Travel reviews by Mr B from Enniskillen

"We arrived a little late as it took a long while to collect the hire minibus at Windhoek airport and we were distracted by some great wildlife viewing en route! All was well at Waterberg Camp, good clean and comfortable chalets, good food and service in the restaurant. Good wildlife watching within the camp from first light the following morning, friendly people in general. Good breakfast with v friendly staff there and a baboon which came into the bar.

Only minor issue was that on check-out the staff at reception said we were booked for two nights. I showed the voucher I had from Expert Africa and the receptionist eventually accepted that it was only 1 night though I would say reluctantly.

There was no list of room contents and the reception was closed by the time I noticed so I was a little concerned but no one checked on the morning before we left and there was no issue"

"We arrived after a long drive and excellent wildlife watching along the roads and tracks from Waterburg and had a very positive experience buying fuel and supplies in Grootfontein.

We were very excited to arrive in Etosha National Park. Namutoni was excellent we did not expect this standard of accommodation, it was superb, the restaurant was very good, the staff very friendly, the wildlife at the waterhole was wonderful, the birdlife around the camp was amazing and the pools were cool but refreshing!

The room inventories were inaccurate but the reception as closed so I was a little concerned but they were not checked before we left and there were no issues"

"After the luxury of Namutoni Halali was a little more as we had expected with smaller, more basic rooms a little squashed with a matrass on the floor for the third person in our room but that was fine. It was clean, comfortable and fulfilled our needs.

The swimming pool was great, the warterhole absolutely superb, the restaurant very good and food very good and varied over our two nights. The staff seemed a little disorganised but all worked out fine. We had some laundry done, no problems and took part in an excellent night drive with a very knowledgeable guide with us staying out beyond the three hours expected and seeing amazing wildlife. It was very well organized and thought through with warm ponchos, refreshments etc which were perfect for my 80yr old mother and 11yr old daughter.

One thought for all of the camps was the lack of information available on wildlife, where to see what, a daily sightings list from the waterholes, we discovered African Scops Owl was sitting in the morning by reception by chance in talking with the night drive guide. Lots / most of visitors have come for the wildlife and perhaps mainly the big mammals but I sure many more people would have loved to see the beautiful owl sitting in full view as they walked past every day. Perhaps a sign about how to contact a guide to talk about what is around at the time etc would be helpful.

Nature Reserves worldwide are at pains to communicate with visitors to give them as much information as possible (I work on nature reserves in UK) I think a public noticeboard for staff and visitors to write their daily sightings would be a great source of information and give a live feel to what is going on during people's visits"

"I think we were all a little disappointed to be staying outside of the National Park but the location of this site was an ideal second best. On arrival all was well but when we got to the one chalet we had been sent to there were on four beds in one shared open space with an open bathroom. I returned to reception where the staff said they would put in an extra bed into this one chalet. This was at best going to be quite a squeeze with little privacy for all concerned.

On taking this back to the staff they finally agreed that the booking had been for two chalets and all was fine after that. The pool was wonderful with amazing views, the restaurant excellent, great food and location. Parking in front of the chalet was a little rough with loose stones making it difficult to get the minibus in as it skidded on the stones"

"We arrived a little late for the evening activities. The welcome was wonderful with very friendly and helpful staff, refreshments and a stunning reception building. The facilities were of the highest quality, the view rooms were beautiful, very comfortable and the highest standard that we could expect. We had two connecting rooms for our group.

One point which I raised with the staff was that in my room there were two double beds for my 80yr old mother, my 11yr old daughter and myself, three guests two beds and only towels and glasses/cups for two people. The staff said there was nothing they could do about the beds but brought the other extras. It wasn't such a big deal but if my daughter had been older I think it would have. In the end and as is her was she wanted to sleep on the floor between the beds so we made a bed with blankets etc.

The evening meal was wonderful, the views of the waterhole, the building etc were superb. The guide trying to organize our drive for the following morning didn't seem to have much knowledge and we were left a little unclear as to what was going to happen as our group wished to participate in 2 different excursions. However, following a great sleep, 5:30 alarm call, coffee and cakes at 6 our actual guide Martin arrived. He was excellent!

He had a first class knowledge of the site, the wildlife the history, the ecology and was determined to show us as much as he could. We were supposed to be back for 9 and arrived after 10 as he did everything he could to find a leopard, we didn't see on but get very close and we did see everything else. It was really great in windy and dusty conditions, the whole family loved it and we ended up seeing the cheetahs wild dogs, hyena, and lots more besides.

As with all of the sites we stayed at for only 1 night we should have stayed for 2 nights at least."

"We were a little sad to driving further south away from Etosha and having had too brief an experience of Okonjima.

The distances in the Bradt Guide to Okonjima and Erongo and incorrect as are some of the figures for Okonjima, I will contact them separately. We arrived in hot conditions at Erongo for three nights and were looking forward to not having to move on quickly. As we had the minibus we could not drive up but were met by very friendly staff who organized everything and drove us up the rock. There was an excellent reception with refreshments and a very knowledgeable and friendly assistant manager.

The tent houses were wonderful. The conditions were quite blustery so at times they were a little noisy at night but this was not a problem. We loved the Flintstone's bathroom! We were a little concerned about all of the steps for my mother who has problems with her knees. As it turned out she managed fine, taking her time to get to the restaurant/pool area and reading books, enjoying the views and wildlife.

The Lodge was excellent. Staff very friendly and helpful, nothing was a bother, the food was superb, we could sit in during the day when it was hot and watch wildlife out the window frames and many birds and a small snake came inside. The crocodile pool was very cold but bracing and refreshing!! We walked some of the signpost trails and out into the surrounding countryside but did not use the guides of the site though we talked a lot to the nature guide about what was around and what we found ourselves.

The site was beautiful, very comfortable, luxurious, great food, great staff - excellent!"