Reviews of Nkasa Lupala
Wildlife sightings and reviews
37 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Nkasa Lupala and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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87% success
69% success
64% success
57% success
31% success
17% success
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"Nkasa Lupala Tented Lodge review"
The main area (where meals of a good standard are served at a table shared with the owners and all other guests) was very welcoming. There was a constant supply of tea, coffee and rusks or other treats depending on the time of day.
Due to the late rains, the wildlife was not as prolific as on our last stay in the area (at the sister camp Jackelberry) but we very much enjoyed our shared game drives throughout the park. The owner was very engaging, great company and really helpful when we needed to sort out some minor practicalities.
Would highly recommend." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana
Elephant
10 sightings
Hippo
10 sightings
Leopard
1 sighting
Wildebeest
10 sightings
Zebra
1 sighting
"Nkasa Lupala Tented Lodge review"
Simone the manager was very engaging and knowledgable.
Tasty food." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana
Buffalo
1 sighting
Elephant
2 sightings
Hippo
2 sightings
Lion
1 sighting
Wildebeest
1 sighting
Zebra
1 sighting
"Nkasa Lupala Tented Lodge review"
Elephant
Multiple sightings
Hippo
Multiple sightings
Lion
1 sighting
"Huge herd of Buffalo."
Again staff very friendly and helpful although the guiding was, in my opinion no where near being up to scratch. Really enjoyed the after dinner chats with the owner about all sort of things. Between us we were able to put the world to rights and forget for that brief moment of time that people like Trump and Borris Johnson even exist.
Like most places we stayed at, game was in short supply. The early rains in October meant that there was a plentiful supply of water in the bush and the wildlife didn't need to come out" See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia
Buffalo
Multiple sightings
Hippo
Multiple sightings
Lion
1 sighting
Wildebeest
Multiple sightings
Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Good"
Did a good game drive and boat ride from here.
Once again everyone sat together for dinner which we think is great." See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Cheetah
1 sighting
Eland
1 sighting
Elephant
1 sighting
Giraffe
1 sighting
Hippo
1 sighting
Lion
7 sightings
Wildebeest
1 sighting
Zebra
1 sighting
"Serene stay at Nkasa Lupala Tented Lodge"
The tented rooms were very small - the bed took up most of the space. During our stay we had no hot water - probably due to the cold nights (around 5C). My daughter and granddaughter did a guided walk with Stefan on the afternoon of our arrival - this was excellent - they got very close to elephants and other wildlife. My husband and I had planned to go on this walk but it was very hot and at the last minute we decided we'd go on the morning walk instead. During dinner the manager apologised and told us there'd be no morning walk as they had only two guides at the camp and they'd both be needed for the morning game drive and boat trip as 10 guests had booked on these excursions. This was disappointing - I do think they should have told us when we booked the morning walk that there was a possibility that it would not go ahead - perhaps they need another guide at the camp to cater for all the guests.
We did a combined game drive and boat trip in the afternoon which I think probably was better than going in the morning - we saw a lot of wild life during the river trip, but not so much wildlife in the park. There was a lot of wildlife around the camp itself (including elephants) The roads are very bad in the park although we did drive in to the camp - it was ok and we are not experienced at driving in sand. Dining here was at a communal table for 18 to 20 guests." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Buffalo
Multiple sightings
Elephant
Multiple sightings
Giraffe
1 sighting
Hippo
Multiple sightings
"Great alternative type accommodation & safari"
We really enjoyed lazing around the swimming pool (it is small but definitely does the trick and is excellent for cooling down) the following day and then the big combo drive with Derek. It started off quiet but our patience paid off - we came across a really massive male lion that we were tracking in our car for quite a while, until the point that he came across two warthogs - the lion at some point looked like he was going to go for a kill but in the end got too lazy and walked off into the grass.
We then joined a boat cruise and were rewarded with lots of hippos and another spectacular sight - a lioness and two male lions eating an antelope which they must have just killed, followed by the two males rolling around and playing in the grass. Fabulous." See all these reviews: 6n in Namibia; 5n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
"Nkasa Lupala Tented Lodge review"
"Fantastic eco-lodge"
Staff were incredibly friendly, knowledgable and helpful. We did a safari walk which was interesting and the safari combo (game drive and boat trip) was our best safari trip on our 3 week holiday. Being on the boat, working our way through the river channels and viewing the game and birds close up was fantastic - so much better than from a car. We felt that the game guides here were particularly accommodating to our needs and we never felt like we were being rushed.
If you wanted to, you could self drive through the game reserve (permit required) and we had the impression that there was a lot of investment and development underway so perhaps this reserve will be even better in the future. What we particularly liked was that this was an eco-lodge with a strong focus on working with the local community.
We would stay here again and if we could, would have extended our visit beyond the two nights we had.
The drive to the lodge was interesting and certainly tested out our 4x4 - doing that drive in the rainy season must be interesting!" See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia; 2n in Zambia
"Nkasa Lupala"
Excellently positioned for bird and animal viewing, but the administration could be enhanced by the attention to detail the River Dance Lodge owners were prepared to give." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia
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