Reviews of safaris to Central Highlands

"It was a great trip" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful trip, we really enjoyed our slow drive around Namibia. Claire fulfilled all our requests for specific rooms (i.e. far from main areas, with good views) as well as booking us a balloon trip in Sossussvlei and the best table at The Jetty in Swakopmund. All our expectations were met.

2 points which will be useful: 1) There are no longer ATM's in Etosha, and petrol stations do not take cards. You have to arrive in Etosha with enough cash.

2) Nam $ 3000 in cash was stolen from a hotel safe - luckily our passports and credit cards were not taken. Best to keep cash and cards with you at all times. Of course this could happen anywhere in the world, it's just in Namibia we were carrying more cash than usual." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 27 on a Namibia trip

"We had a lot of things we knew we really wanted to do but the additions recommended by Expert Africa really added to the holiday.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service
Proper maps for Capetown area. Update restaurant info etc and make this more personal rather than general travel agent type reviews.
Wilderness safaris in Namibia were fantastic. So helpful at the airport including dealing with all the car hire for us. Really excellent ground agents.

We have been using Expert Africa since 2002 on and off and we keep on coming back even though we know pretty much what we want to do on our trips. We use you because you add to our holiday and make good suggestions and you are good value for money and give us the back up it's comforting to have whilst we are away." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We had a really good holiday. At times th edriving was quite tiring given the state of the roads. Timing - although the country was quite green and attractive it did mean wildlife was scarce even in Etosha which put piad to some activities which was a shame. However, the scenery and wild landscapes more than made up fpr this. T

The only downside was Zebra River Lodge - i strongly suggest you drop this accommodation.

Hoodia, Kipwe & Erongo were our highlights.

Two very minor points on your itinerary:

1) I think Hoodia directions are wrong - to be fair it is wrongly located on a number of maps; and
2) Be aware that Kipwe does not provide a laundry service (we had planned to use it but no service exists)." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Everything went smoothly and according to plan. The only glitch was having to leave Nduvo a day early in order to get to Maun on time." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We had such high expectations and they were all met ,even in extremely remote locations.
The standard of accommodation ,food and service is overall very high.
At no time did we feel nervous or threatened and the driving is a challenge but was fun and an unforgettable experience.
Sharing the driving and hiring a proper 4WD vehicle is strongly advised
Don't just dream about driving through Namibia, book it and do it for the most wonderful experiences and memories

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Let's start with the positives. Our guide (Lawrence) is a wonderful guy and skilled guide. Can't speak highly enough for him. The sites we visited were excellent, and the accommodations varied from "satisfactory" to "outstanding" with an average I'd say B+. The meals they provided were upscale and very good - whether at restaurants or in the tented camps. Game viewing was excellent. It was obviously a finely tuned itinerary - we saw an amazing variety in the time we had. Everything went like clockwork.

The overall experience was brilliant, but with two major caveats. First, they PACKED the vehicle (Land Cruiser) with EIGHT passengers (there are nine seats, including the driver and passenger seats). There was no storage space available, so water bottles/daypacks/cameras had to be underfoot the whole time. The leg room was minimal in some of the seats, especially for tall people.. The passenger seat has no access to the roof for photos or viewing while on safari. Some seats are more comfortable than others, so we were jockeying on a daily basis for who got the crappy seats. We joked about "business class" seats and coach. It sucked. Safari viewing with the top up was difficult, with seven of us trying to cram ourselves into the small viewing area. The saving grace was that our fellow passengers were all good natured and willing to take their turn in the bad seats.

To add insult to injury, after the first day or so, we noticed the air conditioning in the vehicle was failing. Coolant leak. Lawrence got a recharge the evening of the day we discovered the problem, but whatever caused the leak in the first place wasn't diagnosed - nor fixed. So we didn't have A/C for most of the trip, and some of the days were 40 degrees C. So we had to drive with the windows open. Most of the roads were gravel. It got pretty uncomfortable. It's hot (it's the desert...). Dusty. Every time we encountered a dust trail from another vehicle, we had to quickly close all the windows, opening them after the "smoke" had cleared. In the heat.

There were other problems with the vehicle as well - the doors wouldn't unlock much of the time. The roof leaked when it rained, turning the front row of seats into a pool. There was often a gas smell in the passenger compartment.

This was billed (and priced) as a luxury tour. For most aspects, it delivered that. But the transportation was more what you'd expect from a bare-bones budget travel agency. We'd go back to Namibia in a heartbeat, but I wouldn't book with Karibu unless we had assurances that their transportation wouldn't be packed like sardines, and the equipment was properly serviced." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"Tom from Expert Africa did a really good job of guiding us through the process of planning our holiday, where to go and where to stay in Namibia. He was certainly very knowledgable and helpful. Although he made a few carless mistakes these were all easily corrected (before anything was finalized) and we had a flawless trip and are very grateful for his knowledge and assistance." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"BEST NATURE EXPERIENCES

The first antelope by side of road - day1

Sitting on veranda at first lodge - afternoon of day 1 - watching antelopes , warthog family , lots of birds .

Close enough ( 6 ft) to cheetahs to hear them purr - Day 2

Mongoose pack being harried by 2/3 hawks - herding? - day 3.

Warthog Male trying to kill youngsters - because Female then goes into heat!?

All alone at waterhole in empty west Etosha watching 25 giraffes of all sexes and ages and then enthralled by the herd galloping away - because I spooked them by getting out of car!!

Bird with corn cricket in beak - bashing it on branch like on an anvil

Chasing 'flocks' of hornbills along Hornbill Highway in far north east Etosha !

The noise of seals at Cape Cross - especially deep bellow of males!

Flamingos sieving the water as the tide came in ( went out?) leaving puddles behind

The garden at Mushara Lodge - mongoose hunting snakes in long grass - dik dik grazing - wart hogs grazing and fighting - lots of birds - very cold swimming pool

Elephants coming to Hobaterre lodge waterhole - could reach out and touch but must not!

Lizards everywhere - especially at Erongo - all colours - all sizes!

Huge flocks of cormorants at Cape Cross !

Thousands of pelicans , flamingos , shore birds in Walvis Bay. Watching the pelicans fishing by diving from 10 metres up!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa was amazing. From our first telephone call, they really understood what we wanted, and arranged everything perfectly.

Even the timing of the stay at each place and the set up of the order of the itinerary showed great sensitivity to our wishes for the trip.

We have never used a service such as this, and were so pleased.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Our only comment is that the suggested travel times between places were almost always to short, we always needed more time to travel than estimated." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 21 on a Namibia trip