Travel reviews by Partridge family from Kent
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
2
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
9
Excursions taken
0
Amazing - a life-changing experience
Zambia between 28 May 2017 and 4 Jun 2017
"AMAZING !!"
Kaingo Camp
"All we could wish for"
3 nights
Arrived
29 May 2017
"Everything about Kaingo was wonderful. Agata the manageress was so welcoming, as were everybody else. We had fantastic guides, with Andrew and Patrick particularly standing out as incredibly well-informed. The quality of the food was outstanding, produced by Catherine and her team of assistants. The rooms were extremely comfortable and the private viewing platform overlooking the river was a beautiful place to relax. Fabulous, no complaints whatsoever."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Mwamba Bushcamp
"An experience of a lifetime"
2 nights
Arrived
1 Jun 2017
"Everything about Mwamba Bushcamp was wonderful. Craig and Lindy were the most charming hosts that one could wish for. We had fantastic guides, with Andrew being particularly outstanding and incredibly well-informed. The quality of the food was amazing and the rooms are beautifully made out of reeds and thatch, with a wonderful bathroom area. We would not hesitate to recommend Mwamba to anybody who may be considering wanting to experience a true insight to remote Zambia, but with very welcome luxury as well. Fabulous, no complaints whatsoever."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
A fantastic holiday
Zambia between 25 Jul 2008 and 9 Aug 2008
"The holiday was everything that we could have wished for, and we loved every minute of it. Anna and Expert Africa are quite clearly highly regarded by the guides.
The one thing that did cause me some confusion were the various vouchers issued to us by Expert Africa, though ultimately it made no difference to our trip. One voucher stated that it was for a transfer from Lufupa Lodge to Lusaka, but in fact it was from Lunga River Lodge airstrip to Lusaka. The transfer vouchers for the second week while in North and South Luangwa were completely wrong. Though this caused me a lot of confusion, Remote Africa had worked it all out correctly, ignoring the vouchers, and everything was fine.
The issue of Tipping was a bit difficult for us, and definitely an area that I feel needs to be addressed in greater detail by Expert Africa. I had read somewhere that tipping is discretionary but that an amount of $5 - $8 per day per guest would be appropriate to pay to the guide. However, it is not only the guide that often deserves a tip, but also the staff at the various bush camps. I have no idea as to whether we were being mean or generous, but on average we were tipping our guides the equivalent of $40 - $50 for each day that we had with them, and a further $30 or so to the remainder of the staff at each camp per day (remembering that we are a family of five, and that we were usually the only guests at each camp).
Our guide for the whole of the first week was Brad from Wilderness Safaris. He was absolutely fantastic, extraordinarily knowledgeable about virtually anything that we wished to discuss, and seemed to possess a sixth sense when it came to spotting wildlife. He is such a nice person, and our 17,15 and 13 year old children all got on very well with him. He works tremendously hard and deserves a medal.
Would it have been possible for Expert Africa to give us advance notice of the identity of who we would be having as our guide? It would have been nice for us to have known his name in advance so that when we first met him we could have immediately realised what his role was.
Before we left the UK, I spoke with Anna and asked if it would be an idea for us to take out some spare clothing for the local villagers. She responded very enthusiastically and gave me a long list of suggestions as to what we could take, including any old clothes, shoes, toys, childrens books etc. When packing our bags we chose mostly old clothes that we did not wish to bring back to the UK at the end of our trip, and any spare room in our bags were then filled with other bits and pieces to give away.
At each camp that we stayed at we asked the camp manager whether it would be appropriate to give him some clothes and toys to distribute to his staff, and each time we received a very positive response. The staff may look well fed and clothed but their familes back in their home villages often own virtually nothing and we were assured that our meagre gifts would be gratefully received. Consequently we left quite a large volume of things behind in Zambia, and feel good that we have done our little bit to assist these people. Maybe Expert Africa could include some sort of guidance and suggestions in this area for any future like-minded travellers."
The one thing that did cause me some confusion were the various vouchers issued to us by Expert Africa, though ultimately it made no difference to our trip. One voucher stated that it was for a transfer from Lufupa Lodge to Lusaka, but in fact it was from Lunga River Lodge airstrip to Lusaka. The transfer vouchers for the second week while in North and South Luangwa were completely wrong. Though this caused me a lot of confusion, Remote Africa had worked it all out correctly, ignoring the vouchers, and everything was fine.
The issue of Tipping was a bit difficult for us, and definitely an area that I feel needs to be addressed in greater detail by Expert Africa. I had read somewhere that tipping is discretionary but that an amount of $5 - $8 per day per guest would be appropriate to pay to the guide. However, it is not only the guide that often deserves a tip, but also the staff at the various bush camps. I have no idea as to whether we were being mean or generous, but on average we were tipping our guides the equivalent of $40 - $50 for each day that we had with them, and a further $30 or so to the remainder of the staff at each camp per day (remembering that we are a family of five, and that we were usually the only guests at each camp).
Our guide for the whole of the first week was Brad from Wilderness Safaris. He was absolutely fantastic, extraordinarily knowledgeable about virtually anything that we wished to discuss, and seemed to possess a sixth sense when it came to spotting wildlife. He is such a nice person, and our 17,15 and 13 year old children all got on very well with him. He works tremendously hard and deserves a medal.
Would it have been possible for Expert Africa to give us advance notice of the identity of who we would be having as our guide? It would have been nice for us to have known his name in advance so that when we first met him we could have immediately realised what his role was.
Before we left the UK, I spoke with Anna and asked if it would be an idea for us to take out some spare clothing for the local villagers. She responded very enthusiastically and gave me a long list of suggestions as to what we could take, including any old clothes, shoes, toys, childrens books etc. When packing our bags we chose mostly old clothes that we did not wish to bring back to the UK at the end of our trip, and any spare room in our bags were then filled with other bits and pieces to give away.
At each camp that we stayed at we asked the camp manager whether it would be appropriate to give him some clothes and toys to distribute to his staff, and each time we received a very positive response. The staff may look well fed and clothed but their familes back in their home villages often own virtually nothing and we were assured that our meagre gifts would be gratefully received. Consequently we left quite a large volume of things behind in Zambia, and feel good that we have done our little bit to assist these people. Maybe Expert Africa could include some sort of guidance and suggestions in this area for any future like-minded travellers."
Lufupa Bushcamp, Zambia (this camp has since closed)
"A great start to a great holiday"
3 nights
Arrived
26 Jul 2008
"Our time at Lufupa Bush Camp was absolutely faultless. Andrew was superb as camp manager and his staff were great, especially Levis with his seemingly permanent smile. The game drives were excellent, with plenty to see.
The two boat trips were fun to do, and we enjoyed the walks, though perhaps with hindsight it was a shame that part of the walk included going through an area that had been recently burnt. The tetse flies were only a minor irritation at times and generally we only encountered them when in daylight in wooded areas away from the camp."
The two boat trips were fun to do, and we enjoyed the walks, though perhaps with hindsight it was a shame that part of the walk included going through an area that had been recently burnt. The tetse flies were only a minor irritation at times and generally we only encountered them when in daylight in wooded areas away from the camp."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Musanza Bushcamp, Zambia (this camp has since closed)
"Fabulous Musanza"
3 nights
Arrived
29 Jul 2008
"Our time at Musanza Bush Camp was absolutely faultless. Brad has a fantastic place to be based at. Evidence, his manager, was superb and very amusing and the staff were great, especially Daniel the chef who proudly showed us his "technologically advanced" kitchen.
The game drives were excellent, with plenty to see. The tetse flies were only a minor irritation at times and generally we only encountered them when in daylight in wooded areas away from the camp."
The game drives were excellent, with plenty to see. The tetse flies were only a minor irritation at times and generally we only encountered them when in daylight in wooded areas away from the camp."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Lunga River Lodge, Zambia (this camp has since closed)
"Lovely Lunga"
1 night
Arrived
1 Aug 2008
"Lunga was a lovely place, ably run by the relief managers Chris and Katia, along with Jackie assisting them. It was a shame that we were only there one night, but I would not want to have spent less time at the other two camps either, so this was the best way that the itinerary could have been worked out.
The river boat trip was a particular highlight, enabling us to watch an elephant standing deep in the water contentedly grazing on the foliage overhanging from the bank. We were also able to get remarkably close to a giant kingfisher which seemed completely unperturbed by our presence."
The river boat trip was a particular highlight, enabling us to watch an elephant standing deep in the water contentedly grazing on the foliage overhanging from the bank. We were also able to get remarkably close to a giant kingfisher which seemed completely unperturbed by our presence."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Mwaleshi Camp
"Fabulous Mwaleshi"
2 nights
Arrived
2 Aug 2008
"Ernst did a great job in looking after us, as did his staff which included Special (great name!). I never imagined that I would be at ease when wading through a river, but I had every confidence in Ernst and his team each time that we had to cross the Mwaleshi river during our walks. We even played frisbee in the river.
When planning this holiday, Anna had insisted that we should include Mwaleshi in our intinerary, and we were not disappointed. The camp is just fantastic. We perhaps didn't see quite as much wildlife here in North Luangwa as we later did in South Luangwa, but that was just the way it happened to work out, and did not detract in any way from our enjoyment of the place. The animals don't work to a timetable, so nobody can ever be sure how much or what will be seen at any given time!
Though the Expert Africa website indicates that tbis camp is for walking safaris only, we did in fact also go for a game drive one evening."
When planning this holiday, Anna had insisted that we should include Mwaleshi in our intinerary, and we were not disappointed. The camp is just fantastic. We perhaps didn't see quite as much wildlife here in North Luangwa as we later did in South Luangwa, but that was just the way it happened to work out, and did not detract in any way from our enjoyment of the place. The animals don't work to a timetable, so nobody can ever be sure how much or what will be seen at any given time!
Though the Expert Africa website indicates that tbis camp is for walking safaris only, we did in fact also go for a game drive one evening."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Chikoko Tree Camp
"Another unique camp"
2 nights
Arrived
4 Aug 2008
"The thought that has gone into designing this camp is just extraordinary. The rooms or chalets are incredible and we loved every minute of our time here. Patrick, the ZAWA scout, was by far the most communicative of all the ZAWA scouts that we had accompanying us, and Moffat the tea-bearer was a real character. He has been doing this job for 35 years and knows every inch of the area.
Cameron, our guide, was great company and extremely knowledgeable. The wildlife in the area was prolific, and the areas in which we walked were definitely the most picturesque and dramatic that we encountered over the whole 2 week holiday."
Cameron, our guide, was great company and extremely knowledgeable. The wildlife in the area was prolific, and the areas in which we walked were definitely the most picturesque and dramatic that we encountered over the whole 2 week holiday."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Tafika
"Another top place to visit"
2 nights
Arrived
6 Aug 2008
"Of the six camps that we stayed at during our two week trip, Tafika was the only one where our family of five had other guests staying there at the same time. Having been to some very remote camps over the previous ten days Tafika seemed like being back in the hub of civilisation, even though Tafika is actually still very remote.
The game viewing was fantastic, with a pride of 17 lion being seen by us one evening. Our guides Rory and Brian were excellent, and we enjoyed meeting with John and Carol Coppinger, and Heather the camp manager.
Our visit to the local village was a highlight of the entire trip and our donation of some clothes, shoes, childrens books and toys was well received. Hopefully we will be able to send more things out to the Coppingers for them to distribute over the coming months."
The game viewing was fantastic, with a pride of 17 lion being seen by us one evening. Our guides Rory and Brian were excellent, and we enjoyed meeting with John and Carol Coppinger, and Heather the camp manager.
Our visit to the local village was a highlight of the entire trip and our donation of some clothes, shoes, childrens books and toys was well received. Hopefully we will be able to send more things out to the Coppingers for them to distribute over the coming months."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Taj Pamodzi Hotel, Zambia (this camp has since closed)
"One night in Lusaka"
1 night
Arrived
8 Aug 2008
"The Taj Pomodzi Hotel was the only slight let-down of the entire trip. A courtesy minibus was supposed to meet us off our flight but wasn't there. The local airline, Proflight, were very helpful in contacting the hotel for us, and after a 50 minute wait the minibus turned up. We then had to arrange with the hotel for another courtesy minibus to take us back to the airport the following morning. The hotel said that they only had one minibus and that it would be leaving the hotel at 5.30 a.m. or 8.00 a.m. If we were to take the earlier one we would get to the airport ridiculously early, but if we took the later one, then we would miss our flight. Eventually the hotel reluctantly agreed to lay on a minibus for us that would leave the hotel at 6.30 a.m., magically producing a second minibus, having of course told us that they only had one.
In addition, to be honest, the Taj Pomodzi was far too luxurious for our needs. We had spent two weeks staying in extremely comfortable but quite basic bushcamps, but we were now propelled back in to the 21st century and staying in a top class hotel. Maybe this would suit people who have been on a more luxurious safari, but for people like ourselves I think that it would have been better to recommend a less flashy hotel - and probably a lot less expensive."
In addition, to be honest, the Taj Pomodzi was far too luxurious for our needs. We had spent two weeks staying in extremely comfortable but quite basic bushcamps, but we were now propelled back in to the 21st century and staying in a top class hotel. Maybe this would suit people who have been on a more luxurious safari, but for people like ourselves I think that it would have been better to recommend a less flashy hotel - and probably a lot less expensive."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Average
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Average
Not currently featured by Expert Africa