Travel reviews by Jack B from Guildford

"No special comments, and nothing to complain about"

"Tawi Lodge was a really excellent start to the Safari. My cabin was about 150 m away from the main lodge and had every immunity you could want, with a large double bed, a bath and shower and Wi-Fi and heating if needed. There was no need for an askari to accompany guests to and from the main lodge after dark.

The food was first class and the facilities in the main lodge equally so with a lovely view across the swimming pool down to a water hole other side. The staff were delightful and helpful. The Weaverbird nest being built right next to the lodge, were always a delight to watch.

With regard to wildlife, there had been a good deal of rain shortly before I arrived, and consequently the animals were hard to see, but the birdlife amazing particularly around the wet areas. The real highlight for me, was when my guide, Tom, found Craig, the famous tusker, as we were about to have our sundowner. Tom had a grown-up in the area and regarded Craig as a friend. There were no other vehicles around, and we got out of our vehicle, had our sundowner and took photographs of that magnificent elephant while we were in the foreground of the photographs.

I visited the local Massi village which was interesting but, I felt, slightly touristy, and as I was on my own was a little embarrassed by the show that they put on. Better done with a group of our guests in the camp."

"Unlike Tawi, which is a lodge, Kicheche Laikipia is a real camp. The food was outstanding, and would not have put to shame a first class restaurant.

I was most impressed by the staff, their professionalism, and the way the management looked after them and nurtured them. My guide had started as a waiter in that camp and had been persuaded to do the long study required to become a silver qualified guide.

I saw a good variety of wildlife which included many rhinos, both black and southern white. About the time I arrive, or perhaps a few hours before, a buffalo got stuck in the mud in the water hole below the camp. The Rangers were unable to rescue it. Lions could clearly be heard in the night, and when we went out for the morning game drive, there was a pack of hyenas devouring the remains with one or two jackals, trying to pick up bits as well. By the next evening, after the vultures had to take another turn, all that was left over the Buffalo was the rib cage.

The early mornings were particularly cold, probably 9° or 10°"

"Another true Camp, and a little bit more basic than the previous one, for example, bucket showers. The food was no more than average, if that. I was somewhat discommoded to be asked to move tents halfway through my stay there, and then to find that the tent I moved into had a defective zip which had to be changed. I was offered an extra days stay but not surprisingly, my schedule did not allow me to take up the offer.

When the time came for me to leave, I was told that my vehicle was ready at 9 o'clock, although my flight was not until 11 o'clock and the airstrip was only a little under an hours drive away. When I got to the airstrip, it became apparent that the reason for my early departure was that the vehicle was meeting an incoming flight with incoming guests. But it meant that I had to wait around at the airstrip for a good 45 minutes.

Against all this, the wildlife viewing was outstanding. A multitude of giraffes and Topi were often to be seen close to the camp. Sightings of lions and lionesses, sometimes, twice a day, were frequent. Watching a serval cat with two kittens for several minutes, was very special as I was watching a leopard, take her kill straight up an acacia tree and eat it at her leisure.

Breakfast every morning at about 9.30 on the banks of the Moura river watching the hippos was also a treat."

"This is one of the truly great hotels in the world.

The welcome, ambience, service, attention to detail, amenities and food were of the highest order.

One felt it was a privilege to have stayed there and the icing on the cake was that it was only a few minutes walk from the awe-inspiring Victoria Falls."

"In two and a half days we saw an amazing amount of wild life: numerous elephants, giraffes, various antelopes, zebra, African wild dogs. But particularly special was seeing two lionesses stalking a herd of buffalo and making a kill, then seeing the male lion come to join the meal. Subsequently we saw the cubs being brought to the kill.

Two mornings later we got to within about 20 metres of the whole pride of lions feasting on a freshly killed buffalo - the male, 5 females, 7 cubs and a young male who was kept at a distance. We sat in the Land Rover watching for good ten minutes before making way for arrivals from another camp.

We were immensely impressed by the quality of the guides although for the most part we had the same one all the time which was a nice touch. Their knowledge and bush craft was humbling.

In the camp the staff were first class: welcoming, friendly and helpful. The food was excellent. The tented chalets were of a high standard, clean, comfortable and well appointed. I had not expected to find that the camp is on mains electricity, so my solar charger for laptop, camera batteries etc was redundant.

The only criticism I have, and it came to light subsequently, is that Wilderness Safaris, who run Davison's Camp and from whose airstrip in Hwange we flew to Mana Pools, will not allow other safari camps to use 'their' airstrip in Mana Pools even though the land is owned by the National Park. Because of that we had a two hour drive over rough tracks to/from the other operational airstrip in Mana Pools instead of a 20 minute one. It seemed an unhelpful and short-sighted policy."

"The atmosphere is Vundu camp was very different to that at Davison's, perhaps because we were the only guests staying there at the time. In the first place the staff were much more racially mixed. The accommodation was as good and although the rooms did not look out onto a water pan, they were only a few metres from the banks of the Zimbabwe and big animals such as hippos and elephants did wander through the camp at night, justifying the need for the armed escort when moving around the camp at night.

In contrast to Davison's, we spent little time driving around and much more walking and following the trails of animals. We had complete confidence in Nick, who was our guide all the time and who owns the camp. Twice we went out for a half day canoeing on the Zambesi with him, glad of his knowledge and experience given the number of hippos on the river. Stopping the canoes to let a family of elephants swim across the river in front of us was unforgettable. So was coming back in the canoes at sunset to find a candle-lit dinner set up on the bank.

We could none of us give this camp a higher recommendation."

"Please see my review for the first stay at the Victoria Falls Hotel"