Travel reviews by Wild hunting dogs from UK

"We started our holiday here with two nights / one full day to 'chill out' after the overnight flight. So we didn't have very long to enjoy the activities on offer, or to explore the surrounding area properly.

We enjoyed visiting the Falls by ourselves, so that we could explore in an unhurried fashion. We got very wet! There had been a lot of rain, and the Falls were probably at their best. Well worth seeing.

We chose to go on a suset cruise on the African Queen. This trip was organised very efficiently by the hotel and the boat trip was very luxurious, unlike any other we have experienced. We were fortunate to be directed to the top deck of he boat, and so escaped the noisy chatter of the other two decks, and experienced not onlly very good views of the countryside and wildlife, but a very informative commentary from the very knowledgeable captain on the wildlife of the area.

We also sampled the large hotel swimming pool and spent a happy hour in the bird hide watching weaver birds and kingfishers.

We are not normally fans of large hotels, but we couldn't fault this one. The food was particularly good and varied. The wild animals wandering loose around the campus were an interesting bonus, and the Falls really were just five minutes walk from our bedroom.

It would have been good to have at least one more day to explore the surrounding area. I did not feel we visited Zambia, we basically had a hotel experience (we were ferried to and from the hotel for the river trip). This was due to our lack of time in the area, and our choice of activities during the time we had."

"We were the first guests at the camp following its refurbishment. The so called 'tents' were out of this world - very spacious, with separate bedroom (with proper beds) and bathroom (flush toilet, bath tub, twin sinks, and the exquisite outdoor 'his and hers' twin shower). I

The tents were upmarket - so was the catering. Large quantities of really imaginative, varied, excellently cooked food appeared day after day. we are hoping that a book of recipes will be published in due course! I noted that the camp coped very well with the special dietary requirements of two of the guests..

The safari drives were brilliant. Our guide, Thabo, was excellent, with an enthusiasm for his country and all of its wildlife. With him, we had our best elephant encounters of the holiday, but felt very safe because it was obvious that he understood the behaviour of these, and the other animals, and would do nothing to upset them or to put us at risk.

We liked the completely open vehicles, and could see the tracker and guide working very closely together - locating animals from the smallest clue. Although it had been a very wet season, and animals were perhaps slower than usual in retuning to this area, we saw a lot, including a herd of 60 elephants and one of 200 buffalo. There were also large quantites of hippo, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, antelope (including sable) and we had a very good sighting of two spotted hyenas. The bird life was very good, the highlights had to be a brilliant sychronised rolling display by two lillac breasted rollers, and a pied kingfisher that managed to swallow a fish as big as iteself - even Thabo didn't think it would manage it.

Our only regret was that we hadn't taken a tape recorder with us, it would have been good to capture the sounds of Africa - especially those of the nearby Hippos.

All the stalff at the lodge made us very welcome, and we enjoyed the ambience and the relaxed but busy routine of our holiday there."

"The camp is beautifully situated on the lagoon, and it was good to enjoy the siesta on the verandah watching the hippos and crocodles. The staff here were very friendly, helpful and efficient and the food good.

Animal sightings here were plentiful and varied. Our guide, Roc, was very good, although not usually employed at this lodge. He worked extremely well with the tracker, who had been at the lodge for some years. Apart from lots of herbivores, we saw lions and cheetahs.

The highlight, though, were the African Hunting Dogs. We had been following tracks one day, without success, and then the next day a dog ran through the camp while we were having the early morning breakfast . There was a quick rush to the vehicles, and we all joined in the chase. The dogs were not at all bothered by the vehicles, and the driving skills of the guides were amazing. We had lots of sightings of dogs, and then came upon the pack just after they had killed an impala.

We were able to watch the dogs feed, then trot down to the water to drink, and then wander back into he bush to rest. We located them again in the afternoon, and stayed to watch them waking, greeting each other, and then set off to hunt again. At this point we lost them, but while we were having a sundowner by a pool, two dogs appeared at the other side of the pool, and ran round to within a few feet of us. We felt very lucky at privileged to experience the whole hunting and resting routine of these beautiful animals.

We didn't experience the boat trip - our choice - we were enjoying the safari drives too much."

"The camp was very well integrated into its surroundings, and accomodation, food and service were excellent. The managers and all the staff made us very welcome. Siesta times were spent on our verandah watching the grazing hippos. To be recommended!

During the first evening drive we witnessed two cheetah kills and one lion kill. Dinner for us was a little late that evening! We were impressed by the skill of the guides in following the hunting animals, but in a non-intrusive way. The animals were not bothered by our presence - confirmed by a vet in our party - and all the guides were careful not to interfere with the hunts - switching lights off at critical times so that we did not influence the outcome - by blinding the prey, for example. Our guide, David, was also aware that not all guests would want to witness the kill or the aftermath, and we were given the choice.

The other drives were also very enjoyable.. We had very good viewings of many animals, including lions and cheetahs again. The boat trip was delightful, and it was great to enjoy our sundowner in the middle of a large African lake, watched by a few hippos. The mokoro trip was great, so peaceful, and having heard the calls of the painted reed frog, it was great to see them, and marvel at how such a small creature could make so much noise."

"We would love to return to Jack's camp. Such luxury, and such amazing food. We were very well looked after, the tents and communal areas delightful and the oil lamps gave an amazing ambience to the accomodation.

The activities were unusual and varied. Our guide, Super, had an amazing knowledge and enthusiasm for the area, and we had very intereting drives. We were able to see the tail end of the migration, with large herds of widebeest and zebra, and we also saw a large herd of the resident oryx. We also saw many smaller mammals, including bat eared foxes, a honey badger, mongoose and various colonies of meercats.

Bird life was good, including good views of secretary birds. These trips were complemented by a leisurely walk with bushmen who could show us how even the most unlikely grassland could provide food for man and beast.

The experience of the quad biking on the salt pans, and experiencing the sunset in such emptiness, was a unique and amazing. I am not allowed to talk about what followed, BUT IT WAS GREAT.

We all felt priviledged to experience meercats at very close quarters, it was fun to have them sitting on us, but I think our group all agreed that the best part was walking with these animals as they moved from one area to another.

There is always one, and surprisingly there was one guest, unfortunaltely English, who didn't enjoy the camp. The rest of the guests found her rather self centred and didn't want to share acitivites with her. The staff coped admirably. keeping all happy, and are to be commended on that.

I am so glad that you recommended a three night stay in this area, rather than the two nights we had originally intended."