Zimbabwe: reviews from our travellers

"Good to visit Zimbabwe at last. Discovering Mana Pools was a delight." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Excellent trip.

Claire Scott was careful to not overstate any details, and we are already beginning to plan next year's safari." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"Trip was extremely well put together. Claire was very efficient and could not have been more helpful.

We had an issue with the transfer from Kaingo to Rukomechi. With hindsight had we realized it would take over 11 hours we would have probably made a different decision about the combination of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Secondly, there was a mix-up between Executive Air (Safari Logistics) and the booking for the transfer from Mana Pools Airstrip to Hwange. The plane arrived at 11:00 AM, which was his scheduled arrival according to his sheet but was an hour before we were expected to be picked up. Luckily the pilot waited for us and the two other passengers. We arrived at Hwange Airport at 2:15pm and there was no vehicle there from Camp Hwange. Again the pilot waited as he did not want to leave us at a closed airport building with no means of contacting the Camp. Finally a vehicle arrived at 3:15 pm.(the driver said he had been told to arrive for 3:30pm). The pilot Janade Krarim left with the other two passengers bound for Victoria Falls. Without the kindness of the pilot we could have been stranded." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Overall it was very good: the variety of locations and wild life mix, top guides, generally very good catering and personal attention. Good advice from Expert Africa. The basic itineray was discussed and fixed with Lucy Copson. Nick Hobbs and Megan Ingoldby helped very active and constructively fixing issues and final arrangements. I cannot select one team member (see below), so I indicated Chris McIntyre. You should change the question to the team members (multiple) who assisted." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zambia safari

"Since many years it was a dream for me to visit Botswana and the Okavango delta.
I've read many travel guides (also the very recommendable one of Chris McIntyre!) and had contact to many travel agencies.
Although living in Germany I've chosen Expert Africa to help me and organize this trip for us.

From the first contacts I knew that it was the right decision - it couldn't have been better somewhere else:
Lucy and Megan were always helpful, patient and with great knowledge about the different locations and accommodations.

The organisation of the trip was excellent - we've had no problems, everything worked perfectly and in conclusion the trip was the one we've hoped to have. All the places we've visited had their own and special atmosphere and showing something different.

Thanks again to the people of Expert Africa who made an excellent job!
I can recommend Expert Africa not highly enough and whenever I/we will return to Africa I will ask them to manage it for me." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Botswana safari

"Our first trip to Africa was everything we had hoped and planned for. We had heard a lot about Botswana and its pristine wilderness and wildlife and it certainly lived up to expectations.

At Dinaka in the Central Kalahari we found the landscape, environment and wildlife was quite different to Little Kwara in the Okavango Delta and Lebala further north. This difference is what we had hoped to experience - we didn't want everywhere to be the same and I think we achieved this.

The camps had excellent facilities, the tents were all large and extremely well equipped and the lodges very comfortable. The food was exceptionally good wherever we went and always plentiful. We particularly enjoyed the campfire breakfasts and coffee and sundowners out on the game drives. Good drinking water was always available and we did not encounter one mosquito even in the Delta area!!

We enjoyed the varied activities on offer at each camp as well as the usual day and night game drives. At Dinaka we had the bushwalk and the two visits to the hides overlooking the waterholes - we even enjoyed brunch at the hides. Little Kwara
have the double decker boats and it was a fantastic experience going out into the Delta. Lebala did not offer us any extra activities apart from a bird hide on site, but their unique location and being surrounded by Hippos and Elephants is a bonus!
We would like to return to Botswana after the rainy season to see the tranformation from desert to the lush green landscapes we have heard about. Maybe one day!

We did not have any problems, all flights were on time and we were picked up and taken through the border at Zimbabwe without any hassle. The only thing which annoyed us slightly was that the driver for Wilderness Safaris did not take us straight to Ilala Lodge but made a detour to pick up two staff members who wanted to sell us 'activities' while staying in Vic Falls despite us twice previously saying to the driver we didn't want to arrange anything. It was only after we arrived at the Lodge and explained we were meeting a relative at Vic Falls that they left.

Our two night stay in Zimbabwe was not long enough to do everything we wanted, there seems to be a lot on offer and our impression is that the community there are trying very hard to re-establish the tourism industry. It was certainly busy in Victoria Falls and we saw many different nationalities. We would maybe like to return there one day for a longer holiday if things improve.

The people and all the staff were great wherever we went, always had a smile for us and were helpful friendly and professional.

Overall our trip was an exceptional experience!! Thanks to Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Everything worked out perfectly for our trip so I can't think of any suggestions for improvement- thanks very much to Megan for all her planning, expertise and advice. We would certainly recommend her and Expert Africa to our friends if they are planning a trip to Africa." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"The experience was great.

We will definitively contact Expert Africa next time we travel in this region.

A special mention for Claire who has been both very helpful and very patient. Thanks!" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zimbabwe safari

"magical experience, thanks to Saskia for all of her sound advice and help with planning our trip.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

keep doing what you are doing, great trip. next time we are Africa bound we will definitely be in touch. Thanks a million" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We are fortunate to have travelled to a number of countries in Africa, including several safari destinations, and can honestly say that our recent trip to the Okavango Delta tops them all! Varied and scenic environments, fabulous wildlife sightings (often only possible because off-road driving is permitted), enthusiastic and knowledgable guiding, and the fact there are so few visitors that it sometimes feels like you have the place to yourself - all combine to make this a really wonderful destination.

We wouldn't have changed anything about our trip, so thank you Expert Africa - we're already planning when we might return!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We honestly can't think of any improvements!

The service and information provided was excellent throughout. Nick was not only really knowledgeable and personable, he made our trip possible by making lots of great recommendations based on our interests and preferences and, despite how late we were in organising our trip (c.3 months before we travelled), managed to find dates and secure bookings at two of the most popular camps in the Delta.

We thought the arrangements were really well organised and the trip was good value for money. We wouldn't hesitate to use Expert Africa again or to recommend you to others." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"Fantastic.

Malawi and Zimbabwe proved to be two great countries to combine on this trip. There were many similarities. We found the staff in the camps and the people we met along the way to be very friendly, helpful and interested in us. The high standards of our guides impressed us, from Chris the manager at Mkulumadzi who personally took us on a walk and on a boat up the Shire River, to Richard Chamwala at Mvuu who delighted in sharing all things big and small with us. In our book you can always tell the best guides when they like finding the little birds and bugs to point out, not just the hippos fighting 30 feet away from the boat, both of which Richard did.

Our guide Nduduzi Ndlovu at Camp Amalinda in Matobo Hills was great at listening to us and discovering our interests, as evidenced by the wonderful day we spent with him driving through the park and the local communal lands, visiting a school, and hiking up to a cave with ancient paintings. He not only knows 7 languages but also knows where to find a zonkey!

Even our drivers that took us from one camp to another (or to an airport) were excellent, like Mike from Wilderness Safaris who stopped the car several times so we could see and talk to people and who also helped me buy a tchenge (those colorful traditional fabrics that woman wear as a wrap) in a roadside market.

We went to both countries in the hope that our visit would encourage and support the conservation of wildlife and wild areas. We also came to really appreciate the people of these two countries, where life has not been easy but there is a great determination to carry on and do better.

Claire at Expert Africa, with assistance from Chris, shared many insightful comments from personal experience so that we came up with this list of places to visit that really suited us. As usual, all details were handled and executed perfectly on the ground. This is really saying something because we gave quite short notice of our desire to travel.

And next time I will really believe you when you say that it gets cold in July at night!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari