Reviews of safaris to Damaraland

"We had an absolutely amazing trip: it was a truly unforgettable experience that we loved every minute of.

We saw and did so much within just two weeks: the desert, dunes and mountains of Namibia; the San; the Vic Falls; the Delta; Cape Town and Table Mountain; the flights over the desert and delta; brilliant game sightings including all the Big 5.

Namibia is an incredible country with amazing scenery, fascinating culture, superb wildlife and huge open spaces - the shortest drive we had from the gate to the main building in five lodges was about half an hour! It was a pleasure to drive in, with the straight, empty roads, and even better to fly over. Botswana complemented it perfectly: it was wonderful to go from the desert and mountains of Namibia to the Chobe river and Okavango Delta and see animals and go on game drives in a completely different environment.

Flying from Sossuvlei to Damaraland made this all possible: as well as being one of the highlights of the trip, it saved us 10 hours on the road and having to stop in Swakopmund. This meant we could fit more in within the time we had and massively reduced the total amount of time we spent driving. Our driver in Namibia, Shorty, drove very safely and was an integral part of our trip - our best sightings of giraffes were with him, driving out of Gocheganas and Okonjima!

What stood out most, though, was all the people we met and the wonderful welcome we received at all the lodges, which really made everything that much more special. We especially appreciated how great everyone was with our kids.

The service from both Expert Africa and Wilderness Safaris was outstanding and could not be faulted in any way. All the arrangements ran like clockwork. Given we had a total of 10 flights (from leaving Sri Lanka to returning), 9 lodges and 18 activities, this was quite an achievement and testament to exceptional efficiency and attention to detail. There was always someone waiting to collect us at the appointed time; all the lodges were expecting us and had our room ready; all the activities were booked.

I am so grateful to Maruska for her advice, assistance and organisation. I first contacted her about two years in advance and must have sent over a hundred emails in total. She always replied immediately with helpful and detailed answers that displayed her detailed knowledge of the area and determination to make sure we would be happy with every aspect of the trip. She simply could not have done any more.

If we are lucky enough to be able to go back to Africa , we should certainly use Expert Africa again and will recommend them to all our friends.

Thank you for organsing a simply brilliant adventure: we have brought back memories that will last a lifetime.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service: This was the first time I had ever booked a trip / holiday through an agent - which I imagine may be true for many of your clients. Although Maruska was ever-willing to give quotes for as many different options as I wanted and to suggest ways to cut costs if required, I would have appreciated at least a rough idea of what was costing what in the overall quote.

I wonder whether it might be possible to give an indication of the cost of different lodges on your website (even if this is just a code such as $$ or $$$ etc) so clients can see how expensive different lodges are and how costs in different countries compare. Some indication of how the costs of different modes of transport compare would also be useful." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Brilliant - we will definitely be going back to Namibia at some time in the future!

We are really glad that Chris suggested that we do this as a self drive holiday......we would have hated being on a tour bus!!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We have been wanting to visit Namibia for sometime and we weren't disappointed. Its a beautiful country with friendly people.

Driving was easy even on the dirt roads and despite the fact we had a lot of rain for the time of year.

We witnessed the greening of the desert as we drove around and saw some amazing wildlife in a beautiful setting.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We recommend the XTrail over the Duster for this type of trip." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"This is a trip I want to forget. I had inappropriate expectations from other travellers comments, or from advice from Expert Africa. The unsealed roads that are considered "good" turned out to be on average, alot worst than the unsealed roads in Australia. The "best" sections in Namibia were eqivalent to our unsealed roads in National Parks with corrugations. The rest were atrocious, with no warning sign if something major comes up that requires significant slowing down.

I was told that there was cell phone reception almost everywhere, and I wouldn't need a satellite phone. It turned out half of the unsealed roads had no reception. There were some stretches of roads that I did not see another car for an hour at a time. I was driving alone and couldn't deal with any breakdowns myself. I wouldn't have made this trip if I had known the reality.

I was also told that I would see a good amount of game as it is baby season, and there would be an increase in predator activities to feed the babies. When I asked the guides they just laughed. Virtually all the animals gave birth anytime if the year. Also because there was alot of late rain, I really didn't see much game except for elephants.

I really wasn't prepared for how backward Africans were. The lodges in Namibia were nicely built, but you couldn't get even the most basic requests through the staff. They are genuinely nice people, but almost all the lodges never considered purchasing the few items that I requested due to dietery restrictions, eventhough they were common supermarket items. I asked if I should bring some of these items myself and was told the lodges confirmed they would supply them. Should I have been warned they may not mean what they say?

Zimbabwe apart from Victoria Falls was unbearably backward. I am not sure if its to do with their econmic meltdown 20 years ago. Even at departure, I thought I had to spend the night at the airport as they couldn't refuel the plane.

I did manage to get some good photos. I do think Namibia has the best rockscapes in the world and massive potential to develop their tourist industry further, but I wouldn't consider going back.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I received a very good service from Maruska in planning this trip. But I feel she may need to be updated about a few facts. When I travelled to Egypt several years ago with a tour, we were given in writing tips on cultural expectations I call it. EA could certainly do with something like that, so travellers are better prepared as they interact with Africans.

I have travelled extensively around the world but have never been to Southern Africa. I have found this trip very taxing." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"We had yet another wonderful trip to Namibia.

Thank you so much for helping us plan it on short notice and for being so flexible when we needed to make changes.

Your level of service and expertise are so appreciated and we will always use you to book our future travels to Africa." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"It was special from the moment we crossed the border from South Africa, where we saw a total of seven people at the border crossing each with a form or a clip board, but they were all lovely.

With hindsight we are very pleased that we started in the south and not in Windhoek because we think it gave us a better perspective of the country. Once we had crossed the border and were driving north the traffic was almost non existent and the scenery beautiful. You need to blank out worrying about being nowhere near a doctor and how long it would take to get to hospital if you had to.

The variety in Namibia is staggering. Fish River Canyon - the second largest in the world, and we had it pretty much to ourselves. The bizarre Helmeringhausen Hotel. Sossusvlei and its 3-400 metre sand dunes. Mile after mile of desert. The Germanic Swakopmund and Walvis Bay in the middle of nowhere. The spooky skeleton coast, and a long drive through the desert up to mountainous Damaraland and the lovey camps. Then on to Etosha where we saw everything except leopard, and after that driving south to Windhoek through the much more heavily populated and industrialised side of the country.

We would love to go back before it becomes too popular." Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"With the exception of Lesley's experience in the Olive Grove and their indifference to the problem, the whole trip was excellent.

Made especially memorable by the super efficient Sabina who also came to meet us at the end." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"It was a brilliant trip. It did all we had hoped for and more. We loved the country; the space; the staggering scenery; the friendliness of the people; the professionalism of the guides. It will be a holiday to remember for a long long time." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"It was an amazing experience.

We loved Namibia for its variation in Landscape and friendly people.

Etosha has as much game life as Botswana.

We'd rate Wilderness Safaris as a much better, organisation than Kwando, in terms of better accommodation, better staffing, better food and wine. The airstrips always had toilets and drinks waiting. Kwando nothing.

Namibia is a must." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Incredible, we would certainly come back to Namibia and would be very happy to recommend expert africa to arrange any kind of trip through this part of the world.

Thankyou very much, we are very grateful for the best holiday!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip