Travel reviews by S family from Scotland
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
3
Excursions taken
0
Awesome once in a lifetime stuff
Tanzania between 8 Jun 2009 and 23 Jun 2009
"Ellie was fantastic from beginning to end. I knew from my first conversation with her (having spoken to a number of different agents at other companies) that she had summed up exactly what we wanted from our trip and the type of people we were. There was no other choice than to go with Expert Africa. She hit the nail on the head with both the camps and the beach and it was this expert understanding of our characters, and knowledge of the camps etc themselves that made the trip so perfect for my whole family.
Without Ellie, the trip would not have been the resounding success it was for everyone involved - first time safari goers, previous safari and Africa travellers and a Kenya ex-pat. Fundamentally, this was a trip to celebrate my father's 70th birthday so we did everything with him in mind. Having grown up in Africa himself, it was so important that we get the trip right which we did so perfectly with Ellie's assistance.
Ellie had to deal with my indecision (!) and a variety of questions from a number of my family members. She did so with patience and professionalism at all times which was very much appreciated - a service not replicated by your competitors.
Suggestions for improvements:
I don't think so. We were so lucky to have someone understand what we wanted, deliver it and then it being followed by a very lucky trip seeing everything we could have wanted and more. Truely awesome. Asanti sana."
Without Ellie, the trip would not have been the resounding success it was for everyone involved - first time safari goers, previous safari and Africa travellers and a Kenya ex-pat. Fundamentally, this was a trip to celebrate my father's 70th birthday so we did everything with him in mind. Having grown up in Africa himself, it was so important that we get the trip right which we did so perfectly with Ellie's assistance.
Ellie had to deal with my indecision (!) and a variety of questions from a number of my family members. She did so with patience and professionalism at all times which was very much appreciated - a service not replicated by your competitors.
Suggestions for improvements:
I don't think so. We were so lucky to have someone understand what we wanted, deliver it and then it being followed by a very lucky trip seeing everything we could have wanted and more. Truely awesome. Asanti sana."
Lake Manze Adventure Camp
"Warm welcome and expert guides at Lake Manze"
3 nights
Arrived
9 Jun 2009
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Mdonya Old River Camp
"Perfect Mdonya Old River Camp"
3 nights
Arrived
12 Jun 2009
"This was an absolutely perfect camp for our family and suited us down to the ground. The managers were so welcoming, relaxed and interesting and we instantly felt right at home.
Our guide Zacheria and driver Night were phenominal and so full of extrordinary knowledge. Zacheria will forever be known as 'double chui' to us as we got two leopards in one day! Amazing. They were so respectful, knowledgeable and curtious. Such lovely guys.
Particularly memerable moments: Popcorn and beer watching the sun go down on our first night, seeing leopards, a black mamba, eating lunch by the river watching the wildlife go by. A truely fantastic spot. We watched 3 elephants playing around in the water and saw the biggest croc of the trip. Some awesome views around the park. Great chat and a few giggles around the camp fire in the evening with a Tusker or Safari beer, followed by the most outstanding food. We were stunned that so much variety came from a camp in the middle of nowhere.
Awesome setting - the tents were perfect.
Our favourite place by far."
Our guide Zacheria and driver Night were phenominal and so full of extrordinary knowledge. Zacheria will forever be known as 'double chui' to us as we got two leopards in one day! Amazing. They were so respectful, knowledgeable and curtious. Such lovely guys.
Particularly memerable moments: Popcorn and beer watching the sun go down on our first night, seeing leopards, a black mamba, eating lunch by the river watching the wildlife go by. A truely fantastic spot. We watched 3 elephants playing around in the water and saw the biggest croc of the trip. Some awesome views around the park. Great chat and a few giggles around the camp fire in the evening with a Tusker or Safari beer, followed by the most outstanding food. We were stunned that so much variety came from a camp in the middle of nowhere.
Awesome setting - the tents were perfect.
Our favourite place by far."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Matemwe Beach Village, Zanzibar (this camp has since closed)
"Chilled and casual Matemwe Beach Village"
8 nights
Arrived
15 Jun 2009
"A beautiful spot and superbly relaxed again.
One slightly downside comment - for the first few days, we were obviously 'out of season' and you could tell by the effort the staff put in and the quality of the food. As soon as 'season' kicked in, everything changed and the service was much improved. We had a much better variety and quality of food too - they should put equal effort in. Didn't ruin the experience but it's worth noting. Guests are guests, no matter the time they arrive!
The staff were very helpful in organising a day trip to Stone Town which was useful. Given the time of our departure flight it might have been better to stay in Stone Town on our last night but that was our decision. We didn't mind really."
One slightly downside comment - for the first few days, we were obviously 'out of season' and you could tell by the effort the staff put in and the quality of the food. As soon as 'season' kicked in, everything changed and the service was much improved. We had a much better variety and quality of food too - they should put equal effort in. Didn't ruin the experience but it's worth noting. Guests are guests, no matter the time they arrive!
The staff were very helpful in organising a day trip to Stone Town which was useful. Given the time of our departure flight it might have been better to stay in Stone Town on our last night but that was our decision. We didn't mind really."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
All the staff at the camp base were exceptional and extremely gratious. I was stunned at the variety and high quality of food on offer - we certainly didn't go hungry and the cook came up with something new and exciting very day. Very impressive, especially given the lack of access to regular fresh produce.
Richard was facinating and was clearly very passionate about his surroundings. He was happy to provide, at any point, additional information on the wildlife and the park which truely added to the overall experience. He was terribly organised in arranging our daily activities and clearly had the place running very smoothly.
Tents were exceptional, very comfy and I was stunned to find out we all had our own bathrooms - great. The birds and wildlife ingeneral made such a fantistic racket at night which we loved! You could only be in Africa.
Particularly good location for the boat trips - hippo, elephant, buffalo. As always in Eastern Africa, amazing dunsets."