We ended up here after the floods in January left our original Thornybush camp unusable and were so grateful they could salvage our holiday. We had 2 wonderful days while Christine was here with her staff and loved our guide Sipps and our spotter Derik. We have done over 60 game drives in 7 different countries and we were beyond impressed with how involved and dedicated Sipps and Derik are. They know the areas the animals most love to frequent and even with the challenge of washed out roads and flooded areas, they were determined to show us the time of our lives.
We have visited S. Africa once before and we were really impressed with all of the Thornybush property. There are a lot of lodges and camps due to its sheer size but what makes this such a stand out is the vast number of roads throughout- you never feel like you are forever retracing the same things, we did 6 game drives and still never covered all of this 12,500 hectre area. The staff in the camp were delightful as were our fellow guests, everything we could have wished for- until they all left.
I had read the other reviews when we were switched to this camp and I think I can shed some light on the difference in the feedback. Our first 2 days were so delightful, it wasn't until day 3 that things changed so drastically. We were the only couple who would still be there, Christine kindly offered to take us to the main lodge but we were so thrilled with Sipps and Derek that we did not want to change as they are attached to Chapunga. However this left us under the care of the 'butler' Chris. He is in charge when things don't require a full staff. And while we always get along with everyone and anyone- he tested our cheerfulness at every turn. Christine had tried to intervene and had her assistant (Nadia I believe) speak with him as well, but as soon as they left, it was as if nothing had been said.
Thankfully Sipps and Derik were the brightest part of that last 24 hours, if you can get them while you are there... you will have the time of your lives. I imagine the camp is usually booked full, the torrential rains in January that caused all the flooding were a fluke and thankfully they were kind enough to take in guests from damaged camps as I know the others were also not expecting to stay here. We met some people on the way to the airport that stayed in the one with a long name starting with an 'S', that one had a waterhole for watching the wildlife during the day when they came in for a drink. But I can truly say that having Sipps and Derik is extremely outstanding, especially if you love photograpy the way we do. Only Chris managed to ruin the last day at every turn, normally you will have Christine looking out for you and running things brilliantly. Their location and guide/driver plus their staff will amaze you.
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