Travel reviews by Donaldsons from ADK, NY
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
3
Excursions taken
0
3 generations of family experience old Africa
Zambia between 26 Jun 2019 and 5 Jul 2019
"For 3 of our children and spouses, and 5 grandchildren, our return to Africa after our trip in 2005 was the trip of a lifetime. The camps were wonderful, the guides professional, the food excellent, the animal sighting spectacular. BUT....I would be negligent if I didn't mention our trip to a local village. Our children and grandchildren have grown up in U.S. "bubbles"....knowing intellectually that the whole world was not like their worlds, but not really understanding what that meant in their guts.
Our children watched our grandchildren play a game of football (soccer) with the village kids, sing and dance with the village folks, and simply see where and how these people live.....no electricity, no running water, no cell phones.
The smiles on both sides were something our kids and grandkids will always remember. Perhaps happiness isn't about money and possessions after all?
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Nope....our second time using you and we would absolutely do so again."
Our children watched our grandchildren play a game of football (soccer) with the village kids, sing and dance with the village folks, and simply see where and how these people live.....no electricity, no running water, no cell phones.
The smiles on both sides were something our kids and grandkids will always remember. Perhaps happiness isn't about money and possessions after all?
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Nope....our second time using you and we would absolutely do so again."
Arranged By Lucy Copson
Pioneer Camp
"Pioneer Camp review"
1 night
Arrived
27 Jun 2019
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Kaingo Camp
"Kaingo Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
28 Jun 2019
"Kaingo again (this was our second visit) exceeded expectations.
The accommodations are really quite excellent, the guides very qualified. Be prepared for in-camp wildlife, including baboons, hippos and, in our case, a friendly (?) elephant. The food was excellent....top quality. The staff was uniformly friendly and helpful. The common space is really extremely nice...as is the new (to us) waterside deck. Overall, a really great experience.
Only negative was availability....we would have chosen to stay 3 nights but only two were available.
Highly recommended."
The accommodations are really quite excellent, the guides very qualified. Be prepared for in-camp wildlife, including baboons, hippos and, in our case, a friendly (?) elephant. The food was excellent....top quality. The staff was uniformly friendly and helpful. The common space is really extremely nice...as is the new (to us) waterside deck. Overall, a really great experience.
Only negative was availability....we would have chosen to stay 3 nights but only two were available.
Highly recommended."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Buffalo
1 sighting
Elephant
1 sighting
Giraffe
1 sighting
Hippo
1 sighting
Leopard
1 sighting
Lion
1 sighting
Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
Wild dog
1 sighting
Zebra
1 sighting
Tafika
"Tafika review"
4 nights
Arrived
30 Jun 2019
"We were again (our second visit) greeted by owners Carol and John Coppenger and daughter Jen.
This camp is perfect for us... low key, relaxed, professional. Accommodations are comfortable: thatched roof and walls, private baths with private open air showers. Not fancy, but comfortable and very nice. Exactly what we wanted our children and grandchildren to see and experience. As close to open-air camping as possible yet completely safe.
The guides at Tafika are outstanding professionals. A walking tour with Isaac is highly recommended: hippos, a pride of lions, birds, et. al. Cooper and Lloyd are highly knowledgeable, and able to keep everyone aged 11 to 74 engaged and excited.
The common space is large, open and comfortable. We ate most dinners under the stars in perfect weather. The game drives were uniformly excellent.
As far as we are concerned, Tafika is a must."
This camp is perfect for us... low key, relaxed, professional. Accommodations are comfortable: thatched roof and walls, private baths with private open air showers. Not fancy, but comfortable and very nice. Exactly what we wanted our children and grandchildren to see and experience. As close to open-air camping as possible yet completely safe.
The guides at Tafika are outstanding professionals. A walking tour with Isaac is highly recommended: hippos, a pride of lions, birds, et. al. Cooper and Lloyd are highly knowledgeable, and able to keep everyone aged 11 to 74 engaged and excited.
The common space is large, open and comfortable. We ate most dinners under the stars in perfect weather. The game drives were uniformly excellent.
As far as we are concerned, Tafika is a must."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Buffalo
Many sightings
Elephant
Many sightings
Giraffe
Many sightings
Hippo
Many sightings
Leopard
Many sightings
Lion
Many sightings
Spotted Hyena
Many sightings
Wild dog
Many sightings
Zebra
Many sightings
It turned out to be a great decision....sort of a transition from home life to the camps in South Luangwa. Accommodations were very nice, camp personal helpful and friendly. There are a fair number of campers, both tent and mobile, which while we didn't expect, were not problematic.
I would recommend Pioneer as a good stopover point."