Reviews of Doro Nawas
Wildlife sightings and reviews
469 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Doro Nawas and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Damaraland magic"
To slowly come across this large buiding perched on top of a small hill, so dark and brooding at first glance we thought it had been damaged by fire, was very exciting. We received another warm welcome with cool towels and cold drinks and were taken through to the enormous balcony, with panoramic views of the landscape, for our now customary welcome talk and explanation of services and activities.
The large huts were very comfortable, and we all enjoyed wheeling our beds out to sleep under the stars. There was an indoor and outdoor shower which amused us, and a small swimming pool as well.
We were able to watch sunset from the roof prior to our excellent cooked and served set 3 course dinner. We were treated to some singing from the housekeeping and kitchen staff, who made their way through the restaurant singing and and dancing as they went.It was all very jolly.
We went on the desert elephant trekking, and were rewarded with a good siting group of 9 female/calves in the river bed. Doro Nawas is a strong contender for our favourite lodge that we visited." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia
"Doro Nawas review"
The staff were extremely helpful, and although offered their own tours reminded us that as we were self drive we could do the excursions easily ourselves.
I particularly liked the culture of responsible tourism and how the community own part of the lodge. Highly recommended." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia
"The dreadful Doro Nawas"
Rooms were nice except for 2 things: first, ours faced west and started to get sunshine by lunchtime so it was too hot to sit on the verandah or even back in the room and the place was therefore very hot at night. Facing East would have been such a nice thing.
Secodly, as a group of 4 we got 2 adjoining tents, which was fine, except that Wilderness had decided to save money on plumbing and put the toilets for the 2 tents adjacent to each other separated only by a window in the canvas! Quite a surprise to walk into your toilet to see your friend through the gauze window!
Manageress did not have a clue about looking after guests and the staff were not well trained, though pleasant. When we arrived we were given what seemed to be the standard half hour lecture on the lodge and what we could and couldn't do - before we were allowed to go to our rooms. On the second evening, they had lit several fires in the dining area, on an already very hot day. Before we passed out I requested a dinner table outside and you would have thought I had asked for the lodge to be moved down the hill, it was going to be so much trouble! I noticed they let the fires die down, once they had found the windiest place to set our table!
Food: pretty bad, including a potjie with bones and gristle but no meat that we could find.
Guiding: we went on one drive on the day we arrived. had to leave 30 mins late as the manageress hadn't finished her lecture, but were charged in full. The guide was very pleasant but had not guided here before and had received no training, so could not identify birds or vegetation." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia
"Doro Nawas review"
Enjoyed everything about our stay here except for the night we decided to wheel our bed out and sleep under the stars...when I was stung by a scorpion. I didn't have any medical treatment in Namibia but did attend the Hospital for Tropical Diseases when we returned to the UK.
Our morning tracking desert elephants was particularly successful.....we found two families and in total 20 elephants." See all these reviews: 26n in Namibia
It’s perhaps worth noting here, for any readers, that in a case like this we would have advised these travellers to seek immediate medical advice in Namibia. Apart from any other considerations – Namibian doctors are likely to be more familiar with Namibian scorpion stings even than the excellent medics at London’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
If you are stung or bitten by a scorpion, snake or any other small creature – then in theory (and only if it can be done safely) it would be ideal to take the offending creature (alive or dead) with you to the doctor – as identifying the precise species can sometimes help with the choice of treatment.
"Southern Africa Manager"
"Doro Nawas review"
We liked the fact that the local community were involved in the business, were employed there, and it showed in their approach and the pride they took in everything about Doro Nawas.
A wonderful night sky, the staff singing after dinner, bats flying through the dining room and most of all seeing the Desert Elephants.
The best place we stayed." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia
"Doro Nawas review"
Took advantage of the early morning start Elephant game drive to see Desert Elephants despite the drivers sales pitch being "a very slim chance of seeing elephants". After about 90 minutes searching during which we'd seen a variety of other game our driver spotted a lone bull elephant about 1km away in the bush as he was driving- it was difficult to see through binoculars when stationary! The 2 4x4's then went off road to get to within a couple 100 yards away and stopped.
The elephant then cam very close and walked between the vehicles about 20 yards away. On the way back we were flagged down by a local farmer who told the driver of a family herd that had been behind his farm earlier that morning, after about 20 minutes we were lucky enough to locate a herd of about 25 animals including young calves - a wonderful experience which we wouldn't have found on our own. Well worth the extra cost." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia
"Doro Nawas review"
"Doro Nawas review"
- It would have been nice to have a quiet room with internet access (agree it should not disturb guests but if you are going to attract business people......)
-West facing room was very hot indeed at about 4pm!
- At Etosha and Serra Cafema excursions were included in the price - but not at Dowa Nawas. Why? I thought excursions were rather expensive. But the guide was very good (Richard).
But a lovely place.....and people" See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
We are able to book this lodge on a full board and activities basis (as Ongava and Serra Cafema were), however when on a self-drive, many of the attractions in this area very easily accessible in your own vehicle. Consequently we feel it is unnecessary to charge in advance for activities that you may not wish to do once you are staying at the lodge; or feel that you could have done yourself without having to pay. We generally find that our travellers perfer to book Doro Nawas on a half board basis and then buy any excursions that they want once at the lodge. This way you do not pay for any activities that you do not take. If you do book the excursions locally there is no difference in cost to if you had booked them in advance.
The one activity that we highly recommend booking in advance is an excursion to track the desert adapted elephants in this area. The sightings are good and the guides excellent. We can easily pre-book this for you and would usually recommend this.
"Southern Africa Manager"
"Doro Nawas review"
The food was generally good although one night the steaks were definitely under-cooked. We were a little frustrated waiting much longer than necessary for a cup of tea at breakfast time because the hot water flask was empty." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia
"Doro Nawas review"
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