Travel reviews by Mrs P, Miss H and Miss P - London

Namibia Feb 2011

On this trip, I visited Namibia between 26-Jan-2011 and 23-Feb-2011 and I travelled with 3 other people.

Namibia is a wonderful country. Friendly people, organised, great places to stay with a few exceptions. We went initially to work for a conservation project P.A.W.S. affiliated to Africat - which was a wonderful experience of trying to turn the land back for the cheetah and leopard, which has been desimated by cattle grazing. A well run and brilliant conservation project with lots of chance to be up close and personal to large game and birds. We then used Expert Africa to organise the rest of our trip to see wildlife and birds.

It was off season as lots of rain and water, so the wildlife were scattered, but we found it to be a good time of year as few people and vehicles and lots of flowers and great green spaces to see. Windhoek was a disappointment, but Sossuavlei and Swakopmund both well worth spending time. We took a private flight over the dunes - the only way to get a real feel of how spectacular they are. Apparently there is little left on the Skeleton Coast as many bones and ship wrecks removed - so miles and miles of nothing.

The roads are good, but met several people who did not have a guide, so not good in the rainy season as they did not know where to look for game and often saw little or nothing.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Our itinerary was changed a few times because of accommodation changes. Expert Africa's team in Namibia gave us an out of date itinerary when we arrived. They supplied us with just the very best guide - Orlando Haraseb who really made our trip. He and his colleagues were most helpful when we decided we did not wish to stay 2 nights in Okaukuejo as we thought it very poor and immediately had us transferred to Halali Lodge for an extra night.

We all thought that there was much waste of time on our itinerary in Windhoek as per my email. Swakopmund has lots more to offer, is cleaner, lovely shops, great restaurants, great views and lots of opportunities for extra activities and we had a wonderful and very informative sea kayak trip with Craig in Walvis Bay, who taught us much about the birdlife, seals and local salt mines etc. He also provided lunch which we had paid for in our itinerary also. It is necessary to point out that Jan/Feb whales will not be seen as it is not the season for them to be there or for dolphins (we saw one). Can recommend The Tug for dinner - great food.

I have covered more points in my detailed email of today which I would like responses too, particularly as we were overcharged/incorrectly charged at River Crossing.

I stayed at and have reviewed:

Place	Overall rating
River Crossing, Namibia 27-Jan-2011 review: River Crossing review	Excellent
Under own arrangements 29-Jan-2011 review: P.A.W.S. Cheetah Conservation	Excellent
Villa Violet, Namibia 11-Feb-2011 review: The Elegant Bed & Breakfast review	Good
Desert Homestead, Namibia 12-Feb-2011 review: Desert Homestead review	Excellent
The Stiltz, Namibia 14-Feb-2011 review: The Stiltz review	Excellent
Okaukuejo Camp, Namibia 16-Feb-2011 review: Okaukuejo Camp review	Poor
Halali Camp, Namibia 18-Feb-2011 review: Halali Camp review	Good
Mushara Bush Camp, Namibia 20-Feb-2011 review: Mushara Bush Camp review	Excellent
The Elegant Farmstead 22-Feb-2011 review: The Elegant Farmstead	Good