Travel reviews by Mrs N from Chicago

"This was our first time in Africa and this lodge was the perfect place to start our journey. We stayed in the Victoria and Mukuni open cottages. We loved everything about it and we will definitely stay there again. Here is why:
The room: wonderful, private with a beautiful view. It was nice to have a mini fridge to have a beer or a glass of wine while we unwind-ed after an excursion at the end of the day. Of course we could also had a drink at the main lodge but it was nice to have the option while we relaxed and showered (plenty of hot water by the way!). The heating blanket in the bed at night was a really nice touch.
Diner and lunch: We really liked the privacy as every group ate separately. Although, it would have been nice to have a late afternoon tea with everyone to share experiences. We managed to discuss with the others guests anyway but it took a conscious effort to do so. We changed table within the lodge for diner which was nice, my favorite was when our table was set by the pool. The food WAS EXCELLENT. Great service too.
Location: perfect. Very close to every activities. Beautiful view. Wonderful serenade by the lions in the mornings and evenings.
Host: Estelle (?) and husband Jon - not sure of the spellings - They made us feel at home. very personable. They also gave us some great advice for the activities and else."

"The camp itself look like you just fell into a page of paradise from a magazine! The main area is built around a tree facing the river that give you a continuous view of all kinds of animals. From there, we saw Giraffes and herd of elephants crossing, hippopotamus resting and singing, monkeys and crocodiles... There is also a pool facing a pond where we saw an enormous kind of lizard, and amazing some birds fishing. The place is really nice and we really enjoyed the open cottages. The highlights were the visit one afternoon of a herd of elephants (very destructive but unbelievable to watch) , the singing of a birthday song to our daughter for her birthday by the entire staff (beautiful), a play that was performed one afternoon and of course the fantastic drives with Fred our guide. We witnessed such amazing things . His patience and understanding of animals behavior got us to witness an amazing site: a leopard calling her two babies to go to her kill. The purring of the babies was amazing. the sitting of all kind of animals everyday was such a treat.
Great place, highly recommended."

"We stayed 3 days in the family open cottage. The view from the master bedroom was great and the location of the cottage is perfect (right next to the communal area). We saw several herds of Elephants from the deck and were serenaded by the sound of hippopotamus. We witnessed Dixon bathing in the mud not far from the deck and had the visit of a lion or lions one night. Hearing his/their roaring at night was incredible. We never felt unsafe as the watchman stay by the cottage when he/they got closer (or so it seems!). The staff was wonderful, very attentive and the food was fabulous. Siku, the Manager of the camp is amazing and make you feel like family. Her leadership and her kindness make this place very special. Our guide, Phil was incredible. His knowledge was so impressive that he led us to 6 leopards sighting and one kill in the same day! His love of the wild animals and the park is contagious and we hope this place will stay the way it is for a very long time. We highly recommend it."