Travel reviews by Ms K from C London

"First of all, many thanks to Kate, Humphrey and Edward for the very memorable stay. Kate is the camp manager, Humphrey is the head guide while Edward is a junior one still learning the ropes with great enthusiasm and very quickly!

I was very lucky that I was the only guest for most of my stay at Stanley's Kopje and as a result, I had both guides completely to myself. As all three of us love nature and have a lot of interest beyond the usual 'big 5', it was an excellent opportunity for me to dig into Humphrey's extensive knowledge of Mikumi and his patience for my many questions. Yes we saw lions and buffalo and all that but we also explored the park, discussed the various plants, birds, insects, all the 'small' things that so many safari goers usually neglect. Enjoyed the all-day drives, the picnic sites are good in the Park, there was plenty of time for everything and I just felt so lucky.

I loved the big tents. There is plenty of privacy and the coolness of the breeze at night blowing through the tent made sleep very easy. Whatever you do, don't zip down the door or window flaps, you will miss out!

I swam lots in the pool, loved the food, appreciated the ice in my gin and tonic. Kate was lovely company at dinner. Really couldn't wish for a better experience."

"I was going to give an 'Average' rating to the Camp until I remembered the issue with the bathrooms and privacy, as it is unfortunately it's 'Poor'.

It didn't start off well, the Manager of Hondo Hondo (another name for Udzungwa Forest Tented Camp) forgot to arrange my transfer pick up in the morning so I waited 50 minutes in the heat outside Mikumi National Park. I asked the driver the reason for the delay, he said he had been only told of the pick up that morning and drove as quickly as he could (made sense, since he lives in Mikumi which is approximately 40 minutes away). The Manager said it was due to traffic... Um... Nope.

Then it got worse, I got to the Camp and was showed to my tent. It's one of those heavy canvass ones with small windows on each side, no windows in the back except heavy canvass and some small windows at the front. As a result, there was no breeze, it was uncomfortably hot at night and the mattress and the pillows stank of dampness from sweaty guests and humidity. Nice...

There was also a wiring issue and the lights didn't go off at night fully but remained slightly illuminated. As there was little privacy in the way the tents were arranged and I had to keep the window flaps open, I felt very exposed since anyone could see inside the tent. Not a great experience. When I mentioned this to the manager, he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled saying they were working on it.

I think the bathrooms were meant to be a good addition but again there was no privacy as they weren't fully attached to the tent, there was a gap on either side where the wooden structure of the bathroom was supposed to meet the tent. The result was that people could see in, especially with the light on at night. The bathroom 'wall' consisted of thin pieces of wood tied together but these had gaps between them so with the light on, you had no privacy.

As the lights couldn't be switched off in the tent fully and there were too many gaps in the bathroom, I had to switch the light off there while showering and dressing in the pitch dark so that people couldn't see me.

The food was decent though I think USD 12 for a big ball of spaghetti bolognese is too much, especially when it's mainly pasta.

The activity list was extensive though one with a guided walk through a forest with elephants and buffalo without an armed ranger I deemed too dangerous and opted to make it a cycle trip instead.

Apparently this place is owned by two couples that live in Dar es Salaam. The neglect of the place from a Management point of view is obvious. I would never recommend it to anyone.

I was told that Expert Africa had never stayed at this place so I understood when booking that they couldn't personally recommend it. I think it needs to come with a warning, perhaps suitable for independent camping when you have your own gear and just use the restaurant. The food is decent enough."

"Many special thanks to Mary, Emannuel and Thomas. Mary is the Camp Manager, Emannuel is a guide and Thomas is a driver. They made my stay very special.

The Camp is beautiful, I LOVED the wild feel of it, having my tent surrounded by wildlife at night. The Masaai were great, all the staff were very helpful and polite. Mary's attention to detail is great.

Emannuel is a very knowledgeable guide, he kept testing my own knowledge too which I appreciated :-). I was lucky enough again to have a car, a guide and a driver to myself. Thomas drove probably around 150kms a day for us as we went out on these all-day safaris. Lots of lion, leopard, elephant sightings, I have some great leopard photos. We explored the Park thoughout because I was so curious and wanted to see different habitats. It just looked and felt so different from anything I have seen before. Beautiful wilderness.

I had a great time, the guys worked so hard. Loved my stay."