Travel reviews by Dr & Mrs P from York
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
2
Countries visited
3
Lodges stayed in
7
Excursions taken
0
My Nov 2023 Tanzanian trip
Tanzania between 2 Nov 2023 and 11 Nov 2023
The two camps, suggested by Lyndsey, worked very well for us and we had a wonderful time.
Because of our flight times we had an overnight, and an an afternoon and evening to spend in Dar.
The Serena Hotel is good - but the trips back and forth to the airport were not enjoyable.
A reasonable hotel nearer to the airport would be very welcomer"
Arranged By Lyndsey Marris
![Serena Hotel Dar](/images/background-image/b4edf097f02941a2902f449134f7e94b.jpg)
Serena Hotel Dar
"Serena Hotel Dar review"
![Kigelia Camp](/images/background-image/b84c7f83b32b415dba7c424de9dd5fef.jpg)
Kigelia Camp
"Kigelia Camp review"
Our tent was very comfortable and equipped with everything we needed and the bucket showers were effective and fun! They were filled up very quickly whenever we asked.
The food was very good, with the lunches in particular having lots of imaginative salads and vegetables, and the picnic breakfasts very enjoyable.
The waiters were charming and very patient with my attempts to learn to count in Swahili!
Our guide Goodluck, who was also the Manager, was a very kind, gentle and knowledgeable man. He quickly worked out that we like birds and made sure we saw lots of them!
Our stand out moment was when he noticed a lone female giraffe and realised she had given birth about 2 minutes before.
We spent an amazing hour watching as the baby eventually managed to stand up, and then walk enough to follow its Mum to a safer place.
Magical!"
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Buffalo
1 sighting
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Eland
3 sightings
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Elephant
2 sightings
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Giraffe
10+ sightings
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Hippo
1 sighting
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Leopard
3 sightings
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Lion
4 sightings
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Wild dog
1 sighting
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Zebra
10+ sightings
![Sand Rivers Camp](/images/background-image/f1ff1a71f4b5474aab70a213577f9ca1.jpg)
Sand Rivers Camp
"We were treated like Royalty!"
The accommodation is wonderful - though the completely open front might be a step too far for some people! We loved being able to lie in the enormous bed, encased in the mosquito net and watch the stars! However the open front and the rain did mean there were huge numbers of insects in the room - though our army of friendly geckos helped keep them under control!
The communal areas are very attractive and comfortable and we enjoyed excellent meals - some at our own table and some with other guests and staff, including a very enjoyable Swahili BBQ. The swimming pool looked very inviting.
The staff were all wonderful, including the man who did our laundry perfectly, the chef, waiter and driver who 'appeared ' to cook our breakfast in the bush, and Hamsa, Bernadette and Sarah who kept everything running very smoothly and were good company.
Ernest, our guide, was excellent and took us on memorable drives and boat trips to lots of different areas of the reserve.
He was a bird enthusiast too so was the perfect companion for us."
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Buffalo
3 sightings
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Eland
2 sightings
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Elephant
6 sightings
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Giraffe
10+ sightings
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Hippo
10+ sightings
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Leopard
1 sighting
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Lion
1 sighting
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Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
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Zebra
10+ sightings
A wonderful adventure
Botswana and 1 other country between 11 Aug 2014 and 24 Aug 2014
On one transfer from a houseboat to our first camp we were looked after by six different people, and had a very pleasant two hour break at a river side lodge whilst waiting for our plane. It all happened seamlessly and with great good humour. That takes some organising!
Megan and Expert Africa are a class act!"
Arranged By Megan Green
![Chobe Princesses](/images/background-image/8dade55876f246e08a3d8f7bb46e3e22.jpg)
Chobe Princesses
"Great start to our trip"
The boat is lovely - spacious, beautifully decorated, with lots of different places to relax and admire the ever changing views. The rooms are smallish but very comfortable and well equipped and it was lovely to lie in bed and watch river life through the full length windows. The staff of five were great - attentive without being 'ever- present' and very knowledgeable about the area and wildlife. Food, cooked and presented by chef Vincent was excellent and beautifully presented. We were lucky to be one of only two couples on board and even more lucky to have a very pleasant young South African couple as our companions.
We'd chosen to start our journey on the houseboats to have a relaxing start and the 8am morning call was great after an overnight flight the night before. The staff were very happy to let us choose what we wanted to do and when, and we had a couple of very good boat trips which were a perfect way to get up close to the wildlife and see the animals and birds from a different perspective. We saw a python sunning itself along the bank, lots of malachite kingfishers and big herds of elephant coming to the river to drink. The sundowner with elephants silhouetted against the sun was very special. We also had a trip to Vincent, the chef's, village with his brother as our guide, which was interesting and good fun, although there was singing and dancing, didn't feel at all like a show for the tourists.
We had two nights on the boat which was just enough, though a third wouldn't have been a hardship! Highly recommended as a good way to start of end a safari."
![Lagoon Camp](/images/background-image/1ba4cbaa075f49d69260f05375695cf4.jpg)
Lagoon Camp
"Lovely staff and great wildlife"
The staff were lovely - great fun and very good at anticipating what you might need before you realised you needed it. We enjoyed the food, from the morning porridge round the fire to dinner, preceded each night by a riddle. Whoever guessed it got served first! We liked the lunchtime and evening buffets with lots of very imaginative salads and vegetables, and one night, particularly delicious steak. We enjoyed eating at one big table with the guides. This camp had the widest mix of nationalities which made for interesting conversations.
Our guide Sugar, and his spotter Aaron, were excellent and made all the drives an adventure. We tracked lions, watched a leopard stalk a reedbuck, found a group of wild dogs but also spent time looking at the birds and smaller animals. After dark drives with the spotlight were exciting - though perhaps as a consequence of Aaron's killer G&Ts I personally didn't see much! The boat ride gave us a different view of the scenery though there was surprisingly few birds of animals around during our trip. But attempting to fish was fun , if unsuccessful.
Altogether a well run camp with a good informal atmosphere which we enjoyed very much."
![Little Vumbura](/images/background-image/24354355c92440dea9a61457dfd4f25a.jpg)
Little Vumbura
"Our favourite camp"
Managers Steve and Mandy seem to run a very happy camp with a laid back and relaxed atmosphere but very efficient service. The food was very good and one evening we really appreciated a barbeque around the campfire with singing and dancing from all the staff which they seemed to enjoy as much as we did.
Our guide, Kay, is named as one of Conde Nast's top guides in Botswana, so we felt privileged to have him. He seems to have the ability to think like a lion or a leopard and tracking with him was a real education. I might have preferred a little less time with sleeping lions and more time with entertaining baboons or elephants but my husband thought Kay's guiding was exemplary. Our mokoro ride among the reeds and bamboo was magical. Not a huge number of birds or animals but the scenery and silence were wonderful. On our last day, Steve arranged for us to go the long way round to the airstrip by boat. We saw a pair of goliath herons take off in front of us which made a perfect finale to a perfect four days."
![Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp](/images/background-image/490456c2479f455abad9e7d321fb3b1a.jpg)
Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp
"Good - but not prefect"
The tent was fine, though the bathroom was just behind a canvas flap so you had to know your companion very well. We liked the outdoor deck with a big parasol. We had one extremely noisy night when elephants decided to investigate the fruits on the tree right outside our tent. Elephants, hippos and baboons were regular visitors round camp but we never felt at all worried by them. On our first night we were taken straight from our game drive to a spot near the camp which had been beautifully decorated with lanterns, for dinner preceded by singing and dancing by the staff. For this and other meals we all sat at separate tables which felt a little odd after the communal dining everywhere else. But as nearly all the other guests were families with children perhaps it was easier. The food was fine but again a little formally presented.
Megan had warned us that this wasn't really the camp for great game viewing but I think we were surprised at how little there was - and actually started to feel sorry for the guide and spotter who kept assuring us that there was usually more to see! The guide has to be the slowest driver we've ever had , though he did manage to get us there in time to see a group of wild dog puppies devouring an impala under the watchful eye of their parents. Even the mokoro and boat rides, whilst again very relaxing, were lacking in wildlife sightings. Perhaps not the best time of year for this camp."