Travel reviews by Ms FM from SW London

"We had a great time at Mapula and found the staff very warm and friendly, particularly Dudu who also had a great sense of humour.

The location and the way the camp has been built is beautiful and the food was excellent. We didn't even mind the bridge! (It was a good spot for birds.) Our guide Dicks was very knowledgeable and between him and his tracker led us to see most of the different mammals and birds in the area. He also sped us away quickly when some of the elephants got a little angry! But that was an experience in itself, as was meeting an elephant on the path in the camp when I was on my own! T

hey were also very patient with our photo requests. We particularly enjoyed the variety of activities on offer. The mokoro trip was a lovely peaceful experience. And it was great to get out and walk even though we cut the walking activity short when a leopard was spotted by the tracker.

We believe our stay here was cheaper than at Lagoon and if that is the case we would say that Mapula is better value for money."

"We had a very enjoyable stay at Lagoon. Staff, service and food were very good. Our guide and tracker were very knowledgable and great fun and always did their best to find what we particularly wanted to see.

The highlights were the game drives when we were on our own, on one of which we spent quite a long time watching the cheetahs and on the other the wild dog puppies.

We were rather disappointed to miss out on the boat trip due to a problem with its starter motor as this was one of the reasons for choosing Lagoon. But we still had a great time."

"A bit of a shock to be in a large hotel after the camps! But it was a good location and the room was perfectly acceptable.

Food and ambience was standard for a large mid quality hotel so we took advantage of the much nicer sister hotel for sundoweners the first night and evening meal the second night - dinner booking essential, hence we only managed to get in for second night.

We walked across to Zimbabwe on the whole day that we had there which was well worth the cost and effort. And the sundowner cruise on the African Queen was a great way to spend the final sundown of our holiday."