"Southern Africa Odyssey" with Odysseys Unlimited

We took a fascinating trip, “Southern Africa Odyssey,” Nov. 2l-Dec. 9, ’03, with Odysseys Unlimited (85 Main St., Ste.101, Watertown, MA 02472; phone 888/370-6765 or visit www.odysseys-unlimited.com).

The tour, including land arrangements, safari and round-trip air from our gateway city of Tampa, Florida, is currently priced at $6,195 per person, and the upgrade to business class (which we used) on South African Airways is $3,795 each.

There were only 11 on our tour, all well-traveled and most interesting companions. James McKenzie, the guide, was definitely one of the most top-notch leaders we’ve ever been with. Not only was he knowledgeable on flora, fauna, cultures, history and the background growth and development of the four countries we visited, he made sure everyone knew exactly what was planned for when and even added a weather report.

This tour included the REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, with stays in both Cape Town and Johannesburg; NAMIBIA, for Swakopmund and the Namib Desert (two very different stays); BOTSWANA, for Chobe National Park, and finally ZAMBIA to view Victoria Falls. All stays were two nights or more, and the only EARLY wake-up calls were to visit the fabulous sand dunes in Namibia and for game drives in Botswana.

The brochure advertised the hotels as being 4- and 5-star and they most certainly were. Even the Kulala Desert Lodge at the edge of the Namib Desert, listed as “not rated,” deserved a goodly number of stars.

Included meals beat our expectations, and the few we paid for ourselves were not only tasty but not expensive. Dinner was in the $10-$13 range. Another plus was being able to drink the tap water everyplace we went instead of the bottled water that had been recommended.

Although pre-trip information warned of non-Western-style toilets in the countryside, we found the rest rooms clean and well stocked.

Special kudos go to James for organizing our Thanksgiving dinner in Swakopmund. Not only was that a nonincluded meal that turned out to be included, but a turkey was found — don’t know just where. The chef had to check the Internet to find out what to do with the bird.

RALPH & BETTY BARNUM
St. Petersburg, FL