Travel reviews by Dr M & Dr Y from Richmond

"We chose to start our safari at Pumulani and this worked very well, we were soon in holiday mode. The highlight for us were the charming staff, they are quite simply exceptional and led by Mara, Chris and Emma, and ably supported by Michael, Lois, Luckio, Glen, Nicolas and Joseph. They all went out of their way to make sure that our stay was something special. The villas are exceptional, luxurious, stylish and comfortable, and the views of the wonderful Lake Malawi from our villa (number six) were breathtaking. However, we did notice that some villas were more concealed in the forest and had a somewhat impaired view of the lake and this is worth considering when you are booking.

We relaxed by the pool, on the beach, in the lodge and on our balcony, and enjoyed the delicious and varied food. A great strength is the variety of activities on offer. We very much enjoyed the village walk with Luckio and would highly recommend it, we felt welcome, that we were not interfering and in no way was the visit staged or artificial. Likewise, the nature walk with Glen and kayaking back, snorkelling with the cichlids and spotting the otters were highlights. The sunset outings on the beautiful Dhow are also highly to be recommended. Finally, the incredible stargazer telescope gave us wonderful views of Saturn.

During our trip in Malawi and Zambia some people we spoke to were concerned that visiting Lake Malawi was really only for serious watersport fans. So in case you are put off Pumulani because of this dont be, we are not divers or waterskiers, and as Expert Africa told us when we booked, there is so much more to do and see at Pumulani. Our only concern was that the lodge was very quiet when we were there, with only 2 villas occupied by guests and for a couple of days by an RPS film crew. This was by no means a problem for us, but we felt that the word needs to get out that both Pumulani and Lake Malawi are a wonderful destination and we cannot recommend it highly enough."

"Kaingo turned out to be everything we had hoped for and more. The camp has, in our opinion, found the perfect balance between remoteness, comfort, setting and serious game viewing, without resorting to the excessive luxury that seems to be the recent vogue in many camps.

The chalets are simple and comfortable and the combination of your own private deck and the more extensive main deck offer stunning views over the river, with hippos, crocs, other game, wonderful birds and to our excitement a leopard on the opposite bank during one short afternoon 'siesta'. The guiding of Ian, Patrick and Kennedy was exceptional and the game viewing terrific. We also particularly liked the fact that the animals came first and were never put under pressure even though the guides very ably positioned the vehicle to catch the light.

The central area is very attractive, the food extremely good and the light lunch on your own deck a very nice touch. The atmosphere in the camp was very relaxed and great fun thanks to Derek, Issy, Lisa, the guides and all the staff, who work tirelessly to optimise your experience. Access to the hippo and elephant hides as part of a midday activity was such a bonus and offered wonderful views and photographic opportunities. In addition, the willingness to take us at any time of day to get the best view of an interesting sighting such as elephants crossing the Luangwa was very much appreciated and added to the air of excitement in the camp.

We would recommend Kaingo v highly and hope very much to return."

"We chose to walk to Mwamba bushcamp from Kaingo (highly recommended) and were lucky to have Derek Shenton as our guide which we very much appreciated and seeing lions on foot was an added bonus.

Mwamba is a lovely small camp, with a great atmosphere and combines perfectly with Kaingo. Although a bushcamp it is very comfortable and we loved the chalets which are cleverly located, private and immersed in the bush. We saw elephant, impala, puku, baboons etc from our veranda. The open bathroom is wonderful and the view of the stars through the chalet skylight as the lions roared will live long in our memory. The camp host Debs worked tirelessly to make our stay special and our guide Mayem was excellent, extremely knowledgeable and accommodating.

Being a smaller camp with a single guide and six guests the activities need to be agreed in advance, this was not a problem, but perhaps this might be explained to guests on arrival to avoid confusion. We had wonderful game viewing, delicious food and great company. Finally, we loved being woken by the drums at Mwamba and Kaingo and the top drummer Zimba followed us to Mwamba - wish I had asked for a lesson!"

"Old Mondoro proved to be the perfect end to our holiday. This was our first visit to the lower Zambezi National Park. The flight into the Jeki airstrip gave us wonderful views of the magnificent Zambezi valley. Expert Africa had recommended Old Mondoro to us and they were absolutely spot on. We had thought that Sausage Tree camp and Chiawa would be too luxurious/expensive for us. Old Mondoro proved to be the perfect solution.

We were driven to the camp by Reagan and greeted by the charming hosts Beukes and Jacomine. In their first season they are doing a magnificent job. The atmosphere in the camp was terrific and all the staff were extremely friendly, engaging and determined to make sure we had a good time. Our main guide was Levy. He was an exceptional guide and great fun. He made sure we saw all aspects of this beautiful park and was also an excellent walking guide. He was ably supported by Morat and we also much enjoyed the boat trip with Andrew and Peter, incredible bird life as well as game on the river bank and of course crocs and hippos. Although a bush camp, Old Mondoro is not basic, the chalets are extremely comfortable all with views of the beautiful Zambezi.

The camp was full of game, and sneaking tree to tree with our guide to gain entrance to our chalet and avoid 3 huge bull elephants was terrific. We then sat on our veranda and watched them swim across the river in front of the chalet. One point to note, the Lower Zambezi was very cold in the morning and evening in late June/July and much colder than South Luangwa, so go prepared. The camp was perfect but we would have fancied a cup of coffee on the morning game drive rather than a cold drink! Lower Zambezi and Old Mondoro combined perfectly with the South Luangwa camps and we would love to return."

"We loved Mwagusi - an informal top quality African bush camp. You have the benefit of sleeping in a tent, combined with the luxury of a beautifully designed, spacious and private banda. We particularly liked the flexibility and the fact that Riaan or Kimberley (the managers) asked us each evening what we would like to do the next day. Even on our last morning we were offered 3 different options and provided with our own vehicle to allow a morning drive, return for breakfast and then a leisurely game drive to the airstrip to catch the 11.30 flight.

The guiding was excellent with both a guide (Daniel in our case) and a driver and the morning drives typically lasted 6 hours with a gorgeous breakfast (the cinnamon roll really is as good as its reputation!) and careful thought taken into which part of the park they would take us on each drive. The park is scenically dramatic and varied and we were lucky enough to see a wonderful variety of game, which was particularly dense around the Ruaha river.

Although we dont chose a camp based on its food, dinners at Mwagusi are a highlight and foster a terrific atmosphere in the camp, which is further enhanced by the presence of the owner Chris Fox.

My only criticism is that the camp undersells itself on its website, such an important influence on travellers today - I would recommend Mwagusi to anyone who wants to retain a real bush atmosphere and high quality guiding with a significant degree of comfort."

"We had great expectations of Beho Beho and these were fully met. The Selous combined perfectly with Ruaha, providing different and contrasting scenery and excellent game viewing, while maintaining the feeling of complete isolation. For example we had long game drives to Lakes Tagalala and Manze without seeing another vehicle all day.

While the location of other camps on the Rujifi river in the Selous may have some advantages, particularly in the dry season, the location and views from Beho Beho are stunning and the easy access to the lakes allows tremendous game viewing as the animals move in to drink and the predators follow - we saw 4 separate lion prides. The guiding (Salum and Sean) was top class and evening walks from the camp with Sacha were a particular highlight for us and led to close encounters with elephant, buffalo, giraffe, etc.

The bandas are exceptional and the food and variety of dinner and lunch locations was excellent allowing continual game viewing in the valley below and at the local waterhole where we were lucky enough to see a leopard during dinner. The atmosphere in the camp was excellent and Tam and Sacha's easy manner made us feel very welcome. Beho Beho is luxury in the bush and for us combined very well with the more earthy Mwagusi in the Ruaha."

"We spent a very enjoyable 5 nights at Matemwe bungalows.

The room and its location were stunning and watching the sun rise each morning with the fishing boats going by was perfect. In hindsight 3-4 nights would have been ideal and as we were a little restless we opted to hire a car which the lodge helped us to do and at very reasonable cost. This was a great success and allowed us to see more of the island.

The lodge is very relaxed, the food was good and the staff extremely friendly and helpful. We very much enjoyed the reef walk and snorkelling over the Pemba reef. However, we felt other activities were relatively expensive hence the average rating. The beach by the lodge is lovely but the adjoining village beach has major sewage problems, which spoilt our walks along the beautiful coastline somewhat.

This is clearly not the fault of the lodge who are committed to helping the village and reminded us of the huge difference in living standards between the tourists and the locals."

"Expert Africa suggested The Zanzibar Palace Hotel for our night in Stonetown and it proved an excellent choice.

We were not there long enough to really appreciate it but our room was superb, with the highlight a roof top bathroom and veranda from which we watched the sun go down. An excellent dinner was served in the hotel and they went out of the way to make sure breakfast was available before we left at 5.30am.

We would highly recommend."