Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs V from Harlow

"We chose the camps we went to based on past experience because we adore the bushcamp type of lodges rather than the all out 'luxury' lodges with Jacuzzis and so on. Such camps get harder to find nowadays. Good camps to us have relatively few guests so that game drives become leisurely and relaxing experiences.

Game can be hard to find - it is not unheard of to be out for an hour or two and see little so we have fostered our interest in African birds. They are always there even if the animals are being secretive. We always tell camps we are interested in birds as well as animals and the good camps (like these three) note this and give us knowledgeable guides and try to avoid putting us with the 'red meat' type of client s who only want to see lion and other predators. Result - we see the same amount of game but fill in the time between sightings with lots of the colourful and abundant African birds.

We go by past experience of safaris and often select our own itineraries however Expert Africa staff are actively send on fact finding missions to many of there camps and speak and advise from personal knowledge. If you do not have personal knowledge then use their staff - they are all helpful and will design trips for you having listened carefully to your preferences. We would not dream of using anyone else now.

Please note that our neutral recommendation for Megan reflects that we have admiration for all of Expert Africa staff and would trust them all to be excellent rather than pick one as better than another.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, just keep doing what you do cos you do it well.

These travellers noted about their flights:

Emirates had a bad hair day on our flights out.

Our flight out of Heathrow was severely delayed although we were not warned until we were queuing in the check in. We managed to get on an earlier flight otherwise our Dubai connection would have been missed. Our Dubai to Lusaka flight was also several hours delayed so that we eventually missed our connection between Lusaka and Luangwa. Seems Dubai had had a severe sandstorm which severely affected all their flights. We were not kept informed about this and so became quite stressed at the prospect of missing flights.

What was very impressive about this episode is that we received texts from Chris McIntyre himself whilst this was evolving (boss of Expert Africa) telling us of the problems and what Expert Africa were doing for us. We were met in Lusaka by their agents who had booked us a hotel for the night, arranged transfer vehicles and arranged replacement flights for the next morning. Chris McIntyre continued to monitor the situation and ensured the camp we were going to were informed so we felt very well cared for by Expert Africa.

Things don't often go wrong in Africa nowadays and when they do a bit of patience and common sense usually get you through but this was seriously impressive service, sorting out the problem before we had even landed in Lusaka and keeping not only tabs on their clients in transit but being aware of the problems in the first place and having solutions to hand. Emirates had no problems on our return flights however their lack of information during this episode was disappointing."

"We enjoyed this trip, our thirteenth safari but our first during the green season. We particularly wanted to look for birds in the breeding season and so in breeding plumage and to see the desert 'in bloom'.

We did both, notably seeing weavers, whydahs and widowbirds- little brown jobs for most of the year but now in full plumage. The desert was indeed in flower and we would recommend the experience to all seasoned safari aficionados - not only for the green freshness and the ephemeral flowering plants but the huge range of flowering grasses and the huge numbers of beautiful butterflies, grasshoppers and so on. Sure the game is spread out and not gathered around the waterholes but we saw so many groups of animals fit and well fed and simply enjoying themselves- dogs, lions and elephants playing. A great trip.

The downside was the lack of water in the Delta. The rains failed last year and some areas had consequently been dry for over a year. Vumbura is situated on a permanent river so was less affected and there has been some recent rain this season so water levels there have gone up and we enjoyed good water activities there, however Jacana camp in the Jao concession was completely dried up and has been for over a year. Recent rains have barely touched them and they hope for water again later in the year when the floods from Angola arrive; there have been good rains in Angola apparently.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We have used Expert Africa on several occasions and returned because you do offer an excellent service."

"We are seasoned safari aficionados, this being our 11th trip but first to Rwanda and then on to the Northern Tanzanian circuit. We enjoyed the whole trip immensely and had many memorable sightings and generally excellent lodges and camps.

Rwanda. Words cannot describe the gorilla treks- we looked forward to them, read as much as we could before going and still the experience was overwhelming. This was a birthday treat for my wife and on her birthday we watched a large family of gorillas going about their business and interacting with us in an absolutely magical way. Expensive but worth every penny- just save and do it.

Rwanda practically. The lodge was great and Primate safaris were efficient, our driver friendly and efficient. The country was fascinating- a modern city in Kigali and so clean but subsistence agriculture elsewhere with not a tractor in sight. Very friendly people.


Northern Tanzania. We saw the migration, half of a Mara river crossing and an abundance of game in the Serengeti. I was dubious about going to such a popular destination but did not feel that there were too many vehicles in the area. A great lodge in Lemai.


Asilia were superb in looking after us from Manyara onwards. Manyara was fine but beware, the open part of the park is only a half day's game drive and although we did meet someone who had seen a lion, the famous tree climbing lions are not often seen nowadays - good bird life though.

Ngorongoro crater. Cold when we were there - heed the warnings and ensure you take something to ward off the morning cold. A magical place though with abundant game. The Lemala camp seemed like a disappointment but we felt that it might not have been if the weather had been better.

Tarangire; an excellent camp in Oliver's and good game in particularly birds

The general organisation of the trip was pretty faultless (until we returned to Heathrow to find the Stansted express we use for the last leg home was not running) Camps and Lodges and all the interconnecting bits and pieces all worked together really well. Each driver who met us had printed name boards to find us with and named folders of permits etc and it all worked really well. They were friendly, bright, witty and informative, full marks to Primate safaris and to Asilia safaris

Elizabeth at Expert Africa made helpful suggestions before we decided on where to go and organised it all quietly in the background, sending their final ticket pack and useful information booklets a week or two before we left. We will undoubtedly use them again"

"Our ninth safari and a return for a second visit to Ruaha and Selous. The game and sightings were as good as any we have experienced before anywhere.

We saw three different lion hunt and kills, a crocodile/impala kill and an unsuccessful leopard hunt in daylight. We had good wild dog sightings, plenty of various antelope and an excellent range of smaller animals; add a total of 220 species of birds in 12 days, many lizards and even a few snakes this trip- 2 pythons and a green snake (it's a harmless species - I don't mean a mamba or boomslang). Both Ruaha and Selous remain game rich and less tourist full than many other destinations. Selous is a favorite over Ruaha because of the availability of water safaris but to us a mixture of places makes a trip and the paucity of available water in Ruaha just concentrates the game.

Guiding was excellent at all the three camps we went to and the camps themselves reflected the range from bush camp to luxurious with none of them having any shortcomings. As usual the camp staff were unfailingly pleasant and efficient. One does not usually notice the domestic staff side of things but all the camps manage hotel type efficiency of cleaning, clothes washing and ironing and food production and all done out in the bush far from civilization.

We approached Expert Africa with two itineraries; a Zambia trip was not on because places were already booked but it was clear that a Southern Tanzania one was possible and in fact everything we wanted fell into place within a few days. Claire was efficient, friendly and you get the impression with expert Africa that they will keep on trying to get your trip right. On this occasion there was no problem. Our documents arrived in plenty of time as promised.

An excellent and enjoyable trip- Thank you

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Our second trip organised by you and faultless really. We are experienced safari fans so perhaps we know what we want and what to expect more than some (Africa being Africa!), however knowing that your staff will have actually visited and have experience of many of the camps is comforting when planning and discussing places to go.

It would be good to see you cover Kenya and particularly Uganda."

"We were very happy with most of our safari, Lake Manze camp excepted, and very happy with how Claire from Expert Africa helped us decide on places to go and the general organisation of the trip. Everything 'happened' as arranged and expected and that is not always the case in Africa so full marks to Expert Africa.
As seasoned African safari goers the Southern Tanzanian circuit was new to us but met our expectations with excellent game, wonderful bird life and beautiful locations in Ruaha and Selous.
If there was any blot it would be that being close to beach resorts means that you get a number of first time safari goers whose interest is superficial and where the safari is bolted on as some sort of exotic extra to a beach trip that is the tourist's main interest and some of the camps cater to this level of tourism. Selous tourism has evidently expanded in recent years and we fear that this will lead to safari tourism in the way some Northern Tanzanian (Ngorongoro) and Southern Kenyan (Mara) areas cater for"