Active 4X4 Adventures -

Lynn Bye

Botswana 4x4 wildlife safari 2024

This had every chance to be a trip of a lifetime but was spoilt by the unprofessionalism, passive aggression and all too frequent, stand up rollockings we had to endure from the tour operator and guide, Barrie Dunbar.

Many aspects were great and this could have scored 5* but Barrie’s attitude overshadowed the whole experience.

I suspect few people give Barrie a bad review because they probably focus on the good bits (and there were some) and put the bad bits behind them. More importantly, I doubt that anyone can be bothered with the resulting backlash, but I’m appalled to hear that Barrie is cherry picking our fellow travellers from this tour and requesting that they give him ‘5 star reviews’. This is not how social proofing works and I do not think this gives a fair and accurate view of what potential new clients can expect from Barrie - it certainly didn’t prepare us. Moreover it speaks volumes about a tour operator who thinks he can behave exactly as he pleases, including spoiling everyone’s holiday, without any repercussion.

However, Barrie needs to work on his attitude and equip himself with some coping mechanisms so that he can deal with his frustrations and anger in a professional and client focussed way.

He could also improve his pre-trip communication which, in itself might help ease some of his pent-up frustrations at having to repeat himself!

Otherwise this was a great experience. We had a great adventure, did things we don’t normally do and got up close and personal with the animals. We also met lots of fabulous people, most of whom we are still in regular contact with and who I hope we will remain friends with for many years to come.

Just for clarity and in response to Barries reply to my review - John & Claire Wardle, Hugh & Jane Houlbrook, Sue Cooke & John Scott and Melvyn Langford & Lawrie Bowden WERE NOT ON THE 2024 Botswana trip! Appalling misuse of a reviews channel.

In reply to Barrie’s infantile addition to his response to my review “your husband warned that I would never want you back again and how right he was”.

REALLY!!

What speaks volumes is your incredible lack of professionalism.

john murphy

Had a fantastic time in Morocco with Barrie with great food and great routes in the Sahara. Barrie's knowledge of the country is immense and his organisation and planning skills are superb. Would absolutely travel with him again!

Colin Muir

Had a wonderful trip to Morocco and Western Sahara with Barrie. It was my first organised 4x4 adventure so wasn’t sure what to expect but had a great experience. The people on the trip were great which really made it for me as I was travelling solo. Barrie was well experienced and happy to help when needed with advice on driving, mechanical issues and recovery. The food was good and
perfectly adequate for the type of trip we were on and it was so nice not to have to think about catering for ourselves. Just sit back and enjoy a few drinks etc after a long day behind the wheel and wait for dinner… Barrie was also very knowledgeable on the areas we visited talking about the plants and wildlife etc.
all in all a great trip. I don’t want to say the trip of a life time as I’ve got so much more to do but the best start I could’ve asked for. Thank you

Alec Lamb

What an amazing trip we had round Morocco, absolutely stunning scenery! Barrie's knowledge of the tracks and routes round the country meant every day was a different experience. The catering was also absolutely top notch! Can't wait to book more incredible adventures with Barrie and dog!

Rickard Jardemar

We are still buzzing from the amazing trip in Morocco. We have both travelled extensively in the past but this trip was genuinely one of the best experiences we have ever had. It is an exceptionally well-planned itinerary - there is an abundance of adventure, fun, culture, breath-taking views and new experiences. We loved the variety of riads, caspahs, hotels, and camps we stayed in. Each one was completely unique but they were all charming in their own right and all very comfortable. Barrie and Louis were a fabulous team of hosts; great chefs and super helpful, nothing was too much trouble. We were travelling as a family with our young autistic daughter and Barrie was so exceptionally considerate of her throughout. She is still talking about him now : )

If you are looking for a genuine adventure - off the beaten track, driving up stunning sandbanks in the middle of the Sahara desert, but still with the luxuries of delicious food, comfortable beds, warms showers and a few hours of wifi, then this is your trip. For families who want a more unique trip, look no further.

We will be booking another trip with Barrie for sure.

Roland Scott

We have just returned from the 2 week trip to morroco and can't rate it highly enough. We were both a bit apprehensive about this trip with not knowing what to expect but our fears were soon put to rest after meeting Barrie and his daughter Amelie and the rest of our fellow travellers. Barrie was very flexible taking in to account what the group wanted to do. We were wild camping with a campsite every 2nd or 3rd night which worked very well for us and of course Barrie did all the catering which my wife thought was great to get all her meals made for her with some firm favourites in there. We got to see parts of the real morroco out in the middle of nowhere. Our favourite parts were going over the atlas mountians nearly 10000ft up and the wild camps in the desert also marrakesh itself was amazing and we plan to go back there for a city break at some point. We looked at a few companies that do these trips and decided on Barrie mainly as all catering was done for you and we were not disappointed with anything and will definetly do another one of his trips. So to sum up if your reading this take the plunge and book an adventure with active 4x4 adventures you will love it and get the bug like us. Roland and Joyce Scott from Scotland.

Mitch Randle

Well back home again from another trip with Barry this one definitely gave my some more memories and experiences food as always was spot on and the company of other like minded travellers made it even better I would highly recommend a trip with Barry it definitely takes any stress out of this type of holiday if you're thinking about it just book it I am sure you won't regret it life's to short

Loupy Lou

This was our first time leaving the UK and we thought we would go on a big adventure. We were very well looked after on our trip with Barrie, Jana, and Abbie the dog. We saw some stunning sights, drove some very winding tracks, and had a great time with the group. We packed much more than was needed and we were very well fed. A great adventure and we have taken home some amazing memories. Thank you!