Reviews of Okaukuejo Camp
(84%) From 312 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Okaukuejo Camp review
After reading other comments on Okaukuejo we thought this place was going to be dissapointing, how wrong we where, reception and restaurant staff where very efficient and friendly. The food was as good as anywhere else we stayed.
Our only reservation was with the Kiosk, one hard pressed lady doing her best to satisfy a constant demand, she could do with some assistance.
Good location inside Etosha NP
Okaukuejo exceeded our expectations - the 'restcamp' was more like a 'resort'. Large complex, great pool area, pools were large and clean. We stayed in beautiful chalets near the waterhole. The rooms were very comfortable, good mosquito nets, clean bathrooms. The evening buffet was VG. We were surprised to find a black-backed jackal wandering around inside the camp, but later realised he was probably a 'resident' as the staff didn't appear too concerned.
Great location for self-drive game viewing inside Etosha NP. Good idea to view the log book and see where the latest sightings have been.
Because of the recent plentiful rains, the wildlife were scattered far and wide and there was no need for them to visit the waterhole at night, so it was deserted. Some of the roads within the park area were also closed due to flooding.
We went on an organised game drive at night, but this was disappointing more because of a sub-standard, disinterested driver, rather than the scarcity of wildlife. We came across plenty of wildlife on our own drives during the day. Recommend staying 2 nights here, and 2 nights Namutoni at the other end of Etosha NP.
Okaukuejo Camp review
Adequate for what it is as a large, high turnover camp with a monopoly in the area. Worth it for the location inside the park.
Read more about the whole safariThe wet season is a different experience.
Accommodation was more than adequate, the food as before was good for breakfast but the evening meal was poor value for money.
As expected the water holes were empty of game but large collections of springbok and zebra were spread out over the planes to the west as advised by the staff in reception.
Amazing location but busy
The camp itself was good - if a little dated/tired - but the reason everyone comes is the wildlife rather than the accomodation. We were a little unlucky with the late rainy meaning no animals came to the camp waterhole the entire time of our stay (3 nights) - this meant we did a fair bit of driving around the park - which was just as much fun and we still saw pretty much everything we wanted - Lions, Leopards, etc.
We definitely recommend doing the camp's night drive (about £30pp), the guide was a great driver, very knowledgeable, had some good chat, and had phenomenal eyesight.
The food at the camp restaurant was standard buffet fare - early arrival recommended for frozen ice cream - but on Tues and Thurs a local school choir performs and they are brilliant!
Good base for Western Etosha.
Although we had come across some expressed concerns about the standard of Govt. run facilities we were very pleasantly surprised at the overall high quality we encountered at Okaukuejo Camp. We would have no hesitation in making a repeat visit! The staff proved friendly & helpful.
We saw no particular advantage at embarking on any organised safari & were able instead to drive ourselves around Etosha with ease.
Okaukuejo Camp review
We checked out of this place as soon as we could. The room was hardly large enough for one with luggage, let alone 2. There were ants in the room. The room was very basic. We went to the waterhole that night and people were noisy. You could here others camping in the car park and cars arriving and leaving - not conducive to seeing wildlife at a waterhole. The benches around the waterhole made it all feel rather zoo like.
One poor white rhino turned up for a drink and was frightened away by noise from tourists. No guard in site to keep control. Then dinner - it was appalling. The salad bowl nearly empty when we arrived, the fish was so overcooked (frozen) and tasteless - inedible. I resorted to fruit salad thinking they couldn't get that wrong - they did it was under-ripe melon. We checked out early the next morning instead of staying another night. It was definitely the worst place we stayed.
Given it was the rainy season and therefore quiet for tourists, it should have been better. Also not much happening at the waterhole because of the rains - we expected this but all we saw was a rhino - anything else could find water elsewhere and probably where it was more peaceful.
Okaukuejo Camp review
Despite warnings to the contrary, there were plenty of animals in the western Etosha area. Birds were excellent. The lodge was very good.
An important point is that they provided universal electrical outlets so that 'phones and camera's could be charged. Converters to the old British 10amp three (round) pin sockets in normal use in Namibia & Botswana (and other parts of southern Africa?) are impossible to obtain and the standard 'universal' adapters we can get cannot be made to fit.
They also provided a fridge. We had good sightings of antelope, zebra, giraffe, ostrich and other birds. The calcrete roads were mostly quite easily passable in our front wheel drive saloon (Nissan Tiida).
Christmas in Etosha
The camp is quite large and luckily we had stopped outside the park for supplies and charcoal as the shop on site was very poorly stocked. It would have been useful to have been advised that the chalet had no amenities at all - not a cup, or plate or knife in sight - we could easily have carried these with us but hadn't.
Game driving was very good, all sorts of animals found and viewed and easy to get away from the crowd. What more can an africa addict want than to spend christmas eve with a glass of wine and 10 - yes 10 - black rhinos at a floodlit waterhole ( and I do mean black rhino not white).
Okaukuejo Camp review
Great location next to waterhole - excellent for wildlife viewing although being the start of the rainy season less animals came after the heavy rain one night.
We didn't have high hopes for the food after hearing the reviews but we actually thought it was very good. Some of the steaks we had there were excellent.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
