Travel reviews by The Leemings from Kent

"Very pleasant b&b which was easy to find , well equipped , had a very relaxing outdoor sitting area & provided a good breakfast.

The staff were pleasant & helpful.

For us a good point was the easy access to our route out of Windhoek on our departure.

Would be happy to stay there again"

"We had the same guide at the lodge & camp . He was adequate but did not convey much enthusiasm . The lodge was comfortable but did not seem to fit well into the environment. It was devoid of reference books which would have made identification of the many birds we saw much easier.

The camp was basic with outdoor showers & a rather uncomfortable dining/ lounge area. The new camp under construction is reported to be on hold with some equipment now being removed for use elsewhere.

Hohenstein overall was rather disappointing.

The road directions need attention."

"We had looked forward to returning here after many years & were not disappointed. Our guide ,Michael, was enthusiastic & clearly wanted to share his knowledge with us.

He responded well to our desire to do some walking in the reserve & we managed to successfully track & closely approach a rhino & her baby.

Our visit to Etosha with him was a great success in that we saw a pair of mating lions with the brother of the male running an interference then being severely reprimanded by his elder brother.

The tents have been upgraded since our last visit & are now quite luxurious. Similarly,Netherlands central area is now very comfortable but retains a good view of the busy waterhole. Lions still visit the camp which make for a little excitement, particularly when you come across one in the car park!"

"We had a wonderful time at Mundulea.

The camp is simple but very relaxing & to spend so much time with Bruno was truly a privilege. He is an amazing person not only for what he is doing at Mundulea but for the way he is doing it based on good scientific evidence a lot of which he has developed himself in conjunction with academic biologists. He is a magnificent host & guide & we were lucky enough to have him to ourselves for most of our visit.

He seemed to understand the flora & fauna at a deeper level than any other guide we have met. Walking with him was a rare pleasure.

Our only regret is that we didn't stay longer.

We would recommend driving via the D 2779,2782 & C39 to Otavi as a quick & easy route ,avoiding the rather boring C38 & B1"

"Taranga is described as "stylish" but in our opinion style has triumphed over function. Our tented room was big but totally impractical,with no storage space & a curiously located WC.

The small grounds were rather boring, apart from the river front,with no animal life & very badly signposted.We took a river trip which was quite interesting but not exceptional.

It is hard to see how it can be described as a "Safari Lodge""

"As you know we at ahead in the Private Camp which is the personal residence of the owner of the new lodge under construction in Khadum. We were lucky enough to be looked after by Christo the manager of the new lodge & the staff of the private camp including Carlos , a superb chef. We ate very well indeed. We did a long safari drive with Christo whith whom we shared an interesting elephant experience & finally a small bush fire.

We visited the new Xaudum lodge & would like to share our views directly with you.

Overall a very enjoyable experience."

"The camp & its general facilities had a "tired" air.

This was reflected in the activity ,trip int the Mahango park where our guide although clearly not well, showed little interest in the surroundings & didn't provide us with much information.

Most of the local staff were friendly & helpful."

"We were not able to phone the camp before arrival at the park gate so had to wait for transport. This was not a problem. Given the nature of the drive, I was glad that we had not hired a 4x4 as I would then have attempted the drive & almost certainly been stuck in the deep sand. Apparently this happens regularly to guests, even those with experience & well equipped 4x4s. You would also miss the chance of being able to drive off-road with the guide to get closer to the huge herd of elephant we saw from the track.

The lodge is superb with spacious & very well equipped & supplied tents. the guiding was excellent & we had one of the best boat trips ever, seeing a host of birds & river life at close quarters. The lodge & tents are raised high off the ground, which is just as well as the site is on an elephant path.

It is quite exiting to see 20-30 elephants approaching the camp knowing that they an traverse the sit by passing under most of it. Even more exiting for the campers at ground level! we can thoroughly recommend Nambwa.

We had hoped to do some guided walking on this visit but it unfortunately was not a possible option."

"Wonderful location above the river & plain. the room (a small cottage) was fine ,although we feel that tents are more appropriate.The space in the room was rather compromised however as the the bed net was lowered. This made getting around somewhat difficult.

The activities were highly organised to a prearranged schedule but during the time we were there, did not include any guided walking.Our visits to the riverfront were very successful in that we saw a good variety of wildlife & we felt that our guide was enthusiastic & kept us very well informed.

He also took us on a magnificent river trip from Kasane when we were able to see a lot of birds at close quarters & get amazingly close to a group of elephant as they walked onto the island to which we were moored."

"This is a lovely location with a good deal of wildlife very close.

In fact the camp was visited by elephant during our visit & we had a hippo in the pool just outside our tent. the drives were expertly organised & we found all the expected species including a brief sighting of a leopard & a very good sighting of a group of wild dogs. There is an excellent atmosphere about the camp & the staff seem genuinely happy to be there & made several complementary comments about Wilderness Travel which was good to hear.

Overall we would strongly recommend this camp as giving a good insight into the delta."

"Overall we would say that the rooms were getting a little tired. We did stay there 10 yrs ago & their furnishings seemed little changed in style at least."

"We were lucky enough to be only 2 on the safari & secondly to be guided by Andre Schoeman. He is an amazingly well informed guide & gave us a host of experiences we shall never forget. This included some very interesting driving in the dunes & down to his Kunene camp.

His knowledge of the geology , & both animal & plant life is remarkable & he shared it in a very positive way.

He was particularly helpful to my wife who was very concerned about her ability to scramble up & down some of the more rocky areas after the major knee surgery she had subsequent to an accident 3 yrs ago. In fact the experience was so positive that she now feels more capable than before.

Kuidas & Kunene camps were simple but superbly located. Leylands Drift is also well located but has larger well appointed tented accomodation. To land in a narrow valley, an interesting piece of flying, & be guided around this apparently desolate area by someone who clearly knew a huge amount about its flora, fauna & geology was a fascinating experience."

"It was very good to find that some of the staff we met 10 yrs ago were still there & particularly so that Maggy, who was being trained when we last met her, is now the very successful manager. She is still quite a character!

Our drive down the Huab river valley was remarkable for an amazing "Attenborough" elephant experience. We were very close to a complete elephant family behaving just as they were meant to do at water holes & watching the 1 yr old unsuccessfully trying to get up the soft river bank (until he had a push from mum) was hilarious.

Overall Damaraland is a staggering area"

"Overall a very impressive camp. We were lucky enough to have a direct flight in from Damaraland which gave us plenty of time to settle in before the evening drive & take in the warnings about the lions spotted in the camp the previous day! On the evening drive we found said lions which provided an interesting talking point during our sundowner.

It is a remarkable area, very different from Damaraland but equally fascinating. In addition to seeing 2 black rhino, albeit from a very safe distance, we were fortunate enough through some very good guiding to see 2 cheetah sunning themselves.

the camp was comfortable, very well run, with good food & delightful staff."

"The staff at Ongava were very welcoming & friendly, The food was good & we were even presented with a bottle of bubbly to help us celebrate our wedding anniversary!

I was less impressed with our room; the shower soaked the floor beyond the shower area & could not be adjusted, the lighting was poorly placed & although we had air con which I assume was necessary because of the stone construction of the building, it seemed inappropriate in a safari camp. I much prefer to be in tented accommodation.

The guided activities here (our guide was Hennoch) were outstanding & we were given among the best days safari activities we have ever had. We started with a walk during which we tracked white rhi100 m ano ,eventually getting to about 20m of a group of 3 - an amazing experience. This was followed up by a walk across a grassy plain towards herds of zebra, wildebeest & hartebeest.

We were a little concerned when Hennoch pointed out a further couple of rhino sheltering under trees to our right & surprised when he pointed out a pair of ears showing above the long grass. They belonged to a lone male lion who eventually got up and walked away as we got closer. The icing on this amazing day was during our sundowner drive when, from a vehicle & for a suitable short time, we tracked alongside a lioness going out for her evening hunt. The sundowner itself was observed by 2 of the local rhino & a variety of different antelope & probably by several unseen species."

"We arrived here after a very interesting drive through Etosha where we saw some fascinating elephant behavior.

It is comfortable & well appointed but didn't have the "intimate" feel of many of the other camps. Our evening drive was very low on sightings although our guide was interesting & informative."

"We enjoyed our stay here in the spectacular surrounds & it was good to be able to do some walking. Clearly the animal density is quite low particularly after an outbreak of poaching, but given that we had a guide who was well informed about the local flora this was not a problem. It was good to revisit the cave paintings we had seen several years ago.

The tents have been been replaced with larger, more luxurious ones but their furnishing needs revising to provide more storage capacity & surfaces. We understand that this is planned
Overall a very enjoyable last stop before returning.

The lodge needs some method of communication between the lower car park & the lodge so that guests without a 4x4 don't have to lug their luggage up to the camp. We were lucky enough to arrive at the same time as one of the staff who helped us with ours!

I would also point out that the shortest rout between Erongo & Windhoek uses the C36 which has a very good gravel surface & cuts about 35k from the journey."