Reviews of Okaukuejo Camp
(84%) From 311 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Okaukuejo Camp review
Having read various reviews of this rest camp we arrived with some mixed feelings.
After check in we easily found our bungalow near the water hole.
First things first.. check out the water hole and find 18 elephants enjoying it... great start !!!
The Chalet was perfectly fine with decent size bed, air conditioning, fridge and good size bathroom with huge shower area.
Then to the main building for dinner... this is where most comments are about and unfortunately for the first night we had to agree with most that it was not the best experience... Having arrived late in the afternoon we hadn't reserved a table and were infomed in no uncertain terms that we should have done. That said there were plenty of empty tables and were eventually given one so didn't see what all the fuss was about.
The buffet has a reasonable selection but you need to take advantage of everything available to get value for money.
The service was slow in replacing dishes that were running out.
The 2nd night was better... plenty of food etc.
One word of advice.... read the terms of your admission in the small print... your time in Etosha is based on a 24 hr. clock with a couple of hours allowance beyond that.. We hadn't been advised of this and even though , when entering the park we told the gate that we were there for 3 days we were not advised that the clock started ticking from then.
As a result when leaving the park at the end of a very full day , and just before the gates closed, we were advised that we had exceeded our time allowance... 3 days is NOT 3 days... it's 3 x 24 hrs... we were then faced with a bill for a further day and told that we should pay at the last rest camp. After we explained that there was insufficient time to drive back to the rest camp, where the office by this time would have been closed, and paid, the park would be closed so how do we get out again !! Reluctantly they accepted cash paynment at the entrance gatehouse.
Just another example of the Wildlife Organisations strange way of working... needs more customer focus
Okaukuejo Camp review
The waterhole here is AMAZING. We were totally blown away by it - unbelievable.
Difficult to be fair to this place as one night we had a waterhole room (W34) and perhaps the best room in the plcae and the second night was a bush room which was OK but disappointing in comparision. My grades are for the waterhole room.
The food and service here are disappointing as it feels like a very average cafeteria.
Luxury waterhole viewing.
With only one day here, we visited water holes on our way including a detour to Okondeka which was spectacular with vast herds of game coming in off the pan.Our accommodation was lovely,luxurious and romantic.Thank you Maruska.
Sadly there was very little view of the water hole as there is a large tree in front of this chalet, but let us not get too picky.The water hole activity was amazing and continued throughout the night only a few paces from our chalet. As with Halali there were no cooking facilities or a BBQ and the shop was no better.
Beware--we made the mistake of not paying our park fees before leaving the camp on our way to leave the park and so had to drive 18Km back to camp.
Come here for the waterhole!!
This was the only non private accommodation we stayed in on our holiday, but we were not disappointed and it stood up well against the other places we stayed.
We had a normal chalet on the first night, and as there was non available when we booked our second night we had to switch / upgrade to a two room lodge close to the waterhole. What a stroke of luck this turned out to be! We obviously had to pay a premium for the lodge on the seond night (we stayed in W34), but it was a fantastic final night in Etosha before we headed home.
The lodge was incredible - circular in shape with a thatched roof, we slept on the upper floor which had a balcony opening out overlooking the waterhole, a real grandstand view of the animals from our bed! If you can stretch to the price, we would say this is definately worth doing. The waterhole was the most active one overall we saw in the park, and night viewing under the lights, when we saw elephant, rhino and lion, was very exciting and added to the drama of the place.
Food was more mass produced here than most places as its a big facility, and it was ok if nothing outstanding. Do book a table if you want to sit outside, even if dinner is included in your package. We did pass through Halali during the daytime, and based on our quick impression there we think that Okaukuejo seemed a better quaility bet, although this isnt really a fully informed opinion. Dont miss out on staying here if you are visting Etosha.
Great waterhole and wild life
Unbelievable amount of animals visited the waterhole with 20 elepphants appearing one night and 6 rhino! More zebras than you could count.
The organised safaris were interesting but somewhat drawn out with breakfast thrown in which seemed a waste of time. We had already had a breakfast and were there too see the animals.
In the middle of animals
THe staff were both friendly and helpful offering to change our booking but as we preferred the cheaper room it is a pity they won't offer refunds.The bush chalet was roomier than the waterhole chalet which was rather cramped and not worth the extra 156 dollars.
The waterhole was as spectacular as ever. Food very good considering the numbers served.
Slightly better NWR property
The bungalows near the waterhole are great for viewing wildlife. The service was a little better than Halali Camp at least there were some smiles.
Read more about the whole safariWonderful floodlit waterhole
I thought Okaukuejo was much improved from 12 years ago, when I last visited. There is some improvment in the evening meals but the standard of food is still not high. It tended to be good one nigth and dcent the next, without ever really becoming unacceptable.
The accommodation was spotless, cleaned throughly everyday and a good place in which to stay so close to the waterhole. The 'star' of the place is without doubt the waterhiole at night where in total I saw over 16 rhinos! All the staff were unfailingly friendly.
It's also a good advantage to have the post office at this camp.
Waterhole 1- a room with a view!!!
On arrival at the camp the people on reception were friendly and helpful and we had been allocated WH1 chalet (right at the water hole). The room was superb with the most wonderful bed linen!!!! (Fluffy quilts and pillows). Again we had tea making facilities and a fridge to use.
We had a 6.30pm meal each evening which meant when we returned to the waterhole most people were leaving for a 7.30pm meal so we had no problems getting a bench to sit and watch all the activity.
Both breakfast and evening meals were buffet style and this meant there was ample to eat and choose from but nothing startling.
There is a large swimming pool area but we didn't make use of this whereas some people would really enjoy it.
Waterhole Chalet in Okaukuejo Camp
The position of our Chalet was excellent - so close to the Waterhole. Arrived to find 6 bull elephants at the waterhole - later black rhino with calf, giraffes. springboks, oryx, more elephants and jackals. We were amazed at how many animals came to the waterhole in the morning - lots of zebra and springbok - also kudu and oryx.
We found the food pretty average and the main courses poor apart from good steaks. Vegetables overcooked.
We did not like the way our postcards were sorted in the PO into countries and left exposed to the public.
We did one night drive which was good.
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.
