Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs P from Manchester

"We choose Kwihala as we were aware it had only 6 tents and excelled at providing rustic luxury! We were looking for a unique safari and certainly found it here. Sean, our fantastic South African guide met us from the plane and provided quite exceptional guiding for the next 4 days. Having had a brief taster of the Safari experience on our journey to the camp we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves the only couple in camp.

The camp whilst not on top of a hill with sweeping panoramas had more than enough to make it outstanding, the luxury tents were fabulous and you felt much closer to your surroundings as a result. The food was plentiful and varied and we were waited on hand and foot by our very attentive camp staff, George, Rashidi and Mustapha.

We visited in mid November 2009 prior to our arrival there were 4 days of perpetual rain, the first of the short rains. This meant Sean had a job on to find any of the bigger residents of Ruaha but this was made up by a guide who clearly had a great understanding of the ecosytem who could impart that enthusiasm onto his guests.The large mammals were in abundance and watching the pride feed at sunset was apersonal highlight.

The Birdlife was quite incredible and we quickly appreciated the less lime-light hogging species of the park. Perhaps the most profound incident was the second night when the termites came out in abundance (raining quite literally down onto the tent) with a host of scorpions /goliath spiders ready to feast. An entomologist's dream, and though my wife would never claim to be the world's biggest fan of insects she became quite a fan after Sean explained all about their role and individual characteristics.

It was absolutely what we wished for: a luxury safari with the sense of isolation and yet with top guiding. We have both been on safari before and this would convince us to go again."

"We met our host, Michelle at the airport on our way to Ras Mbisi on Mafia Island . A lady with a lust and enthusiasm for life on this most laid back and carefree island and the perfect introduction to a very relaxed few days.

The setting was idyllic with very comfortable Bandas occupying a view out across the azure Indian Ocean.These were part of the labour of love of John and Michelle who have put a huge amount of effort into making their guests feel welcome. We were the only residents the week we stayed in mid November 2009 and we received the full attention of the team and John and Michelle's very sweet children. The team is made of locally employed villages who have limited experience of "top-end" hotel style service, this adds to the charm of the place and with guidance from John the team is becoming far more adept at providing a high standard of service.

The food was plentiful, indeed so plentiful I would be able to do little after each of our meals! It is no place to diet. We did manage an excursion Whale watching and to the nearest desert islands: a great day! We also wandered the local mangroves which were spectacular for an afternoon stroll and gave a great insight into these unusual environments.

It was pitched perfectly for those couples looking for an alternative to Zanzibar with a luxury feel yet still with their feet on the ground!"

"We were lucky to make our flight here before the sunset but it meant we had the most spectacular arrival. And we truly felt that this was a luxury resort. Being rowed across the lagoon on our arrival set the stall for our all too brief sojourn. Our hosts made us most welcome as we familiarised ourselves with our luxury banda.

The food was tasty and towards fine dining with the chef enquiring as to our enjoyment. The staff had been highly trained and this showed with quite exceptional service. Perhaps a some of the Tanzanian charm was a little too hidden with a very westernised set-up but for a luxury evening and day relaxing on the beach to end our holiday it was a great experience"