Reviews of safaris to Southern Namibia

"The trip was more than we expected - beautiful small lodges with such wonderful staff.

We saw the diferent landscapes of the country, loved the scenery and felt it was so easy to drive and explore the country.

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I thought it was all very good!" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"This truly was the trip of a lifetime and as it had been booked for 3 years; was so eagerly anticipated. It exceeded all our hopes.

The driving was [mostly] easy and at every turn the sheer diversity of the scenery was breath-taking. The lodge staff and guides were fantastic and we spent much time learning more about their actual ethnicity and home lives; which they were happy to share with us. That was such a special element of our trip. We were somewhat uncomfortable to realise there still seems to be much of a 'hierarchical system' with the ethnic tribal Namibians; but accept that this is part of the Culture. The trips Expert Africa organised for us prioir to going were amazing - especially the balloon trip which was a quite 'surreal' event.

The only problem with the whole trip was that a month went by so quickly and never seemed long enough! Thank you so much to Tracy for putting up with our constant questions and changing the dates of travel without complaint. Thanks too, for Chris's book which became our 'bible' both before during and even now- after this amazing experience.

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None at all - this was excellent down to every detail. You have thought of everything and there was nothing to disappoint us.
Thank you all." Read full review: 27 nights in Africa; 25 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful trip apart from the scorpion. Tracy is a great asset! Please thank her again for all her help.......does she cover Botswana ( our next African trip)?" Read full review: 28 nights in Africa; 26 on a Namibia trip

"Overall our trip surpassed our expectations. We have both travelled extensively and this is the first time we have ever gone through an agent. All the accommodation and food was excellent. The two wilderness safari camps activities were overpriced and there was a lack of passion with the guides we had.

I did feel that the itinerary could have been planned a little better in the middle. Most people were surprised we had 6 nights in Damarland as were we when we realised how close the camps were to eachother. We could have missed out Damaraland Camp and had 3 nights at Etosha and 2 nights at Okonjima or even 4 nights at Etosha. Despite the guide books saying you don't see much wildlife at the time of year we were there for us it was still incredible.

We definitely needed another night further to the west and had to run around for a day and a half. Obviously I am not an expert and only went by what I read. I would recommend at least 3 nights at different camps across Etosha if you have the amount of time we had. We had a fantastic time in Damaraland but had to double back on ourselves from Grootberg to Etendeka.

Again I think people should be discouraged from visiting the Terrace Bay Camp for one night - if I had understood what it was like I would never have wanted to go. We had a very long drive to get there, arrived late and then had to leave early - it was exhausting and not worth the detour. Our only disappointment was we didn't have enough time in Etosha.

We had a fantastic holiday and I would recommend Expert Africa to my friends and family.

Thank you.

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We would have appreciated more information about the way certain camps were run in terms of activities and additional costs ie. Wilderness Safari's Camp. We felt pressured into doing all the activities and compared to every other camp the prices were very high and quality low.

I would have liked more information about certain places, especially the Skeleton Coast. I did say I wanted to go there but was going off what I'd read and I suppose lack of knowledge. Better guidance would have made me realise this side trip wasn't necessary. The same goes for Etosha - despite what the guide books say you really do need 3/4 nights to do it justice whatever time of year you are there. I was under the impression that we wouldn't see much so 2 nights was enough. This most definitely wasn't the case and most of the other travellers we met had seen elephants and rhino, lions and even cheetahs. Please make sure that people understand that they will see wildlife if they go at this time of year.

We were advised that there wasn't much to see in Luderitz. After visiting Klein Aus Vista I wouldn't agree with this. We would have preferred to stay one or even two nights in Luderitz. The Ghost mining town was fascinating and the drive around the peninsula fascinating. There was so much to see but we felt rushed as we had to get back up to Klein Aus Vista. Luderitz itself isn't the most beautiful place but everything to do is nearby where as Klein Aus Vista is perhaps good for hikers but for no other reason. It's only another 1hr 15mins to Luderitz and you seen the wild horses on the way there. It would have been nice to be able to choose a restaurant and go for a walk rather being limited to one choice.

Finally, we were on a half board basis at the Damaraland Camp and Kulala Lodge which we found very strange. There isn't anywhere else to go so this should really be included. Our final bill came to nearly 2,000 Namibian Dollars at Kulala Lodge and 3,000 at Damarland Camp when the activities and lunches plus drinks were added in which we thought was excessive having already paid for Half Board. At Grootberg lunch was included with the activities whereas at D Camp and Kulala we paid for the activity then had to come back and pay for lunch. We understood we had to pay for extras but with nowhere but the lodge to eat at lunch should be included." Read full review: 23 nights in Africa; 22 on a Namibia trip

"Trip was excellent. Thank you.

Expert Africa did a splendid job of arranging the Dik Dik self-drive trip with some itinerary modification which worked out well (day trip to Sandwich Harbour instead of kayaking in Walvis Bay lagoon, extra time in Swakopmund). As it turned out, the extra time in Swakopmund was a good thing because I was attached by a dog in the street requiring a visit to the police, a doctor, a pharmacy, the bank, etc.

Had I not had an extra day there, I'd not have seen Swakopmund -- an interesting and unusual place. That is not say that extra time should be built in to all itineraries to permit post dog-attack activities. As it turns out, there is no rabies in Namibia -- or at least not in Swakopmund district -- and the dog's owner paid my N$900 expenses.

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I should note that Angela Griffin also helped arrange this trip and she did an excellent job of it. Thanks." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Namibia trip

"we thank expert africa and specialy Sabina for the professional assistance and organisation. Thanks to your suggestions we had a perfect and very well planned voyage. We will use expert africa for our next trip (we hope to go to zambia or tanzania....)

Thank you." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Namibia trip

"Expert Africa were highly efficent with great advice prior to us booking out trip and were excellent when we left our documents in Windhoek and faxed a copy for us to continue our trip.Thank you we would recommend you to all our friends considering a trip to Africa.

The lodges we chose we fantastic with excellent and knowledgable staff and guides, as it was low season we often went out on our own and had personnal service which was a bonus.

We had a trip of a lifetime and look forward to another trip to Africa in 2011" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 8 on a Namibia trip

"We had a wonderful trip despite a few blips, none of which were down to Expert Africa and we have recommended your services very highly to fellow travellers of all nationalities. In most of the camps visited it was lovely that they had taken note of your having informed all camps of the celebratory nature of our trip.

Bearing in mind the importance of transport to travellers in Namibia notice should be taken of our comments re Budget as one of the greatest worries on a trip of this nature is the comfort and reliability of your vehicle.

Namibia remains one of favourite destinations and we shall visit again. This is a wonderful country, totally different to all the others we have visited both in scale and emphasis and the people are wonderfully friendly and genuinely hospitable. We were met with true kindness and enthusiasm including when we travelled a scenic D route ( D2319 on our way to Uis), very much off the beaten track and were met by a steep bank and water filled river. On getting out of the vehicle to determine the water depth and whether we should proceed we were suddenly surrounded by a group of young boys herding cattle upstream who encouraged us to proceed, promising that they would push us out if needs be. It cost us all our biscuits, a little bit of money and lots of laughs. This was typical of our welcome everywhere we travelled.

This was our second trip, but was even more enjoyable as we had decided to take more time to enjoy this wonderful country. The scenery, the scale and the people make this an unparalled destination.

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Thank you as always. You make planning the holidays a pleasure and think of absolutely everything even before we do. We know we can follow your recommendations with complete confidence and recommend you to others withour reservation." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 17 on a Namibia trip

"We had sought to cover more than most in a 16 day trip, and the combination of road & flights worked really well, so thank you Maruska for putting together such a workable itinerary. It helped that A loves driving and so was more than happy to cover 450km in a day when needed - and the roads were quite okay. Worst bit was a patch on the C12 to Fish River canyon (very bumpy) but other than that we had some fantastic drives, particularly the C13 from Fish River canyon up to Aus - stunning!

Our route was Windhoek-Bagatelle-Fish River Canyon-Aus-Luderitz-Wolwedans-Little Kulala (by car) and then Doro Nawas-Ongava Lodge-Windhoek by plane. It was a throughly enjoyable mixture of hikes, wildlife, dunes, scenic drives and flights. We consider ourselves immensely privileged to have seen Namibia's nature when it wished to reveal itself - be it lion cub, hyena, scorpion, desert elephant, rainbow, lightening... fabulous!

Suggestions for improvements:

Only thing I would have appreciated was a simple guide to birds & wildlife - just a basic booklet of the most likely suspects. I picked up a check-list (no pictures) at Little Kulala, and bought the Etosha guide booklet - but that was our last stop so it was tricky remembering what we'd seen. Couldn't find anything suitable in any of the lodge shops en route and didn't want or need individual books on birds, mammals, reptiles etc" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Namibia trip

"Officialdom
With one exception, officialdom was always courteous and polite, if often annoyingly slow.

At the vet fence north of Sehitwa in Botswana, we pulled slowly up to the white stop line on the road in front of the barrier as there were no vehicles in front. A policeman appeared and without explanation demanded a "fine" of 200 pula. He said we should have stopped at a stop sign which was propped up on bricks just a few feet earlier. After a polite stand-off, we left without paying. On discussing this incident at our next lodge, we were told that whilst on the spot fines are legal in Botswana, the amount demanded had been irregular. The consensus of opinion was that this had been a try on.

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We have been very satisfied, hence our repeat business. Off the cuff, we haven't any suggestions.

Overall
There were occasions when a 4WD vehicle could have been useful (but we don't know the cost).
This was our annual treatment for the 'Africa virus' and it worked very well (actually our eleventh trip to sub-Sahara Africa). Where next?" Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a Namibia trip