Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs M from Bucks

"Gomoti is in a lovely setting with the tents well-spaced out to ensure privacy. Watching wildlife from the deck proved a very tempting alternative to an afternoon siesta!

The tents were very spacious, well-equipped and comfortable. This was the first time we had stayed in a camp with the benefits of round-the-clock electricity thanks to solar panels and battery arrays.

The staff were lovely and so helpful."

"Little Machaba is a small and intimate camp with a lovely atmosphere. The tents are very comfortable and well-equipped and 24-hour electricity is a bonus.

The staff were wonderful and a real treat was brunch in the bush, all beautifully laid out, on our last day.

There is, however, one drawback to staying at Little Machaba: it is in a concession shared with other safari camps and private travellers. This meant we saw a lot of vehicles on every game drive and there was no protocol in place as to how many vehicles should be at a sighting at any one time. It was not uncommon to see 7 or 8 vehicles all surrounding the animals, which is not what we are used to. Obviously this is beyond the control of Little Machaba, but it really did spoil the experience. Even trying to find a quiet place for sundowners proved almost impossible."

"Kwara is in a great location close to a very large waterhole, so there was plenty of wildlife to see from the deck of our tent. Seeing a herd of red lechwe running past, we expected to see lions or dogs in pursuit - instead they were being chased by two warthog piglets.

Our tent was very spacious, well-furnished and very comfortable. Round-the-clock electricity was very welcome.

The wildlife was amazing: a tremendous variety of antelopes, all the bigs cats (and the tiny one too), a large pack of wild dogs, hyenas, elephants, giraffes, a honey badger. For the first time, we saw a side-striped jackal in addition to the usual black backs."

"Splash is a new camp, and it shows. More modern than many we have visited, the camp offers a number of conveniences such as being able to charge electrical devices in your room. One of us has mobility challenges, and the staff could not have been more helpful, finding ways to make it easier to get and out of the vehicle and negotiate steps and ramps within the camp.

The wildlife is fantastic. We were awoken one morning by lions roaring just outside the camp, having stolen a kill from wild dogs. We had a great team in our guide David and tracker KB. Highlights on game drives included seeing a cheetah at full speed catching a baby lechwe; wild dogs; two lionesses with ten cubs; and our first sighting of a side-striped jackal. Numerous species of antelope were abundant, with the baby boom just beginning as the rains are in sight."

"Lebala is a lovely tented camp with a traditional feel. One of us has mobility challenges, and the staff could not have been more helpful, finding ways to make it easier to get and out of the vehicle and negotiate steps and ramps within the camp.

We had a great team in our guide Bate and tracker Simo and every game drive was full of fascinating encounters. Numerous species of antelope were plentiful, plus zebra, hippo, buffalo, and giraffe. Predators included lion, leopard , wild dog and hyena.

The highlight was being able to get really close to leopards - one a large male, the other his mother - on three occasions and spend time just observing these beautiful cats."

"Lagoon Camp has large, beautifully furnished tents facing the river, each with a verandah that makes the perfect spot for viewing the numerous animals that visit the river. The location enables Lagoon to offer boat trips, which make a peaceful and relaxing alternative to a game drive.

One of us has mobility challenges, and the staff could not have been more helpful, finding ways to make it easier to get and out of the vehicle and negotiate steps and ramps within the camp.

We had a great team in our guide and tracker, Poster and KT. The wildlife was amazing: numerous antelope species, including roan; zebra, elephant, giraffe, hippo, baboon. We had wonderful close-up encounters with two magnificent male lions; witnessed lions mating; found a beautiful female leopard lounging in a tree; and after a hectic chase through the bush, saw a wild dog kill.

We also saw, for the first time, brown hyena."

"Our key criteria for camps is the quality of the guiding, and we had an outstanding experience with Ezra (guide) and Aridi (driver/spotter). Both have an incredible ability to spot wildlife that to our eyes - even with binoculars - is very well hidden. Ezra is highly knowledgeable about every aspect of flora and fauna and showed us things we've never seen before, including the beautiful Impala Lily.

It's a very stylish camp, with the main communal areas and tents on wooden raised decks. Our tent overlooked a spot in the river occupied by a very large hippopotamous, and from our verandah we also saw buffalo and watched a goliath heron catch an enormous fish.

The food is excellent. Unusually (from our experience), dining is at invidual tables rather than communal. Guests are rotated around the tables, which at night are spread across the verandah, lower down on decking and beside the river. We had breakfast out in the bush on our game drives and the camp produced an amazing spread every morning."

"Kwihala is a proper bush camp, with tents on the ground, bucket showers and very local wildlife that includes a pair of large lizards that live in the mess tent.

Saidi is an excellent guide and together with Ayube, our trainee guide, gave us some wonderful game viewing. For the first time, we saw black and white colobus monkeys - a truly memorable experience - and a family of seven very young lion cubs with their mothers.

Dining at Kwihala is communal, preceded by drinks around the fire, which adds to the intimate feel of the camp. The food is excellent. For "bake-off" fans, the cakes produced for afternoon tea are wonderful."

"Little Vumbrua is a lovely camp run by a superb team of staff. Our tent was comfortable, spacious and immaculately maintained. The food was excellent, with variety at choice at every meal. We particularly enjoyed the pre-dinner singing from the staff each evening, which made for a lovely atmosphere.

The game was incredible - we had lenghty encounters with leopards, wild dogs and sable (which we've not seen in Southern Africa for many years). On our first evening drive, we were lucky to witness a very rare and unusual battle between a leopard and her cub and honey badgers - the mother leopard dived into they honey badger sett, dragged the youngster out and ran up a tree, closely followed by the mother honey badget. A fight ensued in the tree in which both honey badgers escaped and bolted back into their sett. The guides were as excited and astounded as we were, never having seen such behaviour before.

We would thororghly recommend Little Vumburu to other travellers."

"We had stayed twice before at Savuti when the channel was dry. so it was with interest and a little trepidation that we returned, wondering if it would live up to our prevous wonderful experiences. Happily, it far exceeded them. The camp has been refurbished, with the tents now covered by thached structures (no more baboons bouncing up and down on the tent) and now looks down upon a flowing river. We were warmly welcomed, our previous visits having been noted, and began what has to be our best experience ever.

The area around Savuti abounded with wildlife - elephants, large herds of giraffe, hippos unexpectedly wandering around the bush, leopards and wiid dogs. We also saw lion, cheetah and two antelope that had not been seen the area for four years - eland and roan.

Highlights of the camp included an unexepected and magical dinner in bush one evening, lunch in the bush on an all-day trip; the birthday party - complete with cake - laid on for my husand and another guest; and our final dinner in camp, set in a private area by the pool, decorated with lanterns and tealights. The food at Savuti is the best we have ever had - and that is exceeding a very high standard.

Abbie and the team have created a very special place and atmosphere and we cannot wait to return to Savuti."

"A great camp.

Excellent guides and "front of house" team, good food and clean, well-maintained camp."

"Kanga is without doubt one of the best camps we have visited in our many trips around southern Africa. As the camp is effectively less than a year old, everything is impressively clean and sparkling, yet it manages to feel like a well-established little camp that sits perfectly in its forest clearing around the pan.

Our hosts Richard and Gilly manage a perfect balance of warmth, professionalism and relaxed style in the way the camp operates and we came away - reluctanctly, having enjoyed our stay so much - feeling that we had spent a happy few days with old friends. The beauty of Kanga is that one can spend a day relaxing in camp and still see great wildlife right in front of you. With no need to move on, it is possible to watch fascinating behaviours that one would not see from a vehicle or possibly even on foot.

We saw, for first time, a beautiful male bushbuck hesitantly make his way to the water, alert to every sight and sound and easily spooked even by the baboons who spent their days at the pan.

The most unforgettable experience was seeing a leopard family - a mother and three large cubs - come down to drink one night as we sat on deck, whilst other nights saw the visits of lions and hyenas."

"Vundu was a great experience from a wildlife and guiding point of view. Having not visited Zimbabwe for 11 years, it was amazing to find that our guide at Vundu was Mark, who we had last met when he had guided us at Musango camp on Lake Kariba. We had a great few days in Mark's company, which included a hilarious encounter with a male elephant which is definitely worth sharing on YouTube; an amazing sighting of a female leopard and her cub; lions eating a young elephant (gory but fascinating); and close-up, on-foot viewings of the local pack of wild dogs.

As a camp, Vundu is functional rather than comfortable and it feels tired and in need of some TLC. Some "sprucing up" would make Vundu feel more cared for, without losing the real bush camp feel.

The layout of the camp along the river left no space for any "sitting out" area in front the of the tents and little to see in camp, although the antics of the vervet monkeys around the dining area were always entertaiing."

"We stayed in Suite 3, which used to be called the Rhino House, and it is absolutely superb. Sited a the far end of the camp, it's quite a walk but it really is worth it: we felt as if we were in our own private little corner of Africa.

Without exception, the camp staff were wonderful -very hospitable, friendly and helpful. Mike and Carol , the managers are new in post, this being their first month at Sand Rivers, but they were excellent hosts. Having been to Sand Rivers previously, our expectations were high and were exceeded: it felt more like a sharing the camp with friends than being "guests".

Our guide, Iyan, was superb, as was the variety of game that we saw, the highlight being wild dogs (fantastic!). Our time with Iyan was shared with other experienced "Africa hands" and he really listened to what we were interested in and tailored the game drives to the best opportunities for the things we wanted to see.

Going back to a camp we have previously enjoyed is always a risk: we know that teams change and the question is always "will it be as good as it was before?". In the case of Sand Rivers, the answer emphatically not just yes, but even better against a standard that was already exceptional."

"We chose to visit Beho Beho on the recommendatoin of a friend. Having just come from a fabulous experience at Sand Rivers, we were wondering if it could possibly match up. From the point at which we handed over at the hot springs, it became clear that we would have a wonderful time at Beho Beho.

The site of the camp, high up on a hill, gives fabulous views over the surrounding landscape. Our room, at the far end of the camp, was lovely. The team were welcoming, friendly and hospitable at every level. Having been to Zimbabwe several times, we discovered acquaintances in common with Tam and Sasha which was a real delight.

The highlight of the camp had to be seeing a civet wandering around late at night; a visit during dinner one evening from Bond, a regular elephant visitor; and encountering a mother elephant and her youngsters one morning munching their way through the trees, shrubs and flower beds.

The food at Beho Beho is out of this world - how do they do it?"

"Oyster Bay is on a par with the best boutique hotels in the UK - beautiful, spacious rooms, excellent food and a great front of house team.

As a stopover before the flight back to London, there couldn't be a better place."