Travel reviews by Family B from Hampshire

"We enjoyed our stay here, the first night of the holiday. We had a very friendly reception. The rooms and the main part of the lodge are very well thought out and presented. The starter and pudding at dinner were excellent, but the main course was rather ordinary. It was very pleasant to go inside after dinner and sit to have coffee and drinks. Breakfast was very good. You need to ask a guide after dinner to show you the meercats in the morning, as this was not mentioned to us on arrival. Our guide, no charge other than a tip, was very helpful at keeping an eye out for them to appear, which was rather late as it was a cold morning, but the viewing was then superb - there were 24 in residence and you can get quite close to them until they move off for their day. We understand that they are not always present. We now have some great photos

The reason we have described the location as average is because there was rather more fencing near to the rooms than I expected which made the place seem rather enclosed. Perhaps the dune chalets would be better in this respect.

It was an easy drive from the airport but we deviated from Expert Africa's recommendation, turning off the tarred road at Kalkrand from where Bagatelle is signed. The gravel roads were in good condition and it was an interesting and lovely drive."

"This lodge is in a superb location with fantastic views. It is a pity the rooms do not have full balconies, but they are very comfortable. The atmosphere is very good, the staff friendly and efficient and the food delicious. It was the only place we stayed where meat was individually cooked on a braai to taste, and very good it was too. We thought we had a problem with our car, and the manager and staff checked the problem, and pronounced it wasn't; they were very helpfu; indeed. We did not go on any activities, but did wander about - there is a nice walk. The guides were helpful in explaining about arrangements at Sesriem. All in all, a great place to stay and one of the highlights of our holiday.

We self drove to Sossusvlei, starting first at Dead Vlei followed by Sossusvlei, a surreal lake at the moment, and finally Sesriem canyon. It is all pretty busy but fairly dramatic. As we had an early start and missed breakfast, Mountain Homestead provided us free breakfast packs which were excellent."

"A lot of the road to Swakopmund from Sesriem is badly ridged, but there is some stunning scenery and we saw a group of meercats 70 km before Walvis Bay. The bakery at Solitaire is excellent.

The first morning of our stay, we had an early activity, kayaking, in Walvis Bay and breakfast was provided half an hour earlier than normal at management's suggestion, which was very welcome indeed. The building is a bit austere from outside, but is very nice indeed inside and spotless. Our rooms were excellent. We were helped to choose restaurants for dinner, reservations were made for us and confirmations made for pre booked activities. Good breakfasts. On the day we left, they suggested we filled rolls from the breakfast buffet for lunch, and gave us sealed bags for them without charge. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Altogether excellent. I cannot think of a single fault and would recommend it highly.

We had dinner at Kucklis, the Tug and the Kupferpfanne. They were all enjoyable but the Tug stood out having great atmosphere and excellent food. Beware of over ordering at Kucklis; the portions are simply enormous, and that from a family of carnivores! The interior of Kupferpfamme is fascinating.

We spent an afternoon wandering round Swakop and having cake at Anton's. Anton's is a bit disappointing - melamine decor, but the cakes were good. There are huge numbers of shops for a relatively small town and some very quirky bits of Germany in aspic. Definitely worth a visit.

Whilst here, we organised a trip 'Kayaking at Pelican Point' for these travellers; they commented:

What fun, paddling among the seals, with youngsters nibbling at the paddles. Just us four plus the guide. What is more, I had not realised how short a time the motor boats spend by the seal colony in Walvis Bay - we had two or three hours, the boats more like two or three minutes. A waterproof bag is provided so my wife took her camera for close ups of seals and the inevitable jackal. The drive out to Pelican Point was also very interesting, as were the seabirds and dolphins we saw. This is an experience definitely not to be missed and was probably the highlight of the holiday. Angela was definitely spot on in recommending it.

We also organised a 'Day trip to Sandwich Harbour', about which they commented:

As the usual road to Sandwich harbour is flooded at the moment, we had a long detour round the salt works in both directions which detracted slightly from the day, although there is nothing that can be done about this. The morning was spent going to the harbour, having a walk, including getting within a few feet of a jackal which was totally relaxed, and then getting out as the tide rose. We had the place to ourselves except at the very end. We then had lunch on top of a dune overlooking the Atlantic with pelicans flying past.

The afternoon was a fascinating mix of driving through the dunes and looking at some of the amazing plants, reptiles and beetles which inhabit the area, finishing with flamingoes on a lagoon. One of us thought the morning was a bit flat and not up to expectations, but perhaps we had seen too many photos of Sandwich Harbour in advance.

Lunch and the afternoon were superb and certainly demonstrated what a landrover can really tackle - David Attenborough and a fairground ride rolled into one. Ernst, our guide, was excellent and extremely knowledgable. Perhaps not quite as good as the kayaking with seals, but certainly not a day to miss. We would rather have liked an extra day out in the desert with Ernst and would suggest this for anyone who really wants to learn about this fascinating area and its plants and animals."

"We had a tremendous drive from Swakopmund via the Cape Cross seal colony (well worth visiting) and then via back roads past Brandberg West to Uis with a stretch of 165km without another car - but you do need a sense of adventure, ample water, two spare tyres and 4 wheel drive. 500 km and 8 hours including stops.

We had never stayed at a Wilderness property before, and after this and more particularly Ongava, I am not sure that I am particularly enamoured. There is somehow an impersonal air. Having said that, the rooms, food and service were all excellent and dinner was particularly noteworthy. We had lunch here twice, and that was also excellent. The outdoor showers are great when you are hot and dusty. Three of us did not like the singing after dinner, finding it a bit intrusive and difficult to escape, but I accept that many would like it very much. There is a very nice pool of decent length and depth which was crystal clear. The staff are clearly enthusiastic.

We went on an afternoon elephant drive with 8 in a landrover, which is too many at the price. We are used to east africa camps where 4 is the norm. 6 is acceptable, but 8 is hopeless. We found elephants quickly, and our guide then did not seem to know what to do to fill the remaing time; a really good guide can always find something to talk about. We went for a walk next morning with the same guide, who said that they did not have many visitors interested in birds and general wildlife. I suspect that the guides are simply rusty about anything other than elephants and the Twyfelfontein area because of the type of client they get. He was very friendly, and arranging to check out late to accommodate the walk, and then staying for lunch was no problem.

We thought that the rock art at Twyfelfontein was extremely impressive in a beautiful setting. The petrified forest is not to be missed with a particularly good on-site guide who really knew his stuff, both about the trees and also the birds and plant life, being particularly interesting about the Welwitschia. Our sons were a bit concerned that the sites would be not that great, but were very impressed.

As we only had a short drive to Etendeka from Doro Nawas, we felt that we could have seen the rock art and petrified forest and driven to Etendeka afterwards, using the spare night to add to our stay at Erongo. The desert elephant drive was not very good, certainly if you have seen plenty of ellies before. If we had not been going to North Damaraland, however, two nights would have been needed."

"Probably as a result of the rain earlier in 2011, we were very glad we had a 4 wheel drive to get from Doro Nawas to Palmwag, and later on over the Grootberg pass, although the latter was not as bad. Much of the road to Palmwag is temporarily repaired, and there are one or two quite stepped river crossings. I think Expert Africa definitely should recommend 4wd for anyone going to this area and Dennis at Etendeka reinforced that view.

Etendeka is simply wonderful from the drive in onwards. There was much more wildlife than we expected. The scenery is incomparable. The guiding is top class, the place imaculate, the food simple but really tasty and plentiful with very good salads at lunch and delicious puddings at dinner. Bonnie and Denis are excellent hosts and the tents are very comfortable even for a non-camper like me. The bucket showers are great fun Walikng in the morning through lovely scenery and afternoon game drives were excellent. The only slight downside was that our second morning's walk, although on a different route from the first, was a bit repetitive for the benefit of newcomers, but I guess that is to be expected. You can walk around on your own in between times.

All in all, we were really looking forward to Etendeka, and it was even better than expected. If we go to Namibia again, this would certainly be a place we would visit."

"First the ugly. The rooms are furnished and decorated straight out of the handbook for a hotel chain; think Holiday Inn or Hilton, which we thought was wholly inappropriate for the African bush. Having said that, the rooms are very spacious with lots of storage, very welcome air conditioning when we were there and excellent bathrooms. Unfortunately the layout of room 6 meant that the entrance to the outside shower and much of the bathroom were in clear view of anyone leaving room 7 - bad design which should have been dealt with. Room 5 was nice and private. We would have been less than amused to be in the back row of rooms which have a fine view of the front row. Our roms did have lovely views with lots to see.

Next the bad. The main course and desert on two nights were very poor. Baked apple is not in my view a great pudding, and trying to eat it with the provided teaspoon was an interesting and inventive experience. Kudu steaks first of all overcooked and then left on a food heater make for a tasteless chewing experience like few others, although the fish was OK. Vegetables are uninspiring, straight from a motorway cafe. The chef should pop round to Doro Nawas to find out how to make food interesting. I have to say that the third night was better, and breakfasts were good and cake at tea time excellent. There are lots of under managers, but an overall manager who is on the ball is needed to stop rubbish being served. And I really cannot understand why a buffet for dinner is necessary - there are plenty of staff around to serve the food. I suppose that Wilderness will come out with their usual PR rubbish about thanking me for pointing this out and taking steps to deal with matters. The point is that at this price, the food should be good and there should not be little niggles in other ways. We have paid for our comfort, not to provide a test bed for others.

There were lots of little things which we disliked. Very obviously, they could not wait to get rid of us; the chambermaid waiting outside our rooms after breakfast until we cleared them at 9.30 told its own tale. Leaving the water jug empty in a room for over 24 hours is not very good. The swimming pool was opaque, perhaps to hide its shallowness - again a visit to Doro Nawas might be an eye opener. Not giving you cold towels after an outing, unless it is an organised activity, is petty. I could go on. I think the problem may well be the way in which Wilderness manage their properties. or more accurately do not manage them. Trying to charge for all our wine without credit for the allowance of one glass per head per dinner left a bad taste.

Lastly, the good, and there is plenty. The common parts are very well laid out with good views over a busy waterhole. 9 rhino, black and white, was perhaps exceptional on our first night, there were none on the second, and on our last morning there was a constant procession of different animals culminating in an eland. We only went on one activity, an afternoon game drive, which was excellent although pricey with 6 in the vehicle. We were lucky with our sightings, but the standard of the guide was first class. He made a very real and effective effort to get to a good position to photograph a white rhino and calf, and how he spotted a genet at night without picking up the eyes, I will never know. The staff were friendly and efficient.

We self drove into Etosha which worked very well as we were able to take our time looking at things of interest, such as the family of ground squirrels in holes on the side of the road, rather than spending ages looking at lions which we had all seen many times before. Etosha, particularly on some of the longer side roads, was much quieter than we expected and the experience was first class, even though we had all had several holidays in Africa and our sons have both spent three months on conservation work in South Africa/Botswana. An afternoon drive to Okondeka was outstanding for close views of jackals. Okondeka had huge numbers of animals and birds at the waterhole; probably the most my wife and I have seen since seeing the migration in the Masai Mara on honeymoon.

Overall, therefore a mixed experience. The trouble is that Ongava does not have much alternative of a good standard in the South of the park and environs but it really does fail to live up to its price and is the worst lodge we have ever stayed at in Africa at any price level, albeit with excellent guiding. It is a pity; with a good kicking it could be as good as Mountain Homestead; perhaps, like the latter, it could do with a change of management company. We would probably avoid this area in future rather than stay here again."

"What a breath of fresh air after Ongava. I now see why they do not allow two wheel drive cars up the entry road, which was easy with 4wd. Everyone was really friendly without looking as though they were waiting for a tip. The rest of the family went on a self guided walk up one of the hills following the map provided. We went on a sundowner walk, and a morning walk which the guide tailored to ensure that we got back in time to have breakfast and get away for the airport. On the morning walk, we saw Klipspringer and damara Dik Dik, and a black mongoose at breakfast. The guides were excellent. The food was excellent and the waiter did a great job. The rooms are well thought out and the location was simply stunning. We all thought it was wonderful and could not find anything to criticise. Our only regret was that we only stayed for one night and I think that Expert Africa should strongly suggest staying for two, but not more. It was a wonderful place to spend our last night and we would certainly want to go there again if we return to Namibia.

It was suggested by Expert Africa that we drove on tarred road back to Windhoek via Karibib, but at the manager's suggestion, we used the C36 to Wilhemstal which saves 34 km. This road is a wide gravel road in very good condition, with much of it recently graded. The journey back to the airport took three and a half hours because of slow vehicles into and out of Windhoek. I suspect it might be nearly as fast, and more fun, to take the back roads avoiding Windhoek."