Travel reviews by Family H & L from Berks
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
2
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
14
Excursions taken
1
My Sep 2024 trip
Botswana between 13 Sep 2024 and 28 Sep 2024
"very good!"
Arranged By Maruska AdyeRowe
Shongwe Oasis (Not currently featured by Expert Africa)
"Shongwe Oasis review"
2 nights
Arrived
13 Sep 2024
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Good
Service
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Ra-Ikane River Cruise
"Ra-Ikane River Cruise review"
14 Sep 2024 • Afternoon excursion
Excellent river cruise.
But would have been good to know that all drinks and lots of snacks / nibbles were included in this tour as we had booked a fixed menu dinner afterwards. This was at restaurant called Dusty Road which specialises in local Zimbabwean dishes (excellent, by the way, though we could not eat all of it).
But would have been good to know that all drinks and lots of snacks / nibbles were included in this tour as we had booked a fixed menu dinner afterwards. This was at restaurant called Dusty Road which specialises in local Zimbabwean dishes (excellent, by the way, though we could not eat all of it).
Muchenje Safari Lodge
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
15 Sep 2024
"Great place, the A/C was much appreciated.
Food and staff very nice, game drives fun. saw lots of animals including following a leopard very close to our jeep and a new born elephant.
Also a pride of lions - stalking (and missing) their prey.
River cruise also very good and relaxed.
Long days but good."
Food and staff very nice, game drives fun. saw lots of animals including following a leopard very close to our jeep and a new born elephant.
Also a pride of lions - stalking (and missing) their prey.
River cruise also very good and relaxed.
Long days but good."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Sightings report
Brown Hyena
1 sighting
Elephant
Many sightings
Giraffe
Many sightings
Hippo
Many sightings
Leopard
1 sighting
Lion
Many sightings
Roan antelope
Many sightings
Sable antelope
Many sightings
Spotted Hyena
Many sightings
Zebra
Many sightings
Linyanti Expeditions
"Linyanti Expeditions review"
3 nights
Arrived
17 Sep 2024
"This camp needs a refresh - it is old & tired and was the worst one we stayed at.
The helicopter ride there was fun. The rooms are very basic - the desk fan mostly ineffective, the toilet very slow - one flush per hour, the sink ran out of water mid afternoon so you could not wet cloths to cool you down.
The flies were relentless, it was dusty and extremely hot and really quite unpleasant. The animals were great - the guide enthusiastic. Way too basic and primitive for us! Saw 4 lion cubs - close up which were fantastic and hundred of elephants. But the place was unpleasant and needs a serious upgrade."
The helicopter ride there was fun. The rooms are very basic - the desk fan mostly ineffective, the toilet very slow - one flush per hour, the sink ran out of water mid afternoon so you could not wet cloths to cool you down.
The flies were relentless, it was dusty and extremely hot and really quite unpleasant. The animals were great - the guide enthusiastic. Way too basic and primitive for us! Saw 4 lion cubs - close up which were fantastic and hundred of elephants. But the place was unpleasant and needs a serious upgrade."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Excellent
Service
Average
Rooms
Poor
Food
Average
Feedback response
We’re pleased that these travellers enjoyed the wildlife experiences and enthusiastic guiding at Linyanti Expeditions, as well as the scenic helicopter ride. However, we regret the issues they encountered with the camp’s facilities, including water supply and room comfort. We also appreciate their insights regarding the camp's condition and the challenges posed by the heat and flies. Their feedback has been shared with the camp’s management team. They responded swiftly to say they take such concerns very seriously and are actively addressing them enhance guest comfort.
Manager
Sightings report
Buffalo
Many sightings
Cheetah
Many sightings
Elephant
Many sightings
Giraffe
Many sightings
Hippo
Many sightings
Lion
Many sightings
Roan antelope
Many sightings
Sable antelope
Many sightings
Wild dog
Many sightings
Wildebeest
Many sightings
Zebra
Many sightings
Okuti
"Okuti review"
2 nights
Arrived
20 Sep 2024
"Nice camp.Interesting room design and lots of space.
They had WiFi for the staff in the office and let us use it briefly to check up on a couple of important things, but said they were activating it soon for the guests.
The place was very pleasant- staff happy to help. not many flies! Saw lion cubs, leopard and lots of animals.
River cruise very good - got very close to elephants. staff laid on some entertainment one night - genuine African singing and some dance.
Friendly camp, the staff make you feel very welcome.
Nice boardwalk to walk back to lodges."
They had WiFi for the staff in the office and let us use it briefly to check up on a couple of important things, but said they were activating it soon for the guests.
The place was very pleasant- staff happy to help. not many flies! Saw lion cubs, leopard and lots of animals.
River cruise very good - got very close to elephants. staff laid on some entertainment one night - genuine African singing and some dance.
Friendly camp, the staff make you feel very welcome.
Nice boardwalk to walk back to lodges."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Buffalo
Many sightings
Cheetah
Many sightings
Elephant
Many sightings
Giraffe
Many sightings
Hippo
Many sightings
Leopard
Many sightings
Lion
Many sightings
Roan antelope
Many sightings
Sable antelope
Many sightings
Wildebeest
Many sightings
Zebra
Many sightings
Splash Camp
"Splash Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
22 Sep 2024
"Nice camp.
Would be good to request a room nearer the main reception as ours was a good hike in sand and our shoes/ feet etc got extremely dirty every time we walked back. We also needed an escort to walk to the far away rooms every night at every camp. Animals were great!
Pride of lions had brought down a giraffe very recently - it was still bloody - and we watched the pride scoffing it - with hyenas, jackals and vultures behind them who were too scared to try and come closer. We also found a pack of wild dogs with puppies and went on the hunt with 3 of them - following at speed in our jeep. Saw them bring down, kill and eat an impala - and then regurgitate the food for the puppies! Also saw 2 cheetah bring down a reedbok - and eat it - but they were too quick in the hunt to video.
Saw lots of animals in general - including an aardwolf, warthogs, striped mongoose, and lots of birds.
Nice place, great room, but long walk to & from reception"
Would be good to request a room nearer the main reception as ours was a good hike in sand and our shoes/ feet etc got extremely dirty every time we walked back. We also needed an escort to walk to the far away rooms every night at every camp. Animals were great!
Pride of lions had brought down a giraffe very recently - it was still bloody - and we watched the pride scoffing it - with hyenas, jackals and vultures behind them who were too scared to try and come closer. We also found a pack of wild dogs with puppies and went on the hunt with 3 of them - following at speed in our jeep. Saw them bring down, kill and eat an impala - and then regurgitate the food for the puppies! Also saw 2 cheetah bring down a reedbok - and eat it - but they were too quick in the hunt to video.
Saw lots of animals in general - including an aardwolf, warthogs, striped mongoose, and lots of birds.
Nice place, great room, but long walk to & from reception"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Buffalo
Many sightings
Cheetah
Many sightings
Elephant
Many sightings
Giraffe
Many sightings
Hippo
Many sightings
Leopard
Many sightings
Lion
Many sightings
Roan antelope
Many sightings
Sable antelope
Many sightings
Wild dog
Many sightings
Wildebeest
Many sightings
Zebra
Many sightings
Dinaka
"Dinaka review"
3 nights
Arrived
25 Sep 2024
"Nice place and greeted with singing & dancing!
Guide very knowledgeable, but by this time we had seen loads of animals so could relax more and not do the second early morning game ride or the evening one.
Nice to sit in reception watching waterhole. Pride of lions moved into the camp on our last day - which was great to see them and staff were very careful not to let us walk to our lodges by ourselves.
Nice viewing hut near a waterhole where we could leave jeep and sit and watch the animals."
Guide very knowledgeable, but by this time we had seen loads of animals so could relax more and not do the second early morning game ride or the evening one.
Nice to sit in reception watching waterhole. Pride of lions moved into the camp on our last day - which was great to see them and staff were very careful not to let us walk to our lodges by ourselves.
Nice viewing hut near a waterhole where we could leave jeep and sit and watch the animals."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Cheetah
Many sightings
Eland
Many sightings
Elephant
Many sightings
Giraffe
Many sightings
Leopard
Many sightings
Lion
Many sightings
Oryx
Many sightings
Wildebeest
Many sightings
Zebra
Many sightings
Namibia Adventure
Namibia between 22 Jul 2017 and 6 Aug 2017
"Unbelievable! Great trip - and good to go way we did - ie start with Bagatelle heading south and then west. In this way we appreciated what each place had to offer - in terms of location, animals, etc. If we had started at Okonjima - well - all others would not compare well.
The animals at Etosha would also overshadow the animals at the other lodges - eg tracking desert elephants at Doro Nawas was great - but if we had already seen the herd of 20 at the waterhole each night in Etosha - it would have lost some of the attraction and adventure. Each place was unique - so thank you - it was not like we were comparing one 5* place to another one...
Animals were sort of unque at each to a point eg loads of deer types at Bagatelle, Ostriches at Hoodia & the desert, desert elephants and Doro, all various things at Etendeka, everything at Etosha, chill out - dik diks, warhogs and snakes( !!) at Mushara and the cats at Okonjima.
Suggestions:
*Car - ours was not happy on the gravel roads and did not cope with the D road - better to have a larger, more suitable car. warn all re the dust - you could not see what colour the car was when we returned it.......or our clothes!!!
*Laundry : good to have every 5 days included in package. So dusty there - we collected loads and ended up hand washing through some things by day 11. But we were also in Jo'berg for 4 days before Namibia and cape Town 4 days after Namibia.
*If in one place for the night - maybe let us know their activity list so we can get to the place in time and not miss activities?
But - cannot fault you - truly brilliant holiday which we all loved!!
Marusha - hope you have a healthy baby girl now and many thanks for pulling this together for us,
thanks,
Lynne, Rob, Sam & Matt"
The animals at Etosha would also overshadow the animals at the other lodges - eg tracking desert elephants at Doro Nawas was great - but if we had already seen the herd of 20 at the waterhole each night in Etosha - it would have lost some of the attraction and adventure. Each place was unique - so thank you - it was not like we were comparing one 5* place to another one...
Animals were sort of unque at each to a point eg loads of deer types at Bagatelle, Ostriches at Hoodia & the desert, desert elephants and Doro, all various things at Etendeka, everything at Etosha, chill out - dik diks, warhogs and snakes( !!) at Mushara and the cats at Okonjima.
Suggestions:
*Car - ours was not happy on the gravel roads and did not cope with the D road - better to have a larger, more suitable car. warn all re the dust - you could not see what colour the car was when we returned it.......or our clothes!!!
*Laundry : good to have every 5 days included in package. So dusty there - we collected loads and ended up hand washing through some things by day 11. But we were also in Jo'berg for 4 days before Namibia and cape Town 4 days after Namibia.
*If in one place for the night - maybe let us know their activity list so we can get to the place in time and not miss activities?
But - cannot fault you - truly brilliant holiday which we all loved!!
Marusha - hope you have a healthy baby girl now and many thanks for pulling this together for us,
thanks,
Lynne, Rob, Sam & Matt"
Arranged By Maruska AdyeRowe
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch
"great!"
1 night
Arrived
22 Jul 2017
"Your rep at Windhoek - very nice - told us Bagatelle was a 2 hr drive away.
Maruska's paperwork - suggested 3.5 hrs. Maruska was correct! But we slowed down so we could see he animals on the way - to the point that we missed the cheetah feeding at Bagatelle - and were only there one night - and also had to drive in dusk / dark. Might be useful for guests staying anywhere for just 1 night to have some idea of the itinerary at their destination so they can plan accordingly?
Place good - wine expensive - but OK. Freezing on the early morning drive!!!
did not see the rooms much as we arrived so late and had the early start - but the rooms were very cold first thing in the morning. great safari drive in the morning - loads of deer things -"
Maruska's paperwork - suggested 3.5 hrs. Maruska was correct! But we slowed down so we could see he animals on the way - to the point that we missed the cheetah feeding at Bagatelle - and were only there one night - and also had to drive in dusk / dark. Might be useful for guests staying anywhere for just 1 night to have some idea of the itinerary at their destination so they can plan accordingly?
Place good - wine expensive - but OK. Freezing on the early morning drive!!!
did not see the rooms much as we arrived so late and had the early start - but the rooms were very cold first thing in the morning. great safari drive in the morning - loads of deer things -"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Hoodia Desert Lodge
"great!!"
2 nights
Arrived
23 Jul 2017
"Hoodia - nice, slow WiFi - but managed this. Very friendly service, rooms nice. Staff tried to "sell" us their own tour to Sossusvlei....but it was over £100pp. we did it much cheaper - maybe missed some key points, but was not concerned!
Nice to see the baboons and ostriches.
Great view of the milky way from this place!
could sit in main lodge with a couple of beers and enjoy the silence......enjoyed it."
Nice to see the baboons and ostriches.
Great view of the milky way from this place!
could sit in main lodge with a couple of beers and enjoy the silence......enjoyed it."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Cornerstone Guesthouse
"nice - a good place for a quick break"
2 nights
Arrived
25 Jul 2017
"Nice place - good to have a day of rest! Boys went sand boarding and quad biking, Rob and I went walking round the town.......and ended up buying a black diamond ring!
Dinner at the Tug was good - but glad we had pre-booked or would not have got in. Second night was a pub - also very good.
Stocked up on wine and beer for rest of trip. Hosts very nice and friendly."
Dinner at the Tug was good - but glad we had pre-booked or would not have got in. Second night was a pub - also very good.
Stocked up on wine and beer for rest of trip. Hosts very nice and friendly."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Doro Nawas
"fantastic - loved it!!"
2 nights
Arrived
27 Jul 2017
"Doro Nawas was one of our favourites - the bushmans dinner, (Mon, Wed and Fridays) elephant search (and finding them) and singing staff made it.
staff tried to teach us the clicks of the language....failed, but we had fun. Their guide - Marcus - was brilliant and very helpful! he helped us with petrol - the ride there took 7 hrs from Swapo - due to the awful road - and then took all our fuel. Marcus helped by getting us 25L and helping us get it into the car.
Bushmans dinner was great - really nice idea - and well executed. Liked the staff dancing and joined in.
Great to have all inclusive including laundry as we had been in RSA and Namibia a while by then and everything was dusty!! Would always suggest this on future trips - wash every 7 days or so!"
staff tried to teach us the clicks of the language....failed, but we had fun. Their guide - Marcus - was brilliant and very helpful! he helped us with petrol - the ride there took 7 hrs from Swapo - due to the awful road - and then took all our fuel. Marcus helped by getting us 25L and helping us get it into the car.
Bushmans dinner was great - really nice idea - and well executed. Liked the staff dancing and joined in.
Great to have all inclusive including laundry as we had been in RSA and Namibia a while by then and everything was dusty!! Would always suggest this on future trips - wash every 7 days or so!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Etendeka Mountain Camp
"windy!"
2 nights
Arrived
29 Jul 2017
"Shana was there - not the owner and sent her best wishes to Marusha and congrats on your new addition. She rates Expert Africa very highly - said "you run a tight ship".
It was fun - and an experience.
The walk was boring - and early - but all entertained by the guide spitting oryx poo.
The drive in the evening was great and the sundowners.......made it great. Saw lots of animals, guide was engaged and informative.
Place was extremely windy - which made the bucket shower horrendous! Food nice, people very friendly..."
It was fun - and an experience.
The walk was boring - and early - but all entertained by the guide spitting oryx poo.
The drive in the evening was great and the sundowners.......made it great. Saw lots of animals, guide was engaged and informative.
Place was extremely windy - which made the bucket shower horrendous! Food nice, people very friendly..."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Average
Food
Excellent
Okaukuejo Camp
"the worst place re service and staff attitude"
2 nights
Arrived
31 Jul 2017
"OK - you had warned us.... But location great
Dire service, shabby rooms - premium waterhole chalet - with broken loo seat, bare wires sticking out of plugs, remote control for AC not working etc etc.......as you warned us. staff not bothered eg brought drinks - but forget glasses, no plates / bowls at buffet, toaster stopped working. We went to breakfast on day 1 at 9am...very little left and what was left - was curling and dried up.
But made up for by location and number of animals! Fantastic location of chalet - could sit in bed and watch animals come to waterhole. best place for zillions of animals.....saw loads and this made it good."
Dire service, shabby rooms - premium waterhole chalet - with broken loo seat, bare wires sticking out of plugs, remote control for AC not working etc etc.......as you warned us. staff not bothered eg brought drinks - but forget glasses, no plates / bowls at buffet, toaster stopped working. We went to breakfast on day 1 at 9am...very little left and what was left - was curling and dried up.
But made up for by location and number of animals! Fantastic location of chalet - could sit in bed and watch animals come to waterhole. best place for zillions of animals.....saw loads and this made it good."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Terrible
Rooms
Average
Food
Poor
Mushara Bush Camp
"Great - very relaxing!"
2 nights
Arrived
2 Aug 2017
"We just chilled out for the day here. Got there late as went thro Etosha for the day - and arrived late afternoon. Very nice place - enjoyed seeing the warthogs! Relaxing - just sat out the next day enjoying the solitude and the few animals around. Staff were very nice and friendly - and looked after us.
Food was very good - and they were willing to be flexible if we did not like something. Liked the evening singing & dancing - joined in.
beautiful setting........and OK wifi!"
Food was very good - and they were willing to be flexible if we did not like something. Liked the evening singing & dancing - joined in.
beautiful setting........and OK wifi!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Okonjima Bush Camp
"BRILLIANT!!"
2 nights
Arrived
4 Aug 2017
"Great place!
Arrived round 3.30pm - and did not realise lunch was included in our package - as well as an afternoon leopard tracking session. However, staff were great and quickly packed us up on our own for a private guided tour with Michael - before we even checked in! great trip - saw 4 leopards incl 2 cubs.
accommodation fantastic - the separate viewing chalet for each room - with bird seed to chuck out the window, blankets, comfy chairs, t/ coffee and homemade biscuits - was great. We had warthogs and deer things come right up and could even tickle the warthogs back!
Evening night ride was also excellent - saw nothing in the hide, but guide went off looking and we found 4 porcupine including 2 baby ones, plus a whole host of other beasties. Checked in late - in the dark...
next day - early walk for cheetahs - and found 4, easy time through lunch and went hyena hunting in the pm - saw none - so switched to leopards again - and saw a couple more. Sundowners with the baboons. Great room, great guide, great staff - a highlight!"
Arrived round 3.30pm - and did not realise lunch was included in our package - as well as an afternoon leopard tracking session. However, staff were great and quickly packed us up on our own for a private guided tour with Michael - before we even checked in! great trip - saw 4 leopards incl 2 cubs.
accommodation fantastic - the separate viewing chalet for each room - with bird seed to chuck out the window, blankets, comfy chairs, t/ coffee and homemade biscuits - was great. We had warthogs and deer things come right up and could even tickle the warthogs back!
Evening night ride was also excellent - saw nothing in the hide, but guide went off looking and we found 4 porcupine including 2 baby ones, plus a whole host of other beasties. Checked in late - in the dark...
next day - early walk for cheetahs - and found 4, easy time through lunch and went hyena hunting in the pm - saw none - so switched to leopards again - and saw a couple more. Sundowners with the baboons. Great room, great guide, great staff - a highlight!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
We ate there one night - and the bread rolls were past their best and had clearly been steamed as when they cooled down they were as hard as bullets and 100% not edible. We pointed this out to them.
At breakfast - which was included, we paid more for a cappuccino.
The red wine was not kept at a drinkable temperature and we had to ask for an ice bucket to cool it down.
Their staff were nice - but many were "in training"."