Travel reviews by Mr & Ms L from North Adams

"What a delightful place! Everyone was very helpful, welcoming, and friendly. The hotel itself is beautiful. For our first two nights, we were the only ones there.

We asked Demetria to recommend a place to shop for local wares. She not only recommended a great little shopping area, but arranged for a taxi to take us there and wait for us. The food was outstanding. The hotel took us to and from both airports, which was such a load off our minds, not having to worry about getting a taxi.

We would recommend Oyster Bay to anyone!"

"We loved Mwagusi. The accommodations were a little more rugged than we expected. The light level at night was very low, and it was a pain to have go up to the office to recharge things, but those are minor issues that are outweighed by the whole experience.

The location of the bandas on the river was outstanding. We had terrific wildlife sightings from our veranda, including an elephant who came to visit our first evening (six words I never thought I'd hear myself say: "There's an elephant at the door"). The food was incredible, and the evening dinners on the river were so beautiful. But the game drives were the best of all.

The amount of game and its proximity to the vehicles was breathtaking, and far better than in the Selous. The animals never stopped appearing. There were so many, and they were so close -- I just couldn't believe it. To have a lion come and lie down in the shade of your truck is heart stopping. Justin was a fantastic guide. We liked having the same guide everyday. He knew what we had already seen, and we all got to know each other, which was very nice. The staff was great too. They addressed our concerns immediately, and were all friendly and warm.

We would go back to Mwagusi again."

"Beho Beho camp was exquisite, but in general, the Selous was a disappointment after Ruaha.

There were no where near as many animals, and they did not like the trucks coming too close. In Ruaha, the impala would stand next to the truck as it drove by; in the Selous, they ran off as soon as they saw a truck. This made it hard to photograph them, and to appreciate them.

We saw more warthogs and different types of birds, but fewer cats -- only 1 lion and 1 leopard, whereas in Ruaha we saw 2 prides of lions, 2 leopards, and 2 cheetahs. We did not see the wild dogs -- they were apparently denning at the time. The roads are terrible, and it was physically exhausting just to ride in the trucks. Beho Beho Camp made up for this to a degree. It is a beautiful place. The bandas are very elegant and comfortable. The food was outstanding. The guides are great, as are Walter and Karin as hosts. The bandas are situated on a hill overlooking the valley and plains, where animals are visible at a distance, but not up close.

The camp has its own waterhole, however, where elephants, hippos, impala, baboons, and waterbucks came to drink, which was fun. I also did a short walking safari, during which we ran from elephants who then vaporized into the jungle. The camp rotates the guides, so we got to know all of them, and tries to limit the amount of people in the truck -- we were often alone, which is nice. If you could put Beho Beho in Ruaha, you would have the ideal set-up."

"We stayed at Oyster Bay for a short night on our trip home. Our plane was at 3AM, but the hotel was just as accommodating as could be, and drove us to the airport at 1AM.

The food was excellent, as usual, and the hotel was just as beautiful."