Reviews of safaris to Central Highlands

"This was the best organised and most enjoyable trip we have ever experienced! The service from Expert Africa was professional, sympathetic and extremely knowledgeable.

The packed breakfast from Roys Restcamp and indifferent management at Ngepi were the only incidents (and not controllable by EA) which were not perfect in a safari which gave us a range of excellent accommodation, a kaleidoscope of stunning locations and landscapes and an unforgettable selection of activities. Transfers and flights were seamless and on time, all bookings were recognised and honoured. Everything worked better than expected!

We have been extremely impressed with the efficiency of the EA service, the response to queries and information provided and overall knowledge available to us in dealing with Maruska who did a superb job in putting together the package for such a disparate group.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Can't think of any." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Maruska did an excellent job in putting together a varied itinerary for our mixed group. We had a fantastic trip!! One of the highlights of our seven months away. Such a wonderful balance of comfort and adventure. Highlights included the balloon ride over the Namib desert, game drives in Etosha and Chobe, fishing on the Okavango panhandle and enjoying sundowners as a family each evening.

Although more expensive than other trips we had done, we can confidently say that it was excellent value for money. Simply put, Maruska made everything easy for us - things worked like clockwork!

Namibia is an easy country to do a self drive. The flexibility this gave us was refreshing. Given the long distances, everyone shared the driving. The pacing of the trip was spot on!

We were also pleasantly surprised with how much we loved the Okavango panhandle. It really was the 'Delta' experience we were looking for.

Thank you once again Mush for a great holiday!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Lived up to, and in many ways exceeded our expectations. Stunning, often remote desert scenery and ever-changing landscapes. Super, comfortable, imaginative lodges in some exceptional settings, staffed by really friendly, well trained and helpful people.

Some memorable experiences and excursions with knowledgeable, professional guides at sensible prices.

All the Expert Africa arrangements worked perfectly, and your descriptions of lodges, activities etc were accurate and realistic. We were particularly impressed by the Wilderness Safari lodges and their people. No anxieties or disappointments whatsoever. Sabina was helpful and knowledgeable, but never 'pushy' - which was one factor which swung us towards you and away from another operator.

Would certainly recommend you, just as you were recommended to us by a friend." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Top notch!

Everything was well organised and well planned - a very thorough and professional service by Expert Africa.

Our special thanks must go to Maruska for her individual attention. We will highly recommend this service to our friends." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"This trip was truly a most rewarding experience, we both were enthralled by the journey and the sights we were able to see.

The trip was very well planned and organised, and offered a really in-depth insight into Namibia and its wildlife and stunning scenery.

We covered a lot of ground in our in Namibia, and whilst distance itself is not a problem, the state of the roads can make road travel very demanding. If we are able to return again I would seriously consider flying in and out to the lodges.

Our thanks go to Elizabeth for producing a very detailed travel plan and itinerary" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"First of all, we feel so lucky to have Megan as our contact in Expert Africa. She always responded very efficiently and tried her best to arrange our self-driving Namibian trip to meet our expectation. She also assisted us in visa issue very much.

It's really an issue for Taiwanese to get Namibian visa. She also gave us the helpful advice, arranged the accommodation well to avoid too long hours driving which make the trip more flexible. The whole team of Expert Africa is very knowledgeable and professional.

The wilderness safari greeted us from the airport on our first day which impressed us very much. All staff in their accommodation are wonderful but we also enjoyed the different types of accommodation like Etosha Safari Camp, Erongo, and Okonjima.

The only thing we regretted was not to book accommodation earlier. I think the best accommodation options are to stay in the NWR when you are in National Park like Etosha and Namib desert national parks even the rooms are all basic but for us, locations matter most because we can see more animals and enjoy sunrise or sunset in or on the sand dunes." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 15 on a Namibia trip

"This was our third trip arranged by Maruska, and like the other trips, the arrangements were excellent. Maruska gave us some great advice on our route and places to stay. We were provided with a map showing our route with driving times were were spot on. We did have a GPS with us but probably did not need it as the directions provided were very clear. The trip went very smoothly, all arrangements went as planned.

If you've noticed a 2 week gap in our accommodations it's because we spent that time after Upington in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park which we booked ourselves.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Spell check on the feedback form does not work.

When proof reading reviews I discovered that if I made changes then clicked ""Back to previous page"" to proof another review, the changes were not saved. Could this be fixed?

Everything else is great! We love getting the brochure and the information on the website is very good." Read full review: 43 nights in Africa; 27 on a Namibia trip

"We were very glad we decided to fly between most of the camps. The trip would have taken several weeks by road but each and every flight was "scenic" and you only get a real appreciation of the topography from the air. Landscapes in particular are unlike anywhere else we have visited. We enjoyed the whole trip hugely: so different from other safari holidays taken. We saw everything we had hoped for - from desert adapted lions and elephants to walking with black rhino and cheetah. We thought the level of knowledge of the guides in general was not as extensive as other African countries we have visited. Bruno at Mundulea stood head and shoulders above the rest in this regard. Advice for other vegetarians is that this is a very meat-based society but the overall quality of the offerings - with one or two notable exceptions - was uniformly poor and way below our experience in Botswana and Tanzania. It didn't detract from our enjoyment but would have enhanced it! Thanks to Sabina for picking up the organising reins mid-way, in particular flagging up an earlier bush flight on our arrival day." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"We are happier and richer with our Namibia experience.

Although it was not an easy task for Megan and later Tom because we booked fairly late and many of the camps were fully booked but they managed excellently and we got just the type of camps we wished for, the distance between the camps for self-drive was ideal.

Everything worked just like clockwork, only pleasant surprises. Many thanks to both Megan and Tom for outstanding job!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just a feed back about using Tracks4Africa Namibia map on our Ipad. We downloaded the map at home to be used off-line (no roaming) in Namibia than used it together with the traditional map provided and found the two to be very good and cheap combination. (Our Garmin had broke on a previous trip and we didn't want to buy a new one) The GPS of the Ipad (or Iphone) was accurate for us to be able to see where we are, plan and see if we are heading the right direction. We can safely recommend to use it together with a map.

Route to Damaraland Camp: the pick up point was NOT marked out on the map and had to call the camp for advice (and we later found that we could have driven all the way up to the camp as the road was almost better than the main gravel road).

The route from Anderson's Camp to Mundulea was NOT marked out at all on the map provided by Wilderness Safaris. We asked the staff at Anderson's Camp and they pointed out the tarred road (Otjiwarongo and up to Otavi). In retrospect, may be, starting early enough, we could have driven through Etosha and then turned South to Tsumeb and Otavi instead and still made it to Mundulea by 14:30. IF driving through Etosha to the East then turn South is an possible alternative to get to Mundulea I wish Expert Africa had pointed out for us and we could have planned that day differently.

About guides on nature or game drives; Most of them drive and stay too closely to the animals, less than five meters to lions or ten meters to elephants for example. We experienced this both on our Botswana and in Namibia trips ( Wilderness Safari's camps). Probable reasons; previous guests asked them to get closer or they do it in the hope of more tips, or just show off. But most of visitors have binoculars and good cameras they should not insist. In fact it is far more exciting to watch game from some distance and the animals tend to stay longer, too. Guests and guides alike need to be informed and/or reminded about a recommended (regulated?!) distances to be kept ." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"We did a two-week self drive tour of Namibia. First of all, literally all the arrangements made by Expert Africa worked out perfectly - no surprises. Everything was as it was supposed to be - and the communications between Expert and all the local vendors was seamless. Expert laid out a route for us, arranged all the accommodations and a car. The planning process was a great blend of good listening to what we wanted (or thought we wanted!) combined with helpful guidance and development of choices - all very appropriate given that, while we are experienced travelers, this would be our first trip to Namibia and we were self-driving.

The car was terrific - perfect choice for us: 4/4 but automatic drive. We loved the driving tho it is challenging in parts - some long stretches of "washboard" road. But we and the car held up fine - and the drives are all worth it for the wonderful experience of being immersed in a beautiful and complicated country with endlessly interesting landscapes - and people.

The accommodations were also varied; most were just delightful - a few exceptional and unique experiences. We were especially surprised by the delicious and fresh (and healthy!) meals we had in some very remote areas. Two of the accommodations were not quite as perfect a match for our style but that was completely because of our late scheduling and trying to match our other preferences re: access and route with what was available.

All in all a great experience; we'd highly recommend Expert Africa and would be happy to use them again.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Would be really hard to say as all aspects were so well managed. Perhaps one thing that might be useful is a bit more detail on how to get to a few of the accommodations. The map was great - and well used - but while the GPS, which we used to supplement the maps, was most often excellent - when it was wrong, it was dramatically wrong - sending us on a road that didn't exist, for example. Some more detailed instructions about the last portion of the route to any particular accommodation could help.

Maruska was terrific to work with and planned a great trip; she was also very responsive while we were there, although little contact was needed fortunately. She was particularly tenacious about us getting a refund for a minor expense related to a flat tire that just got a little complicated because of credit card issues. [The folks from Wilderness Safaris in the Windhoek airport were amazingly helpful also.]" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip