Reviews of safaris to Majete Wildlife Reserve

"Overall, my trip was fantastic.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see either leopard or rhino but, overall, it was an elephant, hippo, buffalo and a lion kind of holiday (saw loads of all) so I can't complain (seeing 3 of the big 5). With both camps being on the banks of the river there was prolific birdlife and saw a huge variety of the smaller colourful birds as well as the larger raptures and water birds.

My experience of staying at two Robin Pope lodges did not disappoint - my expectations were met fully. For me, it's not just the wildlife viewing but also the experience of the accommodation, food and staff. I was welcomed warmly into both camps and met some interesting people (guests as well as staff).

I came home relaxed and extremely happy!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No - just keep on doing what you do well - I've used you before and will continue to use you in the future.

Thank you." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Malawi trip

"I have been on a number of safari holidays in different African countries but nowhere have I experienced the wonderful isolation of feeling yours was the only vehicle watching these amazing animals. Also we never had more than 3 or 4 people in the vehicle so everyone had good sightings. Sadly Malawi has only recently been able to offer such good safaris but I hope their profile as a safari destination continues to grow.

They have already had great success with elephants which have been translocated to other countries. Malawi may not have the huge numbers of animals you see in the Serengeti but neither does it have the huge, annoying number of safari vehicles! ( 2500 A DAY in the Ngorongoro Crater)

I had never seen Sable antelope or Nyala before and they are magnificent. The number of raptors at Kuthengo was impressive and the boat safaris a joy - to see everything from a different perspective. Although both Majete and Liwonde are wooded they are very different experiences. Liwonde is more open woodland and so maybe easier to photograph animals.

The guides at both camps were great and very sensitive to the wishes of the guests - brilliant. Robin Pope Safaris seems to be a very efficient organisation training local people to fulfil the various roles very successfully. The bonus of a guide to help you through the Airport on departure was great.

I would not hesitate to recommend Malawi to experience the sound of silence broken only by the sounds of birds and animals! I had a wonderful time!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I travelled to Botswana with you a few years ago which was a great experience and is why I returned.

I have recommended you to many people." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Malawi trip

"Wonderful experience, the standard of these lodges never ceases to impress us, we had excellent wildlife viewing, and were so grateful to all concerned for their help and understanding in regard to our age and my wife walking problems due to a recent road accident.

Nothing was too much trouble resulting in an extremly enjoyable and memorable holiday.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Can't really think of anything negative to say about our experience. Just wonderfully managed from start to finish." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Malawi trip

"- Great service during the entire trip, we were always picked up on time and helped at the airports

- Input was always taken into account and the trip put together in a very careful and thought through way

- Very professional and reliable customer handling, we always felt we were in good hands

- We would choose Expert Africa any day as we consider them to be the best" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Malawi trip

"Claire's support and advice were brilliant from the moment I rang Expert Africa to first enquire about safari holidays in Malawi.

Claire ensured we had a family holiday to remember and the overall service and value from Expert Africa was fantastic.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Thanks for a very special holiday." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Malawi trip

"We had been saving for this trip for 5yrs and booked it almost a year ago so the anticipation was palpable. The trip to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary was truly wonderful. Everywhere you go, you feel looked after and even the blip in the service level at Mkulumadzi lodge was quickly sorted out.

We met lots of lovely people and saw loads of animals - 164 species recorded in my notebook! Our guides were all extremely eagle eyed and did their utmost to get you in the best position for taking photos. In 3 of the 4 camps, we were lucky enough to not have to share a jeep which really helps build up a good relationship with your guide.

We only put on 3lb in weight each which is astonishing when all the camps feed you every 2-3hrs with tempting food. Each park we stayed in offered different scenery and new animals and birds to see. Whilst some animals such as cheetahs and rhino remained elusive, we have some amazing memories and photos to remind of us this fabulous trip. Roll on the next safari!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really - Lucy was incredibly helpful and patient with my endless questions.

Occasionally there was a bit of a delay getting a response but it was never a major issue." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"We had a wonderful time in Malawi, with all accommodation of a good standard and all travel arrangements working more or less to plan.

We were glad that we had the night in Blantyre on arrival to recover from the journey out (exactly 24 hours door to door), prior to going to the game park.

The drive from Majete to Liwonde was arduous and took nearly 7 hours. This was partly due to misty conditions through the mountains, bridge repairs in Blantyre and the poor quality of the roads, particularly the access road into Liwonde National Park.

The drive from Liwonde to Nkhotakota was extremely arduous and took about 7.5hours. The driver did not seem too well to start with and had to stop for a short while. We fed him some of our packed lunches as the monkeys had apparently pinched his breakfast!. We had a stop in Salima for toilets and refuelling, but there was a delay due to an issue with the driver's office, in sending him through sufficient funds to buy enough petrol. We moved on and had the same issue in Nkhotakota town, where we stopped for nearly an hour while he tried to sort it out. The driver had not been to Tongole Lodge before and had to keep stopping to ask how to get to it. Once in the park, signposting disappeared and we ended up at the sister camp and had to be re-directed. We were concerned when the driver said that he was driving straight back to Blantyre without a break. It might be worth exploring air transfer - the pilot we spoke to said it was possible via Lilongwe. Obviously the cost would be higher but after undertaking the road journey, this could be worth it.

We are not sure why Expert Africa are offering South African Airways via Johannesburg as their preferred route. We found Ethiopian Airlines flights to be extremely good, with modern planes (Airbus A350 and Boeing 787) and excellent crew. The issue about flight changes that we were notified about prior to departure were due to the main runway at Blantyre being closed for several months for re-building. Only small planes can land at Blantyre on their small runway, and so all large planes have to go into Lilongwe and then a shuttle service is run down to Blantyre in small turboprop planes. Ethiopian could have explained this to us when they changed the flights. Our luggage was taken right through to Blantyre and immigration was also done at Blantyre, even though we arrived there on an internal flight.

The only other downside to Ethiopian is the airport at Addis Ababa. although a relatively new terminal, is not to the standard of Johannesburg airport, although is tolerable for a few hours.

Our Business Class flights (for 2 people) cost £4545.24 compared with your quote with SAA of £9841.98 and we were extremely happy with the service.

Thank you so much for organising this trip for us. we had a fantastic experience and really enjoyed our time in Malawi." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Malawi trip

"The couple running the Lodge were new and I think need to learn a bit more about other possibilities but very welcoming.


Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, I think you have good knowledge and are very helpful as when flight was cancelled at short notice" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 4 on a Malawi trip

"A good well organised trip to Malawi & Zimbabwe.
Two beautiful lodges with a good range of wildlife
Excellent food at Mkulumadzi
Thomas at Chilo Gorge & Mali at Mkulumadz were excellent knowledgeable guides with a sense of fun. Thomas was an expert on birds." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari

"This was my third African safari adventure and – aside from the fact that I still have not crossed the Aardvark, Pangolin or Pel's Fishing Owl off my "must see" list – the trip exceeded my expectations in many ways. I liked the wide range and variety of camps and the mixture of air and road transfers, even if two of the latter were, to put it mildly, arduous. I don't regret having experienced the long drive from Amalinda to Somalisa or the one from Mkulumadzi to Pumulani, but I wouldn't want to do either of them again.

I'm happy I returned to Zimbabwe and Zambia – two outstanding wildlife countries with exceptionally skilled guides – and I very much enjoyed my introduction to Malawi. The Majete Wildlife Reserve is still in its infancy but holds great promise, and I found Lake Malawi breathtaking to look at and fascinating to explore.

Working with the Expert Africa team – and particularly with Freddie Sutton – to plan my month-long itinerary was great fun and very rewarding. Freddie is experienced, knowledgeable, patient and, above all, flexible. He responded quickly to all of my requests for changes and updates, and he always found an attractive alternative where one was needed. Even when a slight glitch arose during my time away, he immediately resolved it and all went well." Read full review: 38 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari