Reviews of Okonjima Bush Camp

"What an amazing camp this is. We first stayed here in 2005 (when Okonjima only had one camp) and have subsequently stayed at Plains Camp twice which is a great camp, but lacks the very personalised service provided at Bush Camp.

First of all, we were warmly welcomed and shown to our chalet by Jason - a fantastic chalet with kitchen area, sitting area, fire place, indoor and outdoor shower, terrace overlooking the bush and bird feeders / bird bath right outside the window. We were privileged to be guided by Denny, who took us for all of our activities - leopard tracking, for a nature drive, for a visit to the night hide, and for the two highlights of our stay - pangolin tracking and for the Africat tour which not only allowed us to find out about the work of African foundation, but also meant we were able to see 5 cheetahs and the two lions currently being supported. Amazing!

The food and every aspect of the service here was of the highest quality. Great dinners, very fresh breakfasts (served after the morning activity with coffee and muffins before you go ) and friendly and caring staff.

This is an excellent place to stop on the way to / from Etosha but is also worth a visit in its own right, 2 nights at least, to make the most of everything that they have to offer." See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia

"Our last two days were spent at Okonjima - a very comfortable and well appointed lodge. Here the furnishings are very much african based with a very comfortable lapa area, pool and dining. Food was excellent and the staff very attentive and pleasant - although perhaps not quite so personable as elsewhere - its a slightly more formal sort of place. Our room was excellent, lighting perhaps a little subdued and towels a fraction limited - although probably had we asked they would have been produced.

Our guide John was quiet but very knowledgable and he showed us lots. The leopard tracking with telemetry was interesting and secured us two close sitings of different leopard. We also visted Africat and entered a couple fo the enclosures where cheetah are kept - the latter were beautifully maintained and plenty of space for the animals - but it did feel a fraction like a Safari park at home.

Our best outing was an evening game drive - plenty of time looking at the general wildlife, the birds and a chance encounbter with one of the leopards was lovely." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"Okonjima gave us slightly mixed feelings. The camp itself is wonderful and spacious with a very attentive staff, good food and a nice pool area.

The chalets with their separate 'observation units' are equally impressive and very comfortable. It's the electric-fenced part of the reserve that makes the experience as a whole a bit odd. Entering "Jurassic Park" as it was called felt in a way like visiting a zoo and tracking collard wildlife a bit fabricated.

On the other hand, unlike Botswana or Zimbabwe Namibias parks are fenced and collaring animals is an important part of protecting them. It also gave us a chance to see mating leopards, the elusive pangolin and bat eared foxes. We also got up close and personal with two white rhinos and a few brown hyenas. All pretty impressive. So, while tracking animals may not seem authentic safari-like, for us it was actually fun and a memorable experience. Surprisingly, birding was not on the activities list, but luckily our guide was easily persuaded to try this and decided on the spot to do it more often.

In all, the two nights we spent at Okonjima were well worth it." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"I was worried this was going to be really naff with tame cheetahs and collared leopards, but actually it was brilliant. The rooms are well designed – stylish and very private with lovely views. Each one had its own little bird bath/mini water hole for the animals to drink from, and you were also provided with a tub of bird seed to sprinkle outside. We had steenbok and springbok come and visit, as well as an assortment of birds. The day starts with a light breakfast of muffins and/or fruit and yoghurt, before heading out on a morning activity. Then brunch when you get back (bread, cheese, cold meats and fruit, plus a cooked breakfast if you want it), lunch (if you want it), afternoon tea followed by an afternoon activity with sundowners, then dinner, followed by an optional night activity. In general the food was good and the service at the lodge was also efficient and friendly.

Our guide, Martin, was great. He had amazing eyes and was great at explaining things. He also understood about light for photography. He showed us some amazing things.

We did leopard tracking on our first afternoon, but actually the highlight was some fabulous brown hyena sightings. This was followed by pangolin tracking (fabulous). Then the next morning was the Africat tour, where he took us inside the cheetah enclosures in the jeep, and also arranged for us to watch the lions be fed. That afternoon it was back for more leopards followed by a night hide/drive (more amazing brown hyena sightings). Then rhino tracking the next morning (2 white rhinos) with a fabulous sighting of a group of 10 sable antelopes on the way back to the lodge.

In general, I thought this was a really well run lodge, with excellent guiding, that really surpassed my expectations. We also had a really good sighting of a sable antelope here, but it wasn't in the list below." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia

"Brilliant room - loads of space. Good food.

Guide was incredible (and also found my phone that had been lost off the back of the truck in the dark - absolute legend).

Well designed and decorated dining room / social space with lovely garden views.

Really good work being done for animal conservation.." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"Excellent accomodation with the glass wall in the sleeping area and the "outside lounge" where we were entertained by the visiting guinea fowl and red hornbills.

Again everything was brilliant - our guide Opari, the staff and the food. Had a great morning at the Africat centre to see the rescued cheetahs, etc. In the afternoon we tracked, on foot, two white rhinos. Got pretty close but we were always confident that our tracker knew what he was doing. Plenty of wildlife in this area as it was not as dry as the areas of the other camps.

Our day finished with a close up encounter between a leopard and a brown hyena. A lot of growling but nobody got hurt." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia

"A long 30 mins drive from the main road, however it’s an ideal halfway stopover between Etosha and Windhoek. But more than that, Okonjima is a fantastic place, wonderful people who are truly dedicated to conservation and have a love and understanding of the leopards and cheetahs and all the creatures we saw during our 2 night stay.

The accommodation is fabulous, the communal areas and surroundings superb, food varied and delicious - we can’t rate it highly enough! And as if that isn’t enough to recommend it, all the staff were so engaging and fun to be with and our Guide was very knowledgeable, interesting and a delight to spend time with and learn from. Yes the leopard sightings are somewhat contrived as they are collared and radio-tracked but this in no way detracted from the experience as we were able to spend half an hour or more watching them and learning a little of their habits and behaviour. The rescued cheetahs are in a large compound, not so interesting for us.

We came away with huge respect for the Africat Foundation and it’s work and dedication to helping to improve the lives of the local people and their relationship with the animals, big cats in particular. The wildlife centre was fascinating, not only educational but fun.

A wonderful couple of days, a delightful experience!" See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia; 4n in South Africa; 3n in Botswana

"This is an excellent camp which is fully integrated with AfriCat Foundation and its work. It was a great place to finish our trip to Namibia." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia

"No" See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

"Incredible vast and beautiful rooms + very friendly and enthusiastic staff.

The highlight was the seeing 3 brown hyenas at the nighthide and leopard in the afternoon" See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia