Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs B from UK

"This is the busy main camp of Norman Carr, positioned near the main Mfuwe entrance to the Park, not too long a drive from the airport. Judy, the receptionist, was welcoming and helpful, and the staff were friendly and efficient, particularly Collins from the office who sorted out our return flight booking to the UK. Our semi-detached room was spacious and comfortable and the view from the main elevated deck overlooking the lagoon was most attractive. The food was very always good and plentiful.

Levy was our excellent guide, always smiling and cheerful and imparting knowledge about the animals, birds, flora and fauna in a professional way. There was plenty of game to watch and we enjoyed our trip across the pontoon to explore further into the park, particularly as there were fewer vehicles in that area. Levy was always courteous, keen to care for us and show us everything.

It was gratifying to meet David Wilson, the managing director of Norman Carr and also Abraham Banda who was shortly to undergo a trip to the UK to compete in the Wanderlust World Guide competition."

"What a contrast to arrive at this Camp from Kapani: we found peace and tranquility and a fine position over the sand river Luwi. We were welcomed warmly by Tara, the assistant manager, given a cool drink and ushered to the spacious honeymoon chalet with its long deck and comfortable seats. Andrew, Aubrey's nephew (Aubrey was our guide at Kakauli) had driven us expertly from Kapani and on the way had introduced us very graphically to a civet midden and stopped to watch a pride of lions at a kill. He was an amusing companion.

Tara was an excellent hostess and attentive to our needs. The staff were very friendly, efficient and helpful and the food was good and varied. On our first evening the dining table was transferred to the sand river with a true bush experience under the stars. On our second evening, as we were the only guests in camp, Tara had organised a dinner table to be set up on our deck, where our meal was served by Felix and Harry, complete with sparkling wine for a celebration of our wedding anniversary. This was such a lovely idea and a complete surprise to us.

Shaddy was our guide and was ably assisted by Batwell, his scout who was very experienced and always alert to danger. They had been a team for 15 years. We were disappointed with Shaddy who appeared bored and diffident. He did not volunteer much information and when questioned his responses were very brief. He gave the impression that he was tired of guiding. On the second afternoon, when we were alone in the camp, he did not appear until we had finished our tea. Whilst we were on our game drive we asked for a drink, only to discover there was nothing on board, not even sundowners. It was a hot evening and as a consequence we had to retrace our steps, return to camp to collect the coolbox and Shaddy said we did not have enough time for a bush walk. This denied us one of the main features of our holiday, walking in the bush, and we felt extremely disappointed.

The next morning during our walk to Nsolo Shaddy was uncommunicative. Although we suggested a tea break he reluctantly stopped after three hours; he did not indicate to us how we were progressing and did not tell us how long we would take to reach Kakauli. We gained the impression he hoped we would not stop as it would enable him and Batwell to return to Nsolo without delay."

"Having arrived on foot from Nsolo our greeting by Glenn, the assistant manager was casual as he was more concerned with serving drinks to the guests at the bar. Our tent no 1 was close to the kitchens, with accompanying noises, and we found to our horror that there were thick woollen underblankets on the beds, hardly conducive to a good night's sleep in hot temperatures. Glenn confessed that he had also removed his blankets on his bed on arrival in Camp.

There was also a restricted view of the river from our tent. We asked to be moved on our second night and Glenn recommended tent no 2 which had a fine panoramic view of the river, and we had a much more comfortable night. There was a thatched building below the tents for a closer view of the wildlife with comfortable seating and some coffee table books to enjoy.

The high spot of our holiday was the guiding by Aubrey whom we found to be very informative with the knack of introducing and descriibing an animal, the flora and fauna of the bush in a simplistic way. He often illustrated his points with explicit actions. The walks beside the river were beautiful and the scenery was impressive. On our last morning Innocent from the kitchen joined us as our tea boy and it was he who spotted two lions which prompted Aubrey to lead us in their direction. Innocent was the only tea boy we met who used a kettle to boil the water for our tea.

We were impressed with Lovemore, who was such a courteous and helpful waiter, particularly on our second evening when he was watchful over us as we ate our dinner on our veranda with Ned the elephant nearby. The Brunch meals were delicious and we were impressed with the loaf in the shape of a crocodile! On the second evening one of us asked for cheese and biscuits in place of dessert and whilst we were on our night drive the chef made the biscuits."

"Having stayed in Taj hotels in India we were extremely disappointed with this one.

The room was adequate, room service very slow and the food in the restaurant very poor.

We would suggest that you investigate Lusaka for a better hotel."