Travel reviews by Mr T & Mr L from Amsterdam

"We absolutely loved Elsa's Kopje. If you get the chance, go.

It was the first time we had visited Meru NP and we will certainly return. The park was great and the camp itself was quite lovely, very well run by Taro and his team. The camp setting was epic, on top of the Kopje with sweeping views. The food was excellent and well presented and served in quantity. Lastly the camp was not at all busy during our stay which was nice from our perspective. And the camp team looked after us extremely well.

We were in Room 2 which had a wonderful view across the plain below the Kopje from the large deck. This was accessed via a rope bridge which took a little getting used to but was great for privacy. More generally there were plenty of paths and steps so this isn't a great camp if you have mobility issues. But great for exercise.

Covid-wise, as with everywhere we travelled, staff were punctilious about protocols, with masks, sanitizer and temperature checks as required. Much more so than at home in Amsterdam.

Our guide, Wilson was excellent and very professional and we were lucky to have our own vehicle for the duration of our stay. He took his lead from us and although no doubt surprised when we said we didn't want to see lions (given we were staying at Elsa's Kopje!) he took the request very seriously as we hoped he would.

We did have a couple of brief encounters but he asked us in advance if we wanted to look and moved on quickly when asked to do so. But there are definitely plenty of lions around for those that want to spend time with them.

We also saw the "Big 5" (white rhino in the enclosure) as well as the "Specialist 5" (huge numbers of Reticulated Giraffe, some Grevy's Zebra (beautiful), Gerenuk, Oryx and Somali Ostrich). And there was a night time visit from a leopard and cub, drinking at the pool in camp.

The setting for the camp is lovely as mentioned and the bonus is a fabulous infinity pool with a sweeping view across the plain below the camp. A great place to spend a little time given the heat during the day.

Meru itself was beautiful with ample permanent water and very large numbers of game, including big herds of elephant and buffaloes.

After having been unable to get to Africa for nearly 18 months it was a treat to be back. We only stayed four nights at Elsa's and wished we had stayed longer."

"Tortilis was an excellent camp in a lovely situation on the top of a ridge with spectacular views on clear days across the plains to Mount Kilimanjaro. There is a very comfortable open-sided bar area with ample seating where guests are welcome throughout the day. And watching the animals come to the waterhole at all hours is a treat.

The lodge itself is larger than we would normally choose with big tour groups passing through for one or two nights. This did make it feel more commercial than our very intimate Elsa's Kopje experience. But I think this is a consequence of being in Amboseli which is a popular and easily accessible park. However, the camp was extremely well run by Moses and his team and coming from a sister property meant that we didn't need to sign additional paperwork et cetera. They had even called Elsa’s to find out what we were drinking for sundowners so they could suggest the same. And overall we were very well looked after by David and Jackson

Food was less compelling than Elsa's with a pre-prepared buffet lunch with a different theme (middle-East, Indian et cetera) and David was happy to provide excellent sandwiches as an alternative when asked.

By our fifth day we also found we were being offered the same food as day one but the camp explained that most guests were staying for a much shorter period than we were.

As with Elsa's there was a small pool (with lots of birds) and plenty of game to be seen from the room (tent) and from the bar area overlooking the floodlit waterhole. There were a few biting flies at night but nothing too bad.

We were in tent seven which was comfortable but showing some signs of wear and tear. And monkeys were an absolute menace, able to access the tent via the worn velcro flap even when the tent was fully zipped. So we made good use of the monkey proof chest. They took an especial liking to the blue Delft KLM houses we were given by KLM and the chewed wax seals on those houses is a nice souvenir of the trip :-)

This was also the first time we had been to Amboseli and the park itself was a revelation. A range of habitats (quasi-desert, lake bed, swamp and marsh, forest, rocky hills) and the variety of game was enormous. Huge herds of wildebeest and zebra, fantastic elephants and buffalos, plentiful bird life and some lovely cheetah (and in spite of our best efforts we also saw lions). The only downside was the park was very busy with lots of vehicles, especially over the long weekend at the end of our stay.

Our guide Soloman was excellent, again very respectful of our wish to avoid lions and happy to allow us to spend long periods simply watching the big herds of elephants and buffalo. At our request, he was adept at finding quiet areas of the park, away from other vehicles and we never felt rushed. And again it was great to have our own vehicle which maximized flexibility.

One observation about the location of Tortilis. It is quite a distance (45 minutes plus) from the marshy areas of the park which meant that it was almost impossible to get deep into that area in the afternoons. Instead the afternoon drives tended to be more cursory, staying close to the concession where it was possible to drive after 18h when the main park was closed. So the mornings started early with a long drive to the marsh area and lasted six hours or more. This was fine (indeed we had some amazing morning drives) but as a night owl it was a shame that the afternoon excursions were not able to be similarly epic. But lovers of morning drives will the very happy!

One benefit of the early start on our first morning was some jaw-dropping views of Kilimanjaro at sunrise. But be warned. If you see the mountain, be appreciative. We took that view slightly for granted and then never saw the mountain again during our stay."

"Stayed as part of a group at Robins House. Very charming and intimate lodge with two bedrooms, shared sitting space and nice outside terrace overlooking river.

Excellent staff, very willing to help and cooked up a great breakfast (other meals were eaten elsewhere).

Have marked location as average because of proximity to ramp down to river which meant that vehicle noise was intrusive at times"

"Architecturally striking house, at the side of the Chongwe River. We stayed as part of a group (the house has four rooms).

Overall this was an excellent and very comfortable stay although the open plan nature of the house meant that the rooms lacked privacy and there was quite a lot of noise in the morning as people congregated downstairs.

Probably the nicest thing was the proximity to the river which allowed us to take a boat deep into the park and be met by a vehicle and driven slowly back. This was especially helpful since the game in the vicinity of the gate was pretty lacklustre compared to what could be seen deeper in the park. The team also put on an awesome lunch by the Zambezi as well as a fun sundowner on a sandbank in the river."

"The Vic Falls Hotel is a predictable but nonetheless charming place to stay.

Really good swimming pool area and obviously a prime location above the Falls (which were exceptionally dry when we visited)."

"Slightly conflicted perspective on Savute Safari Lodge but turned out to be great overall.

We booked this trip at the very last minute (two days prior to leaving) afetr deciding on a whim to take another look at the (rapidly drying out) Savute Channel. This lodge wouldn't have been our choice as I much prefer smaller less mainstream lodges and Savute Safari Lodge is neither of these things with 24 beds and what seemed to be quite a lot of larger groups staying. But it was all we could find for the days we were there.

However, notwithstanding our misgivings, it was a great choice. The staff were charming, Gwis, our guide was absolutely excellent as was Action, the manager who clearly led a very well run camp. The chalets were not your standard fantasy Africa lodging (they had rather ugly tiled bathroom, sliding glass patio doors, built in wardrobes etc) but they were actually very comfortable and practical which more than compensated for the optics

Savute channel / marsh continue to be fascinating and we saw excellent game (leopard, lion kill, 1000s of zebra, huge eles and so on) so Savute as good as ever and we were very happy with the guiding as mentioned above. And since you're in a public area, it's not as if by choosing one camp over another, the experience would be radically different, at least not where it matters out in the bush."

"We stayed at this camp in late October and had an excellent time. Really good game and the whole park almost to ourselves it seemed; we only saw a couple of other vehicles during the five days we were there.

The camp was very new but not obviously so. The managers, Matt and Annette were clearly very experienced at running a camp and everything felt very smooth and well managed, especially for such a new operation.

Patrick was our guide and he was very good (if somewhat aloof). But aloofness aside, he knew his stuff and we saw excellent game, especially leopards and elephant. He was also very willing to go look for specifics such as the carmine bee eaters on the river so we were very happy with what we saw.

The "tents" were over-sized (in a good way) with a nice plunge pool with a view over the floodplain. I'd normally be a little dismissive of luxuries like a plunge pool but in 45 degree heat it was lovely! Also a good outdoor shower and an indoor bath. I personally didn't especially like the aesthetic of the double patio doors but they were very practical and made it easy to get on and off the terrace. And they did a good job in keeping out dust so what they lacked in charm, they made up for in practicality. Food was excellent too; always very well cooked and plenty of variety. And good wine :-)

Lower Zambezi remains one of my favourite Zambian parks with it's combination of riverine and bush environments. Anabezi was hard to fault with its choices of water and land based activities. I'd certainly go back again"

"Camp Hwange is one my favorite camps in southern Africa; it's super well run and has excellent guides, management and staff. They are also very flexible on arrangements which we appreciated enormously.

If you're looking for somewhere where it's all about the game, this camp could well be for you. Don't get me wrong though; it's also very comfortable and well run with all the basics (good food, comfortable beds, hot water, cold drinks) done well. But it's first and foremost a game viewing operation and they take this very seriously so if you just want a quick drive round the bush before breakfast or dinner you might want to choose somewhere different.

But if you want some serious guiding and full-on engagement with Hwange National Park, then this is an awesome camp. But expect to be out for loooong drives or walks; we would leave by 06h and not come back until 13h and then be out again for another 4 or 5 hours so it's intense. But the game was fantastic. Lots of lions if that's your thing (it's not mine especially!) and (when we were there just ahead of the rains) enormous herds of eles and buffalo. We also saw a lot of leopard (to my slight surprise as these aren't always easy to see in Hwange). We even had the dilemma of having to choose between leopard and serval sightings one evening (we chose serval which was wonderful)

So overall I really don't think you can go wrong but I'd say it's for the genuine safari enthusiast, not someone looking for a little safari between meals and down-time.

Lastly we were lucky enough to be guided by Dave Carson again (this was our second visit) and he is great; super-enthusiastic about everything, especially lions (but willing to go and look at other game too with a little coaxing lol). I cannot recommend him highly enough"

"It's a predicable choice but a lovely place to end a safari. Hard to go wrong and worth splashing out on a nice room.

Recently seen some renovation work which was well done but still feels authentic. And well run and staffed too."

"Nice camp; good guides. Flexible and willing to work with our schedule. Quite a few snakes which was a nice change."

"very nice camp. Did an excellent walk which was probably the high spot of the stay.

Not as much game as I'd expected overall and hard to persuade the guides to stop focusing on cats and show us different animals. But a good camp with great staff"

"I have long wanted to stay at the Vic Falls having been there many times when I was younger and quite unable to pay for more than a beer on the terrace (and not even that sometimes).

So it was good to get the chance to stay and the experience lived up to expectations although the hotel was somewhat shabby. Staff were super-friendly and the food was good.

The terrace is one if the nicest places to sit and chill in the area. We "wasted" a complete afternoon drinking wine and watching the warthogs and vervet monkeys

One word of warning. The hotel is older (of course) but has very limited facilities for the mobility-impaired and the suites (which we had booked to allow more space) were up a sweeping flight of stairs without any lift. My mum wasn't able to manage the stairs and we had to move her to a much less-attractive room but one that she was at least able to get in and out of. Even then there were challenges with the new room (high bathtub etc). But in the circumstances, it worked out and the hotel did the best they could."

"We stayed at Camp Hwange for four nights and had a great time. Travelling with my elderly mother could have been something of a challenge but Dave Carson and the Camp Hwange team pulled out all the stops, even building a bespoke set of wooden steps so mum could climb more easily in and out of the Land Rover.

Because of mum's somewhat impaired mobility, we weren't able to spend as much time walking as we would have liked but in all honesty, this wasn't a big deal. We were lucky to have Dave himself guide us for our visit and he was outstanding, spotting prodigious amounts of game at sometimes implausible distances from the vehicle (although much of it was extremely close!).
Having spent time in Somalisa a couple of years ago (another excellent camp), we felt this was the better location in terms of game (lots) and people (we saw maybe three other vehicles in four days which was great). All the animals were in fine condition and very good densities, especially elephants which numbered concentrations in the hundreds as well as Dave's beloved lions. Our only regret on the game front was missing the Aardwolf but we did see a spitting cobra which was a nice treat (honestly!)

The camp itself is very new and we found it hard to find much to fault. Spacious rooms, hot water bottles and good en-suite facilities. It didn't matter much to us (as we didn't try to start too early) but maybe it would be worth considering bringing tea or coffee to the rooms in the mornings at wake up call. And though I loved the long morning drives (much longer than in most other camps we have stayed at), I did miss the full safari breakfast although we had that (and enjoyed it) on our last morning.

Julian and Ashley were also great and one of the things I really appreciated at the camp was their flexibility and willingness to work around our slightly different schedule, given mum's slow starts in the morning (and my own!).

I would certainly return again. I suspect that later in the season it will be difficult to walk to and from the rooms (even with an escort) given the number of elephants in the area but I never felt anything but well looked after with the safety protocols in camp so am sure that Dave and the team will have a plan in place if one becomes necessary."

"We really enjoyed our stay. Garth and Malemia were excellent guides as well as great hosts and although the camp was very new, it seemed very polished. Overall staffing was great; lots of charm.

The food was excellent; some of the best we've had anywhere. The wine glasses were some of the nicest and most delicate I've come across (although I doubt they'll last for long!). I know that's an odd thing to comment on but it was very typical of the attention to detail in the camp.

Tents were basic (bucket showers, solar lights, simpl flush toilets) but more than good enough and remarkably so given the location. The common areas were great too and the location by the river was lovely.

And the game was very good; elephants, buffalo, lions and so on. More than we had expected to see in a walking camp"

"We had first visited Tafika back in 2003 and having been back again, I wondered why it took us so long to return.

This remains one of my favourite camps; charming, well run with great personal service led by John and Carol who were excellent hosts. Guiding (Brian and Greg for us) was excellent and the fact that we had the same guides as we had in 2003 speaks volumes for the loyalty this camp generates.

It's also nice to mix the guides up a bit and hand the tip to Carol for everyone rather than person by person. As to game, we saw some lovely leopard, serval and lion as well as some huge herds of buffalo and all the “usual” stuff.

The rooms were very spacious and comfy with hot water on tap and the food (thanks to Rhona) was good too. And the microlighting was a lot of fun too!"

"We had a great time at Old Mondoro. Jason and Michaela were excellent and relaxed host, happy to chat and share a joke with us. The food was very good including a lovely bush brunch and it was great to spend some time on the water after 8 days in South Luangwa. And we caught (and released) some Tiger Fish which was fun. Lovely to be on the water

We saw great game here; lots of leopards again as well as some great birds and really nice smaller game such as civets, genets, honey badger, porcupines (everywhere) and bush pigs. We were disappointed to miss the aardvark that had been spotted a couple of weeks prior to our visit but that's a good reason to return.

Rooms were great; a nice balance of bush and comfort. A balance between Zebra Plains and Tafika in fact which worked nicely. We also had some big elephants in the camp which was interesting albeit made for some logistic challenges getting to and from the rooms. This was ably sorted by Jason and the guides with a shuttle service to the room when necessary."

"In an nice setting on riverbank with great views across to Zambia. The game was OK although lots of water meant that parts of the concession were shut off (not the camp's fault of course). But we saw the usual stuff and some nice eland herds. Lion a couple of times at night.

Overall though we were very disappointed with the camp which had an odd, tense atmosphere. It felt poorly run versus other Wilderness camps we have stayed in and not a patch on Somalisa down at Hwange. Lots of niggly stuff and the guides / camp were very inflexible in the way they treated and interacted with guests.

In summary by no means terrible but much better places to go in Zimbabwe in our experience."

"Great experience with Lloyd; would love to do it again.

Savuti was looking great with water all the way down through the channel and into the marsh. Some wonderful game (wild dog, leopard, large herds of (big) elephants as well as some more esoteric animals like honey badgers).

Lloyd knows the area like the back of his hand and we felt privileged to be able to have him as our guide. We would certainly recommend a trip with him but not for the novice visitor. Mobile safari is quite full-on and can be hard work. It's something to do when you're looking for something more authenitc (but rather less comfortable) than staying in a camp. But I wouldn't suggest it for a first time trip."

"Lovely intimate camp in Hwange. Lots of elephants in camp as well as a cute pack of dwarf mongoose.

The staff were a highlight and gave the camp a considerable measure of charm. Attentive but not over-bearing, flexible and entertaining. Dudley was an excellent guide and Henrietta a charming hostess. We would certainly recomend the camp to anyone looking for a really nice place to stay in this part of Zimbabwe.

Really good food and plenty of game although a paucity of big cats. But some lovely elephants (drinking in the swimming pool) as well as some unusual sightings such as bat eared foxes."

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"Nice to get away from the heavily trafficked northern part of the park. Really nice rooms and generally a much better camp than I had been expecting.

Lots of tree climbing lions."

"Somewhat rococo but we expected that. Felt most like a hotel of all the lodges we visited but proably inevitable in Ngorongoro.

We hired private vehicles which made a big diference to our visit and stayed on the crater floor all day. Mudy (Mohammend) was a really good guide (please do feed that back if you get the chance). Gets pretty cold at night.

The visit to Odupai Gorge was really good."

"Underwhelmed at first and disappointed to miss the migration but the camp grew on us and the staff were really good.

Saw some great snakes (Mamba, Spitting Cobras) and Colobus Monkeys which was cool. Loads of Tetse Flies though, especially by the river

On the first night they did a "surprise" gathering in the bush with all the guests which was ghastly and just reinforced that we were staying at a full camp. It was much (much) nicer when we just did sundowners on our own (ie just our vehicle). Side trip to Lake Victoria was good."

"Couldn't be better; we had very high expectations of the camp and it still exceeded them resoundingly.

Mike and Sarah were great hosts. Staff were always one step ahead with anything you wanted. Good diving though sometimes poor visibility and we were unlucky with the weather."

"Really nice hotel; lovely room with big balcony and hammock. Good air-conditioning and nice roof-top restauant.

Stonestown wasn't a great place though."