Reviews of Okonjima Plains Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
395 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Okonjima Plains Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
97% success
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97% success
97% success
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"Amazing Africat at Okinjima"
At Plains Camp no activities are included. However there are many things you don't want to miss such as leopard tracking, cheetah tracking, visiting the Africat Centre and possible a night drive. On the grounds that we were unlikely to ever visit again we did all of this and this added a substantial amount to our bill but it was worth it. Children aged 16 and under are charged at a reduced rate. The trips are amazing and should not be missed. Our guide was excellent and highly informative. The landscape is stunning.
Plains Camp is has a highly modern main building, food is served amongst wood burning stoves and is delicious although not it is not always made clear what you are being served. The staff are all extremely friendly and good fun. Highly recommended." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia
"An excellent camp"
The hospitality was extremely good and the food was very well presented. The view room was very well equipped and had stunning views from the picture windows.
Would recommend the game-drives, this must be one of the only places in Namibia where there are high probabilities of seeing leopard, cheetah and wild dogs.
The educational work carried out by the Foundation is to be commended" See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia
"Okonjima should not be missed!"
Okonjima was our first safari experience in Namibia. Having driven the 3.5 hours from our lodge near the airport, including the long gravel drive, we were welcomed with a drink and warm towel. We had an excellent light lunch in 'The Barn' before going to our fantastic rooms (view rooms). These overlooked the open ground where springbok and a warthog family roamed amongst other animals.
We headed back to the 'barn' for the cheetah tour. Our excellent guide took us out where we soon saw giraffe, kudu, springbok and other animals. Using the radio tracking, after a while he located a cheetah which we drove towards, then disembarked to walk the last 200m. These cheetah had been raised by Africat so were used to humans and we were able to walk up within 20m of three cheetah, and they pretty much ignored us? Getting this close was amazing, and gave us the opportunity for great photos, especially as the sun was just setting. Back on the truck we headed back with blankets to keep us warm and spotted other animals on the way including baboons noisily congregating in a tree for the night. We reflected on a fantastic first day's safari in Africa over an excellent dinner.
Given our great experience the previous afternoon we decided to go on the morning leopard trip. 5.30am wake up followed by a muffin and hot drink to sustain us until we returned for breakfast. Out on the truck it was very cold, but again the blankets did a good job keeping us warm (along with lots of layers on!!). It took a while before we picked it the signal of a leopard. It then took a while before the guide spotted it high up on a cliff. At this point we were pleased to have seen one, but disappointed it was so far away. Given they are pretty illusive, we thought this may be the only one we saw on our trip.
However, after a chat on the radio, we headed off and joined another group who had found a female leopard with 2 cubs, one of which was feasting on the remains of a warthog up a tree! Parked up 5m away, we got brilliant pictures. They hadn't gone unnoticed by a brown hyena who eventually managed to steal a leg that had dropped from the tree. We eventually had to head back to the barn for an excellent breakfast, then sadly pack to move on.
All in all, we had a fantastic time at Okonjima and would highly recommend it. If we had the chance, we would certainly have stayed 2 nights rather than one." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
"Okonjima Plains Camp review"
The rooms were huge and brand new. Very nice! In fact, we wondered whether donations to the cheetah rehabilitation program were being used to fund the new camp. They might get more donations to their foundations if they clarified the relationship.
We did two game drives and both times had the opportunity to get very close to the collared cats.
One note - the map provided gave the wrong location for the camp. If we hadn't had a GPS location as well, we would have been very worried about having missed the turn. It was much farther south than its mark on the map." See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
"Amazing experience at Okonjima"
The camp is very well laid out, with superb facilities with lovely food and a truly African atmosphere. The activities were beyond reproach and I would strongly recommend the afternoon/evening leopard tracking. We spotted 3 wild leopards and the children loved having 'sundowners' (aka apple juice for them!) with the adults in a clearing surrounded by giraffe's.
The Staff were extremely friendly and I would recommend a 2-night stay here for anyone who has small children." See all these reviews: 6n in Namibia
"Busy camp, unique big cat experiences"
The great attraction is the unique opportunity to follow cheetah, wild dogs and leopards with radio tracking. We had some great sightings of all 3." See all these reviews: 25n in Namibia; 8n in Botswana
"Great wildlife viewing and walks at Okonjima"
We had however expected to see more evidence of Cheetah and Leopard conservation." See all these reviews: 28n in Namibia; 5n in South Africa
"Okonjima Plains Camp review"
"Lacks something"
So we had the vehicle and guide to ourselves, and he was a very good guide, but there are only two wild dogs in the conservancy. There was a third but he had met his demise. Neither three nor two make a pack. Herein lies the problem, I think. They aren't native to the area and aren't being prepared to be returned to the wild somewhere else. We had the impression they were 'placed' there as a tourist attraction. We had expected a pack so initially we were disappointed when we were told there were only two to see. However, our guide was so good that he made the experience fascinating and adventurous all the same and we ended up really enjoying the outing (and seeing both dogs at close quarter).
The staff were, as ever, welcoming, helpful, friendly and efficient, but there was little warmth there and you felt as though you were just another client passing through, which indeed you are of course, but you were never made to feel a guest. Some of the food was very good but some of it was not (the main course at dinner was kudu and tougher than boot leather!).
The accommodation was spacious and comfortable enough, if a little spartan (or just lacking in character), but there was a huge plate glass window overlooking the bush, which couldn't be opened and which caused huge amounts of solar gain in the room. It would be very uncomfortable in summer. The main area (called the barn, and a barn it was) also has one side entirely glazed and apparently birds do fly into it. The overall feeling was that something was missing, that the place had no charm. It's difficult to put your finger on it but it's not somewhere we'd choose to go back to." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia
"Fabulous camp and activities"
We tracked leopards and cheetahs, great fun!" See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia
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