Reviews of safaris to Central Highlands

"Having never been to Africa, we were apprehensive about taking off on our own into a huge country, with gravel roads, wild animals and potential problems. We need never have worried.

It was an amazing experience - wonderful landscapes, animals everywhere, lovely helpful people and the space, peace and freedom to do what we wanted, backed up by a superbly organised trip courtesy of Sabina. She had gently taken my initial plans - totally unrealistic! - and guided us to something manageable and fitting the sort of holiday we wanted. The walking, horseriding, lodges that benefitted the community directly, Africat, Etosha's waterhole - everything on the wish list was there, and more. Her suggestion of Erongo has ended up as my favourite place on the trip - wish I was back there now!

The issues with the car hire were something everyone was having to deal with - it was not an Expert Africa issue, just down to a lack of roadworthy vehicles in Namibia, and having seen at least 2 crashes where hire cars were written off, we can understand they have problems keeping cars on the road. People we met who had an accident couldn't speak highly enough of Sabina's helpfulness about getting them a replacement and their holiday back on track.

Namibia was a very special place - we learnt so much about a very different way of life and our 2 week trip felt as if we had been there for months - time seemed to stand still and itwas dfficult to know even what day it was! Three words to sum up Namibia for us - Space, Silence, Smiles.O

Oh, and animals of course - everywhere." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip to Namibia beat all expectations. We had less than two weeks so we concentrated on the central highlands and game spotting. Namibians were, to a person, friendly and helpful.

Olive Grove is a peaceful place to start and wind down at the finish. The choice of Erongo was a great opener, followed by the countless game of Etosha.

Mundulea was the definite highlight, and Okonjima was a great finale as it made sure we saw the cats.

Suggestions for improveMent:

No suggestions, the service was excellent." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Truly wonderful holiday for our first African experience." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We were wery satisfied with the service from Gwynneth and expert africa and had a fantastic tour to Namibia. We will return to Africa again and if possible use Expert Africa again.

There were only to mistakes a) we did not get the 4wd car we asked for and b) we did not get a familyroom at Kulala Winderness Camp as indicated in our confirmation invoice due to a booking mistake. However, everything else went fine during a one month long trip staying many different places." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We'd been to southern Africa a few times before (SA and Botswana), so we wondered how Namibia would compare with those countries. In some ways, for us, it combines the best aspects of those two countries - relatively straightforward self-drive, great wildlife, dramatic and varied scenery, great accommodation and good food.

One thing we'd do differently next time (fingers crossed that there is a next time!) is to hire a 4x4 - our little Toyota Yaris coped with everything we threw at it but we'd have been more comfortable in a vehicle with greater ground clearance and a softer ride.
Big thanks to Gwynneth for all her help and advice - our trip ran really smoothly.

Suggestions for improvement:

Not really, we would use you again for the countries where we feel we want the peace of mind of booking through a tour operator." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"All I can say is that we had never expected to travel to Namibia before this holiday but after it, we are so glad we have.

Seeing wonderful animals such as leopard, cheetah, elephants, lions and hordes of antelopes etc. in the wild and with the assistance and genuine affection for their jobs of the local guides, we both feel as though we have experienced something no one else has had...

Obviously, other people are doing the same, but we were made to feel very special by almost all of the people we met and by their staff, and it really made a difference to our holiday. The local people seemed so friendly and attentive to tourists and many countries around the world could benefit from their 'ideas on customer service'. A superb trip all round." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip to Namibia was enjoyable, although some of the driving distances were long this was more than made up by the fantastic places we visitied.

For the most part the lodges were excellent and all the locals we met really helped to make our holiday special.

The information pack provided by Expert Africa, including leaflets / maps and a guide to the region was really useful and great to have with us." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"First of all, we would like to mention two issues:
1. the distances from one to another place does not seem very long if you see the distance in kilometer on paper, but in reality it can take you quite a long time, especially when a big part of your trip is on gravel roads. Some travel days were in that sense quite tough for us.
2. our bank card has been skimmed in Tsumeb. Looking back, we probably know that it happened when some 'very helpful' guy wanted us to help with our transaction at an ATM. Of course, we have not been careful enough, but please be aware, these guys seem to be experienced and it all goes very fast, without any violence whatsoever.

Okay, those are the only two (minor) complaints, but overall our two weeks in Namibia were great! We have seen a lot of different things and have done a lot of things. All the lodges we have stayed in were unforgettable in their own way, however Desert Homestead, Doro Nawas, Etosha Aoba Lodge and Erongo Wilderness Lodge stand out. We really like the lay-down sandboarding near Swakopmund and also enjoyed the surrealistic landscape of the Sossusvlei. The most unforgettable thing of our holiday was, however, the Etosha National Park or more in general the game watching in Namibia. It is at times breathtaking to see wild animals at very close distance. We would like to recommend a trip to this beautiful country in all its elements to everyone!

Suggestions for improvements:

We experienced your service as very helpful and useful. We cannot think of anything to improve it." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Overall a rewarding experience, we only saw one solitary male lion in etosha although we heard the roars each night (my wife was convinced
that these were actually recordings played for our benefit)!!

The directions for Frans Indongo on your map were not correct, the D2804 is really a 4wd road. the correct route would be to carry on the
B1 road to the D2433, the lodge manager confirmed this. Not a compaint just a point of interest." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip