Reviews of safaris to Central Highlands

"Our first trip to Namibia (2010), covered central, north, northwest and coastal areas.

This trip (2013) was about 98% new locations covering central, north, northeast, Caprivi, Okavango and Vic Falls, Zimbabwe side.
The most noticeable differences in that span of time were the money exchange, electricity adaptor difference, more people riding bicycles, shopping modernization of cities, availability of 3G services (more mobile phones in daily use)

General travel tips
1. Before leaving Namibia, change your Namibian dollars to another currency: South African Rand, Botswana Pula, Euros, Dollars. They are no longer exchangeable at the Jo'berg airport nor in Paris.
2. The children in Namibia were usually asking for pens, whether or not we took photos. The supplement money for educational supplies in 2013 was used for election campaign spending.
3. Clothing is a great donation to leave with the lodges in the northeastern sector of Namibia and in Botswana. They distribute it to the villages or the lodge workers or in one case to the local churches.
4. Adaptors - Throughout Namibia and Botswana, the large 3-rounded prong South African adaptor is used. We purchased a smaller 3-rounded prong which only works in Zimbabwe. Bring your own charging strip/surge protector if you have multiple devices. Zimbabwe uses the small 3-rounded prong and British adaptors.
5. In your checked luggage through Jo'berg, pack nothing of value, other than clothing, ! It will disappear, guaranteed.
6. Reading material:
The Wildlife of Southern Africa is a definite plus to keep track of sightings (birds, mammals, insects, flowers, trees, etc.) (Vincent Carruthers) at the Windhoeker Buchhandlung across from the Hilton Hotel
"Namibian" daily newspaper - fantastic way to learn about modern Namibian culture and opinions of all ages.
"Zambezi Traveller" free newspaper in the Caprivi/Okavango (Lianshulu Lodge) - regional tips, ideas and covers a wide territory.
7. Pic n Pay grocery store (throughout Namibia) was our favorite, Super Spar is also good for finding lunch items (including an ice chest) when driving between destinations
8. Namibia has frequent, fairly well-maintained picnic spots (tree shade, concrete benches and table), which we used for lunches
9. Languages/Dialects: the smartphone "notes" application is a handy recording device to write down the courtesy words: hello, good morning, thank you, how are you, etc. We encountered 10 different languages/dialects or more over three and a half weeks. Asking a lodge staff member "how to say" is an ice breaker and opens a door to their culture.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Fantastic voyage!

The planning, Expert Africa contact, accommodations, expectations suited our needs to a tee. We made our own flight reservations, which worked out smoothly.

The Namibia/Chris McIntyre guide book was our bible. Thank you for supplying it.

On the review feedback, what does "facilities" include/mean?

We would highly recommend Expert Africa for any future voyages.

Obtaining visas before departure between countries was not totally clear.
The basic information about visas in the travel preparations could be much shorter (e.g., Visas are handled at each border control for Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Show your international driver license and passport at customs. The rental car agency provides you with all of the car details, including chassis number and motor number to fill in the paperwork.)

We paid for a permit into Botswana, but wonder if we could have given them the permit on the windshield. This was unclear in the instructions from Budget/Expert Africa whether to turn it in or buy a new one. This was the Chobe border. This was a more difficult and time consuming border post (a real hassle).

The Mohembo Border Post at Mahango was a breeze with both Namibia and Botswana." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"This trip exceeded all our expectations. The country was stunning, we saw far more animals than we expected, everyone was very friendly and very happy to answer many questions etc. We had fewer incidental expenses than we expected, fuel, food and drink being relatively cheap. This obviously helped to make the holiday good value.

Travel was easier, health issues were straightforward: everywhere was very clean, we could drink the borehole water, we didn't need antimalarials and sustained no insect bites.

The advice to take warm clothing was appreciated. A fleece and woolly hat are very useful. Breakfast/evening meals are often quite cool as they are in open rooms.

We did not appreciate how very dry it would be: lots of moisturisers and vaseline essential. Chris' guide is invaluable: a mine of useful and interesting information (especially about shops etc).

It might be useful to warn people about the veterinary fence, and the fact that they cannot bring meat products south through the fence (although we were not stopped as we left Etosha at Anderson Gate driving south, but we should have been). We were stopped both ways at Palmwag." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Amazing, yet again, and EA made it all very relaxing." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Angela made our trip very special. I had researched our itinerary in great detail, but she added the cherries on the top of the cake. MEGA THANKS ANGELA!

Our tour was first rate. Namibia sets very high standards for itself and mostly achieves them. As our group travelled in June and July we knew the nights would be cold, but this wasn't a problem except we didn't linger in the outdoor showers!!!

We were glad to have the extra spare-wheel and also pleased to have paid a little more to upgrade to a Nissan Xtrail. We saw people in ordinary saloon cars having some problems here & there. The Bradt Guide and marked map were in constant use. Thanks for providing these.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Only one small initial blip, on arrival at Daan Viljeon we had to pay 170 N$ for entry even though we had rooms booked there.
I knew it was included because Angela had written it in our very first quote, but the lady on the barrier would not let us in without first paying. We were tired after our flight and not knowing what to do. It would have helped if we had had a voucher to give her to satisfy her needs! Maybe you could include one next time in your very snazzy Expert Africa wallet?

All 4 of us voted this our best African holiday experience...so THANK YOU EXPERT AFRICA TEAM!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"The whole experience was very enjoyable.

On reflection we wouldn't have done as much driving, some of it was tedious and although there isn't much traffic driving on the gravel roads was quite tiring. Having said this it was our choice and we wouldn't have seen as much as we did without the driving" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"What an amazing trip!

From the moment we first contacted Expert Africa, when Chris personally responded to an inquiry about when to travel, we knew we were in good hands. Maruska planned our journey and was thorough, accesible, and accomodating, working with us to ensure that our itinerary was exactly what we wanted. As a result, the trip not only met, but far exceeded our expectations. We kept commenting that this was "the trip of a lifetime," and it was. Stunning scenery, luxurious accomodations, and excellent service all combined to make this an incredible journey.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We have just a few suggestions as you plan trips for future travelers:

(1) It might be useful to provide slightly more extensive driving notes. For example, instead of simply saying, "approximately 4 hours, mostly on gravel roads" you could add a few details, for example "you will pass through the charming town of Solitaire" or "you will cross the Tropic of Capricorn before hitting the tricky but beautiful Kuiseb Pass."

(2) The drive from Mowani Mountain Camp to Etosha is much longer than the estimated 3.5 hours; it actually takes about 5 hours given the poor road conditions of the gravel roads near Mowani. We still made it to Etosha before sundown, but it's worth advising future travelers of this.

(3) Although we enjoyed staying in Swakopmund, both of our excursions were in or south of Walvis Bay. It struck us that future travelers doing the same thing could stay in Walvis Bay and therefore cut out the drive time back and forth from Swakopmund." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fantastic trip to Namibia. We were very pleased with the help we received from Expert Africa in booking our car hire and accommodation (we booked our flights separately ourselves). Sabine was excellent in helping to advise us about our itinerary, with a detailed understanding of travel times etc.

Our favourite places to stay (in order) were Erongo Wilderness Lodge, Camp Kipwe and Hoodia Desert Lodge. We would also very much recommend visiting the western part of Etosha for some great safari in an area almost empty of tourists." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"It was a great experience. Drove almost 5,000km with no punctures in 2WD SUV.

The planning and booking were made an easy experience with excellent first hand knowledge which was so helpful.

The Namibia Guide book was the most useful we have ever had with so much useful detail.......perhaps it should be suggested to help planning as there is so much useful info.

10/10 to Expert Africa

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We more or less followed the itinerary of the Sandgrouse trip, with a few lodging substitutions. The variety of landscapes, activities and the mix of flying and driving really contributed to our enjoyment.

Tracy was terrific at advising us on lodging selections and providing information on reasonable driving times. We usually book our trips ourselves over the internet, but we knew it was important to get insights and expert advice from the pros for a trip like this. We would recommend Expert Aftica highly.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I probably would have skipped Damaraland, going from Swapkopmund to Erongo up to Ongava. And I definitely would have spent an extra night at Wolwedans. But this is just personal preference." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"This feedback is far too long and not what you want to receive on your return from holiday when you have a million other things to do!! This is why it has taken me so long to complete after the end of the holiday. Why bother to ask about S A Airways and B A?

I have travelled with your company on several occasions and remain a great fan of the effort you take to make a holiday, to what could be a difficult area, run as smoothly as possible. This time was no exception and the following comments are for your guidance / information and in no way a criticism.

As you suggested we collected our baggage in Jo'burg and checked in again. On both occasions that we passed through Jo'burg the airport was EXCEEDINGLY busy and it was a good job that we had a 3 hour wait (as you had intimated) otherwise we would have missed the connecting flight. Anyone who was nervous of crowds and queues and delays may have felt concerned especially as a dangerous situation occurred as there was no room for passengers to alight from an escalator to join a massive queue through passport control.

Please see comments on the car at Mundulea.

When we arrived to check in at the Taj Pamodzi they asked for credit card details (which is usual in a hotel) and then asked how we were paying for the accommodation. It took over 10 minutes to convince them that we had already paid our travel agent. They had the audacity to say 'has it cleared through your bank account'. Eventually someone agreed that Expert Africa would be paying for the accommodation BUT THEY HAVE NOT YET PAID. Who was correct? At one time they wanted us to contact you before they would let us stay.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Whilst I can appreciate that you want as many good comments as possible I feel that you may miss out on the odd nugget of criticism / feedback because some like me considered giving up and are put off by the length of this feedback form.

The availability of a paper form would have been appreciated." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari