Reviews of Okonjima Plains Camp

"I still can't make my mind up about Okonjima. On the one hand you get a close up experience of leopards and cheetahs but on the other you can't help but think it is a bit of a zoo.

The accommodation was excellent, we had a view room which was spacious had everything you required with a fabulous panoramic window out onto the bush where impala, oryx, warthog and Guinea fowl roamed.

We arrived in time to visit the Africat project and had close ups of cheetah and caracal along with a very rare pangolin that had been rescued by a lady from the near bye cap vulture centres. The guides back at camp were very jealous as none of them had ever seen a pangolin!

Our guide, Angela, was very knowledgeable about the cats but was poor on anything else. Okonjima prides itself on the number of birds there but we did not stop to study them. Also the activities were very one tracked. If we were looking for leopards we did not stop for cheetahs. On our leopard drove past two cheetahs without stopping as they were not on the morning's itinerary.

Okonjima was our insurance policy if we had not seen many cats elsewhere and so it proved though we had been lucky enough to see a leopard up a tree in Etosha. To make it a near certainly that you will see the cats some truly wild leopards and cheetahs have radio collars so you are virtually guaranteed close encounters with both. From that point of view a stop on either to or from Etosha is very worthwhile." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia

"A very unusual camp quite small. The 'view' rooms are large comfortable and well appoited with a fridge overlooking wild velt but fenced off from the 'cats'. There are also smaller garden rooms around a nice lush little garden. Wild warthog are all around the lodge and in the garden in the afternoon but don't cause problems.

The food and service are very good. Game drives we found to be 'variable' but one out of two was superb and both were enjojable. There is free WiFi in the lounge area.

The lodge is reasonably placed for Windhoek and its aiport these being only a couple of hours or so away on good tarmac roads.

A very fitting end to our trip which, for information, took in some 5088Km of South African and Namibian road." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 6n in South Africa

"We found Okonjima well run by enthusiastic, mostly young, staff.

We went cheetah tracking in the afternoon - and were amazed by how close we were able to get to the cats (including some around a kill).

We also saw a whole host of other wildlife - including a leopard tortoise on the cheetah drive! and a porcupine from the night hide.

Our guides were very knowledgeable.

The food was excellent - definitely make sure you arrive in time for cake in the afternoon, and the room was spacious and well fitted." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia

"This was our third stay at Okonjima and it was as good as ever.

We had fantastic sightings of cheetah, leopard and wild dogs. Staff were very friendly and helpful and we had a wonderful group of guides who shared their knowledge and love for the animals and catered for our requests. We are never disappointed by the quality of the guides at Okonjima and this year was no exception.

A wonderful stay and we will be going back for a fourth time." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

"Informed at the gate that we had been upgraded from the main camp to bush camp, who were we to argue?

This camp was a highlight of the trip for us and a wonderful way to round off our travels before returning to Windhoek. Our chalet was superb, with views of the bush and it's own mini waterhole plus bird feeder. A night visit to the hide was included and we were lucky enough to see the honey badger as well as a bunch of very stroppy porcupines!

A morning cheetah tracking expedition by truck and on foot gave us sight of no less than six cheetahs plus a leopard. Our only regret was that we were spending only one night here." See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia

"We had chosen Okonjima as our final camp in Namibia having seen and heard so much of this place famous for re-introducing cheetah into the wild, we were looking forward to this.

Our start was not a good one though as we'd been placed in garden room 1, the closest to the restaurant/lappa with no terrace or balcony and overlooked by all in camp. It was not the best of rooms as there was absolutely no privacy unless we closed our doors and curtains, After dinner smokers would gather outside of our room which was not pleasant. We felt imprissoned somewhat so expressed our views and thankfully were upgraded to a view room for our second night which was lovely.

If Expert Africa are sending clients here I would definetly insist that you do not want Garden Rooms 1 & 2, the other rooms in this area have much more space and some degree of privacy. Rooms aside we had some wonderful wildlife sightings and game drives allowing us to trek cheetah and wild dog "on foot".

The staff were pleasant and the food was good, so it all ended very well." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"Overnight stop instead of Windhoek. In that respect obviously better than a B+B. However, I am not convinced about the conservation aspect of this endeavour. It seemed very much a make money from tourists scheme.

Wouldn't have wanted to stay more than one night

The most annoying part was that we were placed with others for dinner with no warning (and when there were tables for two). We expect this on safari, especially when groups will be sharing vehicles and need to get to know each other, but on our last night, we were looking for a bit of alone time and it would have been nice if someone had asked if we minded" See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"This was all and more than I expected. VERY experienced and knowledgable guides. Leopard,and Cheetah all over the place. We were lucky, but this was almost the highlight of a fascinating trip" See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"Our first day in Etosha included two black-backed jackals on a freshly dead springbok, and our last day in Namibia at Okonjima included seeing three cheetah devouring a young oryx they had killed an hour or so previously...and we got to see them on foot within 20 yards!

There was no room for us at Main Camp so we got an upgrade to Bush Camp!" See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana

"We were lucky enough to be upgraded to Bush Camp at Okonjima - more luxurious, smaller and an even better setting. The lovely rooms were secluded and felt as though they were truly in the bush - we bumped into warthogs and oryx on the way to the lapa. The food (quantity and quality) was fantastic, and the staff were brilliant. Great pool too.

We tracked cheetahs by vehicle, then on foot, and not only got close to several, but also saw giraffes, zebras, oryx, impala, springboks, eland, warthogs, steenboks, and much more on the same trip. We watched porcupines scrap over the remains of our dinner from the night hide, and the next morning found a leopard who posed obligingly on a termite mound. Wonderful!" See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia