Travel reviews by Peter & Olga from France

"This was our 3rd visit to Hwange Bush Camp (but the first time in its new location).

Everything about Bush Camp is excellent - location, rooms, food and above all the welcoming atmosphere created by the outstanding team.

The guides are knowledgeable and inspiring with two good long game drives each day.

Particular thanks to Petrus, Sean and Spike. We will definitely return."

"We have been fly camping several times previously and it was a nostalgic return to the camp site near to Mandavu.

It is an excellent spot for walking and game drives. E

verything was excellent - location, food, guides, camp crew.

We will be back again."

"This was our 3rd visit to Hwange Bush Camp (but the first time in its new location).

Everything about Bush Camp is excellent - location, rooms, food and above all the welcoming atmosphere created by the outstanding team.

The guides are knowledgeable and inspiring with two good long game drives each day.

We will definitely return."

"Ilala Lodge is a good place to stay when passing through Victoria Falls."

"This was the second time that we have made this trip through Botswana with Kazuma trails and once again it was excellent.

We spent three nights in each of three locations - Chobe, Savuti and Kwai - which are all different and complementary habitats .

Everything about this trip was excellent - especially the enthusiastic guiding by David.

The food was excellent - better than most hotels - and the camp crew worked so hard to make this a memorable trip."

"This was our second stay at Ilala Lodge and it is a very good and convenient place to spend a night in Vic Falls.

Rooms are spacious and comfortable and the restaurant is excellent."

"This was our first visit to The Hide and we were very impressed. It is located on a private concession just outside the Hwange National Park - so one has the benefit of easy access to the park but also the possibility of night drives in the concession. We liked the option of a night drive after dinner. We found the activities very well organised and flexible - and in particular enjoyed the possibility to stay out longer on a drive and not be rushed back to camp too early.

We had an excellent guide (Sean Hind). One morning in the middle of breakfast (my birthday in fact) a pack of dogs appeared on the opposite side of the water hole and Sean said "let's jump in the vehicle and go after them". So we were off and followed them for a while before returning to finish our breakfast. I like that sort of spontaneity and flexibility which is missing in many camps.

The Hide goes on our list of places to return to again."

"Hwange Bush Camp is the new semi-permanent home of the previous Hwange mobile camp. We have enjoyed the mobile camp on our previous visits to Hwange and were interested to see how the Bush Camp compares. We were pleased to find that it is excellent.

There are six large tents - similar to those used on the "luxury" mobile safari, but with an extended toilet and shower area at the rear. It is all very spacious and comfortable. The lounge and dining areas are very well appointed - and of course the food is good and the guiding excellent.

Bush Camp is located in the Robins Camp section of Hwange which is much quieter with fewer vehicles than other parts of Hwange. Game viewing was excellent - we clocked up 20 lions on one day. It is nice to have the flexibility to stay out all day if one wants and to combine walking with driving. We were pleased to meet up again with Andrew Dalzell who has guided us on all of our previous trips to Hwange. Andrew is an amazing guide and every day with him is a rewarding experience."

"David had talked with us about the mobile safari in Botswana when we were at Camp Hwange a couple of years ago and we were pleased that we followed up on this. We visited Chobe, Savuti and Khwai - three nights in each place and all very different.

The trip was outstanding in every way and is without doubt the most memorable experiences of all of our visits to Africa. David's energy and enthusiasm made every day exciting. His skill and persistence in following leopard tracks and then spending a day watching a mother and her youngster was something to be remembered.

Thank you David, Antoinette and your team for making this the highlight of our holiday."

"Thamalakane River Lodge is a comfortable and convenient place to stay overnight in Maun.

Nicely located on the river edge. The buffet style dinner was very good."

"We arrived late and left early so did not really take advantage of all the hotel facilites. Breakfast was good.

This is a more up-market type of hotel than we have previously experienced in Windhoek - most of the other guests seemed to be on business trips rather than vacation - but it is a very comfortable and well-appointed place to stay in a fantastic location high above Windhoek."

"Cheetah view is newly opened in 2017 and is located at the Cheetah Conservancy near to Otjiwarongo. It is a convenient place to stop en route to or from Etosha.

The rooms are comfortable without being anything special. We had an evening meal and breakfast and found the food to be (at best) average. Most of the wine on the list turned out to be not available and we ended up paying for a relatively expensive bottle that was delivered (opened already) to our table in place of the more modestly priced one that we had ordered,

The CCF offers a wide range of activities to learn about their work with Cheetahs. We went on the (so-called) Cheetah Run in the morning before breakfast - the cheetahs are supposed to be exercised by chasing a lure pulled around the field at high speed.. Well our four cheetahs were not very energetic and spent most of the half hour lying down. Perhaps we were unlucky - but we did feel it a bit overpriced and something that might have been included as part the overnight accommodation. We decided to look on it (and the wine) as a donation to an enterprise that is doing commendable work to preserve these beautiful animals.

To summarise, this is a convenient stop over en route to Etosha and would be a good place to learn about cheetahs and to get close to see one if you have not seen them in the wild.

We were a bit disappointed overall."

"This was our third visit to Namutoni.

We stayed in a Bush Chalet and this was very comfortable and also much more convenient now that one can park next to the chalet.

This is by far the best of the three original camps in Etosha."

"We stayed just one night at Halali on this trip in a standard room.

OK and much better than the standard rooms at Okaukeujo."

"This was our fourth visit to Okaukeujo. This is a good location within Ethosha for game viewing - but far too many people!

The standard rooms are cramped and claustrophobic - would be ok for a short overnight stay but no good for several nights. We have previously stayed in the waterhole rooms and the bush chalets which are much better.

It is difficult to understand why the quality of food and service in the restaurant at Okaukeujo is so much inferior to that at the sister camps Halali and Namutoni - I suppose nobody cares."

"This was our second visit to Dolomite Camp - the first was five years ago when the camp was newly opened. The camp shows some signs of wear and tear and really is in need of more constant maintenance.

Probably the best location of all the camps in Etosha - fantastic views from the rooms perched high on the hillside. Food in the restaurant was good - service a bit patchy.

Game in this part of Etosha is less prolific than in the eastern part of the park - but it is there if one is patient. Scenically this is a beautiful area."

"This was our third visit to Huab Lodge and it is a good place to chill out for a few days - especially relaxing in the hot spring. Rooms are spacious and comfortable. The food is very good and the ambiance great.

We had very enjoyable morning walks and sundowner drives, though guiding is down a notch or two since Jan and Suzi are no longer in residence at Huab for most of the time. To be fair, Jan is a hard act to follow. There is not a lot of game - but the scenery is beautiful.

We were surprised to have to pay for drinks and laundry although the tour notes and the voucher said that they were included. The policy seems to have changed since our last visit when these were included. We have fond memories of Jan introducing the wines that he had selected to accompany dinner but now you must buy a small individual carafe of a 'red' or 'white' wine.

Overall Huab Lodge remains a very nice place in spite of these changes."

"We stayed for only one night at Erongo making it our last stop en route back to Windhoek.

The lodge seems to be under new management and is, if anything, even better now than we remember it from our previous visit in 2010 .

The lodge is in a spectacular location amongst massive granite boulders and really deserves a longer stay.

The rooms are spacious and comfortable, everyone is very friendly and the food is excellent."

"Very pleasant and comfortable hotel for a night or two in Vic Falls. Restaurant is good but a bit over priced."

"This was our third safari with Hwange Mobile and it really is excellent. Excellent in every way - guiding, accommodation, food all outstanding. This time we camped in three different sites and all were excellent and different."

"We have visited Camp Hwange several times in previous years - but only passing through with the mobile safari. This was our first overnight and it met all expectations. Definitely a place to visit again."

"We spent only one night in Pioneer Camp between flights in and out of Lusaka so we arrived late at night and left early the following morning. It is very good - rooms ok though a bit rustic and the food is good."

"This was our first visit to Nkwali as we have previously stayed at Tafika which we think is outstanding. So we were a bit apprehensive to find ourselves spending a week at Nkwali when Tafika became inaccessible due to heavy rains. However Nkwali turned out to be excellent in every way. Very nice rooms, excellent location and guiding and good food. Good sightings of leopards, lions and wild dogs. We were very well looked after - with surprise brunches and champagne sunsets - really a memorable week in all."