1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

All of it, it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had and I’ve been to many countries. Africa is the kind of place you fall in love with. We ventured to such different landscapes, enjoying the wildlife which was spectacular to see, the elephants roaming, the gorillas goofing around.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Definitely take toilet roll and sweets as some of the journeys in the truck are long, maybe even a pack of cards. Wet wipes or hand gel is a must and make sure you enjoy the trip and don’t spend too much time seeing it through the lens of your camera!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Definitely yes, the local people we had on our trip cooking and driving for us were amazing as was the people who helped us on the way.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Amazing, do it!

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Difficult to choose - gorillas, Masai Mara wildlife, rafting on the Nile, even just watching the world go by from the back of the truck. It was all fantastic

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Be prepared to camp with basic facilities, and have very early morning starts every day. Not a relaxing holiday by any means! It is pretty full on.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

More or less - local people employed by the operator as guides, local produce bought for cooking etc. I'm not sure how the environmental impacts could be reduced further.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Amazing. So glum to be home.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

It was the most amazing holiday and my brain is still numb as it can't take in all that I've seen.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

I would point out the amount of time spent in the truck - be prepared for long days on bumpy roads. I realise this is nobody's fault but it isn't stipulated in the brochure or on the trip notes how long some of the journeys are. That isn't to say that they are not pleasurable journeys just long ones.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

It benefited a small number of local people in some of the excursions offered but in the main I wouldn't say it benefited the local people. I would say it has a low impact on the environment.

4. Any other comments?

I had a brilliant time it was all I expected and more. I saw all of the BIG 5 and have fallen in love with Africa. The team we had were brilliant - Often, Peter and Mike were brilliant, their social skills are excellent and their knowledge of the animals was more than adequate especially as we saw a Pangolin which none of them had seen in the wild! It has been a brilliant experience - a real learning curve and a good leveller. I will definitely be going back to Africa everyone should go!

This trip was absolutely amazing for so many reasons, wildlife, activities, tour guide, chef, truck, fellow travellers and there is so much more! I booked myself alone but there were 16 other like-minded people on that trip. It was a truly amazing experience which included a trip to an orphanage. One of my fellow travellers has just booked flights to go to Rwanda to the orphanage to help out for three weeks in February. I loved Africa and will be going back. Thanks very much for providing such a valuable service. I would give the trip five stars as it was such a truly amazing experience.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Toss up between sitting feet away from a pride of 14 lions feeding on a buffalo they had just brought down and rafting the Nile's grade 5 rapids at Ginga.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Take part in as many optional activities as you can, these were, almost without exception, hugely rewarding and contributed greatly to our experience. Also, consider travelling in (low) season! We went for the first two weeks in June, saw all the wildlife we could have hoped for and at the same time found the Mara relatively quiet and plenty of space on our truck. We may have just been lucky but will probably book at the same time of year if we return.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

On the whole yes and this always seemed to be a consideration for the crew looking after us. Only exception was a visit to a Pygmy village, which didn't seem to be benefiting those people and possibly created some tension with other communities in the area.

4. Any other comments?

Fantastic holiday, saw loads, met a really nice crowd of people and fitted loads in. Would not hesitate to return or recommend to anyone else.

Read the operator's response here:

I have spoken to the local operator about this and we are pulling the visit to the 'Pygmy' village. (It's not actually in the itinerary so we were unaware the guide took them there). Both the local operator and myself agree that neither the clients or the villagers are benefiting from this relationship. An email has been sent to all leaders to put a stop to this.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing the mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Start the trip in Nairobi rather than Kigali.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Yes.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing the gorillas for the first time, hearing the deep rumble of the silver back and then hearing the crashing around as the youngsters were playing and feeding was a moment that will stay with me.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Pack light, you have to unpack everything into a locker on the truck when you get there and this is what you live from for the next 2 weeks, use a kit bag (it's easier than a rucksack). Be prepared for some very long drives over bumpy roads, be aware that some of the campsites are basic and you will need to compromise on some of your comforts. Book your excursions with your trip, you may pay a bit more, but at least you are guaranteed a place (some of the tours we crossed with could not get gorilla permits or get onto the balloon rides), and most of all be sociable, I was luck to be with some really good people who helped make the trip a fantastic one.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

I think that the tour does benefit the local people as we gave money to the various charities etc and when we stopped we paid into the local economy. I don't believe that we minimized our impact on the environment as we were traveling in a truck for 2 weeks and then in mini vans for the safari, the team that were with us had no choice but to cook with charcoal, there is a challenge with getting gas in some of the areas that we stayed. That said I am not sure how else this could have been done given the itinerary and some of the locations that we traveled to had very little in the way of infrastructure.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

I was a bit apprehensive on going on a trip like this, but I can honestly say that my partner and I had the best holiday that we have ever had, there were some long and hard days involved, especially the travel from country to country yet you see and meet some fantastic sites and people who were just so friendly. The only big disappointment was the trip to the Massai Mari village which turned into a pushy sales pitch and wasn't worth the money.

Read the operator's response here:

Thanks for review - its great to hear that you had such a memorable trip! Seeing the gorillas in Parc National de Volcans is something that will stay with you for life. I just want to respond to your point about the Masai Village. We have spoken at length about this with our local partner. Although visiting one of the Masai villages can be a great experience, there are instances where clients feel pressured to buy goods. We are sorry that your experience of the Masai village was marred by the pushy sales pitches and we obviously do not want this to happen. We have recently started working with the Travel Foundation who, in 2006, began funding a project in Kenya aimed at working with villagers from the cultural manyattas in the Western end of the Masai Mara to significantly increase the economic benefits from tourism to the local community. Previously only 20% of the amount visitors used to pay for their visit went back to the local community. Through a lot of hard work, consultation, training and collaboration with the local community, the Travel Foundation are amending the way ticket sales for the visits are sold to ensure 80% of the ticket sale value returns to the local community. All of the local population will thus feel the benefit and this will ensure sales pitches in the villages are less pushy. This project is working very well and is being expanded in to other areas of the Masai Mara. Our Responsible Tourism Manager is now working to ensure we visit villages where the local population fully benefits and, as this initiative grows in the region, we will be able to do this on more and more of our trips.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Too many to choose from! Seeing all the animals in their natural environment on the Masai Mara, watching baby gorillas play and taking in the scenery by the various lakes we were lucky enough to stay by - to mention but a few!

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Definitely take a head torch, as comfortable a bed as you have space for and hygiene stuff for your hands.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Yes.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Brilliant.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The undoubted highlight of this trip was the animals, whether it be the juvenile gorillas playing just a few metres from us, the lion cubs tucking into wildebeest with gusto, languid cheetahs or majestic elephants. The unexpected element was how close we were to them, and how unconcerned they were with us.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Be aware that the gorillas can be quite high up. I personally found the walk from 2400m up to 3000m very, very testing. Some of the campsites can be rather noisy; earplugs were well worth it.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

We spent a lot of time on the road, with all the environmental implications that has. Most of our food, camping etc was sourced from local vendors putting money into the local economy rather than a big tour operator's pocket.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

1. The white-water rafting on the nile.
2. Seeing a Cheetah with its very young cub. The mother then left the cub while she hunted and killed a gazelle. We then waited with baited breath for the cub to catch up with its mother.
3. As we didn't see the gorillas it was arranged for us to visit a local orphanage. We spent several hours with the children playing games and came away feeling very humble. When we return next month we are planning on visiting the orphanage again if we have can and taking clothes, pens, crayons, colouring books etc for the children.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Although the operator's booklet doesn't mention it, people who had been to see the Gorillas suggested gardening gloves and waterproof trousers as there are lots of nettles on the way up to the gorillas. Always take a pack of cards as we spent plenty of time in the truck playing Hearts on the few long journeys we had. Toilet paper always comes in handy and one thing I never travel without is wet wipes.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Yes I did. The operator is very much into Responsible Tourism and are all for helping local people. A visit to the Masai village - which I didn't do as I had done a similar thing in 2001 when I did Kenya & Tanzania was enjoyed by those that did go. Having seen the local village my new friends on the trip were able to purchase direct from the Masai which must benefit both sides. This was appreciated a lot more than the mass produced items found in the local towns. When we were white water rafting on the Nile several of my friends instead helped paint a local school with Softpower who are a charity again helping local communities.

4. Any other comments?

I have to say the holiday did not turn out the way I expected. Due to a mix-up with the operator and the people in Kigali who issue the permits only 5 out of the 20 on the trip have so far seen the Gorillas. The operator have agreed that due to the mix up and as the main reason everyone went on the holiday was to see the Gorillas they have agreed to fly out the remaining 15 out for a long weekend later in October. Therefore the highlight of the holiday has yet to come.

Additional comments: When I sent in the comments we were going to be going back for a weekend so we could see the Gorillas - the final & most important part of our holiday. Although we spent approx 30 hours travelling (12 spent in total at Nairobi airport) and only 48 hours there it was definitely worth it. We arrived Friday lunchtime and headed back to the orphanage we had gone to previously - taking an assortment of supplies for them. On the Saturday we were up early to meet at the centre ready for our Gorilla Trek. 8 of us went to see the Sabyinyo group, when we got to the edge of the forests we expected a 2 - 3 hour walk up to were the were. Instead they were about 500 metres in, it was almost as though they knew how much we'd gone through to see them that they'd decided to come down to us.

Seeing them in front of us was amazing. They just ignored us and carried on eating and playing while we snapped away for the hour we had with them. I would recommend it to anyone who like me wants something different out of a holiday as this is definitely one of the most memorable holidays I've done.

Read the operator's response here:

We're investigating what went wrong with the gorilla permits. It's clear that it's an administration error at some level. Of the 15 clients that did not get to see the gorillas, we have arranged for 12 of them to go back to Rwanda FOC over a weekend in late October as Ms Davies mentions. I know the group are planning to visit the orphanage again and we are asking the orphanage what would be best to take out. We will be discussing some form of compensation or an alternative visit with the other 3 clients next week. We are very very sorry for the permit problem but we are doing our very best to remedy the situation quickly and to the client's liking.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The gorillas were the highlight of the trip.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Where possible, and within reason, take advantage of going out and exploring the local area and interacting with the local people.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Yes. In addition to buying food and drink locally, we were able to purchase personal goods/souvenirs from local tradesman and womens' co-operatives. Where possible, local guides were used. With regards to the environmental impact, the pre-travel advice and the trip experience was first class and extremely considerate.

4. Any other comments?

The delay was due to planning my next trip with you!

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing a Cheetah kill with her cub closely following, and memorable for bad reasons not getting to see the gorillas due to administration errors.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Take warm clothes, relax and enjoy.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Minimized impacts on the environment yes. The guides were very careful and encouraged best practice.