Travel reviews by Mr K & Mrs A from Herts
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
3
Lodges stayed in
8
Excursions taken
0
My Aug 2013 trip
Namibia and 2 other countries between 15 Aug 2013 and 1 Sep 2013
"An excellent itinerary (with the exception of 3 nights at Mazambala being too long).
We loved Namibia and would highly recommend a self drive of this type in this country for a family with similar aged children ( 10 and 14)
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Everything went completely smoothly throughout. There are only a couple of minor constructive suggestions:
Charges at border into Botswana are higher than we were advised ( 140bwp rather than 70, comprised of 40 for road permit, 50 for MV Insurance, 50 Road Fund)
Make people aware of limitations of barbecue facilities at Okaukuejo and that meat cannot be taken into park
Some hesitation with Nkwazi lodge as detailed on our feedback- also note your website is incorrect - no air con, mini bar fridges and no electricity for us after 9.20pm.
Other friends who have done similar trips have had a little itinierary brochure with details of how long it takes to drive to the next lodge and some general infomation about the lodge. This is by no means an essential but would be an extra nicety perhaps.
Overall a really excellent trip. We would thoroughly recommend EA to others"
We loved Namibia and would highly recommend a self drive of this type in this country for a family with similar aged children ( 10 and 14)
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Everything went completely smoothly throughout. There are only a couple of minor constructive suggestions:
Charges at border into Botswana are higher than we were advised ( 140bwp rather than 70, comprised of 40 for road permit, 50 for MV Insurance, 50 Road Fund)
Make people aware of limitations of barbecue facilities at Okaukuejo and that meat cannot be taken into park
Some hesitation with Nkwazi lodge as detailed on our feedback- also note your website is incorrect - no air con, mini bar fridges and no electricity for us after 9.20pm.
Other friends who have done similar trips have had a little itinierary brochure with details of how long it takes to drive to the next lodge and some general infomation about the lodge. This is by no means an essential but would be an extra nicety perhaps.
Overall a really excellent trip. We would thoroughly recommend EA to others"
Arranged By Sabina Hekandjo
Okonjima Plains Camp
"Okonjima main camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
16 Aug 2013
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Okaukuejo Camp
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
18 Aug 2013
"Although our room was quite simple and seemed a bit of a come-down from the previous lodge, we warmed hugely to Okaukuejo and it is definitely not to be missed.
The floodlit waterhole is amazing and really 'makes' this place. We spent hours there and would have been happy to spend more. Minimum of 2 nights advised since it can be variable what animals go to the water hole - 1 night was busy with rhino, zebra, giraffe etc and the next night almost empty so you might feel robbed if you only stay 1 night. If you are a photographer- take your tripod.
Breakfasts excellent but we didn't try the restaurant.
Rooms have a 'brai- barbecue' but be warned that other than 2 teaspoons and a cup there is no equipment at all such as plates/cutlery or BBQ tongs. You can buy paper/plastic implements in the shop, but it brought out our boy scout survival techniques !!. Also visitors should be advised you cannot take any meat into the national park so must buy everything there.
Self-driving around other water holes is fine but with a 2WD very slow due to road conditions so don't be too ambitious."
The floodlit waterhole is amazing and really 'makes' this place. We spent hours there and would have been happy to spend more. Minimum of 2 nights advised since it can be variable what animals go to the water hole - 1 night was busy with rhino, zebra, giraffe etc and the next night almost empty so you might feel robbed if you only stay 1 night. If you are a photographer- take your tripod.
Breakfasts excellent but we didn't try the restaurant.
Rooms have a 'brai- barbecue' but be warned that other than 2 teaspoons and a cup there is no equipment at all such as plates/cutlery or BBQ tongs. You can buy paper/plastic implements in the shop, but it brought out our boy scout survival techniques !!. Also visitors should be advised you cannot take any meat into the national park so must buy everything there.
Self-driving around other water holes is fine but with a 2WD very slow due to road conditions so don't be too ambitious."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Facilities
Average
Rooms
Average
Food
Good
Mushara Bush Camp
"Mushara Bush Camp review"
1 night
Arrived
20 Aug 2013
"We loved this lodge - friendly and attentive. Nice pool. Lovely clean rooms with nice showers.
Hot water bottles in bed by the time we arrived back from dinner- what a treat ! Would be fine if using as a base to visit Etosha but otherwise is probably a one-night stopover place."
Hot water bottles in bed by the time we arrived back from dinner- what a treat ! Would be fine if using as a base to visit Etosha but otherwise is probably a one-night stopover place."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Nkwazi Lodge, Namibia (this camp has since closed)
"Nkwazi Lodge review"
1 night
Arrived
21 Aug 2013
"This is a lovely lodge in terms of rooms and particularly location looking over the river and seeing a bit of rural African life. The birds around are fantastic and our children enjoyed the pool. We didn't do any trips here but they offer a boat cruise which I imagine would be nice.
This was however unfortunately the only lodge in our entire trip in which we would hesitate to recommend and sadly it is all due to 1 member of staff. The one particular waitress/assistant was sullen to the point of being rude throughout our stay despite the fact we were the only guests in the lodge and we generally felt quite uncomfortable because of this.
The barman was great though."
This was however unfortunately the only lodge in our entire trip in which we would hesitate to recommend and sadly it is all due to 1 member of staff. The one particular waitress/assistant was sullen to the point of being rude throughout our stay despite the fact we were the only guests in the lodge and we generally felt quite uncomfortable because of this.
The barman was great though."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Excellent
Service
Poor
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Ndhovu Safari Lodge
"Ndhovu Safari Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
22 Aug 2013
"Ndovu is not to be missed. We loved it here and could happily have spent longer. Staff are friendly and attentive without overdoing it. Activities are offered but not thrust upon you. Michael our guide was excellent and if you enjoy birds - do not miss the sundowner boat cruise. Also spending an afternoon just lounging on the deck looking out over the river was great. You can also drive yourself through Mahango national Park and see plenty.
We arrived to a hippo wandering about camp which was quite exciting - don't let that put you off though, the staff will ensure you are safe and they saw us back safely to our tent in the dark.
Tented accommodation is clean and comfortable with lovely coffee making facilities. Perhaps a little snug with 4 beds in 1 tent.
Our only other construcitve suggestion would be locks on the doors or a safe in the room as our British mentality makes us wary of leaving passports and camera equipment unlocked"
We arrived to a hippo wandering about camp which was quite exciting - don't let that put you off though, the staff will ensure you are safe and they saw us back safely to our tent in the dark.
Tented accommodation is clean and comfortable with lovely coffee making facilities. Perhaps a little snug with 4 beds in 1 tent.
Our only other construcitve suggestion would be locks on the doors or a safe in the room as our British mentality makes us wary of leaving passports and camera equipment unlocked"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Mazambala Island Lodge, Namibia (this camp has since closed)
"Mazambala Island Lodge review"
3 nights
Arrived
24 Aug 2013
"Mazambala is nice, but our itinerary of 3 nights here was just too long. The lodge is on an island so you are transported there by boat - leaving your car behind. There are 3 main activities on offer - a game drive, boat cruise and guided nature walk and it seems almost assumed you will do all of these. We did all 3 activities and enjoyed them - our guide 'Gift' was lovely.
We just felt slightly claustrophobic here (1-2 nights would have been ample) and by our third day were killing time reading novels- the only areas to sit are public and there are no tea/coffee making facilities, so every time you fancy a cuppa it's off to pay at the restaurant. Even the small addition of tea/coffee making facilities would make a huge difference to that feeling of being marooned with no facilities.
Nonetheless staff are very attentive and were very helpful when my daughter left a toy behind and they arranged to a visiting tour guide to take it on to our next destination so full marks for customer service."
We just felt slightly claustrophobic here (1-2 nights would have been ample) and by our third day were killing time reading novels- the only areas to sit are public and there are no tea/coffee making facilities, so every time you fancy a cuppa it's off to pay at the restaurant. Even the small addition of tea/coffee making facilities would make a huge difference to that feeling of being marooned with no facilities.
Nonetheless staff are very attentive and were very helpful when my daughter left a toy behind and they arranged to a visiting tour guide to take it on to our next destination so full marks for customer service."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Facilities
Good
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Chobe River Lodge
"The Garden Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
27 Aug 2013
"This was our favourite lodge of all. Staff were friendly and helpful - Kin in particular went out of her way to help us retrieve a toy that my daughter had left at a previous lodge. Our children loved the mezzanine design of the family room. Food was lovely and the children particularly enjoyed afternoon tea (well the cakes mainly !!)
John was an excellent guide and our package included 2 boat cruises and a game drive. The boat cruises were the best of all and Chobe exceeded all our expectations. Compared to many of the other lodges around the Garden Lodge has small boats which makes the cruises and the overall experience much more personal. For us we also loved the small size of the lodge generally.
The other nice thing here is being able to stroll along to a few local shops and experience a bit of 'real-life' in Africa"
John was an excellent guide and our package included 2 boat cruises and a game drive. The boat cruises were the best of all and Chobe exceeded all our expectations. Compared to many of the other lodges around the Garden Lodge has small boats which makes the cruises and the overall experience much more personal. For us we also loved the small size of the lodge generally.
The other nice thing here is being able to stroll along to a few local shops and experience a bit of 'real-life' in Africa"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Ilala Lodge
"Ilala Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
29 Aug 2013
"The lodge is excellently situated for visiting the falls. Staff are attentive and rooms are clean and hotel-like.
Breakfast was excellent.
We felt the evening meal was expensive so found the local pizzeria for the next night.
Nice pool"
Breakfast was excellent.
We felt the evening meal was expensive so found the local pizzeria for the next night.
Nice pool"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
The lodge and surrounding area is 'safe from predators' so don't worry if you have children - it is fine. Our guide (Martin) was fantastic. Lovely food, cakes with afternoon tea and breakfasts excellent. Our only very minor comment was we felt the staff were just a little too enthusiastic in constantly offering drinks to us and the children during every evening. Just left a slight feeling of them trying to extract as much money from us as they could."