Reviews of Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch
(89%) From 101 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch review
Charl (manager) and Dube (guide) were fantastic. Charl bent over backwards to help us with 4X4 advice and even checked our tyre pressures and evened them up for us! The Dune Chalets had a gorgeous view, heating and hot water bottles and the warmest dressing gowns on earth were very welcome. The food was lovely with lots of choice. It was great to see lots of game animals right at the start of the trip, ostriches were particularly fascinating.
This was a superb place to break the trip to Fish River Canyon.
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch review
We stayed in the 'garden court' rooms which should have been for drivers or guides rather than guests and the accommodation was poor.
Staff were very helpful and made sure we saw the meerkats and cheetahs.
Catering was excellent and the chef made a real effort to cater for our vegetarian requirements.
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch review
We were shown meekats and cheetahs for free.
Read more about the whole safariStuck in the sand
The 3km from the road to the ranch was our first experience of driving in sand and we got it wrong! A slightly daunting experience on only our second day in the country but everyone (staff and other guests) was helpful, full of useful advice and managed not to make us feel foolish.
We did the evening sundowner game drive with an excellent and informative guide and enjoyed it and the morning visit to the cheetahs. Seeing the meerkats was a bonus.
Our dune stilt room (no 2) was lovely - very spacious, clean and comfortable.
So much game in the Kalahari
The afternoon drive in this official desert was remarkable for the amount of game on view - especially impressive if you haven't already been to Etosha in the north. Even if you have, the Kalahari landscape with its parallel red-coloured dunes is stunning.
The best accommodation is built on stilts overlooking the desert and there are also a few 'tame' animals around the place, including Skank, a female springbok with a short length of hosepipe covering her horns - just as well since she has a tendency to nut people (playfully) in the groin! Excellent gift shop here which is very good value for money.
Best oryx of the trip was served here!
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch review
A lovely relaxing place to stay for one night. There is a resident springbok and oryx allowing an unusual opportunity for a close encounter.
The food here is excellent and meals are taken at separate tables, I am delighted to say.
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch review
Comfortable accommodation.
Friendly and helpful owner.
Game drive OK as a first day drive, but wouldn't have been worth it after seeing wildlife in more productive areas.
Good place to spend first night.
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch review
Stayed here for one night before heading to Windhoek for departure. While the location was a convenient stopover it really added about two hours to our trip to Windhoek and I wonder if we could have used the time differently. The game ranch description is accurate and while the safari was enjoyable the guiding and wildlife experience was not comparable to other locations.
We stayed in the cabins on the "flat" rather than on the dunetop and I think the experience is pretty different between the two. The dunetop locations have great views, overlook a watering station, see the sun rise and set and could be quite special; the locations on the flat feel more like a trailer park setting. I would suggest specifying the "dunetop" location for future visitors or going elsewhere.
The ranch seems to grow springbok, wildebeest and oryx and hence these are the dominant species on the game drive. We also saw many foxes, giraffe, mongoose. Probably the best wildlife viewing is the rehabilitated cheetah in the enclosed field adjacent to the homestead and the semi-domesticated meerkat colony behind the house.
Finally, the per person charge for "cheetah viewing" in the enclosure behind the house seems unreasonable for a half hour excursion.
Overall this is a very comfortable location but for several reasons not one we would go out of our way to revisit.
Great introduction to Namibia
Plus; - Where else can you sit around the pool in the heat of the afternoon with a tame springbok nibbling grass right beside you!
Lovely ranch. Dune chalet really nice with a fabulous view across the dunes and the waterhole.
Excellent game drive into the local reserve.
Negatives: - As a first stop from the airport (midday landing), it is a long way and we only just made it before sundown. If there had been delays we would have had a problem driving in the dark on strange roads in a strange car. The location itself is lovely.
Cheetah drive takes you inside the enclosure which is only metres from the ranch. We were only "inside" for 10 minutes and saw little more than through the wire fence. At £15 each - not very good value.
Expert Africa comments
Bagatelle has got back in touch with us to thank us for the constructive feedback. They would also like to extend an apology to these travellers as the cheetah drive should have been 30 minutes long. They have looked into this, and are also making adjustments to make the drive more interesting.
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch review
Good one night stop on the way to Tok Tokkie Trail
Read more about the whole safari
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.
