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Traveller reviews

Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs AL from France

Review Distribution

Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Terrible

Total number of trips

3

Countries visited

3

Lodges stayed in

12

Excursions taken

0

Our fabulous Zimbabwe adventure

Zimbabwe between 22 Sep 2015 and 3 Oct 2015

Trip rating: Excellent
"From the early booking stage our trip was superbly managed by Expert Africa and the service and organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe was generally very good.

The excellent hospitality and superb guiding, together with the warm welcome extended by the local people, made this an unforgettable experience and we would not hesitate to return to Zimbabwe. Of the 3 camps we stayed in, the 2 run by Wilderness Safaris provided a good level of overall comfort, despite their somewhat corporate feel, and still retained a genuine bush feel.

Rhino Safari Camp was somewhat disappointing and seemed to reflect the current run down situation in Matusadona.

We were approached several times, by fellow travellers, concerning the matter of "tips" and as we have found on previous safaris this remains a contentious issue. What is too much and what is too little?? Your guidelines suggest one thing and the camps have their own suggestions........

Overall we felt that we had a good value holiday."

Arranged By Claire Scott


Victoria Falls Hotel

Victoria Falls Hotel

"Comfortable stopover at Vic Falls Hotel"

1 night Arrived 22 Sep 2015
"Well worth breaking the long journey from home before driving into Hwange.

Olde Worlde atmosphere with good service and food. Short walk to Victoria Falls National Park which is questionable value at $30 per person in September/October unless you are desperate to see a partial waterfall.

Hotel pool was most welcome for some early morning exercise."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Little Makalolo Camp

Little Makalolo Camp

"Little Makalolo - Simply the best"

3 nights Arrived 23 Sep 2015
"We drove to Little Makalolo from Vic Falls and were met at Hwange Main Camp by our guide, Eustace, who set the stage for the most enjoyable stay at this wonderful camp. All of the staff were friendly, efficient and obviously very happy to be part of the team and they made us feel like family. The smiles, the humour, the knowledge and the desire to make our stay as good for themselves as it was for us was just brilliant. The food quality, service and the clean rooms completed the perfect stay.

Eustace proved to be a superb guide and we were able to quickly establish a wonderful personal rapport which enhanced our shared experiences of the flora and fauna.

Elephant viewing was just amazing and we had great sightings of lion, eland, sable and many other animals both large and small as well as lots of birds.
Pumped waterholes create great wildlife viewing, especially Elephant, but it will be interesting to see how the vast overpopulation of these gentle giants can be controlled to preserve Hwange."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rhino Safari Camp

Rhino Safari Camp

"Disappointing Camp but great birding"

3 nights Arrived 26 Sep 2015
"Compared with the standards set by the other camps we stayed in, Rhino Camp was something of a disappointment. Despite the friendliness of the manager and our guide, we felt that this camp is being run on a shoestring budget with some maintenance and safety issues.

In general the accommodation and food were ok, however, some basics such as shower gel and fresh juices were not available and we felt that this may have been because we were the only guests in camp.

In our opinion rustic should not necessarily mean run-down and a bit ramshackle. We experienced boat engine breakdown and a safari vehicle with serious suspension problem that led to most uncomfortable game drives (this was rectified but should not have occurred in the first place).

The most alarming item was the total lack of radios with communication being by mobile phones that were dependent upon the, not always available, signal. This was something of a worry when on game drives but more so when on the 1.1/2 hour boat transfer across Lake Kariba for our onward air transfer. We suggest that this is a serious safety issue.

It should be noted that, due to the low water levels of Lake Kariba, the buffalo herds, together with many other varieties of animals have not been present for several years and that Rhino have all but disappeared from Matusadona.

We feel that, despite the excellent guiding of Steve and the friendly nature of camp manager Levi, the place we experienced was lacking the hands on "hosting and gracious hospitality" of owner Jenny who appears to spend very little time at the camp."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Average
Food
Average
Ruckomechi Camp

Ruckomechi Camp

"Brlliant Camp in an excellent location"

4 nights Arrived 29 Sep 2015
"The location of the Ruckomechi Concession offers the perfect safari experience with varied bush environments and the awesome Zambezi River. The Camp has an amazing riverside location and is extremely comfortable in all aspects.

Rooms, food and service were excellent although we did find the Wilderness Safari practice of clearing plates before everyone at the table had finished eating was annoying and spoiled a relaxed time (this is also considered to be the height of bad manners in the UK and some of us object to being treated like Americans!!}

The staff were very friendly but this somewhat larger camp seemed more corporate and lacked the family atmosphere of Little Makalolo. The guides are of the highest standard with encyclopaedic knowledge and great personalities and the game drives and river cruises were superb. We were somewhat disappointed that the walking activity was not readily available and it required some persistence on our part to arrange a superb morning walk which turned out to be one of the highlights of our holiday.

Sharing the camp with Elephants required caution but we did not feel in any danger, although lions resting outside our tent, after dinner one evening, did require extreme caution and brought to light the professionalism of the staff.

On a negative note, we must say that some of our game drives were disturbed by selfish photographers with their intrusive equipment - noisy cameras with overly large lenses and tripods. We discussed this problem with a sympathetic camp manager (Karen) who had raised this very issue with Wilderness Safaris. We feel that these people should be advised that they should charter or share a vehicle with like minded photographers.

We sincerely hope that the planned refurbishment of the excellent camp does not result in a large increase in rates!! We hope to return !!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent

My Jan 2012 trip

Tanzania between 16 Jan 2012 and 23 Jan 2012

Trip rating: Good
"We found the Selous to be a very interesting area and the standard of guiding and service generally were excellent. However, our end of trip feeling was that we would not return.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This was our fourth holiday with Expert Africa and we feel most relaxed about your excellent service. We will definitely be in touch with you again."

Arranged By Claire Scott


Lake Manze Adventure Camp

Lake Manze Adventure Camp

"Lake Manze Tented Camp review"

4 nights Arrived 16 Jan 2012
"The variety in terrain and habitat made this a very interesting area to visit although game drives were of long duration and mainly in off road conditions. Guides and drivers were excellent.

We enjoyed the communal spirit created by the staff which made for a true bush camp experience."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Impala Camp

Impala Camp

"Selous Impala Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 20 Jan 2012
"The riverside location here made for excellent boating safaris which we very much enjoyed. We found the morning game drives to be quite arduous and their long duration left little time to enjoy other facilities (i.e. pool) before lunch. However, guiding and driving were excellent and although game was somewhat sparse we recorded over 100 bird varieties during our three day stay.

We were disappointed that drinks were not made available before early morning game drives unless one required them with an early morning call. We found the camp policy of individual tables at mealtimes most unsatisfactory as in our opinion and experience communal mealtimes are some of the most enjoyable experiences in bush camps when everybody has the opportunity to discuss their day with other guests and hosts.

Overall, we were somewhat disappointed with our experience of this camp as, although the staff were friendly and helpful, we felt somewhat pressurised and short of time to relax."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good

Wonderful Zambia again

Zambia between 15 Sep 2008 and 30 Sep 2008

Trip rating: Excellent
"This was our second trip to Zambia and we were very pleased with it overall.

In the South Luangwa Norman Carr Safaris set very high standards which, with few exceptions, they acheived. Their Guides are second to none and well supported by the Game scouts and Camp staff. The Camp Hosts were friendly and welcoming. Special arrangements were made by Abraham Banda for us to visit Yosefe School with vehicles and drivers being made available to make this possible - an excellent service enabling us to make a most emotional and uplifting visit with the staff and children.

To finish our holiday with 3 nights in the Lower Zambezi was magical - Sausage Tree is a luxury camp with excellent facilities, food and activities.

Suggestions for improvement:

You have it just right - keep it up"

Kapani Lodge

Kapani Lodge

"Kapani Lodge review"

1 night Arrived 16 Sep 2008
"Great Location and a good start to any South Luangwa trip"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Nsolo Bushcamp

Nsolo Bushcamp

"Nsolo Bushcamp review"

2 nights Arrived 17 Sep 2008
"The new camp is in an excellent location and the accomodation is superb."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Luwi Bushcamp

Luwi Bushcamp

"Luwi Bushcamp review"

3 nights Arrived 19 Sep 2008
"Our second visit to Luwi and the accomodation, food etc were as expected.

Unfortunately we felt that although very knowledgeable and personable, our guide Sam always seemed to be in a hurry and we felt that we were being rushed through game drives and walks without the attention to detail shown by all of our other guides.This did not make for a satisfactory experience."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Kakuli Bushcamp

Kakuli Bushcamp

"Kakuli Bushcamp review"

3 nights Arrived 22 Sep 2008
"Great location but accomodation rather basic and not what we expected. Bed was very uncomfortable, shower a disaster and wc seat a joke. If this is the camp which is to be used during the wet season serious attention to maintainance and detail is required.

Guiding by Simon and Aubrey was superb."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Poor
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Average
Mchenja Bushcamp

Mchenja Bushcamp

"Mchenja Bushcamp review"

2 nights Arrived 25 Sep 2008
"Our second visit and despite the ravages of floods still an excellent camp with superb guiding from Levy who spent a great deal of time with the guests and was very attentive."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sausage Tree Camp

Sausage Tree Camp

"Sausage Tree Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 27 Sep 2008
"Out of Africa with luxury, elephants holding us hostage, canoeing on the Zambezi, great birding, superb guiding and an unbelievable experience of dining in the river.

Small moan about quality of equipment and staffing of fishing trip which were not good."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent

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