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

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"Ongava Lodge review"

Black Rhino
Multiple sightings

Eland
1 sighting

Elephant
4 sightings

Giraffe
3 sightings

Oryx
5 sightings

White Rhino
3 sightings

Wildebeest
6 sightings

Zebra
7 sightings
"Wonderful staff"
The rest of the staff were all superb and I am sorry we do not remember all the names but there was literally not one person who we would not rate as superior.
We did two excursions here, both with Kapona. The first one was a sundowner in the Ongava reserve which was very nice and we had several white rhino sightings.
The next one was a morning safari into Etosha and it seemed Kapona had lost interest. His demeanor was lackluster and he did not seem very interested in seriously trying to find game - we had no sightings on this excursion.
Delemina had prepared a very nice coffee serving with Amarula which he did not even offer up until we were almost back at the lodge." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia

White Rhino
7 sightings

Wildebeest
10 sightings
"Ongava Lodge review"
Camp staff is super friendly and polite, albeit service can be a little slow - which for guests leaving, is not helpful.
Excursions to Etosha park are very easy - as Ongawa lodge is literally next to one of the park entrances.
Lodge offers morning game drives in Etosha that are quite pricey - if you have a vehicle, it is best to drive yourself as the park has very well signposted routes.
Ongawa Lodge also charges for game drives in the reserve, these can quickly add up.
We visited at the end of a particularly rainy season so grasses were very tall and vegetation dense. We were still able to see lots of rhinos, elephants, giraffes and the larger antelopes.
There is an interesting exhibition about Ongawa Reserve and conservation efforts at the Andersen's Camp - we discovered this by accident and it is well worth a visit - maybe this can be better advertised by the staff in other lodges within the private reserve." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia

Black Rhino
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Lion
8 sightings

Spotted Hyena
3 sightings

White Rhino
10 sightings

Wildebeest
10 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Ongava Lodge review"
Set in a reserve that feels like a tiny bit of paradise, the lodge itself is extremely comfortable. The staff went out of their way to ensure we had everything we asked for.
The food was delicious. Walking to our cabins every night with an armed guard was a fun new experience, but in fact we never felt unsafe. We stayed at Ongava Lodge over New Year, and loved the efforts the staff made to ensure we had a fun New Year's Eve party.
Our guide Teacher was so knowledgable, and seemed to know the area backwards - we were blown away by the numerous animals we saw: elephants with babies, elephants swimming, lions, white rhinos with babies, but also zebra, wildebeest, antelopes of all types and sizes, warthogs, ostriches, guinea fowl, mongoose, hyraxes.
Teacher took us rhino tracking on foot, which was a unique way to experience the African bush and highly recommended.
We also visited the Discovery Centre and again highly recommend this, as it gave us a comprehensive insight into the Namibian environment and wild life." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
4 sightings

Lion
5 sightings

Oryx
5 sightings

White Rhino
9 sightings

Wildebeest
7 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Ongava Lodge review"
You could walk to the Hide which was great.
Lovely pool." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia

Black Rhino
2 sightings

Eland
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Lion
5 sightings

Oryx
10 sightings

White Rhino
1 sighting

Zebra
7 sightings
"Ongava Lodge review"
We spent a lot of time at the hide where we observed the steady close-up coming-and-going of numerous antelopes, elephants, giraffes and rhinos.
When we weren't in the hide watching animals, we could see them from our dining room perch over the waterhole.
Our on-foot trek to find a couple of rhinos was among the highlights.
Staff and guides were excellent. The room and our deck were perfect." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

Brown Hyena
Multiple sightings

Cheetah
Multiple sightings

Eland
Multiple sightings

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Leopard
Multiple sightings

Oryx
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

White Rhino
Multiple sightings

Wildebeest
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Ongava Lodge review"
We didn't find the part of Etosha we could access from Ongava as interesting as what we were able to see from Hobatere, although it was certainly still an amazing place to visit. At Ongava we went on a morning nature walk with a guide aptly named Teacher, from whom we learned a lot, and also on an afternoon wildlife drive with another excellent guide, this one named Salalthiel.
We enjoyed the general feeling and ambience of Ongava, and the pool, and the deck with the view of the watering hole. However, perhaps the very best thing about Ongava was the viewing hide. We went down our first evening and were able to watch black rhinoceroses interacting around the hole. Another day we just hung out in the hide from 7 until about 12:30. I made a list of all the animals we saw, not including birds (and we saw about 8 new species of those). Here's that list:
1 Duiker
Jackal
Another duiker
10? kudu - no very mature males
4 zebras
24 impala
10 zebras
11 kudus
3 male impalas
7 impalas
1 springbok +3 more
Mature male kudu
3 male impala
5 male impala + 1 more
3 springbok + 1 more
6 Female kudu
2 springbok
1 male springbok
4 male impala, 1 very mature
1 male impala
1 male springbok
3 springboks
1 male African elephant + another
Mom and 2 young warthogs
7 male impalas including young ones
1 male and 2 female impalas
It was amazing to be able to just sit in the shade, so close to the hole and watch all these animals come and go. It is such a dry and barren-looking place, but obviously teeming with life. Later, as we watched from the deck over lunch, we saw the parade continue, and the elephants return.
Mammals and reptiles we saw at Ongava included:
Black rhino, Duiker, Ovambo Tree Skink, Cape skink, warthogs, Terrapin, kudus, springboks, steenboks, jackals, impalas, elephants, rock hyrax, klipspringers, giraffes, plains zebras, red hartebests and wildebeests." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

Black Rhino
3 sightings

Elephant
4 sightings

Giraffe
4 sightings

Oryx
Multiple sightings

White Rhino
1 sighting

Wildebeest
1 sighting

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Ongava Lodge review"

Black Rhino
1 sighting

Brown Hyena
1 sighting

Eland
1 sighting

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Oryx
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Wildebeest
1 sighting

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Ongava Lodge review"
We were tired here and decided to stay at the lodge and spent several hours in the hide where the game came to us!
Very good staff, and lovely food." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

Black Rhino
6 sightings

Oryx
6 sightings
"Ongava Lodge review"
Set on a kopje overlooking its own enormous game park bordering Etosha, it has fabulous views, great staff, a swimming pool with great views and dassies in the surrounding rocks (that drink from the pool when no one is swimming) and it’s own incredible water hole." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia

Black Rhino
Multiple sightings

Eland
Multiple sightings

Roan antelope
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
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