Travel reviews by Mr E & Mrs H from Botswana

"Although the facilities are a little timeworn at the Lodge they are of a decent standard and the layout of the communal areas is very pleasant indeed. Food was always nicely presented and perfectly acceptable, and service, whether restaurant, reception or otherwise, was excellent. So, we enjoyed our stay there.

The Falls themselves are, of course, quite stunning; awesome in fact at any rate in late February when the waterflow is high. I deliberately courted a drenching, and duly got soaked to the skin. We went to the Falls in the morning and took the helicopter flight in the afternoon. We are convinced that that is the best way to get the full experience of the Falls. We ate one evening in the Vic Falls Hotel. We dined, satisfactorily, in the restaurant on the terrace. The main restaurant was completely deserted!

As to the town itself, we particularly liked the Elephant's Walk Shopping Village (in which there is a pleasant open-air restaurant at which we had a good light lunch)."

"At Changa, the service again was very good, as was the food. We liked the situation of the lodge, in the bush on the edge of the lake. Our sleeping quarters were excellent.

The managers, Andrew & Jean Riley, are very pleasant. Our guide, Greg, was first class. Typically, we did a morning drive on land and then spent three hours or so in the late afternoon/early evening on the lake, fishing and observing the hippos and, to a lesser extent, crocodiles. On the land trips there was plenty of animal activity, principally impala and elephants, a wonderful lion that we observed from very close up, and a huge amount of different birds, which were very impressive.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Changa."

"We arrived at The Hide in time for tea. It is a splendid safari lodge. The facilities are excellent and likewise the food. A particularly nice touch was the fact that the managers, Ian and his wife Leanne, as well as the guides, took their meals with the guests.

As with Changa, we had a first class guide, Daffie. Although it was the wet season (in fact not very wet this year) there were plenty of animals, and again beautiful birds, in evidence. Many elephants came to The Hide's water hole on two of our three evenings (the third one being a full moon night, and not many animals were seen altogether). Other memorable encounters which we had were one and a half hours spent with two male lions one afternoon, observing a cape buffalo from close up, and successfully tracking down a cheetah and her juvenile offspring.

Wonderful! Also, The Hide's underground observation room, about 50 yards away from the main building made for a unique, albeit very safe, close encounter with a male elephant bull - an experience we shall never forget."

"This was the one disappointing aspect of our trip. As you will know, its interior is rather dark and forbidding. And our suite (i.e. room) felt (to us, at any rate) rather like a dungeon. The restaurant service was poor and the food was certainly nothing to write home about. The gardens, however, are lovely and the bar area around the pool was lively in the evening.

The hotel does seem to make most of its revenue from events (weddings etc ) and the bar. Certainly, there were very few guests whilst we were there. You had made a point of advising us to remind the staff that we required a packed lunch for the day of our guided trip. Well, we did that, but even though the reception staff intervened on our behalf what was, eventually, produced was inedible and we threw it away. That, however, gave our guide Paul Hubbard and us the opportunity to have a good light lunch in a small restaurant near the centre of the city, which had a nice garden and excellent sandwiches.

We liked Bulawayo and think that it is well worth visiting. Our day out with Paul was first class. He is a veritable mine of information as well as being a genial companion. We had a full day with him and ended up having a couple of beers together at the Nesbitt Hotel bar. We can certainly recommend the use of his services and it was definitely worth the fee.

Before leaving for Johannesburg and home, we complained to the (new) manager of the hotel about the restaurant service and she was very apologetic, saying that she would take steps to improve it. We believe that she will do her best."