South Africa: reviews from our travellers

"Initially even we thought we were slightly bonkers with this ambitious itinerary but after extensive and detailed planning everything went smoothly (with the exception of Elegant Farmstead cancelling our booking at the very last minute in favour of a large group; if this is typical of their attitude maybe they're not suitable for EA's independent travellers).

We had a FANTASTIC time!!!! Whilst some drives were long they were perfectly manageable with two drivers, a flask of coffee and our trusty MP3 player to entertain us. The roadside picnic stations provided good places to stop and eat a bit of lunch – there are plenty of supermarkets in the towns to buy provisions, including a 5 litre bottle of water. Most lodges charge for water (about N$13 for a small bottle) so it makes sense to buy a big one in a supermarket (about N$20) and top up your little bottles from it. There seemed to be far fewer parking guards about than on our previous trips and, we were surprised to see, even petrol station attendants don't seem to expect tips any more.

Garden Lodge provided a gentle start to our marathon trip with good company, tasty food, an excellent boat trip and lots of cats and dogs to play with. Kasane is an interesting little frontier town, buzzing with activity though not the place to stock up for a long trip. Don't be surprised to see a warthog trotting across the road in the middle of town.

The brand new Ngoma lodge is excellent (see review) with loads of animals to see, excellent food and great staff. We highly recommend it. It is one of the few places that provides free water – we promised to take our Ngoma bottles all the way to Cape Town; after many refills they finally met their demise at security in Cape Town airport!

We returned to Garden Lodge to have our car delivered and set off for the border next morning. Crossing the border into Namibia is no problem at all and after stocking up at a supermarket in Katima Mulilo we set off across the Caprivi strip. Roads in the Caprivi are, as Chris's book says, long, straight and can be quite tedious though you need to keep an eye out for wandering cows, goats and dogs (and the occasional human).

Arriving at Ndhovu in the early afternoon, we spent a couple of hours on our deck on the river bird-spotting. Next day we took a trip across to Buffalo (suggest pre-booking if you want to do this) and then drove ourselves to Mahango in the afternoon.

It was a long drive to Ghaub the next day but switching from 'Caprivi time' meant we gained an hour; we had been debating whether the hour was going backwards or forwards and it was only when the guard at the vetinary gate greeted us with a cheery 'Good Morning' that we were certain! After two nights peaceful rest we set off to Okaukeujo. We arrived at Etosha in good time and managed to visit several good waterholes on the drive across the park.

We spent most of the next day in the park and then moved on to the big surprise of the trip; Taleni. We'd wanted to spend two nights at Okaukeujo but had been unable to get a room despite booking very early. Taleni is just outside Etosha and we loved it. It does attract some large groups but the staff use the different dining areas to give couples or family groups privacy and peace.

A comfortable morning's drive brought us to Gocheganas, just south of Windhoek, which proved an unexpected pleasure. We had been booked to stay at Elegant Farmstead but they had cancelled our booking at the very last minute (after we arrived in Namibia). As it turned out Gocheganas fitted in with our itinerary much better and we thought the place was excellent. Thanks to Sabina for organising the change for us; in the days before BlackBerrys and the internet this could have been a major problem but in this case was (almost) painless.

The drive to Bagatelle, for some reason, took longer than anticipated; the roads were good and we'd calculated the distance but it just took longer! However we arrived in comfortable time and enjoyed watching the waterhole, excellent food and company and, of course, the meerkats!

Next, off to Fish River Canyon. Until Keetmanshoop the B1 is a good tar road but you then have to venture onto gravel. The road is bumpy and undulates with the landscape, which is beautiful, and you may even meet a train! The canyon itself is fantastic and there are few people about; such a contrast to its rival in the USA!

We left Canon Lodge in the sunshine and headed for the border with South Africa. The crossing itself was painless though there was a notable diminishment in friendliness of immigration staff on the South African side. Heading down the N7 the weather turned and we found ourselves in rain and/or cloud. As we had plenty of time we went down to Skilpad to see the flowers with which we were disappointed. However, driving back over the mountains they were lovely.

It absolutely tipped it down overnight (not ideal in a room with an iron roof!) and we set off for the marathon drive to Cape Town with some trepidation. Driving over the mountain passes in heavy cloud was 'entertaining' to say the least (particularly when we were held up by major roadworks – waiting time at least 20 minutes). We stopped off in Clanwilliam which we thought a lovely town.

The sun came out as we arrived in Camps Bay. We'd arranged our own accommodation here; there are lots of good guest houses .
The place has clearly been spruced up since the World Cup and there are some excellent new restaurants. We ate at The Codfather – excellent but shellfish is very expensive, Ocean Blue – just as excellent but less pricey, and The Kove – best steak Martin had all trip and great staff. Tuscany Beach was also highly recommended by our guest house.

We did the tourist bit – open top bus tour (don't forget to use the vouchers printed on the back of the ticket!) boat trip and lunch at the V&A – recommend The Greek Fisherman and City Grill Steakhouse – then the bus back to Camps Bay. The following day we drove (yes we hadn't had quite enough!) down to Cape Point where there seemed to be bonteboks around every corner (even on the beach) and few other visitors about.

Finally off to Hermanus and the whales. You really can see them from the coastal path, though the boat trip out to sea is well worthwhile too. The town is lovely and there are some excellent wineries to visit nearby.
Overall, a wonderful trip which we'd wanted to do for years. What's next???????

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

If only travel to Africa was less expensiver!

The name says it all - you are the Africa Experts and although we do shop around we come back time and time again.

Perhaps a minor point is that you should consider regular travellers' previous trips before saying they can't do something" Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 10 on a Namibia trip

"The trip was excellent, the places we stayed were great and we had a marvellous time.

The drives between the accommodation were just the right length, we always arrived at or just after check in time and had the afternoon to explore, which was good.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The only thing we would do differently if we were going again is to miss out one night in Clanwilliam and add the night to Erongo instead. There wasn't much to do in Clanwilliam outside the wild flower season and Lambert's Bay was pretty much closed down for the winter." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip

"Fantastic!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

N/a" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip

"This trip met and exceeded our expectations. All the arrangements in Africa were perfect, and the selection of where to go and stay made the trip interesting.

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As this was our first trip to Africa, Claire was very helpful in planning our trip." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"It was amazing !!! 6 weeks travelling through Africa with a 6 year old child is not everyone's ideal holiday but due to the perfect recommendations given by Maruska and the closeness with which she worked with my husband ensured we had a relatively hassle free, stress free, safe journey.

The travel book was also a great guide as it was up to date and relevant

We would (and have ) fully recommended your company and specifically Maruska to everyone we met !

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
None that we can think of" Read full review: 46 nights in Africa; 20 on a Namibia trip

"Our trip was exceptional! We have been to Africa three times before but never to the Okovango Delta or Capetown and never with Expert Africa. We wouldn't change one day of it! Every part of it was exceptional from the Falls to the safaris to the wine tasting in Capetown.

We agreed that one of the things that made it truely exceptional was the construction of the trip. What I mean by that, is that we got to do and see exactly what we wanted, so it was a highly individualized tour, but we had Expert Africa there every step of the way to make sure that every detail was taken care of and taken care of professionally.

When we climbed on our flight from the US to fly ten thousand miles to another continent and begin a unique adventure, we did not know if everything would go as smoothly as promised or not. It went better, every step of the way, then we could have imagined. Every flight was on time, every camp was expecting us and treated us like royalty, even our side trips to Gaborone and Capetown went without a hitch. And through it all we were able to travel on our own schedule without being hampered by being part of a larger tour group. We would recommend Expert Africa to anyone!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No suggestions really. While Maruska was away, her sister helped, Saskia, us. She was as professional and helpful as Maruska. They were both great!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari

"This ranks as one of the top vacation trips in our 49 years of marriage. We received true value in every aspect, but particularly in Botswana.

Every aspect was planned and executed by Expert Africa with its various on-site agents to give us a vacation and experience without any hiccups. My hobby is photography, and I feel I had the opportunity for some great shooting. The camps selected or suggested by Expert Africa gave us the variety to get as much "feel" for Botswana in 9 days as we could have hoped.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

You might consider having potential customers fill out a form indicating what they want or expect from a trip to Africa. many of our friends reacted to our plans with comments like "aren't you scared to be out there at night?". Many Americans are not as familiar with the potential experience as they should be." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari

"We had an amazing adventure through SA, Namibia and Botswana. Being independent Kiwis, we were keen on arranging our own itinerary and travelling under our own steam, preferably off the beaten tourist track. Namibia appealed, and once I found your amazing website I was hooked. In a former life I was a travel agent here in NZ, but most trips were packaged and rigid, and that was not what we wanted. Having worked out roughly where we wanted to go, I emailed your office, who then referred me to your Namibian expert who (unbelievably!) actually lived in NZ.

Maruska's in depth knowledge of Namibia and her recommendations really made the trip work. Travelling distances were good, and although we travelled over 7,500 km in 5 weeks, it was very do-able. Maruska listened to our preferences and we were delighted with her choice of accom. We enjoyed having the freedom of travelling in the 4WDs to suit ourselves. I fully expected the odd hiccup when we finished with the vehicles and then were reliant on a complicated series of transfers, boats, small planes with no set schedule, more transfers etc, but it all went according to plan and worked like clockwork.

Full marks to Maruska and your agents in Namibia and Botswana for attention to detail and for putting it all together.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just keep doing what you do so well. Your website is just fantastic, great to read other peoples reviews, which is why I've spent all day putting up all this feedback (Sorry it took so long!).

The Brandt guides to Namibia and Botswana are actually in our local library, and it was from there I picked up the website in the first place. Our copies are well worn from the trip, and there was a bit of a bun fight over who kept them. Maybe one per couple would be good, or at least one per vehicle? The Namibia maps were great and Maruska had highlighted each of our stops which was also great attention to detail. We were very happy with the service we received from Maruska - she's a gem - look after her!" Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"We had a very good time, although it started badly with a delayed long-haul flight, missed connection which we had to sort out ourselves, then a call from the Game Lodge to say they were flooded out so don't come this evening. EA found us a hotel in PE which turned out to be really great and a relief to have found somewhere after a difficult journey. Next day we had a blown tyre - felt like trip was fated. But thereafter all went well.

We loved Samara and had a good time in Plettenburg area, although we felt the Plettenburg hotel was not quite us. Weather wasn't great but hey, we were away from home/work in March somewhere warm and beautiful.

And, most importantly, we had a great sighting of Aadvark that really made the whole trip a success." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a South Africa trip

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Kgalagadi and Cape Town - and would happily, and enthusiastically, recommend it to others! The trip isn't for the faint hearted - or for anyone who is looking for a holiday on a plate - but if you love exploring, don't mind driving around (a lot!) and have been on safari before so you know that you won't see animals at every turn - then this trip is for you. The order you do things is important - so we would recommend Augrabies Falls, followed by the Kgalagadi, followed by Cape Town.

The wildlife we saw in the Kgalagadi was fabulous - and included the Black Maned Kalahari Lions (including a pair mating, as well as a couple of family groups and individuals), Cheetahs (including a pair lying in the shade right next to the road) and an amazing selection of antelopes, deer and other smaller mammals (including Bat Eared Foxes - and Meerkats!). As the tourist numbers in the the Kgalagadi are very low compared to other destinations in Africa, you have the chance to sit, watch and enjoy without interruption - which is a real privilege.

Cape Town is fantastic - and our only regret is not getting out to Robben Island (if you're going - make sure you pre-book ferry tickets to Robben Island in advance, as getting them when you're there is not easy).

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We think you should recommend to travellers who plan to visit the Kgalagadi that they should consider upgrading to a 4*4 vehicle. Although the roads are very good in the dry, it's a different story in the wet. But also - and perhaps more importantly - a number of the roads are below the vegetation height of the scrub/bush either side - so unless you have a high vehicle, you struggle to see the wildlife (we bumped into several people who were disappointed by the lack of wildlife - and all of them were travelling in saloon cars. Either we were lucky - or the height really did make a difference!)" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip