Travel reviews by Dr S. from USA
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
5
Lodges stayed in
8
Excursions taken
3
My Jun 2024 trip
Zimbabwe and 4 other countries between 8 Jun 2024 and 29 Jun 2024
"Overall the trip was great and very organized. Maruska was great to deal with, really listened to us and gave good suggestions. I liked the itinerary she sent us shortly before we left that gave lots of details about exactly what was happening. There were a few glitches during the trip (canceled flight, driver showed up late) and we had to reach out to Expert Africa on an emergency basis and they were very responsive.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
I would not return to the lodges that we stayed in in Zimbabwe, we didn't have a great experience there. There was a mix up with Khulu Bush Camp and our departure time was moved back and we were never told, that ended up being a very long day and we would have preferred to fly. Two of our travel days were very long and we never got to eat lunch, it was not clear from the itinerary how long they would be. Our Mack Air flights ended up having multiple stops that we weren't aware of, it would have been nice to have more information about those flights."
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
I would not return to the lodges that we stayed in in Zimbabwe, we didn't have a great experience there. There was a mix up with Khulu Bush Camp and our departure time was moved back and we were never told, that ended up being a very long day and we would have preferred to fly. Two of our travel days were very long and we never got to eat lunch, it was not clear from the itinerary how long they would be. Our Mack Air flights ended up having multiple stops that we weren't aware of, it would have been nice to have more information about those flights."
Arranged By Maruska AdyeRowe
Karen Blixen Coffee Garden and Cottages
"Karen Blixen Coffee Garden and Cottages review"
2 nights
Arrived
10 Jun 2024
"The hotel was conveniently located and the rooms were nice. The people were helpful and the grounds were beautiful. The pool was freezing cold and the restaurant had a very limited menu at night and the food wasn't great."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Average
Bishop's House
"Bishop's House review"
2 nights
Arrived
12 Jun 2024
"Bishop's House is gorgeous and it is really a peaceful oasis in the middle of a busy area of the city. There was no city noise and you would have no idea where you were once inside the grounds. Our rooms were huge and beautiful and well appointed. Service was great .. almost too great! After gorilla trekking they attempted to remove our shoes and socks and rub our feet.. that was a bit much! There is a nice gym there and the pool area is beautiful but the pool is very cold. The food was disappointing. They cleaned our shoes and socks after trekking and provided snacks for the trek. They also provided gaters for the trek."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Poor
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Mountain Gorilla
Many sightings
Kigali Tour and Genocide Memorial Visit
"Kigali Tour and Genocide Memorial Visit review"
12 Jun 2024 • All-day excursion
We were unfortunately not able to do this because of our flight cancelation.
Gorilla Trekking Safari
"Gorilla Trekking Safari review"
13 Jun 2024 • Morning excursion
Trekking with the gorillas was an incredible, surreal experience that I cannot recommend enough. The process is very well organized, the hike was not too hard or too far and we saw Golden Monkeys on the hike. The hike itself was beautiful and our guide was information. Actually seeing the gorillas was incredible... they are so intelligent, wise, playful, adorable, etc. It was a life changing experience.
Excellent
Heaven Boutique Hotel
"Heaven Boutique Hotel review"
1 night
Arrived
14 Jun 2024
"This hotel was disappointing. The facilities were lacking, the property was confusing and there was no map and our room was not good. The pool was freezing. The dinner was also disappointing. Breakfast was the only bright spot."
Poor
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor
Location
Good
Service
Poor
Rooms
Poor
Food
Poor
Gorilla Trekking Safari
"Gorilla Trekking Safari review"
14 Jun 2024 • Morning excursion
See previous:
[Trekking with the gorillas was an incredible, surreal experience that I cannot recommend enough. The process is very well organized, the hike was not too hard or too far and we saw Golden Monkeys on the hike. The hike itself was beautiful and our guide was information. Actually seeing the gorillas was incredible... they are so intelligent, wise, playful, adorable, etc. It was a life changing experience.]
[Trekking with the gorillas was an incredible, surreal experience that I cannot recommend enough. The process is very well organized, the hike was not too hard or too far and we saw Golden Monkeys on the hike. The hike itself was beautiful and our guide was information. Actually seeing the gorillas was incredible... they are so intelligent, wise, playful, adorable, etc. It was a life changing experience.]
Excellent
Sausage Tree Camp
"Sausage Tree Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
15 Jun 2024
"Sausage Tree Camp was absolutely gorgeous - the setting on the Zambezi was beautiful. The views, particularly sunset, are amazing and it is very luxurious. We saw lots of great wildlife and took fun and beautiful boat tours. They took us on a great surprise lunch on an island - very fancy! The people were great and the food was excellent. They are running a sustainable operation and are very concerned with the environment.. we actually met and talked with the CEO which was very interesting. The weakest point of Sausage Tree Camp was the guide we had, he wasn't as knowledgeable as many. I wish we stayed more days here. They had a nice gym and a lap pool although it was cold."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Buffalo
10+ sightings
Elephant
10+ sightings
Hippo
10+ sightings
Leopard
1 sighting
Lion
1 sighting
Palm River Hotel
"Palm River Hotel review"
3 nights
Arrived
17 Jun 2024
"The Palm has a great location on the Zambezi. The grounds are beautiful and we had an incredible family suite with 2 huge rooms with 2 huge luxurious bathrooms and a large comfortable living room in the middle with a lovely patio. There were snacks and champagne waiting for us. The restaurant was nice and the food was good and the staff tried to be helpful, but at times the service lacked. We often had to ask for things multiple times and the day we left, our transport called and moved our departure time back an hour but no one from the hotel ever told us. The shuttle annoyingly stops at 6 pm so you have to take a cab to and from dinner. One cabbie tried to rip us off. It was a bit large for my taste but better than most options. They have a nice gym and ping pong and an activities desk - some people were helpful, others less so."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Average
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Elephant
1 sighting
Hippo
10+ sightings
Khulu Bush Camp
"Khulu Bush Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
20 Jun 2024
"This was our least favorite camp. The tranport from Vic Falls was an hour late and we were told it would take 2 1/2 to 3 hours.. it took 4 hours so we got to Khulu much later than we had planned, and the road there was horrible. They claimed that they called the Palm to tell us our pick up would be late, but no one every told us. Once we got there, we were supposed to go right out on a game drive. There was hardly any wildlife in Hwange near Khulu, the best sightings were the elephants at the pool which were great. We basically should have just stayed there and not gone on the game drives. It was freezing there - the rooms were freezing and the game drives in the morning were freezing. If you go in the winter, bring a lot of warm clothes!! It is much colder than anyone tells you. Our guide here was good but he seemed to exaggerate a lot of things..... the owners were there when we visited and they are very interesting. The food was OK but not great."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Poor
Service
Poor
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Average
Food
Average
Facilities
Poor
Feedback response
Expert Africa is sorry that these travellers didn’t enjoy Khulu Bush Camp as much as the rest of the safari camps they visited in their long trip. This camp was included due to its proximity to, and opportunity to visit, Hwange’s Painted Dog Conservation Centre. However, delayed transport to the camp due to miscommunication and less wildlife seen in the area as well as cold rooms due to winter temperatures meant the guests didn’t enjoy their stay as much as we hoped they would.
Manager
Sightings report
Eland
3 sightings
Elephant
10+ sightings
Lion
1 sighting
Wildebeest
3 sightings
Zebra
3 sightings
Somalisa Expeditions
"Somalisa Expeditions review"
2 nights
Arrived
22 Jun 2024
"Somalisa was pretty nice but the service seemed a bit awkward. It was freezing cold in the tents and on the morning game drives! They food was OK but not great. We saw more wildlife here than at Khulu but overall Hwange was our least favorite region, we just didn't see that much and the game drives were so cold that was unpleasant. Elephants did come visit the pools which was great and we saw a ton of elephants overall - that was definitely the best thing here."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Average
Service
Good
Activities
Average
Rooms
Average
Food
Good
Facilities
Average
Sightings report
Buffalo
5 sightings
Cheetah
1 sighting
Elephant
10+ sightings
Giraffe
2 sightings
Hippo
1 sighting
Leopard
1 sighting
Lion
3 sightings
Roan antelope
1 sighting
Sable antelope
1 sighting
Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
Wildebeest
3 sightings
Zebra
10+ sightings
Little Sable
"Little Sable review"
4 nights
Arrived
24 Jun 2024
"We really enjoyed Little Sable. The people there were great, they tried VERY hard to make our stay great. Our guide, Molls, was terrific, and the chefs tried hard to please us which was not easy! The game drives were great, very informative, and the location is beautiful. The walking safaris were incredible. We took a Mokoro ride which was peaceful and beautiful. The sunsets were gorgeous and the food was excellent. Wild dogs ran through our camp which was incredible. There is a pool which is cold. The tents are nice and you feel like you are really in the bush. It was quite cold here, a bit warmer than Zimbabwe but still cold, and our showers did not have hot enough water or enough water pressure. At times it was very windy and then it was very loud in our tents which made it hard to sleep. They also have helicopters here which are noisy and disturb the peace."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Buffalo
1 sighting
Elephant
10+ sightings
Giraffe
5 sightings
Leopard
2 sightings
Lion
1 sighting
Roan antelope
1 sighting
Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
Wild dog
1 sighting
Wildebeest
3 sightings
Zebra
10+ sightings