Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs S from Oxon

"The transfer to the hotel with Tour Africa was as planned. The journey to the resort took no more than twenty minutes and it was on a good road.

The resort is set among trees next to a golf course. There were plenty of birds around in the late afternoon and early morning.

The first floor walkways to the rooms gave the place a light and airy feel. The staff were courteous. Our room was clean and comfortable.

The restaurant service was good with vegetarian options. There was plenty of choice at the buffet breakfast."

"There was a warm welcome on arrival from Willie, the camp manager, and his staff. It was good to be back. We were pleased to meet Bianca, the host, and very much enjoyed talking to her.

Every meal was delicious. Teatime treats were worthy of the Great British Bake Off final!

We enjoyed every game drive with Julius our guide. His ability to make accurate bird and animal calls was amazing as was his humorous commentaries about their behaviours. This year we saw a lot more waterbuck and zebra than in previous years.

Wilson was our night spotter and also did a great job. We were delighted to see a honey badger on one of the night drives."

"Nkwali always seems the most lively of the camps as, in our experience, it usually has full occupancy. This is enhanced by the addition of elephants visiting the lagoon next to the dining area!

We were delighted that Sebastian (junior) was our guide for our stay of five days. His knowledge of wildlife is impressive and he is always kind, courteous and patient. We were pleased to see lions mating and Pel’s fishing owls in the daylight.

The food was great. We especially enjoyed our brunch in the bush.

Special thanks go to Kiki and Sorel for making our stay so enjoyable. Also praise to the two boatmen, Benson and Samuel, who skillfully negotiated the river crossings each day. And thanks again to Wilson for more great spotting.

We were pleased to meet Rob, the Operations Director, and enjoyed hearing about how RPS develop and train the staff, enabling those who show potential to develop new skills and eventually become guides and managers. We made one important suggestion. We hope it can be properly considered and implemented in the not too distant future."

"Nsefu remains our favourite camp. Its location on the bend in the river and the raised accommodation make it just perfect!

It was good to see Daudi, the manager, again and to meet Max who was the host. They made us feel most welcome - as did all of the staff.

Nyambe was a fantastic guide. As it was the beginning of the season some of the elephants were a bit skittish as they had not seen any vehicles for six months in this parts sector of the park. We felt totally confident with Nyambe whose experience and knowledge kept us safe.

Brown was a good spotter locating four owls on our first evening game drive and an owlet on the final night - not forgetting the leopards and the other animals that we saw!"

"We were slightly hesitant about staying at Pioneer Camp because of the recent mixed reviews. However we need not of worried because things had improved. The airport pick up went smoothly.

The new camp staff seemed to work as a team and communication was good. The food was much better than on previous visits.

It remains a good place for a one night stay outside Lusaka. It’s shame that it usually feels eerily empty and this time was no exception."

"We love Nsefu. It remains our favourite camp.

It was interesting to be there at the onset of the rains. It was worth visiting at a different time to see the changes in water levels, vegetation, bird life, insect life, game viewing etc.

The afternoon heat was oppressive but around teatime the wind usually got up. Dust devils blew down the river picking up sand as they went. And then things either settled or the distant thunder rumbled closer and closer.

No evening game drive was cancelled - it either started later than planned or was curtailed by heavy downpours. The morning drives were all fine. So many bushes were in blossom and the smell of jasmine was intense.

There was less game than on previous visits (mostly in May) but birds were plentiful.

Sebastian Junior was a great guide and we enjoyed all the drives with him. Fanton was, as ever, a fantastic spotter and a credit to RPS. Willy and the rest of the staff made us most welcome - thanks to everyone."

"It was a pleasure to return to Nkwali and to be well looked after by Sorel and the other staff. Obe was our guide and was excellent - his calmness, experience and knowledge were much appreciated. Wilson spotted for us and we saw all the usual creatures ….. and a really good sighting of an aardvark!!!

The wild mango trees were fruiting and it was a great opportunity to see the elephants, monkeys and baboons feeding on the fallen fruit.

Staying at Nkwali in the wet season was a bit of a challenge as we never knew what we might encounter in the room at night. The rain brought out a host of insects, arachnids and assorted creepy crawlies. If you don’t like close encounters with such creatures this might not be the best time of year to visit but if you don’t mind then you’re in for an interesting time!"

"This was our fifth stay at the camp. Airport pick up and drop off went well.

Delicious vegetarian option. Hot water available in the evening and morning.

Staff were helpful."

"This was our third visit to the LRC. We were pleased to see that Daudi was still managing the camp and we received a warm welcome. Chris was our guide and provided a great service - always knowledgeable with a good sense of humour. Emmanuel was our spotter and was very effective.

We were pleased to see that some of the vegetation had been cleared immediately around the accommodation as it made elephant spotting easier when walking to and from the rooms. Tsetse flies were a bit of an issue but we didn't actually get bitten while staying at the camp.

We look forward to visiting LRC again."

"How nice to return to Nkwali (visit No.5) and to be greeted by Kiki and so many familiar faces. We were expertly guided by Perry and Wilson, our spotter, was as wonderful as ever at locating wildlife!

We particularly liked our palatial room at the camp and the river views. It was well worth spending time in the afternoons by the lagoon and watching Humphrey the hippo and all the other visiting animals, retiles and birds.

Thanks to everyone on the staff for making this such an enjoyable stay."

"Nsefu is without a doubt our favourite camp. It setting on the bend in the river is idyllic. We spotted so much wildlife there - either crossing the river, on the sandbanks or at the waterhole.

We found Willie, the manager, to be an excellent and very experienced guide - ably supported by his staff. Special mention should go to Fanton our super-spotter and Katherine our very efficient hostess.

The game drives were great in this sector of the park because we encountered so few other vehicles. Thank you everyone at Nsefu!"

"A pleasant stop-over on our way to South Luangwa as it is fairly close to the airport and avoids the need to go into Lusaka.

We have stayed there before and would do so again."

"This was our second visit to the camp and we enjoyed our stay here.

We were delighted to find that Daudi was managing the camp and we were given a warm welcome by him and the other staff. The communal areas (bar, sitting and dining areas) are on a raised shaded platform by an open grassed area. The accommodation chalets are set in the trees with distant views of the river. The food was delicious (as expected from Robin Pope Safaris).

Shadrak was our guide and he was excellent. Emanuel was our spotter and he did a great job too."

"We were very happy that Shadrak (our guide) was able to accompany us from Luangwa River Camp to Nkwali. He was then able to continue to guide us for the next four days.

It was our fourth visit to Nkwali and we were well received by Kiki and Fred. We really appreciated being given Room 6 - large and luxurious! As ever every thing was wonderful at the camp - with a surprise brunch waiting for us one morning after our game drive.

Thanks go to ALL the staff at Nkwali for making it such a great place to stay.

Special mention must go to Wilson, our spotter, for chameleon location and lots more. Thanks also to Samuel, the boatman who had to punt us across the river on one occasion."

"Nsefu is our idea of paradise. It is located on a bend in the river and although there are trees in the camp and on the opposite riverbank - the overall impression is one of space and light and sky.

The accommodation is in rondavels. They are spotlessly clean but not spacious. However there is adequate shelving and hooks in the attached bathroom.

During our stay the camp was being managed by Kanga, hosted by Marcos and our guide was Julius. What a great team! Julius is a very experienced guide and entertained us with his tales of the bush and his imitations of the birds and animals. Once again we were delighted that Fanton was our super-spotter - he never ceases to astound us.

This year amongst the innumerable genets and elephant shrews he found us leopard cubs and a Pel's Fishing Owl."

"This was our third visit to the lodge. It is just over a hour's drive from the airport.

The area surrounding the lodge offers plenty of opportunities for walking in the bush. The walks are clearly marked and the map that we were given was accurate. We didn't see any game on our walks but there were lots of birds. There was also plenty of evidence of wildlife - scat, tracks, porcupine quills, mole rat excavations etc.

It is such a lovely place to stay - interesting buildings, characterful interiors, helpful staff, great food - an oasis of tranquility.

We stayed for two nights but wish we had booked for three."

"Let's start with the positives - great location in the Khalari dunes; meerkats; good evening meals; and the helpful attitude of some of the staff.

Negatives - the off hand attitude of other staff; the disappointing breakfasts; finding the three cheetahs in an enclosure that seemed no bigger than a tennis court; the fact that on the morning scenic drive most of the creatures ran off as the vehicle approached (this suggests that someone had been shooting animals from vehicles); the "tame" springbok in the dining area with a length of hose pipe stuck on each horn; and the way that the water & electricity failures were dealt with by the management.

We understand that there can be problems with power and water supplies - this was not the issue. Our criticism concerns the way the management failed to keep guests informed. It would have been really helpful if the staff had told us about the electricity problem when we arrived. We reached our room then had to go back to reception to try to find out what was happening. (5 minutes walk downhill then 10 minutes back uphill). The electricity eventually was restored at 7.00 pm. The next day there were more power cuts. Once again no one came to inform us - so yet more walking to/from reception. Then the water supply failed - there was no water from mid-afternoon to 9.30 pm. Once again we had to trek to/from reception to ask staff what was happening. They seemed ill informed and indifferent. By the evening management were offering free wine as compensation but in the end we suggested that not charging us for the game drive would be more acceptable.

We did not enjoy our stay at Bagatelle. Building chalets on top of sand dunes when temperatures reach the high 30s is not sensible if there is no back up generator. The lodge's website says "The design and décor, materials and furnishings, gardens and natural settings, all combine to ensure our guests live their dream of an African Safari." Certainly not my dream.

Too gimmicky, too hot, too poorly managed and, given these factors, too expensive."

"We had visited Bullsport in 1999 and were happy to return. It is not designer Africa but none the worse for that - Bullsport is still a working farm.

It is an excellent location for a variety walks on clearly marked trails. The scenery is impressive, the geology is interesting and the plant life surprisingly varied. There is also good bird life around the farm. The accommodation is comfortable but not fancy - brand new AC units had just been installed and were wonderfully quiet. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed all our meals although mosquitos were a nuisance when we ate outside.

We stayed for four nights but would have liked a least one more day to complete all the walks."

"The lodge was ideally located for walks along the lagoon. The owner was very affable and helpful.

Our room was large and colourfully decorated. Breakfasts were very good.

It was great having an enclosed garden at the back of the lodge.

We recommend lunch or dinner at Anchor's - excellent fish."

"We loved our stay at Cornerstone. It was in a quiet location but only a 5 minute walk to the town centre or the beach.

Peter, the owner, was very helpful and we appreciated the provision of mobile phones so that guests could contact him if needed. The attention to detail was impressive - for example there was a post box for guest mail. The rooms were comfortably furnished and spotless. Breakfasts were good. We enjoyed sitting on our terrace in the late afternoon watching all the birds that visited the garden.

Peter suggested a visit to the local museum - we went there and would also recommend it. Take eye shades for sleeping if you are sensitive to light as there is a street lamp just by the pedestrian gate."

"Two hours north of Swakopmund along a salt road - it was easy driving to this lodge.

The isolated and bleak location was offset by the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. We had a ground floor room with a terrace that faced onto the beach. We spotted jackals moving to/from the seal colony some 4km south of the lodge - some pausing for a drink of water just by our room.

Access to the seal colony was by road but we were free to walk north along the beach as far as we wanted. Every evening as the sun set thousands of black cormorants flew south in long skeins over the waves. The breakfasts and evening meals were very good.

It was lovely to have a log fire in the sitting area each evening. We really enjoyed our stay."

"We last visited the lodge in 2002 and we're happy to return. The location is stunning, the tents renewed and the private sitting areas expanded.

Staff were generally friendly and some were exceptionally helpful (special thanks to Simeon and the manager/owner).

We did three activities: the sundowner walk, the nature drive to the cave and the guided dassie trail. Culis was an excellent guide - well informed and thoughtful.

The lodge offered the best breakfasts on our holiday. Evening meals were also good - eaten on a raised platform under the stars. Every morning at 7.00 seed was put out for the birds.

On our first morning I just sat and watched for a couple of hours as over 15 different species descended to feed. There was also good birding in the scrub immediately around the lodge drive and waterhole."

"Our view of this lodge was unfavourably affected by our difficulty in locating it. We didn't have a Satnav so relied on the written instructions provided in our itinerary - unfortunately these assumed we would be arriving from the Windhoek - and we could find no reference to lfinding the premises on the lodge's own website. We eventually found the right road but were disappointed to find ourselves driving through an industrialised area.

On arrival we were greeted by two staff members and shown our room. It was adequate but not inspiring and there was traffic noise. However the lodge dining room was delightful and the food was good. The take away packed breakfast was the best we have never been given anywhere! We never met the owners but spoke to Sabine over the phone on how to reach the airport.

We would like to make special mention of Johanna who proved herself to be most capable - she put us in touch with Sabine, cooked the evening meal, sorted out our bill, got up early to give us our packed breakfasts and inspired us with confidence. Her professional approach has enabled us to rate the lodge as good rather than average.

With the knowledge of hindsight we wished we had selected accommodation east of Windhoek so that we did not have to drive through the city rush hour on our way to the airport."

"This was our third stay at Pioneer Camp.

The driver and vehicle from the camp was there to greet us at the airport. The transfer was fine and we were quickly settled in our chalet.

Chalet was clean with hot water on tap. We enjoyed our evening meal choosing the local dish of nsima and vegetables.

We really appreciated the fact that we were able to get a very early breakfast before we were transferred to the airport in good time for our 7.30 flight.

We would stay there again."

"As usual Robin Pope Safari staff were there to meet us at Mfuwe Airport. We were met by Kanga who guided us for 8/12 days of our stay. The transfer to the camp gave us and our friends a wonderful introduction to the delights that were to follow. This was our first visit to this particular camp. It was a wonderful opportunity to visit a section of the park that we were less familiar with.

The camp itself is surrounded by trees and bushes (more so than Nkwali and Nsefu) and is further from the river. This meant that the room was relatively dark during the day but this was not a problem as the communal area had comfy seating and a more open aspect. As with all the camps the food was delicious. We cannot praise the staff too highly - all the staff were helpful, polite and provided great service. Moses, our spotter, gave us two great opportunities to see bush babies. The guiding was fantastic - special thanks to Kanga.

There is one innovation that RPS has introduced that we hope they will reconsider - the request for a customer satisfaction survey on an iPad on the morning of our departure. Although I willingly completed the survey and rated RPS very highly I did not enjoy the experience - it seemed at odds with their otherwise very high quality of service."

"It was great to return to Nkwali and we enjoyed our 4 night stay there. All the meals were delicious - thanks to the cooks and serving staff. The management and hosting staff also deserve our thanks. Our guide was Fred and our spotter was Wilson. They were able to show us lots of amazing animals and birds. The highlight was watching a sacred ibis swallow a large lung fish - a challenge for the bird that lasted over 15 minutes! We really enjoyed visiting the palm forest in the south of the park, our special brunch in the bush and the spectacular view that accompanied our final sundowner. Special thanks to Fred! Thanks also to Wilson for the one-eyed leopard!

We have two suggestions to improve our stay - if possible please could the camp provide a full set of reference books for guests to use - there were some - but none on insects. Also It would be nice to have a plant checklist. It would not have to be exhaustive but maybe list about 20 plants that would be of interest to the visitor eg. The green five, the key tree species, plants with medicinal properties etc."

"This was our third visit to Nsefu. The rondavels are small but the location is perfect! We enjoyed our stay here very much - thanks to all the staff and Ruth.

The continued absence of the dining shelter was not a problem as we ate under the stars every night. (A torch is useful if you want to have a good look at your food before eating it - as the table lights are atmospherics rather than illuminating). We were delighted to be reunited with our guide Kanga and cannot thank him enough for the excellent guiding that he provided. We were also pleased to have Fanton as our (super) spotter as we knew him from a previous visit.

Every drive revealed something new including Pel's fishing owl, carmine bee-eaters, eland, a honey badger and porcupines - all good long views. Thanks also to Sebastian for his morning drive and the search for the "wooden bananas". We really appreciated the fact that both Kanga and Sebastian were willing to do the long drive to/from the salt pan.

It was a wonderful stay."

"There was a large party of Americans staying at the camp but this was well managed and we were able to have meals at the agreed time.

We felt welcomed and well looked after. Would be happy to stay there again."

"This was our second stay at Nkwali. We loved every aspect of the experience. All the staff at the camp are exceptionally helpful and professional.

Special thanks go to our main guide Chris and our walking guides Jacob and Nyambe."

"This was our second visit to Nsefu and it is our favourite camp.

The location is perfect and it is in a less visited part of the park. We were made welcome by Sebastian and Ruth. All the staff were fantastic.

Special thanks goes to our guide Chelumba and to Thomas. The wildlife viewing was outstanding."

"Good drivers from and to the airport. The room was fine although nothing special but okay for the price. Hot water was available both in the evening and again in the morning. Food was tasty and freshly prepared. Good birding in the grounds - we saw owls and woodpeckers. We would happily stay there again.

My only suggestion for management to consider would be to I introduce a staff uniform or badge system. We were not certain who was looking after us as some of the staff seemed a bit reticent."

"Nkwali far exceeded our expectations. We had been told independently that it would it would be good but it was fantastic!

Every aspect was outstanding - location, accommodation, food, game drives and walks. All the staff without exception were friendly, helpful and efficient. We very impressed by the attention to detail and quality of management."

"As with Nkwali every aspect was outstanding - location, accommodation, food, game drives and walks.

The staff could not be faulted - they were friendly, helpful and efficient. We stayed there for four nights but would have happily stayed longer."