Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs M from Midlothian

"Lovely welcome after a long journey. Nice quiet room and facilities, and a great breakfast.

Helpful advice on where to eat that night, where to do some shopping and what to look out for on our upcoming travels."

"Our standard room was huge, great shower, spotless and with quality linen, pillows & duvet. Tea and cake available 3-4pm, nice reasonably priced wine and good homestyle cooking (having said that I don't cook Oryx mince bobotie or zebra goulash at home - both were very tasty!). Vegetarian husband was offered a cheese omelette each night. Johanna very welcoming.

We did the Archaelogical Trail walk - took about 4.5 hours, fabulous scenery, encountered baboons & warthogs. We also did the scenic farm drive - lots of springboks, kudu, oryx & birds as well as the farm's own cows and horses. Sunset but no sundowners offered.

A good place to break the journey south."

"Betesda was better than we expected - the room was large but very dated, but the communal areas are really great. Nice pool, lovely large dining area, great terraces to enjoy a drink. There are no recommended hiking trails and the scenic sundowner drive wasn't available so it was a very quiet day! Friendly service.

Dinner both nights was just ok, but nothing else available for Vegetarian Husband apart from the salads and vegetables. However, the breakfast pack provided for the early morning start was very good.

It takes about 60 mins to reach Sesriem, then a further 45-60 mins along the tarmac road to the dunes.

One last point is that as we are not religious we had concerns about Betesda being a 'christian' lodge, but I can quite honestly say you would not know, it was just a pleasant place with no overt signs or conversations and a nice welcome for everyone.

Couldn't help feeling that this place could be so much more - great location."

"Lovely welcome from Anya, beautiful room and pretty courtyard spaces. Easy walking distance to the Tug and the Jetty. The Tug was very very disappointing - expensive, terrible food and only one of their vegetarian specialities on offer.

When we did have breakfast, it was delicious - plenty of hot options freshly cooked.

Excellent breakfast pack provided as we left at 6:45am for kayaking at Walvis Bay (highly recommended).
Pelican Point Kayaking
Excellent - a holiday highlight
This really was a great experience - Jeanne thought of everything from waterproof trousers, jackets, fleeces, shoes & gloves. An interesting journey out to the point, via the salt works, with lots of birds and a few jackals. The kayaking was safe and easy and the seals very friendly. Jeanne takes photos and videos and emails them to you later in the day - great not to have to worry about your own camera getting wet. At the end of the kayaking, nice sandwich rolls and coffee before going back.
Jeanne was great - chatty, informative and good fun."

"After a very long journey from Swakopmund, greeted with chilled juice and fresh towels. The main reception, bar and dining areas are dark, cool and striking. The cabin was beautifully decorated and spacious, too windy to wheel the bed out that night. Enjoyed a beer at sunset from the terrace with wonderful views.

Dinner was introduced by the waitress in english, then in her own 'click' dialect, then she sang a song - a lovely touch. Food was above average and there was a vegetable kebab for the Vegetarian Husband (cooked on a corner of the meat BBQ, but it was nice thought!). After dinner, sat outside with our wine, on huge beanbags by the firepit and lanterns, looking at the stars - very memorable.

No hairdryers or wifi in the cabins, but that didn't bother us at all.

Just one night, would have liked to stay another."

"Small cabin with an awful shower (small cubicle, trickle of water), but the bed was very comfortable, and the view from the room and terrace just spectacular.

The reception and dining areas are ok, but a nice bar area with a fireplace and enjoying a drink on the outside terrace with that view was pretty special. Very friendly staff, nice welcome drink on arrival, tea & cake provided in the afternoon - all nice touches.

Dinner the first night was not really very good at all, with nothing extra for the Vegetarian Husband so another night of salad & veg, but lovely pesto bread rolls. Second night dinner was much improved all round - a delicious kudu goulash a portion of breaded mushrooms for VH. And the staff sang 5-6 songs - great!

Up at 5:15am for the black rhino tracking. Very cold, but hot breakfast, blankets provided in the jeep and an excellent guide who had very impressive 4WD skills along tracks that looked impossible. We saw mother & baby rhino quite close, and lots of other wildlife e.g. Hartmann zebras in the distance, eagles, kudu. Good packed lunch provided, back at 1pm. Although this was a great experience we did feel that it was the most expensive game drive of the holiday.

Nice trails around the lodge for walking & photographs. All in all, really liked this place even though it had the worst shower and the smallest room."

"Lots to love about Andersson's Camp - the welcome, the beautiful room overlooking the reserve, the quirky showerroom, the waterhole, the hide, the food, the lounge area … it was a great place to stay. And of course, proximity to Etosha!

Really enjoyed sitting in the open lounge/dining area by their waterhole - over the 2 nights we saw giraffe, white rhino, black rhino, zebra, springbok, birds etc. Nice afternoon tea, cake and snacks provided.

Food was very good both nights, and Vegetarian Husband delighted with his own pot of bean & coconut spicy stew and stuffed peppers!

Very easy access to Etosha - which was a fabulous experience. We spent the day there, returning to the calmness of Andersson's Camp for tea at 5pm.

Great place, would stay again."

"By far the biggest, most unattractive and charmless of places we stayed on the trip, no smiles at reception on check in. Our room was a 'bush cabin' set away from the main area and it was spacious and clean, if a bit basic.

The food was hit & miss - buffet starter (chicken nuggets & lettuce!), had to ask for bread twice, both times the request met by a huge sigh and stomping off), huge queues for main courses, it was bit like school dinners. However, the steak was really good, and after being told that there was nothing special for vegetarian, they did offer to make an omelette but not for 20 minutes. 30 mins passed, G enquired about the omelette only to be asked if wouldn't prefer the vegetarian special instead! Which he said was really nice - roasted veg & mushrooms in a creamy sauce with rice.

Another positive was the waterhole - terraced seating, watched rhino's charging each other and scaring off hyenas. Kudu, springbok, impala etc. A nice quiet place any time of the day.

And, despite everything else, we had a great sleep - very quiet, very comfortable bed and pillows. And the breakfast was surprisingly good - again a massive queue for a made-to-order omelette but it was very nice, as was the coffee.

Positives and negatives, least favourite accommodation of the trip, but it is right in the middle of the park and was fine for one night."

"Mushara Bush Camp has lovely reception, dining and lounge areas - very stylish and comfortable. The luxury tent was amazing, well appointed and very comfortable. The pool was great with much appreciated cold refreshing water and plenty of loungers both in and out of shade.

Dinner was really good, vegetarian options available and delicious breakfasts - I remember the bread especially. Dinner on the second night was a braai with tables outside, beautifully lit tables and surroundings, and great singing & dancing by the staff - all very memorable.

We booked a morning game drive for one last trip into Etosha and it was just us and the driver - and what a great experience it was seeing lions up close at the first waterhole Chudop, then later at the same one around 40-50 elephants of all sizes drinking, swimming, playing and throwing mud. As our driver Bennie seemed to know most of the other drivers, they let him get in close for a good view. We couldn't have done that in our own car. Excellent coffee & carrot cake back at the camp.

Possibly my only criticism of this place was the thin, cheap pillows but that really is all!"

"We loved our time here - it is a stunning location, fabulous accommodation and what amazing opportunities to get close to iconic wildlife.

Great welcome, huge new public area, but beautifully designed and although a busy place, it didn't feel crowded (apart from maybe mealtimes).

Our room was described as a 'Standard Room' - they really should reconsider the naming as it was anything but standard. Huge windows overlooking the plain, huge bathroom and shower area, beautifully decorated and plenty of space for clothes, bags, lounging around.

The food was very good, a choice of vegetarian options and most food was collected from the outside cooking area. On the second night we ate with people we'd met at Grootberg who were on their 14th Namibia visit and knew Okonjima and its founders very well. We sat in a VIP area with them and met the new resident vet, again a very memorable night.

We did 3 Game experiences and yes, some of the Cheetahs and Leopards we saw were collared and tracked by radio, but it was still amazing to get so close (on foot to the cheetahs) to these beautiful animals. The trip to the Africat centre was worth it too as we witnessed a cheetah having a minor op and got to learn what the foundation is all about.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time here - great people, lovely rooms, great surroundings and of course, the beautiful cats."

"This was the perfect place to spend our last 2 nights in Namibia. After the excitement on Etosha and Okonjima, it was lovely to relax and enjoy this special place in amazing surroundings among the boulders. You need to have fitness here! Our fantastic tented room was set up the hillside, very private, spacious and well equipped. Lovely terrace.

The bar/dining area is up another set of steps and has lovely views of the spectacular scenery. Dinner was under stars on a terrace both nights and although it looked pretty with little lamps, it was too dark. And it limited conversation with other tables because you just couldn't see them! That's my only criticism really, better lighting over dinner outside.

The food was very good, a choice of options for the vegetarian and the chef even willing to cook something that G would like. Their breakfast stuffed pancakes were amazing.

We did the sundowner walk up the hill and a 40 minute walk was rewarded with the most amazing views and a cold beer and snacks carried by the guide.

Next morning we did the 3 hour morning trek, saw the sunrise, watched baboons, explored the massive boulder landscape and just before heading back for breakfast our guide brought out juice & snacks - an unexpected nice touch. Later that same day we did the sundowner drive which included a walk up to a cave with paintings - worth it but not for those scared of steep rock faces!

Really enjoyed our time here - wonderful food & service and the only other comment I would make is that you do need to have a good level of fitness and a sense of adventure as everything is on rock faces or hills."