Travel reviews by Mrs M from London

"We had a warm welcome and our room was more than adequate.

Both of us were tired, I travelling on to Windhoek after an overnight flight from Heathrow to Jo'burg, and Kathy on an early morning flight out of Port Elizabeth to Jo'burg to meet up with me. We therefore decided to eat at the Olive Grove and were impressed with the menu, choice of wines, and quality of cooking; the breakfast was equally good and generous.

The beds were comfortable and provided with a hot water bottle!"

"Again we were made to feel extremely welcome on our arrival - all three camps had a staff welcoming and farewell greeting ceremony, which was carried out with sincere enthusiasm.

Every arrival at all the camps included cold or hot towels and refreshing drinks, adjusted to suit the time of day. Desert Rhino was in one sense the most 'local' as staff were drawn from neighbouring villages, and the nephew, Water, of our guide Bons, was also working as part of the serving staff, hoping to work his way up to becoming a guide.

The programme was fully explained on arrival as was our accommodation, including the possibility of having the outside stargazing bed made up. The only minor hitch was the beds being set up as a double but this was quickly rectified.

Any concerns about Kathy's ability to participate fully were equally dispelled as both our guide, and the trackers assisted where necessary and very willingly. Accordingly we both enjoyed the rhino tracking experiences, and all other aspects, including the evening meal/dancing which was at walking distance from the main camp."

"Immediately prior to our arrival, through inaccurate press publicity, we had become aware of the unfortunate death of a person killed by a 'lion', and the subsequent need to kill the lioness. The details of the story appeared incorrect from our knowledge of similar camps, and it was: the person who was not resident, was camping with his wife in the dry river bed some 4kms from Hoanib Camp, and left the tent at night. However the camp was obviously drawn in to assist and were incorrectly associated with the death. This did not perturb Kathy or myself, our concern was for the impact on the staff and other potential visitors.

We were warmly welcomed as usual by the friendly staff, but all necessary care/precaution was being taken in terms of moving between the main area and our tent. Indeed, being shown to our tent was delayed by the presence of a young bull elephant close by, whom we saw several times, and was clearly in 'musth'. The accommodation was well located, spacious and very acceptable, and the service, food etc were of the usual high standard.

Our guide Vincent was very well informed and although we did not see any lions, we saw a variety of other game on our drives, although the stand out day was the drive to the Skeleton Coast, along with our personal chef, Elspeth! The weather was cool, misty and as one envisages the Skeleton Coast, but passing through the various zones being shown the different geology, flora, habitats etc, including the seal colony, before having the surreal experience of lunching in style on the beach was a day to savour.

We were also able to attend a lecture given by a resident researcher which provided yet another insight into the conservation work at the Camp."

"The contrasts at Serra Cafeema, definitely the most relaxed camp, and sensibly the last of the three, were obvious from the moment we arrived at the airstrip in the Hartmann Valley. In preparation for the hour plus drive to the camp we were greeted with champagne and nibbles at 11am in the morning to fortify us for the journey... However, having passed through the amazing contrasts of mountain and desert on the drive, some 2 kilometres from the camp the hazards of the terrain were graphically illustrated by the sight of the previous evening's supply lorry on its' side in deep sand as we passed it on a steep sand slope. Fortunately both drivers were unhurt.

Again, all the staff and our guide Anton were instrumental in making our stay a tremendous experience. We relaxed in the middle of the day, having walked with Anton observing the different plants and birds, and seeing myriad tracks and three baboons from a much larger troupe high on the cliffs above the river, or driven out to the Himba village. Both Kathy and I were concerned not to be intrusive, but with the help of translation we were able to have a conversation on a relatively equal footing, and caused amusement by our problems in sitting on/getting up from the sand and me playing with one of the children!

Late afternoon/early evening trips to revel in the light and scenery were equally stimulating, and Kathy managed to go quad biking with Anton, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I tried the practice circuit but my short stature meant my legs were dangling and not bracing me, plus my rheumatoid arthritis stopped me having any real capacity to manage the hand controls, so sense prevailed and I withdrew. The boat trips on the river were not available following the March rains but we enjoyed all the activities we were offered, and sitting looking at the morning or evening light, with Angola on the other side of the river."

"Our second night was equally acceptable, with the only minor hiccup being no indication of our pickup time for the next morning but this was soon rectified.

The more major impact was that it was significantly colder, and the heating downstairs, plus hot water bottles in the beds, even more appreciated!"

"The Serena Hotel in Kigali was to the standard expected, and it was very pleasant sitting having breakfast on their balcony overlooking the pool before the sun became too strong."

"Weather was cool and largely overcast at Nyungwe, and one minor niggle was having to walk up to the central lodge to ask for a fire to be laid and lit. Whilst appreciating the need to conserve fuel, the combination of altitude and cooler weather, meant that some heat was needed in our lodge to take the chill off in the late afternoon. We were not bothered by the fairly basic standard of the facilities available – the beds were fine, the water was hot, the food good enough, with a decent variety of vegetable soups – but did also notice the lack of heating in the main central lodge. Not helped by the design and keeping the doors open at all times: the poor staff at reception must have been freezing!"

"We caught up with the sun again at Lake Kivu, and decided we would have a lazy day staying around the hotel on our full day there. It did mean we were able to take the hotel boat out in the late afternoon on both days, with the manager as guide on the first day. We were sorry for the management as the quality of the rooms was good – although the shower floor gets very slippery when wet – and more people were expected on the second night but didn’t turn up, and that raises the one point possibly worth making. We went past the access to the hotel and up to Karongi as Kathy and I wanted to see the local Friday market, which we did. The 23km journey from Karongi to the turning to the hotel, and then the 8km drive in from the road for lunch took an hour. Whilst interesting and scenic the road in is slow. Indeed that was part of our reasoning for having a lazy day the next day, and the sun shone all day!

The generator usage times were a little variable resulting in no water in the room, albeit temporarily, whilst the infinity pool was being topped up. It also was off earlier than anticipated/scheduled the first evening – not a major problem, more a re-adjustment to the early “lights out”

Perhaps another point to mention; the lodge has only been open since early 2017 and, commendably, employs several local staff. The information from the owners mentioning helipad and boat access clearly intends this to be a place for visitors with (possibly/probably) higher expectations and demands than us. This said the lodge should therefore expose the staff to further levels of training to meet these (possible/probable) expectations."

"The Mountain Gorillas Lodge, sister hotel to Lake Kivu, had the same slippery shower floor problem, but otherwise the lodge facilities and standard were fine, although after relative quiet at Nyungwe and two days of splendid isolation at Lake Kivu it came as a bit of a shock to the system to find a fully occupied dining room. The altitude and weather were now back to being cooler, even when not raining, and again we took advantage of the fireplace in our room, although again it had to be specifically requested, but it was clearly a much more regular occurrence. Food was fine, and, from the non-meat eater’s perspective, throughout the trip there was one of the best ranges of food available, with plenty of fish and interesting vegetable dishes. Although the strength of the local coffee can be challenging!"