Reviews

How was your stay?

How Was Your Stay?

Please feel free to use this page to give feedback about your stay at Frog and Fern. We would also encourage you to make comments about your experience in Chimanimani that may be of use to visitors considering a trip to our area.

For those folks still considering staying at Frog & Fern you may also find the reviews on TripAdvisor to be helpful.

13 Responses to Reviews

  1. Marcel says:

    Auf unserer Reise von Kapstadt nach Zürich war der Besuch von Frog&Fern ein Highlight. Dies nicht nur aus landschaftlicher Sicht sondern auch auf Grund der Herzlichkeit der zwei Betreiberinnen Jane & Dee. Es hat uns so gut gefallen, dass wir nach Mozambique noch einmal bei Frog & Fern vorbeigeschaut haben. Hoffentlich kreuzen sich unsere Wege wieder einmal!

  2. Sophie TUBIANA says:

    J’ai passé 4 nuits au frog and fern en août 2012, et je suis ravie de ce séjour.
    -les ballades en montagne sont superbes: quel régal de marcher au milieu des orchidées, de plonger dans les eaux cristallines des sources..
    – Les cottages sont fantastiques: en août, il fait frais la nuit et c’etait un bonheur de trouver le feu de cheminée prêt à etre allumé, de prendre les repas sur la terrasse
    – nos hotesses sont adorables , attentives , connaissent la région sur le bout des doigts
    – les animaux sont un bonheur:grandes ballades avec les chiens de la maison et ronrontheraphie avec les chats au coin du feu

    • Johan Nel says:

      Ons groep het al die huisvesting by Frog&Fern beset tydens ons groep se besoek aan die Oostelike Hoogland van Zim asook Gona. Die verblyf by Frog& Fern was ‘n ongelooflike ervaring. Nie een van ons het huisvesting van die hoogstaande gehalte verwag nie. Verder was Jane en Dee die perfekte gasvroue. Ek kan die Frog& Fern vir almal aanbeveel.
      Die besoek aan Chimanimani was ook ‘n hoogtepunt. Dis ‘n pragtige plek. Ons groep het een dag in twee verdeel, die een groep het die groot berge gaan aanpak en die ander het ‘n lui dag by die Bridal Veil waterval deurgebring. Nadat ek die Bradt reisboek se verslag gelees het oor die toestand van die Cashelpad na Bvhumba het ek gedink ons sal iets anders die dag moet doen. Die grondpad is pragtig en ry dit gerus.
      Een stukkie raad, beplan jou verblyf by die Frog & Fern en verdubbel die aantal dae wanneer jy bespreek. Geniet dit.

  3. Haley Ball says:

    I visited Frog & Fern in July 2012 with three fellow graduate students. We were in the country for two months, and traveled a fair bit, and F&F was BY FAR the most magical place we found. Jane, the owner, was incredibly nice, knowledgable and accommodating.

    THE CABIN: Jane worked with our tight budget and put us up in Mzanje Cabin, which we all loved. Let’s first say that the shower there–hot and with good pressure–was hands down the best we had all winter. And having stayed in a bunch of hostels and cabins over the course of our travels, we were extremely grateful that Jane provided a some basics like coffee, tea, salt and sugar in the cabin’s clean, well-appointed kitchen. The rest of the cabin was better than comfy–charming eclectic decor, a warm stove, and lots of personal touches from the owners. The one and only (small) negative thing I would say is that the large bed in the cabin was two mattresses instead of one, which isn’t super comfortable for a couple.

    THE LOCATION: F&F is just outside the town of Chimanimani. The road out there isn’t great (at least for a city car), but you can walk into town in a pretty quick 15 minutes, so you can avoid using the road too much. There is a good, super cheap sadza place and a market if you’d rather cook at home. There’s probably other stuff, but we had limited time to explore. Bridal Veil Waterfall is about an hour’s walk from the cabins and is totally worth seeing (especially if you talk them down a little on the entrance fee!). And of course there’s the national park, but I’m sure Jane has posted a lot of info about that.

    OVERALL: Magical is truly the word I’d use for Frog & Fern. I can’t think of anywhere in the world I’ve stayed where the owners have put in as much care and love and creativity. I hope I get back there someday.

  4. Julian Glover says:

    Writing this on a snowy evening in England and looking at the wonderful pictures of the hills and forest on the Frog and Fern website makes me wish I was back in Zimbabwe. With friends, I have stayed twice and will certainly come again. A perfect place in one of the loveliest spots on earth.

    The only other advice I have is to pack your walking boots and spend a day or more in the Chimanimani National Park. We made the summit of Mt Binga with views far into Mozambique.

  5. Chimanimani, in particular the Frog&Fern Cottages, is well worth a visit! My husband and I arrived unannounced after a six hour minibus ride from seeing the Great Zimbabwe ruins and Jane was most accommodating. A planned two-night stay turned into seven! Here’s why:

    There are three cottages and a small campsite to choose from. The prices vary and we ended staying in the smallest cottage on our backpacker budget (we’re not traveling with a tent) and it was more than big enough for the two of us. The Lonely Planet didn’t do our hosts any favours by printing the wrong prices but they were very gracious about it. We had a quick look at all the cottages and each one has been decorated with care and reflects the style and obvious enjoyment our hosts get from sharing this beautiful space with like-minded people. Not to mention Dee’s beautiful artworks on the wall!

    In our cottage, Mzanje, I particularly enjoyed having a kitchen all to myself after having to share so many under-equipped backpacker kitchens up to that point. Other highlights of the cottage included a hot shower with good water pressure, a lovely fireplace and grazing horses outside our front door. The tray of food Jane put together for us on arrival also went a long way to make us feel instantly welcome!

    Little things to consider when booking this cottage is that the king size bed actually turned out to be two beds pushed together which makes cuddling a little more challenging and the (free, mind you) Wi-Fi signal wasn’t very strong at the cottage. Our hosts were more than happy for us to sit on their front lawn to access the internet.

    The cottages are located about 1.2km outside of the centre of town. It is uphill so if you’re not traveling with your own car try and convince someone to drive you up there. You can buy very basic foodstuffs in town so it might be advisable to stock up before you arrive. The Msasa Café does very good sadza dishes, be sure to ask them for extra gravy.

    A beautiful walk to the Bridal Veil Falls is highly recommended! It’s only 3.5km from the cottages and it’s a very easy walk through a stunning and beautifully kept park.

    Chimanimani and the Frog& Fern Cottages need to be experienced. Trying to describe the amenities of the cottages doesn’t do our hosts justice. It’s a beautiful place run by beautiful people who have such passion and respect for the place they live in and everything that surrounds them that it was hard to leave after seven nights!

    Thanks Jane, Dee (and Constance)!

  6. Malcolm Percival says:

    Frog and Fern accomodation is great and you are made to feel very welcome.You do get good value for money even though other accomodation places are very limited in chimanimani. The tar roads are good but the road to chimanimani national park is badly sign posted and in very poor condition. We did feel a bit uneasy in the park as we got the feeling that people are living there and every now and then you would come across human habitation while you were on the hike. It is also very easy to get lost as paths are not clear. I do take my hat off to the park rangers as they are doing a great job under challenging conditions.

  7. A rushed visit to Chimanimani from SW Zimbabwe (Sentinel, Beitbridge). Nine hours drive through spectacular and varied scenery. No forward planning, though sights were set on the Frog & Fern thanks to the Morning Mirror! Jane took 3 tired travellers in at a minute’s notice, and recommended dinner at the Chimanimani Hotel (grilled trout and chips..very yummy! Our cottage was lovely – comfortable, clean and inviting and strewn with magazines from England, which was a real surprise! Breakfast pack included real Zimbabwe ground coffee for the plunger, which is still delicious and a mandatory morning spoil in my opinion, despite the decline in the coffee industry over the last few years. Fresh fruit, eggs, toast and Chimanimani honey really hit the spot! Jane, it was lovely meeting you. Dee, was quite taken by your beautiful watercolour paintings (so nice to come into a “home” filled with gorgeous and original artwork). Hope Tarquin is of use to you when/if he qualifies at Outward Bound! Thank you for your very warm hospitality, and best wishes with the Painted Dogs!

  8. sharon mhuka says:

    I visited Frog and Fern in December with my husband Chamu.We stayed in Msasa cottage and we had the kitchen to ourselves which really helped as my hubby wanted to show off his cooking skills and yes he prepared oxtail meat we bought from the local shops which was way cheaper than we would have paid in Harare.

    Chimanimani is the most magical places i have been to.The Bridal Veil Falls are amazing.we are hoping to take along our boys next time.
    Thank you very much Jane we had a wonderful time and would also like to thank Constance for keeping the place clean.

  9. Tasi says:

    I visited Frog and Fern in December 2013 together with my husband, my sister and her three kids, we occupied the Miombo and Msasa cottages.The Kids loved the place and Jane’s dog Holly.

    We had so much fun at Bridal veil falls and Tessa pools ,although we did not have the energy to conquer the mountains.Our stay was lovely, thank you Jane, and thanks to Constance who keeps the cottages neat and tidy.

  10. Kiki says:

    Hubby and I spent our end of year holiday at Frog and Fern and we ended up extending our stay there. We stayed at Msasa Cottage first and then moved to Mzanje Cottage. They are both sooo homey. We braai-ed almost every day and enjoyed our 3 meals outdoor. Jane and Dee are really helpful and friendly. And I remembered reading one of the books in Mzanje Cottage, Shangaan Song written by David Hulmes. It just took me deep into the real Zimbabwean community and imagined the beauty of the places he wrote. I said to myself I needed to finish the book before I leave F&F, well, I managed to finish the book in one day. After reading that book and then went out to see the view from the cottage was just awesome. Well, Chimanimani is beautiful, got the chance to visit the Chimanimani gap, the falls and the pool. Definitely a place for a getaway and will stay at F&F again. Thanks Jane and Dee.

  11. Timothy Mudhluyi says:

    Its very exiting to be with you keeping on runnig its amazing…….

  12. Nyasha says:

    We had a wonderful Chrismas @ Frog & Fern. The environment was tranquil. Thank you Jane and your team. You’ll definitely come back soon.

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