Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs D from Staffs

"Donna and Stephen were excellent managers and Emmanuel was a really good guide.

Donna must have really enjoyed our company as she came on all the excursions including 2 boat trips, which apparently is unheard of. Even though it was not Ann's birthday until later in the week, she arranged a local small band and a separate group of dancers.

We were told this was only the 4th time in 2 years this has been done. The staff really enjoyed it. as did we and it made for a special stay.

The food and accommodation were excellent and hot water bottles were provided for the cold nights.

The birds were good, particularly on the dinghy trips on the River Bua. We did not see any elephants or large antelopes, but we were right in the middle of the trans location from Liwonde and many animals were fenced into compounds until they settle in.."

"Mvuu had the best wildlife. The river trips, game drives and walks with Justin were excellent. He worked really hard.

The bird life on the River Shire trips was top class. We saw many elephants, sable, hartebeest and other antelopes though they were all somewhat spooked by the helicopters flying over due to the darting and translocation of elephants by "African Parks".

A number of their representatives were in the lodge and we discovered quite a lot about the procedures, though it clearly causes some distress among the animals. While we were in the lodge, Prince Harry visited the camp to view the translocation.

The reason we have marked the accommodation down is really to do with the comparison with Tongole and Mkulumadzi where the rooms were huge by comparison. The tents at Mvuu are small and we never really unpacked as there was nowhere for the clothes. It was also a little noisy due to its location next to the bar and restaurant.

The food was good. DK - the manager was very pleasant and helpful.

The driver who did the transfers to and from Mvuu was the excellently named Everlasting. He was a real gentleman and we liked him a great deal."

"Mkulumadzi had top class accommodation, a beautiful setting on the River Shire and we had an excellent guide in Eric.

The birds were not as good as at Mvuu. This was probably due to the fact that river trips are not available as the lodge is between two hydro stations and they were taking much of the water. I don't know if this changes during the rainy season but everyone was disappointed that boat trips were advertised and not available.

We had the best elephant encounter we have ever had. Eric was very good at the slow approach and we must have watched a herd of elephants including young ones all around us going about their business for 30 minutes.

The food was good and a large cake was provided for Ann's birthday which we shared with some of the other guests and staff."