Travel reviews by Drs from Brisbane
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
2
Countries visited
3
Lodges stayed in
14
Excursions taken
0
Perfect Trip to Namibia
Namibia between 1 Jul 2011 and 16 Jul 2011
We feel that Expert Africa operate to very high standards, which is why we wanted them to arrange this trip even though we have now moved from the UK to Australia. Thankfully there is now an office in New Zealand, and Maruska (and Saskia) did an excellent job of arranging our trip. Maruska was very knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, efficient and responsive. All our arrangements were perfect, and the documentation was faultless.
As for Namibia, our trips just seem to get better and better. The trip was perfect. We even received a free upgrade to our hire car, and in several places we were allocated what seemed to be the best rooms with amazing views (Erongo, Ongava, Waterberg). We visited some new areas which we particularly liked (Erongo and Waterberg), but we also visited places where we had enjoyed staying on previous occasions (Ongava and Kulala) and found that they were even better than we remembered! The management and staff at Kulala Desert Lodge provided my husband with a 50th birthday to remember.
All of our accommodation was attractive, well run, clean, comfortable and well maintained at the very least. We felt welcome everywhere, and everyone was polite and helpful. We experienced no problems or difficulties anywhere.
The driving was straightforward, and we found that staff at filling stations, shops, cafes, national park entrances etc were generally polite, friendly and helpful.
The scenery was beautiful, and the wildlife (our main reason for the trip) was wonderful. We had some excellent sightings, and wonderful experiences. We managed to do more walking on this trip than on previous occasions. This had the double benefit of being very welcome after a long car journey, and it helped us to work off all the delicious meals!
We hope to be able to return to Namibia.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Nothing that I can think of. Keep up the good work."
Arranged By Maruska AdyeRowe
Eningu Clayhouse
"Relaxation at Eningu"
Kulala Desert Lodge
"Fiftieth Birthday to Remember at Kulala"
To celebrate the birthday, we enjoyed a sunrise trip into Sossusvlei and lovely afternoon nature drive with a "sundowner". The highlight of the holiday happened that evening when the lodge staff surprised us by bringing in a birthday cake during dinner. The staff sang a beautiful rendition of "happy birthday" and started dancing. The performance was wonderful, and we were very touched by the very kind and thoughtful gesture. The singing and dancing continued as guests joined in. It was a wonderful surprise, and a very memorable day.
Excursions from Kulala Desert Lodge
We had an enjoyable excursion into Sossusvlei. The scenery is beautiful. We have done this trip before, however on this occasion we experienced the delightful view of water in the vlei and increased vegetation and wildlife. On our previous trips it has been completely dry. The walk to Dead Vlei is worthwhile for the amazing scenery.
On our last visit the lodge used an open sided vehicle. The vehicles have been replaced by glass sided vehicles. This is good from the perspective of keeping the biting cold and wind out during the early morning, but it does rattle a bit!"
Sam's Giardino
"Excellent food and wine Sam's Giardino"
We had a nice ,sunny room overlooking the pretty garden. The room was very clean and comfortable with an excellent shower - just the thing after a dusty drive over the desert from Sesriem! We were only there for one night, and we arranged for a wine tasting and evening meal. The evening meal was one of the finest meals we have ever eaten. The quality was excellent.
We would recommend Sam's Giardino to anyone who wishes to stay in Swakopmund."
Erongo Wilderness Lodge
"Paradise!"
We would recommend this lodge to anyone who loves peace and quiet (except for birds, baboons and dassies!), beautiful scenery, walking, geology and interesting wildlife - but stay at least two nights. It is in a convenient location for slotting into self drive holidays, and it has so much to offer. You will not usually spot any "big game" at Erongo, but it is a wonderful place to find some of the smaller creatures such as rock agamas, baboons, klipspringer, dassies, porcupine and dik dik as well as a very wide variety of birds. It is peaceful and very picturesque. We were captivated by the variety of birds and animals visible from the restaurant.
The restaurant area was very pleasant and comfortable with a lovely fire, nice friendly atmosphere, great staff and wonderful food. The breakfasts are amazing and highly recommended - it is just as well that we had to move on after three days!"
Ongava Lodge
"Great wildlife spotting and luxury at Ongava!"
The view from the lodge restaurant across the reserve is one of our favourite views. It is even better now that the balcony area has been extended. The reserve is an excellent place to view wildlife, and we had good sightings and excellent guiding from Teacher. We also had an enjoyable and worthwhile trip into Etosha, again accompanied by Teacher.
We would recommend this lodge to anyone who is interested in wildlife, but who also would like a bit of five star comfort in the bush. We have always found the sightings here to be very good, and the guides are excellent. It is a good location for photography. Stay two nights if you can."
Okaukuejo Camp
"Pleasantly surprised by Okaukuejo!"
The renovation and upgrading has turned the camp into a very pleasant and enjoyable place to stay. Okaukuejo is a fairly busy camp, but it has a "buzz" and good atmosphere. The waterhole is recommended, particularly at sundown.
We found the camp to be well run. The staff were pleasant and efficient, and the check in and check out were both quick and painless.
In particular we would recommend the restaurant. We found it to be much better than Halali and Namutoni. The Okaukuejo Restuarant was a pleasure to eat in. It was busy, but the atmosphere was good and the staff were polite and efficient. It is very well run and serves a variety of well prepared and appetising food in a well organised buffet style. The executive chef was a very pleasant gentleman who was always on hand welcoming guests and asking for feedback on the food."
Namutoni Camp
"Pretty location, Great staff"
On this occasion we found the food at Namutoni was not the best, but it was certainly adequate. However, the camp had a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere and very pretty, peaceful surroundings. We felt that the shops were much better stocked that those in Halali and Okaukuejo, but perhaps this was because the camp seemed so much quieter. Without exception, all of the staff we met at Namutoni were friendly, polite, and helpful - this applied equally to the bar, restaurant, shops, reception, porters, and even the man at the petrol station!
We left with a very good impression."
Waterberg Wilderness Lodge
"Bush Babies at Waterberg"
The lodge is well run by Lucas and Angelika. Everything was spotlessly clean and well kept, and we were well looked after.
We would recommend this lodge to walkers and anyone interested in wildlife - particularly birds, and geology. The scenery is stunning, so it is good for landscape photography too. Stay at least two nights."
River Crossing
"Excellent Service at River Crossing"
The best feature here is the staff. Everyone was incredibly helpful and friendly, and we were made to feel very welcome. There was a happy, warm, friendly atmosphere - particulary in the restaurant.
We would recommend River Crossing as a first or last night stop due to its proximity to the airport, however we do not think that it should be limited to this since it is a very attractive, comfortable and well run establishment. It is close to the city, so it could easily form a base for exploring Windhoek."
Best trip ever!
Botswana and 1 other country between 24 May 2008 and 8 Jun 2008
Arranged By Lucy Copson
Islands of Siankaba
"Beautiful Location"
Management were pleasant, friendly and competent. We were persuaded to take helicopter trip over Victoria Falls - I'm glad we did as it was very enjoyable and we would probably have regretted it if we hadn't.
The walk with village elder to the local villages was worthwhile, interesting and rewarding."
Xigera Safari Lodge
"Extremely picturesque - Lovely atmosphere"
Wonderful food - I wanted to take one of the cooks home with me. Mokoro trip was a nice change from land rovers!"
Little Vumbura
"Best camp in the Delta"
Gavin was a fantastic guide - we really appreciated such a wonderful, all round knowledgeable and competent guide, particularly as some of my interest lie in the smaller mammals and birds as well as the "big game".
We had some fantastic sightings, and got great photos thanks to Gavin who managed to get us into good positions with respect to the light.
Management in Camp (Sarah, Tendani, Oda (sp?) were lovely and extremely friendly and there was a wonderful relaxed friendly atmosphere. We were very sad to leave."
Chitabe Lediba
"Great game viewing, lovely guide"
Quieter camp than Xigera and Little Vumbura.
Very comfortable, particularly good food."
San Camp
"Most amazing place to stay"
Beautiful, relaxing, idyllic and very, very comfortable. Despite being the most basic place we stayed during out entire trip - we felt very pampered indeed!
Best camp staff of our trip - they were all so lovely and went to such efforts to ensure that everything went well. Cook (Sylvia) was amazing, preparing the most wonderful food. Everyone worked so hard to make our stay memorable, and we really appreciated all their efforts.
Wonderful guide (Chaba) ensured that we got the most out of our time there - unexpected sightings of ardwolf and caracal. were a bonus.
You need three nights here (at least!). Would recommend it at the end of a trip to the Delta to unwind."
Eningu is presently undergoing some renovations following flood damage earlier this year. The owner apologised profusely for any inconvenience, but there was really no need since we barely noticed any disturbance.
We would recommend this lodge to anyone wishing a relaxing day or two on arrival in Namibia, or before departure from Windhoek Airport."