Travel reviews by Dr & Mrs K from Cornwall

"We enjoyed our stay at Olive Grove where we received a warm welcome and stayed in a spacious and very clean room.
We had both dinner and breakfast there (both meals pleasant) and paid for a packed lunch on departure.

There was building work going on during our stay - whilst there was evidence of this it didn't impact our time.

We had already had a few days in SA prior to flying to Windhoek. On reflection we would have been happy to get straight on the road rather than overnighting in Windhoek as we didn't need time to recover from a long journey. That said, we're happy to have dipped our toes into Namibia's capital but wouldn't recommend an overnight stay unless rest time is needed."

"Having felt slightly deflated on first arrival we quickly came to feel relaxed and very at home at BullsPort. Our room was large, well laid out, bright and spotlessly clean (whilst by no means the most upmarket it was in fact one of the most comfortable we stayed in during our trip).

Johanna made us feel very welcome and was happy to spend time with us talking us through the various hiking options. We opted to do the full Quiver Tree Trail which is long and fairly strenuous in the heat, but very exhilarating and a highlight of our trip.

It stormed and rained hard during our stay here which was exciting to witness but did mean the power shorted leaving us with no a/c on our first night. This was quickly rectified the next day.

We ended our stay at BullsPort with an enjoyable horseback excursion which was a great way to conclude what had been a positive and happy stay."

"It was wonderful to arrive safely at Hoodia after an exciting drive fording several rivers after heavy rain the previous day.

The location and lodge are very special, an oasis of beauty and luxury at the end of a 7km private drive and seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The accommodation was beautiful and we enjoyed a stunning sunset from our terrace over the Tsauchab river which unusually had water in it. The lodges are well spaced ensuring all guests have privacy - we really valued this. We didn't have time to enjoy the pool but this looked very attractive and clean.

We enjoyed two excellent, haute cuisine dinners and one hasty breakfast (taken early prior to the desert excursion).

The staff were generally friendly and welcoming and we felt very lucky to have Daniel as our guide."

"We really rated our time at the Strand and enjoyed being in a busy place and around other people more than we'd anticipated after 4 days of almost solitude in the wilderness.

All the hotel staff we encountered were exceptionally friendly and gracious - the recruitment policy is working well.

Our room was beautiful with fabulous views over the ocean - we were lucky enough to see 5 bottlenose dolphins swimming directly beneath us. We loved walking oceanside and enjoyed evening meals in two of the hotel restaurants. The breakfasts were generous and excellent quality.

It was hard to leave!"

"This is such a special place, we could happily have stayed longer.

The team at Doro Nawas were so friendly and treated us to amazing local songs both on arrival and departure (and during dinner on our last night).

Other major highlights of our time here were a successful elephant drive where we were lucky enough to see 8 or 9 desert adapted elephants, followed by sundowners (a truly perfect moment as the sun set on one side of the sky just as the full moon rose on the other) and then a night under the stars.

Really the stuff of dreams."

"This cathedral like lodge offers extremely high-end hospitality and accommodation.

The staff were professional and friendly and our vast lodge was beautifully and comfortably furnished.

A pinch me moment was watching a stunning white rhino wander into view literally just metres away from us as we enjoyed sundowners.

We were treated like royalty and enjoyed our meals in a special hide overlooking the waterholes.

We were only here for one night but would have loved to stay longer. We hope to be back in the future."

"The location and situation of Onguma are both great, giving quick and easy access to Etosha. We enjoyed a guided sunrise drive within Onguma itself (highly recommended) and were lucky enough to see a pair of mating lions, a single male lion, a cheetah and two white rhino (along with innumerable game).

We took ourselves into Etosha twice during our time at Onguma and enjoyed the experience of self-guiding. In spite of it being the green season we saw plenty of wildlife (especially around Fisher's Pan) including a lion with its kill (from a distance), numerous giraffe, wildebeest and zebra and two solitary bull elephants. As we were leaving the reserve for the last time we were blessed with a herd of elephants trooping across the road just ahead of us. What a finale to our time in Etosha.

The accommodation at Onguma Bush Camp was our least favourite of the trip, but we acknowledge we had come from the extremely high end, state of the art Oberland Lodge so anywhere would struggle to compete. Our family room was clean but quite dated and very dark, we never felt truly relaxed there.

We didn't need to use the mezzanine area as we were travelling just as a couple but felt (from a safety perspective) that we would not have wanted to have children up there."

"We enjoyed our time at Ai Aiba which came at the end of our fortnight in Namibia.

There was torrential rain for most of our time there which meant activities were slightly limited but we did manage to see the rock art on foot and enjoy an e-bike excursion.
The rain also gave us time to take a breath and reminisce about what a fantastic trip it had been.

The location in the Erongo Mountains is stunning and we loved the long ride from the main road out of Omaruru to the lodge (we stopped for lunch in Omaruru which was enjoyable and we felt added to our overall experience)."