Travel reviews by Andy & Karen from Malvern
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
2
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
8
Excursions taken
0
Botswana 2022
Botswana between 12 Jul 2022 and 27 Jul 2022
"The trip was focused on trying to see and photograph Wild Dogs with a Kalahari extension for Meerkats bolted on. Despite a hiccup with our luggage thanks to BA and some issues with dog dens sadly being in conflict with lions, the trip delivered all that we had hoped for and a few surprises. We added 7 lifer sightings to our list which is always great!
The Kalahari was the real surprise in terms of experience and sightings, and certainly encourages us to go back again in green season.
We chose the Kwando camps in and around the Delta based on reputation with Wild Dogs and the ability to off road in private concessions, and two out of the three camps were excellent. It is always high risk to have a pretty single minded goal on a trip but it finally paid off and we got some great other sightings / encounters along the way. Having the trackers on the vehicles was essential as good old fashioned detective work is critical to sightings - the landscape can be pretty challenging at this time of year between green and dry. Our stay at Kwara Camp has set a standard for safari accommodation that will never be beaten!
Overall the trip delivered what we were hoping plus a very special dog encounter."
The Kalahari was the real surprise in terms of experience and sightings, and certainly encourages us to go back again in green season.
We chose the Kwando camps in and around the Delta based on reputation with Wild Dogs and the ability to off road in private concessions, and two out of the three camps were excellent. It is always high risk to have a pretty single minded goal on a trip but it finally paid off and we got some great other sightings / encounters along the way. Having the trackers on the vehicles was essential as good old fashioned detective work is critical to sightings - the landscape can be pretty challenging at this time of year between green and dry. Our stay at Kwara Camp has set a standard for safari accommodation that will never be beaten!
Overall the trip delivered what we were hoping plus a very special dog encounter."
Arranged By Lucy Copson
Thamalakane River Lodge
"Thamalakane River Lodge review"
1 night
Arrived
13 Jul 2022
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Camp Kalahari
"Camp Kalahari review"
3 nights
Arrived
14 Jul 2022
"This camp may be the least 'glamorous' of the three on the concession but for us it was a perfect balance of comfort and safari experience, with some fantastic wildlife viewing thrown in.
The tents / rooms are well appointed and comfortable, and well spaced out to give you a sense of being in the bush. The lounge and dining tent is a great space to relax or chat, and the food really was excellent.
The staff were amongst the most welcoming and friendly of all our many stays in Africa, and it was they that give it a homely feel whilst hitting consistently high standards of service. We loved the friendly banter that fills the airwaves between the vehicles from the different camps.
The wildlife sightings exceeded our expectations - good game, lion, the fattest jackel I have ever seen and a very special time with the meerkats. Plus we saw Brown Hyena which was a first for us. Lots of nocturnal critters on the night drives. The camp also offers walks and quad biking for a variety of experience.
This really opened our eyes to the possibilities of the Kalahari and Makgadikgadi, so we will look to return one day."
The tents / rooms are well appointed and comfortable, and well spaced out to give you a sense of being in the bush. The lounge and dining tent is a great space to relax or chat, and the food really was excellent.
The staff were amongst the most welcoming and friendly of all our many stays in Africa, and it was they that give it a homely feel whilst hitting consistently high standards of service. We loved the friendly banter that fills the airwaves between the vehicles from the different camps.
The wildlife sightings exceeded our expectations - good game, lion, the fattest jackel I have ever seen and a very special time with the meerkats. Plus we saw Brown Hyena which was a first for us. Lots of nocturnal critters on the night drives. The camp also offers walks and quad biking for a variety of experience.
This really opened our eyes to the possibilities of the Kalahari and Makgadikgadi, so we will look to return one day."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Brown Hyena
Many sightings
Lion
Many sightings
Meerkat
Many sightings
Wildebeest
Many sightings
Zebra
Many sightings
Lebala Camp
"Lebala Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
17 Jul 2022
"The tents here are spacious, very comfortable, well appointed and spaced out with views to the surrounding marsh. Passing wildlife give the feeling of a bush stay, even spotting a local male leopard from the balcony of our room. The food is good, and the staff friendly.
Of the three Kwando camps we visited, this camp offers a really interesting mix of terrain and hence wildlife viewing in our opinion. River, water holes, pans, grassland (some flooded in July) and mixed forest areas made for interesting and varied game drives and sightings. Good predator and game, with a honey badger eating a snake a real highlight/ bonus!
Our guide Elvis was excellent and a real model for others- knowledgeable, calm, in tune with the needs of his guests and fun as well. He and our tracker Dredd were great company for our 3 days, tracking down and spotting some great wildlife."
Of the three Kwando camps we visited, this camp offers a really interesting mix of terrain and hence wildlife viewing in our opinion. River, water holes, pans, grassland (some flooded in July) and mixed forest areas made for interesting and varied game drives and sightings. Good predator and game, with a honey badger eating a snake a real highlight/ bonus!
Our guide Elvis was excellent and a real model for others- knowledgeable, calm, in tune with the needs of his guests and fun as well. He and our tracker Dredd were great company for our 3 days, tracking down and spotting some great wildlife."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Buffalo
Many sightings
Elephant
Many sightings
Giraffe
Many sightings
Hippo
Many sightings
Leopard
Many sightings
Lion
Many sightings
Roan antelope
1 sighting
Wild dog
1 sighting
Wildebeest
Many sightings
Zebra
Many sightings
Kwara Camp
"Kwara Camp review"
4 nights
Arrived
23 Jul 2022
"The third of our Kwando camps and this is the place to finish your stay in the Delta.
Undoubtedly the best appointed camp we have ever stayed in, the rooms are the definition of safari luxury, capacious with superb interiors and with bath, indoor and outdoor showers. Each overlooking the lagoon, the 'tents' are serviced by two swimming pools at either end of the camp. We have never looked forward to going back to our tent so much! The food was amazing - hats off to the chefs - and there was no shortage of eating opportunities.
This luxury is worthless however without superb staff and service, and these guys really do knock it out of the park. From the managers Charles and Tom down through every member of staff they understand the importance of personal, friendly but spot on service. Thanks to everyone of you for making our time in camp so special.
Our guide Shime and tracker Luke are a first class team and worked exceptionally hard to find what we wanted to see and to spend time with it. Their knowledge and skills are fantastic, knowing when tracking needs to be replaced by patience for an unforgettable wildlife experience.
The environment here is stunning, but also offers its own challenges at times of flood. Crossing the marshy areas to switch islands and track game is not always possible, and sightings through the long grass are sometimes a challenge. But we were treated to some very special wildlife sightings that we will never forget so it was absolutely worth the 4 nights we spent here."
Undoubtedly the best appointed camp we have ever stayed in, the rooms are the definition of safari luxury, capacious with superb interiors and with bath, indoor and outdoor showers. Each overlooking the lagoon, the 'tents' are serviced by two swimming pools at either end of the camp. We have never looked forward to going back to our tent so much! The food was amazing - hats off to the chefs - and there was no shortage of eating opportunities.
This luxury is worthless however without superb staff and service, and these guys really do knock it out of the park. From the managers Charles and Tom down through every member of staff they understand the importance of personal, friendly but spot on service. Thanks to everyone of you for making our time in camp so special.
Our guide Shime and tracker Luke are a first class team and worked exceptionally hard to find what we wanted to see and to spend time with it. Their knowledge and skills are fantastic, knowing when tracking needs to be replaced by patience for an unforgettable wildlife experience.
The environment here is stunning, but also offers its own challenges at times of flood. Crossing the marshy areas to switch islands and track game is not always possible, and sightings through the long grass are sometimes a challenge. But we were treated to some very special wildlife sightings that we will never forget so it was absolutely worth the 4 nights we spent here."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Buffalo
Many sightings
Elephant
Many sightings
Giraffe
1 sighting
Hippo
Many sightings
Leopard
1 sighting
Lion
Many sightings
Sitatunga
Many sightings
Wild dog
Many sightings
Wildebeest
1 sighting
Flavour of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe between 24 Jun 2019 and 5 Jul 2019
"As Zimbabwe emerges from recent troubles we wanted to visit three of its classic locations of Matopo, Hwange and Mana Pools. We were particularly hopeful of seeing Painted Dog, although sadly this was not to be.
Matopo has some fabulous scenery, history and was a place to track rhino on foot - tick to all three. Rhino with calf was a highlight. It also gave us our best ever sighting of Elephant Shrew at Rhodes Grave! The National Park, however, has little game and incursions from cattle and humans are common. Locals roam the whole park on foot cutting grass for sale. It is still worth a visit and arguable needs more visitors to recover, so I’d still include it if you can.
Hwange with its pumped water holes and huge elephant population delivered more classic sightings, and a pride of lions with 6 cubs provided entertainment on all our game drives. Good antelope including Sable and Roan with huge buffalo herd of 500 plus were also a highlight. The open areas and mixed forest gave good variety to habitats.
Mana Pools was in drought in June so maybe not at its best. We were surprised at the number of self drivers and campers, some of whom are clearly not controlled effectively by the NP staff (much to the frustration of guides). No off road but you can off walk so great encounter with lions on a kill on foot was the highlight. If this is the jewel in the crown for Zimbabwe then it’s a little disappointing - at times it felt like a safari park - particularly as the unique environment offers so much.
Versus other neighbouring safari destinations, Zimbabwe still has some catching up to do if it is to return to its previous premier ranking. The amazing teams at African Bush Camps certainly warrant a visit."
Matopo has some fabulous scenery, history and was a place to track rhino on foot - tick to all three. Rhino with calf was a highlight. It also gave us our best ever sighting of Elephant Shrew at Rhodes Grave! The National Park, however, has little game and incursions from cattle and humans are common. Locals roam the whole park on foot cutting grass for sale. It is still worth a visit and arguable needs more visitors to recover, so I’d still include it if you can.
Hwange with its pumped water holes and huge elephant population delivered more classic sightings, and a pride of lions with 6 cubs provided entertainment on all our game drives. Good antelope including Sable and Roan with huge buffalo herd of 500 plus were also a highlight. The open areas and mixed forest gave good variety to habitats.
Mana Pools was in drought in June so maybe not at its best. We were surprised at the number of self drivers and campers, some of whom are clearly not controlled effectively by the NP staff (much to the frustration of guides). No off road but you can off walk so great encounter with lions on a kill on foot was the highlight. If this is the jewel in the crown for Zimbabwe then it’s a little disappointing - at times it felt like a safari park - particularly as the unique environment offers so much.
Versus other neighbouring safari destinations, Zimbabwe still has some catching up to do if it is to return to its previous premier ranking. The amazing teams at African Bush Camps certainly warrant a visit."
Arranged By Tom Morris
Amalinda Lodge
"Unique lodge built around granite boulders"
3 nights
Arrived
25 Jun 2019
"This is a special lodge, set amongst and within the granite boulders of the Matopo landscape, and a good base for exploring the sites of Matopo NP.
The rooms are designed to reflect the surrounding landscape, moulded around boulders and utilizing the crevices of the cliff face against which it sits. But this is no Fred Flintstone experience and the rooms are spacious, well furnished and cleverly designed. We stayed in Room 3 and frankly could have fitted a coach party in there! Its is one of the lower rooms (good if you are a little unsteady on your feet), but I would have chosen a room up above the elevated dining level given a choice.
Billy and the staff were all very friendly and attentive, the food excellent. Bit more choice on the soft drinks would be nice for us non drinkers!
Good guide took us around the local sites and into the park, although wildlife pretty scarce. Come here for the rhino tracking and landscapes."
The rooms are designed to reflect the surrounding landscape, moulded around boulders and utilizing the crevices of the cliff face against which it sits. But this is no Fred Flintstone experience and the rooms are spacious, well furnished and cleverly designed. We stayed in Room 3 and frankly could have fitted a coach party in there! Its is one of the lower rooms (good if you are a little unsteady on your feet), but I would have chosen a room up above the elevated dining level given a choice.
Billy and the staff were all very friendly and attentive, the food excellent. Bit more choice on the soft drinks would be nice for us non drinkers!
Good guide took us around the local sites and into the park, although wildlife pretty scarce. Come here for the rhino tracking and landscapes."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Giraffe
1 sighting
White Rhino
3 sightings
Zebra
2 sightings
Somalisa Camp
"Large camp luxury"
1 night
Arrived
28 Jun 2019
"Due to a booking error we got upgraded to Somalisa Camp from nearby Somalisa Expeditions so understand this type of luxury camp is not our first choice when reading this feedback.
The facilities are obviously outstanding - luxury tents, copper baths, a wood burner(!) in tent, plus small pool and high quality furnishings in private and public areas. Staff were delightful (a feature of all three African Bush Camps we visited) and guides excellent in quality vehicles. If this is what you like then you will not be disappointed!
What surprised us, however, was how close the sister camp of Somalisa Acacia was i.e right on top of it, enabling it to act as a single entity for large groups. Our tent #7 looked onto the back of Acacia and was certainly less than 100m from it. We dropped the curtains to give us a sense of privacy. This was no intimate Bush experience, and was therefore not for us. Other tents had more privacy but it is still a sizeable complex."
The facilities are obviously outstanding - luxury tents, copper baths, a wood burner(!) in tent, plus small pool and high quality furnishings in private and public areas. Staff were delightful (a feature of all three African Bush Camps we visited) and guides excellent in quality vehicles. If this is what you like then you will not be disappointed!
What surprised us, however, was how close the sister camp of Somalisa Acacia was i.e right on top of it, enabling it to act as a single entity for large groups. Our tent #7 looked onto the back of Acacia and was certainly less than 100m from it. We dropped the curtains to give us a sense of privacy. This was no intimate Bush experience, and was therefore not for us. Other tents had more privacy but it is still a sizeable complex."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Poor
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Buffalo
4 sightings
Cheetah
2 sightings
Eland
1 sighting
Elephant
10+ sightings
Giraffe
4 sightings
Lion
6 sightings
Roan antelope
2 sightings
Sable antelope
1 sighting
Wildebeest
3 sightings
Zebra
4 sightings
Somalisa Expeditions
"Perfect traditional safari camp"
2 nights
Arrived
29 Jun 2019
"If you want to stay in a small, traditional safari camp with great food, guides and service then this is the place for you.
A good distance away from the glitz of Somalisa Camp this intimate 6 tent camp is set in amongst trees with simple but delightful facilities. The tents are spacious, the beds are super comfortable and the en-suite outside showers solar powered - a little bracing on a cold evening but refreshing at the end of your game drive.
Food was excellent, served in the main tent where an open fire kept off the chill. A pump fed pond attracts elephants to within feet of the deck.
Our guide David was very knowledgeable and because of the link to the nearby big sister camps had many eyes looking for game on the drives.
We would highly recommend this camp, our favourite in Zimbabwe.More"
A good distance away from the glitz of Somalisa Camp this intimate 6 tent camp is set in amongst trees with simple but delightful facilities. The tents are spacious, the beds are super comfortable and the en-suite outside showers solar powered - a little bracing on a cold evening but refreshing at the end of your game drive.
Food was excellent, served in the main tent where an open fire kept off the chill. A pump fed pond attracts elephants to within feet of the deck.
Our guide David was very knowledgeable and because of the link to the nearby big sister camps had many eyes looking for game on the drives.
We would highly recommend this camp, our favourite in Zimbabwe.More"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Buffalo
4 sightings
Cheetah
1 sighting
Eland
1 sighting
Elephant
10+ sightings
Giraffe
2 sightings
Lion
4 sightings
Roan antelope
1 sighting
Wildebeest
2 sightings
Zebra
4 sightings
Zambezi Expeditions
"Simple but perfect"
3 nights
Arrived
1 Jul 2019
"This is a fantastic simple camp on the banks of the Zambezi run by a truly wonderful team.
The tents are not luxurious but are clean and very comfortable, looking out over the Zambezi River to the hills of Zambia beyond. Outside en-suite facilities include perfectly acceptable bucket showers and heated water in the mornings or when you want it. To lie in bed listening to the sound of hippos and other camp visitors at night is the archetypal African experience and this is the place to do it (Africa as it used to be).
Without doubt it is the staff, however, who turn this camp from good to brilliant. It was like staying with friends for 3 nights and we wish we could have stayed longer. Every single person in camp was a delight and a credit to African Bush Camps."
The tents are not luxurious but are clean and very comfortable, looking out over the Zambezi River to the hills of Zambia beyond. Outside en-suite facilities include perfectly acceptable bucket showers and heated water in the mornings or when you want it. To lie in bed listening to the sound of hippos and other camp visitors at night is the archetypal African experience and this is the place to do it (Africa as it used to be).
Without doubt it is the staff, however, who turn this camp from good to brilliant. It was like staying with friends for 3 nights and we wish we could have stayed longer. Every single person in camp was a delight and a credit to African Bush Camps."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Buffalo
3 sightings
Eland
1 sighting
Elephant
4 sightings
Hippo
4 sightings
Lion
1 sighting
Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
Zebra
2 sightings
The driver who looked after us here (whose name I sadly cannot remember) really helped us out re the lost luggage. He drove us around Maun shopping and also helped with a local SIM card purchase."