Tribes Travel

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Tribes Travel

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    Review

     

    1. Paul and Hazel
    2. 14/06/2010
    3. 2
    4. Zambia

    5. Overall level of satisfaction

      • 4 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    7. We were blown away by the experience. We saw more wildlife than we had dared hope for, but what impressed us most was the quality of service from everyone we met. We had not anticipated the extraordinarily high quality of the guiding, the depth of the friendliness, openness and humour of all of the staff at the lodges and the bush camps, and the devotion of the camp managers to ensure that they did everything in their power to make sure each guests individual preferences were met in full.

    8. Tribes service

      • 4 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    10. What stood out for us when we started looking at our safari booking options was the level of knowledge and directly relevant experience that Julie had about Zambia. She spent several long conversations on the phone answering my questions and ensuring that I had enough details so that I felt I was making informed decisions about the details of our holiday.

      The information pack was detailed and very helpful. A little bit more detail of the transfer procedures, especially for our Mfuwe to Livingstone flights might have been useful. But other than that we had everything we needed.

    11. Expectations

      • 4 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    13. This was our first visit to Africa and first safari so we had no real idea of what to expect. This holiday cost us way more than we had even come close to spending on a holiday before, so there was some trepidation....but it was very worth it indeed.

    14. Guides

      • 4 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    16. All of the guides in South Luangwa were outstanding. They had seemingly endless knowledge of the wildlife and the area - I ended each day just brimming with new and fascinating facts and information. They also made us feel very safe - through their deep and instinctive awareness of animal behaviour and their extreme skill in handling the game viewers across pretty challenging terrain. Finally, without exception, they all had a terrific sense of humour!

    17. Social & Environmental Responsibility

      • 2 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Average

      Average

    19. It was clear that tourism in the South Luangwa plays and very important role in the conservation efforts and has contributed towards the costs of controlling poaching and providing a safe environment for the animals in the park. It also seemed that the park provides a range of employment opportunities for the local people and a lot of the lodges support local community projects. The lodges and camps we stayed in all used solar power to generate electricity or provide lighting in the rooms after dark.

      We would obviously have been protected from any negative impacts so cannot say for certain that there was no downside to the tourism industry. But we certainly felt that the tourism is being controlled and handled responsibly to ensure that it brings in positive outcomes and avoids exploitation.

    20. Accommodation

    21. Chindeni

    22. Chindeni
      • 4 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    24. I loved Chindeni and didnt want to ever leave! The setting was fabulous, the general deck was a wonderful, relaxing communal area, and the our tent was enormous, with distinct sleeping, sitting and bathroom areas, wooden floors, hot and cold running water, a veranda and a wonderfully comfortable bed.

      But what we really remember about out time at Chindeni was the friendliness, humour and dedication of the camp staff. Mike, who was acting as the reserve manager/host (I believe he is normally at Bilimungwe Camp), was astonishing. He went out of his way to make each day special. He has a very endearing management style and was clearly very supportive and encouraging to all the camp staff.

      Mike and Peter (our guide) were excellent company at meal times with some very interesting and funny anecdotes. The food was also outstanding.

    25. Chundukwa River Lodge

    26. Chundukwa River Lodge Livingstone
      • 2 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Average

      Average

    28. We concluded that this part of our trip might have worked better if we had chosen a hotel and not tried the recreate the bush camp experience that had been done so effortlessly well in South Luangwa where we had been previously.

      We were there in June. Being open to the river, the chalets were VERY cold at night. The beds did not have duvets – so were piled high with blankets which became very heavy. Luckily there was an electric blanket, which we left on throughout the night and kept us cosy. Without that I think we would have been too cold to sleep well. There was usually only enough hot water for one short shower – meaning that one person had to have a cold shower as we were not around long enough to wait for the water tank to reheat. This would probably be less of a problem in the warmer months.

    29. Kuyenda Camp

    30. Kuyenda Camp
      • 4 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    32. Kuyenda was the perfect camp to end our safari. As first-time safari-ists, we may have felt a bit exposed in the isolated grass huts if we had gone here first. By the end of the trip we had enough experience of animal behaviour, so, when a herd of elephants started feeding just a few metres away in the very early hours of our last morning, we were excited rather than scared that there was very little of substance between them and us!

      However, it was far from basic as each hut had a flushing toilet (open to the sky) and hot water for your shower could be pre-booked whenever you wanted it.

      Babette and Phil were very gracious and attentive hosts. Both had lots of entertaining stories and were skilled in checking that each guest was comfortable and happy. The food here was very good, with plenty of variety and options at each meal.

      The area around Kuyenda was the most attractive of all the places we stayed. The guiding was excellent. Phil took us out for the first evening and Gilbert looked after us during the rest of our stay – our last morning with Gilbert was our favourite of all the bush walks of the holiday.

    33. Mfuwe Lodge

    34. Mfuwe Lodge
      • 3 Tribes points awarded
      • 1 point
      • 2 points
      • 3 points
      • 4 points
      • Good

      Good

    36. We stayed in Mfuwe Lodge for the first two nights of our safari and this was a great decision. The experience is maybe not as intimate and individual as the bush camps, but the quality of guiding is just as good and the higher numbers of game in the central area meant that we saw so much and got our need to take photos out of the way before moving on to the bush camps where the emphasis is more on the quality rather than the quantity of animal encounters. Though the busiest area of the park, we still saw very little of others during the morning drives. At night, the number of other cars around was more obvious due to the spotter lights – but it still did not feel too busy. It might feel more intrusive in the peak season.

    37. Other comments

    38. Thank you for giving us such an amazing experience. We have already started saving up for our next trip with you!
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