Reviews of Safarihoek Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
36 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Safarihoek Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Safarihoek Lodge review"
This reserve, with a landscape that does not really resembles Etosha NP proper, was a pleasant surprise. Although the camp is easily accessible by self-drivers they do not drive through the reserve themselves but participate in the guided activities.
We came here for one major reason, namely that this park features white and black rhinos. And indeed, we saw both of these species several times, thanks largely to the perseverance of our guide Ramon. Besides seeing all the usual suspects, such as springbok, blue wildebeest, zebras and giraffes, we also had several nice encounters with a coalition of three male lions, and on our second day here, we had an experience that we never had before. On a drive to the western boundary of the reserve we encountered a pride of lions consisting of several adult females, 2 grown-up males, several subadults and 2 cubs, altogether there were like 8 or 9 lions. The males stayed pretty much in the background, but they roared ferociously. The animal closest to us was an adult female next to an adolescent male. Even we could sense that the female was not too happy to see us. She just stood there and gave us a scrutinizing look. After 3 or 4 minutes, she and then the whole rest of the pride decided to turn the tables and they started to chase us! Ramon, our guide, immediately started the engine and got us the hell out of there: First, he drove in reverse (luckily those Toyota Landcruisers appear to be much faster than regular sedans) and then did a 180 degree turn. We and the other two guests in the vehicle were quite eager to hear what he had to say about this.
Well, since he never saw this pride of lions before, he guessed that they probably just moved in from Etosha, and he assumed that they most likely had a bad experience with cars recently. To me that made sense, because according to him, there were rangers operating in the area to protect the resident rhino population. These rangers might not have shown the lions the proper respect, who knows. And now, this was their act of retribution, and Ramon was not convinced that this was just a mock charge. As scary as that might have been it did not prevent us from seeking out lions during the rest of our trip.
I would like to mention another commendable fact: Our guide Ramon consistently managed to position the vehicle in such a way that I could photograph the animals at eye level (rather than from above).
The rooms, the amenities, the service and the food in this camp were all very good if not excellent. But this is not our priority when traveling to Africa. We don’t come here for good food or luxury accommodation, but for encounters with animals and people." See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia; 15n in Botswana
"Safarihoek Lodge review"
Mike our guide was without a doubt the highlight of Safarihoek. In all our previous trips across southern Africa we never met anyone like him. His enthusiasm was energizing, knowledge exceptional and his humour ever present. Because Etosha Heights is a private reserve, the possibilities for game drives are greater than in Etosha. I'd like to highlight two:
On the first one we came across two black rhinos in the distance. Mike however wanted us to experience the beautiful animals a little closer. Long story short; we ended up just a few metres from these usually shy and potentially agressive animals (a mother and a calf). Totally at ease they let themselves be observed for at least 15 minutes without ever being disturbed. It might have been something to do with Mike talking to just about every animal and showing them respect in his own unique way.
On the second one we spotted two large male lions and decided to stay with them for a couple of minutes. These lions started roaring, which in itself is pretty impressive, but even more so when a third one answered. These three lions teamed up, started walking and decided to take over the territory of a fourth one. We followed the three brothers for a long time (luckily we already had a night drive with Mike planned) and at one time we lost track of them. Eventually they appeared behind us unexpectedly, which was quite an adrenaline boost. It never came to a confrontation (they scared the one away) and the lions just kept walking and roaring, marking their new territory once in a while. Probably a once in a lifetime experience, even Mike hadn't witnessed this before. It was the longest and most exciting game drive we ever had.
Of course, our Safarihoek experience is coloured by these experiences and the fact that we were the only ones. Still; the staff, the park and the conservation philosophy behind it all are great assets and definitely make us want to go back." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia
"Safarihoek Lodge review"
Stunning rooms and luxurious lobby as well as the pool
Wonderful food and really really professional service
Beautiful view of a cistern (sic meaning waterhole) a bit far away but a lovely view
We went out for evening and morning activities with more professional guidance
We located black rhinos, lions, chitas (sic meaning cheetah) during action and much more
The order included epilene all inclusive of laundry we received with a good smell" See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia
"Safarihoek Lodge review"
Very convenient location and great view from rooms overlooking watering hole. Good value property though the rooms and main lodge felt quite sterile.
Some outstanding Rhino viewing very close to the lodge.
Etosha heights is not the greatest landscape but allows for excellent game viewing." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia
"Amazing!!!!"
The photo hide is fabulous – loads of animals (including lions, elephants and sable antelope). Our guide, Michael, was amazing. He was incredibly knowledgeable, had amazing eyes, and was a fountain of interesting information. He was also very personable and it was a joy to be guided by him. He also knew exactly where to position the jeep to get the best light for photography.
Our sightings of elephants and black rhino here were simply incredible." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia
"A Little Disapointed Until the Lion Sighting"
The front gate didn't have our details so there were slight delays getting in when we first arrived. Check-in was quick but there was very little information provided. We were not provided with details of game drive so had to actively enquire about these. Dinner quality was ok but serving size was very small. Restaurant as so big there was no atmosphere.
All the negatives however, were compensated by the game drive. The guide was fantastic and spotted a black rhino and her baby. In the morning there were 4 lions viewed at the watering hole from our room. A little while later a male lion was spotted and a guide took guests on an impromptu drive to get a closer look, this was fantastic and much appreciated.
I think this is possibly usually a very good hotel and we just had a bad timing re: the service (which wasn't bad, just did not meet our expectations, lion drive aside)." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia
"Safarihoek Lodge review"
Our room was amazing and we felt very pampered here.
The game drive was fine when our private driver took us but the driver that was provided by the lodge was poor. He appeared to think that he was in a formula 1 race (we had 2 such drives with him). Quite honestly we felt unsafe and certainly uncomfortable with him. We know that other guests in the same vehicle felt the same." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia
"Amazing"
Tea and cakes and then off on the 16.30 Afternoon Game Drive with Grevin - huge number of animals: Springbok, Oryx, Waterbuck, Giraffe, Zebra, Kudu, Elephant, Steenbok & Black Rhino. Followed by a sun-downer!
06.30 - Game Drive (wrapped up well) - White Rhino, Lion and a brilliant close-up of the dexterity of elephants.
16.30 - another Afternoon Game Drive with a wealth of birds and other wildlife. Grevin did us proud!
Lovely food and personally looked after by Titus who was very attentive. Felt very special.." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia
"Better than Etosha National Park."
We were really hoping to see Elepants as we hadn't found any in Etosha. Teek tracked them by following dung and tree damage and surely enough we crept up upon a herd of 10 elephants including 2 calves feeding on acacia. The private reserve seemed to us to contain lots more wildlife than Etosha and we also had incredible close up encounters with Black Rhino (mum and baby) zebra, giraffe, moongoose, honey badgers, African Wildcat, you name it.
The lodge itself is quite modern and overlooks the vast reserve. We shared it with just a group of Italians. It deserves to do well and if wildliife is your thing, this is your place." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia
"Safarihoek stay"
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