Travel reviews by Dr M from Oakham

"The camp is located on the banks of a nearly dry river bed and from our banda on a bend we had a view in both directions. There was plenty of wildlife, animals, birds, reptiles and butterflies to keep us amused during the heat of the day when we were in the room. This was very spacious, well appointed and imaginatively laid out.

Our guide Joffrey was excellent and we had six great game drives, all to different locations. The scenery was stunning and we encountered lions from five separate prides.

Dinner was served in a different place each evening under the stars. Most of the food, especially the lunches, was delicious, (the only exception being some very tough lamb). Attention to detail in the housekeeping was extraordinary to the extent that every piece of our clothing was refolded and rearranged! We were a little disappointed that the only activity on offer was driving - no walks were possible. Riaan is an excellent host and we very much enjoyed his company."

"Beho Beho is more like a 5* hotel than a safari camp in some respects - antique furniture and rugs in the bandas, unlimited electricity and hot water and plenty of powerpoints for charging batteries etc. But despite that the animals still wander in and around the camp to its small watering hole and around the bandas.

All the staff were attentive and great company, from Ian and Kimberley, the managers, Karin in charge of catering, Heribert and Walter, our extremely informative guides, to Simba, the ever-smiling barman who set up drinks in the most spectacular sundown spots.

We undertook game drives, walks and a boat trip on Lake Tagala. The landscape is very beautiful and when we visited was still quite green. While this meant that there were many flowers and butterflies, but it did make finding animals more of a challenge. We found the wild dogs in lovely early morning light, but big cats were in short supply, although they were heard most nights. Were it not for a few fresh footprints, we would have driven straight past 3 lionesses and their cubs, so well were they concealed under a bush. Sundowners and breakfasts in the bush were much appreciated."

"If you want a refuge from the hectic city and a place to chill out before the long flight home, then this is definitely the place. The collection to and from the airport is very efficient and stress-free. On arrival we were warmly welcomed by Maretha and a delicious cool drink. She showed us around the house, while our luggage disappeared upstairs.

Our room was number 8 on the top floor (no lift) with a view of the ocean and passing ships. The room was large and very well appointed with an enormous bathroom. We were treated to bubbly before a delicious dinner. This we ate in the company of the owner, Charlie Bailey, who happened to be in town.

Breakfast was delivered promptly to the room at 5.15am, so that we had time to enjoy it before our early morning flight back to London."

"This was our third visit and we found Mwamba almost as we left it two years ago - a very comfortable, friendly, and excitingly wild bush camp. There were a few changes however - a redesigned lookout/sunset viewing spot, a different manager and a new guide. Meyam has a number of years guiding in South Luangwa and we found him very personable and were very happy to benefit from his extemsive knowledge both on drives and when walking.

Gideon was again our scout and a highlight was him spotting a pack of 16 wild dogs while we were walking. The new camp manager, Josh, who had been in post for only 6 weeks did a great job and was very helpful, pleasant and welcoming, but we did miss the wealth of knowledge and experience of the camp's previous manager and guide.

We enjoyed another lovely picnic on the banks of the Luangwa on our last day. The need to be accompanied to the nearby hide at the edge of the camp, where previously one could go alone (apparently there was an incident) was a bit inhibiting, but presumably necessary on safety grounds. The provision of bucket showers was a bit hit and miss and some of the breakfast biscuits were hard enough to break teeth!

But these are very minor gripes and overall we loved it and would certainly return if possible. It remains one of our favourite bush camps."

"This was our first time in the South of the Park and with the Bushcamp company. During our transfer from Mwamba to Chamilandu we stopped in for brunch at Mfuwe Lodge. Here we were made very welcome especially by Ollie, Shelley and Ian (whom we knew from previous visits to Mwamba) and enjoyed a delicious lunch.

The transfer to Chamilandu was rather hectic and uncomfortable, partly due to the speed at which we travelled and partly the tsetses which seemed suddenly to have emerged. The driver Byron seemed unable to gauge the level of bush experience of his passengers which was bit irritating at times. However, he was very cheery and delivered us safely to Chamilandu where we were warmly welcomed by Zilla.

This was another very comfortable, small bush camp with the luxury of constant hot water, friendly, helpful staff and delicious food. The situation on the river bank is beautiful and makes for interesting wildlife viewing on both banks. A special mention goes to Doc who served our meals, including a private dinner on our deck one night. Our guide Gilbert was again very experienced and knowledgeable and went out of his way to provide extra information. He was also good company. David, our scout was a valuable addition to our excursions.

On balance the abundance of wildlife was not as good as around Mwamba, but we did have an excellent leopard sightling - two females up a tree with an impala kill. We had a great walk over to Chindeni, another bushcamp, with two other guests whe were transferring there. Again we were made very welcome, given use of a room to refresh ourselves and served an excellent brunch.

Chamilandu has a nearby hide overlooking a lagoon where we sent a fruitful siesta photographing a very playful troop of baboons including an albino baby. The downside in this area was the huge number of tstese flies. The weather warmed up as we arrived in this part of the park and they were out in force. Despite this we very much enjoyed our time here."

"We loved Kuyenda and especially the walking. The wealth of experience of Phil and Babette and their very generous hospitality made for an extra special stay. Once again the location and comfort of the camp didn't disappoint.

The walks were full of interest and through very varied landscapes. One fairly close encounter was with a group of 10 giraffes, not to mention the young bull elephant who thought about charging. On one evening the sundowners were set out near the sand river in view of a gorgeous sunset on one side and moonrise on the other. Dinner was served under the stars and a nearly full moon, in the company of munching elephants. The tsetses were still annoying but didn't detract too much from a wonderful relaxing few days.

The only complaint here was that our departure from Kuyenda for the airport was dependent on a vehicle arriving from Mfuwe Lodge to transfer two other guests to another camp. That vehicle was late, meaning that we all had to pile into Phil's vehicle and meet up with the other transfer some way down the road. This meant that our transfer to Mfuwe Lodge was again at high speed. But Phil and Babette managed to deliver us with minutes to spare for our final tranfer to the airport. Again on arrival at Mfuwe Lodge everything was handled very efficiently and the same staff greeted us and sent us off to the airport.

Our time at Kuyenda will rate as one of our favourite bushcamp experiences."

"We chose to stay here as an aternative to the Taj Pomodzi which had we used on our last trip and found disappointing. The service here was efficient and much more reliable than the Taj who forgot to pick up up at the airport!. The staff were friendly and helpful, The food was tasty, although not the standard to which we had become accustomed in the bush.

Apart from the rather unpleasant water supply (brown and smelling of rust) and a dodgy shower, our only complaint was the transfer time to the sirport. We left camp at 6.30 arriving at the airport at 7.00, which meant that we were still quite a long way back in the checkin queue when they called the flight for boarding. A bit of unnecessary stress at the end of a wonderfully relaxing holiday."

"Really great accommodation and food. All staff very friendly, attentive and helpful. Carol, John and Jenny wonderful hosts. Microlight trip was a major highlight. Enjoyed the company of the pet cats and dogs, especially the cat who slept on our bed. Carmine bee eaters and massing crowned cranes were spectacular.

Very much enjoyed drives and walks. The hide in camp is a good idea, although it wasn't very active during our visits. Great guiding from Brian, Stephen and Alex. Would love to go back.

Only downside was that two of the guides went down with malaria while we were there which must have caused organisational problems for some activies."

"Ernst was a great host and excellent company. The walking was great fun and very informative. We did not see as much large wildlife here, but on one walk were able to approach a herd of wildebeest quite closely. We shared part of our time here with Anna, so the experience was quite exclusive.

Flights up and down from Tafika with Albert were also great fun. Shinde, the tame squirrel, provided much entertainment. Special and George made our walks even better and Lawrence(?) looked after us exceptionally well back at camp.
The hammock outside our room was fantastically comfortable!

Only downside was that from a photographer's point of view walking is less productive!"

"Wonderful to be back. Derek and Jules are also great hosts and we particularly enjoyed Derek's guiding. It was great to meet up with Innocent, Patrick and Ian again, whose guiding we also very much appreciate.

The hides add an extra dimension to this camp and this year we came at the right time for the Carmine bee-eaters. We had several good leopard sightings and spent time with the Holywood and Mwamba prides, as well as some beautiful giraffes. The large fishing parties of storks were another attraction.

Alison and Stephie also helped to make our visit most enjoyable. It was also lovely to have our favourite room again with a hippo strolling past our bath tub."

"Many of the comments above for Kaingo apply here. Gail was a welcoming and attentive hostess (we caught her on her first day in the job!) Jimmy served us with a constant smile. Our accommodation (Sausage tree) was great being next to the hide and with a great view of the river bed.

A wonderful picnic lunch on the banks of the Luangwa was arranged for our last day (same spot as last year). The walks to (with Patrick) and from (with Ian) Mwamba were, as ever, very enjoyable - two good leopard sightings on the way back. Terry and Gideon again provided excellent scouting and spotting."

"As above [Ed: these travellers visited Kaingo twice in this trip, either side of a stay at Mwamba Bushcamp]. Our last walk provided a great adrenalin rush when we came face to face with some 500 buffalo.

The hippo hide was rather quiet, but the Hollywood pride was out in force and we spent part of our last drive in the company of some very photogenic giraffe.

Would love to visit at a different time of year."

"Slight disappointment here. Firstly there was no-one to meet us even although our flight was on time. Someone from the Norman-Carr Safaris office helped us out by calling the hotel and allowing us to use their comfy seats. (This person was also extremely helpful when we arrived in Lusaka and coul not find the stamped copy of our visa waiver). A hotel driver turned up about an hour later.

Secondly the hotel tried to charge us again for our accommodation.
Thirdly the food (Indian Buffet) was luke warm, even although we ate at the beginning of the evening.

The transfer back to the airport was much more efficient."