the drive would be, and then speak to each guest separately to hear what they would like to do.

[ITS replies: Thank you for highlighting this. It is a good suggestion that the guide discusses options with the entire group.]