Travel reviews by Dr P from Saffron Walden
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
4
Excursions taken
0
My Dec 2024 Malawi trip
Malawi between 18 Dec 2024 and 29 Dec 2024
"It was a fantastic trip and I really enjoyed it.
The parks and lodges are beautiful with excellent and full activities and great guides and overall fairly quiet. People were all really friendly too. My focus for this trip was birdwatching and photography and overall I saw 266 species of birds as well as lots of mammals including hippos and elephants as well as two lion sightings of a mother and three cubs and a cheetah sighting.
The evening drives were also great including my first porcupine sighting, a civet cat as well as nightjars, a bat hawk and couple of owls. I'm very glad I included Zomba Mountain too as this provided greater diversity of a different environment in Malawi and more diverse species of birds which can't be seen in the large parks.
It was a wonderful trip!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Overall the trip was great and Maruska was really helpful in arranging everything. Her speed of response/feedback was great and detailed which is one of the reasons I ended up going on this trip as it 'got ahead of other options'.
Also when I asked about an option, Zomba, which appeared less well known it was followed up quickly and really good arrangements made. I really enjoyed the trip. Thanks!"
The parks and lodges are beautiful with excellent and full activities and great guides and overall fairly quiet. People were all really friendly too. My focus for this trip was birdwatching and photography and overall I saw 266 species of birds as well as lots of mammals including hippos and elephants as well as two lion sightings of a mother and three cubs and a cheetah sighting.
The evening drives were also great including my first porcupine sighting, a civet cat as well as nightjars, a bat hawk and couple of owls. I'm very glad I included Zomba Mountain too as this provided greater diversity of a different environment in Malawi and more diverse species of birds which can't be seen in the large parks.
It was a wonderful trip!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Overall the trip was great and Maruska was really helpful in arranging everything. Her speed of response/feedback was great and detailed which is one of the reasons I ended up going on this trip as it 'got ahead of other options'.
Also when I asked about an option, Zomba, which appeared less well known it was followed up quickly and really good arrangements made. I really enjoyed the trip. Thanks!"
Arranged By Maruska AdyeRowe
Mkulumadzi Lodge
"Mkulumadzi Lodge review"
3 nights
Arrived
18 Dec 2024
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Eland
2 sightings
Elephant
3 sightings
Giraffe
1 sighting
Hippo
2 sightings
Zebra
1 sighting
Zomba Forest Lodge (Not currently featured by Expert Africa)
"Zomba Forest Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
21 Dec 2024
"The lodge is very homely, with a clear routine, excellent service and friendly owners and staff. It's a different experience to the other lodges but I really enjoyed it.
It's set in a wonderful environment/forest and a great place to wander around the forest trails/relax with a beautiful and diverse array of birds (and Samango monkeys) right on the doorstep. I could have spent longer here.
The owners arranged a guide/taxis to spend a day on the Zomba plateau which was a great, full day out and the guide Jonas was really helpful and friendly. The bird species and environment found here are different to Majete and Liwonde so I thought it provided really good diversity to the trip.
The food was very good so a really good experience."
It's set in a wonderful environment/forest and a great place to wander around the forest trails/relax with a beautiful and diverse array of birds (and Samango monkeys) right on the doorstep. I could have spent longer here.
The owners arranged a guide/taxis to spend a day on the Zomba plateau which was a great, full day out and the guide Jonas was really helpful and friendly. The bird species and environment found here are different to Majete and Liwonde so I thought it provided really good diversity to the trip.
The food was very good so a really good experience."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Kuthengo Camp
"Kuthengo Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
23 Dec 2024
"Another beautiful camp. It's relatively small and secluded, but each 'tent' is very spacious and located with a wonderful view of the river. Again the staff were really attentive and friendly and I felt well looked after, whilst again was also given space to enjoy the location and peace.
The grounds are small but as the grounds are open to the park anything can wander in. I had some fantastic bird sightings wandering around the camp and new species which I didn't see on the activities. Game drives, boat cruises and walks were all possible and it is a real plus having these different options to explore the park.
My guide Henry was really good and also got into my desire to see lots of birds. Henry and Yolande, one of the camp managers, were also very flexible/helpful to allow me to focus on this whilst also balancing the wishes of other guests - this allowed me to see and photograph lots of beautiful birds and we also had great sightings of lions, elephants and a cheetah.
The food was also very good, and particularly the food on christmas eve/day was excellent."
The grounds are small but as the grounds are open to the park anything can wander in. I had some fantastic bird sightings wandering around the camp and new species which I didn't see on the activities. Game drives, boat cruises and walks were all possible and it is a real plus having these different options to explore the park.
My guide Henry was really good and also got into my desire to see lots of birds. Henry and Yolande, one of the camp managers, were also very flexible/helpful to allow me to focus on this whilst also balancing the wishes of other guests - this allowed me to see and photograph lots of beautiful birds and we also had great sightings of lions, elephants and a cheetah.
The food was also very good, and particularly the food on christmas eve/day was excellent."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Cheetah
1 sighting
Elephant
4 sightings
Hippo
4 sightings
Lion
2 sightings
Pumulani
"Pumulani review"
2 nights
Arrived
26 Dec 2024
"Pumulani is a wonderful lodge overlooking Lake Malawi and set inside Lake Malawi National Park. The staff were really friendly and the lodge manager Tasha very helpful. I thought this would be a quiet end to the trip but the birdwatching opportunities were far better than I expected or had read about.
I went out with a guide for early morning walks as well as a longer walk in the day with my guide, Black, and it was great. We saw lots of new species including beautiful birds such as Narina Trogon, Grey headed bushshrike and Black-throated wattle eye which I hadn't seen elsewhere on this trip.
The food and service was good although different to the other lodges."
I went out with a guide for early morning walks as well as a longer walk in the day with my guide, Black, and it was great. We saw lots of new species including beautiful birds such as Narina Trogon, Grey headed bushshrike and Black-throated wattle eye which I hadn't seen elsewhere on this trip.
The food and service was good although different to the other lodges."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
The food was fantastic, including local options and flexibility to provide, eg more local, in season fruit. The staff were very friendly and welcoming - always available, ready to chat whilst also giving me the space and peace that I wanted. My luggage got lost in transit and they did an excellent job helping to get it found and transferred.
My guide, JB, was also fantastic. He focused hard on my interest in birds, was always ahead of time and prepared and I really enjoyed the activities. Great to have the evening/spotlightig drives each evening too.
Overall excellent!"