Reviews of safaris to Caprivi Strip

"This was a fantastic holiday.The adjectives that come to mind are not sufficient. The variety of landscapes, sights, activities and experiences were wonderful. It was a really good family holiday also. There was something for all our children to do and they got something out of every place we went to. However, the highlight of the trip for our 6 year and 3 year old was the car being pulled out of sand in road works on a minor gravel road in the Caprivi Strip by a huge six-wheeled grader - and particularly the bit where the driver forgot to put the grader's handbrake on and had to chase it down the hill and jump into the cab! Our 10 year old cannot say what the best part of the holiday was. It was all great. We agree.

Namibia is a great country and should be on everyone's list of places to see. The people are friendly. It feels safe and there is none of the lurking tension that you feel at times in South Africa. We'd say it was like South Africa, but better. There is such a variety of things to do and places to see. The desert is stunning. The dunes at Sossusvlei should be on your list of 50 things to do before you die. Swakopmund was so relaxing and it was just nice to potter about there. The food was delicious - seafood near the coast, game inland - and cheap. The smell and sound of the seals at Cape Cross will stay with us forever! Etosha is (insert your own superlative here - words escape us)! The numbers and variety of animals is mind-blowing - and all from your own car window. You do safari at your pace and go where you want to go without 20 other camera toting tourists in the vehicle with you. While there are lots of other people in the park with you, it never seems busy. The roads are largely empty and you could be the only vehicle at a waterhole on many occasions. We had the fortunate experience of a leopard cub ambling about in the road in front of us without a care in the world and eventually leading us to its mother, with no other cars in sight. Try doing that in Kenya! The Caprivi Strip is an undiscovered gem. The river camps and lodges are all perfectly sited and the opportunities to see riverine wildlife are fantastic. Again, there are few other tourists around (for the present), but once word gets out this is sure to change. There is none of the mass safari tourism of East Africa in Namibia. See it while it stays like this.

We also enjoyed finishing the holiday off at Victoria Falls while relaxing at the Zambezi Sun. Victoria Falls is another 'must see' and again adjectives do not sufficiently describe the experience. Our only regret was not seeing more of Botswana, but time did not allow. People we met who had been to the Kalahari and Okavango Delta were impressed.

It was very helpful and consderate of Sabina to contact us in Swakopmund to inform us that the garage in Kongola had closed and so fuel was not available there.

This was probably our best holiday ever with memories to last a lifetime." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We really enjoyed our holiday and the positives completely outweigh the negatives and I have the photos to prove it.

We would go back to Botswana tomorrow - The Lagoon lodge was a fantastic experience.

Despite my reservations about the car it did not let us down after the puncture episode and was quiet and comfortable to ride in

To view my photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/perces/Namibia2008" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Just to say we are all back from our trip to Africa and we had a terrific time, saw some fabulous animals and birds.

As a country I think it is probably the best in Southern Africa to visit as it has terrific game viewing, contrasts in scenery, friendly peoply, a feeling of safety and all at a reasonable price.

Suggestions for improvement:
Just keep doing what you are doing altthough it might be worth telling clients about the potential upgrade on Air Namibia as it is not necessarily offered, we found out about it through Trip Advisor or a similar site.

But overall thanks for a great holiday" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We had a great time despite the lack of game - we know it can't be guaranteed and if it was easy we wouldn't do it - but we were disappointed by the lack of game at Linyanti - the last time we were in that area it was wonderful. Robin felt that we were in a 'pub with no beer' !

The disappointment however was totally negated by the great time we had with Grant.

Bearing in mind that this whole trip was put together about five weeks before we went - everything ran like clockwork - how unusual for Africa !" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"Very well planned and worked out. Overall, the game viewing in the Caprivi strip was not quite as rewarding as our trip to the Okavango delta a couple of years ago. Next time, we might want to combine the two countries." Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 28 on a Namibia trip

"Very good." Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Overall, we had a wonderful time in Namibia and Zambia - we are very happy with Expert Africa and Sabina! Sabina's service was outstanding and we credit her for the success of our trip!" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We had a superb trip to Namibia seeing nearly all that we missed on a previous visit. Our eyes were opened to the diversity of the country and we feel privileged to have travelled through the places and met the people that we did.

All the accomodation was good, some moreso than others but in general the level of service was high in all instances.

Value for money could not be bettered.

Distances to be covered were well within our capacity and presented no problems. We found several interesting side roads to take especially the D707 from Sinclair Guest Farm to Aus (recommended by Peter and very picturesque} and the road from Bagatelle to Kalkrand {through the dunes}. Amazingly empty roads made driving a pleasure.

The friendliness of the local people and their helpfulness was evident to see and reassuring when you are travelling in a foreign country.

Only one incident with a female police officer jarred. We were stopped outside Otjirawongo for speeding and were told that a fine would have to be paid of N$100 but that she did not have any receipts so we would have to return to Otavi, an hours drive back.As I was not keen to drive back I elected to pay her without a receipt but only had N$70 in small notes. This she accepted without turning a hair. There was no ticket produced so I can only assume she made a profit! We were later told that the police only tend to operate speed traps within 20 km of towns so why go back to Otavi?

That aside we would like to thank Sabina for all her help and hard work in making our trip the success it was.

The company would certainly get a glowing recommendation from us if we were to be asked" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"The trip went almost without a hitch ( Roys restcamp was a bit of a hitch!) and every day brought a new small adventure." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Despite the series of reservations expressed above [Ed: see individual camp reviews - follow the links below!], our experience as a whole was entirely positive. This is a wonderful country with resources of considerable potential. Our aspiration was to see and do - animal life, bird life in abundance; the beauty and power of the desert, the rich scale of the Okavango, the variety and suprise of Etosha, the charm and challenge of the San people.

We were privileged to have been and seen, and, for the most part, in exceptional settings and charming cirumstances.

To avoid your feeling too complacent ... flight instructions for the return journey showed two times of departure - 1940 and 2040.

But, if that's all I can find to complain about - and it's hardly that - then I think you have every reason to feel pretty pleased with your organisation. Expert Africa is so much more apt and expressive than Sunvil; 'Expert' you deserve." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip