Travel reviews by Meerkat Family from Hove

"Cannot praise highly enough the staff at Impala from Mpogo the driver who was assigned to us for the whole time (excellent idea so dont get repetition) who was informative and always keen to find animals for us (especialy the leopards!), Chloe and the staff at the camp who were friendly, flexible and were especially good with the children. The facilities were excellent without being intrusive to the feeling of being out in the bush we wanted. The food was better than you could possibly have expected under the conditions and the kitchen was flexible to the demands of the children - including cooking the catfish they caught.

The variety of opportunities with the game drives and river safaris meant we left the camp wanting to stay longer and fearful that nothing would live up to it..

The game was plentiful and varied, saw everything we hoped to see (bar the wild dogs who no-one could find) and I developed a fascination for the enormous varieties of birdlife which was eye opening to someone who has never understood it before.

The children found the whole experience as thrilling as they had thought and we never felt unsafe. Would recommend the camp to both new and experienced at safaris."

"Came here after an excellent experience in Selous and wondered how anything would stand up to that but Mdonya did. A different environment both in Ruaha and in the camp meant that you didnt feel you could compare. Though a little cooler in the evenings and early mornings this was offset by being able to have drinks around a campfire and eat dinner under the stars with your feet being warmed by a bowl of coals. The open camp meant we had animals (elephant, buffalo, jackals, dikdik and giraffe in our stay) wandering into the camp but never felt unsafe.

Showering under the bright stars of an African night is an experience not to be underestimated.

Nick and Mikol couldnt have been more friendly and helpful to us and our children and again the food was excellent - a real achievement when that isolated. The staff were extremely friendly and always helpful whether serving drinks or charging up batteries.

Moses our driver was informative friendly and enhanced the experience greatly for us but was especially good with the children spending alot of time answering a myriad of questions and making sure they saw everything.

The game was plentiful and we saw two large pride of lions, two leopards and the most fantastic elephants as well as everyhting else you would expect - only downside were the Tsetse flieswhich meant you didnt linger in overgrown areas or kept wrapped in the masai blankets.

Sad not to see cheetah but otherwise a flawless stay and a great contrast to Selous - a pairing I would recommend to anyone considering Southern Tanzania."

"After eight days of Safari we were looking for a change of pace - Pole Pole was the perfect place to be. Mafia Isalnd only 35 minutes from Dar and the Lodge was in the Marine Park. Six cabins with a full occupancy of only 12 meant that it was peaceful, a beautiful small private beach and outstanding snorkelling on the reef in Chole Bay. The children loved playing in the soft sand, the crabs and starfish when the tide went out and the trips in the dhows out to the reef.

The rooms were outstanding - drinking a cold beer on the verandah, watching the sun go down on the sea with the flying fox's setting off in the sky for the night after a day on the beach is simply marvellous.

However the outstanding feature of Pole Pole was the food - mainly fantastically fresh fish and seafood with an obvious italian bent thanks to Maura, the manageress, fresh pasta and focaccio to rival that in city restaraunts in Europe - each mealtime was looked forward to. The kitchen quickly adapting to any foibles so you never went without an excellent eating experience.

The trip over to the community on Chole was eye opening, the boat building , the fruit (sweetest orange ever tasted straight off the tree), the friendliness of the people - especially good for our children to see the way other people live.

A perfect place to wind down, even with two children - nothing forced on you, flexible meal times and extremly accomodating staff - even facility to check into flights on internet. Will return should opportunity arise !"