Travel reviews by Mr IB from Northumberland

"A one night stopover on our way to South Luangwa.

A pleasant place to spend time, all of the staff were very welcoming. The spacious chalet accommodation was very comfortable, unfortunately it proved impossible to balance the shower output so we ended up having cold showers, not too onerous in the heat.

The food was OK but limited in choice. The birdlife was good so we were able to while away the time before our onward flight sitting on the veranda identifying them."

"What a wonderful introduction to our time in South Luangwa, everything lived up to our expectations and more.

The staff were lovely and couldn't have been more helpful, special mention must be made of our expert guide Perry who went out of his way to make sure we saw so many wonderful things including our first sighting of wild dogs which have always eluded us in the past.

The accommodation was first class, waking up in the morning to the view of the river was very special especially on the morning when a leopard appeared on the opposite bank.

The food was excellent throughout, one lunch was made even more memorable when a family of elephant came down to the lagoon whilst we were eating.

Hopefully we'll make it back some day."

"We thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Again the staff ensured that we got the most out of our stay here.

Our lovely host Kate went out of her way to make our stay as comfortable as possible and our guides Bertram and John made sure we saw so many wonderful things.

The food was first class throughout but special mention must be made of the excellent bush breakfast that they surprised us all with one morning. Eating a full English out in the bush overlooking the river was very memorable.

We would recommend doing the bush walk from Tena Tena to Nsefu if staying at both camps, Bertam was really knows his stuff and explained everything we came across in great detail."

"Nsefu really is a very special place. It's setting on the bend of the river and the layout of the camp gave it a very different feel to the other two camps.

Again the staff were wonderful, everyone was kind and helpful and nothing was too much trouble for them. Our host Emma was very welcoming and went out of her way to ensure everything ran smoothly.

A special thank you to our personable guide Chilumba who couldn't have done more to facilitate our seeing so many wonderful things during our time there, 10 leopard sightings, a newly born elephant taking it's first steps, 3 sightings of wild dog ( the main objective of our trip ) were just a few of the fantastic things we saw.

The food was as of a high standard as the other camps so much so that we now need to go on a diet.

Everything was just perfect except for one very minor thing which applies to all three camps, please don't put so many layers of bedding on the beds during the hot season!"

"Lake Manze was a lovely place to stay, very relaxing with a great variety of things to do. The tents are fitted out well and nicely situated, it’s certainly spine tingling to lie in bed and hear the unearthly sounds of hyenas calling just outside the tent. The game drives were really enjoyable. Great game viewing, particularly in view of the unseasonal rains. All the staff were really helpful and couldn’t do enough to ensure things went smoothly. In particular our guide, Emanuel, and driver, Bacari, did everything they could to ensure that we covered as much ground as possible with great good humour. We spent a really enjoyable 4 nights there and hope to return to try and catch the elusive wild dogs."

"Jongomero, a very different place to Lake Manze both in style and situation. It really is a beautiful camp, the accommodation is first class and the food is just lovely. Again nothing was too much trouble for the staff, everything was done with good humour and great attention to detail. Unfortunately due to the rains, everywhere was very green which made it difficult to see the game but our guide Theo did everything he could to maximise our chances of seeing things. There were wild dog and lion around close by as we could see from the fresh spoor, and from the lion calls during the night, but the very thick vegetation meant it proved too difficult to see them. Again it would be lovely to go back to Jongomero, but I think the area would be much better visited during the dry season ."

"Butiama Beach was a delight and our thanks to you for recommending it to us. It really is a wonderfully relaxing lodge, the perfect place to chill out before returning to real life back in the UK. The whole place is delightful. Very laid back but all kept in good order and runs like clockwork. Maura and Moez were so welcoming and did everything possible to make sure that our stay with them was just perfect. The range of things to do always meant that we had something planned for the days when we didn’t just wanted to be lazy and take things easy, all arranged by Moez who discussed things every evening then made sure whatever you wanted to do happened. The food was great ( as long as you like fish and seafood ), I had read reports of the portions not being large enough but there was certainly plenty as far as we were concerned, all beautifully cooked and presented. We all hope to return in the not too distant future."