Travel reviews by THB47 from New Zealand

"Nice to get a packed breakfast as we were leaving too early for the breakfast we had paid for. Good value for money compared to the other alternative right at the terminal.

Great to be at the terminal and not have to take a shuttle."

"The location is great, overlooking the river with lots of hippos, crocs and elephants. Having lunch privately on the chalet deck at the river was great. It was our 25th anniversary and they prepared the most wonderful candle-lit dinner on the deck by the river as a surprise. It was terrific!

The chalets were nice but, once the mosquito nets were down, there was really nowhere to sit. The outside bathtub was fun to use. The meals were good to excellent. Game viewing was a bit disappointing as we really like to see cats and are used to Sabi Sand, where there seem to be more reliable and better cat sightings. But game viewing was still good. Hippo hide is highly recommended as is the elephant crossing viewing platform. We enjoyed walking from Kaingo to Mwamba.

They washed female undies without comment but we later discovered that we should probably not have put them in the laundry as all the other camps we visited would not wash female undies. Expert Africa's information sheets should have stated that female undies would not be washed in Zambia and this information does also not seem to be in the Brandt book that we were given. This is in contrast to a trip we did to Namibia where the tour provider was very clear that no undies would be washed. A small point, but my wife would have packed more undies had she been better informed."

"Great bush camp experience and great personal service.

The outdoor bathroom was fun but the shower could have been better. Getting "trapped" in our tent by an elephant right outside the door of our chalet was a highlight. We also enjoyed spending time at the hide and being taken to the lagoon."

"The wheels were falling off when we were there. The managers had left (perhaps been fired) and an assistant manager from Caingo was there filling in until the new managers arrived. The towel replacement was terrible. We put a towel on the floor (which I would have thought is a universal code for not wanting to use them again) but the cleaner picked it up and put it on top of a clean towel - making two dirty towels. We put the 2 towels on the floor and again they were hung up by the cleaner. We had a couple of new towels one day and random changing of face cloths but other than that we used the same towels throughout our stay.

When we commented at the end to the acting manager, he told us that they should have been changed every day and that the staff should have understood what putting towels on the floor meant. We could not get reliable hot water and, even after we drew that to their attention and the hot water was "fixed", we still could not get reliable hot water. Showers were unpleasant. (We later learned that in the floods the water heaters had been damaged, an insurance claim had been made, and new water heaters had just arrived and were to be installed after we departed.) We also have to ask for shampoo to be replaced. The outdoor bathtub was fantastic, even though getting it full of hot water was a rather laborious process.

We enjoyed the game drives (though there wasn't as much game as we are used to in Sabi Sand) but the night game drives were a bit of a waste of time unless cats were around, to the extent that we eventually cut them short and asked to be taken back to camp. One night after we had come back to camp early from a rather boring night drive, another vehicle spotted a leopard. We were extremely impressed that Spencer came to our chalet to tell us and give us the opportunity to go out again - we saw the leopard. That, to us, showed the difference between a worker and a professional with pride in their work. Well done, Spencer!

The water actives were great - fishing, canoeing and being taken from Old Mondoro to Chiawa by boat."

"We really enjoyed Chiawa though, compared with some of the luxurious Sabi Sand camps, it is a little difficult to see Chiawa as the best in Africa. The rooms were the best of the 4 camps we visited. The water activities were enjoyable and the walking safaris great. As with the other Zambia lodges we visited, the game on the game drives was not as good or plentiful as Sabi Sand.

We understand about cultural matters but it was irritating to be told not to put ladies underwear in the laundry particularly since neither the website nor the Expert Africa information (including the Brandt book) gave advance notice of this."