Travel reviews by Mr H from Wickham

"The guide and trecker we had were excellent. On the first morning's drive the guide's intention was to find the pack of wild dogs which were known to be some distance away. On the way we encountered a pride of lions, went on to find the wild dogs and on the way back to the lodge the guide found us a leopard up a tree - all in the first morning. The guide was also perfectly happy to delay the return to the lodge if there was something worth seeing. In fact I found that this was the same at all the lodges I stayed at. They were not restricted by time constraints - if it was there you saw it however long it took.

In the afternoon we saw probably the same leopard on the ground trying to drag a dead baby elephant up a tree. After it gave up and went for a rest in a tree we left her in peace. Within 5 minutes we found another leopard. The next day the guide found yet another leopard in a different part of the reserve. Fantastic game viewing although he failed to find any Cheetahs."

"Another excellent guide. On the way back to the lodge, having picked me up from the airstrip, he took me to see 2 male lions. Guests already at the camp said there was not much to see in the area besides elephants. They had previously stayed at Kwai camp and I gathered had seen literally everything in their 3 day stay. I disagreed with their assessment of the reserve. There was plenty of different birds around the lodge and although the mammal wildlife was dominated by elephants and lions it was the only reserve where I saw a Roan and a Sable antelope. It was also the reserve where I was bitten the most by insects. Evening meals were in fact extremely uncomfortable. Candles were placed on the table and by the end of the meal the table cloth was completely covered in insects - not a pleasant experience."

"This lodge was more upmarket than the other lodges I visited. Although the manager was very friendly and helpful I did not think the other staff were. It was a larger lodge than the others and my overall impression that it was not as friendly.

A criticism I have about all the game drives is that you are always with different people in the land cruiser - this occurs because some guests leave in the morning for their next camp and new people arrive in time for the afternoon drive. If in the morning you may have seen a pride of lions and there are new guests in the afternoon the the likelihood is that you will be taken back to see the lions again rather than being taken to see a different part of the reserve. It would be better if guests with exactly the same length of stay be kept together so that their experiences are the same and best use of time is made in seeing the maximum amount of the reserve."

"Again an excellent guide who went out of his way so that we could see Cheetahs (I did not see them anywhere else). We were having coffee prior to returning to the lodge when a call came through to say that Cheetahs had been spotted a 40 minute drive away from where we were. As they might move off the guide drove to the area where the Cheetahas had been spotted and we found them. We did not arrive back at the lodge until nearly midday. I was very impressed with the guides attitude. There were several prides of lions in the reserve and we came across them each day on our drives.

I rated Kwara and Lagoon the best places for game viewing."

"As I was picked up from the airstrip the guide asked me what I would most like to see. I told him Wild dogs and leopards. Within 5 minutes he had shown me a leopard up a tree - wonderful. Again, the guide and lodge staff were very friendly and helpful.

Numerous lions were seen and another leopard on the last morning's game drive was viewed to round things off nicely."