Africa: Reviews from our travellers

"In general, it was a most enjoyable holiday and the arrangements make by Expert Africa worked perfectly in all important respects.

Based on my experience, I have made comments which I hope will be accepted as constructive and assist you to improve still further your level of service.

I experienced some difficulties in getting to Heathrow for a Saturday departure. Both mainline rail and the tube often have engineering work at weekends. I spoke to some other people who also had problems. Where there is an option of a mid-week departure, I would suggest you might point out to would-be travellers that a mid-week departure would avoid snarl-ups with rail and tube.

Visa. May I say that I object to the entry “visa”, which is not really a visa, but an arrivals tax. (The fact that you can buy it on arrival at Dar indicates this is not a true visa). Most countries have a departure tax, but on arrival I would prefer to receive a warm welcome, not a poke in the eye. In terms of the overall cost of the trip, this is not a significant amount, but I do not like having to pay a tax both on arrival and on departure. I appreciate this is not under your control, but I mention this in case you ever speak to the appropriate authorities.

A general comment: All the tents/rooms were spotlessly clean.

Laundry. At Mdonya the embargo on hand washing women's underclothes also extends to men's underclothes and handkerchiefs. (Strangely, this did not seem to be an issue at Manze and Impala. Change of religious taboos??). The cost of laundry is included at Impala.

p.6 Airport departure tax. The only place in Tanzania where I had to pay a departure tax was on departure from ZNZ to DAR. USD6.00, not 5. Claire's email said, "You no longer need to pay the international departure tax out of Tanzania as this is now included on your air ticket. You will still need to pay the domestic departure tax out of Dar and Zanzibar but not out of Selous or Ruaha. We have recently amended our Notes for Travellers accordingly." I took this to mean I would be charged the tax flying Dar-Ruaha, and Dar-Znz, but this was not the case.

You state that it is essential that we reconfirm our return flight. When I eventually managed to find a computer and logged on to BA.com, I found a message saying that reconfirmation was necessary only for flights from Libya and Saudia Arabia.

Postcards are unobtainable at Mdonya and Manze. They can be bought at the shop in the domestic terminal at DAR airport - if you are awake enough to buy some whilst awaiting the connecting flight to Ruaha.

The safari vehicles in Tanzania all have an overhead awning to keep off the sun and/or rain. This is an excellent idea and one that their competitors further south (e.g. Zambia, Namibia) would do well to copy.

Both Ruaha and Selous are happily free from the accumulation of plastic bags, Coke tins and other rubbish which I found spoiling the Zambezi at Chobe last year.

My experience did not bear out your advice concerning payment of ranger fees. On no occasion was I asked to pay any fee for the services of a ranger, although it is of course customary to give them a tip.

Mobile phones: the Tanzanians are as addicted to mobile phones as we are. This was not a problem at Impala, but at Mdonya and Manze drivers and guides made and received calls when out game-viewing. When drifting peacefully across Lake Manze in a small boat with the engine stopped, or being stationary watching 40 elephants moving silently across the road in front of you, these are not ideal times to have a mobile start ringing. I look forward to the time when some of the bird mimics, such as robin chats, master the ring of a mobile and then this sound will be heard all over the park! Perhaps drivers and guides should be discouraged from taking or using their phones outside the confines of the camp – unless there is an emergency. I already mentioned this at Manze, so corrective action may have been taken already.

Compared with my experience in South Luangwa, the Tanzanian guides are less knowledgeable and they are less able to express their knowledge in clear English. Many of them do not distinguish between the letters “l” and “r”. Rilac bleasted lollers are common birds! (aka Lilac breasted roller)

At some stage in the planning process it was suggested that I split the stay in the Selous and do Manze, Mdonya, Impala. More by luck than good planning, I think I did my trip in the right order. The standard of the camps rose as I progressed, culminating in extreme pampering at Impala. I think I would have been disappointed if I had ended up at the comparatively Spartan Mdonya after I had enjoyed the luxury of Imapala. A small example, the tin wash basin to be emptied by hand at Mdonya was plumbed in at Manze, and replaced by two porcelain sinks at Impala. (This is not meant to belittle Mdonya. It is a charming place which I really liked, but if you expect every camp to be like Impala, then you may get an unpleasant surprise.)

Although I appreciated the comfort of having the wad of vouchers which you sent me, in the event I was never asked to produce even one. The pilots of Coastal Aviation did not even ask for my air ticket when flying out of Ruaha and Selous!

Fly Camping. You say in your brochure that you are not sure where this term originated. If you read the Life of Selous by J.G.Millais (1918) he makes references such as,

“horses could be no longer used and the elephants themselves must be pursued on foot in the 'fly.'”

“…mostly killed by hunting them from horseback, but even as an old man he killed many on foot in the 'fly' country.”

“Their main hunting veldt was the 'fly' country between the rivers Zambezi and Gwai.”

This suggests to me that the term fly camping means to camp in areas where there are tsetse fly. I realise this derivation is hardly likely to encourage tourists!

I found the Tanzanians universally friendly and welcoming, although the Zanzibaris I met at Unguja were not quite to cheerful as their colleagues on the mainland.

Thank you to everyone at Expert Africa and all the camps and hotels. After the hiccough last year over car hire in Namibia, this has restored my faith in Expert Africa." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 21 on a Tanzania safari

"An excellent holidy which exceeded our expectations. Having been to Kenya/Tanzania we were impressed by the variety of wildlife, including birds that we saw.

Was particulalry impressed with the support and aid given to me in all the camps as I was in a leg plaster. Every effort was made to make me comfortable and see to any needs I required. A big thank you to them all, Lucy included for their care, sympathy and understanding." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"Will be back.

All flights were on time, no baggage lost.

The trip went like clockwork" Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"Phantastic.

South Luanga is a wonderful place, great wildlife and people.

Kasanka bat safari is a one-of-a-kind experience, indescribable." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Zambia safari

"We had an amazing time. Everything was perfect. Not only were all aspects of the camps great we also met some lovely people also on holiday from different countries.

As mentioned perviously [Ed: in the reviews, see below!] the comment on the food was not a negative one just a suggestion as we like to try local/different food when we are on holiday. We appreciate to logisics of getting the food to the camps.

I think Botswana has really spolit us for a safrai holiday and will definalty look to return to another area of the county in the future." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Botswana safari

"We are glad that we went and most of it we enjoyed but as you have probably guessed 2500 kms of gravel roads in 18 days is just too much. The long distances, the gravel roads, the lack of mobile phone coverage and the sense of isolation did give some cause for concern.

We did it - and that gives considerable satisfaction and a real sense of fulfilment, but next time? Give me a Toyota Land Cruiser!!

The clients need to be more fully informed about the roads, the distances and the general isolation experienced. For those people whose only experience of long distance travel is the M4 to Birmingham the roads of Namibia come as a bit of a shock.

Apart from that, it was a holiday of real treats and delights." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"We had the most amazing time. Five guests and 20 members of staff who were all delightful. Highly recommended." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"Our trip to Namibia exceeded our expectations. It really was wonderful, and we highly recommend it.

The scenery was ever-changing, raw and magnificent, just awesome." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was fantastic but the return journey rather long. I don't know why but it seemed even better then last time. Maybe it was because we rebelled and refused to get up at 05.00 and just relaxed in the camp.

Thanks again for a great holiday. We will probably book the same camps for next year except Moremi, perfect, but explanation to follow.

Incidentally we met a young English couple at Nxabega who had booked 'a holiday of a lifetime' through Thompsons. All their connections and bookings were up the shoot. We told them who to book through in their next lifetime." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Botswana safari

"Namibia is a wonderful place and we had a very special time, it was great to get some real experienced information from Tracey and to have Chris's guide book. Very relaxing with some wonderful memories of some truly lovely experiences.

Would highly recommend sea kayaking with the seals in Walvis Bay with Jeanne, scenic flight from Swakop, Desert Tour (to find the little 5) in Swakop, Etosha, Huab Lodge, Onguma, Kulala and Soussosvlei." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip