Reviews of Little Makalolo Camp
(99%) From 15 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Luxury camp in Hwange
Little Mak is a very comfortable camp with just six tented chalets set in a semi-circle around a watering hole which is frequented regularly by a variety of wildlife especially elephants. Each of the tents are well laid out with indoor and outdoor showers facilities. The hot water is generated by solar panels and is extremely effective although it does take some considerable time for the hot water to appear at the taps.
The detailed report on the EA website is very comprehensive and accurately covers all aspects of the layout of the accommodation and the camp itself.
Dickson, our guide for the duration of our stay, was extremely knowledgeable and managed to find lions plus cubs on our first day in camp who were fantastic to watch. Hwange is noted for its large elephant population and we often felt that they were all at Little Mak. We spent part of an evening game drive sitting in the log pile in front of the watering hole totally surrounded by at least five or six family groups totalling well over 60, including a number of very young calves. The interaction of the young as they tried to emulate their older siblings was fascinating.
Sundowners at another watering hole, again surrounded by elephants was another highlight, especially as they walked right past us, totally disinterested in our vehicle or us, in order to get to the water.
Dickson also managed to find a cheetah on a hunt during our transfer to Camp Hwange by road, as well as annoying a hippo who seemed to take an instant dislike to our vehicle and decided to charge!!. Hippos run quite fast it would seem!!
There are a couple of points we would make regarding the camp. EA states that dining style is group meals, however that appears to no longer be the case as we were seated at separate tables for our entire stay, and as the camp was far from full, this made for a somewhat isolated experience. All the camps we have visited over the years have used communal dining and this is an aspect that we always enjoyed. I don’t know if this a recent departure for Wilderness Safaris however we were disappointed by this aspect of the camp. Something they might want to reconsider.
The other point we would make is that due to the camps location you have to spend approximately 20 mins driving through dense mopane forest before reaching any of the more open areas where wildlife can be easily seen and tracked. It’s not a major issue but an aspect that needs to be taken into consideration during game drives
All in all a great camp in a fantastic location.
Little Makalolo
An absolut wonderfull Camp, quite upmarket. The Staff and especially the guiding of Charles were absolutely brilliant. Definately one of the best Guides I've had so far.
All activities have been on a vehicle. Sightings were absolutely thrilling, wouldn't have expected that much in terms of quantity and quality of Game sights. Lions everywhere, Cheetah, Elephants, Zebras, Giraffes. Birding was great, i was able to tick down 100 species in this trip. Great luxurious Camp.
Highly appreciated their luxury Safari vehicles, 2 single seats in a row and in the middle a box to take care of my photographic equipment.
Loved that place!
Little Mak - never to be forgotten
Another well run Wilderness camp - this time our visit was made by our guide, Eustace. We would rate him as among the top 5 guides we have encountered over very many safaris in southern Africa. He is charming, very knowledgeable, has such a keen sense of the bush that he knows before it happens that something wonderful is about to occur (even if we did spot the wild dog before him!).
The game viewing at Hwange was superb.
Little Makalolo - Simply the best
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.
Amazing Atmosphere in Little Makalolo
Loved everything about the camp. The entire staff was so friendly starting the moment we arrived at the airstrip - cool towel, cooler of beverages and animal spotting before we even arrived at camp. Once we got there, a warm towel, a welcome cocktail and 5 or 6 gentlemen greeting us, taking our bags, getting us settled and getting us out to see wildlife. Our guide, Mike (or Miiiiiiiike as we all called him) was AMAZING, not just knowledgeable which is obviously a requirement for the job, but charismatic, fun and flexible, always trying to accommodate what we wanted to do/see.
The rooms were wonderful, including the charming loo with a view and the outdoor shower. The only downside was that warm and cold water in the sink came from 2 different taps, so getting "warm" water was a challenge. But I loved the "water babies" that were put on our beds every night to keep us warm (and also in the jeeps in the morning).
When there were questions/issues with our departure time from the camp they were great about trying to work it all out, never getting frustrated and always keeping us informed.
The log house by the watering hole was an amazing experience, the food was delicious and the conversation around the firepit after dinner was great. I would highly recommend this place to anyone wanting a great safari experience.
Happy Little Makalolo
Really friendly classic camp with great guides and service.
Read more about the whole safariLittle Makalolo review
Has the advantage of being a small camp which enables staff to give good levels of personal attention.
Read more about the whole safariWonderful stay at Little Mak
Little Mak was really a lovely camp. The staff is very friendly, the cooker simply uncredible! And so many animals, big heards of antilops (roane, sable, eland, kudus...), lions, leopards, and so many elephants! The hide at the camp's waterhole was definitively the best with elephants all around us and so close. Just sad not to see the waterhole from the room.
And a little word to say that it is so cold during the night, it's very important to have big jacket for the night and morning game drive.
Transits were just a bit too long.
Just one or two small points regarding transfers.
Whilst accepting that the camp is around 50 miles from the nearest hard road, we thought that a 9.5 hr transfer was a little too long for comfort (nevertheless it was an enjoyable experience). We were however given a packed lunch which was very nice.
On the transfer to Vic Falls we had a 6am start which, in an open vehicle, was a little cold (this part took 3hrs), we were however met by another 'closed' vehicle and this part took 2 hrs.
All other aspects of the trip were outstanding. What a super location, right under the tree line and with the waterhole and hide it was spectacular. One other good aspect was that we could use a red spotlight to look for game on our way back in the evenings. This proved very successful as we were able to locate and watch a leopard.
Food was excellent, as were staff. Again, we didn't want to leave.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
