Reviews of Ondudu

"We came back because on our last trip we only did one night and did not give the place justice.

It is lovely in a very different location in the hills with magnificent hills and boulders all around. We did a sunrise walk which was great. The guide was excellent,
sundowner drive too.

Not the place to go to see lots of wildlife but to see magnificent hills and scenery.

There are also cave paintings which we went to last time.

Excellent food and service." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"We really enjoyed our time at Ondudu Safari lodge. Out of all the places we stayed, I think we liked our actual room here, a tent-cabin amid rocky mountains, the best.

We also enjoyed the general "vibe" of the place, very friendly, not too fussy. Another plus for us was the availability of walking excursions. There were more available here than anywhere else that we stayed. We did two of those with a guide and also a walk by ourselves on a marked trail.

In retrospect, compared to some other places, we didn't see a lot of wildlife here, but it was our first stop, and we were thrilled to see oryx and kudu from a distance, to see rock hyrax and to get to really observe baboon interactions. Our guide at Ondudu Safari lodge was very nice, funny, friendly, and we really liked him and learned a lot from him. He was not quite as knowledgeable as some of the guides we had at other places though, particularly in the field of geology.

Mammals and reptiles we saw here included:

Male and female rock agama, oryx, damara dikdik, cape crested porcupines, klipspringers, kudus, chacma baboons, steenboks and rock hyraxes." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"The lodge is now called Ondudu, with new ownership, but remains essentially the same, although guided walks are no longer included.

The rooms are comfortable and spacious. The food was very good indeed.

We did not go out on a trip. We did take the only self guided walk, but found it to be not as flat as we’d been told. The guided walks we were advised against as they covered steep ground.

The restaurant area and pool are at the top of a long flight of steps, so this isn’t an easy place if you have mobility issues.

The lodge is in a beautiful area, if you are content to sit and chill." See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia

"We really enjoyed our stay at Ondudu. The tented chalet was very well appointed, including air con and a giant bed. Amazing views of the rock formations from the large back deck and outdoor bathroom. We enjoyed a great drink overlooking the mountains and valley, watching the sunset with the baboons. Dinner was very good and we saw porcupines visiting the water hole. Lots of rock dassies in the morning. Great stop on our way back to Windhoek, would recommend if you like beautiful landscapes and hikes." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia; 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"We liked Erongo Wilderness - but only had one night there which limited our ability to see all they offered. The walks looked interesting. The staff were friendly and attentive.

The tents were nice, sympathetically sited and well spaced out with attractive outdoor seating. The sundown drive was good although wildlife is limited. Food was good, catering for vegetarians." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"Very nice set up, fantastic views and great walks.

Service could be improved as this was the most poor accommodation service we experienced during our trip (albeit the other hotels set a very high standard). Breakfast was good, dinner food wasn't great. Dinner service was very slow. Dinner was served outside and it would have been good to have been given the option to eat inside as it was a bit cold (especially as we were waiting a while to be served) and it was too dark to see what we were eating (were told it was salmon, turned out to be bacon - luckily we eat and like both).

Tent was nice with a lovely private set up with lots of outside room, however the set up and in-room facilities are minimal rather than luxurious (albeit we had everything we needed aside from a hairdryer). There were supposed to be two lengths of morning walk available however, guests were persuaded to go on the short walk and discouraged from the long walk (which in practice wasn't really an option). Evening cave drive felt over priced (arguably should have been included in the accommodation price)." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"This was one place we used 4 wheel drive. The car park below the lodge was totally deserted so there appeared to be no option. The staff rushed up at the top and apologised profusely, saying that someone should have been at the bottom. If you have 4 wheel drive it’s no problem going up and down.

We had the “honeymoon suite” which was the furthest tent from the main lodge, but came with a spectacular view down to the plains. The tents are very well laid out and the external bathroom is excellent.

The evening and morning walks, conducted by Deon and Cardo were easy and enjoyable. The small pool was enjoyable during the hot afternoon. The local walks are easy to do on your own and are very well signposted.

We were a bit unhappy to see the management (universally white) standing around while the workers (universally not) rushed about serving guests. This was made worse after our first dinner when we were asked by a manager how it was and I said that the meat was over cooked and dry. The following day several of the staff came to check that the menu was ok, and my food was ok. While I believe their concern was genuine, I also felt that they had been ticked off which made me very uncomfortable.
They were, however, excellent at handling my lactose intolerance.

The wine list was very good, and we had the nicest bottle all trip here." See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia

"Being there for only one night, and moving off early the next morning, we did not have time to take full advantage of the activities on offer. Would recommend a two night stay if you have the time.

However, just seeing the spectacular scenery was worth a visit there." See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia

"Amazing that a lodge and cabins have been fit in amongst all those boulders! The outdoor dining room was beautiful and the food was excellent. We were told by the staff that there weren't many animals in the area, but Ken saw a troop of baboons on his guided sundown walk. The staff were very helpful in taking a phone message for us from Swiss travellers who had been on our Botswana safari, enabling us to meet up with them at Brandenburg Rest Camp the day we left." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

"Fantastic location within the rocks, although it was very hot.

Superb guide (Deon) on the couple of nature walks we did." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia