Travel reviews by Leopards from Cambridge

"We were very lucky to have the camp to ourselves so everything was done to suit us; the camp staff are all very friendly and did everything to make our stay enjoyable in an easygoing way. Ernst also seems more relaxed in charge of his own camp so he was very good company as well as being an informative & interesting guide.

The opportunity to go to the rhino reserve was a real treat - besides seeing a rhino, which we didn't expect, we saw a lot of other game that day that we wouldn't have otherwise seen. We generally favour spending most of the time on foot, but we're really glad we spent that day in the car - its nice to have a mix and see other areas.

We really enjoyed the remote area and the site of the camp next to the river - the river crossings were fun. A wonderful combination of relaxation and fascinating wildlife - we hope we can return."

"We love Chikoko and particularly the opportunity to have the place to ourselves again and stay in the chalet at the end with the great outlook for lazily watching game in between walks and meals. We even saw my favourite warthogs drinking - I didn't know they bent down on their knees before.

Stephen is a first rate walking guide and Batwell is a first rate scout. I doubt we'd have seen the 3 leopards on foot without their sharp ears and eyes. And we saw an astonishing amount of game on the very windy morning, including Eland, which we've never seen before. We couldn't believe it could be even better than the last time (Chikoko was our first camp last time and it was our first visit to Zambia and Africa).

The staff and food are really great here too as they were at Mwaleshi. Just like Mwaleshi its a great mix of total relaxation and completely consuming interest in the wildlife and countryside - I think the countryside at Chikoko has a slight edge for us. For us I can't imagine a camp that would suit us better."

"The last drive at Tafika with the amazing leopard kill at close range has to be the highlight of our stay - is this down to having the boss John and his daughter Christina in our car? Christina certainly seemed to be extremely good at spotting. Everything was even better than before with some great walks with Brian and so much more game than last time - we felt really spoilt.

Stopping by the river to watch the herd of zebra as well as the fishing party of marabou storks on one day and then a family of elephants on the last day were 2 other highlights. And I won't forget the elephants munching on the tree attached to our chalet and the lion roaring right on the other side of the chalet wall either.

Everyone (staff and other guests) was great company at dinner and on the walks. The staff are a little less relaxed and generous with the dinner here than at the bush camps. The guiding was excellent and we also enjoyed a car to ourselves on 2 of the night drives.
I was a bit disappointed not to get the room I requested at the edge of camp."

"We'd been told of poor decor and food, but actually both were fine. We'd still prefer to be going straight from camp to the plane home, but if you have to do a stopover you could do a lot worse. And we discovered the South Africans make pretty decent cider! Why don't they serve this at camps for those of us who don't like beer?"