Reviews of Mundulea Reserve

"We had a fantastic experience at Mundulea. Bruno is a wonderful guide and knowledgeable about many subjects. No-one should be bored spending time with him! Tommy looked after us in camp and cooked delicious meals. This is a different experience to most other lodges I have stayed at. For us it was a highlight of our trip but it is not for everyone. It helps to be reasonably fit because all activities are based around walking. I understand that Bruno will adjust activities to suit his guests but if you can't walk at least 10km (I suggest) I think you would not get the most from this experience. Also, being on foot brings you into contact with fewer animals but the landscape, tracking and stories more than make up for any deficit on that score. Personally I loved the wildness of it and the sink holes and cave systems. I hope I will return one day." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia

"This was a magnificent and true African experience
Our host Bruno Nebe was terrific, knowledgeable and clearly very experienced. His right hand man Tommy was most attentive too.
This really was a 'middle of nowhere' experience.
Wonderful walking and wildlife experiences - great birdlife.
Successfully tracking Pangolin, nighttime Lions roaring, and witnessing the release of a 12ft long python was a thrill.
The daily bees in the toilet bowl was not so much a thrill as a challenge - fortunately not unsurmountable!
This is not for the faint-hearted, but sitting under the stars around a campfire drinking beer and swapping stories with Burno will be remembered for a lifetime. Brilliant!
There are no facilities - apart for a couple of hides" See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia

"This was one of the highlights of the trip. Bruno's knowlege, and being able to walk, made this a wonderful experience.

We really appreciated the more low key accommodation and approach, after the luxury of the Botswana experience.

I can understand that this might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was certainly ours." See all these reviews: 26n in Namibia; 7n in Botswana

"I found our three night stay to be the highlight of the holiday in many ways. It was absolutely fascinating to spend time with Bruno. We learned about geology, flora, fauna, the challenges of establishing and running a reserve, Namibian politics, history, bushcraft and so much more. I also loved being out walking in the bush as opposed to sitting in a jeep. Bruno has high ideals and has taken a very purist approach, yet he is also very honest about the downsides of that and a few mistakes he has made. We saw quite a large range of wildlife while we were there, and tracks of more. However, I don't feel that is really why you go there (Etosha is for ticking off the game). I felt it gave our family the most amazing introduction to the country and knowledge that gave us a really deep understanding and context into which to place everything we saw on the rest of our travels around Namibia.

We were the only guests at the time we stayed (2 adults, plus children aged 14, 11 and 7). We shared three tents, which were very comfortable and with nice touches like the hot water bottles Bruno's colleague Tommy put in for us each night. Solar power gave us plenty of hot water and enough light (though was dim at night so definitely paid to get organised with clothing and toiletries in daylight hours). There were some insects in the outside bathroom as you'd expect including bees which were mentioned in one tripadvisor report - I just sprayed round the loo with insect repellant and it really was not an issue as they were extremely benign. My daughter got a bee up her trouser leg. She calmly peeled them down and out it flew - none of us got any bites or stings while we were there.

The food was fantastic (though I would ditch the breakfast fruit yogurts if I were him in favour if a big bowl of plain yogurt to go with his delicious homemade granola). Again, Bruno takes a purist approach that everything is cooked over the campfire. We were particularly impressed by the bread from the metal bread oven he had built (he has built everything on the camp from beds to chairs to bread ovens), the homemade zebra salami, brisket of eland with polenta. My favourite food of the holiday with perfectly judged portions and always second helpings if wanted.

Bruno was patient with the kids and took a lot of time to explain things at an appropriate level, while also being firm when necessary and expecting them to respect their environment (eg delicate skulls and tools on display, sometimes needing to keep the noise down when out in the bush).

I cannot recommend it highly enough and it was definitely my highlight (and I say that even though we stayed at some uber luxurious places like Little Ongava and Damaraland Camp). I feel I learned a lot and, for me, that was a true luxury." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia

"This is Bruno's home and he is an expert naturalist. His passion for wildlife conservation is inspiring.

Tommy his right hand man is a gem cooking on the open fire. The experience of walking in the bush is very different from being driven around and we have some special memories.

This is a place that grew on us and we were sad to leave." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia

"Wonderful experience walking with Bruno.

Twice heard a leopard close to our tent." See all these reviews: 23n in Namibia; 6n in Botswana

"Mundulea is pure Africa. It's a bush camp, and you spend all your time walking in the bush, tracking animals, seeing lots of animals, going to their amazing waterhole, sitting round the camp fire, and eating simple delicious food.

This is adventure, not luxury. Having said that, the tents are very well equipped, and the beds comfortable. The tents have outdoor bathrooms, which are open to the bush and all the animals.

The leopard in the camp was an extra attraction !" See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe

"We had a wonderful time at Mundulea.

The camp is simple but very relaxing & to spend so much time with Bruno was truly a privilege. He is an amazing person not only for what he is doing at Mundulea but for the way he is doing it based on good scientific evidence a lot of which he has developed himself in conjunction with academic biologists. He is a magnificent host & guide & we were lucky enough to have him to ourselves for most of our visit.

He seemed to understand the flora & fauna at a deeper level than any other guide we have met. Walking with him was a rare pleasure.

Our only regret is that we didn't stay longer.

We would recommend driving via the D 2779,2782 & C39 to Otavi as a quick & easy route ,avoiding the rather boring C38 & B1" See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 5n in Botswana

"Mundulea is a must for anybody who has interests in natural history, archeology, and conservation.

Bruno Nebe is a wonderful host with deep insightful knowledge of the environment." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana

"For us Mundulea was by far the highlight of our stay in Namibia. But it wouldn't necessarily be the case for everyone.

Mundulea is a private game reserve created by Bruno Nebe. Accommodation is set within a small tented camp, with its own waterhole. There were a total of 6 guests, including the two of us, during our stay. The only activity (other than talking, eating, drinking, and sleeping) is walking in the reserve, expertly guided by Bruno. Tommy stays behind to cook the most delicious meals over an atmospheric open fire, one of many highlights being the daily fresh, home-made bread, baked in some rescued car part (I think).

What staying in Mundelea gives its very lucky guests is an intense, in-depth, understanding of how wild game and its environment, the whole integrated chain of life, operates, from the termites, beetles, guinea fowl, snakes, up to the predators.

This was a uniquely powerful experience for us - it might not have the same appeal for others. You may not see a lot of animals or being able to tick boxes on the number of different species seen.

For example, we didn't see leopard, except a hazy dark outline at dusk at our waterhole, but we did hear the leopard call (a distinctive, rasping, sawing sound) all night 5 minutes (or less ) from our tent and the next morning we followed the tracks of the leopard female, and her companions from just outside our camp. Plus we just avoided tripping over a languid black mamba (Obviously Bruno saw it well in time, a few metres ahead of us)." See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia