Travel reviews by Mr & Ms S from London

"Huge rooms. Very comfortable. Pool very refreshing after a night flight. Dinner was very good. Generally a nice vibe."

"Beautiful camp. Albida suite is fantastic - incredible views up the Chongwe and Zambezi and so much space. The plunge pool is lovely. Michael our 'butler' looked after us very well but was not at all intrusive. Breakfast omlettes cooked on the camp fire were the perfect start to the day. My wife was ill one day and the camp managers were very solicitous.
The 'elephant in the room' tales on a new meaning when there is actually an elephant in your room. That was very exciting but I think the camp could probably have been clearer about the likelihood of that happening and what we should do when it did. My daughter nearly got caught sitting on her own by the river when the elephant appeared - only a last second warning from Michael enabled to her scramble back to the relative safety of the dining area.
Clement our guide was very good - both in a jeep and on the water.
The boat trips are great and the canoeing was a definite 'life highlight'.
Game in the National Park did sometimes seem a bit thin on the ground - though overall we were more than satisfied with what we saw.
We had stomach upsets in both Norman Carr camps we went to having never previously had a problem in 4 previous safaris in other countries. So we do wonder if their food hygiene is fully up to standard."

"Great position right on the river bank. We had the family chalet which was great.
Food definitely a step up from Chongwe, especially lunch.
Walking also a step up with really good guide Friday and scout Peter.
Leopards everywhere including day and night and walking right through camp.
Great elephant but we only saw scattered zebra and buffalo, no herds.
Lot and lots of lions: 19 of the pride of 22 killed a buffalo just outside camp.
Camp manager Emanuel really good - looked after me when I had a fever, treated my daughter's mangled toe, dealt with a bees nest above our room in the dark in about 30 minutes flat!
Game densities seemed markedly higher than in Lower Zambezi.
Only issue is whether the stomach bugs we had were just bad luck or a food hygiene issue."

"We had 8 nights at Pongwe and loved it so much we didn't leave the hotel! It is very peaceful and quiet: the only activities you can do from the beach are snorkelling and sailing in the hotel dhow so there is nothing to disturb the peace and quiet. The beach is very quiet and totally private at high tide. There are no beach vendors; we didn't get hassled once during our stay.
The beach is lovely: swept clean of seaweed by the staff in the morning and full of ghost crabs by night. The colours of the sea are incredible: every shade of blue and green you can imagine. Snorkelling off the beach in the hotel's boat was fun; not the most amazing snorkelling but plenty of interest.
We had the family room with a lovely view down the beach and a large private deck. The room was relatively basic but was clean and with good A/C.
The food in the restaurant was good. The bar does great cocktails. It's fun when the bush babies come into the bar at nightfall to be fed bananas.
The staff are very friendly and efficient.
The hotel does not feel busy - perhaps especially if like us you'd rather swim in the sea than the pool. We were able to swim morning and evening as the tides fell perfectly. But even when the tide is out the view is beautiful and beach combing is also quite fun.
For somewhere to spend time reading, sea bathing, eating and drinking I would say Pongwe would be hard to beat."

"Our week at Kichaka was one of the highlights of our lives. We have done walking safaris before but not in such thick bush and not with the intent of getting as close as possible to elephants. It's incredible, sometimes scary and definitely addictive.
Moli did the longer morning walks and Jacques, his number 2, the afternoon walks or drives. Both are accompanied by a very good Tanapa ranger so you do feel safe behind their 2 guns and 2 pairs of eyes.
Moli is amazing: we've heard many explanations of particular animal behaviour but no one who has had the depth of knowledge of Moli or his infectious enthusiasm. It was informative, fascinating and also a lot of fun: we laughed a lot over the week.
So we walked to within 5 metres of an elephant, watched them for 10 minutes and then left without it ever knowing we were there. That was very exciting. And that's the target every day though of course they have to work with the animals and conditions which present themselves..
Jacques, a Zim pro guide, was also very good and a fascinating man who seems to have done a bit of everything over his life
The camp is lovely; I guess relatively simple but all very nicely done and with very attentive staff. Nothing is too much trouble. We said we wanted to swim in the Ruaha and so that was arranged and Jacques and the ranger ensured it was safe for us to do so: no crocs or hippo in sight.
The food was good. Showers/loo/washing are slightly separate from your tent which can make nocturnal loo trips exciting when you can hear lions are around.
The camp's position on a hill above the river is fantastic with sweeping views down and along the Ruaha River. It is very remote and feels like that: you could be the first (or the last) people on earth. We didn't see anyone else the whole week were there apart from some lion researchers. The absence of people and vehicles means the animals are quite skittish; Moli likes it that way and it makes the close encounters you get feel even more special.
It's a very small camp and feels very intimate. We cannot praise it enough."

"Check in much better this time though it took a long time for our cases to be brought to our room."

"A wonderful second visit.
Great guide - Lucas.
Great walking with Roelof.
The breakfasts and lunches are excellent but the standard of food at dinner is not quite so good."

"We also spent 2 nights at Rekero."

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"We were given a road view room when we think we were due a deluxe park view room. However, it was too late at night when we arrived to bother to complain - especially as check in had taken so long anyway.

The new road being built right outside will make the hotel pretty noisy.

We did go back to the hotel for a meal before our flight home and that was very good - in the 4th floor restaurant."

"We think this is a wonderful camp. We stayed 7 nights and did walking safaris every day and sometimes 2 in a day.
Roelof and Helen Schutte have really stamped their characters on the camp and have created a wonderful atmosphere there – so warm and friendly and they make yourselves so available to the guests. We were very impressed with both of them.

We absolutely loved Roelof's walking safaris – a definite ‘life highlight’ for us. He is a fabulous guide, really knows his stuff and you feel absolutely safe in his hands. We tracked elephants on most of the walks we did with him. I would also note:
- Being able to drive off road is a great bonus in the conservancy
- The fly camping: it is arranged so that it is just your group doing this. Great fun to walk in and out and Roelof barbecues a mean steak
- The night drives are a fantastic and very different experience
- The wonderful tent – very nicely decorated and spacious
- Good company at the table – we enjoyed most of the other guests
- Wonderful salads at lunchtime
- Porridge for breakfast!
- Dawa and hot towels on our return to camp
- The amazingly varied scenery at Naboisho and the sheer quantity of animals and birds
- Naboisho itself – how nice to see such a success story in action when generally the news from Arica about wildlife conservation is so negative and depressing.

Helen runs the camp and is an amazingly warm and open person."