Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs Reedbuck from UK
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
4
Excursions taken
0
Tanzanian honeymoon
Tanzania between 3 Nov 2007 and 18 Nov 2007
"We enjoyed the whole experience immensely and would be pleased to return to Tanzania again in the future. As well as travel with Expert Africa.
Ellie was very knowledgable and I appreciate the hour she spent on the phone with me to go through what I wanted and explain her experiences. That was definitely a swaying factor in booking the holiday with Expert Africa."
Ellie was very knowledgable and I appreciate the hour she spent on the phone with me to go through what I wanted and explain her experiences. That was definitely a swaying factor in booking the holiday with Expert Africa."
Rufiji River Camp
"Rufiji River Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived 4 Nov 2007
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Rufiji River fly-camping
"Rufiji River fly-camp review"
1 night
Arrived 7 Nov 2007
"We had an excellent guide with 30 years experience and we were very pleased with his knowledge and ability to express it in English.
We very much enjoyed our fly camping experience, athough it wasn't quite what we expected. It was a more "permanent" fly camp than we thought it would be.
We expected to head out with a guide, carry our tent and construct it. It was good anyway."
We very much enjoyed our fly camping experience, athough it wasn't quite what we expected. It was a more "permanent" fly camp than we thought it would be.
We expected to head out with a guide, carry our tent and construct it. It was good anyway."
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Mdonya Old River Camp
"Mdonya Old River review"
4 nights
Arrived 8 Nov 2007
"An excellent camp we felt right at home here. The manager and assistant manager (Nick and Marco) were very accessible, friendly and thoughtful. Going that exra mile to make us feel cared about. They were very easy to get along with and we really enjoyed the communal evening meals. The food was also excellent.
All the staff too were nice and chatty. We had a very good guide and were happy with our daily safaris.
Although the camp was far from the landing strip this was OK in the dry weather that we had and it meant that you got a safari to and from the plane. It also meant that the camp was remote and gave us more of the wilderness experience which we liked."
All the staff too were nice and chatty. We had a very good guide and were happy with our daily safaris.
Although the camp was far from the landing strip this was OK in the dry weather that we had and it meant that you got a safari to and from the plane. It also meant that the camp was remote and gave us more of the wilderness experience which we liked."
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Kinasi Lodge
"Kinasi Lodge review"
6 nights
Arrived 12 Nov 2007
"The communal areas and rooms were really nicely decorated and presented. The facilities were good, a nice swimming pool, internet facilities and a little shop. The beach was clean and well-kept but suffered from the sea going out a long way during the middle of the day.
The Thai spa centre was excellent and we enjoyed very good massages, although the ladies' English was not good and we had to be clear what strength of massage we wanted!.
The local staff and Caesare and Anna were friendly and the meals were all excellent. One small point was that, because we were only one of 6 people there, we felt some pressure/guilt in the evenings to sign up to an activity for the next day, whereas we didn't usually want to do this. Generally we were treated really well and appreciated the effort Cesare and Anna went to to make our honeymoon special.
Our biggest concern centred around the water sports facility. The two South African's that were running this were rude, ignorant, difficult to get along with and uncommunicative. This was to guests but also, and in particular, to their staff. If you didn't dive one of them in particular didn't want to know. We took our business to the watersports centre at Mafia Island Lodge who were a lot more willing to help and be friendly.
Also in connection with watersports we noted that although windsurfers were available we had to tell them that they weren't all set up and there was nobody watching you windsurf so you could have got into trouble with nobody to help. Our decision, and the few number of guests, made us feel like there was an atmosphere and discomfort (with only the dive centre staff)"
The Thai spa centre was excellent and we enjoyed very good massages, although the ladies' English was not good and we had to be clear what strength of massage we wanted!.
The local staff and Caesare and Anna were friendly and the meals were all excellent. One small point was that, because we were only one of 6 people there, we felt some pressure/guilt in the evenings to sign up to an activity for the next day, whereas we didn't usually want to do this. Generally we were treated really well and appreciated the effort Cesare and Anna went to to make our honeymoon special.
Our biggest concern centred around the water sports facility. The two South African's that were running this were rude, ignorant, difficult to get along with and uncommunicative. This was to guests but also, and in particular, to their staff. If you didn't dive one of them in particular didn't want to know. We took our business to the watersports centre at Mafia Island Lodge who were a lot more willing to help and be friendly.
Also in connection with watersports we noted that although windsurfers were available we had to tell them that they weren't all set up and there was nobody watching you windsurf so you could have got into trouble with nobody to help. Our decision, and the few number of guests, made us feel like there was an atmosphere and discomfort (with only the dive centre staff)"
Good
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Feedback response
We were glad to see that these travellers rated their overall stay at Kinasi as good – and that in general they found the team at Kinasi ‘friendly.’
It is a shame to hear that they did not find the service of the water sports team at all welcoming. We passed these comments on to Kinasi’s owner. He felt that it was indication of a ‘personality clash.’
Audie and Jacques are certainly strong characters; some find them abrasive or offensive. These travellers’ aren’t the first to comment on their approach; we doubt they will be the last.
Audie has been at Kinasi Lodge for many years now, and Kinasi’s owner is aware that he sometimes clashes with guests. This is not ideal, but it is how it is – and it is unlikely to change. We do have full confidence that he and his team are highly experienced and professional when it comes to diving.
If travellers are unhappy with the dive centre’s service at Kinasi, then we recommend that they do what these travellers did: use a nearby centre as an alternative for their diving and fishing.
That said, Kinasi have most certainly noted these comments. We have already heard that Kinasi has acquired a recent (female) recruit to the water sports team, and hope that she will settle in and become permanent, and that this will result in a softer approach from at least some of the activities’ team.
It is a shame to hear that they did not find the service of the water sports team at all welcoming. We passed these comments on to Kinasi’s owner. He felt that it was indication of a ‘personality clash.’
Audie and Jacques are certainly strong characters; some find them abrasive or offensive. These travellers’ aren’t the first to comment on their approach; we doubt they will be the last.
Audie has been at Kinasi Lodge for many years now, and Kinasi’s owner is aware that he sometimes clashes with guests. This is not ideal, but it is how it is – and it is unlikely to change. We do have full confidence that he and his team are highly experienced and professional when it comes to diving.
If travellers are unhappy with the dive centre’s service at Kinasi, then we recommend that they do what these travellers did: use a nearby centre as an alternative for their diving and fishing.
That said, Kinasi have most certainly noted these comments. We have already heard that Kinasi has acquired a recent (female) recruit to the water sports team, and hope that she will settle in and become permanent, and that this will result in a softer approach from at least some of the activities’ team.
The owner of the camp was a bit taciturn and spent most of the time at the end of the bar which we thought odd. The rest of the staff were friendly. Our guide had 30 years of experience and was excellent."