Travel reviews by Mr M-S from UK

"We stayed one night on the way to Etosha, and did not participate in the activities, apart from walking one of the self-guided trails (probably not the best one in retrospect). We would have hiked to the top of the plateau, but found it too hot in November to do so.

We thought the restaurant and service were excellent, despite previous comments to the contrary.

Saw baboons and mongooses outside the chalets, and plenty of birds."

"We drove ourselves around the area visiting nearby waterholes etc.instead of taking an organised game drive. As a result we did not see as much as we might, but did see a good variety at the camp's own waterhole over two evenings.

The two bedroom chalet was clean and comfortable, if a bit small."

"Main feeling was that Okaukuejo is too big, and we were very glad that were not there when it was full. Most of the seats round the waterhole were occupied, and the camp must have been less than half full (the end of November). This probably applies to Halali and Waterberg as well, but they did not feel quite so large.

Having stayed at three NWR camps for four nights in total, it is clear that the catering follows a formula, but was all of good quality and more than acceptable.

We only stayed one night and did not take the organised game drive, though this might have enabled us to see the lions which we only heard otherwise."

"The current owners had only been there 3 months and were still working on plans and ideas.

We are interested in natural history and were promised on the first day a library of reference books but in fact this didn't exist. One of the attractions of the place is the walking but in fact when we were there it was rather out of season and too hot for much hiking so we probably didn't get the best out of the place.

The sundowner trip on the first evening was very enjoyable but after that we found it a little off-putting to be the only visitors staying there."

"The highlight was our guided trip to Sossusvlei and Willem our guide was very helpful and knowledgeable. All the staff were extremely friendly and welcoming, Cold drinks on arrival were a very nice touch.

We chose to drive ourselves to Sesriem canyon rather than take the guided trip which was quite practicable and definitely worth doing."

"The rooms were almost too clean and white since we arrived feeling very dusty after a long drive and almost felt we daren't sit down. Help was offered with booking activities but we had arrived with our own ideas and in fact found the town museum in Swakopmund fascinating.

It was an easy walk into town and there were plenty of eating places on offer. The restaurant/museum 'Zur Kupferpfanne' was a delight, stuffed with domestic and industrial relics from Namibia's past. The presentation of the menu was remarkable although the food was not exceptional. The 'Brauhaus' offered a more typical German menu but we found the large portions served and the consequent wastage was objectionable. The whole town was very German in character.

We drove the Welwitschia drive which was very interesting with a completely different landscape but the drive itself was longer than we had anticipated and the road extremely poor."

"The early morning guided drive to see the desert elephants was excellent and Richardt a first class guide. We were fortunate to find two groups of elephants without having to go too far. We drove ourselves to Twyfelfontein to see the rock engravings which was fine but we should have allowed ourselves more time. Richardt gave an interesting interpretation of the night sky from the roof.

The food was generally good although one night the steaks were definitely under-cooked. We were a little frustrated waiting much longer than necessary for a cup of tea at breakfast time because the hot water flask was empty."

"The sundowner walk on the first day was included and very enjoyable. The nature walk and nature drive, both with Gelasias, were very good, again with a first class guide. There were self-guided walks on offer but we did not try these. Staff and management were extremely welcoming and helpful although Mike, the manager, is due to move on which might change things.

It had more of an individual feel about it than some of the other places we stayed, perhaps because it was not part of a chain, or not so much on the main tourist routes.

There were interesting birds to see from the dining room, and other wildlife including porcupines and dassies (rock hyrax)."