Reviews of Doro Nawas
(93%) From 387 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Comfortable camp, with good food
We only stayed at Doro Nawas for one night, in passing between Desert Rhino Lodge and Etosha, in order to pick up a hire car for the last part of out trip, and didn't take part in any of the activities.
The room was large and comfortable with an outside shower and a view out over the bush - though we did have people from the camp walking past the front of the room (and shower!). There is a nice, if small, pool for relaxing, and the terrace area in front of the dining room was comfortable.
Food was very good, served at individual tables
Interesting but a little too long
A three night stay here is unnecessary, since the worthwhile activities can be done in less time. Although the petrified forest is quite interesting, it involved a very lengthy journey covering similar terrain etc. to previous excursions and only merited a short visit.
It also meant that two out of three evenings had a "bush dinner" which was entertaining the first time but repetitious after that. Similarly, the singing/dancing routines, which the staff engaged in at every opportunity, eventually became a little excessive.
Service and facilities, like the other Wilderness camps, are of a good standard, but the rooms are a little dark.
Singing lodge :-)
From your arrival until departure, the staff greets you with lovely songs, even for dinner time. They are the best !!
Great excursion to look for desert elephants and memorable bush dinner.
We were given room 13, which unluckily was the one with less privacy and rather noisy (vehicles dropped and picked up clients just behind). They were fully booked, so we could not change room.
A musical interlude!
We thoroughly enjoyed listening to both the 'click' language of the staff and the way they regularly burst into song!
Had an excellent guided tour with Leslie (new to the lodge) to see the desert-adapted elephants. After showing us the main herd, his determination to track down the lone bull paid off which was a real bonus.
We also much appreciated the efforts of all the staff to provide us with a memorable 'bush supper'.
Doro Nawas review
Again a very warm welcome form the staff. The room was very spacious and could have done with a bit more light. The manager was very helpful over our problems with our car. Eating in the bush was fun but it is a challenge to keep the food warm. We met some very interesting people among the other guests. A great private trip looking for desert-adapted elephants - perhaps the best activity of our holiday - thanks to Regie our guide.
Read more about the whole safariGreat Damaraland experience
Recent wreck of the Zeila about 50km outside Swakopmund not in most guide books and quite an interesting diversion for a few minutes on the long drive north giving a bit of a flavour of the Skeleton Coast proper beyond. Very windy drive for over 100km inland even in early morning in August with dust spectacular bur severely hampering visibility at times. Last 80km (D2612) from Swakopmund very rough (Aug 2017) to the extent that lodges trying to regrade locally using 4wd + towed tyres etc. - don't arrive late in the day!
Great singing welcome and departure. Great setting.
Stayed in family accommodation - two separate units joined by wooden walkway. Kids wanted one adult in each unit, but this was fine. All slept outside on verandas under the stars.
Nice pool area.
Dinner was on a single table out in the bush (twice a week). Great atmosphere. Food introduced in local language with plenty of clicking and chicken impressions. Kids a bit reticent at first but then loved it. Food largely from the braai and very good. Kids menu available if chosen in advance and excellent. Breakfast fairly basic.
Should have stayed for 2 nights but had to balance where we wanted to go with time available. Didn't do any lodge activities.
Self-drove to Twyfelfontein. Road very poor (Aug 2017) and wouldn't want to do it in a hurry or in a low clearance vehicle. Children interested in rock art to a surprising degree.
Expert Africa comments
As of 21st August Expert Africa were made aware, by our team in Namibia, that the gravel roads are becoming increasing bumpy and continue to deteriorate, especially in areas around Damaraland and Sossusvlei. This is due to the lack of funds to support the costs of grading the roads. The roads used to be graded on a fairly regular basis and hence kept in good condition but unfortunately they now haven’t been done for some months with resulting ill effects on the road conditions. We hope that things will return to normal shortly.
Weird architecture great location
We were not sure whether staying at two different lodges within Damaraland was a good idea or not. It turned out to be perfect. The difference between Grootberg Lodge and Doro Nawas allowed us to see very diverse aspects of this important region of Namibia.
The main building is unusual architecture and looks more like a fort than a lodge, but is very comfortable and had great outdoor seating to enjoy the stunning views. The staff singing your welcome and your departure was a particularly nice touch, as were the hot and cold towels at the beginning and end of each safari.
The chalet at Doro Nawas was excellent ( as the one at Grootberg had been too). The meals were good too.
Our Desert Elephant Drive was a big success and our visit to the Twyfelfontein Petroglyphs was well worth while.
We had a great two night stay!
fantastic - loved it!!
Doro Nawas was one of our favourites - the bushmans dinner, (Mon, Wed and Fridays) elephant search (and finding them) and singing staff made it.
staff tried to teach us the clicks of the language....failed, but we had fun. Their guide - Marcus - was brilliant and very helpful! he helped us with petrol - the ride there took 7 hrs from Swapo - due to the awful road - and then took all our fuel. Marcus helped by getting us 25L and helping us get it into the car.
Bushmans dinner was great - really nice idea - and well executed. Liked the staff dancing and joined in.
Great to have all inclusive including laundry as we had been in RSA and Namibia a while by then and everything was dusty!! Would always suggest this on future trips - wash every 7 days or so!
Doro Nawas review
Another highlight. Wish we had had three nights here.
Road in awful tho. On the way from Etosha we detoured to see Finger Rock and had lunch at the Finger Rock lodge. A lovely setting and very good easy lunch. We also visited the Petrified Forest. Highly recommended- suggest you add this to the notes to travellers. We decided against the nature drive to see the elephants and instead drove ourselves to the Damara Living Museum; another place we highly recommend. Got to Twyfelfontein rock engravings but the roads were so unappealing we didn’t get to Burnt Mountain or Organ Pipes that day. The unexpected Bush dinner was superb. Staff and accommodation excellent. We did buy a lunch to take with us which was very expensive but we were glad of it on the Skeleton Coast. The surprise bush dinner under the stars was a highlight.
We drove out to the Skeleton Coast on the C39/34 and were so pleased we had. Firstly the more direct road was the worst we struck (on our way to Twyfelfontein). We met a tour bus driver there who recommended the coast road as being much better - and he was right. It was a very scenic drive out to the coast and a great drive south on the salt road. We would have been very sorry if we had missed this and the extra time was no problem. The weather was kind to us - it would be different in fog/wet conditions.
The road from Henties Bay is being upgraded and the scenery was very disappointing from here to Swakopmund.
This is a special place which I will remember
This is indeed a special place in terms of people, location and room. Very stylish design, comfy rooms, and lovely welcoming staff who sang to us on arrival and departure! The service was helpful but also laid back, perfect! The guide went out of his to ensure that we saw the desert elephants. Staying here was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
Read more about the whole safari
