Travel reviews by The C Family from Ireland

"We were only here for 7 hours most of which we slept but it suited the purpose perfectly and all staff we encountered were helpful and friendly"

"We both loved Kicheche, from the moment we arrived we were made feel at home.

Only a very good team can produce such a relaxed atmosphere in the wilderness. All the staff were friendly, eager to teach us snippets of Swahili and 100% ready to make our stay perfect. From the delivery of the tea tray at 5.30, the hot water bottles in the jeep, the breakfast in a carefully chosen different spot every day, delicious cold beer followed by lunch, then afternoon tea, sun downers, a delicious dinner followed by drinks around the firepit - all offered with a smile. (The only problem with the entire trip was the extra kilos gained!)

Our guide Peter suited us perfectly, knowledgeable, calm and unhurried. With his skills we managed to see over 50% of the White Rhino population over four days.

The rooms were spacious, with lots of hot water and charging points. The tented space opened up during the day to take advantage of the cooling breeze. At night the temperatures dropped to 6 degrees so layers are recommended.

This is an informal camp, no time to change for dinner etc. but highly recommended."

"We were unlucky in that the three days we were there that the onshore winds were very strong and precluded most water based activities.

We did manage to do an early morning excursion with snorkelling on a ngalawa (a traditional dugout outrigger with two charming crew) and also an early morning kayak for about an hour. Once the wind hit in by 10.00am beach activities were out of the question.

We are not really lie around the pool people so didn’t avail of the pools which did look lovely. Families with young children seemed to be very well looked after here.

The hotel is itself is beautiful as are the grounds with places to relax scattered here and there in interesting spots. The food was good if a bit samey, there was red snapper for dinner two of the three nights we were there and soup featured heavily for lunch and starters. But the standard of cooking and presentation was high and the staff always helpful.

The staff moved the dining tables around the site to break up the guests and allowed us to eat lunch with our feet in the sand. The cocktail menu was well explored by us and they were all delicious! A nice touch was the tray of juice or smoothies that was brought around at 11.00am.

The rooms were enormous and the standard of housekeeping very high.

Highly recommended for a few days of lounging!"

"We really enjoyed our stay at Chamilandu, the rooms are enormous and completely open to the elements with just the mosquito nets between us and the African night. The rooms are raised on stilts so this is safe and helps with the heat. Faneul has a great personality as camp manager and guide and we thoroughly enjoyed our walking safaris as well as the evening when we went on a 'wild dog hunt', and did eventually find three even if the kitchen staff would not have appreciated the very late dinner."

"Kapamba bushcamp was special to us as we had a sighting of 17 hyenas on a morning walk about 5 minutes from camp. We were also lucky to have one of the 2 rooms with a private tree house. The tree house has a large bed and cushions to slouch on and was a great way to relax for the afternoon while keeping an eye on the warthogs, elephant etc. We also had an elephant in camp.
Kapamba also do a lovely surprise brunch in the bush which is lovely after a walk.
The animals seen from all three bushcamps that we stayed in are not as habituated to jeeps as in the areas closer to the gate like Mfuwe Lodge which we liked but you do end up with lots of photos of rear ends!
As with the other camps we had no complaints and thoroughly enjoyed our stay."

"We had this camp all to ourselves so that made it very special! Again guiding and management were excellent and we have nothing but great memories especially the 200 or so buffalo that joined us for dinner both nights. We also had a leopard in camp but unfortunately slept through it all. We had a great thunderstorm prior to our last drive which appeared to make all the animals hide but we did have great sightings of elephant and the local pride of lions including a young cub. Food was good especially the snacks with the sundowners."

"We very pleased with our choice of both Selous Park and Selous Impala Camp. Flying from Dar with Coastal was an exciting start and we were on full speed ahead from the moment we landed. We travelled in early November so the wet season had begun so while animals were dispersed we were lucky to see a wild dog pack twice and, of course, thousands of birds. Our guide Ezra had an encyclopaedic knowledge of birds and also prepared a mean camp breakfast & lunch. The camp usually has one guide for every couple unless they are very busy which is a great advantage as you can plan your day to suit yourselves. The food was very good and the swahili lessons before we were allowed to eat every evening essential!!"

"Coming from Selous to Ruaha one is very conscious of the different climates. In Ruaha the rains had not arrived and the river was dry. This of course meant that we saw a much higher concentration of animals than in the Selous. We were lucky to see leopard, cheetah and a lion kill as well as beautiful herds of giraffe and elephant. The walking safari with Mark was a lovely break from the driving and gave a different view of the landscape. Ikuka is a new camp and we would assess it as 'perfect'. I'm sure not everyone would agree but we couldn't find a fault. Staff are wonderful, the comfort and design of the tents is amazing and the food is outstanding. They even supply hot water bottles for the cool morning starts. Highly recommended."

"We were the lucky people who on our first morning drive with Kennedy saw a lion kill. And on the very same evening we experienced a leopard kill an impala followed by a frightening 2 minutes where we were in the middle of three lions, 2 male and 1 female as they consumed the poor puku the female had just brought down. Kennedy is a great guide, full of interesting facts and great fun.

We would very much recommend Flatdogs particularly as a first step between our fully wired lives and the isolated bush camps with which we followed it. The hippos do ensure you get no sleep but that is all part of the experience."

"Ruth and the entire team at Nsefu were the perfect hosts. Everyone from the kitchen staff to our guide and spotters went way out of their way to ensure that we all had a great time. The location was perfect.

We felt very special here. A particular highlight was the bush breakfast at the end of our walking safari.

We will definitely return asap."

"We were very sad leaving Nsefu but Tafika was yet another new experience. We loved the rooms, the bar and Bryan our guide was suberb. Again nothing was too much trouble and the quality of the game viewing was incomparable.

The walking safari & crossing the Luangwa by canoe was a highlight but nothing compared to watching the 15 lions that were eating their buffalo kill actually right beside the camp on our last morning.

We would love to go back and try their walking only bush camps. Highly recommended!"