Travel reviews by M & L from Vancouver, BC

"Good fairly central location. Comfortable rooms. Great breakfast"

"Good location quite close to Park headquarters, important for the early morning gorilla trekking. Cabins very spacious and comfortable. A fire was lit each night and hot water bottles placed in the bed - a nice touch. Buffet meals were good - with cooked-to-order options at breakfast & dinner.

Cabins 1-4 seem to have the best views. Friendly staff. Very honest - my husband dropped his wallet on the way back to our cabin. The staff member who found it didn't speak English so he brought another person with him to explain how he found it.

We especially liked having our boots cleaned after each trek!

If you have room in your luggage, please bring things for the local schools. We supported the pre-school at the Faith Foundation and also the School for Deaf Children. Both provide good care for disadvantaged children."

"Good location. Comfortable room. excellent breakfast buffet"

"Well designed cabins with great views of Lake Kivu. Very comfortable beds and nice bathrooms.

Breakfast was ok - more fruit and healthy cereal would have been nice. The cooked eggs were tasteless, not sure why. Pizzas at lunch were great!

A boat trip on the lake around the islands is worthwhile.

The new Environmental Museum in Kibuye was very informative, and had an interesting herb garden on the roof, with details on how the herbs were used for medicinal purposes."

"A beautifully designed lodge set in a tea plantation. The rooms are large & luxurious with a private balcony looking into the forest. Other guests had seen colobus monkeys from their balcony but unfortunately we didn't. We did see them later in a nearby forest.

The food & service were excellent. We wish we could have stayed another couple of days.

A trip to the nearby tea factory was worthwhile. Too bad they didn't sell any tea!"

"See previous comment"

"An authentic Zanzibar house in the old section of Stone Town. The location is really good - we could walk anywhere in just a few minutes. Our room was spacious with a large king bed. The bathroom was large with a big free-standing tub (which my husband loved) plus a walk-in shower. Lots of stairs, no elevator, so it may not be suitable for anyone with mobility problems.

Breakfast was on the top-floor terrace and was generally good, although they were often out of some fruit & yogurt. We had dinner there once which was ok , but we found other restaurants in Stone Town were more interesting and had better food.

Staff very friendly and helpful."

"Unique eco-lodge providing 7 well-designed eco-friendly cabins. Each is designed to catch the island breezes for natural cooling, so even though it was really hot during the day, the sitting and sleeping areas were delightfully cool. The food was great and the staff very friendly.

Good snorkelling too. It was quite windy and rough when we went out, so we made use of the available life jackets which helped. We also went on a night walk to see the amazingly large coconut crabs. Great place to spend at least 2 nights."

"The villas are beautifully designed, and include locally made wood furniture. The grounds are really nicely landscaped. We stayed in a 1-bedroom beachfront villa with its own pool, separate living villa, and a shaded upper deck above the air-conditioned sleeping villa. The landscaping is designed in such a way that we had lots of privacy but easy access to the beach with our own thatched shade and loungers.

The service was very good - the staff were very friendly and willing to do anything they could to help make your stay better. We asked for an extra chair for the upper deck to enjoy the beach views and watch the moon rise, and one was quickly brought over.

The food was very good and always included a fresh local fish dish. The beach is a fantastic stretch of white sand. The tide does go out a long way so having our own pool for a cooling swim was a real luxury.

A great place for a relaxing end to a holiday. We would highly recommend a tour of the Seaweed Centre in Paje to see how the local mamas farm seaweed - a good source of additional income for them.

Beachfront villas 3,4 & 5 are further from the kite centre & more private."

"The highlight of our trip. The location was excellent - right on the river bank, so there was always something going on to watch while you rested or had lunch on your private, shaded deck. The rooms were spacious and well appointed, with a large bathroom. As it was October, a ceiling fan would have been nice, but probably uses too much electricity which is solar generated.

Informal and friendly camp with good food. Each guest is provided with their own s/s water bottle which is filled before each game drive.

Our guide, Andrew, was one of the best safari guides we've had - very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and keen to share all this knowledge with us - we learnt so much from him. The area is justifiably known for its leopard population - we saw so many, including one with her young cub.

The other big plus were the hides - one for hippos at eye level, and one for the carmine bee-eaters nesting colony. Both excellent locations - could have spent much more time in each if we'd had more days."

"A small intimate bushcamp, with just 4 chalets. Each is well equipped with a large comfortable bed and large outdoor bathroom. The chalet has a screened opening in the roof so you are sleeping in comfort but with a great view of the stars.

The camp staff are very helpful and friendly. The food is delicious and plentiful - amazing when you see the kitchen and their limited facilities.

The game drives are just as good as Kaingo in an overlapping area. The local Mwamba lion pride provides plenty of viewing opportunities. One night some of them wandered past our chalet and made themselves at home in our outdoor breakfast area. Needless to say, we had breakfast elsewhere but with good views of the lions. We wished we had booked more time here."

"Well-run family safari camp. The owners, John and Carol, and their daughter Jennie, are very involved with the day-to-day running of the camp, together with Brian, Heather & Rona.

The accommodations are very nice, with large beds and large outdoor bathrooms. Some are on the river bank, others are set back a little. The camp area is well-guarded for guest safety, as elephants, monkeys, baboons and various antelopes regularly visit the grounds.

A big plus is that each vehicle used for game drives only takes 4 people which is nice. Each guest is supplied with a s/s water bottle which is refilled before each game drive. The morning game drive was sometimes a bit long (5 hours) from 0600 - 1100 which took it into the hotter part of the day. The game area is not as extensive as on the other side of the river, but we still managed to see a lot of wildlife, including some huge herds of buffalo, and lots of family groups of elephants.

The food is good and plentiful."

"Lovey place to relax. All rooms have a small deck overlooking the river.

The food was good but the menu for lunches and snacks was quite limited.
Room rate includes free shuttle several times a day to the Falls or into town."

"The place itself is nice and the staff friendly. However the room we had (Room 12) was dark and quite hot and stuffy. Even though there were several windows there was no breeze or air movement. The fan helped a little but the air conditioning wasn't adequate.

This was our first night after arriving from Canada via the UK, so I'm sure we were suffering from jetlag and the heat which influenced our feelings about the room."

"A great location and superb design.
The service and food was excellent. It set the tone for the rest of your trip.

The guide (Felix) for the early morning excursion to the dunes was very informative as well as friendly and funny.

We didn't use the pool but it would have been too hot anyway as there was no shade - something that perhaps they should add in the future.

The only suggestion I have is to provide more comfortable chairs for the chalet decks. The cast iron bistro type chairs are not very comfortable for sitting reading, lounging etc."

"Not as conveniently located as Sossus Dune Lodge but very nice. The tents were cooler too as there was more ventilation."

"A really nice lodge - quite a surprise on such a desolate coast.

Good food and service."

"Along with Etendeka, this was our favourite lodge. Just a really beautiful setting. We were lucky enough to have been given the honeymoon tent with its lovely outdoor bathroom set amid the rocks!!

There was a problem with our booking as they only had us booked for one night. However the manager (Vincent?) handled it well and was able to tell us later that a cancellation meant that we could stay in the same tent for the second night. Although it didn't end up as a problem for us, Expert Africa might want to look into why the booking was incorrect to avoid future problems.

The serving staff were exceptionally nice people - obviously well trained, but happy to talk about themselves. We enjoyed finding out about their families, their lives and their plans.

The guide (Frederick) for the game drive for very good - friendly and informative."

"As mentioned previously, this was our favourite place, along with Mowani. Such a comfortable camp, yet very environmentally responsible.

The location in the Etendeka mountains was superb. The walks were interesting and we learnt a lot about the geology and the flora. The game drive with Dennis was great - we saw lots of Hartmanns mountain zebras as well as the usual other animals."

"The new renovated waterhole chalets are excellent.

The waterhole was fascinating - the busiest of any we saw in Etosha.

The food was average, buffet food, better than the other 2 camps in Etosha. Would have liked to have been able to purchase small meals (sandwiches, soup etc) outside meal hours.

It would have been good to have had a Wildlife Guide/Resource Centre at each camp who could answer questions about the area, wildlife etc., even give short lectures on various wildlife topics in the evenings. This is done very successfully in the Canadian Rockies Parks in the main visitor months. A small increase in park fees could perhaps cover the cost as well as provide employment.

Wish we'd been able to spend more time here."

"Nice renovated rooms

Buffet food acceptable - not great. Staff friendly and helpful"

"Good location near lots of busy waterholes.

Lovely renovated rooms. Lloyd particularly enjoyed the big bathtub!

However the room we had (Room 18) was next to where the maids congregrate early every morning on the walkway outside our room, so we were not able to enjoy sitting on our outside deck.

Food was average buffet food. Would have been nice to have been able to buy small meals such as sandwiches etc. Fortunately we had our own cheese and crackers and could buy yogurt. I would not be too keen on paying an all-inclusive room and meal rate as is proposed for next year, based on the food offered."

"Hotel room was good - in courtyard with swimmimg pool.

Food and service was good, in fact better than expected for a small town hotel."

"The new Plateau Lodge chalets were really nice. Huge showers in the bathroom. The small private plunge pool on your own patio was a good feature - a lovely way to have a quick cool-down on a hot day.

The lodge catered very strongly to Germans. The books provided in each chalet were in German. The staff spoke mostly German. It was such that we decided not to participate in the morning guided walk but did our own walk to the fountain. However the lodge provided a guide to show us the way and he ended up taking us up to the Plateau so it worked out well for us.

The main complaint we had was on the afternoon game drive. The guide (I think it was the owner but he didn't introdice himself) did almost the whole 3 hour trip only in German, despite the fact that we requested an English translation of his commentary.

We did not feel welcome there. I would not recommend it."

"Rooms were nice, but the atmosphere was more like a hotel with duplex rooms, manicured lawns, dining area. It was not as unique as I understand Erongo Wilderness Lodge is.

However it suited our purposes - which was to see the mineral areas around Erongo and to purchase stones from the local miners.

The food was ok. We had the same meal two days running. They seem to have a funny system of deciding what your meal is based on whether you are on day 1 or 2 etc of your stay but they forgot to ask us and gave us the same meal twice. The kitchen ends up cooking at least 3 different meals each evening based on which night guests are on. It would seem simpler (and less error-prone) to just serve one set meal each evening, with perhaps a 3 or 4 day rotation."

"Same comments as for our first night, although the temperature in the evening was somewhat cooler.

However we had a very unsettling experience. We had opened all our windows to let some air in before we went to bed. We thought we had closed all of them when we went to bed, but had neglected to close the bathroom window. I woke up in the night, put on the bedside light, and went towards the bathroom. I was completely startled to find a man in the bathroom with one of our bags on the toilet seat. It was open and he had obviously been going through it. I shouted at him and closed the bathroom door. He quickly left by the open window. We called the guard but the burgler had left. Fortunately nothing was taken and no-one was hurt.

Although it was clearly our fault in leaving the window open, I do have to question the security at the Villa. Our room (#12) was adjacent to a small deadend courtyard with a relatively low brick wall to the outside. This wall had no wire or glass or any other security measure to stop someone entering into what was a very secluded area. It had 2 chairs and a table so these could have been used to gain access to a room by reaching through the small top window and opening the larger bottom window. This could happen any time, day or night without any one seeing. The villa has guards at the front gate but then has no secuirty for the rear wall. We did report the incident to reception the following morning and I wil be emailing them separately as a followup, with a cc to Expert Africa.

We also discovered that the curtains do not provide any privacy at night. Once there is a light on in the room, any one can see in as the curtains are so thin.

Fortunately all this occurred on our last night so it did not spoil our trip and did not affect how we viewed our trip as a whole. I just would not recommend staying here."