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Traveller reviews

Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs Hadeda from UK

Review Distribution

Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Terrible

Total number of trips

1

Countries visited

1

Lodges stayed in

5

Excursions taken

0

Zambezi Hardgrave

Zambia between 27 Jun 2008 and 10 Jul 2008

Trip rating: Excellent
"This was a wonderful holiday - exceeding even our highest expectations. The mix of camps (from the family atmosphere of Tafika, to the exceptional game of Kaingo, to the luxury of Chiawa - worked brilliantly. We also thought Zambia a stunningly beautiful country, and hope its tourist industry continues to flourish - It deserves to become a must-visit destination.

I have selected Lucy as the expert africa team member who dealt most, but actually Maruska and claire did lots too (lucy was first though!) and the positive feedback applies to all of them (we were also very impressed with Maruska when we met her in Zambia)


p.s thanks again - we couldn't recommend Expert Africa highly enough. you've been great from start to finish."

Arranged By Claire Scott


Tafika

Tafika

"Tafika review"

3 nights Arrived 28 Jun 2008
"Tafika was the most welcoming and hospitable camp of our trip - with a lovely atmosphere, a beautiful location and excellent guiding and accommodation.

We were particularly impressed with the expertise and kindness of Heather and of (guide) Brian - plus with the fact that the entire family would join the guests for lunch every day. The microlight trips were a novel and enjoyable extra - and the flexibility of the camp made it seem a very personalised experience.

Very highly recommended."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Kaingo Camp

Kaingo Camp

"Kaingo Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 1 Jul 2008
"Our three-night stay at Kaingo provided probably the best game-viewing we have ever seen (two lion kills for instance). The facilities - particularly the hippo hide - were fantastic and the quality of guiding (Mwila and Patrick) excellent. Hostess Gail was also both efficient and charming.

There was a contrast, however, with the distinctive "family" atmosphere of our previous camp, Tafika. The owners of Kaingo - though very pleasant from our limited contact with them - were pretty much absent. Our room - although very comfortably furnished indeed - was not cleaned once in three days - which I found rather surprising.

These criticisms though are minor points that did not detract from what was a superb overall experience."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Kapani Lodge

Kapani Lodge

"Kapani Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 4 Jul 2008
"We picked Kapani Lodge because we wanted a mid-holiday break from the more "rustic" atmosphere of the bush camps (ie it has mains electricity and mainstream facilities). It fulfilled this role very well - it was a very comfortable base for a couple of nights, with some very good staff (the new zealand hostess whose name i have forgotten in particular). Our guide Simon was we thought the most knowledgeable of our entire trip.

However on the downside the convention of having the guide eat with the guests at every single meal we thought was misguided (if there are just two of you to chat with your guide this can become wearing after a while - is it necessary to spend all day in the company of one's guide?).

The camp had also just bought a new game-viewing vehicle from India - it was without doubt the most uncomfortable one i have ever sat in. The game-viewing - though good - is also very crowded at this end of the park. At times it can feel like you are one of ten land rovers pursuing the same leopard!"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Average
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Facilities
Good
Chiawa Camp

Chiawa Camp

"Chiawa Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 6 Jul 2008
"The beauty of the setting and the standard of accommodation at Chiawa - plus the dedication of the married couple running the camp - made this a very special experience indeed.

We had opted for one of the new "Superior" tents - which was well worth the extra cost (I cannot stress this enough - they are of a fantastic quality, and appeared to be on a very different level from the standard tents).

The thoughtfulness of the management of Chiawa was also exceptional - ie the meals in surprising locations - as was the flexibility of the service (there was never any question of a guest not getting the activity they requested) and the variety of of activities on offer (from canoeing, cruising and fishing as well as the "usual" game-drives and walks).

Chiawa also serves wonderful food. We would judge this to be the most purely enjoyable three nights on safari we've ever had."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Taj Pamodzi Hotel

Taj Pamodzi Hotel

"Taj Pamodzi Hotel review"

1 night Arrived 9 Jul 2008
"The Taj Pamodzi is a good airport stop-over with comfortable rooms and a decent restaurant. However the promised "transfers" to the hotel from the airport are non-existent. To get to the hotel we had to rely on the bus from the Intercontinental Hotel (whilst avoiding what appeared the very dodgy attentions of our airline Proflight - whose staff had a "friend" who was prepared to taxi us to the hotel - at a cost of course).

The promised free transfer in the other direction (from the hotel back to the airport) consisted of a bus in the very very early hours of the morning. Instead we ended up paying for a ludicrously expensive taxi (arranged of course by the hotel - with the staff member who arranged it noticeably taking a cash payment from the taxi driver). I found this very very annoying.

For a holiday of this cost I would prefer to pay the cost of a pre-arranged private transfer - instead of feeling that we were at the mercy of rip-off merchants on the ground."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location
Good
Service
Poor
Facilities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Good

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