Reviews of Halali Camp
(79%) From 306 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Better room than Okaukuejo
As for Okaukuejo - if you decide to stay in Eotsha, then you stay in the three rest camps or nowhere. The family room we had here was better than the two adjoining doubles we had in Okaukuejo and the self catering faciltiies were better - albeit still at the kettle and fridge only level.
It is a smaller place than the other two camps and less affected by tour buses and overland trucks. However, there is a slight paucity of good waterholes nearby
Halali Restcamp review
The accommodation exceeded our expectations and our game viewing was first class.
The shop at the camp was inadequately stocked for anybody wanting to enjoy a picnic lunch.
The evening meal buffet would have been repetitive for anything beyond a 2 night stay.
ok
Camping very dusty, but this is to be expected. Nice facilities for camping. However, the camp site was only about 1/4 full yet they assigned us all sites right next to each other. Not too impressed with this! If they spread us out there is less noise issues and less dust issues. Seems like a simple change that would make the camping so much nicer.
We didn't notice any of this, maybe they have it but if so, they need to promote it. When we were in Kruger each camp had a set of activities you could sign up for. Such as night drives, day drives (which I think Etosha does have this) but they also had bush walks and guided mtn biking on game trails, which gave us some of the best experiences we had while in South Africa. These are very good ideas!
Halali Restcamp review
Despite the commendation in Bradt, I thought this was a little disappointing. We had to change chalets after the first night and were promised this would all be done by their staff while we were out. But in the event we had to take all our luggage to Reception and pick it up later in the day.
The chalets were well designed but one had no sitting out chairs; the other no kind of table in the living room. Towel rails in both chalets either fell off the wall or threatened to do so. On the other hand the restaurant was pleasant and the food good.
We visited their waterhole on 4 different occasions but saw very few animals - night or day. But it is a good enough base for drives outside the camp, where there is plenty of game. (We were unable to book Namatoni, which was the preferred option)
Halali Restcamp review
The chalet at Halali was double the size of the waterhole chalet at Okaukuejo and very relaxing. The waterhole at Halali was, not surprisingly a little disapointing after Okaukuejo.
The best waterhole outside the camp was probably Rietfontein.
Lovely quiet waterhole in middle of Etosha
Halali was very good, much better appointed than we expected with good service and a very good meal in the restaurant.
The waterhole is a little quieter than Okaukuejo but still worth time sitting in the evening, we saw a lovely family of elephant drinking.
Halali Restcamp review
Of all the restcamps, this is the one that has been refurbished the most appropriately, with good rooms of a reasonable size, not overdone like Namutoni, and with easy access.
Food and service still leave a lot to be desired, and with no shop to speak of to even buy something for a picnic lunch, we recommend taking an early breakfast before the gates open, and taking a carryout from there of cold meats, cheese, eggs etc.
Night safari at Halali
We had a bit of an adventure here - or at least, on the way here. Our rental car broke down in the middle of the park and we had to get a lift to Halali Restcamp. The manager here was exceptionally helpful and professional in helping us out of our predicament - namely, stuck in the park with no car. He helped us to arrange delivery of a new car the following morning, and in the meantime had our car towed back to Okaukuejo. His staff also retrieved our luggage from the boot of our car and brought it to our room for us.
The room itself was fine, they are stand-alone buildings and quite spacious, with a small kitchen and sitting room. The food here was fine as well, nothing spectacular but then unlike the other private lodges, this place is open to the public during the day as it's inside the park. The waterhole is definitely worth a visit here! One of the highlights of our trip was seeing a family of four (!) rhino visiting the waterhole in the evening. Very exciting.
We went for a night game drive here, which overall we found slightly disappointing, but worth the trip nevertheless. The driver had a lot on his plate - driving the big 4x4, giving a running commentary, and directing the lamp to try to spot the animals. We did see a lion, and a hyena, bat-eared fox, hares and a couple of other animals, but overall we found it rather expensive.
Two things would have made the night safari better - firstly, if the driver had been accompanied by a separate guide. That way, the driver could concentrate on the road while the guide used the lamp to spot animals. Secondly, it would have added to the sense of adventure if we had gone down some roads that aren't normally accessible to the public, rather than staying on the same roads we had been driving on during the day. However, the guide made a good effort to explain a lot of things to us about the animals and geology of Etosha pan.
Halali Restcamp review
We were extremely pleased with the quality of the Bush Chalet at Halali. The accommodation was spacious, comfortable and had air conditioning. Food was very good.
The waterhole offers excellent opportunities to spot animals - we were lucky enough to spot 7 rhinos and 2 hyenia in one evening!
Halali Restcamp review
This place was a lot better than the previous Etosha restcamp. I thought the room was much better and more attractive. The layout was better, it was much lighter and brighter. The food here was also an improvement and marginally cheaper so we ate at the restaurant both nights.
The service at the front desk was better than the previous etosha restcamp but it was not particulary good and there seemed to be a few unhappy guests queing up to complain about something in their room. The pool area was good here but with only about 5 sunloungers around a very large pool, you had to lie on the hard concrete to relax.
