Reviews of Mundulea Reserve

"We were the only guests staying and walked with Bruno morning and evening never covering the same ground twice. His reserve is a real credit to him and we learnt a great deal from him from tracking animal footprints to the flora and fauna. We thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality of the bush camp and are so glad we had the chance to experience this unique place with a passionate owner sharing his experiences and knowledge." See all these reviews: 23n in Namibia

"The four of us spend 4 nights at Mundulea with Bruno and Matthew his assistant at the camp. Mundulea is a minimal environmental impact footprint camp. It was just us, privately; Bruno doesn't take more than 6 guests at the time.

Megan's idea, from Expert Africa, to spend time at Mundulea with Bruno Nebe at the end of our 3 1/2 weeks' trip was excellent.

Whilst all the lodges & camps we visited in Namibia are making money with the wilderness & wildlife, Bruno (owner) is in the wilderness & nature restauration business, which he partly finances taking guests. No game drives at Mundulea, beside birds & insects, you will NOT see animals on the nature walks, perhaps in the distance... But the tracks. Humans are the #1 predator on top of the food chain; normal behavior of all animals is to flee at the noise, sight or smell of humans. A car is a different beast; animals at game lodges have learnt that cars are no threat and have been accustomed to tolerate the daily game drives, even approaching to a few meters close. At Mundulea, you have the opportunity though to see animals from the hides near the water holes, if you are patient & silent. We observed very large numbers of elands for example.

We got another perspective on Namibia, carnivore issues, elephant issues, environmental subjects and a completely different wildlife & nature experience. Bruno is extremely knowledgeable on all animals, insects & birds, vegetation, ecology, biology, geology, Namibia in general; he has incredible tracking skills he acquired as a guide and throughout his life with the bushmen.

We very much enjoyed the 2 nature walks & talks daily and learned a lot. The tents are comfortable with very warm blankets (at 1800 m elevation it may get close to 0°C at night in wintertime), the food cooked on the open fire is excellent. Add to this the beautiful landscape of the reserve and you somehow get the picture." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia

"We spent a wonderful 3 days here exploring the reserve on foot with our guide Bruno.

He has incredibly deep knowledge about Namibia's wildlife and the country generally. And we loved the simple, comfortable camp with its rustic furniture and excellent, thoughtfully prepared food (including for my vegetarian husband).

Truly a highlight of our trip to Namibia. Highly recommend.

Thank you, Bruno, for a special experience." See all these reviews: 25n in Namibia; 5n in South Africa

"Our host, Bruno, is an amazing guide as well as a fascinating conversationist. The work he is doing to "re-wild" former cattle farms into natural, bio-diverse habitat is inspiring and important. We learned so much on each hike that we took with him - he is one of the most talented trackers that I have ever met (there were lots of leopard tracks, as well as giraffe, zebra, hyena, kudu, and eland)! And the food was also excellent as well. This was a highlight of our trip!

We saw lots of wildlife. In addition to the species listed below, we saw black-faced impala, ostrich, greater kudu, warthogs, dik dik antelope, springbok, hartebeest. There are blinds set up at the main camp that allow you to watch animals that come to drink or to lick the salt-block." See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia

"We loved the three days there." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"A great re wilding experience....comfortable with good home cooked food.

Drinks seemed to be included but it was rather confusing!" See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"This was a highlight of our trip - three days off grid with a passionate guide who cares deeply about the environment.

We were very well looked after - including catering for vegetarians. Our excursions were tailored to our interests. We absolutely loved walking through the bush learning about the flora and fauna close up - but animal sightings will be much more limited than “on safari”.

This was an amazing experience but would only be suitable if you are comfortable camping (very comfortably in the bush) and walking." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"“Did you see the leopard passing the road?” asks our guide and owner B. We are on our first walking safari short time after arriving in Mundulea Camp. Previously, on the way to the camp, I just reassured my wife “no visitors have ever seen cats [leopard, loon and cheetah] in this area, it should be quite safe. Fortunately, the second argument I gave for undertaking this adventure still holds “They cannot run a business if tourists are eaten all the time”. After our new leopard information, we keep a tighter formation walking one by one in the dense bush and no one really wanted to be the last person in the row?

We are in Mundulea Private Reserve together with our host the owner and expert guide B. He established this 120 km2 large reserve some 20 yrs ago in 2001. It borders Otavi Mountains. When we look around, we see bush and mountain savannah with dolomite ridges spanning the landscape. We are in the central area of Namibia receiving most rainfall at approx. 300 ml / year. The water can’t escape but forms sink holes, steep gorges and underground caverns, when it disappears into the ground. Near a big fig tree, Bruno points out depressions and crevasses in the ground caused by water erosion.

We walk for about 2-3 hours, and the colors get increasingly more impressive; khaki, brown, orange, and sand as the sun disappears behind the mountain peak to the west of us. Just before we reach the camp again 3 hours later, we see a very large eland bull, the alpha animal marking his territory. An impressive sight. Also, his heard drinking from the waterhole just outside the camp. Finally, back in the camp after the first of what turns out to be a row of wonderful walking safaris, we settle around the fireplace with G&T´s. Animal sounds 360 degrees around us. Enchanting.

Our camp has the outline of a “kraal”; a fence of wooden sticks provide some protection against predators during night. We have a simple – bur fully adequate – tent with mosquito nets and an open bathroom. We check the floor for snakes and scorpions, whenever we step out of your bed or enters the open heaven bathroom. We place our shoes on hangers under the roof and keep our bags on tables zipped up all time. Nevertheless, we fell safe in this small paradise. Or as B. expressed it “Don´t mind all the sounds during the night, you are safe in your tent”. Later we learned that Bruno always sleeps outside his tent on the veranda.

B. and his assistant prepare all meals over open fire. We enjoy them on beautiful homemade DIY wooden tables and chairs, placed under a green canvas roof in the shade of a big tree.

We do two daily walks and realize B. is an extraordinary source of nature information. He literally knows all about plants, animals, insects, minerals, landscaping etc. He is involved in multiple research projects and nature activities and researchers join him from all over the world. We – the tourists – are just a way to produce income for the conservation project.

We walk around for up to 5 hours for each trip. Any animal, bird, track tree, scrub, and B. will know the name and all information behind. E.g., he gave us a 20 mins lecture on termites. And yes, it was interesting from beginning to end. Herbivore, carnivore or omnivore? Droppings: Dung or cast?

In the hours in the camp between walking, we had the most interesting conversations with B. and the four other guests around the fire and dining table. A highlight of our trip so far – actually - of all our many trips to Africa, among others five to Namibia." See all these reviews: 35n in Namibia

"My personal highlight (the others found it quite tiring and would only walk once per day but still enjoyed themselves) - a simply incredible camp and one of my most memorable travel experiences.

Sitting on top of one of the escarpments, Mundulea stretches all the way to the horizon and you and your guide Bruno are the only humans there (apart from the cook who turns out simple but delicious food cooked over the open fire). One very large leopard would, by his tracks, sit outside the camp and watch us toast marshmallows which may be intimidating! Bruno explained his (the leopards) behaviour though and assured us we wouldn't be on the menu.

This is a place that will stay with me forever. Bruno is an incredibly interesting guide. Every day we would set off for two walks of varying length. As we walked Bruno would pick out tracks, pluck leaves from bushes or spot some creature or bird. We would simply follow animal tracks and walk, seemingly, at random. Occasionally Bruno would ask you to point where the camp was - almost impossible task but he knows exactly where you are at all times.

The reserve is HUGE though. One day we walked to visit a tree which Bruno had only ever seen from the air (!) which gives you an idea of how vast it is. One sadness - the kids really hoped to meet a Pangolin but, despite finding many signs of them, they were too shy to say hello. We did encounter many Black-faced Impala though which are very rare and Bruno managed to establish a breeding population which is now very healthy.

An immensely knowledgable guide, Bruno can extemporise for hours on geology, botany or early hominids as easily as he can discourse about animal behaviour. He is also very curious - he asked us a lot of questions about Aotearoa New Zealand and he seems to be adding to his store of knowledge every day.

This place is for people who are fit and prepared for a lot of walking but I cannot recommend Mundulea highly enough." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

"Back to basics, no frills but a great experience with owner Bruno, who is so knowledgeable and takes the time to show and explain.

We were lucky to be the only guests during our three night stay so had exclusive access to guide.

Walking in the reserve made a pleasant change from driving as we were right there with the animals. Also time for birding." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia