Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs C from Norfolk

"Great staff anxious to make us feel welcome. The handmade welcome note and Amarula was a lovely touch. Mara, then Chloe arranged things we wished to do like walking safaris in addition to game drives and boat safaris. The guides went out of their way looking for painted wild dogs and lions.

The detailed knowledge of the guides about the eco systems was very thorough and they were happy to share this with us. One guide with such a good knowledge base and generosity of spirit took us out around the camp and talked in great detail about the plants, animals and birds - we were thrilled by this reaching out to us as visitors.

Thank heavens for the pool as the temperature got up to 38 most afternoons. The heat was on the edge of what we could manage, but we began to acclimatise. We had a good mix of walking, boating and game drives with most spectacular birds.

Most of the food was excellent and the bush meals great fun and hugely enjoyable - my only slight criticism is that all the breads were dense and very heavy, sitting in my stomach like lead weights. Maybe the climate is too hot for yeast?

WE felt this was a good camp for a honeymoon due to the wonderful atmosphere and facilities, but going at a cooler time of year would be more enjoyable."

"What a magical place! We wanted to get off the beaten track and did so here. Saw almost no one except camp staff for 4 days and spent time in lush and wonderfully wild bush savanah with some very special people who are passionate about the eco-system. I was very, very sad to leave what became my favourite place of the whole trip!

Enough rain had fallen to enable a greening everywhere making it harder to spot game, but our guides used their tracking skills and bush eyes to find lions, kudo, buffalo, hosts of birds and even an eland. We had wonderful game drives in different parts of the park with the same team of generous and kind guides and drivers so that we got to know each other a bit which was lovely.The range of wildlife was enormous and the knowledge they had included flora, birds and animals including tracking and dung reading!

Many flying insects made a trip to the loo somewhat anxious at night as big black throbbing things felt threatening and seemed to have fun dive bombing us. Enclosing the toilet under netting could make a big difference at certain times of the year.

The things I want to remember for a long time are:
Evening campfires and enjoying a drink together with the sounds of Africa at night surrounding us
Lions and hyennas prowling around camp after a kill at dinner time
The calls of the dawn chorus
OUr lovely guides and driver - Yohanes, Zacharius and Night who shared so many laughs and much knowledge with us
Micole's passion about the environment around Mdonya
Trying to learn Swahili and everyone's patience, especially Kypondo, our Massai guard.
The pride of 20 lions stalking a zebra in the heat of our final afternoon."

"WE both felt privileged to have shared in this amazing place - it helped us to gain some insights into the complexities of developing Africa and the interface of comparatively wealthy visitors with the local culture. The challenges of the health and education projects in addition to an eco tourist lodge provided a multi-faceted experience and there is a special 'extended family' attitude that is different from what most eco lodges offer.

Boundaries were quite different to what we consider familiar - go with the flow and you get opportunities to scratch a bit beneath the superficialities of tourism. Anne and Jean as owners are an important presence as this project has a huge personal investment from each of them. - they and their two children were very welcoming to the guests over Christmas.

The generosity of the owners in sharing the ups and downs of this special community with visitors made this an exceptional experience. I recommend several visits to Chole village (at least one with a guide either from the lodge or available locally) for greater understanding of local culture and the relative absence of basics like clean water!

Much has been written about Chole - for us it was unforgettable and a unique project in an amazing place, but the toilet facilities take some getting used to - huge toilet seats in a dark outhouse over a long drop pit! For those with travellers tummy, these toilets are far from comfortable. Housekeeping service was initially hit and miss for us, but after raising my concerns, the problems were quickly resolved. The showers, however, are brilliant intermediate technology and were faultless in delivering hot or cold water at any time.

The beauty of the whole lodge area and attention to aesthetics was marvellous. Inspirational in so many ways - a real highlight of our time. Views out to the INdian Ocean from our tree house were spectacular. Each 'house' is different with creative and ingenious design and finish. LOcal tie die fabrics are used with great effect.

If you have a sense of adventure and want to see more than well serviced 4 * tourist lodges, don't miss Chole Mjini."

"A totally different experience from the previous three lodges - this was a more upmarket, exclusively professional and a highly enjoyable tropical retreat, where the real world was kept at bay. The lodges were very comfortable in luscious settings overlooking the gardens leading down to the beach.

Every aspect was directed at providing a second to none experience and at the end of our trip we appreciated the pampering of wonderful food, electricity, flush toilets and a quiet electric roof fan to make sleeping possible. Three nights was just right for us. All local staff were extremely helpful and spoke and understood better English than on Chole.

The boat and snorkelling trips inspired confidence, were professional in all respects and planned individually for guests the previous night. All staff were upbeat, polite and professional in every respect.

A brilliant end to our two weeks in Tanzania."