Travel reviews by Mr C from West Sussex

"The Aero Club completely met our needs. The rooms where fine, with plenty of hot water and comfortable beds.

The general facilities were also very good and we made good use of the pool and the excellent Java restaurant.

We didn't need to use the Safarilink cafe for breakfast as we were pleased to find the Java opened for breakfast at 06.00.

In sum, while the Aero Club is not luxurious, the facilities are very good and above all it is a very convenient location, close to JK airport and even closer to the new Safarilink Departure facility."

"We had studied the El Karama website and were prepared to be wowed but the reality greatly exceeded our expectations.....mega wow! The lodge location is simply stunning.

Murray, Sophie and the team have done an amazing job designing and building the lodge which thoroughly deserves its Silver ECO rating. This is topped by a professional, attentive and very kind staff team led well by Lovi.

On arrival Andrew met our taxi near the ranch boundary and made us very welcome. We met our first giraffe about 50 yards after we set off and then enjoyed a near full set of wildlife driving to the lodge......a superb start to a great 3 days / 4 nights at El Karama.

We were thoroughly briefed by Lovi and while we fully understand the need for a thorough safety briefing, perhaps mention of Buffalo incursions inside the wire might be minimized for young ears who may not understand the wider context.

Jason and I particularly appreciated the way the staff interacted with and encouraged Jack, particularly Andrew, Wanjala, Esther. and Robinson. Sophie had wisely suggested we managed Jack's expectations re his 'Save the Bushbuck' project. In the event Lovi kindly integrated the project in our programme without any prompting and Jack had a great time even though the original seedlings had not survived the drought.

The scene was set just before breakfast on Day 1 when the resident orphaned Bushbuck was seen browsing by our Rondeval.....and named 'Bushey' Then after lunch Wanjala took Jack to find and transplant some 5 natural bush seedlings close to the wire fence by the river. We then had a game drive and Andrew took us to the impressive new stone 'hide' by the dam, designed to protect trees from elephants. Andrew explained the need to replace the magnificent mature fever trees that were being 'drowned' in the dam. Jack then helped transplant a strong fever tree seedling to start the replacement process. While Esther has mentioned sending photos as the seedling matures, Jack has made several mentions of coming back to see progress for himself!

Joseph led our bush walk but this did not live up to expectations. It was a bit of a route march and most of the stops followed one of us asking Joseph a question. Perhaps I have been spoilt by the Porini guides who closely involve their guests in the natural world.

While I have no knowledge of what is involved in certifying guides, I wonder if there is merit in considering developing Andrew and perhaps Robinson, with a view to them becoming Bronze rated guides?

Finally, may I suggest that it would be helpful if there was a photo for each of the staff detailed on the website. We also noted that Esther is not currently listed and also Sophie is missing as Host? However, if space is limited, then perhaps at least a photo of Lovi could be added?"

"A day room at the Aero Club was the perfect post safari solution before catching BA's late evening departure to LHR - the key word is CONVENIENT. In short, we were in our rooms minutes after leaving the Safarilink aircraft, with a short stop to collect our extra bags stored FOC with Safarilink."

"# Having seen internal photos of the old Holiday Inn, Southern Sun have done a superb renovation job. The ambiance, staff, food and facilities were all very good. In short, this is an ideal hotel for a short stay before and/or after a safari.

# Surprised but pleased to see the Kearsley office on the mezzanine next to the breakfast restaurant

#' breakfast - particularly good selection, with eggs cooked to order. If daylight when taking breakfast, strongly recommend the outside balcony overlooking the pool and Botanical Gardens.

# hot water - on our inbound / first night (14 July) we wasted loads of water before the shower ran luke warm (room 212). On our return (22 July - room 208) we wasted even more water before the shower eventually delivered very hot water.....concerned at the waste of water?"

"# the excellant camp fully met our expectations NB. the description in your brochure / website (& Adventure Camps of TZ) were spot-on in contrast to the overstated marketing hype that is still a feature of some operators literature.

# we appreciated the thatched 'hall' combined the bar, dining-room and lounge. Each time we entered as at least one member of staff was present and each were genuinely interested in our experiences and encouraged our attempts at Kiswahili.

# Pleasantly surprised to be bug free (in July) despite the adjacent lake.

#Vehicle tracks were often very poor and clearly very little of the Selous Reserve's income is used to maintain the infrastructure. We would certainly support any proposals to have the northern tourist blocks upgraded to National Park status.

# the boat rips were a particular feature and we enjoyed both a lake and channel trip - each time ELTON was our very experienced and truly excellant boatman.

# excellant food and being served under cover in the day in the impressive thatched 'hall' meant it was easier to interact with the staff.....and still enjoy the passing elephant or two!

# recommend the full day safari option to the hot springs, with an a delicious picnic lunch. We enjoyed the company of our guide EMMANUEL and driver OMARI MKOMA, who is fun character - promised photos of the hot springs 'team swim' will be posted shortly.

# impressed by our walking safari from the carefull briefing though to getting our proverbial dung recognition & tracking certificates!!

# Plenty of wildlife passed thought he camp but the Masai guards were pros and we felt very safe in their hands.

# Our regular landrover team was guide ADAM and driver ABUU - their combined spotting skills and knowledge was impressive and very much appreciated."

"# we were met by RAMADAMI who introduced himself as a newly qualified guide with only 3 months experience. His honesty was appreciated but any doubts quickly evaporated and he is clearly star material. Our driver was KNIGHT, clearly a very experienced driver and spotter / guide - great team and very good company.

# the very good National Park infrastructure was in complete contrast to Selous, with well graded tracks, viewing points, toilets at the picnic areas and Msembe airstrip ..... but still a wild and wonderful landscape and a long way short of the the tarmac roads in the Kruger.

# clearly Manze & Mdonya are different in detail but G&T's around the Mdonya log fire and superb food under the stars while overlooking lions stalking the 3 resident buffalo could not be equalled. Micol and Alex are excellant hosts.

# tips - we followed the sensible guidance in the Expert Africa and both camps literature to use the tip box so that all the camp team benefit. So we were surprised to find that some guests at Mdonya were only tipping their guides and drivers. We suggest that this point is covered in Micol's / Alex's welcome briefing, with the aim of consistency and to avoid embarrassing clients. In the event RAMADAMI received some hurried additional cash at the airstrip in addition to the intended present of my copy of Jonathan Kingdom's 'Pocket Guide to African Mammals'; similarly Colin gave KNIGHT some additional cash and his bird book as a present."

"# on return we further explored Dar and bumped into a couple of ex Mdonya guests staying at the 'new' Holiday Inn - clearly they were not impressed and likekened it to a souless UK Travel Lodge.

# Accepting that some clients will want very large 5* hotels, we suggest that for most Experts clients the Southern Sun would be an deal base for a pre and / or post safari stay in Dar, with the Kearsley office as a bonus.

# we enthused about the mutton curry when the house manager asked how was our meal. Shortly after the chef joined us at our table for a pleasant general chat during which he explained it was a new recipe and warmed to us as 'foodies'. He was clearly delighted at the feedback and we were certainly impressed by the contact and the clear committment to quality and value for money."