Reviews of safaris to Damaraland

"We had never travelled to sub-Saharan Africa before, and found Chris McIntyre's book on Namibia a really useful starting point. Our main aim was to see zebras in Etosha (believe it or not) and the book made planning when to go very easy.

We found Expert Africa through the book. We normally book our travel independently, but decided that we would benefit from others' knowledge about Africa when booking this trip. We were limited in time, and Expert Africa did a good job of tailoring a trip to suit our aims and time constraints.

The pre-travel notes were brilliant to prepare us for what to expect.

We found the landscape in Etendeka and Etosha particularly beautiful, and saw masses of wildlife - much more than we expected. It was an incredible experience, and a huge privilege, to get so close to the wildlife in both those places, and in Okonjima.

We were well looked after everywhere we stayed - but nowhere better than Etendeka, where we found gentle, straightforward hospitality.

The driving was a bit daunting to start with on the gravel roads, but we settled into it, and were rather surprised to see tarmac again when we left Etosha! It suited us really well to be able to drive ourselves around.

Despite the relative ease of driving around, and the very comfortable places to stay, we found a real sense of quiet and wilderness in Namibia which was wonderful.

And we saw plenty of zebras." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"Superb" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"It was a great trip overall.

Namibia is very safe & comfortable country for those who want to travel independetly without a guide. You can easily travel with kids too!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

When we want to visit Africa again, I will certainly return to plan our trip with Expert Africa team. Saskia was great: very helpful & provided practical useful comments while helping us to plan our trip. Thank you Saskia!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"I can't find enough superlatives to describe the overall experience of the trip (despite the few difficulties listed in the wider feedback). In fact, even the tyre problems, listed at the begining of the document, were a part of the overall experience and have now become a signifiicant part of the 'adventure' and of the telling.

This was very well organised and the accomodation excellent. I can't thank Sabina enough.

A great trip though hard work at times. Deffinitely not a holiday for those with poolside inclinations but what an adventure.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Some additional recomendations for any one doing a similar trip at this time i.e probably wanting to see the flowers. Don't miss out a trip round the cape for wild protea. Don't miss out Kirstenbosch. On the journey north take the coast road from Cape Town and take in the West Coast National Park with the Postberg reserve. The flowers are stunning and there are also game and bird viewings to be had. The coast road is good with good tarmac. Make sure your car has a ZA sticker on the back as the Namibian police at the Orange river border will threaten to fine you if you don't get one put on at the service station just after the border.

As soon as you get into Namibia go to the service station anyway and get your type pressures checked and deflated to about 1.80 - 2.00Atm for the gravel roads or you risk having punctures." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"1. A few thoughts about the Nissan X-Trail

Almost all of the time this was an adequate and comfortable vehicle for touring Namibia. The ground clearance was quite good, the tyres were good, no punctures in 3710kms. The visibility for gameviewing and birdwatching was good. However we did take it to Terrace Bay and nearly lost traction in some of the stretches of soft sand in the final 50kms of the road up the Skeleton Coast on the way there; coming back we attacked the sand with a bit more speed and got through without a problem but we did bottom the vehicle fortunately without damage but the brakes did squeal until all the sand and gravel had worked their way out. Our advice would be not to attempt this final bit of road in anything less rugged than an X-Trail and even then care should be taken and the use of a 4x4 vehicle seriously considered.

Fuel economy was quite good and there was never a problem. We had had concerns about the lack of a fuel station at the Dolomite Camp in Western Etosha but this was not an issue. The tank capacity of an X-Trail is 65litres and we were using fuel at the rate of 1litre per 11kms, giving us a range of well over 600kms. After refuelling at Kamanjab the distnce to the Dolomite Camp was 110kms; during our two days of game viewing we travelled 259kms; the journey from Dolomite to Okaukuejo was 177kms. Thus we did 546kms before refuelling at Okaukuejo where we put 43.41litres into the tank meaning that we had at least 20litres left. We thought that this information may be of use to you if anyone else queries the range of an X-Trail and is worried about the lack of a fuel station in Western Etosha. Our opinion is that there should be no problems provided you have a good idea of the capacity and consumption of your vehicle and keep an eye on the distance you travel.

2. A few thoughts about our route.

We had a really good tour. As we had been before we had a good idea of what to expect with regard to road surfaces and the lack of other traffic, so that was fine. The distances we set ourselves to travel each day were not too far; our longest drives were from Swakopmund to Terrace Bay and from Onguma to Windhoek. Both of these were no problem after early morning starts, reaching our destinations well before 1600h. We deviated slightly from the route suggested by Sabina when we left the Damaraland Camp and went to Kamanjab on the C43 over the Grootberg Pass instead of on the C39 at the suggestion of the guides at Damaraland, they said it would be quicker, we're not sure about this but it certainly was an interesting drive. Some of the other drives we had were really spectacular.

3. The places we visited and the things we did.

Erongo was excellent, good walks, very interesting bird watching for us Europeans.
Swakopmundwe were not sure about; it has become a styllish resort which caters for a different type of holiday. We did the Welwitschia Drive and had a splendid day in the desert although it was a bit disturbing to see so much mining prospecting taking place and the transformation of Goanicontes into a camping resort is amazing. Swakopmund does now have some good shops to stock up for trips further north.
We have mentioned Terrace Bay, Damaraland and the camps in Etosha already. All gave us really memorable experiences. Overall our animal watching was very successful, We would have liked to have seen cheetahs in Etosha as we had done on our previous visits but the number of rhinos we saw and the splendid views of a leopard made up for it. We found some parts of Etosha a bit busy, particularly around Namutoni where there seemed to be quite a few large coaches making a lot of noise- not a good way to travel around Etosha and a bit disruptive for everyone else.
As well as the wildlife and rhe wonderful scenery our trip was made special by the warmth and friendliness of all the people we met. Even filling up the car becomes a social event!

And finally, of coursr, we have to thank Sabina and her colleagues for organising such a great trip. we are already our next one in our minds, maybe in 2014." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"Overall we enjoyed our trip.we had chosen to self drive for the first time and found no issues with safety, fuel stops, money etc.
The drives were long at times but the roads are really good, air con was welcome in the heat.

Namibia is a stunning destination, such spectacular scenery and amazing wildlife, this is what we came for.

Expert Africa selected some lovely lodges for us and the service provided in planning our trip with Sabina in particular was extremely helpful.
We are grateful for her help and advice and say a big thank you to those at Expert Africa for intoducing us to Namibia." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Well done expert Africa. You made life very easy.

So much to tell, not enough room." Read full review: 31 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We were worried about going to Etosha and not seeing the volume of game that you would expect in other parks with guides. How wrong we were! We had some fantastic sightings, probably helped by the safaris we had done in the past. There had been some recent bush fires, but we were very lucky that enough time had passed for the game to return. I would say that 6 nights was a good amount of time to spend (over 3 camps). We met people doing it in 1-2 nights - they were not as lucky as us in terms of sightings. We spent on average 10 hours per day in the park and were amply rewarded

There were no issues driving ourselves around.

We would definitely recommend and will return." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Our holiday was a success and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Namibia. Sabina at Expert Africa was careful to give us detailed information, answer any questions, and advise us on all aspects of our trip.

As with the earlier comment regarding our choice of vehicle, we do have a further issue with information provided in the Bradt guide which states that Namibia is an inexpensive country to visit. We are not new to Southern Africa and have previously spent time in South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. We found Namibia to be easily the most expensive country in terms of accommodation, food, guided trips and souvenirs/artefacts. Again we mention this because of the connection between the author of the Bradt guide and Expert Africa." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was wonderful and we loved Namibia. We took our 19-year-old daughter and her friend, and they barely noticed the lack of satellite TV, entertainment etc, as they were so entranced with everything we saw and did.

Sabina sorted out a great itinerary that managed to fit in everything we wanted, and we stayed in some fantastic places. Overall, the trip exceeded our expectations. The country is huge but so easy to drive yourself around, and it's almost impossible to get lost. The drives are a great part of the holiday, indeed.

We met lovely people, did so much but managed to feel very relaxed, and saw amazing scenery and more animals than we ever imagined. We felt totally away from everyday life, and had experiences we will never forget." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip