Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs H from Canada

"Wonderful! We were late arriving due to snow in London and still all arrangements were delt with as though we had arrived on time. Very nice.

The camp manager, Alex, met us upon arrival to explain how things worked, always met us (with a cool drink) upon return from our daily outings and was always available just to keep things running smoothly. Made us feel very welcome.

Our guide, Chumbo, and driver, Good Luck, were excellent and had a passionate understanding of the role of conservation and the wildlife we came to see. We had been informed when booking that, at this time of year, the wildlife may be harder to find as water was more plentiful, however we saw more than I could have imagined everyday!

Tsetse flies were a bit annoying but not a big problem and surprisingly mosquitos were minimal.

Meals were delicious and service excellent. We particularily liked meeting with other travellers at the end of the day. We formed a very cohesive group in just a few days as we all sat together to enjoy the evening meal. It was an unexpected pleasure.

The tents themselves were very clean, comfortable and private with a daily parade of widlife, particularly at night. I didn't want to sleep for fear of missing something. It was all just easy to enjoy."

"Selous, being the second camp we visited had a hard act to follow as we loved Mdonya. Being located on the river added much to the available wildlife and so quickly became a whole new experience. The wildlife was prolific and our guide, Mpogo was exceptional at finding everything. He knew the reserve like the back of his hand and we had an adventure every day.

The boat safaries were really fun too and provided wonderful viewing of both land and water animals as well as many birds. The walking safari was also very enjoyable as there were many small things that go unnoticed during drives. Again, Mpogo and our ranger, Thomas, were both very knowledgable.

The tented accomodation at Selous was amazingly beautiful. Every meal was delicious and beautifully presented.Our server, Uroban,was most gracious. There was never a concern about quality. Fresh bottled water was provided everyday, and morning coffee delivered to our tent.

It was very hot in Selous (42C mid February) so the camp pool was a welcome reprive from the heat.

The camp hosts, Andreas and Lorenzo, were always available for information or to just chat. Very nice. We felt valued as guests."

"Matemwe proved to be a lovely and relaxed beach holiday. We were there just to relax and do a bit of diving. There are lots of beach areas with shade, very few hawkers who were not pushy at all, and always something to watch as boats came and went and local children ran by.

The meals here were excellent. I really can't say enough. There was always a choice for the evening entre which was beautifully presented.
The office staff was most accomodating as I tried to make special arrangements for my daughter (staying at another hotel) to join us for meals. Nothing was inconvenient.

It seems each week they have two evenings of group dining activities. This provides an easy way to meet other travellers if you so desire.The remainder of the week, independant tables are available.

The dive operator was very good and all of their staff very professional. Getting to the dive sights became a bit of an inconvenience due to the tide. It often involved a bus and boat just to get to the dive boat. Fine for a few dives but not if you were there for a week.
Ours was not one of the high end suites but it was quiant, with big airy windows and a private porch, comfortable for reading or a snooze.

Matemwe suited our needs perfectly."

"Kholle House was beautiful although I'm not sure we would have found it without our driver, but that's Stonetown. It's a bit off the main road, down a couple of allys, which was just a bit foreign to us, but once we had our bearings, it was fine. It is an exceptional old home and the hostess took time to give us a history of the house when we arrived. Unfortunately we were only there for one evening and really didn't have time to enjoy its ambiance.

The room was quite authentic to a grander time in Zanzibars history and we were quite impressed as it was a stark contrast to the street below."