Travel reviews by Mssrs RMN/AT from London

"our first camp, and an excellent guise, Carl. We had only one other person with us on the vehicle for part of our stay, so that was a bonus, and Carl was keen on the birds and very accommodating to us.

The accommodation was good, but in the heat we missed a ceiling fan as opposed to a standing fan. The place was very quiet. The game was excellent and we were very lucky to see cheetah at close range. Also porcupine and honey badger birth by day and by night.

Excellent lion viewings close to the camp, with seven young cubs"

"After Gomoti Plains, where our game total was 18 species, we were keen to see four in particular: Hyena, sable, roan and wild dogs.

We had a good guide, though not as good as Carl at Gomoti, and we failed to see either of the antelope. But we did have several viewings of three different packs of dogs including one family of 18 at very close range, so tat was a real treat.

The accommodation was excellent and the ambience very good. We had one day of rain when the temperature dropped from 40 to 20, but that'd to the bonus of the Termite Emergence, which was very exciting, so long as you are prepared for clouds of large flying beasties while eating dinner!!"

"After the extreme heat of Botswana, it was a treat to have some air conditioning for two nights recuperation. The Lodge is very pleasantly situated but there is less to do by way of game viewing than other places.

The Falls of course are a draw, but I would say this is a place for a quick rest before the rigours of a real safari camp, and that's why we were there. Being upside the main town is certainly a plus. We had a good guided walk, and learned a lot abut the bush, without seeing very much.

The river cruise is a bit tame."

"This was in some ways the disappointment of the trip. The place was in the hands of a trainee manager, Nigel, who was clearly not up to the job, so the whole mechanics of the place lacked the efficiency and the standards of service we enjoyed elsewhere.

The extreme drought did not help, as the pool was emptied because the elephants had got to it. It should have been possible to make a pool more elephant proof, as had been done at Little Makalolo for example. They emphasised the flexibility of the timetable which frankly did not help. Everywhere else has a very clear timetable, and for good reason. Flexibility is a mistake. The service standards were well below par, especially the staff in the main camp central area, but we did have a good guide.

The game viewing was good and the elephants almost too o abundant and very stressed and noisy! A highlight was a very long day trip to the entrance village at Hwange, where we visited the school and met teachers and staff. After nine hours on the road, this was the first time we were not greeted by staff with a cold towel on our return. That happened several times after other game drives. We also visited our guide's home village which was also fascinating."

"This was an exceptionally well run place in every respect, despite the heat and drought. The standards are high and the quality of the place shone through.

We had a really excellent guide, Leo(!) and all the camp staff were most charming and helpful. The highlight, once again for us, was a visit at breakfast time of a small pack of wild dogs, three adults and six pups, to feed on a dead elephant who had died overnight just in front of camp.

We watched them for 90 minutes and were delighted to observe them at such close quarters. We had some excellent game drives and saw leopard, bush baby, genet and, finally , eland to add to our tally overall."

"This is one of the finest establishments we have ever stayed in; quite exceptionally well run and managed in every way and we could not fault it.

Restaurants were booked, taxis arranged to get to them, routes and maps given out, the car washed, tea brought to our room. We seem to have an upgrade to a pool room which was huge , with a large sunny terrace and part of a private pool. The gardens are wonderful and the whole place very quiet.

Very highly recommended"

"Two hours of dirt track to get to the lodge was exciting in our little car, but this was a wonderful two night stay, despite the whole day in the middle being a wash out, with rain and cloud all day.

That did not stop us having a beach walk and a fynbos walk and learning so much from the team. The management is expert and very friendly and the food was probably the best of all the camps we stayed at, despite its remoteness. I would recommend three nights if possible.

We did see whales and dolphins, but not in great numbers. This is the end of the season for them the locality."

"Having had three nights at its sister establishment in Constantia, it was impossible not to avoid a comparison, and this place just does not match up. Its location right in town gives it a very cramped feel, especially as they have added a large wing in what would, I assume, have been a garden. So there are no balconies to terraces, and many of the rooms have no real view.

We had booked a pool room, and did not get one, but in fact I think the upstairs room we did get was a better bet. There is a small upstairs terrace which gets afternoon/evening sun, although it wasn't easy to get a lounger! The breakfast arrangements are well below the standards of Constantia, although the menu was identical and the staff by no means so polished.

Having said all that, it was a fine base for us to finish our stay. We could have done with more help with places to walk. The surrounding scenery is quite beautiful but working out how best to have a really good walk was not easy."