Reviews of Somalisa Camp

"Having arrived in the dark it was good to see such an interesting location on the first morning. The close proximity of the water hole to our tent made for excellent game viewing, especially of the huge number of elephants that came on a daily basis to wallow and play. It was also an enormous privilege to be able to sit in the guests' plunge pool while elephants came and drank from it! To be no more than eight feet from a wild elephant, and at ground level, as it drank was completely mind-blowing and a great photo opportunity.

The tent was comfortable and clean but a little short on storage space for clothes etc. We were consistently unable to get hot water from the shower and wash basin.

House-keeping service was good at all times. Our laundry was completed quickly and efficiently; washing powder was provided for guests to wash their own underwear. General organisation was a bit haphazard and we were never quite sure where we were supposed to be and at what time or who was in overall charge. This wasn't helped by the fact that rather than the six tents we had expected, there were in fact ten, with two separate dining areas and we were never sure which one to go to.

Food was generally excellent with good vegetarian options. There was always plenty of fruit and vegetables.

The only activity available was game - driving within a fairly limited area and we would have liked to walk. We found that the guides were predominantly interested in finding the big cats which, it must be said, were few and far between. There was very little attempt to spot and identify birds and rather too much time was spent driving at speed to possible cat sightings only to find the cats had moved on!

We asked if we could visit the Painted Dog Conservation Centre, having seen at its conception in 2002; we had noticed it on our way to Somalisa and Dudley arranged for us to visit on the way back to Victoria Falls. It was a thrill to see it in operation and to learn that over 6000 children had stayed there since it opened in 2003." See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe

"We feel that Somalisa is distinctly 'well worn' and that seems to be reflected by the owners who are expanding and updating. Unfortunately we had a tent that wasn't new or modernised even though at least 1 other Expert Africa guests were in a new tent.

For 3 days we had to ask at least twice for the water for our shower even though we had agreed a time; so service didn't overimpress.

We were also unlucky I suppose with game given that we were there for 4 nights and saw no hyena, leopard, rhino, only 1 solitary lioness and only cheetah on our transfer back to V Falls.

There seems to be no flexibility in activities. Every day it's just the same old game drives round the same roads at the same times. Compared to our other camps and previous safaris we were not hugely impressed with the quality of guiding although the 2 guides we had were both knowledgeable and pleasant." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 6n in Zimbabwe

"The camp felt a bit disorganised (although there was a large bush fire nearby). We did not have a welcome talk so subsequently they did not know when to provide hot water for the bucket shower.

The camp manager/host (I'm not sure what her job title was as she didn't tell us) seemed more interested in entertaining/reminiscing with the (almost) resident wild dog researcher than her paying guests. She was certainly very responsive to demanding Americans, but for us laid back Brits, she did not do much. In fact, whilst broken in a Land Cruiser down at the side of the road, she continued transporting her guests back to camp, without so much as a hint of concern about our situation." See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe

"More than excellent. We were the only guests in the camp and we were treated in the best imaginable way.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and we had the opportunity to learn a lot about african flora and fauna.

Hwange National Park is definitively worth a visit." See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe

"very exceptionell setting, nice tents (i was in one of the new ones), caring and friendly personel (e.g. mentioning that i did not have a mirror in the bathroom and would like to have a chair on the veranda, i could change my tent the following day, having had cold in the first night they provided me with a warm bedpan), great guide, good food (you get almost too much). With regard to animals it seems to me that the concession area is kind of limited, i.e. two days / three nights are probably enough to get to know the area and have a reasonable chance to see animals of different variety" See all these reviews: 3n in Zimbabwe

"In a nutshell: we loved Somalisa in every aspect.

It is a bit of a long drive from Livingstone, but the drive was made very pleasant by Sevious (from Silver Tours) who is a very friendly and open person and by the end of the trip we were friends - we were happy when he showed up to pick us up on our way back as well. He easily agreed to stop and visit the Painted Dog Conservation Centre near the park gate, which is by the way a very interesting project and really worth a visit if you are in the area.

Back to Somalisa: we were picked up from main camp by Raimond and Mike who took us for a drive and a picnic lunch near a waterhole. We were impressed by their friendly attitude and knowledge. We liked their philosophy of watching without disturbing the animals.

The welcome to the camp, where we met Dudley and Nic and the rest of the staff, was great and we loved it immediately. It is beautifully designed with a "bush feel" in a remote area but you have all the facilities you need. Our tent had beautiful furniture and a fun open bathroom with a bucket shower.

After a quick shower we walked back to the main area and were astonished to find an elephant drinking from the pool less a few meters away from the deck! He kept drinking while keeping an eye on us. The interesting story is that there is also a waterhole in front of the camp, but elephant like the clean water from the pool better!

Sitting on the deck you can watch elephants, baboons, zebra, giraffe.....amazing!

Because it was still a bit too hot for us we did a walk every morning and a drive in the afternoon (but they are flexible and you could stay out all day if you wanted to).

The great thing about this camp (and I am told in Zimbabwe in general) is that the guide acts also as a scout (armed) which allows you to stop the car and get off and walk whenever you wish for as long as you wish. For example during one drive we were so lucky as to find not one but four rhinos grazing near a waterhole. Raimond and Mike asked us if we were up for a closer look on foot and we jumped at the chance. This was the first time we saw rhinos in the wild and it was amazing. We walked checking the wind and hid behind a bush, very close to them. They did not see us and we had a great chance of taking good pictures but most of all a great memory to take back home.

All our walks and drive were great and we saw a huge number of animals. Once we walked very near to a herd of Kudus and everybosy back at camp was surprised we could get that close as they are normally skittish. We watched a huge elephant bull digging for minerals and stayed for a while enjoying the way he broke the soil with a foot and then used his trunk. He then turned around to show us how big he was before slowing walking away. We learnt to recognize the smell of a bull in musth as he followed a female herd. There are thousands of elephants in the park and we never got tired of watching them. We learnt that zebras in Hwange are slightly different as they have a brownish shadow between black and white stripes.

I need to keep this "reasonably short" so I cannot describe everything we saw, but the experience was great!

We deeply enjoyed the atmosphere at the camp including the meals with the giudes, we never stop talking! You can tell they are all bound togheter and friends and work in perfect harmony. It was a pleasure to have the chance to meet all of them and were sorry to leave. We will never forget our days at Somalisa.

We wish we could keep this hidden gem for ourselves only, but it would be unfair....so we reccomend to go there and enjoy the experience!

Finally we would like to mention that we felt perfectly at easy in Zimbabwe, everything ran smoothly for us, we met all friendly people and we think they deserve a growing number of tourists to visit as this may help the local people and the economy." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia; 5n in Zimbabwe

"Somalisa is a very good camp, well run by Manager and Head Guide Dudley and the camp manager Henrietta. We were able to do guided walks every day of our stay as well as game drives.

Given the time of year (ie wet season) and the nature of some of the terrain around the camp, mammal sightings required some patience: but we were still able to enjoy two great dog sightings, quality time with a pride of 19 lions and sables as well as plentiful elephant and buffalo: other guests staying at the camp while we were there saw leopard, cheetah, rhion and roan antelope.

We understand that the camp is having a significant makeover in February/March so would expect an even higher standard in the 2011 season." See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe; 3n in Zambia

"It would have been good to know that this was a 2 hour drive from the park entrance!

Remote, undisturbed, extremely friendly, rustic, Dardley was a wonderful guide, superb food, easy going, accommodating.

Not an abundance of 'big' wildlife but suite our needs perfectly - tons of spottings of new and interesting things for both our guide and us, including yellow tailed kites catching mating frogs and 5 leopard tortoises trying to mate with one another!

We were the only people here for 4 nights - magical! I just felt sad that hundreds of people thought Chobe was the place to be, when they were so obviously missing out on this wonderful place." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 6n in Zimbabwe

"Lovely intimate camp in Hwange. Lots of elephants in camp as well as a cute pack of dwarf mongoose.

The staff were a highlight and gave the camp a considerable measure of charm. Attentive but not over-bearing, flexible and entertaining. Dudley was an excellent guide and Henrietta a charming hostess. We would certainly recomend the camp to anyone looking for a really nice place to stay in this part of Zimbabwe.

Really good food and plenty of game although a paucity of big cats. But some lovely elephants (drinking in the swimming pool) as well as some unusual sightings such as bat eared foxes." See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe