Travel reviews by Dr P from Aberdeenshire

"Tafika is perfectly positioned on the bank of the Luangwa and close to the park entrance, not that it matters much, as there is a lot of wildlife outside the park, too, as there are no fences around the South Luangwa park. Guiding here is truly excellent and the food is fantastic, with fresh salads from the garden. The atmosphere is relaxed and unpretentious, and a lot is done to make mealtimes an intimate experience in smaller groups of guests instead of the traditional long table. A tour in the microlight aircraft is not to be missed, this is what flying is all about and the views are stunning.

One small downside for me personally is the rooms; I found them to be a little dark and enclosed, with only a small breeze and almost no light coming in at night. With all the wildlife moving around in the camp at night, some separation is of course nice to have, but I would have liked a little less. I guess this is a hard balance to strike!"

"I loved this place! The rooms have a downstairs bathroom and the bed is upstairs along with a viewing platform which also means that the bedroom is fully open on one side, letting in air and light in abundance.

I gathered from reading the visitors book that one, there wasn't even roofs above the bed, which sounds like a great idea for stargazing at night.

The game viewing was excellent here, too, and the food retained the high quality experienced at Tafika."

"Crocodile is a small bushcamp with rooms in the Tafika stryle, if less elaborate (no tiled floors, but quite similar). The setting is great and the water hole attracts lots of life for easy viewing from the camp.

The food retains the high Tafika quality with fresh supplies being walked in almost daily.

Between Crocodile and Chikoko, I prefer the latter, due to its upstairs sleeping, but they are both super little camps with excellent staff and guides."

"I reviewed Tafika earlier. [Ed: See below.]"

"Of all the camps in the Tafika family, Mwaleshi is my favorite, probably due to its remoteness and the river with clear water running on your doorstep.

Starting or finishing your walk by crossing the river bare footed is simply magic, and the guides are always prepared with towels for getting that sand out from between your toes. Safaris here are almost predominantly walking, and for me, there is probably nothing that compares to walking up to lions on a kill on foot, never mind that you don't get as close as you would in a car.

Had a fantastic time here."

"I completed the Tafika review earlier. [Ed: See below.]"

"Sausage Tree camp has a wonderfully remote feel to it, albeit being located right on the Zambezi river banks in an absolutely stunning location. When flying in, after coming from South Luangwa, the landscape looks like a lush golf course, and Sausage Tree oddly has something of the atmosphere you find in city hotels. Clearly, a lot of tought went into the desigh and decoration of this camp when it was originally built even if it is beginning to show its age in places.

Coming here after being in the Tafika bush camps feels like coming onto Oxford street from a country walk. It is very busy when full, and mealtimes along the traditional long table are bustling.

The food is ambitious with two choices for all three courses at dinner.

Guides here are knowledgeable but it is clear that they don't benefit from the long established tradition of the South Luangwa park. No doubt that will come, and some of the guides are really excellent. However, I personally dislike the practice of radioing every car in the area once a "specimen" has been located with the animals being set upon by cars coming from all directions to see the sight. That said, Sausage Camp has an excellent variety of activities between the bush and the river, and does its best to show of both to their advantage."