Travel reviews by Ms K. from DC, USA

"The restaurant and bar were very good and affordable. Room was small but the public areas of the property are outstanding.

It was very convenient for beginning our actual "trip" from OR Tambo the following morning."

"This was the first Southern Africa safari lodge we stayed in and we got spoiled here. Not all lodges are equal and of the 3 on this trip Somalisa was the best. The area also spoiled us. Within the first 2 hours of arrival we had seen three (elephant, buffalo, lion) of the Big Five. By the time we left 3 nights later we added the fourth - leopard. On Fridays the camp has local culture and food which was great too. Love the oxtail! I highly recommend this property.

Exercise awareness of where the elephant are if you decide to use your private outdoor shower. Having your shower interrupted by an elephant is funny now but it required quick thinking and reaction - quite exciting at the time.

Extensive wildlife sighting notes will be emailed."

"We only had 2 nights here but the experiences were amazing. Kelly and Webby were fabulous and surprisingly accommodating. We were pleasantly surprised when Kelly offered to see if we could do an activity at an unscheduled time. It worked out great and we were able to walk up to and amongst 7 of Zambia's 10 wide lipped rhinoceros!

Also very thoughtful that she booked us on the boat sundowner the evening of our afternoon arrival. Sunsets all over Africa are stunning but on the Zambezi River they are even more beautiful. Crocodile and hippopotamus sightings with hippo serenades in the evenings. The other included activity that we did was Victoria Falls. We went at the perfect time of year for a dramatic [and soaking] experience.

Our next location was Botswana via the Kazungula ferry border crossing. This lodge was perfectly situated between our Zimbabwe to Zambia bridge border crossing and Kazungula.

I highly recommend this property!"

"Less than thrilled with the Lodge - but the Makgadikgadi area is incredible. Starting with something positive - all of the food was delicious.

After staying at 2 superior lodges in Zimbabwe and Zambia arriving here was an unpleasant surprise. The staff and "schedule" are strict. During our briefing we were Told the schedule for the next 3 days. All 4 of us did not want to do the Bushmen and we had to push hard to have it removed from the schedule. Two of us asked if we could see meerkat the next day and were told "no" even though the meerkat was one of the most influential reasons why they booked at the lodge.

The script for the briefing was less than factual. We were told 1) that we could ask for our laundry to be completed early; and 2) that the beverages were available to us 24/7.

1) Laundry was not returned in the evenings and we had to ask for it the following morning. We then asked if we could have it by dinnertime so we could pack and staff reacted rudely and said it is not possible.

2) Everyone returned from an evening drive to find padlocks on the beverages. Staff seemed put out by having to find the key and open the containers. They allowed each of us to take 1 beverage and then forced us back to our individual tents. We were unable to enjoy the common areas and talk about our excitement at having just seen 4 cheetah and an aardvark.

Last comment about the strict schedule...we were expected to be up for a 6AM breakfast even though our flight was at 11am. We pushed back and were able to "sleep in" and have breakfast at 8am.
After the experiences at previous lodges we felt constantly rushed here. No additional time was given even if you were late because an elephant was blocking the walking path.

My last concern is that I saw one of the trackers/drivers [thankfully, not ours] sneaking wine after lunch. The trackers are undoubtedly very familiar with the area but I'd prefer mine to be driving me around without having consumed.

The environment of the surrounding area and wildlife was amazing. I highly recommend the Makgadikgadi Pans but I cannot recommend this lodge, unfortunately."