Reviews of Onduli Ridge

"We absolutely loved Onduli.

This was hands down my husbands favourite hotel of our stay. There are only 6 rooms so it's very quiet and at times you feel like you have the whole place to yourself.

The service was impeccable. The staff are so friendly and attentive, nothing is too much trouble. We enjoyed sleeping out under the stars and the pizza night and sitting by the fire. Very personal and homely.

We loved the elephant tracking, one of the highlights of our trip.

And the sunsets here are unbeatable! A really memorable stay." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"Booked Onduli Ridge in 2021. Very excited to stay at this new lodge. Ultimate Safaris has a good reputation, and Onduli was promoted as their flagship property.

Beautiful location. The rooms are very spacious, with large decks, ginormous bathrooms. All of the chalets have been built into and utilizing their surroundings, including large boulders in the bathroom. The beds move, so you can sleep out on the deck under the stars. There is a fully stocked fridge in each room.

No rains this year, and the dried out grass is from last year's rains. So, we didn't see any animals near Onduli, except two herds of goats.

We were three couples in chalets 3, 4 and 5. My husband and I were in #5 which is at the top of the hill. Amazing views of the conservancy, even from the bathroom. But, there is a large tree that blocks the views of the night sky on the deck. Our friends in #4 had to deal with construction workers staring into their chalet and we all had to listen to constant banging the afternoon we arrived. #4 is also at ground level, and one of the guides told us they found a zebra snake in that room. We spoke to the camp management about the construction workers and they promised the workers would not be working whenever we were in camp.

We stayed three nights so we could do the rhino tracking. Bit of a misnomer. We drove around for 3 hours looking for the Namibian police officer (Rooster). He and the rhino rangers had located a black rhino and her calf. We drove up a rocky hillside and parked. Walked maybe 50 meters and looked across a valley at the rhinos, probably 500+ yards away. I was expecting to actually be tracking the rhinos, having the guide show us what to look for when tracking. At a minimum, a little hike. What we didn't know was that we were expected to tip Rooster and the rhino rangers. I didn't have any money with me. We gathered our tip monies later and gave to our guide to give to them. Just would have been good to know in advance.

The second morning we got up early and drove over an hour near the Aba-Huab river. Our guide found 25+ desert adapted elephants. Because we requested to go earlier in the morning, we did have some time with them before half a dozen other vehicles showed up. There are a number of lodges on the conservancy, all going to the same place to look for these animals. We then found a giraffe, steenbok, lots of ostriches, a bull elly and springbok.

That afternoon we went to see the rock drawings at Twelfelfontein. Very interesting activity. A must see. Our local guide was Elizabeth and she was knowledgeable and informative.

We come back to banging and construction work. Seriously! So, went and sat by the pool.

Next to the pool is the sundowner boma. Gorgeous views across the plains and rocky outcroppings. Nice opportunity to meet the other guests at the lodge.

The food is outstanding - from breakfast to dinner. Tons of food. They found out we were from a wine producing region in the US, and organized a wine tasting and food pairing in the wine cellar. Our host went to a lot of work to put this together, and we all enjoyed it. Our last night was pizza night. We all sat outside in the firepit boma. You picked your toppings and the chef made the pizza in the outdoor oven.

The day we arrived and the next day (rhino day) we did not have any afternoon or early evening activity, and the morning we left there was no activity. I'm used to staying at lodges that have at least two if not three activities every day, including the day of arrival and departure. They did have e-bikes, but you must go with a guide. So, there was a lot of down time.

A few suggestions:

1) They provide paint supplies in each room. Maybe have a desert landscape painting class.

2) As mentioned before, a tracking safari where the guide instructs us on tracks, what to be looking for. How to tell the tracks of different animals apart.

3) A talk about the conservancy. How are the communal lands managed? How does the conservancy generate monies from the lodges/tourism. What projects are going on at the conservancy.

4) Visit to the Damara Living Museum.

Beautiful lodge. Friendly staff. Loki was a great guide. Just need to figure out some additional activities for guests, especially since there are so few animals to see in the area. And, when you commit to not having the construction work going on while guests are in the camp during the day, then that commitment needs to be met." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia

"What a fantastic design, the rooms are literally built wrapped around the beautiful red round rocks in the Namibia desert. If you do not mind a few steps, for sure request room 5 for the most open view. Each night we slept under the astounding stars as the beds roll out to the deck, what a luxury. The solar e-bike through the sand was a fun adventure. The visit to see the rock carvings at Twyfelfontein was super interesting. Good crafts market there. The journey to the Rhino reserve was long and rocky. The effort and enthusiasm protect the rhinos was the highlight and we did see a mother and calf at a distance. The trip up the Aba Huab Valley was so amazing, we saw 3 generations of and elephant family playing! The food was excellent. We took a swim in the pool with the most amazing view. The staff were so warm and welcoming. Perfect spot to "de-jet lag"" See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"Near perfection. Beautiful rooms in a spectacular setting. T

he staff were fantastic, as was the food.

Sunsets were magical." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia