Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs B from Belfast

"The Four Points hotel is perfectly located if like us you arrive late into JKIA and need a night's rest before flying onwards from Wilson Airport to the Mara. It's only a few minutes drive from the international airport which is ideal.

Check in process was quick and efficient, the room we were allocated was clean and very comfortable. Given the late hour of our arrival, it was after midnight, we didn't really have the opportunity nor the desire to check out the hotel facilities.

Breakfast the following morning was perfectly adequate, good range of both hot and cold foods to suit most peoples taste.

All in all, a perfectly comfortable hotel to spend a night either at the start or end of a safari."

"This was our second trip to Kicheche Mara camp having first visited in Feb 2020 just prior to the start of the Covid pandemic. It was great to be back in such familiar surroundings and to be greeted by the camp staff in such a welcoming manner. There's no doubt of the impact that Covid has had on on the tourist volumes in Kenya and the Mara.

Saruni, who was our guide in 2020, picked us up from the airstrip and excelled himself as always by getting us up close and personal with a cheetah mother, cub plus dead impala on the way to the camp. Regrettably we learned that this particular mother's original litter was 6 cubs and only one was now left. Cheetahs really do have a hard life.

As we have come to expect from Kicheche, the camp was very comfortable and efficiently run by Andrew and his team. Food was excellent, from the picnic breakfast, through lunch to the communal dinners in the evening. Tents were very comfortable and spacious with solar powered showers.

Peter was our guide for the three night stay and proved himself more than capable of locating the wildlife in the area despite the tall grass and somewhat inclement conditions. We had some spectacular sightings of lions, both young and old. Watching the older lionesses attempting to cross some fast flowing rivers was an interesting sight, given their aversion to getting wet."

"This camp, like its sister camp, Mara, gets a large number of returning guests, which speaks volumes for the manner in which Kicheche run and manage their camps.. While we were there, many of the guests had been there previously, many on more than one occasion.

As with the Mara camp, the accommodation was excellent, very comfortable tents and now with solar powered showers. The bucket showers have gone!! The camp also now has wifi access in all the tents as well as the reception/dining area. Minor point but perhaps the tents could benefit from additional power points. There were only two and both of these were in use. There were USB sockets but no additional 3-pin sockets. Both Mara and Valley have 4 way adaptors provided, something Bush might want to consider.

Unfortunately the rather unseasonable weather which we experienced at Mara followed us to Bush and while the mornings were warm and dry, although cloudy, the afternoons were punctuated by thunder and some rather heavy rain. Sundowners in the jeep in the pouring rain were not what we expected!

This made for some interesting and challenging driving for our guide Nelson although we never got stuck despite the conditions. Nelson was a terrific guide, very knowledgeable and expert at positioning the jeep for the best way to view the animals.

Thorbun and Coco as camp hosts were very pleasant, approachable and happy to help in any way. The food as always was excellent and varied. Nice to see that the Pizza oven has been retained.

Game viewing was terrific, lots of cheetah complete with young, and some excellent sightings of lions and leopards, including the famous Fig who regrettably is no longer with us.

It's hard to find fault with any aspect of the camp, it has to rank as one of our favourite in the Mara."

"This was our first time to the Valley camp although not to the Naboisho conservancy which we visited in 2014. The raised tents on wooden platforms are probably the most luxurious of the three Kicheche camps in the Mara. The beds are extremely comfortable with lovely views overlooking the valley. As with the other camps there are solar powered showers which provide ample hot water.

Minnie, the camp manager, along with Maurice, Joyce and the rest of her team made our three night stay very enjoyable indeed. The food was excellent, picnic breakfast, buffet lunch and then a more formal sit down dinner in the evening, the same as the other camps. Nothing was too much trouble and a special word of thanks to Minnie for assisting with the production of the Passenger Locator Forms which we required before returning to the UK. This was much appreciated and emphasised the need for internet access in order to complete the Covid formalities currently required by the UK.

Our guide for the three nights was Bernard, along with Stella who was training as a guide. Bernard proved very adept at finding the animals, including a leopard on the first evening and a pride of some dozen plus lionesses and cubs crossing over the river into the next conservancy. In addition he managed to find bat-eared foxes which we had never seen and two separate sightings of a male and female serval cat which was the icing on the cake. A lovely way to finish off our trip."

"This hotel is ideal if your flight times into or out of Nairobi are such that an overnight stay is required. It's close proximity to the international airport means that you don't have to spend too long negotiating the traffic jams of Nairobi.

The rooms are reasonably well appointed and comfortable which is really all you need for such a short stay. We were on a late flight into NBO so our impression of the hotel was somewhat limited but it certainly was quite comfortable and the buffet breakfast more than acceptable."

"This was our first visit to the Kicheche Mara camp although we had previously been to other camps owned by Kicheche. The same level of service which we enjoyed at both Bush and Laikipia is immediately apparent on arrival at the camp.

The friendly welcome by Carys and the rest of the staff made us feel immediately at home. The accommodation was excellent and the hot and cold running water was an added bonus. No bucket showers here!! As expected the standard of the food was very impressive, watched over with a careful eye by Wellington, the chef.

Our guide, Saruni was impressive in his ability to locate the most elusive predators, finding a leopard on our first day at camp. The rest of the four night stay was equally impressive in terms of animal sightings. Given that the weather had been somewhat unusual in the weeks leading up to our arrival, Saruni coped extremely well considering the state of the "road" conditions. The long grass proved excellent cover for the cats and made sightings that more difficult but Saruni proved himself on more than one occasion in hunting them down.

Dinner in the evenings after the late afternoon game drive were communal affairs which we much prefer and Carys proved to be an excellent and attentive host.

One of the lovely things about the camp was the number of returning guests which in itself speak volumes for the style and manner in which Kicheche run their camps and for the staff on the ground who manage them."

"This camp, like its sister camp, Mara, gets a large number of returning guests, which speaks volumes for its managers, Darren and Emma and their staff. While we were there, all the guests had been there previously, many on more than one occasion.

As with the Mara camp, the accommodation was excellent, although due to the large insect population we were unable to open up the front of the tent as we had done in the past. That's not the camps fault, just the time of the year. The weather for our stay was lovely, quite hot most of the time, however we did experience a sudden and torrential downpour one evening which made getting from the tent to the dining area interesting. Apparently over 50mm fell in 1 hour according to Darren.

This made for some interesting and challenging driving for our guide Charles the following day, we never got stuck despite the conditions.

The food was excellent, always a number of options at lunch accompanied with different breads baked by Darren.. Dinner was also excellent and watched over with a careful eye by Kennedy.

Game viewing was terrific, with some excellent predator sightings including leopards, Tito and cub plus a pregnant Fig.

It's hard to find fault with any aspect of the camp, even the bucket showers!!.

Can't wait to go back!!"

"We used this hotel at the start of our trip to Tanzania as the flight times were such that there was the possibility of missing our connection at Dar to the first camp.

It proved to be a good idea as it allowed us a nights rest before starting the safari element of the trip. The hotel was clean, food was reasonable and it fitted the bill perfectly for a one night stay.

The only real issue was the time taken to get from Dar es Salaam International airport to the hotel as the traffic was truly awful, but you can't blame the hotel for that."

"We have stayed in a number of camps in Africa over the past number of years and Beho Beho is definitely in the top league from every point of view. It is a beautiful luxury camp with a real family feel to it, all the staff keen to ensure that your stay was as comfortable and exciting as it could be. All the staff were very attentive and helpful which my wife greatly appreciated, due to her limited mobility having recently broken and dislocated her ankle

Each of the thatched, stone built rooms, or bandas, overlook the Selous reserve. Each has an open veranda area with day bed and very comfortable chairs in which to relax. The central area of the lodge is very relaxing, and there is a small pool area in which you can cool off after the morning game drive or lunch.

The food produced by Vanessa and her team was excellent and varied, we are always amazed at the level of cuisine in the camps given the dificulties in supply etc. Varying the locations within the camp area for each evening meal, which were communal, was another nice touch. We much prefer the more informal communal approach to evening meals where everyone can swap stores and anecdotes. In addtion the guides dine with the guests which is an added bonus.

Unlike the majority of camps we have stayed in over the years, Beho Beho has a policy of rotating the guides during your stay so over our four nights we got to sample the different styles of
Roel, Heribert, Godlisten and Saning'o. All were excellent, providing differing insights into the African bush.

Roel was our guide for the day trip to Lake Tagalala which was a very different form of safari and enabled us to see hippos, crocodiles and a wide variety of birdlife from a totally different perspective. That, coupled with the breakfast on the banks of the lake made it a very special trip indeed.

A warm and friendly camp with excellent guiding - thoroughly enjoyable."

"We flew from the Selous to Ruaha for the second part of our trip and the two areas are very different. Beho Beho in the Selous has it's own airstrip so the drive to it was only a few minutes, however as Ikuka sits atop an escarpment overlooking the Mwagusi plain its about an hours drive from the main airstrip at Msembe. However the views from the rooms and the main camp are truly stunning once you have arrived.

The camp is amazing, this was only the second season so everything has a very new feel to it. The camp manager, Mark, who is also the owner, was very friendly and attentive as was Tanya the manager. They both went out of their way to ensure that our trip was as pleasant and comfortable as possible. All the staff were very attentive and helpful which my wife greatly appreciated, due to her limited mobility having recently broken and dislocated her ankle. A special mention to Seif, Luka, Davis and Salum who looked after my wife on the occasions when she could not go on the afternoon game drives.

The rooms have enormous beds about the size of two doubles together and they have the comfiest bedding. Although you are under canvas it is definitely not camping. The hot water is provided by a gas powered boiler. The food is excellent, the staff ensuring that any dietary requirements were met. Breakfast in the bush was also very good considering it is all pre-packed before leaving at shortly after 06:00!

Festo was our guide and he was without a doubt one of the best guides we have ever encountered. He had a great sense of humour, full of stories and anecdotes as well as being able to provide some great game viewing. The male and female lions plus three cubs on the last night was the piece de resistance, especially as the interaction with a herd of elephants trying to get to the river generated an impasse which thankfully resolved itself without incident!

The little touches at the lodge really made the stay, everyone is so attentive, from having your little water bottle with your name on waiting after the long plane journey to having a hot water bottle in the morning drive!"

"After ten days of early morning starts on safari Ras Kutani is the perfect place to relax. Ideally situated overlooking a lagoon and the beach, one is lulled to sleep by the waves of the Indian Ocean. Nothing much to do but read, eat and sleep.

It was short flight, about 10 mins, from the domestic airport at Dar to the local strip for Ras Kutani, and then a short boat trip to the camp itself. You can do the trip by road, but I think flying in is well worth the extra.

Very relaxing environment, with welcoming and friendly staff and well managed by Simon who was very pleasant and friendly.

Our Banda looked out over small lagoon and the beach to the sea - it was very comfortable with a huge bed with mosquito net, a good dressing area with hanging and shelving for clothes etc. Twin hand basins and separate shower and flush toilet. Always plenty of hot water and very nice toiletries .. Good big fluffy towels.

The bandas are not all that private as you can see into those on either side of you. During our stay there were only 8 people there so it wasn't an issue but I'm sure if the camp was full it might be a different matter. There's a very nice verandah area with comfy chairs and hammocks overlooking, in our case, the lagoon.

Food was excellent, no complaints. Very varied and Simon arranged for the meals to be held in different locations within the complex which was a nice touch.

The location is a perfect place in which to unwind after a safari, there's not a lot to do, but that's what makes it the ideal place to relax. We understand
from Simon that the company which owns Ras Kutani, Selous Safari Company, have plans to close and renovate the whole camp. We would accept that the camp decor does need updating to some extent but by doing so, it might lose a lot of the charm that it currently enjoys. Something the company might want to consider."

"We decided to start our safari to Zimbabwe at Goliath as we were interested in a more walking based safari and had heard and read great reports on the charismatic Stretch Ferreira. Due to the travel arrangements from the UK we arrived at the camp on our first night as dusk fell so our first meeting with the great man was as we all sat down to dinner. He is truly an entertaining character with an obvious love of the country and its wildlife.

The description of the camp by EA is very accurate although one aspect that isn't mentioned is that the lights go out at 21:00 so torches are a must. The tents do have a low voltage battery operated lamp but obviously it doesn't provide a lot of light. The tents are very comfortable with a flush toilet at the rear, accessible via a large zipped canvas flap. The shower requires a fire to be lit behind the wooden fence at the rear of the tent so the camp staff need a bit of notice if you want a shower, you can't simply go and turn on the hot tap and expect warm water. The food was excellent, never ceases to amaze us the quality that is produced with such relatively limited resources and facilities.

However the real strength of the camp is Stretch himself. His wealth of knowledge and ability to see and read tracks which were meaningless to us was incredible. Despite this however he was well and truly beaten during our three night stay by the local lion population who steadfastly refused to be found. The growing frustration in Stretch was quite amusing to see although he did restore his reputation somewhat by getting us up close and personal with wild dogs and also with an elephant which he called JD, whose party piece would seem to be nudging you with his tusk !!.

I suspect we were just a bit unfortunate with the lack of wildlife sightings judging by other reviews, however this was more than compensated for by the wealth of stories provided by Stretch over our too short a stay.

He truly is a character!!!"

"Little Mak is a very comfortable camp with just six tented chalets set in a semi-circle around a watering hole which is frequented regularly by a variety of wildlife especially elephants. Each of the tents are well laid out with indoor and outdoor showers facilities. The hot water is generated by solar panels and is extremely effective although it does take some considerable time for the hot water to appear at the taps.

The detailed report on the EA website is very comprehensive and accurately covers all aspects of the layout of the accommodation and the camp itself.

Dickson, our guide for the duration of our stay, was extremely knowledgeable and managed to find lions plus cubs on our first day in camp who were fantastic to watch. Hwange is noted for its large elephant population and we often felt that they were all at Little Mak. We spent part of an evening game drive sitting in the log pile in front of the watering hole totally surrounded by at least five or six family groups totalling well over 60, including a number of very young calves. The interaction of the young as they tried to emulate their older siblings was fascinating.

Sundowners at another watering hole, again surrounded by elephants was another highlight, especially as they walked right past us, totally disinterested in our vehicle or us, in order to get to the water.

Dickson also managed to find a cheetah on a hunt during our transfer to Camp Hwange by road, as well as annoying a hippo who seemed to take an instant dislike to our vehicle and decided to charge!!. Hippos run quite fast it would seem!!

There are a couple of points we would make regarding the camp. EA states that dining style is group meals, however that appears to no longer be the case as we were seated at separate tables for our entire stay, and as the camp was far from full, this made for a somewhat isolated experience. All the camps we have visited over the years have used communal dining and this is an aspect that we always enjoyed. I don’t know if this a recent departure for Wilderness Safaris however we were disappointed by this aspect of the camp. Something they might want to reconsider.

The other point we would make is that due to the camps location you have to spend approximately 20 mins driving through dense mopane forest before reaching any of the more open areas where wildlife can be easily seen and tracked. It’s not a major issue but an aspect that needs to be taken into consideration during game drives

All in all a great camp in a fantastic location."

"This camp was our final location for our first trip to Zimbabwe and it didn’t disappoint in any way. The accommodation is first class, extremely comfortable with a small veranda overlooking a watering hole just in front of the main camp area.

The hot water is supplied from solar panels and was more than adequate for showers although you need to be prepared for a bit of wait after turning on the hot tap before the water actually gets warm.

The food supplied during our 4 night stay was excellent with all the guests sitting around a large table along with the owners and guides which we felt was a big improvement over the previous camp, Little Makalolo. It made for a much more interesting and entertaining evening.

Our guides during our stay were Spike and Adam and they provided us with a wealth of information and stories during the guided walks and game drives. You need to wrap up warm for the morning drives out to the areas where the walking started as it was quite cold while we were there, it was their winter after all. Again elephants were the predominant wildlife we came across but we also saw eland, waterbuck, roan, giraffe and a pride of lions with a buffalo kill. Well done to Adam for getting us close to the two males and one of the cubs.

Big thanks to David, Julian, Spike, Adam and Ruth for making our stay such a memorable one. Would love to go back in the drier part of the season, the game viewing must be out of this world!"

"We only stayed one night in the Ole-Sereni due to the flights times from Wilson Airport to the games lodges. The travel arrangements from Nairobi International Airport to the hotel worked well although even late at night the traffic in Nairobi is terrible.

The rooms were reasonably well apppointed, comfortable beds and good shower facilities. Our room backed out onto the new flyover currently being built in Nairobi but the noise from the work didn't interrupt our sleep. Hotel has free wi-fi although it took a couple of trips to the reception before we could get access codes that worked.

Breakfast was ok, nothing special, pretty much what you would get in any large commerical hotel around the world.

Travel to Wilson Airport the following morning was an interesting experience, the rush hour in Nairobi lasts about 3 hours apparently so leave plenty of time and the driving has to be seen to be believed. Our driver took us on back roads to avoid the worst congestion through the city centre otherwise we would probably have missed out flight.

All in all a good hotel for an overnight stay in Nairobi."

"This is an excellent small intimate camp with only 6 tents which are reasonably well spread out. The tents themselves are very spacious with a very comfortable large king size bed, hot and cold running water which includes the shower. No bucket showers here!!. The lighting in the tent is power by the camps solar panels so it isn't particularly bright but more than adequate. Hot water bottles are provided at night although we didn't feel the need for them as the weather wasn't too cold in July.

Charging of batteries etc. is carried out in the main lounge area of the camp.

The standard of food is excellent, we have constantly been amazed by the level of cuisine that these camps can produce given their location and obvious supply issues but yet again they continue to produce great meals each day.

The camp manager, Andy, was extremely helpful and a fund of useful information and stories. He appreciated the 10mm of rain that fell in 10mins on our arrival a lot more than we did, the welly boots that he supplied came in very handy indeed.

Game viewing was excellent, our guide Oness doing a great job of meeting our requests each day. The highlight being able to see two males cheetahs sunning themsleves at the end of the day on our last night.

We also took advantage of a vist to the Ol-Pejeta Rhino conservancy project whose aim is to prevent the extinction of this particular species. This was a very informative but at the same time somewhat sad experience.

Overall a great camp with which to start our trip."

"This is an excellent camp in every way. From the moment we arrived, Darren and Emma went out of their way to make our 4 night stay as memorable as possible. The tented accommodation is very luxurious and coupled with a dedicated butler (Joseph) and excellent food made the stay very pleasant.

Beautiful spacious tents with an awning, plus outside hammock made for for restful periods between the game drives. Lighting is with low voltage lights but as with the other camps batteries can be charged in the main lounge in the camp. There are plenty of charging points for all. This camp uses bucket showers, there's no hot water on tap, but we didn't find that a problem.

The food was excellent, nearly too much at times, both Darren and Emma being excellent attentive hosts during the meals. The picnic breakfast while on the early morning game drive was much appreciated.

Game viewing was excellent, lion, leopard, cheetah were all found by our guide, Charles along with lots of other wildlife. We did manage to see a wildebeest crossing which was an added bonus as we hadn't expected to see this early in July. The vehicles used by the Kicheche team all have open roofs and provide bean bags or side mounted trays on which to rest long heavy lenses for photography, something which we much appreciated. Ponchos and blankets were also available as it did get quite cold on a couple of morning and evening game drives.

We coudn't fault this camp, has to be one of the best we have stayed in over the years we have travelled on safari to Africa."

"This is the most luxurious camp of the three we stayed in during our trip to Kenya. Our tent was set high above the camp overlooking the Mara plains and had a fantastic view. The walk to and from the main lounge was over quite rocky paths so some care needed to be taken, especially at night, even with the aid of torches. The normal camp managers, Roelof and Helen were on leave during our stay so we were in the capable hands of Kim and Conway as relief managers. The tented accommodation is very spacious including an indoor bucket shower plus two outdoor showers as well. As with the other camps the electricity is derived from solar power so the lighting is low voltage and any charging needs to be carried out in the main lounge of the camp.

Meals were excellent especially some of the lunches and the staff made every effort to cater for any special requests.

The game viewing in this conservancy was on a par with the other reserves, with lions and their cubs, cheetah and leopard being seen. We came across a baby giraffe within a minute of it being born which was exciting to see it try to move about on four rather unconnected legs!!

We went on what we thought was a walking safari on our first afternoon but this turned out to be not much more than a 2 hour route march through the bush surrounding the camp. Having read some of the other reviews on the Expert Africa website regarding the walking safaris at this camp we do feel we were a bit short changed, but perhaps not having Roelof in camp may have something to do with that.

One other issue that I had was with the format of the Toyota Land Cruiser that this camp uses. Unfortunately they have no roof access so it is not possible to stand up in the vehicle and rest camera lenses on top as with the vehicles used in the Kicheche camps. Keen photographers might find this an issue, especially those interested in birds."

"We only spent about 8 hours in the Emakoko while waiting for our flight home to London. It's reasonably close to the International Airport, approx 40 mins drive and access to it is via the Nairobi National Park. It's a realy lovely hotel with individual bungalow type rooms. It's hard to believe that the major city of Nairobi is only a mile of so away.

Anton the manager greeted us on our arrival and was most attentive despite our short stay. His efforts at keeping us in touch with the final moments of the British Open Golf were much appreciated.

Standard of accommodation were excellent, it was great to have unlimited hot water for a change and it's an ideal place with which to start or end a safari in Kenya."

"When we last visited Kaingo in 2010 we vowed that if we were to return to Zambia, Kaingo would definitely be on our list of camps to revisit. I'm glad to say that we were not disappointed during our most recent stay.

Since our last visit the rooms have been considerably extended with new fixtures and fittings. The additional space and improved lighting was much appreciated. The camp is run on a very friendly and informal basis and the whole team went out of their way to make this second trip as memorable as the first. The food is of the highest standard and we were constantly amazed at the quality of food that was produced given the somewhat limited resources at the team's disposal. Sometimes three meals a day is almost too much, but that's not a criticism, just an observation.

The guiding was excellent with Patrick finding us a lion kill on our second night and Noelle tracking a leopard in daylight the following morning. There were many other sightings over the period we were at Kaingo, especially the elephant which decided that he liked a specific tree outside our room which delayed our lunch for some 45 mins!!. There are some things you can't legislate for, it is Africa after all !!

This is an excellent camp, with a truly dedicated team who go out of their way to try and meet your expectations.

We would go back tomorrow !!"

"We spent four nights at Mwamba, following on from three at Kaingo.The two camps are very different from one another as Mwamba, with only three rooms, sits in the middle of the bush for the ultimate feeling of remoteness. It's marketed as a bushcamp but the level of accommodation and facilities make it more than that. Considering that this camp has to be rebuilt from scratch each year is testament to the commitment of Derek Shenton and his team.

The rooms have skylights which make it feel like you are sleeping under the stars and large outside bathrooms with bucket showers. The hot water supply has to be carried to the room on request but the process works well, you just need to plan ahead. The food was good, a bit more basic than at Kaingo but again this is a bushcamp, albeit a lot more luxurious than we had anticipated.

Our guide for the four days we stayed was Kennedy, who proved to be a fund of knowledge. The highlight of the stay had to be a group of some dozen hyenas fighting over the body of a young male lion which they had apparently killed during the night. What made this encounter the more amazing was the fact that the the dead lion's brothers and sisters were still in the vicinty and made repeated attempts to chase away the hyenas. To everyone's surprise, especially Kennedy's, one of the male lions even took to eating the remains of his brother, something that Kennedy had never witnessed before, nor had Derek Shenton when the story was relayed to him. Nature at its most cruel yet fascinating.

Overall a fantastic time spend at the Shenton's two camps, each camp complimenting the other perfectly for a true African bush experience."

"As with our last trip to Zambia we finished off with 3 nights in the Lower Zambezi, this time staying at the smaller sister camp to Chiawa, Old Mondoro. This camp provided a perfect way to finish off our safari to Zambia

Although Old Mondoro is billed as a bushcamp we found the accommodation quite luxurious and the position of the camp on the bank of the Zambezi provides for some excellent game viewing even from the comfort of the deck in front of the tent. Jason and Michaela were exellent hosts and nothing semed to be too much trouble for them serving up a most delightfull stay and making us feel so very welcome.

The accommodation was excellent, we particularly liked the contan hot water available from the gas boiler and as with the other two camps visited the food was of the highest standard. A nice touch was the provision of small braziers under the tables during the evening meals to help keep us warm.

Animal sightings were very much in abundance with once again frequent leopard appearances both during the day and at night. The guiding provided by Sebastian,Levy and Morat was of the highest standard. The encounter with a bull elephant in musth on the way to the camp from the airstrip proved an interesting start to the 3 days. I didn't realise elephants could run so fast !!

The close proximity of the camp to Lusaka makes it an ideal place in which to finish a safari and we would most certainly use it again when visiting the Lower Zambezi.

Can't wait to go back."

"Tena Tena is a lovely camp in a wonderful setting. The tents are quite spacious and very comfortable, plenty of hot water available right through the day. The standard of food was excellent, certainly we felt much better than that we had experienced in Botswana some two years previously. All the staff were extremely friendly and helpful, especially Rachael and Simon, who went out of their way to make us feel quite at home.

Simon acted as our guide as Bertram was unfortunately ill at the time, and we found him enthusiastic and very knowledgeable of the country and its habitat. The highlight of our three nights there has to be being allowed to accompany Simon and the local conservation team as they darted and captured a 4 year old elephant in order to remove a wire snare that was embedded in his neck.

It was fascinating to watch at close quarters the work of the local vet and her team as they went about cutting off the snare and treating the elephnat with antibiotics prior to its release. A truly wonderful experience.

All in all a lovely camp with a great team."

"Another excellent camp, following on from our stay at Tena Tena. The accomodation is different from Tena Tena in that the rooms have solid walls and the bathroom/shower is also indoors. There is also an outdoor bath beside the small cottage if required. Again there was always plenty of hot water provided via the solar panels, certainly we never found any shortage of supply.

The new individual viewing decks sitting over the river where you can have lunch are a great place to relax and recharge the batteries after the early morning starts.

The food was of a very high standard and the team at the camp were very friendly and helpful. Ian, Michele, Brian and our guide Mayam went out of their way to make our stay as memorable as possible, down to having breakfast in the Ebony Grove one morning follwing the early morning game drive and then to a champange sundowner at the stork colony on our last evening.

Mayam's guiding was excellent, finding leopards on our first two nights and then finishing off with the Hollywood pride of lions on our last night. The hippo hide is another wonderful experience, getting really up close and personal with these huge beasts was quite daunting.

Can't wait to come back !!"

"A totally different camp to that of Tena Tena and Kaingo, much more opulent and in an ideal location to finish off a 10 day safari in that it is relatively close to Lusaka for the flights home. However should add that this does not imply any criticism of either Tena Tena or Kaingo, just that Chiawa is a different style.

The tents are much larger than that at Tena Tena with both indoor and outdoor showers, a bath plus his/her washbasins. Again ample hot water all through the day. As with the other camps the standard of food was extremely good, down to having a choice of two main courses for the evening meal.

The wildlife have free run of the camp which can make for some interesting journeys between the main camp area back to the rooms, especially in the evenings !! Certainly the game viewing was very good and the two pairs of mating lions of the last morning was quite an experience.

A wide variety of activities were on offer, fishing, canoeing, walking as well as the normal game drives, and our only criticism would be that as result of this wide variety we ended up with different guides over the three days which was different to what we have been used to in the past.

A nice touch from the camp team was an e-mail on our return home hoping that we had enjoyed our stay and had a safe trip home."

"We had a truly wonderful time at Little Vumbura. The staff were very friendly and extremely helpful. The room which we had was really comfortable and the people was met during our time there made the whole trip truly memorable. The highlight of the trip has to be the first night where we came across a pair of mating leopards while at the same time developed a flat tyre on the land rover.

Sitting on the side of the Land Rover and looking down at the leopards directly beneath us while trying not to move will remain with us for the rest of our lives. After that everything else appeared tame although that was certainly not the case for the remaining two days, it's just that how do you top that !!

We did come across a full grown male lion on the next day and some fantastic herds of elephants along with young ones and very very attentive mothers !!

Little Vumbura is a beautiful little camp, in a wonderful location, with good facilities and good food, backed up by a very friendly and helpful staff."

"Another terrific camp, in a beautiful setting. Again a very welcoming camp with very friendly and helpful staff. On the way in from the airstrip, our guide, Hector, stated that a pack of wild dogs had been spotted and we detoured on the way to the camp to try and spot them which we did, which was a terrific start to the three days.

That night we went to track the dogs yet again but although we found them they didn't seem that interested in trying to feed so we abandoned the chase for the night. However the second night we did come across them as they caught an impala and the speed at which these dogs devoured the impala was most impressive. As was the sound of the accompanying hyena as it finished off the bones of what was left. The poor vulture that was hopping around on the edge of all this activity got very poor pickings at the end of the night !!

The following day was came across two male lions, the elder one, about 5 years had a truly magnificent mane. This was then followed up with a group of four lions, a lioness and three younger ones, one female and two male who we tracked later that night. However the two males got bored and started to play, causing so much noise that the herd of zebra that was meant to be dinner got spooked and ran.

Lebala is a wonderful camp and the sounds of the hippos at night, plus having to negotiate them on the way to our room was an added bonus !!

The only issue we would have with Lebala is that while the new rooms, which are not true tents, but wooden framed chalets, is that there is too much ventilation in the winter months, so it is really cold at 05:30 in the morning. The tents at Little Vumbura had proper canvas sides with ventilation panels cut in them which would be closed if necessary so these were warmer in the morning, but you could not do that at Lebala so there was always a breeze blowing through the rooms. Probably great in summer but not so great iin winter !!

The other comment we would make was that the shower arrangement was tricky to control in order to get a suitable water temperature, plus the pressure wasn't great. Again the showers at Little Vumbura were much better and more enjoyable to use. Small point but it did make you think a bit about showering !!"

"After 7 days getting blown away with wind and dust it was wonderful to arrive at this hotel and relax, if ony for a couple of days. We feel that this was the right way to do it rather than start with the Royal Livingstone and the go on safari, but that's our opinion. This is a wonderful hotel in a location that can't be bettered.

I know that we have seen comments that the rooms are a bit on the small side, but we certainly didn't think so. Sometime the service was a little bit erratic, but it's Africa and that's what makes it so enjoyable. The settings and the grounds are beautiful and the fact that you walk to the Falls in a few minutes makes it was wonderful location. If you want to see the sunset from the Sundowner terrace get there early as all the best seats are taken by six o'clock in the evening.

We took advantage of a River Safari while we were there and were able to see a pod of hippos plus an adult crocodile which we hadn't managed in either Little Vumbura or Lebala which was an added bonus."