Travel reviews by Mr D & Mrs L - Warwickshire

A wonderful holiday

On this trip, I visited Namibia between 2-Oct-2009 and 17-Oct-2009 and I travelled with 1 other person.

The animals at Etosha were inevitably he highlight of our trip but this doe not take away anything from the rst of our holiday. We stayed at some exceptional places and had some wonderful experiences. Namibia is a stunning country and we enjoyed every aspect to it.

This is the second time we have used Expert Africa and the Bradt guide and are sure to use them both again. Sabina was always helpful and responded well to all my quirky requests.

Suggestions for improvement:

This not an improvement but is something I would like EXpert to consider taking up.

This is that I think that the quality of the experience offered by NWR at, especially, Etosha is deteriorating. Although the individual staff are generally courteous and helpful I think they need to improve their service as they no longer offer a value for money experience compared with that offered by the lodges with which they are in competition. This is an issue for them but my main concern lies with their management of the Park.

Firstly, I was extrememly concerned by their seeming lack of an effective response to a fire in the Park when I was there at the beginning of October. I first noticed the fire in the morning as a very small column of smoke which by the end of the day had extended on at least a 5km front from the western edge of the park right up to the Pan. I was told this was not the first big fire recently and would like to be assured that the NWR was learning from its recent experiences in this regard.

Secondly, the absence of rangers on patrol within the Park meant that there was little policing going on. It suggested to me that the aminals of secondary importance and this might be symptomatic of a neglect of the environmental conservation aspect of managing the park and that sadly it is increasingly looked upon by government as solely a cash cow.

I stayed at and have reviewed:

Place	Overall rating
Terra Africa, Namibia 2-Oct-2009 review: Ideal to start or end a visit to Nam.	Excellent
Waterberg Camp, Namibia 3-Oct-2009 review: Lovely setting - great walks	Good
Halali Camp, Namibia 4-Oct-2009 review: Road closures limit Halali's attractions	Average
Taleni Etosha Village, Namibia 7-Oct-2009 review: location, quaity & value = perfect Etosha	Excellent
Camp Kipwe, Namibia 9-Oct-2009 review: The best yet...	Excellent
Brandberg White Lady Lodge, Namibia 10-Oct-2009 review: Missed the elephants by an hour....	Good
Sam's Giardino, Namibia 12-Oct-2009 review: Perfect spot in Swakop	Excellent
Rostock Ritz, Namibia 14-Oct-2009 review: Stunning views from our honeymoon suite	Excellent
Terra Africa, Namibia 16-Oct-2009 review: Terra Africa review	Excellent

A wonderful holiday

On this trip, I visited Namibia & South Africa between 28-Sep-2008 and 12-Oct-2008 and I travelled with 3 other people.

An unforgettable trip. Everything worked well and repayed careful planning. We did 3000km in two weeks. This was far enough. We know some try and do too much and this must be a mistake as one needs to stop and draw breath and experience the desert.

Maruska was a great help when I was struggling to organise the trip on my own.

I will certainly use Expert Africa again

Suggestions for improvement:

I was very impressed with the guidebiook which became our bible. The only shortcoming was the comment on Swartfontein in the guidebook. The italians left four years ago and the new owners, although perfectly nice, are very much concentrating on hunting and those of a mild disposition may find it uncomfortable if there are hunters amongs their fellow guests.

Thanks Maruska for your care and attention.

I stayed at and have reviewed:

Place	Overall rating
The Airport Grand, South Africa 28-Sep-2008 review: The Airport Grand review	Good
Bush Pillow Guesthouse 29-Sep-2008 review: Economical place to stay in Otjiwarorongo	Good
Onguma Tented Camp, Namibia 30-Sep-2008 review: Onguma Tented Camp review	Excellent
Halali Camp, Namibia 1-Oct-2008 review: Halali Restcamp review	Excellent
Etosha Safari Camp, Namibia 4-Oct-2008 review: Etosha Safari Camp review	Average
Vingerklip Lodge, Namibia 5-Oct-2008 review: Vingerklip Lodge review	Excellent
Brandberg White Lady Lodge, Namibia 6-Oct-2008 review: Brandberg White Lady Lodge review	Excellent
Brigadoon, Namibia 8-Oct-2008 review: Brigadoon review	Excellent
Swartfontein Guest Farm, Namibia (this camp has since closed) 9-Oct-2008 review: Swartfontein Guest Farm review	Good
Pension Moni 11-Oct-2008 review: review	Average