Reviews of Ndhovu Safari Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
126 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Ndhovu Safari Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Ndhovu Safari Lodge review"
Really great to hear the hippos at night and see them by day.
Michael was a great guide who took us to his home in the village and also to the village school where the kindergarten children entertained us." See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia; 5n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Ndhovu Safari Lodge review"
"Ndhovu Safari Lodge review"
Everyone was very friendly and always on hand to help us enjoy all the activities that the lodge provided,but, also happy to let us have our own time to relax. we had avery good tour of Micheal's local village and the school.
All the meals we had were very good." See all these reviews: 5n in Namibia; 3n in Zambia
"Disappointment at Ndhovu"
The camp and activities were being run in the absence of the owner (only temporarily we were told) by a young man who was clearly both stretched and stressed, and who did not communicate well.
The amount of food prepared for meals was finely judged. There was no choice of cereal for breakfast, and orange coloured jelly and red jam came in plastic catering sachets. Extras were expensive, which made this by far our most costly stay. This proved annoying when contrasted with the standard of the camp.
We question whether this establishment was really up to Expert Africa standard. We would not be inclined to return." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana
"hippo camp"
Horst and Chris were excellant hosts and the two drives and sundoner on the river were brilliant.the Hippos were just the best ,we will never forget that wonderful noise . Our three nights stay was perfect." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia
"guesthouse on the kwando river"
Concerning the room, we were first on a raft; but with the pitching we were unconfortable and ask to change for the next night ( done without any difficulty). Basic bathroom.
The boss was our private guide; we appreciate. The game drive was a bit poor." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia
"lovely but for the hippos"
food was served at large tables...which I don't like....however we did end up with good company. despite marking this as excellent, I am not convinced that this was the most interesting place to stay." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
"Good place to spend the night"
Very cold - we needed every one of our mountain of blankets in the night." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana
"Ndhovu Safari Lodge review"
We liked Ndhovu a lot but we had a number of niggles which prevent us giving it a 'Excellent' rating.
The track to the lodge was fairly rough and signage could be improved – basically follow the signs for Mahangu Lodge until you pick up ones for Ndhovu. On arrival we were greeted by South African Chris, so laid back he's horizontal. There was no real explanation of the activities available and no price list was ever seen. We always had to ask to do activities – there was little proactivity. We had checked on the internet before leaving but our trip to the park across the river turned out to be at significantly higher cost than expected; although we'd still have done it, the cost should have been pointed out. A drive in Mahango NP was very good but we'd recommend anyone with the appropriate vehicle (4X2 plus) to drive yourself – the cost is N$90 rather than N$600 for two – and you can spend all day if you like, which we did on our last day.
Tents were adequate – comfortable but smallish – plenty of blankets provided for cold nights- and our first night was very cold – tents 1-5 are close together so, unless your neighbours lower their voices every word is audible. Only 1 small bottle of water per person was provided no matter how many nights you were staying.
They claimed they had not been informed of my cheese allergy – unfortunate as the first night's dinner was lasagne – but an excellent alternative was quickly provided and everybody was very careful thereafter. Accepting that, the food was generally excellent, particularly given the open-air kitchen and windy conditions!
The laundry service was efficient and good value." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia; 2n in Zambia; 1n in Botswana
"Ndhovu Safari Lodge review"
The food here was OK, but not great, except for the eland lasagne which was very good and especially appreciated by the children. The staff seemed less friendly here than at many of the other lodges. We saw very little on the sunset cruise which was unfortunate, especially as we'd seen such a lot at Hakusembe, but that's not the lodge's fault - the wildlife doesn't follow the boating schedule!
However, there were a large number of boats out at the same time and one wonders if the traffic does scare off some animals. Unfortunately, I was ill during the cruise and for the day after and Horst, the owner, was very nice about it. We spent a relaxed day driving round Mahango and a very interesting day in Botswana.
Interestingly, although they are so close, the staff at Ndhovu didn't seem to know what papers we would need to cross the border with a hire car, which would have been helpful. Fortunately everything was in order and we had no border problems. On hindsight, three days here was perhaps a little long for us, but as I was ill for one of the three days it all worked out fine." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia
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