Reviews of safaris to Okonjima Nature Reserve

"This is my second time travelling with Expert Africa and I have recommended you to a number of friends and colleagues since my first trip in 2016 and again since returning from Namibia last week.

Everything was just wonderful and people were so welcoming. I appreciated the varied landscapes, accommodations and experiences. We had such a variety and number of animal sightings - over 800 zebra in total, for example, and a mother cheetah with four cubs (a first for me). The 11 black rhino in one evening at the Okaukuejo waterhole was an experience I will remember forever. Despite the challenging roads in places, travelling around Namibia did not feel difficult, but a privilege.

I also appreciated the detailed notes about driving times and roads to take (though a couple of our driving times didn't seem to align with the notes for some reason). It might be worth noting too that the distance given to Desert Homestead from the last turn was off by several kilometres. The road from Solitaire to Walvis Bay was quite challenging; I wonder if it might be worth noting this in the notes for future travellers?

We would be happy to share details of two places we had a great lunch that don't appear in the Bradt guide (in Uis and Otjiwarongo) if it's helpful to add there or to the notes for future travellers. Cactus and Coffee in Uis and Bohemia Cafe in Otjiwarongo.

Thank you for another fantastic trip!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

keep up the good work! You stand out." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Had an amazing time, thank you!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Overall we had a fantastic trip.

All the arrangements worked perfectly - except we didn't get met at the airport by Wilderness Safaris and had to go and find them." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 23 on a Namibia trip

"Namibia was a fantastic country!

One disappointment was not being able to do the scenic flight on the skeleton coast because they were all booked and we were told no need to prebook." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Just an amazing holiday! We can begin to say. The combination of people, experiences and scenery and wildlife. The locations were incredible.

Highly recommended!

And THANK YOU Tracy for all your help!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"We had a fabulous trip to Namibia. We enjoyed the whole experience. We loved the scenery and seeing all the wildlife, particularly in the northern part of the country including Etosha. It was everything we imagined and beyond. We wanted to go back before we had even left the country.

Everything was well-organised and the accommodation we stayed in was of a very good standard but with a pleasing variety of styles/overall feel. The people we met were also overwhelming kind and helpful.

Maruska made a fantastic job of arranging our trip - she listened carefully to what we were hoping for and put together an excellent itinerary for us.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We cannot think of anything in particular. We definitely plan to be back for more trips." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"A difficult start to the trip due to flight diversion, cancellation and three days stuck in Johannesburg. Airline (travel not booked through Expert Africa) were very poor with little communication and terrible customer service

In contrast, the standard of service from Expert Africa, one-to-one contact, liaison with lodges, and sourcing of alternative tickets to make sure we had a back-up plan to get to Namibia and could commence our holiday as soon as possible was well beyond what is expected. This is found in very few companies, was excellent and should be highly commended. Many thanks to Sabina, Chris and others who got involved over their weekend.

Once we arrived, the trip was excellent.

For travellers going via Frankfurt, it is worth highlighting that it is not an easy airport for short connection times. We had three hours on the way out which was ok but not generous. On the return, flights were changed several times and we were rebooked with 1 hour 40 minutes. Security was a total shambles and despite running or queuing all the way with no stops for anything we were very lucky to make the connection as bags were just about to be taken off. We would think very hard about a connection in Frankfurt in future with less than maybe 3 hours outbound and less than 2 1/2 hours inbound.

We have travelled in southern Africa several times with children since the requirement to carry birth certificates and never had to show them. On this visit, they were required on entry into Namibia. This seemed to be a requirement across all desks as we arrived and several families appeared to be having difficulties. What was actually sought was a document with the parents' name - not shown on a UK birth certificate. This was not a problem for us as the birth certificate was taken by our immigration officer as being what it is, although she clearly was not familiar with it. However, carrying a copy of the certified copy of entry into the register as well might be a good idea for parents.

We were pulled up at a traffic stop and required to show a driving licence. A UK licence in English was not accepted (despite being legal). The officer was determined to issue a ticket. He eventually relented and allowed us to phone his Chief Superintendent - who told us and him that he was wrong. Despite having to let us pass, he remained convinced that he was right and assured us that he would check, stop us again on the return, make us read the Road Traffic Act and issue a ticket then. He happened to be otherwise engaged further down the road later. It might be worth carrying an international licence for such situations and is definitely worth pursuing a resolution with a superior." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"It was and we were extremely happy with the itinerary and everywhere we stayed.

We had a terrible beginning due to flight cancellations and Chris McIntyre was very proactive and set up a WhatsApp group with the team (thanks Tracy too) over a weekend to advise us. They came up with another plan, liaised with our hotels, booked us new accommodation where needed and rearranged a day trip. It was the best service we've ever had from a travel agent.

It was our third trip with `Expert Africa and we are already thinking about the next one!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We had an absolutely wonderful trip! We left almost all the details to Expert Africa, and they delivered! (I usually plan all our trips myself and am admittedly very Type A, so this is high praise.) The lodges we stayed at were uniformly wonderful in terms of comfort, service, food and activities. We particularly appreciated the outstanding food at our lodges after eating at a well-rated but frankly terrible hotel restaurant in a small city while waiting for a spare tire. Expert Africa also knew which lodges we should only pay for half-board at and which lodge to pay full board at: their recommendations were exactly right. And their recommendation to stay at a premier waterhole chalet at Okaukuejo in Etosha was spot on. We also appreciated their advice to stop at the Cape Cross seal colony, which was a highlight of our trip for us and our teenagers. The one thing we would have done differently was our full-day Sandwich Harbor tour while in Swakopmund--which was nice but too much driving to see more dunes--but otherwise we would not change anything!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Absolutely fantastic.

it exceeded all our expectations (even teenage boys). something we will remember for a very long time." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip