Reviews of trips to Fish River Canyon

"Very happy with the itinerary as it allowed us a brief look at many different parts of the country in a relatively short period of time. We travelled 4200 kms in 3 weeks. We are used to driving on gravel and corrugated roads but other less experienced drivers may have found the length of trip tiring. It also meant that some very good camps became overnight stops instead of the destination they deserved to be. (eg. Mushara)

We purchased goods for which we could reclaim the VAT. Our claim was processed without problem other than a 70 minute queue after check-in and 15 minutes before check-in to complete the form and have Customs and Excise check that we had the goods in our possession. Some people in the queue did not get their claims processed before having to board their flight. At the time I was queuing most of the people were on a flight to Angola and had a very large number of receipts with their claims. These were being audited carefully and many rejected which added to the time being taken." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed it. All aspects of the trip were very satisfactory and some aspects exceeded our expectations.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No real suggestions for improvement, but I would like to comment that I found your website to be excellent and it was this that encouraged me to book with you." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Namibia trip

"An excellent trip to a fascinating country which we enjoyed immensely.

The only regret we had was not having a 4X4.

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I was most impressed with all my dealings with Expert Africa. Apart from Angela I also dealt with Gwnyeth who was also most helpful.

I particularly compliment you on your website which is the best of its kind I have seen." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 7 on a Namibia trip

"Fantastic trip. We loved Namibia and we will return." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip

"This was our second trip to Namibia with Expert Africa. After booking a standard itinerary last year, we developed a tailor made itinerary this year by researching lodges/locations on this website and with Gwynneth's support. We initially had difficulty getting the accommodation that we wanted on some nights. Gwynneth was extremely persistent in following up on resorts where we were waitlisted, so that in the end we managed to stay at our preferred choice for all but one location.

We thoroughly enjoyed this holiday and pretty much all aspects met or exceeded our expectations. We would have no hesitation recommending Expert Africa to anyone else considering travelling to Namibia.

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Sever all ties with Doro Nawas" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"We would recommend Namibia as a holiday destination to anybody! We were there for 3 weeks in order to take in the most of the country.The scenery, people and wildlife did not disappoint. The driving was easy as the traffic was so minimal. Some of the journeys were lengthy and would recommend early starts to achieve them comfortably. Even the gravel roads were easily manageable. We never became lost, had no punctures and no mechanical problems with the vehicle. We had 2 spare tyres, whcih was a comfort as we noticed others who suffered punctures.

All the food was excellent, especially if you like meat. We only had a chance to sample fish in the coastal areas: the fish was world class.
The country is very diverse with plenty to keep enquiring minds satisfied. Would suggest taking the Bradt guidebook as it proved invaluable to us. We had lofty expectations prior to the holiday and it did not disappoint.

Hopefully, one day we will return.

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We were more than content with Angela and her team for our trip and would use them again!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"Memorable and trip greatly helped by mine and Judy's previous knowledge of where to stay. Exhausting from a driver's perspective - wouldn't even do it by 4x4 until roads get sorted - they are truly terrible now

I think Sabina dealt with a 'demanding' client - that's me Alison - expertly - I'm never easy when organising stuff like this and she really pulled out all the stops. I would definitely book through you guys again" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"The trip as a whole was wonderful. Everything went smoothly despite being in Africa!!

Driving in Namibia is really straightforward and the distances were not a problem at all.
Everybody very friendly.

We went mainly for the scenery and landscapes and were not disappointed.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We stopped at Tsumeb by chance which was a lovely town. Maybe you could make suggestions to your clients for 1 or 2 hr stops in nice places along their route to wander around or for lunch.

I know we needed to stop at / near Swakopmund because of length of journey from Sossus to Kipwe but apart from the kayaking which we enjoyed the town did nothing for us. So easy to be wise after the event but 1 night here and an extra one at Wolwedans or Okonjima would have been a much better use of time for us." Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Having done the trip there is somethings I know I'll do different next time, but it was a great holiday." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"Initially even we thought we were slightly bonkers with this ambitious itinerary but after extensive and detailed planning everything went smoothly (with the exception of Elegant Farmstead cancelling our booking at the very last minute in favour of a large group; if this is typical of their attitude maybe they're not suitable for EA's independent travellers).

We had a FANTASTIC time!!!! Whilst some drives were long they were perfectly manageable with two drivers, a flask of coffee and our trusty MP3 player to entertain us. The roadside picnic stations provided good places to stop and eat a bit of lunch – there are plenty of supermarkets in the towns to buy provisions, including a 5 litre bottle of water. Most lodges charge for water (about N$13 for a small bottle) so it makes sense to buy a big one in a supermarket (about N$20) and top up your little bottles from it. There seemed to be far fewer parking guards about than on our previous trips and, we were surprised to see, even petrol station attendants don't seem to expect tips any more.

Garden Lodge provided a gentle start to our marathon trip with good company, tasty food, an excellent boat trip and lots of cats and dogs to play with. Kasane is an interesting little frontier town, buzzing with activity though not the place to stock up for a long trip. Don't be surprised to see a warthog trotting across the road in the middle of town.

The brand new Ngoma lodge is excellent (see review) with loads of animals to see, excellent food and great staff. We highly recommend it. It is one of the few places that provides free water – we promised to take our Ngoma bottles all the way to Cape Town; after many refills they finally met their demise at security in Cape Town airport!

We returned to Garden Lodge to have our car delivered and set off for the border next morning. Crossing the border into Namibia is no problem at all and after stocking up at a supermarket in Katima Mulilo we set off across the Caprivi strip. Roads in the Caprivi are, as Chris's book says, long, straight and can be quite tedious though you need to keep an eye out for wandering cows, goats and dogs (and the occasional human).

Arriving at Ndhovu in the early afternoon, we spent a couple of hours on our deck on the river bird-spotting. Next day we took a trip across to Buffalo (suggest pre-booking if you want to do this) and then drove ourselves to Mahango in the afternoon.

It was a long drive to Ghaub the next day but switching from 'Caprivi time' meant we gained an hour; we had been debating whether the hour was going backwards or forwards and it was only when the guard at the vetinary gate greeted us with a cheery 'Good Morning' that we were certain! After two nights peaceful rest we set off to Okaukeujo. We arrived at Etosha in good time and managed to visit several good waterholes on the drive across the park.

We spent most of the next day in the park and then moved on to the big surprise of the trip; Taleni. We'd wanted to spend two nights at Okaukeujo but had been unable to get a room despite booking very early. Taleni is just outside Etosha and we loved it. It does attract some large groups but the staff use the different dining areas to give couples or family groups privacy and peace.

A comfortable morning's drive brought us to Gocheganas, just south of Windhoek, which proved an unexpected pleasure. We had been booked to stay at Elegant Farmstead but they had cancelled our booking at the very last minute (after we arrived in Namibia). As it turned out Gocheganas fitted in with our itinerary much better and we thought the place was excellent. Thanks to Sabina for organising the change for us; in the days before BlackBerrys and the internet this could have been a major problem but in this case was (almost) painless.

The drive to Bagatelle, for some reason, took longer than anticipated; the roads were good and we'd calculated the distance but it just took longer! However we arrived in comfortable time and enjoyed watching the waterhole, excellent food and company and, of course, the meerkats!

Next, off to Fish River Canyon. Until Keetmanshoop the B1 is a good tar road but you then have to venture onto gravel. The road is bumpy and undulates with the landscape, which is beautiful, and you may even meet a train! The canyon itself is fantastic and there are few people about; such a contrast to its rival in the USA!

We left Canon Lodge in the sunshine and headed for the border with South Africa. The crossing itself was painless though there was a notable diminishment in friendliness of immigration staff on the South African side. Heading down the N7 the weather turned and we found ourselves in rain and/or cloud. As we had plenty of time we went down to Skilpad to see the flowers with which we were disappointed. However, driving back over the mountains they were lovely.

It absolutely tipped it down overnight (not ideal in a room with an iron roof!) and we set off for the marathon drive to Cape Town with some trepidation. Driving over the mountain passes in heavy cloud was 'entertaining' to say the least (particularly when we were held up by major roadworks – waiting time at least 20 minutes). We stopped off in Clanwilliam which we thought a lovely town.

The sun came out as we arrived in Camps Bay. We'd arranged our own accommodation here; there are lots of good guest houses .
The place has clearly been spruced up since the World Cup and there are some excellent new restaurants. We ate at The Codfather – excellent but shellfish is very expensive, Ocean Blue – just as excellent but less pricey, and The Kove – best steak Martin had all trip and great staff. Tuscany Beach was also highly recommended by our guest house.

We did the tourist bit – open top bus tour (don't forget to use the vouchers printed on the back of the ticket!) boat trip and lunch at the V&A – recommend The Greek Fisherman and City Grill Steakhouse – then the bus back to Camps Bay. The following day we drove (yes we hadn't had quite enough!) down to Cape Point where there seemed to be bonteboks around every corner (even on the beach) and few other visitors about.

Finally off to Hermanus and the whales. You really can see them from the coastal path, though the boat trip out to sea is well worthwhile too. The town is lovely and there are some excellent wineries to visit nearby.
Overall, a wonderful trip which we'd wanted to do for years. What's next???????

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

If only travel to Africa was less expensiver!

The name says it all - you are the Africa Experts and although we do shop around we come back time and time again.

Perhaps a minor point is that you should consider regular travellers' previous trips before saying they can't do something" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip