Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs S from Teddington

"We very much enjoyed Machweo; the highlight was the exceptional quality of the dining and the helpful and friendly staff. Provided a good base to visit nearby Arusha, although access track off main road was in a poor state of repair. Machweo is now being crowded out by all the developments surrounding the lovely situation.

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."

"Tarangire more than met our expectations. Well appointed camp and excellent tent. Nomad staff as everywhere were excellent - extremely friendly and attentive. Nomad's policy of staff training and development is clearly paying dividends and we appreciated all the efforts of the staff to make our stay enjoyable.

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."

"I last visited Ngorongoro 46 years ago and it was wonderful to see the environment, flora and fauna still in superb condition. The only thing is the popularity today of the area making for a crowded experience. However, my wife for whom this was a first visit didn't think the number of vehicles too obtrusive when we were down in the crater. We found the driver/guides very responsible in their behaviour.

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."

"A welcome interlude from the safari camps. Fantastic accommodation and a real 'colonial' feel to the place. Staff really welcoming and made for a wonderful stay. Food was superb, much sourced from their own organic production. A 'groaning' buffet table at lunch and a delicious evening menu. Really interesting to see their intensive organic food and animal production on site, showing what can be achieved in terms of agricultural production.

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."

"It was a long flight down to Katavi and this remote location is really for the 'experienced' safari visitors. We really appreciated the wilderness aspects of our visit - rarely do you see another vehicle. Chada is a well appointed camp and we had a very comfortable tent. A resident (!) elephant herd could be a bit bothersome: they were right outside our tent once delaying our morning game viewing departure, and on another occasion pushing down a corner of the tent. More congenial were evening sights of the common bushbaby in the camp. The Nomad camp staff and manager (as everywhere) were excellent - extremely friendly and attentive.

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."