Birdwatching Cruise in Zambezi River with Breakfast

My wife and I took the birdwatching cruise with breakfast and greatly enjoyed it. The captain was also a skilled naturalist and knew where to bring the boat and pointed out several inconspicuous species. The breakfast had fresh fruit and baked goods and was set up on a table, but we were too excited with the view to do more than enjoy the food while standing at the rail. The boat was small compared to those operated by some other companies on the Zambezi and had good maneuverability. We saw bee-eaters, herons, vultures, hornbills, malachite kingfishers, and 38 total species. We ended up being the only guests on board this morning and enjoyed the one on one with the captain. I highly recommend this company and this particular cruise.

This was a nice way to spend our last morning in Zimbabwe. It is a smaller intimate tour which is nice as it was easy to move around to get views of the animals. We saw many hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, some eagles and various other types of birds. Our guide seemed a little more reserved than most other guides we have had on other tours but he was still very knowledgeable and able to point out/identify the types of birds and other wildlife we saw. I do think that this should be marketed more as a "wildlife" breakfast cruise than specifically "birdwatching" as our guide was not focused primarily on the birds which was not an issue but if a tour is marketed as "birdwatching" my assumption is that the primary focus is the birds. That being said our guide did point out some birds and we were able to spot others as well so we did get some good sightings. The breakfast was okay. There were a couple types of muffins and croissants, some yogurt parfaits, a platter of mixed fruit and a few cheeses and crackers. There was also coffee and tea. If I am being honest it seemed that the food had been sitting out for a while which was a little concerning as our tour started at 5:30am. I understand it is hot and humid but the yogurt was warm and the cheese was sweating before the platter was even unwrapped. We still ate some and it tasted okay but for the price of the tour I expected a little more. An unexpected surprise was a bottle of champagne was included for our group of 4 to share however the guide did not mention until the last 15-20 minutes of the tour so we had to gulp the drinks down, it would have been nice to have known a little in advance so we would not have had to rush. Overall it was a nice experience but for the price I am not sure I would do it again.

What a beautiful experience! This morning on the Zambezi there were 2 boats out, and we were in one of them. Last night there were 45, so you can imagine how tranquil everything seemed today. The banana boat is smooth, quiet, and stable, so one can walk around to the self-serve breakfast spread, which was filling and delicious. The capper was having a bottle of champagne opened and mixing it with our orange juice. We saw many birds, which were identified by Captain Felix, and because the birds are so used to boat traffic, we got some very good photos. All in all, this was a lovely and highly recommended experience.