Reviews of Okonjima Bush Camp

"A glorious place to stay. Wonderful service.

Great location and the lodge is top notch.

Service is superb and really friendly and attentive without being oppressive." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"We arrived to be told we were not at the Bush Camp but had been upgraded to one of the four Villas only one other of which was occupied. Difficult to describe somewhere so perfect and private with unique close up view of waterhole.

Needless to say the food and service were second to none and we saw a few animals for the first time - warthogs, porcupines and dikdik." See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia; 3n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Excellent location" See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia

"Another fantastic place - especially as we were upgraded to a room in the villa, though not inside the fenced area so we could not wander around. It was very exclusive, only 4 bedrooms with our own private, not-overlooked terrace facing the water hole, and just one other couple were staying there.

We shared a private chef and swimming pool and private game drive vehicle and driver between us but luckily did not have to sit together for dinner,only at breakfast time and for afternoon tea. The villa also had its own waterhole.

Highly recommend all the activities we did: leopard game drive in the afternoon, visit to AfriCat the next morning, rhino tracking the next afternoon,and another game drive the morning we left. Well worth getting up very early for and breakfast was really an excellent brunch after the morning drives, with juise, tea, coffe and cookies to wake us up before the morning drives." See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia

"We were upgraded (from Plains Camp) to Bush Camp in celebration of our 45th wedding anniversary!

We visited Plains Camp two years ago and thought it was outstanding, but Bush Camp is on an entirely different level. It is quiet and small, with understated luxury and attentive, friendly staff. It has the feel of the original Okonjima camp.

The activities are the same in both camps. We took a morning nature drive with a very knowledgable guide, Asser. The afternoon leopard tracking was absolutely unmissable. Spending a hour or so watching two cubs on a kill was pure magic.

Okonjima should be on everyone’s itinerary. It is a stunning place in all respects." See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia

"On arrival at the gate we were told we'd been upgraded to Bush Camp and their junior suite (we had booked Plains Camp).

The suite was in a peaceful spot with a lovely terrace where we saw many birds. Springbok and a jackal walked passed! The room had a sitting area and interesting artefacts. There was a huge bathroom and an outdoor shower.

We went on a walk from the camp following signs (but not very well - signage could be improved for the walks and finding the rooms by car). We saw warthogs, springboks, zebras, eagle owls and leopard tracks!!

The lodge with sitting areas, a dining area and, outside, a pool were traditional, comfortable and well appointed. At dinner we were given our own private spot with a firepit which was lovely. Sadly, my husband was not well and had to return to our room after the soup. His illness had nothing to do with the food and I enjoyed a delicious dinner.

The next morning we did a leopard game drive. The leopards are collared and are tracked. We found a young male feeding on bait and then a mother and daughter in the bush. The tracking and the bait (in particular) made it feel less authentic. We're sure Okonjima does important conservation work but it did feel more zoo like. Our guide was informative.

All the staff at the camp were friendly and attentive. When my husband was ill they were kind and let us rest at the lodge on checking out before we needed to drive back to Windhoek Airport. There was also an excellent curio shop." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"A lovely location surrounded by hills. Notably much greener than other places.

The standard of camp infrastructure was excellent as was the food and service.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed two successful outings tracking leopards and seeing the cheetahs at Africat." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia

"Okonjima was the surprise highlight of our trip! This place was amazing in so many ways.

The Bush Camp was superb, with a lounge and dining area looking over a nearby waterhole where animals frequently came by. The chalet rooms were large, comfortable, and wonderfully decorated in a bush style (high, thatched roof, earth-tone colors, etc), with huge windows giving a fantastic panoramic view. Next to our room was a private open-air covered patio with comfortable lounges chairs, fridge, and most of all, a great view. Birdseed to attract the many beautiful birds was even provided! The chalet rooms are spaced far apart, which gave a great sense of privacy – we could not even see the next room over. What we could see were springbok, oryx, jackals, etc.

The food at the restaurant was wonderful and plentiful, overlooking the gorgeously illuminated waterhole. The tours were simply fantastic. The night tour was really fun and different from the day tours (and really cold in the winter!). Keep in mind that you may or may not see a whole lot at night – this is nature. But we got so see a hyena den with pups, and seeing animals like zebra at night in pitch darkness adds a whole new level of experience. The tour guides John M and Immanuel (night tour) were super. Learning about the Africat Mission and the care of the leopards was a valuable addition to our stay.

We want to give a huge thank you to Marcus who was on duty when we arrived quite late; he went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. And also a big thanks to Sylvie." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"We booked 2 of the 8 bungalows for 2 nights and were delighted to occupy #7 and #8 far away from the reception & dining area. Means more animal visits.

Each bungalow has an own separate open air hut with 2 divans to watch the animals roaming the property and feeding the guinea fouls & hornbills with the bird food (provided). This is the place to see a leopard if you do not mind the VHF tracking. Almost guaranteed. We got two leopard sightings and two rhino sightings in the total 3 game drives we booked. Highlight being the leopard kill of a young oryx.

Stay 3 nights to increase your chances to see more. And pay a visit to the AfriCat Foundation. Okonjima & AfriCat are one. The one can’t exist without the other, though my impression is that AfriCat has seen better days. Doesn't do much any longer outside initiatives securing the commercial success of the lodge. They were more engaged in the past from what you can read in the exhibition; today AfriCat "manages" a few cheetahs & lions they cannot release into wilderness. And actively manages the leopard population at Okonjima to the benefit of the operation. Apparently some school class education on predators is still being done.

The pangolin tracking excursion is problematic in my opinion, we did not book. Why should tourists disturb the last living pangolins in wintertime, making them use precious calories and putting them under stress with the tracking & picture tacking? Just for a picture trophy and to tick another box on your wildlife list. Probably reduces the chances of the pangolins to feed properly and survive the winter at the end. An initiative to secure the survival of the specie would look different.

Nevertheless fantastic luxury lodge with its own style, excellent food, special mention to our guide Opari, and good service (but not fantastic, we got better at other luxury lodges)." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia

"Super comfortable camp where we stayed 2 nights, with excellent service and a great guide for our game drives.

An added plus was that you can go on self-guided walks.

Best of all was that we got to see leopards and a PANGOLIN (top of my wish list for Namibia!)." See all these reviews: 25n in Namibia; 5n in South Africa