Reviews of Dabis Guest Farm

"ex stay
made us very welcome
farm tour was excellent
dinner was from all food produced on farm and ex
didn't use pool as it looked a little murky" See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia

"We were disappointed that we could only stay one night here since we would have liked to see more of the farm.

However the owner was very enthusiastic and did his best in the short time available to describe the various projects operating.
As farmers we were fascinated by the farming venture.

Good food, delightful family." See all these reviews: 27n in Namibia; 4n in South Africa; 3n in Botswana

"The drive round the farm with Jorge was one of our highlights.

A fascinating man with interesting ideas on sustainable farming." See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia

"very informative, enthusiastic hosts. we have an interest in sustainability and so their ideas were especially relevant to us. The rooms were relatively basic - no fan, air con and we had a problem with the toilet (which was dealt with quickly but not completely). Limited choice for vegetarians - emphasis was on eating meat they had produced.

Good they had a pool and tennis court. Sunchairs could be better." See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia

"We stayed only one night as a stopover en route to Fish River which was a pity because there are walking trails which had we the time we would have tried.

Jorge & Michelle were excellent hosts: Jorge's description of his farming and stock breeding and farm tour were exceptional. He is a an articulate enthusiast for farming in this area of Namibia and its flora and fauna.

Accommodation good and comfortable. Home cooked food was excellent.

If we are in Namibia again we hope to pass this way for a return visit and experience some walking." See all these reviews: 28n in Namibia; 5n in South Africa

"Most guest farms in Namibia are wholly involved in tourism but Dabis is very much a working farm with tourists as a sideline. They only take one group of guests at a time and that 'group' might be one person or twenty-four. This ensures very personal attention.

The absolute highlight is the two-hour farm tour offered by owner Jorg who shares his obvious passion for farming in tune with nature and explains how it is possible to succeed even in the face of the aridity of this harsh and beautiful land. Accommodation is simple and clean though we did struggle without even a fan in the room (day temperatures were approaching 40 degrees and the night was still hot) and somehow the flying insects got through the mesh on the windows.

Food was simple country cooking. Free wi-fi is an unexpected bonus in such a remote location. The unique opportunity to meet and learn from working Namibians such as Jorg and Michelle is the Dabis trump card and the reason to visit." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia

"A great surprise. The owners are a very friendly familiy. They showed us the farm, and how they manage to survive there.

Beautiful and interesting experience (it will be even better with less religious parafernalia... but nothing is perfect)." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia; 10n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe

"We had a problem finding Dabis Guest Farm & ended up driving many miles further than necessary & finally telephoning the owners for directions. We were very lucky there was a mobile signal and felt that with better instructions it need never have happened. Although the sign marking the farm is quite small the entrance is located between two bridges......one a single bridge and the second a double one which is a great landmark on an otherwise 'unmarked' road. We do strongly suggest Expert Africa tell future clients about these bridges.

The other point we felt worth emphasizing is the need to get there as early as possible in order to take full advantage of the tour of the farm. Because we spent a short while investigating the wild horses it was dusk by the time we eventually arrived & so far too late to be introduced to the farm. We were only able to have a very short 'farm visit' early the following morning which was a shame because it was so interesting.

We were the only guests at Dabis & as my friend felt unwell I ate dinner alone with the family which was very pleasant and I was most interested to have an in depth conversation about farming under arid conditions.

It is very difficult when grading somewhere like Dabis Guest Farm because whereas it clearly does not have the comforts of the Nest Hotel it is perfectly adequate, comfortable and clean & what it perhaps lacks in star quality accommodation it makes up for with its fantastic scenery & interesting farming.

I have given the 'Location' an 'excellent' rating because once you have found it...........it is!!!!!" See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia

"As part of our road trip through Namibia we arrived at Dabis Farm at around 5:00 pm. The owner came out of the house and said "you are late" before even proceeding to greet us.

We were a bit taken back by the comment about being late since we were not aware that we had to be there at a certain time. After that initial, however the owner became quite friendly and took us on an interesting tour of his farm followed by a delicious home cooked dinner. Our room was comfortable and clean. We were well impressed and pleasantly surprise about his environmental stewardship.

One major criticism we have about Dabis, was that during the farm tour we stopped for a sundowner. The owner pulled a cooler with beverages from his vehicle and asked us what we would like to drink. Later before dinner, he asked us if we would like any wine since he was going to drink some himself. The following morning while we were checking out the owner's wife emerges from the kitchen with a list of the beverages we consumed and a final amount owed for them. It was a surprise to us since neither of them ever let us know the price for drinks beforehand.

The bill was for N$115 and we paid with a N$200 note which was all we had. She was very frustrated and asked us several times "are you sure you don't have any change". She then made a point of calling her husband on the telephone and told us she had to break into the kids piggy bank to give us our change. We felt that the way it was handled was very petty since she had a N$100 dollar note. She went through a lot of hassle and made us feel unwelcome (since she asked us several times to look in our pockets) so she could collect another N$15 (< USD$ 2). Our lodging was not inexpensive and it left a bad taste our mouths to have to leave the guest farm on that sour note." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia; 8n in South Africa

"Just found this experience so fascinating. It was a real pleasure to learn so much from Jorg about the environment, living in Namibia and hear all their plans for farming in this country - what works in his environment with relation to plants, people, weather etc.

Michelle is a wonderful cook, the food was all presented so beautifully, the children, dog, cats, chickens etc just injected a bit of real life into our holiday and it was just great to talk to them both about life." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia