Reviews of Okaukuejo Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
669 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Okaukuejo Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

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"Okaukuejo Camp review"
There are a few forms to fill out at check in. Luckily we were 2nd in line, as a large queue formed in the office as we waited. There is a separate line for check in and for park fees, so I quickly sorted the fees and bought a map of the park from the shop across the way whilst Alexa queued whilst the group in front of us finished checking in. There are now signs around the site requesting that cards are used over cash for payments, although you can still use both. You need to purchase credit vouchers to use the wifi, so we did not bother.
We also found the food in the evenings to be absolutely fine, albeit a very limited menu, (chicken, beef or Hake with veg) and the service was good. This may have just been a matter of timing - as we sat down various patrons at other tables were getting very angry and were demanding to be allowed to order or chasing up where their food was. I should also say for for the interests of balance, these same patrons then painstakingly went through said v short menu, asking ridiculous questions.
Our waitress took our order promptly, and the food itself did not take very long to arrive. Breakfast had cold options such as yoghurts, meat, cheeses, fruit salad and cereals laid out, as well as bread / toast with a choice of a few condiments. There is also a hot trolley with bacon, beans and sausages + scrambled egg, and a chef on hand to cook omelettes etc . A tea and coffee station is always available to use (as long as a jolly dutchman does not mistake the milk urn for a teapot, and chuck in a few teabags before realising his mistake and sidling off!) We arrived back for breakfast (06.30-09.30) at about 09.20 from a game drive both mornings, which gave us enough time to eat all we wanted at a leisurely pace before it was cleared away.
The room is alright, but the decor was looking a little tired in places. It has a large bed and mosquito nets, air conditioning and an en suite. It also has a small kitchenette with fridge, kettle, sink and hob + a small sofa and coffee table. We did have an issue with the flush on our toilet, which we reported straight away after we arrived. Someone did come out and attend to it whilst we were on an afternoon game drive, but it never fully worked for the entirety of our stay. This didn't really bother us too much, as there were other blocks of toilets nearby that we could use, or we were out on game drives anyway. The rooms closest to the waterhole look newer, larger, and more luxurious, so future guests could try to get into one of these if they are worried about the standards of the rooms in general.
The staff did not ask about any itinerary of items when we checked out, but we had taken some picture of the room when we arrived and leaving just in case. Check out was a very simple process. We also filled up with fuel here just before checking out. The card machine here had temporarily stopped working, but they seemed to have plenty of fuel for guests. There is a new petrol station about 5km south of the Anderson gate outside the park." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

Black Rhino
5 sightings

Elephant
3 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Lion
4 sightings

Oryx
10 sightings

Spotted Hyena
2 sightings

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
The roads away from the entrance road are terrible." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia

Black Rhino
5 sightings

Elephant
3 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Lion
2 sightings

Oryx
10 sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

White Rhino
1 sighting

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
Good large piece of beef for R250 one night and chicken breast with vegetables including marrow the following night R220. Breakfasts no change queue for fry up of eggs or omelette as before, but no fruit with yoghurt (we spoke to a waitress we knew from dinner and resolved this issue). Shop fairly empty in time for a stock take the next day!
Bush chalet fine as previously. Less activity at the waterhole in the evening, excluding rhinos who are consistent visitors most of five at once.
Only two bull elephants over the two evenings. In fact a lot fewer elephants seen in this part of the park.
One male lion appeared on the second evening after roaring his presence on the way in." See all these reviews: 7n in Namibia; 5n in South Africa

Black Rhino
4 sightings

Elephant
2 sightings

Giraffe
8 sightings

Lion
2 sightings

Oryx
6 sightings

Wildebeest
7 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
The room we were booked into was basic and really hot, we weren't given the option by Sabina to book a waterhole chalet.
The buildings all have tiled roofs rather than being thatched, which makes them feel like hot boxes.
We were glad it was only a one night stay" See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia

Black Rhino
10 sightings

Elephant
2 sightings

Giraffe
6 sightings

Lion
2 sightings

Oryx
10 sightings

Roan antelope
2 sightings

Spotted Hyena
2 sightings

White Rhino
2 sightings

Wildebeest
7 sightings

Zebra
7 sightings
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
The dinner that we had was fine, despite some negative reviews that I had come across. We even saw two rhinos by the waterhole in the evening after dinner.
Despite the basic accommodation, I was very happy to have included this camp in our itinerary.
The wifi connection was an issue but for just one night, it was acceptable, especially as I was warned about it before the trip." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

Eland
1 sighting

Elephant
2 sightings

Giraffe
1 sighting

Oryx
1 sighting

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

White Rhino
1 sighting

Wildebeest
1 sighting

Zebra
1 sighting
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
[Ed: Comment on Namutoni was:
"Having visited Etosha a number of times in past years we found the food offering in all government camps never particularly good but in this visit all the camps catering standard has diminished to an all time low.
Limited choice, poor quality and often served cold - so be prepared !"]" See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia

Black Rhino
Multiple sightings

Eland
Multiple sightings

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Oryx
Multiple sightings

White Rhino
Multiple sightings

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
The numbers and variety of game is just unrivalled. I stayed up the first night and saw 15 black rhino and at one point there were 7 in the water itself.
The food is OK but that is not why you are there.
We went on a night drive and saw a black rhino with a week old youngster. In truth, it was a little disappointing. The driver had to drive and spot at the same time and that seemed very difficult." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

Black Rhino
Multiple sightings

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Oryx
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

White Rhino
1 sighting

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Okaukuejo Camp Post Covid Sept 2022"
The highlights of this stop for us were driving through the park in our own vehicle (we saw lots of wildlife) and the water hole at the camp itself where we were fortunate to see a herd of elephants and later black rhino and giraffe." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

Black Rhino
9 sightings

Brown Hyena
2 sightings

Eland
7 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Lion
3 sightings

Oryx
10 sightings

Roan antelope
1 sighting

Sable antelope
1 sighting

Spotted Hyena
6 sightings

White Rhino
1 sighting

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
Checking in and out was very quick. There were no problems with credit cards at reception, the restaurant, the shop or the fuel station. In fact, there are signs encouraging the use of these.
Our room was big and had all that we needed, but, as has been the case for some time, everything from the towels to the benches by the waterhole are in need of repair or replacement.
The buffet dinner has been replaced by “a la carte”, their words, not ours. This means grilled beef, lamb, chicken, pork or fish (a choice of 3 each night) and assorted basic desserts, that rapidly run out. We weren't surprised that this didn't work very smoothly. Guests are meant to book for dinner, but this certainly doesn’t guarantee a table. On the first night we waited half an hour for a drink and an hour for our food, which was cold; that was was good compared to the two hour wait for another couple! We were told the delays were because there was no more cutlery ……. Luckily, things improved, though probably because we decided to go for dinner early.
Breakfast is self-service and works much better. The food isn't top-notch, but it's perfectly acceptable.
Braiis are outside most rooms, but there are no cooking utensils in the rooms and there is not a steady stock of meat - or anything in the shop - so this isn't really an option.
Okaukuejo is just what it is. However, the reason for being here is the abundance of wildlife. Within half an hour of our first visit to Okaukuejo's waterhole, we had seen 70 elephants. Once dark, 6 rhinos arrived. The waterhole is busy all the time and you could, as we often did, sit all day and see a vast variety and number of animals. I wouldn't visit Namibia without coming here." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 7n in South Africa

Black Rhino
4 sightings

Brown Hyena
3 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Oryx
10 sightings

White Rhino
2 sightings

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
The waterhole by the camp is what makes this place so special, and we had to pull ourselves away from it. Thankfully most of the observers from the camp viewing area were quiet, especially at night, as I had read they could be a bit noisy and detract from the experience, but apart from the odd person who seemed incapable of whispering most people were respectful of the big beasts on the other side of the wall.
One of the black rhino sightings listed below was of no less than 12 animals at the Okaukuejo camp waterhole, starting with six at 8.00pm and then more appearing from the dark - there was much gentle interaction and a little bit of pushing, and several led down for a sleep for 20 minutes.
A herd of 28 elephant visited this waterhole at midday one day, with many young ones amongst them, rolling in the water and generally having a good time, and they were frequent visitors in smaller numbers at other times. We saw four lionesses one night at the Okaukuejo waterhole, one of which chased off a spotted hyena." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia

Black Rhino
4 sightings

Elephant
8 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Lion
3 sightings

Oryx
10 sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
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