Reviews of Desert Rhino Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
116 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Desert Rhino Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Desert Rhino Camp review"
Seeing black rhino in this environment was the highlight of the trip." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia
"Desert Rhino Camp review"
3 days would be better as then you could cover the three areas they go out to in rotation." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 7n in Mozambique
"Unforgettable rhino tracking"
In terms of hospitality, food, service, accommodation etc. the camp is top quality and we are still fondly remembering some of the dishes - thank you for the fish recipe!... The only strange thing in the camp was hot water bottles in the beds when the temperature was over 30 degrees ;- )
Moreover, the managers helped us a lot with our car booking that got a bit complicated - thank you again for your help. And special thanks to our guide who drove us extra 40 km to our next destination." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia
"Desert Rhino Camp review"
It is in the most fabulous of locations with great open plains fringed with fabulous mountains - lots of game, birds and flora to explore and that's before you get to the Rhino tracking. Our guide Kopai made it a wonderful and memorable experience.
Great service on the Camp too with interesting suppers as its communal eating in hurricane lamp light." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia
"Rhino Tracking for the Faint Hearted"
The camp organisation was not quite as slick here with some rather ordinary food. We had Room 1 which like all the others was refurbished in 2008. The bucket showers have gone, in theory, having been replaced by a solar heated water system. However, ours heater was sited out of the sight line of the main lodge meaning that it was in the shade of two trees. When the other rooms had piping hot water after a partly cloudy day ours was tepid at best and a second cloudy day meant that we had to ask for a bucket of hot water on our last morning. This needs fixing as a a matter of urgency.
Our guide Aloysius was outstanding and seemed the only member of staff to appreciate our hot water issue. A specialised camp that delivers exactly what it says on the tin." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia
"Desert Rhino Camp review"
It was a great bonus to find that there is a new airstrip only 45 minutes from camp.
As a result of the relocation of some of the rhinos, it is necessary to travel a bit further afield to find rhinos at the moment. It is perhaps worth being aware that this may mean 12-13 hours out on a 4/4 over the very rocky desert tracks." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 5n in Namibia; 2n in South Africa
"Desert Rhino Camp review"
Not only the lodge itself is professionally run but also the wildlife viewing: it's clear they did some thinking about the way they organise the rhino walks and very reassuring they think not only of the guests but also of the wildlife. The most special of course is the chance to meest the rhinos in the wild.
A little bit of a pity that the time in the vehicle was very long compared to the time out, but I guess there's not much to do about that.
One negative thing is the red house wine is unfortunately rather bad." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Desert Rhino Camp review"
Although the topography and ecosystem were amazing, we heard nothing about it and mostly spent a very long day being driven at breakneck speeds though rough terrain, with the guide occassionally (and grudgingly it seemed) stopping for us to take a bathroom break, or even to snap a photo. When we did see a critter, he'd tell us the name, but that was all and then zoom on. Since we had been traveling in Africa by then for several weeks, his behavior was in stark contrast to all the other excellent guides we had had up to then. By contrast, another staff guide who drove us into and out of the Rhino Camp location was a GREAT guide (we saw cheetah and lions with him coming and going from the camp). Stopping to hunt for birds, setting up photo shots for my husband, frequently asking how we were doing and whether we were comfortable, etc. He was very considerate and seemed to really enjoy what he was doing.
I don't want to bash the whole place just because of one guide, but for all the hooplah Wilderness Safaris makes about its environmental ethic in its literature, I didn't hear anything about that from our main guide and by the end we were just ready to get out of there.
The road to the Rhino Camp from Vingerlkip was terrible--and took a long time to travel it. I would recommend only a 4 wheel drive vehicle on it, not our low clearance little Ford. (Leaving towards Etosha the road was much better).
So, considering that this was probably the most expensive of the lodges we were at in Namibia, and that once we finally made it over the road and got there only to have a crummy experience, makes me think we won't be returning to the Rhino Camp. I don't think it's worth it especially because of the several days it took to get there (overnight at Vingerklip made it a three night venture), feels like we wasted time there when we could have spent it somewhere else in Namibia. I think the Rhino Camp was our idea, actually, but please caution others who might get sucked into their advertising, that it's more of an iffy venture--and more expensive-- then other places." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana
At Expert Africa, we have taken on board the comments about suitable vehicles on the road leading to Desert Rhino Camp and will be sure to advise all future travellers accordingly.
"Manager"
"Desert Rhino Camp review"
I also loved going out for a full day tracking the rhinos with a picnic lunch which we ate in the bush. Since we were the only guests tracking rhinos that day, all four of the trackers rode in our landrover and we found it fascinating to watch them try to follow the rhino tracks. Although we didn't see any rhinos that day, we did see about seven cheetahs, which was pretty amazing. The next morning, when we did see not one, but two, rhinos we felt like we had earned the right to see them!" See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia
"Desert Rhino Camp review"
The camp itself was wonderful in all respects and its utter remoteness only served to emphasise its beauty and tranquility. On our only full day there we were the only guests so we had Ally and three trackers all to ourselves! However, try as hard as they most certailny did (and we were out from 6.30a.m. to 5.30p.m. with light fading fast) not a rhino was to be found. It mattered little though since we saw lots of other game, zebra, ostrich, vultures, eagles, a chameleon and the largest herd of springbok we saw on the whole of our trip (250-300 we'd estimate).
We also had a lovely lunch in the shade of a large acacia tree accompanied by a cool beer. Magical! Also worth mentioning that the staff here (all black Namibians during our stop) seemed to make much more genuine effort to engage with us than at some of the other 'up-market' lodges. Our schedule involved rather a lot of driving so we only had an evening and the one full day and we would recommend having at least two full days 'cos it would have been nice to do some guided walks as well as the rhino-tracking drives." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia
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