Reviews of safaris to Bushmanland

"Our first trip to Namibia (2010), covered central, north, northwest and coastal areas.

This trip (2013) was about 98% new locations covering central, north, northeast, Caprivi, Okavango and Vic Falls, Zimbabwe side.
The most noticeable differences in that span of time were the money exchange, electricity adaptor difference, more people riding bicycles, shopping modernization of cities, availability of 3G services (more mobile phones in daily use)

General travel tips
1. Before leaving Namibia, change your Namibian dollars to another currency: South African Rand, Botswana Pula, Euros, Dollars. They are no longer exchangeable at the Jo'berg airport nor in Paris.
2. The children in Namibia were usually asking for pens, whether or not we took photos. The supplement money for educational supplies in 2013 was used for election campaign spending.
3. Clothing is a great donation to leave with the lodges in the northeastern sector of Namibia and in Botswana. They distribute it to the villages or the lodge workers or in one case to the local churches.
4. Adaptors - Throughout Namibia and Botswana, the large 3-rounded prong South African adaptor is used. We purchased a smaller 3-rounded prong which only works in Zimbabwe. Bring your own charging strip/surge protector if you have multiple devices. Zimbabwe uses the small 3-rounded prong and British adaptors.
5. In your checked luggage through Jo'berg, pack nothing of value, other than clothing, ! It will disappear, guaranteed.
6. Reading material:
The Wildlife of Southern Africa is a definite plus to keep track of sightings (birds, mammals, insects, flowers, trees, etc.) (Vincent Carruthers) at the Windhoeker Buchhandlung across from the Hilton Hotel
"Namibian" daily newspaper - fantastic way to learn about modern Namibian culture and opinions of all ages.
"Zambezi Traveller" free newspaper in the Caprivi/Okavango (Lianshulu Lodge) - regional tips, ideas and covers a wide territory.
7. Pic n Pay grocery store (throughout Namibia) was our favorite, Super Spar is also good for finding lunch items (including an ice chest) when driving between destinations
8. Namibia has frequent, fairly well-maintained picnic spots (tree shade, concrete benches and table), which we used for lunches
9. Languages/Dialects: the smartphone "notes" application is a handy recording device to write down the courtesy words: hello, good morning, thank you, how are you, etc. We encountered 10 different languages/dialects or more over three and a half weeks. Asking a lodge staff member "how to say" is an ice breaker and opens a door to their culture.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Fantastic voyage!

The planning, Expert Africa contact, accommodations, expectations suited our needs to a tee. We made our own flight reservations, which worked out smoothly.

The Namibia/Chris McIntyre guide book was our bible. Thank you for supplying it.

On the review feedback, what does "facilities" include/mean?

We would highly recommend Expert Africa for any future voyages.

Obtaining visas before departure between countries was not totally clear.
The basic information about visas in the travel preparations could be much shorter (e.g., Visas are handled at each border control for Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Show your international driver license and passport at customs. The rental car agency provides you with all of the car details, including chassis number and motor number to fill in the paperwork.)

We paid for a permit into Botswana, but wonder if we could have given them the permit on the windshield. This was unclear in the instructions from Budget/Expert Africa whether to turn it in or buy a new one. This was the Chobe border. This was a more difficult and time consuming border post (a real hassle).

The Mohembo Border Post at Mahango was a breeze with both Namibia and Botswana." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"We had an absolutely superb trip and our family will treasure our memories forever.

We thought it was a very well balance trip, with organised activities balanced with independent travel. Renting a car was a fabulous way to travel around Namibia with a young family and the trip was very well planned with the travel distances very manageable and clear The detailed organisation by Maruska and Saskia made for a seamless and very enjoyable holiday.

Our time with the Bushmen was one of our highlights so thanks for the suggestion and organisation of this part of our adventure.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

At times it would have been nice to know if we were going to be travelling on gravel or sealed roads and the map provided didn't seem to differentiate between the two." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"As a whole despite some issues it was a really fantastic adventure, visiting a completely different area of Namibia. And a special thank you to Sabina for organising it.

However, special thanks also to Bruno Nebe, Axel & Silke Bauer at Aigamas, Vincent and Simson and for everything they did in making it such a great trip. And to Arno and the Bushmen at Nhoma for sharing their knowledge and time with us. It was an unforgettable few weeks." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"it was very well organized in terms of logistics. Given our particular interest, Swakopmund could have been skipped and the stop over in Windhoek reduced. The visit to Bushman land and activities a must . A visit to the Himbas was missed.

Very good choice with the hotels and the lodge in spite of the food. As noted, a 2 W drive car is not recommended.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Everything went as expected. I appreciate you help." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"One of the most fantastic family adventures we've ever had.

Will definitely recommend Expert Africa to others, and would use them again for more travel to Africa. Thank you." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"Our trip was amazing in the sense of what we saw and how we did it, and its varieties.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It is very difficult to get the information and feel for the country you have never been to, and how things are done in each location. In that sense, the details were not communicated well to our needs.

It is easy to say, "please ask any questions if you have", rather than " please check this," or " did you know this?" to make sure that we understand the same thing. Many things are assumed to be understood. The communication was always initiated by me.

The child age should be considered individually by the height, not by age. Our daughter had never been a problem to any lodge. Given her age is 11.5 and she is tall." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"The accommodation was varied and all of a very good standard. Information received was excellent.

Thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and would definitely recommend Expert Africa to interested friends.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None whatsoever, was superb." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was varied and gave us a good impression of Namibia and Botswana. Absolute highlights were times spent with Bruno Nebe, the Bushmen , and the excellentt Khowarib lodge." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Overall, we had a wonderful time and plan on returning to Namibia.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I would have liked to have received some of the travel information that you sent earlier. The materials on checking luggage, rental cars, etc would be useful, I would probably add some comments about paying people to watch your cars, street vendors, etc. But, I also recognize that our trip was put together at the last minute and that may be why we didn't get those materials until right before we left.

Maruska was very helpful and gave great advice. Thanks for a wonderful trip." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Apart from the route between Doro Nawas and Hobatere, and our last full day, the information and advice was thorough and very useful.

I think the instructions need to more consistent i.e. if comments are made about some bad roads, then ALL bad roads in the itinerary should be mentioned. Time or distance from the main road to the actual camps would be very useful.

We are not used to package holidays and it is easy to be complacent and think everything has been arranged in advance, all the maps perfect etc when using someone else.! I would have phoned ahead to all the places first to let them know when to expect us and check on directions. I am not sure what would have happened if we had a problem on route and not arrived which left me somewhat anxious especially as the phone did not always connect.

I bought a Namibian phone card which was good value - nb all internal text messages are free - you just pay for the calls.

The Bradt guide book was excellent - we almost left it behind and would have been stuck without it. We met other people using it.

The guide book had a few corrections to be made :

1) no walking tours included at Doro Nawas
2) Otavi - Rugger club was clearly not serving any meals
3) the Meteor Hotel in Otavi is called the Travel Inn on the main road so easy to miss it. A good recommendation and we had tasty pizzas.
4) In Etosha you talk about parking uder a tree in midday but we saw no trees where this can be done - suggest you delete this in next editions.
5) No garden centre restaurant in Okandja
6) Rhinos in Okandja was a simple restaurant run by a friendly family from Madeira and a good stop for a quick lunch.
7) In Okandja one lot of stalls has been burt down recently - only one lot of stalls now at the far end of the town.
8) Uis - beware of people selling crystals quite aggressively at the petrol station
9) If you want to go to the Tug Restaurant at Swakopmund you need to book it well in advance. In the end we got a late cancellation. Considered a touristy place by the locals but quite fun!
10) No ATMs in the Etosha Park - would have been useful to know this.
11) Petrol pump at Windhoek airport is not for the public. Only certain car hire companies can use it - Budget is one of them. Might be a good idea to fill up in Windhoek first to play safe.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We felt that driving times as described were not always realistic for a small car. As mentioned before, it would be useful to know in advance how long it takes to drive up the private roads or how long they are. 5 or 7 kms is a long way when you think you have arrived!

We are not convinced that Doro Nawas was the best stop for 2 nights and that we could have spent the time doing something else more interesting such as visiting the cheetah or lion conservancies.

Rating the accommodation is difficult as a tent cannot be called excellent and there fore I have given a consistent good throughout the form. ~They were all spacious and airy with comfortable beds." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip