Travel reviews by Mrs L from Tunbridge Wells

"We arrived at Flatdogs mid way through the evening after three tiring flights from the UK. However, we were expected and made to feel really welcome, and dinner was available. It was a bit disconcerting having to be escorted out to our tents in the pitch black and hearing the sounds of the hippopotumus so close by in the river which runs in front of the tents, but in the morning we were rewarded with stunning views of the river with the sun just coming up, giving a red/golden glow to everything, with monkeys playing on the patio area. T

he shower room at the back of Flatdogs may not be to everyone's liking, as it is pretty much open to the sky, but my husband and I liked the feeling of nature all around. Few encounters with spiders, millipedes, frogs and a small snake (not poisonous) but this all added to the adventure. Elephants wander around the camp at night and we all had to get out of the swimming pool one afternoon to let them pass through the camp. Wonderful viewing.

Adrian and Tess are great hosts and all the staff very efficient and friendly. Our especial thanks to Lydia, Harold and Kennedy, our excellent safari guide, who located a leopard lounging in a tree in the early morning sun for us, and a lion pride who had just very shortly before made a kill - poor impala! - but wonderful viewing for us. Also Paolo was a really nice guy and so helpful."

"Polly the hostess made us very welcome here. It is a small camp and we were only there for one night. The camp is fronted by the river - it is a beautiful setting and we reached it by boat, which added another dimension to our trip. It was good to be actually on the river, if only for a short while. The chalets are of high quality, and it is very peaceful.

There were only 4 other guests whilst we were there and everyone eats together at a set time. If we had been staying longer I think we would have preferred a more 'staggered' time for eating, as we are not so keen on a set time, but everyone was very friendly and sociable.

We particularly enjoyed the 'stir-fry' b-b-q whilst we were there for the evening, out under the glorious night sky."

"We had particularly wanted to do a 'walking' safari and George, our guide, was very knowledgeable, and we got to see birds and animals which we would have missed had we been driving. This really is 'in the bush', with a beautiful setting on the river.

We had a leopard walking so close by the camp whilst sitting around the camp-fire that evening that you could hear the 'sawing' sound these animals make as they walk through the bush.

We had 'sundowners' down on the river bed, and it felt as if we were truly in Africa."

"Robin Pope kindly up-graded us to this spectacular house for two nights and it really does have the 'wow' factor.

The décor, bedrooms, service, food, location - everything is amazing. Tina, our hostess, ensured everything ran absolutely smoothly without a hint of rush. Simon cooked us some wonderful meals, and Kanga the guide was so knowledgeable and managed to track a mother leopard with a cub for us to see and enjoy on one of the evening safaris. He really was in tune with the sights and sounds of the safari park. Peter and Emanuel were also so friendly and efficient.

We went to visit Peter's village which is part of the South Luangwa Community Project and it was a pleasure to meet all the local people and visit the school. Robin & Joe Pope have put so much back into the local community with the aid of the other lodges in the area.

A long deck runs out past the small swimming pool to a swamp area where for several hours one afternoon we watched 20+ elephants mud bathing - great viewing. Giraffe also come close by and there is a great telescope set up for private viewing.

What more could you ask. We would love to return one day for a longer visit. It was far too short a stay/."

"Brenda and Clem are great hosts. We arrived quite late in the evening, after a flight back from the South Luangwa Safari Park. Brendan took the trouble to come and knock on our family chalet to ensure we knew that dinner would soon be ending so that we did not miss out on some food. Lilayi is set in beautiful grounds and we took a bush walk, which you can do on your own, as there is no danger from lions, etc. here. We saw a family of giraffes right next to the path and something which really excited us, some dung beetles hard at work. Fascinating.

Being close to Lusaka we imagine that Lilayi can get very busy but it was really peaceful whilst we were there.

Within it's grounds is the 'elephant orphanage' and this is a 'must-do' whilst there.

The family chalets have only a small lounge area, although we were warned of this when we booked, being three adults in a family chalet. It would have felt more spacious if this had opened out on to a patio area, as the individual chalets did, to give a feeling of spaciousness.

Abigail our chalet maid kept us well stocked with tea and milk - an Englishman's must have."