Travel reviews by Mr S & Ms H from Kent

"Apart from the better than average likelihood of Rhinos, i think the rock art and Gt Zim are the highlights for Amalinda.

Doing Gt Zim as a day trip is hard, especially for the guide, but for the guests too. That said, staying overnight adds a fair amount of additional expense and (according to Paul Hubbard) in pretty average hotels. But if money isn't a problem, then having more time at Gt Zim and easier travelling over two days would be welcome.

These travellers booked a private guide here, Paul Hubbard, and they commented:

Paul Hubbard is clearly a top guide with excellent knowledge on the archaeology and culture of Zimbabwe and particularly around the Motopos. This undoubtedly enhanced our experience significantly.

Having Paul for the two full days activities was the requirement and was great. I'm not sure that having him for the airport collection and an afternoon walk added quite as much value. Please note - this is not a reflection on Paul, but on how we, and others, might structure their holiday with cost in mind."

"Please see separate comments already given on Camelthorn - location and rooms are preferences rather than absolute (opinions on) quality - others may love them.
We had only limited experience of food :-(

Activities potentially, but not actually, limited by guide availability. The elephant hide is brilliant."

"Everything was as you would expect from a long standing lodge with experienced guides and management. The knowledge and ability of all the guides was top level.

One point, which we tried to share with the camp but not sure we succeeded was regarding the 'combining guests by arrival date rather than interest'. Other guests arrived on the same day as we did and their interests were the Wild Dogs that were around. Ours was birds and canoeing. Our guide did his absolute best, and did well, to balance this but undoubtedly both sets of guests were compromising. As those guests left we were then paired with new guests - we were quite clear about wanting to go canoeing but (i found out afterwards) the other guests had to be persuaded quite hard to do this. If they had stuck to their guns i'm not sure what would have happened.

When we mentioned this to management their view seemed to be that we should have got a personal guide. My point is that both the camp and the travel agent say that all guests have a choice of activities, without saying 'so long as other guests also want to do the same thing'.

In the end we did do the things we wanted, although maybe in a different order. It seems that there should be a better way of ensuring this can be done (I would suggest earlier planning of all activities with guests, eg soon after arrival)."

"I happened to be here on my 50th birthday and they went out of their way to make it even better - I really appreciated this and would equally appreciate it if you could tell them so (the only contact details I can find are for reservations...)

Paying extra for the mountain view was absolutely worth it. The 'piazza view' side also has rooms overlooking the car park and the main road."

"Overlooking the South Atlantic in very comfortable rooms with great service."

"The lack of electricity gave the camp a special atmosphere and we didn't miss it at all.
We appreciated the matching of a guide to our interests (birdwatching, in particular) which meant that we learnt more and enjoyed our activities without boring other guests who weren't interested in birds.
The staff were helpful and reactive when asked, but there was a slight lack of quality control around the rooms (toilet paper not being replenished over three days) which could have been improved upon.

Overall it was a friendly camp and the open site, with animals walking through, made it one that we would recommend."

"The camp has a great location, with the tents overlooking the river.
It was good to have the option of boat trips as well as rides.
The surprise sundowner was a lovely touch.
Our main reservation about this camp was the dining arrangements, which we felt then affected the atmosphere and dynamics for the rest of the time. The tables were always set up separately, unless requests were made by guests to sit together. This meant that there was far less interaction between guests and rarely did anyone stay at the bar after dinner. The waiters were extremely helpful and friendly, but it ended up feeling more like a hotel. When compared to the other camps, and the conversation that arose over group dinners and subsequently, we found this camp less personable."

"We felt thoroughly spoilt when we arrived to find that we had five staff to look after the two of us!
We were glad that we booked to stay for two nights because this gave us a full day there, without having to unpack and then pack up to leave the next day.
The staff looked after us wonderfully, with the chef even cooking our eggs for breakfast over the fire under a table because it was raining."

"See previous sheet"

"We loved it!

The outstanding thing for us was the quality of the guiding. We felt that we had moved up to another level, with all guides extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We also really liked having different guides for different activities. This enabled us to experience their different interests and characters. Why don't other camps do this?

The rooms were large with period furniture and the views were amazing.

The range of activities was excellent, with wonderful walking as well as drives and a great day trip to the lake and hot springs."

"It was fine for the one night stop over."