Reviews of safaris to Okonjima Nature Reserve

"We have already recommended expert Africa and Maruska many times during and after out trip. We had already done one trip through expert Africa 6 years ago and so we knew we were going to get a great service and Maruska had such a great handle on our needs and what would suit us we trusted her recommendations and knew it would work for us.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: There was only one area where I think it could have been helpful to understand a little more which was crossing the border from Botswana back into Namibia. This seemed to be far more officious and complex than going from Namibia to Botswana. For example - we ended up at the board queued behind a long line of lorries ( about 20) - but we luckily decided to chance it and drive past them to the front and it turned out that was the right thing to do but had we not taken the risk we probably would have been in the queue for 2 hours. Also we did take a bit of time to work out the tipping position as we were reading the book the information on our documents and then the local information. We worked it out in the end but real clarity on tipping guides directly and specifically and then tip box with an average daily tip probably would be helpful ( but maybe we were being to sensitive about this)." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We spend 2 1/2 weeks in Namibia, travelling about 2000 miles by road. We stayed in 9 different locations and experienced multiple different aspects of the country. Throughout the trip, we felt safe, welcomed and that the people we met were happy that tourism was returning post-pandemic.

Our trip had been postponed several times, re-organised and altered. However, everything went 100% according to plan. Tracy at Expert Africa proved to be a knowledgeable and informative guide and travel planner. All the lodges were expecting us as predicted and all lived up to their descriptions. Highlights were Hoodia Desert Lodge and the excursion from there, Doro Nawas and Okonjima (where we were upgraded to the Villa). The driving was straightforward and we did not encounter any problems, all roads were well-signposted and fuel stops were plentiful (all took VISA cards in our experience).

This was truly the trip of a lifetime, expertly coordinated by Expert Africa. Thank you so much for your patience throughout the pandemic, reorganising everything so well and your excellent recommendations. Next time it will be Botswana..... we will be back!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service

A minor issue but initially payment glitched through the website, but that was 2 years ago and we didn't have problems with the final payment.

The service and information we have received has been fantastic. We have recommended you to multiple friends already, as we have been boring them with our photographs! If and when we come back to Africa, we will definitely be contacting you again.

Thank you so much." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"This is one of those trips that will stay with me forever.

Expert Africa supplied everything we asked for. The weather at this time of year is perfect for ‘oldies’ like us, who want more than sunbathing. The skies were clear, the sun shone. The nights were very special. The stars and moon are too beautiful to describe. One of our guides told us that his father told him when he was a child that if he looked closely at the Southern Cross he might see the head of a giraffe looking down protectively on Namibia! Keeping guard. What a lovely story.

The lodges we stayed in were clean and well designed, set in lovely places and full of delightful staff.
I just need to say a big, big thank you to you all. You deserve to flourish. I will certainly be telling everyone to go to Namibia for their holidays!,

Just as a post script. After our holiday with you, we met our daughter and family in Windhoek, rented 4x4 s and stayed a further two weeks camping. We went up to Etosha National Park and had a wonderful time. We returned to Europe, encountering a strike by ground staff in Germany! We got rerouted to Manchester instead of Birmingham, where we managed to catch the train back to Ludlow. We didn’t manage to contact our taxi driver so we had to pay for a fare we didn’t use. Our baggage didn’t make it on to the plane and as of today (18th August) we still can’t find it! Lufthansa have not been at all helpful. I won’t be recommending them to anyone! So, my guidebooks my diary my little gifts are lost. That is one reason I have been slow to fill in you questionnaire. I don’t have any written records.

Still all of that will not spoil my memories of an amazing country. I have been humming the Paul Simon song ever since I stood under that African sky! “Joseph’s face was as black as the night and the pale yellow moon shone in his eyes”" Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 6 on a Namibia trip

"Like many others, our trip to Namibia was originally booked in 2019 for June 2020, and was then postponed twice. After years of waiting and anticipating, it seemed unlikely that Namibia could live up to our expectations, but how wrong we were! We have run out of superlatives. It was mind-blowing & breath-taking & we have all come home bigger and better versions of ourselves than we were when we left.

If you are a family wondering whether your children will enjoy Namibia, whether the expense and the long drives and activities available will be worth it, don't hesitate a moment longer. For all of us, this was the most amazing experience of our lives. Our kids (aged 15, 12 and 8) have already asked if we can come back next year. They learned and grew so much, with incredible opportunities for learning each day and they met such warm, generous and interesting people who shared their knowledge with them and helped them fall in love with a country wildly different from their own.

Sabina was the most incredible help in organising, and reorganising our trip, with huge patience and kindness during such challenging times. Her resourcefulness made her something of a magician: pulling the right vehicle out of the hat when it seemed impossible; rearranging accommodation when I added a last minute stop; ready with last minute changes to the Covid regulations which we hadn't yet heard of. Thanks to her, we are now huge fans of Expert Africa and we wouldn't think of going anywhere else when we book our next trip.

Thank you Sabina, and thank you Namibia. You have won our hearts and our loyalty and we are deeply grateful to have met you.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

There's not a single thing we can think of....please just keep doing what you do, with our gratitude for helping us fall in love with Africa, and with travel as a family." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"Already said how impressed and delighted we were that our flight cancellation was dealt with so well and all was rebooked “+2” overnight on the day of our intended departure. Way prior to that the guidance and advice in putting everything together took time and great patience which Maruska coped with admirably. This included rebooking from 2021 when Vicky broke her shoulder compromising our initial plans.

I do have two observations which are offered as a reasonably regular EA client. Using a specialist based in a very different time zone does add complexity at the planning stage. Small details requiring a quick answer can take 48 hours to turn around through no fault of anyones. My second comment is that the relative costs of different options are not visible at the planning stage. I did not ask Maruska to work to a budget nor indeed did I ask for these costs in order to make our choices of destinations and lodges and so it may be my responsibility here. I now understand (but may need to be corrected) that Shipwreck and HVC were more expensive than other choices we made and perhaps having price bands indicated when putting together a tailor made trip might be useful. Useful also to have this information when giving feed back to hold the more expensive options to a higher standard even if tou can not compare apples and oranges of course!" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Our holiday was outstanding.

We weren't sure what to expect travelling to Africa so soon after international borders started to open again, but we were delighted with how quickly tourism has found its feet again in Namibia, Zambia and Rwanda. Our self drive in Namibia felt perfectly safe, and our first time to Zambia now won't be our last.

Claire did a great job with our covid delayed trip. Fantastic support on the trip with CV 19 testing issues for Rwanda as a result of delayed airlines. Accommodation particularly in Zambia was outstanding." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa was a great agency with which to plan our vacation.

Sabina was quick to communicate information and make adjustments to our itinerary. Our trip went smoothly and we felt like the information provided about accommodations and activities was representative of our experience." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"I am mindful this tour has been rebooked twice due to Covid - although we usually do our own bookings for other than Namibia, in this instance glad we had Expert Africa who did us proud, minimising hassle.

The trip was a success.

There were a couple of bookings where we took advice and just possibly we would have preferred our slightly less cautious personal choices!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"My memory is that I asked Sabina to get us the perfect experience when I very first spoke to her. She did! This was our third visit to Namibia (the only one booked through Expert Africa) and it was the best of the lot. Absolutely every detail was better than we had expected. Everything went completely according to plan. That this happened while the planning was mostly done in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, when nothing seemed to stay the same week to week, is astonishing. I can’t imagine the amount of work that was going on in the background.

Every question (no matter how daft) was answered in full. Documents etc were sent out in a timely manner and were of good quality. There were handy little extras included too - such as a credit-sized card detailing all phone numbers that could be required in an emergency and a booklet giving information about hire car return, tipping and all the other things that are better to know than not.

The only critique I would have is that it would be helpful to offer a sat nav with the hire cars, or perhaps to give more detailed driving directions. The tourist map provided (seemingly to all tourists, whoever they booked through) was not completely accurate and, therefore, was the subject of many conversations with other travellers. It was also old, so did not cover the new roads around Windhoek which made the journey to the airport, um, “interesting”. Fortunately, we had given ourselves plenty of time and had a vague memory of the roads around Windhoek but could have got completely lost. In fairness though, Google maps was of no greater help.

All in all an amazing holiday. Thank you Sabina (and Expert Africa generally). We will be back," Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"Absolutely fantastic holiday.

Twice postponed due to covid it did not disappoint when we finally got there.

Everything went extremely smoothly, it was both exciting and relaxing at the same time and we cannot wait to go back.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, I think the service is well above and beyond what can be expected and so was our trip" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip