Camp: Bilungwe
Guide: still Steve (still phantastic).
Assessment Criteria
Satisfaction in %
Comments
Pool
90
Really nice….
Tent/ Room
70
Abundance of insects and useless insect-net. Used to be nice
though
Restaurant atmosphere
50
Very hectic, strange tables (very high and big)
Food
65
Very basic
Management & Staff
40
Reception was nice but I put everything on the managers
who doing an awful job.
Camp/ Lodge
80
Were let down
Originality of reserve
80
A bit crowded at times
Diversity of reserve
80
Due to open planes better to spot things in
Vehicle
90
Open with sun-roof
Guide - communication
100
very skilled, attentive and knowlegable
Guide - information
100
Guide - cust. orientation
100
Wildlife - quantity
80
Park is not know for large amount of animals, but due to
plains and water more to see
Wildlife - diversity
75
Specific area, so not all animals are living in this kind of
habitat
Wildlife - extraordinary occurrences
80
leopards
I don’t know how they did it but this is a award winning camp. The pool is great, one can oversee from there the river bed next to the camp and
such there are elephants and everything else around while one is taking a swim. Then every here and then elephants are passing through the
camps to feed on the wild mango-tree which is in the middle of the camp. Truly it’s a fantastic experience to experience the
The entire atmosphere is truly very touristic. It feels crowded and noisy. The rooms are still nice at a first glance but … then: the mosquito net
which goes around the 2 beds like a curtain is a pain: at night tons of little beatles, spiders and everything else what may fly or not fly is in the tent.
There is no spray available in the room and when we asked about it they sprayed the room in the afternoon which resulted into a massive
deduction but still dozens did survive. Luckily we had our own mosquito-net with us but first we had to get rid off the insects out of our bed…
terrible. Then there was a dead bat in out room looking like a mummy. This tells one a bid how the rooms are being kept.
The atmosphere is best described by the following incidents we had to experience:
The GM, wasn’t at all interested in his guests, barely showed up. We were being picked up with him at the airport. We exchanged some words
while he was talking into the wind (he was sitting in the front, we behind him). This little example indicated already how much he valued his guests
while ignoring that one might value this later in the internet… Anyway, nothing to worry we thought albeit managers are normally very keen to
speak to their guests we thought.
Later on a safari we spot a Leopard and stayed on the road and did not chase him through the bush in compliance of the rules of the park. Another
guide with his vehicle came and stopped inbetween the line of the leopard and us and then chased the leopard later by driving after him through
the bush ignoring a) all rules and b) the fact, that the leopard was moving into our direction. That guide clearly destroyed that experience while
being fully aware of that. There can’t be any doubt about that.
This issue was raised and the general manager excused later like “this shld not be and that he is sorry”. Without caring for our words he went
away. That’s it. If the GM is acting like this he is unlike to change his staff and to give them a good example how to keep clients (which actually pay
for all this) happy.
The 2nd manager, a lady was not much better: I asked her if it was save to drink the water out of the tab. She replied that they wld have been all
dead if It wld not be clean. This is amazing.
I think it speaks for it self.
At night ie. 9:30 pm the elephants came through finally. We were only a few remaining in the restaurant area. After 15min the same lady she urged
everybody several times that we shld now go into our rooms so did she then. The elephants were still there and for some it is the only reason just
to visit that camp. We cld have objected that… but I am not after discussions when I am on vacations. It leaves a bitter taste. If I think back I shld
have said something as I usually do – but I didn’t feel after that as I was after a quite evening with Britta.
The area around the camp is really good. We saw at one night 2 Leopards and some Lions and so forth. Its more open with some plains even.
There is more wild life then in the other 2 camps. However as the camp is just next to the park-entrance it attracts a lot of visitors which fancy an
easy go Safari. We saw a guide with his vehicle full of American women – all with drinks in their hands and cheering, laughing loud and chatting
ignoring the hyenas just next to them. Difficult to cope with this.
In other words: Don’t go there unless if you fancy the elephants in the camp (which don’t come every day though)
What I wld recommend for this camp after all in terms of spirit is, that all tourists should get a in-depth teach -in which clearly tells them how they
should behave while wild life is around and last but not least that other tourists may have a different reason to go to Zambia any other than getting
drunk and loud.
(UPDATE: They refurbished the entire camp now (2010) and advertize this strongly. To me that doesnt make a change as long as the attitude of
the managers doesnt change too. Atmosphere doesnt come with lounge-areas but with nice people)
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