Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs M from London

"Great camp with very friendly staff. Food all good. Well appointed chalets. We ate by ourselves due to quite a large tour group together which suited us fine. They even set up a lovely private dinning experience around the small pool for us on our last evening with a chef & waitress.

Also due to this group we were also lucky to have our own private game vehicle for all drives apart from the last afternoon when an another lady joined us. Wonderful private Mokoro experience I was with our tracker KB and my husband was with our guide ST. Both our Guide and Tracker were very good.

We had great wild dog encounters including a kill just a few seconds from camp. Was slightly disappointed with lion and leopard sightings."

"We were on the Chobe Princess 1 and had the superior cabin (No 5) on the top deck which is well worth the upgrade as very private and lots of space.

All meals prepared by Jane our chef - the breakfast & lunch buffet and the dinner were of a very high standard.

All 4 staff members on board were extremely friendly and helpful.

Particularly liked Elephant Bay area where there were so many elephants around in the water.

The local Village was very enjoyable and well worth a visit. We were made very welcome and a lovely show of singing and dancing was put on for us by the ladies and children of the village.

Very interesting sailing down the Chobe river with Botswana one side and Namibia the other side. We also had very good encounters with the hippo's and saw lions & cubs very close.

Don't be put off by the immigration formalities as were all very simple & organised."

"One of our favourite hotels in Africa.

On this occasion it was a very brief 2 night stop over to recharge our batteries so didn't participate in any activities apart from relaxing & having a foot massage around the pool. A walk to the falls and enjoying the Zebra's and Giraffes roaming around the grounds.

Breakfast here is probably one of the best you could experience. Very enjoyable dinners at both restaurants.

In our eyes there is nothing quite like this hotel - a bit of African luxury!"

"A very smart luxurious camp run by very efficient and friendly, attentive staff. We even had the pleasure of meeting the owner Grant Cumings on our first evening there.

We opted to dine on a table for just the 2 of us (as did many others) here and they also set up a very nice private lunch one day upstairs overlooking the river. Food very good. We had a surprise BBQ in the bush on our last night and have to say the food served was incredible. Very lucky to have all game drives by ourselves apart from one.

Unfortunately due to the low water levels they were experiencing we could not arrive/depart by boat or participate in any canoeing. Due to the extreme heat 40+ we certainly made use of the small pool.

We had had elephants on numerous occasions walking through camp (was lovely to sit in our hammock and watch the elephants in front of our tent) and Buffalo and Hippo also outside our tent at night).

Also had a wonderful foot massage by Janet."

"Very nice camp with everything you need. Loads of elephants walking through and eating outside our chalet on several occasions. Even had a huge one walk close by me whilst having a very nice massage on our deck from Numbulla.

We had a great guide called Mwila and had some very good sightings. He found the wild dogs and we witnessed yet another kill.

Lovely lioness with 3 very young cubs and another with 2 older cubs kept us amused. Also some decent leopard viewings.

Although the water levels were very low on one occasion it was possible for a short ride along the Zambezi for a nice sundowner.

Very interesting walk with Mwila and armed guard Alan through the Winterthorn tree forest.

With the exception of 2 drives we were very lucky to have our own game drive vehicle."

"The drive from Mfuwe airport to camp was very interesting stopping in the villages enroute at the Shenton farm to pick up fresh veg & eggs, the liquor store for drinks that had been requested from guests at Kaingo and a few staff members returning from their breaks.

Once through the National Park gates we then enjoyed a lunch break in the park watched over by several Giraffes. We were the only 2 guests in camp for the 1st evening. We opted to miss the drive and go to the waterhole hide instead which was very rewarding with 200+ buffalo descending on the waterhole as we arrived. It was certainly thrilling to watch their antics thrashing about in the water. We then enjoyed a sundowner at the elevated look out hut. We had dinner with the host Emma and had the pleasure of 7 lions walk through camp whilst dining.

Witnessed 2 failed lion kill attempts but was still thrilling to watch the chases. Several lion with a kill. Pelican Lagoon is fabulous for a coffee stop and watching the pelicans, storks, eagles and various other birds in massive quantities fighting for the fish.

Lovely bar built into the tree.

Huge outdoor bathroom but you have to keep everything inside chalet due to the baboons, they even turn the taps on and take the toilet roll!"

"Very nice camp with lovely thatched chalets. Very nice freestanding outside bath with view of the wildlife that often roam.

We actually had an elephant rest his trunk on the top of our outside viewing platform and fall asleep for 10 minutes!
Exquisite food from the chef Catherine and her team. We had a surprise bush breakfast one morning which was excellent.

Our guide found the wild dogs moving their very young pups and taking them down to drink which was very interesting.
We visited the carmine bee eaters hide. Stunning to see them up close. Unfortunately the Hippo's didn't want to put a show on for us whilst in the Hippo Hide.
We were also lucky to see a huge pride of 12 lions with a buffalo kill. Reasonable leopard sightings.

On a negative issue we certainly did not have a good experience with our night at the Elephant Hide Sleep Out.
Firstly we didn't pay for this as we stayed a total of 7 nights at both camps so it was offered complimentary but is quite costly to book on their website.
We were taken after dinner at 9.15pm hence it is pitch black and you can't see anything. You have to climb a lot of stairs to get to the bed. The bed is covered in a thick mosquito netting hence you cannot see the stars. To use the drop toilet facility you have to navigate with a torch up and down the steep stairs. They bring coffee and muffins to you at 5.30am and then pick you up at 6am (so barely light) to join the game drive. No animals are in the river at this early time hence you see nothing.

The photo they have on website showing someone sitting on the bed in daylight with elephants crossing the river is very misleading. The only time elephants cross here is late afternoon around 3.30pm which we watched from camp.
We were also covered from head to toe in fine dust from the bark of the tree above us. It was everywhere in the bed and in our ears not very pleasant that could be due to the time of the year though.

We really cannot see the point in sleeping here overnight in the pitch black and can't even see the stars.
They would be better to offer this as a late afternoon viewing with a sundowner."

"An excellent hotel to stay if needed in Lusaka. In traffic it took 40 mins from the airport but early in the morning to the airport it only took 25mins. Our room was upgraded on arrival and was very large and comfortable to repack and organise ourselves with a fabulous bath and shower.

We had an evening meal in the main restaurant which was fabulous and very reasonably priced. We were certainly not expecting it to be of such a high standard. They put out a very nice buffet breakfast (with takeaway cartons) very early so if leaving as we had to at 5am you can help yourself to take with you.

Extremely friendly staff in all areas."

"We didn't arrive here until 8pm and the dinner service had almost finished but the wonderful staff here were very accommodating and allowed us to choose from the dinner menu and we enjoyed an excellent fish dinner.

Our luxury room was lovely.

Breakfast the following morning also very good."

"Fabulous tented chalet and extremely friendly staff.

Lovely lounge & bar area with log fire."

"Fabulous welcome here. Upon arrival we were asked if we had made any dinner reservations for our 3 night stay (as it was very busy in town) which we had not. Within an hour they had managed to reserve 3 wonderful restaurants for us. The Jetty 1905 (at the end of the pier), The Ocean Cellar (in the old town) and The Tug overlooking the Ocean. All 3 were excellent and can certainly recommend.

They also very kindly reconfirmed our excursions for the following 2 days.

Our room was very large with a lovely patio. Just a few minutes walk into town or to the ocean."

"We had booked a thatched suite and were given the Kipwe Suite which was fabulous. Very private in an elevated position within the rocks with fabulous views (including sunset). The suite was huge with 2 terraces, outside bathroom including a large bath. It really was very special and we wish we had stayed an extra night to have had time to enjoy it all. They have viewpoint with a bar that is really nice to enjoy a sundowner too.

We booked the morning game drive in search of the desert adapted elephants. On our way we were lucky to see a huge family of Ostrich including babies. We soon found a herd of around 16 elephants including tiny babies. We had a wonderful time with them. Our guide Ziggy made sure we had the best viewing points and they came up so close to us with one of them touching my arm as it passed by me. We also saw 5 giraffes.

We enjoyed a coffee in a raised spot above where they were. We then followed the elephants for their drink at a man made waterhole provided by a local village.

In the afternoon we had booked the tour to see the rock carvings at Twyfelfontein which although these were very nice to see it was far too hot. Absolutely no shade and some steep climbing which was not good in the extreme heat. In hindsight we wish we had spent the afternoon relaxing at Camp Kipwe and drove ourselves here the following morning early where we could have paid a small entrance fee and had the same guide to show us around in less heat."

"We drove from Camp Kipwe to the pick up point at Sesfontein seeing a herd of around 13 elephants including 3 tiny babies roadside, 4 giraffes roadside, springbok, ostrich and monkeys en route. We were met by our guide Joanas who drove us in a closed vehicle about 1 3/4 hours to the camp. We were greeted by all the such friendly staff singing to us which was lovely and something they continued to do throughout our stay. Our tent was lovely and had everything we needed.

The following day we had an early morning game drive (was in a closed vehicle with drop down windows and pop up roof) in search of what we were hoping a dessert adapted lion. Unfortunately no lions and to be honest not many animals at all. We saw 1 bull elephant, several giraffes, few Oryx, Steenbok & lots of Springbok.

In the afternoon we went on a trip with our guide to visit a nearby Himba Tribe Village. This was fabulous and certainly made up for the disappointment of seeing such few animals earlier. The tribe was lovely and welcomed us to view their huts. We also had great fun playing with their children. It was a very nice experience and would certainly recommend.

The following morning Joanas drove us back to Sesfontein to pick up our car. We assumed this would be in the same closed vehicle we had experienced throughout our stay. It was actually in an open vehicle where we were blown to pieces and very cold on a very fast bumpy 1 3/4 hour drive. My quibble with this is why on earth take us on a game drive in a closed vehicle with limited visibility and then use an open one for the transfer??

Apart from our disappointment with the lack of animals it was still an incredible experience to stay here."

"We drove from Sesfontein to the meeting point for Desert Rhino Camp en route we saw 5 Giraffe, numerous Zebra & Springbok roadside. We were met by our guide William and after a drink and snack he drove us to the camp seeing 1 Giraffe on our way. The Camp was very nice and we had a lovely tent. Very quite only 1 other group of 5 ladies staying there.

William took myself & husband for a sundowner drive and then we came back and had a brief chat with the Save the Rhino guys who would be out trekking with us the following day. We were then driven out along with the other ladies for a fabulous BBQ bush dinner. The staff were incredible here. They introduced dinner every night with not only their fabulous singing but watching them describe the dinner menu in English & Local was like watching a show in a theatre. Was truly spectacular and something we have never witnessed before on our travels.

The 2 of us set off the following morning along with our guide William in search of the desert adapted black rhino. After about 4 hours of hard driving the SRT team who were in another vehicle told us they had found 2 coming towards us in the distance. We got out and followed the team on foot a little way. The 2 rhino were in the very far distance but to be honest you needed binoculars to see them. We watched for a few minutes and they then ran off.

We were told that they had unfortunately smelt our vehicle which made them turn away. So we were unlucky not to have the experience of seeing them up close. Very disappointed! We then had a nice picnic lunch and a further 5 hour hard drive back to camp where no more rhino sightings occurred. We did see 3 giraffe, some springbok and a jackal.

We were told upon arrival back we were now the only 2 guests staying at the camp for the next 2 days which was very nice and they set a lovely table up for us around the pool with a delicious dinner.

The following day we opted out of another day of Rhino trekking as we found it too hard going the previous day driving for nearly 10 hours (extremely bumpy with the wind in your face) without seeing much. Instead we relaxed around the pool and enjoyed their wonderful hospitality.

William drove us the following morning back to our car (1 1/2 hours). He was a superb guide and it was just unfortunate that we didn't get to see rhino's closer, nevertheless overall it was a great experience to stay here."

"Very nice welcome by 2 members of staff. We went out on the afternoon game drive which was very good and saw lots of different animals with our guide Mumsy who was very nice and certainly went out of her way to find the animals for us.

After the drive she drove us to the hide overlooking the waterhole for a surprise BBQ dinner along with the other guests. This was was nice but very cramped with hardly any space between each guest sitting in a long table.

We had a further 2 game drives the following day which although good we didn't see nearly as much as we did on our first drive so a bit hit and miss. Although we did see a spitting Zebra Cobra with head up which Mumsy said was a rare sighting and has requested from us the excellent photo my husband managed to capture of it!

We didn't see the member of staff that greeted us so warmly upon our arrival again and have to say some of the staff that were on duty the 2nd day and indeed breakfast on our last morning (terrible service) were not so friendly"

"Fabulous thatched chalet overlooking the waterhole which we saw zebra, wildebeest, springbok & kudu visit. Lovely friendly staff especially Stanley our waiter for most of the time. We didn't participate in any game drives on their reserve but drove ourselves in Etosha National Park where we had lots of nice experiences with the animals especially the elephants. In hindsight we wish we had booked a couple of nights at the Anderson's gate area of the park to have allowed us more time to explore and visit the waterholes in this area too.

The 2nd night we were booked on the Dream Cruiser sleep out which was a great experience. We were driven about half an hour from the camp by Samuel to the Cruiser which overlooks a waterhole. He showed us around and explained everything including the walkie talkie should we need assistance! Champange, drinks and canapés all provided for us. He left and about 40 mins later the chef arrived with our picnic dinner in a hamper which he set up for us. We were then left to enjoy dinner and sleep under the stars.

Next morning Samuel arrived with coffee and biscuits which we enjoyed watching some Zebra at the waterhole. He then came back for us at 7.40am to take us back to the lodge for breakfast. It was a one-off experience which we are so pleased we booked.

The only thing we would have liked better is to have the chance to arrive at the Cruiser earlier. We left the lodge at 5pm so arriving at 5.30pm by the time Samuel had gone through everything the sun was already going down rapidly and before we knew it it was dark. An hour earlier would have allowed us to take our time over a sundowner or 2 before the chef arriving without being so rushed!"

"Our room was fabulous with floor to ceiling windows overlooking your own small private waterhole with another room adjoining outside set up as a day room with 2 day beds, tea & coffee, mini bar etc. Plenty of bird feed included too!

We had a group of warthogs drinking and bathing in the waterhole also visited by springbok and sable. We had Zebra roaming outside and on one morning we woke up to several giraffes in the very near distance with a couple of young ones laying in the grass.

We went on 4 Leopard trekking drives during our stay and Gabriel our guide was determined and did his upmost to find leopards for us. We managed to see 6 different ones including one with his Aardvark kill up a tree being stalked by another leopard plus a brown Hyena which all was very exciting.

We also visited the Africat Centre which was very interesting and found the 2 Cheetahs that live in the reserve ( in around 60 acres). Very nice to get up close to these and take some photos. Gabriel also arranged for us to watch from the hide the 2 lions having a feed that have been raised here since cubs when they lost their mother.

All the staff here were very friendly."

"We thought this was a very nice hotel for a few nights as our base to explore Mahe. We were very impressed with the size of our superior room with a huge bathroom and very large balcony. It was also nice to have a jacuzzi on the balcony. Excellent service from Leon in Housekeeping.

Breakfast & Dinner buffet style and food was of a reasonable standard. Glad we opted for half board as no restaurants really within walking distance and we wouldn't have liked to drive ourselves at night.

Generally the staff were friendly but have to admit the service especially for lunch/drinks in the pool/bar area was very poor."

"So pleased we stayed here for 4 nights so we could enjoy Saint-Anne Marine National Park without having to make trips from Mahe. They arranged an early morning short boat ride for us over to Moyenne Island so we could enjoy sometime by ourselves before everyone arrived from Mahe. They also arranged a boat trip for us to snorkel in the Marine Park with a visit to Long Island where you can walk across the sandbank to Round Island.

Lovely Villa although could do with some more lighting as very dark especially with the surrounding foliage.

All staff were very friendly and food was of a reasonable standard."

"Lovely hotel with a good location to explore Praslin. We had a superior room which you could walk out from the terrace to the beach area.

Pleased we had booked half board as not really any restaurants within walking distance and we didn't want to drive ourselves at night. The buffet breakfast & dinners we had were all of a good standard with lots of choice.

We ate lunch a few times in the Terrace Bar & Restaurant which was always excellent."

"Fabulous waterfront boutique style hotel. Personal service from all staff including Stuart & Natasha the hotel owners.

Our room, food & drinks - all excellent.

A lovely experience and so pleased we chose to stay here."

"Fabulous stay our only regret was only staying for 5 nights we wish we had booked for 7 nights. We really enjoyed cycling around the island stopping off at the different beaches to snorkel, visiting the farm and spending time with the giant tortoises.

The food was delicious served by the most attentive staff.

Our deluxe beach cottage was beautiful with an impressive outdoor bathroom. The only negative was the amount of mosquitos in this area. We really had to cover ourselves in repellant all day and night (and still managed to get bites). We feel the hotel could have provided some insect repellent spray and mosquito coil burners for the bathroom/toilet area which might have helped."

"Only stayed in this hotel as day guests after arriving back from Denis Island at 1pm we needed somewhere to relax and refresh before our flight back to the UK at midnight.

A luxurious hotel overlooking the Marina and we were given a lovely ocean view room. Dinner albeit expensive was very good."