Reviews of safaris to Central Highlands

"expensive but unforgettable.

Most of the lodges are so nice one wants to live there, at least for a long time. Gwynneth was extremely helpful and efficient when we needed her (we had to made some last minute arrangements because we were not able to cross the border to Botswana - our fault) but she fixed it and the outcome was excellent" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 4 on a Namibia trip

"This trip was designed to blend new places with old friends and it worked very well. We certainly enjoyed our return trip and it was interesting going back to some of the places we visited last time to see how they had developed.

Etosha turned out not to be as busy as expected and many times we had the pleasure of viewing waterholes alone. With one exception the camps we stayed in did not disappoint and the gravel driving was a feature of the trip not something to be feared. It took us through some of the most outstanding landscapes and to the most beautiful places." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Incredible!

I'd also like to mention the other activities we booked:

- Sea kayaking at Walvis Bay with Jeanne: probably the surprise hit of the trip. We had no idea what this would be like, and were all thrilled by what fun it was. Jeanne is such an enthusiastic guide.

- hot air ballooning: amazing, what an experience. And followed by an excellent breakfast hosted by the charismatic pilots. I'm so glad we decided to splash out on this." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"an excellent trip" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Nothing much to say other than: it has been several months since we came back and we still get excited remembering our honeymoon.

Everything was worth it and Expert Africa really helped us out. Their suggestions were spot on and their assistance was invaluable in planning such a trip to a destination completely unknown to us.

Our only regret was not having taken more time to see more of Namibia (we wish to go see the Caprivi region and Damaraland). We'll have to leave that for the next time we visit the country!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Dear Sabina,

Thanks very much for organising such a great holiday again!! Totally different from the dry part of Namibia (Kalahari desert, Namib desert, Damara land, Etosha). This time river deltas, water, green, and also many many animals, and again very nice people. Anybody asking us about our two holidays, we suggest to contact Expert Africa and you. Again, unforgettable.

One topic for your consideration: leaving to our lodge near Rundu, we were stopped at a check point just south of Rundu close to an army base. I stopped the front of my car 1 meter past the stop sign. Anyway, the guy made a big point out of it, a second policeman joined him and I had to come with them to a tent next to the road. Supposedly I would get a fine of NAM $ 1500 for "ignoring the stop sign".

I stayed courteous, said that any fine I'd pay at the police station. Anyway, it was an attempt to get a bribe, but in the end I did not have to pay anything. At another lodge, I heard that a few other tourists had exactly the same experience, at exactly the same check point. Not a big deal, but just that you know this happened.

Again Sabina, thanks very much for your help. It was an unforgettable holiday, again!

Kind regards, Elly and Paul Veth." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Sabina Hekandjo has been absolutely great (perfect). We have had the best holiday." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We had a great holiday. There were certainly parts of the trip where it was more difficult for the 70+year old member of our family to manage and it would have may have been useful if the lodges we stayed at knew that one of the members of our group was older as we were put in some rooms that were quite a long distance away from the dining areas.

We would have probably liked an extra day in both Swakopmund and the Erongo Wilderness Lodge areas as there was not enough time to do what we wanted to do in these places.
We had a member of the group who is unable to eat certain foods and at all the accommodations we were very impressed with the catering for her.

A highlight for us was Etosha and this may have been further improved by having accommodation in the park at the Anderson Gate (this could have been highlighted to us when making the booking and we could have considered changing our travel arrangements to deal with this).

The Nissan vehicle we had was not at all comfortable in the back seat with 3 persons seated there.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Gwynneth did a great job organising this trip for us given the time frame from starting the booking to the date of travel. I wonder if more phone contact would have been useful to iron out little things that could have further improved the trip?" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"An excellent trip in an amazing country with very friendly people. Just don't forget to bring properly warm clothes if you travel during winter, as the nights can be very chilly.

We had a really great trip. Many thanks to Angela Griffin at Expert Africa - we had such a good time in Namibia. The high lights were the dunes at Sossusvlei, kayaking with Jeanne among seals at Walvis Bay and - according to our sons - when our host Bruno at Mundulea caught a puff adder (!). In addition we had our most enjoyable and relaxing afternoon in our lives at Grootberg Lodge, really. We would't mind staying there one more night. The rental car - a Nissan X-trail - was very comfortable but the trunk had no space for an extra spare tyre above our four suitcases, but that didn't matter because we had our only flat tyre on B1 (bad luck, probably a big nail on the tar road) just north of Windhoek on our way back home. It was a nightmare to swift tyres when big lorries past us in 100 km/h, but we kept calm. When the car was picked up by Budget we used the form Expert Africa recommends in their brochure, so there will be no problems, either with the flat tyre or anything else about the car. The Budget staff were very professional.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Maybe more information about spare tyres:

- If you go four persons in a Nissan X-trail there is no space for a second spare tyre.

- The spare tyre allows you to drive only at 80 km/h. We were lucky to have just 70 km left to Windhoek. Maybe you could order a fifth tyre instead of a normal spare tyre, so you can proceed at a higher speed?

And more information about warm clothes......." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"It exceeded all expectations. Namibia is a beautiful, if sometimes stark, country and we found the people we met most friendly. Without exception, the various accommodations were very good, and in particular, the full descriptions in Expert Africa's printed and on-line brochures very accurate.

Driving was overall a pleasure with empty roads and those with gravel surfaces mostly very well maintained apart from part of the road between Sesriem and Walvis Bay which is fairly rough, but without potholes. I think we saw graders at work every single day. There were no problems with fuel supply.

June is low season (most lodges said their bookings would be full from late July onwards). As a result, with few guests, we received very personal service. Day time temperatures were in the low to mid-tweties C, which was very pleasant, but evenings and nights were cold and many lodges provided hot-water bottles. We were glad that we had taken layered clothing.

Meals seem to have received criticism from other visitors for being boring. We have never experienced such tender and tasty meat (mainly beef fillet, kudu and oryx) although a three-week diet of red meat is not nutritionally recommended! Vegetables were varied, soups delicious and some of the desserts imaginative so we have no complaints.

The standard of the guiding, where we used it, was very high and our experience at Mundulea exceptional.

We never felt unsafe, which can't be said for many other African countries.

So, a perfect holiday - just 1400 photographs to sort through.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I think you are already way ahead of the competition.

Coming to your office to meet with Gwynneth was well worthwhile to get her views, as a Namibian, on our plans. Communication between booking and our departure was good, and as we have found in the past, you actually take note of feedback unlike most other companies.

Please keep up the good work and we shall certainly travel with you again. Thank you or arranging a wonderful holiday." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip