This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more

Skip to main content

Talk to an expert 1-800-242-2434 Lines now closed

User menu

Traveller reviews

Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs B. from Richmond

Review Distribution

Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Terrible

Total number of trips

1

Countries visited

3

Lodges stayed in

18

Excursions taken

1

Amazing Southern African Safari

Namibia and 2 other countries between 31 Aug 2019 and 2 Oct 2019

Trip rating: Excellent
"Overall it was a great trip and very well organized. Despite our booking the trip rather late EA managed to provide us a good mix of accommodation and we can honestly say that only one or two places were below average, most were excellent. Had we booked earlier I'm sure we would have been able to secure more first choice accommodation.

If we are fortunate to plan another trip to Africa in the future, we will definitely consider Expert Africa again, as well as recommend them to others."

Arranged By Tom Morris


Hilltop Guesthouse

Hilltop Guesthouse (Not currently featured by Expert Africa)

"Short, comfortable stay at Hilltop Guesthouse"

1 night Arrived 1 Sep 2019
"Hilltop guest-house located in a pleasant area of Windhoek with a nice view over the town. Rooms very clean and comfortable with a great breakfast served on a terrace overlooking the surrounding area. The guesthouse is with 15 minutes walk of Joe's Beerhouse, a great place for an evening meal, very good food at reasonable prices and an amazing atmosphere. It was recommended by Hilltop's owner."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Erongo Wilderness Lodge

Erongo Wilderness Lodge

"Unique experience at Erongo"

2 nights Arrived 2 Sep 2019
"The Erongo Wilderness Lodge offers a unique experience in very well equipped tented chalets set in the Erongo mountains. Our chalet had a large deck with comfy chairs and lounger overlooking the distant plains. The camp manager, Katherine, was very accommodating and helped a lot with arranging activities. Our guide for all our activities. "Gelasius", was very knowledgeable about fauna and flora of the area and had a very endearing personality. The food and the service in the restaurant was excellent, with dinner served on the outside deck. The sundowner walk was a highlight, hiking to the top of a kopje to see the sun set. Would also recommend the sundowner excursion to Paulas Cave. The lodge has a nice little pool set into the hillside but only has room for a few comfortable lounge chairs.
All in all a great stay"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Camp Kipwe

Camp Kipwe

"Amazing Camp Kipwe"

2 nights Arrived 4 Sep 2019
"Camp Kipwe is situated in a spectacular setting in Damaraland with extremely comfortable and well equipped circular chalets set into the hillside overlooking a desert landscape. One of the unique features is a sundowner bar located at the top of the hill just above the lodge. Amazing views and sunsets. The lodge has a very nice dining room serving excellent food and great wines.
The owner of the lodge was very accommodating and arranged a private tour for our group one morning to look for the desert elephants. This lodge has a beautiful small pool set into the rock hillside with a reasonable quantity of lounge chairs. It was recommended to us by our guide that we visit the Damaraland cultural living museum just a few kilometres from the lodge, and this was a great recommendation, being able to experience the life of a typical local Damaraland village. Our guide, "Taffy" who led us on the early morning activity to see the elephants, was a very knowledgeable and personable driver/guide.
Camp Kipwe was one of the overall highlights of our trip"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Mountain Lodge

Mountain Lodge

"Great location at Mountain Lodge"

2 nights Arrived 6 Sep 2019
"Mountain Lodge is located in the Etosha Heights private reserve which is ajoins the south boundary of Etosh National Park. The lodge has large duplex style lodge units situated on a hillside, which have amazing over the lowlands where scores of animals migrate to from Etosha park. The units are extremely comfortable, well equipped, and with large decks overlooking the plains.
The main lodge has a very nice lounge and dining area, aswell as a small pool and Boma area. We weren't able to experience outside dining during our stay due to the prevailing high winds in the area. Food and service was of high standard. Unfortunately the internet service was unavailable due to some technical equipment problems, but a relatively minor inconvenience.
All the staff were very welcoming and accommodating, and treated us very well. Our guide and driver, "Rio" was amazing, finding lots of animals and spotting some rare ones on our night drive. Mountain Lodge was a great introduction to the Etosha area."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Halali Camp

Halali Camp

"Halali Camp Review"

1 night Arrived 8 Sep 2019
"Halali Camp in Etosha Park is run by NWR, Namibia Wildlife Resorts, and offers a sharp contrast to some of the private lodges we stayed at in Namibia. The staff here were pleasant but not as welcoming as we experienced elsewhere. The rooms were fairly clean and comfortable and had the basic supplies. The self serve dining area was ok and the food of reasonable standard.
The services in the camp area were minimal.
Despite its shortcomings, the camp is, however, ideally located for an overnight stop in the central part of Etosha when driving between the eastern and western gates"
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location
Good
Service
Average
Facilities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Mushara Bush Camp

Mushara Bush Camp

"Overnight at Mushara"

1 night Arrived 9 Sep 2019
"Had a short, overnight stay at Mushara. The tented chalets were very comfortable, perhaps abit on the side, but with all the basic facilities, including a good shower. The welcoming staff initially did not seem as friendly as in some other private lodges we stayed, but the overall service was quite good. The open lounge and dining area proved to have a very nice atmosphere at night and the food was of high quality. The pool area was quite large but lacked a surrounding tiled area so wasn't as clean as it could have been.
We didn't do any activities here"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Service
Good
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Okonjima Plains Camp

Okonjima Plains Camp

"Quite an experience at Okonjima Plains Camp"

1 night Arrived 10 Sep 2019
"Africat Foundation's Okonjima Plains Camp is a remarkable place. Our individual "standard" camp chalets were extremely large and very deluxe, with a huge well equipped bathroom. The chalet overlooks the concession area where we saw the occasional animal. A large open lounge and dining area in the main lodge is artistically designed and has an adjoining well stocked gift shop.
The main attractions at Okonjima are the cheetah and leopards, which we hoped to see on our afternoon and morning drives. Our South African guide Jordi was passionate about the work done by Africat and he proved to be an amazing guide, expressing a personal relationship he had with the animals. He did, in fact, lead us to one of the leopards within an hour of starting to track it.
He provided us with clear and concise information about the work done by the foundation and the relationship it has with the country's farming community.
The meals were of very high standard and dining room service was excellent"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Spitzkoppen Lodge

Spitzkoppen Lodge

"Amazing short stay at Spitzkoppen"

1 night Arrived 11 Sep 2019
"Spitzkoppen is another of Namibia's jewels, offering unique tented chalet accommodation set against a backdrop of the Spitzkoppe
mountain on the edge of the Namib Desert in southern Damaraland. Most of the chalets are on stilts and offer spectacular views over the desert plain and mountains beyond. A unique boardwalk system connects the chalets to the main lodge and dining area, which is set part way up the hillside adjacent to the small pool, from where you can enjoy a sundowner and watch a great African sunset. The chalets are very well equipped and very comfortable, with a small deck overlooking the desert. One of the highlights of Spitzkoppen is simply its location and the setting of the chalets and other buildings among the rocky landscape. The other highlight was the morning excursion we took, with our very capable guide Anna, around the Spitzkoppen rock area, and seeing some examples of ancient rock paintings. The staff in the dining room were very friendly and accommodating and a group of ladies from Damaraland sang some traditional Damaraland songs after breakfast just before our departure."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
The Delight

The Delight

"A Delightful stay in Swakopmund"

2 nights Arrived 12 Sep 2019
"The Delight hotel is situated in a convenient central location in the town, opposite the old railway station and close by the Kristall Gallery, both places being recommended to visit.It is also a relatively short walk from the waterfront area and some historic monuments. The hotel has a pleasant landscaped central courtyard with rooms overlooking it that are very comfortable and well equipped. Front desk and service staff were very welcoming and helpful and parking was no problem. One of their font desk staff, Denise, was extremely helpful in recommending an excellent restaurant for dinner in one of the other hotels and was able to book us a table on a busy night. The hotels small lounge area was a pleasant place to relax.
The breakfast quality was good, although some of the made to order breakfast items were slow in being served and some were forgotten."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Service
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Hoodia Desert Lodge

Hoodia Desert Lodge

"Spectacular setting for Hoodia Desert Lodge"

2 nights Arrived 14 Sep 2019
"Hoodia has beautifully designed individual chalets in a spectacular location in the Namib Desert, close to very colourful mountain ranges. The chalets were very well appointed and had both indoor and outdoor shower areas. We were welcomed by very friendly staff who explained in detail the planned events for the following day. The main part of the lodge has a very relaxing lounge and bar area with an adjoining dining area leading to a outdoor deck with great overview of the surrounding landscape.
Food and service in the restaurant was very good, although as with many of the smaller Namibian lodges we stayed at, the choices for main courses at dinner were somewhat limited.. Not really a complaint, just an observation, and we did enjoy the vast majority of our meals at the lodges."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Hoodia Sossusvlei excursion

Hoodia Sossusvlei excursion

"Wonderful Sossusvlei Excursion"

15 Sep 2019 • All-day excursion

We had an amazing small group tour to Sossusvlei in the company of our very knowledgeable guide Lucas. On the way we had a stop at the edge of the sand dunes where Lucas found a few small sand dwelling creatures (spider, scorpion etc.) for us to observe, which was very interesting and educational. He also explained about the formation of the dunes and the effect of ocean currents and winds.
Lucas proved a good leader in our walk over the dunes to Deadvlei and he suggested the right level of activity for our group to get the most out of our visit
Towards the end of the trip we stopped for lunch in the desert at a shaded rest stop. Although it was enjoyable, it took a long time and personally would have preferred to have lunch back at the lodge and then have time in the afternoon to relax and enjoy the lodge's facilities, such as the pool. Transportation on the excursion was very comfortable.
Excellent
Kanaan Desert Retreat

Kanaan Desert Retreat

"Kanaan Desert Retreat overnight Stay"

1 night Arrived 16 Sep 2019
"Another lodge in the middle of the desert but with memorable views over the dearest landscape. The tented chalets are built on stilts set against the hillside take full advantage of the available views. The units are small and well equipped but due to a limited power supply certain items could not be provided. A minimal inconvenience. The restaurant was also set against the hill up from the chalets to afford diners a superb view of the sunset. Staff very friendly, but not overly so. Food and service was very good. The office was located over the hill from the chalets, as was the small pool, which was abit inconvenient. There was a problem with the internet when paying on check out, but it was slowly resolved. We didn't avail ourselves of any activities, as we only stayed overnight."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Haus Sandrose

Haus Sandrose

"Haus Sandrose Review"

2 nights Arrived 17 Sep 2019
"Haus Sandrose is a very clean basic self catering hotel conveniently located on a main street in the centre of Luderitz. The unit was comfortable with a small kitchenette area and basic essential small kitchen appliances, plus small dinette table. The beds were little hard, though.
The room was cool in the evening but a small portable heater was provided. The hotel has a small central courtyard. We didn't have much interaction with staff, but spoke with the manager who was very helpful in advising us of places to eat.
The main outside door to the hotel was locked on our arrival mid afternoon, but then we discovered that access could be gained through the adjoining hairdressing salon. ( Perhaps something to note for future guests)

Street parking was always available outside the hotel"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Rooms
Good
Hobas Lodge

Hobas Lodge

"Disappointing stay at Hobas"

2 nights Arrived 19 Sep 2019
"Hobas Lodge at Fish River Canyon is operated by NWR (like Halaii in Etosha Park) but compared to Halali it proved to be a much more disappointing experience. The individual lodge units were of reasonable size and comfort, but maintenance was poor. The sliding entrance door to our unit did not lock (broken mechanism) and the bathroom supplies were very minimal. No room service was provided during our 2 night stay.In stark contrast to most private lodges, the staff at Hobas seemed very indifferent to the needs of their guests, and didn't seem to be able to raise any level of enthusiasm in their work!. The restaurant was like a cafeteria but with little or no service, and very little meal choice, either at dinner or breakfast. The restaurant was also very dusty, and one one seemed to want to clean the tables and benches, we had to ask for it to be done.
One positive note: we did get instant help with a flat tyre on our truck. A maintenance man, Stephen, did a great job changing a wheel for us and told us where to get the flat tyre repaired close by."
Poor
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor

Location
Good
Service
Poor
Facilities
Poor
Rooms
Average
Food
Average
Quiver Inn

Quiver Inn (Not currently featured by Expert Africa)

"Overnight at Quiver Inn"

1 night Arrived 21 Sep 2019
"Quiver Inn is a small B & B near the centre of Keetmanshoop. The owners were very welcoming in letting us check in a couple of hours or so before the stated check in time. The room was nicely equipped with a small kitchenette separate from the bedroom, which was quite comfortable if a little small. The bathroom was narrow but had all the necessary facilities. The room was air conditioned, which was a plus.

There was a scheduled power cut around breakfast time so the owners had difficulty keeping things hot, as the breakfast area was outside and the weather was cold."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Service
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Eningu Clayhouse

Eningu Clayhouse

"Short night at Eningu"

1 night Arrived 22 Sep 2019
"Very nice duplex chalet units set in the open plain on the edge of the Kalahari.The chalets are of an attractive adobe style and are very comfortable and well equipped.The pool area is showing some wear and could use a little maintenance.

The owner and staff were very welcoming and helpful, especially in making sure we were picked up on time early next morning for our transfer to the airport.They provided us with a phone if we needed to contact the operator in case of a delay.

Overall service was excellent and food at dinner was of a high standard"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Gorges Lodge

Gorges Lodge

"Gorgeous Gorges Lodge"

2 nights Arrived 23 Sep 2019
"This was a real surprise to find such a spectacular setting for this lodge, which consisted of individual 2 level chalet units located along the rim of the Zambezi River gorge. The spacious units are extremely well equipped, with a large bathroom on the lower level and bedroom upstairs, which has a large deck affording great views of the river. There are easy walking paths between the units and the main lodge, which extend over some distance.
The food was excellent and a highlight was the BBQ dinners served each night in the outdoor patio near the main lodge
Another highlight was the day excursion to Victoria Falls, as well as a visit to the Victoria Falls hotel and a boat trip on the Zambezi River. We were in the company of an excellent guide from the lodge, "Richman", who also gave us a very informed tour of some local neighbourhoods in Victoria Falls town
The lodge owners and staff were great and took a special interest in making sure you had a wonderful experience at Gorges."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Chobe Under Canvas

Chobe Under Canvas

"A great experience at Chobe under Canvas"

3 nights Arrived 25 Sep 2019
"Situated in the middle of the bush near the Chobe River, Chobe under Canvas proved to be a unique mobile camp experience, with no electricity or h/c running water in the tents. However they were very comfortable and serviced very well by the excellent camp staff. Hot water for washing and bucket showers was always provided on time each day and any other services were carried out with efficiency and a smile! The food served under the dining tent was excellent and there was always a good variety.
A highlight of the day was having cocktails sitting around the campfire following the afternoon safari before dinner.
Our driver/guide for the safaris, "Tony", was very personable and did a great job in spotting all kinds of wildlife. With only 4 of us in the truck we had lots of space so it made things quite comfortable with plenty of room for cameras etc. Tony did not rush us when taking photos and always tried to manoeuvre the truck to get the best vantage point without disturbing the animals.
A highlight of the safari trips was the boat safari we took on the Chobe. It was an unexpected bonus ."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Splash Camp

Splash Camp

"Splash Camp review"

3 nights Arrived 28 Sep 2019
"Splash camp consists of several large individual chalets situated near a large water hole that attracts many animals. It is located in the private Kwara concession in the Okavango Delta. The units are very spacious, deluxe and extremely well equipped. They have an outside shower as well as a large indoor one. A small deck allows for great game view overlooking the water hole,
The camp has an enthusiastic staff who are very capable at putting on various events, such as the Independence Day celebrations on our second day in camp.
Food and service was first rate, as were the facilities, including a beautiful small pool area
Our guide, "Mr. T", and spotter, "AT", were excellent on our safari drives and allowed us plenty of time for photo opportunities when needed. Highlights of the stay at Splash included an afternoon boat trip in the delta, viewing a pack of wild dogs, which is a rare sight, and an traditional evenings dinner and entertainment to celebrate Bostwana" independence"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent

Login to Expert Africa

Sign in with password

Sign in with email link


New to Expert Africa? Create an account

Forgotten your details?

It's free & quick to set up

  • Save your wish-list
  • Send us an enquiry
  • Pay online for your trip
  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Give us feedback on your trip
  • Full site benefits of the site

Need some help? Talk to our team