Reviews of safaris to Central Highlands

"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

"It was truly a trip of a lifetime for us (though hopefully one of many). From the moment I called Expert Africa to the moment we departed Windhoek to go back to the US, the trip was seamless, enjoyable, and extremely memorable. Tom at Expert Africa did a tremendous job of interpreting who we are as travelers, what we were looking for in the trip, and then finding the right accommodations for each stage of the trip. It was expertly crafted.

Namibia is a magical place with wonderful scenery, friendly people, and surprisingly delicious food (Oryx!). We hope to return soon to continue exploring this incredible country." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful month and intend to return to Namibia with a longer trip into Botswana." Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 26 on a Namibia trip

"This trip was the middle portion of a longer African holiday which we planned ourselves.

We were delighted with the personal touch and attention to detail that Maruska provided. We had enough information from telephone calls, emails, books by Bradt and your web site to approach this section of our trip with confidence. We did not have to do the planning and make reservations as Maruska, arranged everything. We made some accommodation changes a few days before we left for our holiday and a last minute reversal on our Car Hire, (which involved a new company and an eventual refund) and were relieved at how efficiently those changes were handled.

Maruska's response of making sure we were first and foremost satisfied with our itinerary and happy with all arrangements was most refreshing and reassuring.

We have spoken very highly about your service with friends and family highlighting the ethos of your company. Thank you for everything. Marg and Phil Crosby-Jones" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Excellent in many ways. In retrospect we made two errors. Firstly we should have driven eastwards through Etosha and gone to Mundulea from the north, even if we had arrived a little later than 3.00pm. This would have enabled us to see more of the National Park and avoided going both ways along the B1 to Otjiwaranga. Secondly we should have seen Twyfelfontein in the evening, as we passed the turning, and saved the morning for a game drive at Doro Nawas. This was our mistake.

The dreadful car made driving on rough roads no pleasure." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"It was a good trip, well organised and we enjoyed it. And as people who have lived in Kenya and travelled pretty extensively I accept that we were 'difficult' clients to please.

The over riding thing that went wrong was the weather. I knew it was the rainy season and had hoped that March would see something of a wind down. On the contrary, according to every single local that we met, we were at the very height of it. The outcomes varied from the inconvenient (cold showers and damp towels) to an inability to get off main roads/tracks, getting wet and cold, being sent off to Etosha at the peak of the rainy season so nothing was there, and looking at clouds instead of the sun.

I had expected Kenyan style clouds building in the afternoon, rain and then a clear sky again but everywhere north of Swakop and indeed at Windhoek as we left there was considerable and persistent cloud (but not all the time by any means), together with heavy rain.

I would have liked a MUCH clearer warning of this.

The second problem was the car which was not fit for purpose, in terms of suspension at least. A car is just a car until it doesn't work in which case it drags everything down.

With those two caveats we had a good time. The bookings that (for me) didn't cut the cake were the Strand Hotel (but I don't like hotels), Doro Nawas and Ongava. The other side of the coin was excellent visits to Hoodia, Etendeka, Mundelea and Okonjiwa." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"Our departure from Windhoek was not as smooth as it should have been. A very good car and driver (Sam) were provided by Wilderness to take us to River Crossing. Sam had not been told what time to collect us to go to the airport on the following morning. He and I agreed that 10.30 would be a good time and that he would get Wilderness to confirm by phone later, that didn't happen. At 8 am on the Saturday morning still nothing had been heard from Wilderness. At 9 the hotel manageress phoned Wilderness only to told that they'd have to look it up and phone back, Just after 10 am they phoned to say the car would come at 10.50. Surely something as simple as fixing a time should have been handled far better and we should have known the departure time on the Friday evening. The second trouble was at the airport. Sam had been instructed that we had to go the Wilderness office so that they could assist our check in. The office was deserted and Sam went in search of any Wilderness employees. This was wasting our time and we didn't need assistance anyway. Eventually someone from Wilderness did turn up. "Good morning, you are checking in for the KLM". He looked surprised to be told we were Qatar passengers and didn't need assistance. This performance didn't give us any confidence in Wilderness's management, perhaps it was just their weekend shift. Despite this poor finish the trip had been a great success. The itinerary worked and we saw virtually all the animals and birds we were after. With the full advantage of hindsight I think we should have stayed one more night at Bullsport. But it was great to see Namibia again after 26 years and the huge changes that have happened in that time." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"The organisation and choices of places by expert Africa were outstanding. Everything went like clockwork. Because we spent time talking with Tom and because he listened, we got everything that we wanted from the trip. Expert Africa must be the best in their field. When we go again (and we will,), we will go for longer. Most sites could do with longer stays as there is so much to see.
I would definitely take a 4x4 with lockable cabinets in it.
The drives between sites was just about tha perfect distance and gave you a chance to appreciate the magnificent landscapes.
All the driving was very easy except for the sand road between Kipwe and Swapokmund which needed concentration
Never unlock your car doors in Windhoek.
I would unreservedly recommend Expert Africa to anyone wanting to see the stunning beauties of Namibia." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Great trip with a great variety of lodges. Twenty one stops in total .

Very enjoyable and effortless driving between lodges. We covered 5,000 km in the rainy season with no problems. The twin cab Ford Ranger was perfect.

The following will be especially remembered
Dabis for the interest and the enthusiasm of the owner
Wolverdans for the situation and for the charm of Thelma
Vreugde for the friendliness of the family
Mundulea for everything about it
Nhoma for the humour of the bushmen
Ngoma for the lodge its situation and management" Read full review: 39 nights in Africa; 27 on a Namibia trip