Reviews of safaris to Okonjima Nature Reserve

"We had an excellent trip. But, like a previous reviewer, we would have enjoyed it more with a better vehicle. EA recommend a Renault Duster as being 4-wheel drive and adequate for the Namibian roads. While 4-wheel drive is occasionally useful, the Duster has standard tyres and in some places more rubber is definitely needed. The roads round Sesriem and in Damaraland are considerably worse than in other parts we visited and we would recommend anyone visiting these areas to pick a Toyota hi-lux. See our comments on Bidvest for more details.

Our second disappointment was the amount of electric light we experienced. Nearly every lodge had path lights which stayed on all night, ruining the view of the sky, and in some cases our sleep. We were used to little light and Tilley lamps on previous visits to Africa and this came as a shock. Tok Tokkie and Mundulea were a relief from this. In some places the lights were behind the tent/room but at Erongo we had to resort to removing lightbulbs from the path outside to allow us to sleep. At Ongava, the waterhole light shone directly into our room. We are very saddened that lodges feel this amount of light is necessary.

EA often states that when on half board “drinks are extra”. Most of the lodges we stayed on half board included 2 large glasses of house wine per person each night. Sundowners were extra.

We stayed at 3 Wilderness Safaris lodges and got to know their dining style. Everywhere else game was often the meat provided, at Wilderness it was regularly basic beef, pork or chicken which was quite uninteresting. They also had an obsession with hot plates, which at 30C seemed unnecessary.

It was very nice to receive a recent copy of the Namibia guidebook in August. This was hardly opened before our trip and still fell apart before we got to Etosha. A large number of pages fell out somewhere which meant that we didn't have the information about Etosha that we wanted. We also had with us a 30 year old bird book with all its pages intact. It's a shame Bradt can't make their books a little more robust.

We were told that using toilets at petrol stations could not be recommended. We carefully took a trowel and a roll of paper with us. This was completely unnecessary as every toilet we visited was spotless." Read full review: 25 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"Apart from some minor glitches, we had a great trip in a beautiful sparsly populated country with friendly people. We would like to come back to visit other parts of this amazing country. One of the difficulties we faced was travelling long distances on the gravel roads as our rental vehicle was not the best 4x4 in existence.

We also felt that the itinerary around Etosha was not well advised given that we travelled around the park twice and across it once. it would have been much better to advise us to stay outside of the park at the western and central gates and done two or three day trips. We would have seen just as much without the hours and discomfort of additional travel.

We found the itinerary information provided very useful to follow eg estimated hours of the journey, though some details and advice need updating..

Overall it was a fantastic holiday in a great country" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"It was amazing! We had a wonderful time, especially in Botswana. The scenery and the lodges in Namibia were exceptional but our enjoyment of them was tempered by the poor condition of many of the unmaintained gravel roads. The government should get on to this if they are serious about the importance of tourism to their economy." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"We really enjoyed this holiday and had may memorable days. Staff at the lodges were all so friendly and helpful. The guides were all very knowledgeable. The self driving although long and dusty always felt safe and easy to navigate.Taking a Cool Bag from home was essential and careful planning of fuel and lunch stops was needed as facilities were few and far between." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Namibia trip

"Excellent overall. Wonderful experiences in a wonderful country.

Tracy is always, polite, friendly and keen to provide the best service and advice to make the trip as successful as possible." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Arrival - Wilderness Safaris, Rachel, met us and provided us with plenty of information as well as accompanying us through the car hire process up to actual collection of the car.

Navigation - The directions and maps provided worked well. However we found that trying to use mobile phone navigation apps was a waste of time as they didn’t work well and used a lot of data

Fuel - In the areas we visited fuel was readily available. Also all the fuel stations had excellent toilet facilities, most charged N$2 for their use.

Supermarkets - There were good, well stocked supermarkets in all the main towns we drove through and we were able to buy sandwiches and snacks from them.

Credit cards - we never encountered any problems using credit cards whether at camps, fuel stations, restaurants or shops." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"What a great trip. Superbly organised by Expert Africa (thank you Tracy). It was well worth organising a private and exceptionally nice driver (thank you Ronnie) as we were able to cover an enormous distance in great comfort (an 8 seater Land Cruiser with A/C and a fridge just for the 2 of us).

We saw and understood much more by having our own guide than we would have done if we had guided ourselves. We were spared the problems of driving on relatively poor roads and the anxiety of coping with possible punctures and breakdowns.

With hindsight we wonder whether it was worth the very long journey to Fish River Canyon. Yes it was amazing but unless you have arranged to walk the canyon, you see only a limited part of it from the rim.

We also wonder whether an entire day at a diamond mine that wasn't working was worth the bother.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We think that your organisation and service was fantastic. Well done and thank you." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"Good organisation and great communications" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"Overall it was a great trip and very well organized. Despite our booking the trip rather late EA managed to provide us a good mix of accommodation and we can honestly say that only one or two places were below average, most were excellent. Had we booked earlier I'm sure we would have been able to secure more first choice accommodation.

If we are fortunate to plan another trip to Africa in the future, we will definitely consider Expert Africa again, as well as recommend them to others." Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"I know it is always a leap of faith, in who to book your holiday with. However, don't be hesitant. Expert Africa were fantastic from the first contact to the last.

The whole holiday was planned and executed with the precision that you would expect from a company that has 'Expert' in their title.

I would not hesitate to book with Expert Africa again and I would recommend them as a First Class company." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip