Travel reviews by Mr D from Sword

"The room was huge with great views of Windhoek. Lovely balcony for breakfast. The breakfast was very good, as was the welcome!

They booked a table for us at Joe's Beerhouse. We walked into the town centre the day we arrived but it was further than we expected, maybe half an hour. We only stayed here one night, we didn't see the owner around when we left the next morning and didn't really know who to give our room key back to. We were very happy with the room here."

"We were really happy with this place. Superb and highly attentive host, everything here was to a very high standard. We were very happy with our room, we were not in the chalets on the dune itself but our chalet was still perfect. The setting here is great, very remote and quiet - and hot! The heat is the one thing that stands out here.

The food here was simply amazing, weather permitting you eat outdoors with all the other guests at tables close enough to each other that you can exchange pleasantaries with other guests. The meal is different every day and it's very well-presented. Dishes are carefully chosen and it's buffet-style so you can go back up for seconds!

We did two trips here, a short visit to the cheetah enclosure and a longer sundowner game drive. The cheetahs were great to see up close. The guide on the sundowner drive was great, very chatty and informative. We also went off on our own to walk along the dune, which we'd recommend as you can take things at your own pace and discover things for yourself. However, be aware of the sun - after ten in the morning the heat can start to get very unpleasant, unless you're used to it. Since this was at the start of our trip, we hadn't acclimatized yet. This is a great place for stargazing!"

"This is a family-run, German-speaking guest farm. Most of the other guests here were German. However, you still manage with English no problem.

Our room was simply furnished but clean. The food was good, with a convivial atmosphere in the evenings (you eat with the family). They have a huge area of land that includes part of the Namib Naukluft mountain range. What we appreciated most here was the walking trails, the family have gone to the trouble of making and mapping a variety of walking trails, all setting out from the guest farm. They also provide descriptions of these routes in various languages, including French. As keen walkers we were quite impressed. However, we found the markings on the trails were not always easy to follow so a little experience and good sense of direction is advisable, especially on the longer trails!

Needless to say, always make sure you're well back before dark. We visited the local caves on one of our walks and were convinced we found a couple of stone spearheads! We did the Quivertree gorge walk at this farm and it was truly spectacular. We saw Klipspringer, Rock Dassies and Baboons here, as well as of course the famous Quiver Trees. The whole gorge was just bursting with life and since this gorge is on the farm's property, we were the only people for miles around. What an experience!"

"Hard to know where to begin here but this place is truly spectacular. It's new and has been extremely well integrated into the landscape. From a distance you can hardly see it. It has been built and designed firmly on eco principles. The impact on the local environment is minimal, so much so that a golf cart-style buggy service is provided to shuttle guests between the car park and the lodge.

Wooden walkways run above the desert floor so desert animals are unimpeded. Lighting at night-time is minimal, again to reduce the impact on the desert environment. The accommodation here is of a very, very high standard, as is the service. The rooms are in independent chalets and are generously proportioned. Our bathroom was huge! We had a lovely big balcony looking out onto the desert.

The dining room is fantastic, all wooden/straw/canvas construction. Food is first rate and the service very attentive. We visited Sesriem Canyon, which is only a short drive from the lodge. The canyon is amazing and full of birdlife. The only thing we weren't keen on here were the bus-loads of tourists, who spoil the atmosphere in the canyon somewhat.

We made the obligatory pre-dawn trip to Sossusvlei, and it was certainly worth it. With a 2-wheel drive vehicle you get most of the way but have to stop at the end of the road. You then pay for a 4x4 shuttle service to bring you on from there - if you're bothered. We weren't! For a start we couldn't have even if we wanted to as there was no service at that hour (half five or so). But even if there had been, there was simply no need - the 2x4 car park area is spectacular enough as it is. Nor did we stop at Dune 45. Instead we avoided the tourist traps and went to Dead Vlei, doing our own little self-guided walk. We were the only ones around.

The sunrise was spectacular. If you have a camera (and frankly you shouldn't go there without one!) you will find yourself taking pictures non-stop, that's how beautiful it is. And it's easy to take lovely pictures. Just beware that it can be a little chilly at those very early hours. We saw some wildlife on the way back, including jackals. Note that the petrol station in Sesriem is liable to run out of fuel, we were caught out but thankfully still had half a tank. We were able to fill the tank when we went back the following morning. The lodge offer trips to Sossusvlei but it's very expensive and there's no real need, you're better off going under your own steam."

"One of the first things we liked about this place was that it was the only double bed we had during our whole stay! (Everywhere else it's two separate mattresses pushed together).

Sam was a charming and very attentive host, his service during our evening meal was first-class. We ate one of the best meals of our stay here thanks to his culinary expertise, entertaining and outstanding service and great wine. He knows just what wine will go with each dish, so just let yourself be guided by him! What we found really charming was that he would sit down with his guests and talk to them - in English, French and German with equal ease! He has a very extensive knowledge of wine, especially from South Africa, and will happily share it with you.

He has trained his staff to very high standards and it shows. Our room here was fine, as was the location, maybe 15 mins' walk from the town centre. Breakfast was also very good."

"This was another fantastic lodge. It's in the same vein as Sossus Dune Lodge in terms of both eco-friendliness and service. Note that the track from the main road to the lodge is not really friendly to 2-wheel drive vehicles, you'll be better off with 4wD. We had to take it very gingerly in our Toyota Yaris!

The staff happily taught us a few words of their local language, which uses various clicks that are very difficult to reproduce! They also sang for all the guests at the end of our meal, which was lovely and very entertaining. The manager here - Johann - was superb, a real gent and very obliging. He was very knowledgeable about astronomy, insects and just about anything else you could throw at him! A man who clearly loves his job and is very good with people. We particularly enjoyed our stargazing session with him on the roof, we learned a lot!

The room here was superb. We went for a guided morning walk, which was very enjoyable. Our guide, Arthur, showed us lots of different tracks and explained a lot about trees and plants as well. We were very happy here."

"This is a great place and has been newly built. We got off to a bad start here in that we couldn't find it - the only sign you see from the road (just before the entrance to Etosha) is for Ongawa, not Anderssons Camp. However, the camp is part of Ongawa so after clarifying that, we went in and found the place easily enough - spotting our first giraffe on the way! What a thrill.

This place has its own water-hole, which attracts a wide variety of birds and animals. We saw our first rhino of our holiday here, which generated much excitement! The camp has been built according to ecological principles (reduce, reuse and recycle being in evidence when you look closely) and has used many of the materials from the previous farmhouse.

Their swimming pool used to be the farm's water reservoir, and they use solar panels (what better place to use them than Namibia!) The staff are very young here and a young couple manage the place. We found the manager very pleasant and lovely with the guests. All the staff are very enthusiastic and speak excellent English (along with many other local languages of course). The food here was excellent."

"We had a bit of an adventure here - or at least, on the way here. Our rental car broke down in the middle of the park and we had to get a lift to Halali Restcamp. The manager here was exceptionally helpful and professional in helping us out of our predicament - namely, stuck in the park with no car. He helped us to arrange delivery of a new car the following morning, and in the meantime had our car towed back to Okaukuejo. His staff also retrieved our luggage from the boot of our car and brought it to our room for us.

The room itself was fine, they are stand-alone buildings and quite spacious, with a small kitchen and sitting room. The food here was fine as well, nothing spectacular but then unlike the other private lodges, this place is open to the public during the day as it's inside the park. The waterhole is definitely worth a visit here! One of the highlights of our trip was seeing a family of four (!) rhino visiting the waterhole in the evening. Very exciting.

We went for a night game drive here, which overall we found slightly disappointing, but worth the trip nevertheless. The driver had a lot on his plate - driving the big 4x4, giving a running commentary, and directing the lamp to try to spot the animals. We did see a lion, and a hyena, bat-eared fox, hares and a couple of other animals, but overall we found it rather expensive.

Two things would have made the night safari better - firstly, if the driver had been accompanied by a separate guide. That way, the driver could concentrate on the road while the guide used the lamp to spot animals. Secondly, it would have added to the sense of adventure if we had gone down some roads that aren't normally accessible to the public, rather than staying on the same roads we had been driving on during the day. However, the guide made a good effort to explain a lot of things to us about the animals and geology of Etosha pan."

"This place is superb. No two words about it, we were thrilled with this place. The scenery is wonderful and very different and yet again, this is a lodge that is remarkably well integrated into the landscape. The staff are very friendly and chatty, and nature is everywhere you look. We saw so many birds and animals, especially of the smaller variety - lizards, dassie rats, and of course the rock dassies, which were everywhere. We also saw baboons in the area, as well as a dik-dik, which is a truly tiny species of deer. The birds are plentiful and colourful, and bathe within a few metres of the dining room window (which isn't really a window because it's open).

We would like to mention Bonnie in particular, a guide with a ready smile and good sense of humour. He was very obliging and guided us on two walks, the sundowner and the longer eagle walk. He also kindly showed us some of the sights in Omaruru. The food here was very good, especially the breakfast.

Our room/tent was super, well furnished and very comfortable. We were very impressed with the outdoor bathroom and huge stone shower. We did one self-guided walk here. Tip: don't be caught out by nightfall! We were here and darkness (and disorientation) come pretty quickly. All in all, we couldn't fault this place and it was certainly one of the top places we stayed during our honeymoon."