Reviews of safaris to NamibRand Nature Reserve

"Fantastic!

Highly recommend." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip was excellent and our expectations were not only met but exceeded. We enjoyed the varying landscapes, the animals and the people.

The trip, which we requested at the very last minute, was superbly organised. From the time of my initial contact, all requests/queries were handled in a timely helpful manner. All the components (fly, drive, transfers) fitted together well and all connections/transfers went smoothly.

The only changes we would have made are those that could only have been made with hindsight!

So again, thank you very much Maruska and Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: These are very minor suggestions and comments and are made purely to try and be helpful.

(1) An explanation off what one can expect in relation to meals when your accommodation is on a full board basis and you arrive around lunchtime. Our first full board accommodation was at Canyon Lodge and we arrived at lunch time. We were greeted with some information about the facilities and times for dinner and breakfast, but no indication of whether there was any lunch available or whether we were entitled to lunch. Subsequent enquires resulted in us being directed to the dining room.

At a later lodge, we realised that we could have had lunch even though we arrived early in the afternoon but had already had lunch just in case.

(2) If people are doing an overnighter at Cheetah View Lodge it would be good to know that the cheetah feeding is at 2 o'clock, which is the only time that this is held, is also included in the cost of the accommodation i.e. so that if possible you would make sure you got there in time for that. The other paid activities did not seem to be good value. I did note that on EA's notes of this lodge, that it EA thought that there needed to be a better integration of activities with the overnight experience, and we agree.

(3) I think that Hyena Pan did include laundry facilities.

I apologise if I should have known some of these things. I did look up all the accommodations on your website (which I thought was most extensive and the reason I choose the company initially), and make notes before our trip, but possibly I missed bits.

We wish that the tipping thing could be made easier. Australia does not have a tipping culture and so it always comes as a surprise and what seems like a lot of extra money on top of what are not insubstantial costs, at least in some places. While were tried to follow the guidelines, sometimes we were caught out when guides changed or we had an extra guide.

It is impossible to single out 'other' people, other than guides and polers for example, as there are always people behind the that contribute to your enjoyment and comfort on a trip." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"Provided a very well researched and considered experience for the four of us. Good variety of activities and accommodation. All transport and connections worked well. Maruska went to a lot of trouble to design a good trip for us at short notice. Would certainly recommend Expert Africa." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"This was such a wonderful trip. Namibia is beautiful, the people are so friendly, and so much wildlife!

We rented an SUV and drove in a big loop around the country alternating driving days and exploring days, staying in nice lodges. Expert Africa did an awesome job organizing the trip for us. I had been worried about driving so much on gravel roads in isolated places, but everything worked out great. Being well prepared helped -- and Expert Africa helped a lot in that respect.

We enjoyed meeting the other guests at the lodges. The landscape is so incredibly beautiful. And we saw more wildlife than we could have imagined.

One of our best trips ever!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"This trip exceeded our expectations and indeed blew them out of that water. This was high bar to set as we had travelled to the Galapagos Islands last year and had the the most amazing adventure.

It is horses for courses but for someone who adores remote raw landscape and tries to get to places relatively untouched by human interference Namibia delivered. We felt so welcomed by all the people we did meet who in most circumstances were going above and beyond their job descriptions and genuinely cared about showing us their country in the best possible light. I hope it remains a difficult country to travel in and the creeping influx of tick box tourists is held at bay.

Were appalled by some of the behaviour we witnessed of folk who clearly didn't appreciate the country for what it is. How difficult it is and how hard people work to provide what we thought were amazing facilities under challenging circumstances." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"This trip was so different, but so special for us.

We had never self-driven anywhere while on vacation, so this was a first. It allowed us to see the country in a different way. There is so much to do in Namibia, and we wish we could have stayed longer & seen more, but that just gives us a reason to come back.

Expert Africa continued to provide amazing service, on this, our third trip with them." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Well organized trip; it was easy to communicate with our agent Josh when it was bit hard at first to find the right accommodation in the desired sequence due to non availability at some lodges, but Josh came up with a great alternative that exceeded our expectations while staying there.

Once in Namibia everything went smoothly and we enjoyed our stays at Desert Homestead Outpost, Wolwedans Dunes Lodge and the Strand Hotel very much." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"Trip was great as can be read on the comments/reviews. I have learnt a lot and would definitely change a few things next time; particularly the sequencing of how everything was planned. Also it got a little travel hectic at times which kind of effected the flow of things. For example flying from Sossusvlei Desert Lodge to Windhoek, then transferring to Johannesburg, waking up at 3am, flying to lusaka, then transferring to Chongwe was not that fun, also i would have chosen Luwi or Nsolo (dependent on who I'm traveling with) for 3 nights rather then split them up, we ended up spending 1 night in Luwi (after our full day travel from Chongwe), 1 night on the sleep out and technically we were meant to stay 1 night at Nsolo before moving to Chinzombo. So the combination of the traveling from Sossusvlei with the bush camp split up meant that we were frequently in transit. Not that big of a deal but would definitely mellow it out a little. Perhaps i should have chosen closer more connected neighboring countries and focused on staying a places for more then one night. We got on 15 different flights from leaving home to returning, so you could imagine that we got over it. Also learnt how much i prefer being isolated rather then being with other game drive lodge vehicles. As mentioned earlier, it was a shame that i didn't end up seeing many cats, nature told me otherwise, one of the main considerations of choosing the destination was based on my obsession for lions an well as my mission in working a conservation program to protect them. Happy to have meet with the Zambian carnivore project team. That was fantastic, i'm glad we ended up linking before we left. Now ready to plan my next escape." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"Nothing was too much trouble for Sabina in researching and planning this itinerary for a party of 10 photographers. All the arrangements worked very smoothly throughout the trip.

The whole African Experience was greatly enhanced by the quality of the locations where we stayed and the stunning lodges and camps.

Thank you so much - your efforts and knowledge have been greatly appreciated." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"All the arrangements made by Expert Africa went very smoothly and without a single hitch. Most of the accommodation and the friendliness of the service proved to be of a very high standard indeed (most notably Bagatelle Kalahari, Nest Hotel, Wolwedans, Ongava and Mushara lodges). The only locations where the standard was less than satisfactory were Central Lodge and particularly Olive Grove in Klein Windhoek.

The maps and guide books provided prior to the trip were invaluable and very comprehensive.

Although not organised through you, the flights with South African Airlines proved to be very comfortable indeed with plenty of leg room." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip