Travel reviews by Ms K from Florida

"I was happy to see that Little Governors' was still enjoying its beautiful marsh setting, which is vital to the experience there.

Special kudos to Chef Kenneth and the dining and bar staff."

"I was glad to have experienced this camp, which was new to me. It was well-managed and had the advantage of a bonfire, which I like.

I was initially placed in the honeymoon suite, which was 1/2k from the main camp, making it difficult to deal with short times between activities.

I thought it was unwise to place a 75-year-old woman traveling alone in that tent, but managed until the toilet stopped working and I was moved to another, closer one."

"Pleasant hotel and very helpful staff.

They went beyond expectations in printing required documents and even more so in arranging for a doctor to come and give us emergency covid PCR tests."

"This was a good choice for a short overnight before starting our safari."

"Lovely management and staff, and excellent guiding, made Elephant Bedroom Camp a good stop.

It was very hot and still while we were there, but the camp was appealing and the wildlife sightings were superb. And Samburu was beautiful beyond belief!"

"It's a beautiful camp, and our guide and spotter, James and Mr. B, made every moment wonderful.

We saw lots of wildlife, but James and Mr. B were the best entertainment of our trip."

"Despite the excellent camp staff and lovely manager, Helen, Naboisho Camp and the Naboisho Conservancy just didn't click for us. We seem to be in the minority--perhaps we were too old to take advantage of the best features.

We highly respect the camp's effort to aid the community and be environmentally friendly."

"It's a beautiful camp, and the able managers and staff were eager to meet our needs and provide special treats, like a private campfire and dinner and our family tent.

Our guide, Kevin, was excellent and we enjoyed many sightings in the conservancy and in the Maasai Mara Reserve."

"I loved the look and feel of Old Mondoro. It reminded me of some favorite bush camps visited during the past 20 years. The area is gorgeous, both the Zambezi itself and the forest of winterthorn and mahogany trees.

The management team, Jason and Michaela, are excellent--warm and welcoming and very capable, and their staff is exemplary. Lovely and plentiful food was prepared by two men that we never saw but greatly appreciated.

We arrived exhausted, so especially appreciated that our tent (#2) was comfortable and perfectly situated for wildlife sights and sounds. From the daybed on our porch, we watched hippos and elephants on the nearby islands and white-fronted bee eaters that frequented an uprooted tree on the riverbank. Despite our laziness, we enjoyed a game drive and a boat ride and saw quite a nice selection of wildlife. Just as we were about to leave for our next camp, two elephants walked right through camp as if they owned it and scoured the winterthorn trees for pods--the first of the season. I left wishing that we could linger for a few more days.

Helpful hint: take slippers or thick socks for the unbelievably, inexplicably cold floor in tent!"

"I've been longing to go back to Chiawa Camp since I stayed there in 1998, and am pleased to have finally returned. The river is still as beautiful as I remembered, but Chiawa has "grown up," with more tents, larger tents, 24-7 hot water and electricity, and 12 hours of internet.

The service is superb, and the managers (Stuart and Maddy and Van and Esmerelda) and staff are eager to please. We appreciated having great flexibility in our activities and schedule. Taking advantage of the wonderful river setting, we mostly opted for boat trips and were pleased that they could be arranged whenever we wanted them. The boatmen were also excellent guides, and our most frequent guide, Ruben, will soon sit for his guide exam.

The food is spectacular--not surprising since Van is a chef by training. He planned several special surprises, such as lunch and dinner on the barge for the two of us. These events required extra time and preparation, and we appreciated his thoughtfulness.

The tents are spacious and well equipped (with a few minor oddities such as faucets that barely clear the lip of the sink, making simple hand-washing a challenge). Some have limited views of the river because of vegetation, but we were pleased with our tent (#7) which looked out on both the Zambezi and a dry river bed where elephants, bushbuck, impala, baboons and vervet monkeys came to drink.

In truth, I missed the smaller, more intimate Chiawa Camp of 1998, but I enjoyed getting to know the new incarnation. And I'm very glad to have also visited its sister camp, Old Mondoro, which is very reminiscent of the "Old" Chiawa."

"On our 90-minute drive from Mfuwe Airport with guide Lloyd to Tafika, we saw enough wildlife to make our visit worthwhile. And that was just the beginning.

Owners, John and Carol Coppinger, are clearly pros who know how to run a camp. They have high standards, and this is reflected in the quality of their staff and guides. We had good game drives with Makubu and Amon, and especially enjoyed our time with Bryan, whose amazing leopard sighting and pursuit was the wildlife highlight of our trip.

Vegetarians will delight in this camp. Because Carol is a vegetarian, most dishes served were without meat. The food was perfectly adequate--not often delicious but good enough and always nutritious.

The camp was very congenial, with good opportunities to meet and chat with others around the campfire, the bar, and the dining table."

"I was glad that Chinzombo was the last camp of the four that we visited in Zambia. It is gorgeous and comfortable--perfect for rest and relaxation, which is mostly what we did.

Our early morning game drive was uneventful until 8:30, but finally livened up. Our guide, Willie, suited us well and seemed to realize that we'd been "around the bush" a few times and didn't need to hear all the basics. One drawback is that there are lots of other camps and self-drivers sharing the same patch of the park--we saw a dozen or more vehicles during our morning drive.

My guided walk from camp was worthwhile in terms of both much-needed exercise and useful information. I think that one can never know too much about dung!

The camp itself was so inviting that it was hard to drag ourselves away. Our villa's deck had enough comfy lounge chairs and sofas that we could move from one to another and have shade all day. Note: be sure to look for sausage tree pods above and stay out of their line of fire until the staff can climb up and cut them down!

We enjoy lazy wildlife viewing from camp, but because the camp is set on a high bank of the Luangwa River, most of the animals you see are on the far bank--close enough to spot but requiring binoculars to see well. We were glad to find vervet monkeys in the trees above our villa and hear an elephant beside our villa one night.

The designers from South Africa have created stunning villas and public spaces, but in doing so forgot some practical elements. There are beautiful bath towels but simply nowhere to hang them to dry. Most of the space for hanging and stacking clothes is occupied by handsome leather boxes and decorative storage devices that are impractical for their purpose. Lighting is lovely to look at, but it's certain that no women were involved in the decisions about vanity illumination. There is a wonderful bathtub that would take hours to fill with its meager trickle of water, and the anemic water pressure in the shower makes washing your hair a long and vexing procedure. (The managers were aware and concerned and said that a solution was expected soon.)

Managers Wendy and Findlay, both Scots, are delightful and eager to please in their first experience with camp management. There was very little interaction among the guests, with each party having its own dining table. It appeared that both managers had to work extra hard to host tables and chat with guests, whereas in most camps, guests help entertain each other. The guides have been with the Norman Carr organization for many years and the staff was always friendly and helpful. We especially enjoyed Josphat, who seemed to be everywhere at once anticipating and attending to our needs.

The food was beautifully presented--sometimes delicious and always good enough. It seemed that the kitchen was still learning how much food to prepare since, on one occasion, lunch was nearly depleted by the time we arrived at 12:15."

"We were at Eight Reedbuck Hotel for less than twelve hours, arriving after dark and leaving in the early light. We felt as if we missed much of what it had to offer--the lovely garden with a roaring fireplace looked inviting, but we were too bushed to do more than have a quick dinner and go to bed. Even our short stay gave us a feeling of a place that was lovingly and tastefully designed and warmly hospitable. We were welcomed on arrival by Vincent and Alex, who proved to be the chef and the waiter. The first room we were shown had only one bed. Although we had paid for a standard room with two beds, with no fuss and no extra charge, we were quickly ushered to a two bedroom suite which was perfect.

We ordered tomato garlic soup and an Eight Reedbuck salad for appetizers, both of which were so large and so good that we could barely make a dent in our main courses. Note: Skip the bream with chips, as the former was cooked too long and the latter not long enough. Otherwise, it was a lovely meal.

The owner was not on duty but made a point of meeting us and apologizing for the odor of paint, which wasn't a problem at all and easily excused in the interest of progress.

Eight Reedbuck is 30 minutes from Lusaka Airport, but it appears that no hotels are closer. It was a perfectly pleasant stopover for us and we wish we could have seen it in the daylight."