Reviews of Old Mondoro Bushcamp
(99%) From 90 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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A smaller , more " bush" version of Chiawa
All my comments re Chiawa apply to Old Mondoro.
OM is smaller and complements Chiawa as a perfect two camp experience.
Moving from one camp to the other takes about 1 hour along the Zambezi must be one of the best " hotel transfers" in the world.
Outstanding service, location and wildlife
On arrival, we found out that we should have been informed that our 4 days would be 2 days each in 2 different chalets. We had not been informed, so told Michele this was not acceptable to us. The matter was rapidly resolved and we were allocated an excellent chalet for all 4 days. This beginning was a perfect illustration of the fantastic service and care for residents at this camp. Any suggestions or requests were immediately attended to with consideration, sensitivity and a smile. There is a great sense of teamwork here, with no evidence of the hierarchy of staff present in some camps.
Particular mention goes to our game drive guide, Sebastian, river cruise guide, Trafford, trainee guide Samora, waiters Joel and Prosper, chefs Robert and Chris, who all helped to make this a very special stay. Managers, Michele and Reon, went way beyond any call of duty in chasing the camera phone lost in the bowels of Profilght. Even with their efforts, the phone did not arrive until just before we left, so they lent us a quality camera so we could take photos.
Our room was looking over the Zambezi with a lovely shaded veranda frequented by elephants all day. The Sitenje has views over the river and over the bush, so wherever you sit there is wildlife to see. The game drives and river cruises are varied so we were able to see plenty of different land and water based wildlife at all times. We came across 3 male lions with a buffalo kill, then the following day with a Kudu kill. They then joined with 3 females, one pregnant. We saw plenty of leopards including 2 young ones racing up and down a tree in play.
Robert and Chris provide outstanding food from their kitchen and were happy to show us their facilities. The food was varied, meat deliciously tender and cakes and desserts so delightful we ate far too much.
Overall, this was the best camp we have stayed in - a big thank you to the great team who work there.
Old Mondoro Bushcamp review
Old Mondoro was well located especially for the elephants. The chalets are high quality.
The staff were very friendly and the the food was really nice. Our guides there (Sebastian and Marshal) were knowledgeable friendly and committed to us having a good time. This camp unlike the others had the guides sharing the guests. It worked out well as both guides were excellent but overall our preference is one guide for a visit.
We saw some excellent bird life and again the night drives were a highlight (including the Great Eagle Owl). It was pretty good to see a leopard on our initial drive into the camp from the airport.
Old Mondoro is a pretty flash camp.
Old Mondoro Bushcamp review
Almost like a traditional bush camp but with comfort.
Very few visitors from other camps seen on drives.
Our first experience with a walking safari.
Excellent stay at Old Mondoro Bushcamp
Absolutely loved this small camp (with 4 perfectly appointed tents ) and a fantastic welcoming team. Juliet, the guides and all the staff make you feel "at home" straight away. I was guided by James who never failed to be humorous.. The sightings were exceptional (on 2 game drives we saw 6 leopards and 2 aardvarks). Also had an informative bush walk in the morning, and on the next game drive, we saw lions chasing a leopard. I will definitely return and make sure to book early as I understand availability is already limited
Read more about the whole safariA true bush camp
The high light of our visit. Every bit of our stay at Old Mondoro was excellent. Again the food was wonderful,
the organisation was slick, but not intrusive. Fantastic guiding, informative and at no time did you feel you
were being given a lecture.
The safety aspect was good, but not over the top.
This camp is for visitors who want to enjoy "real Zambia", not to be wrapped in glossy packaging.
I certainly intend to return!
Great two days
Chalet 4 was great. Beautiful view over watering hole with elephants seen everyday from our room. All rooms seemed to have a good view. Small, intimate and very private. Had bush camp feel but with very high standards without being too extravagant.
Staff all lovely, went the extra mile for our honeymoon. We hadn't seen any honey badgers or leopards so was thrilled to see these regularly on the night drive. With so few chalets and lots of staff often had a drive to yourself. Food really was excellent.
Beautiful Setting at Old Mondoro
Loved the rustic accommodation and the beautiful setting next to the Zambezi.
The canoe safari is a bit scary - but a definite must do! With boat trips, canoe safaris, walking safari and night and day safaris in the 4x4 there's a great range of activities. However, while we saw lions, leopard and some great bull elephant action, the range and quantity of wildlife was quite restricted relative to our earlier camps in South Luangwa. I guess this is partly an early season issue.
Guiding was generally good - great canoe and walking safari with James - but we would have preferred to have a single guide for our stay and the stronger relationship this permits.
Old Mondoro Bushcamp review
We visited after Amanzi and found ourselves now more in the traditional bushcamp of earlier years but nevertheless with excellent comfort and facilities.
A high level of service and attention to needs and they created an activity program to meet specific client needs.
Like Amanzi (see previous) being a small camp of 4 tents this enables a very personalised safari experience to be achieved.
The camp is located more centrally in their traversing area and this enables different terrains to be experienced and the animals which locate in these different environments are more varied.
Game viewing was good and we achieved excellent photographs. There were large numbers of elephants, buffalo, waterbuck and impala, but we would have liked to see a greater variety of animals - we were told some had dispersed to the hills and further areas away from the river areas. Good leopard sightings but lions are a bit scarce at current times due to a higher proportion of males present and this has led to the females keeping a low profile to try to keep their cubs safe.
