Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs S from Teddington
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
5
Excursions taken
2
My Oct 2019 trip
Tanzania between 3 Oct 2019 and 17 Oct 2019
We have nothing but praise for Nomad and its staff; everyone was great and it is impossible to single out anyone in particular; without exception they were all extremely friendly and helpful.
The programme put together worked wonderfully- a great start at Machweo and a mid-holiday break at the luxurious Gibbs Farm in between some fabulous safari camps with variety at each of the locations of wildlife and scenery.
Everything worked like clockwork, with one exception. We were unfortunately misinformed about the flight departure from Lake Manyara airstrip meaning we wasted 2 hours hanging about at the airstrip, whilst we could have enjoyed a relaxing and full breakfast back at Gibbs Farm rather than the rushed early morning departure.
One thing we would have liked to see in all Nomad camps was a detailed large-scale map of the NP/NCA (such as produced by Survey of Tanzania, or a google earth print) so as to better understand where we had been!"
Arranged By Claire Scott

Machweo
"Machweo review"

Kuro Tarangire
"Kuro Tarangire review"
Game viewing was excellent and Joe proved a knowledgeable and astute guide. We had some great sightings not just of the 'popular' animals but also those shy and rarely seen game (incl: lesser kudu, aardwolf and common genet). Access to some potential viewing environments was restricted by the lack of road/track access."

Buffalo
10+ sightings

Cheetah
2 sightings

Eland
7 sightings

Elephant
10+ sightings

Giraffe
10+ sightings

Hippo
Many sightings

Leopard
4 sightings

Lion
3 sightings

Spotted Hyena
5 sightings

Wildebeest
10+ sightings

Zebra
10+ sightings

Entamanu Ngorongoro
"Entamanu Ngorongoro review"
Superb situation of the camp with the views over the crater and easy access to the entry gate (we were first in each morning at 0615 and really enjoyed the quiet early mornings in the crater before the 'hordes' arrived!). Only problem was the windy location with the tent constantly flapping that made relaxation and sleeping problematic. Otherwise, the tent itself was excellent. Nomad staff were really good (as noted earlier).
We had two days tremendous game viewing with Sammy our knowledgeable and astute guide, and we also appreciated our discussions around his views as a Maasai. Some great sightings of a lion pride and a rhino, and also a hyena kill."

Black Rhino
1 sighting

Buffalo
10+ sightings

Elephant
10+ sightings

Giraffe
10+ sightings

Hippo
10+ sightings

Lion
10+ sightings

Spotted Hyena
10+ sightings

Striped Hyena
2 sightings

Wildebeest
10+ sightings

Zebra
10+ sightings

Safari in Ngorongoro Crater
"Safari in Ngorongoro Crater review"
10 Oct 2019 • All-day excursion
[ Ed: Regarding their trip into the Crater, this traveller noted: "...we were first in each morning at 0615 and really enjoyed the quiet early mornings in the crater before the 'hordes' arrived!..." ]

Gibb's Farm
"Gibb's Farm review"
There as some noise intrusion sitting on the main terrace on the Saturday from the swimming pool construction being undertaken, otherwise you couldn't fault the place.
We looked at things on our own rather than join the myriad activities organised on the farm, and had a fantastic day trip to Lake Manyara GP for which Gibbs is well-located (25 minutes away). Animal sightings noted below are for our trip to LMNP."

Buffalo
10+ sightings

Elephant
10+ sightings

Hippo
8 sightings

Lion
4 sightings

Spotted Hyena
2 sightings

Zebra
10+ sightings

Lake Manyara Safari
"Lake Manyara Safari review"
13 Oct 2019 • All-day excursion
Peter was a very friendly and knowledgeable driver/ guide organised by Gibbs. We did not feel that LM was too crowded on the day we visited; certainly worthwhile making this a separate trip rather than just passing through the park en route for a couple of hours.
We had some fabulous sightings of elephant (within touching distance of the vehicle) and lions; also the variety of birdlife in both the woodland and wetland zones was most prolific.

Chada Camp
"Chada Camp review"
We had some real 'quality' game viewing including witnessing the stalking and kill by a pride of lions; the numerous densely crowded hippo pools (Katavi has the highest concentration of hippo anywhere), a herd of roan antelope; and the rarely seen white-tailed mongoose. However, what we missed were the concentrations of animals on the Chada Plain, where there were not the density of species for which Katavi is renowned, perhaps because there had been some early rain and the controlled burning carried out by the Park authorities elsewhere had dispersed the animals. To this extent, the stay at Katavi did not meet our expectations. Access to some potential viewing environments was restricted by the lack of road/track access.
Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed our experiences in Katavi and really appreciated John our driver/guide who did all he could to enhance our trip and provided valuable and knowledgeable information on all the animals and birdlife."

Buffalo
10+ sightings

Eland
6 sightings

Elephant
10+ sightings

Giraffe
10+ sightings

Hippo
10+ sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
10+ sightings

Roan antelope
10+ sightings

Spotted Hyena
4 sightings

Zebra
10+ sightings
The National Museum and the art gallery at the Cultural Centre, and the Tanzanite Experience were visits we planned and thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone very helpful and informative.
Comfortable room in chalet was somewhat restricted - layout with the bed meant the wardrobe could not be fully opened. They need an in-door lounge area - raining much of our 2 days there meant that dining was inside rather than on the terrace."