Travel reviews by JBB from Surrey

"The quiet location of Haus Sonneneck was certainly a big plus on arrival in Windhoek. It was not difficult to find and it was good to have secure gated parking.

Reasonable restaurants were only a short drive away."

"Central Lodge was very easy to find, had a certain character & safe parking in an enclosed courtyard very close to the rooms.

It was comfortable and perfectly adequate for breaking the journey south to Fish River. The staff tried very hard to please."

"Canon Roadhouse was very easy to find and appeared 'oasis like' out of the dry landscape! It was in fact very much an oasis for us as it has it's own fuel pumps!!

The rooms are arranged around a courtyard 'motel style' and are clean, comfortable and perfectly adequate. The whole place has a somewhat quirky feel as the owner clearly has a passion for classic vehicles and the reception/dining area resembles a large motor museum!

The reception desk, bar and tables are squeezed in between the more important vehicles! We ate breakfast against the radiator of a tractor and for dinner our table was pushed up against the rear doors of an ambulance!! Different - maybe not exactly Africa but fun!!!"

"It was quite a surprise to discover the really quite smart 'Nest Hotel' jutting out into the sea but hiding at the end of an unpaved road surrounded by buildings under construction. Quite a contradiction!

We were given a warm welcome and the porter kindly came with brush and duster for our luggage (much needed!) and we were shown to our truly delightful room looking out to sea with the waves crashing beneath us. Wonderful!!

The hotel had a lovely palm fringed pool & the food in the restaurant was very good."

"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!!!!!"

"We were given a very warm welcome on arrival and plenty of help to carry our luggage down to our little thatched 'house'.

The individual 'houses' were well designed, comfortable & had glorious views over the desert.

The food was good and the staff most helpful.

We decided not to take up any of the offered escorted trips as we felt they were very overpriced and could do them in our own vehicle."

"Beach Lodge is a comfortable 'international style' hotel. - intriguingly designed to look like half of a beached ship!!! We were given a ground floor room which was most convenient as our vehicle could be parked outside our door on the one side and on the other a stretch of lawn led down to the waters edge.

We thoroughly enjoyed the convenience, relaxed atmosphere and excellent food."

"Camp Kipwe was indeed superb! A beautifully constructed hotel in and around the boulders of this geologically fascinating area. The entire place has been designed with great imagination & is very atmospheric. One gets the experience of living 'close to the desert' / 'under the stars' but without losing any comforts. I cannot praise Camp Kipwe enough.,

It was wonderful experience to watch the sun go down over the desert standing on the highest rocks accompanied by an iced alcoholic drink!!!

The only comment I would like to make is that maybe, in time, the owners should perhaps consider is hiding a petrol pump behind a rock.!. Presumably they must keep a stock of petrol out there for their own use. Because of our fuel gauge problem we were acutely aware that although we had filled our tanks at the last possible location we had driven a very long way to get to the camp & would need to drive some considerable distance before we could purchase more. The worry of this was the only thing which marred our stay there because we didn't dare explore the area as we would have liked."

"Once again it is very hard to judge this camp following on from somewhere like Camp Kipwe but suffice it to say we were perfectly happy with all that the camp offered.

The individual houses were comfortable, clean & well equipped for staying longer than our 2 nights & had we had the time it would have been fun to make use of the barbecue provided. In fact, the totally informal atmosphere was perfect for spending half the night rooted to the edge of the waterhole!!!!!!

The food was buffet style, perfectly adequate in quality and quantity."

"The comments for this camp are the same as for Okaukuejo camp."

"I have mixed feelings about Okonjima.

First of all our stay there was very brief and everything was extremely rushed - this may have been because we stayed at a previous location a night longer than originally planned and so had to discard a night somewhere else. Because of the rush I may be a little more harsh in my judgement than is fair.

Okohjima sounded a very interesting nature reserve and we were looking forward very much to spending the last night of our holiday there.

We arrived at lunch time - taken to our room which was well appointed, spacious & had a fantastic view.

We then returned to the restaurant & along with another couple tried to get some lunch. This proved quite difficult & took up some considerable time but eventually some food did arrive.

It was quite to rush to join the afternoon safari in search of leopards (which we didn't find) & then got back quite late to rush for supper followed by a rush to the waterhole to wait for the arrival of Porcupine. The last of the evening was taken up with packing for a pre-breakfast departure for the airport.

Some of my feelings about Okonjima may have been different had there been more time to spend there.
As it is I do not feel they have their act together somehow - the reality of the place does not live up to their very glossy brochure.

The room was good.

The service was almost non-existent.

The Leopard safari was hugely disappointing - when eventually the guide admitted he was unable to get any signal on the radio device he told us there were only 2 animals that wore the transmitters & if, as they probably had, mooched off to the distant hills, he would not be able to find them. This was said as if he was used to saying it! Despite what the brochure says - I wonder how often a visitor actually sees a Leopard & how big a part does Photoshop play in the production of photographs on page 2 of their brochure?!!

The food was poor.

The waterhole was simply awful! Looking at the stunning photographs in the brochure I can't help but wonder if maybe the standard of waterhole goes down with the standard of the accommodation?!!! After the relaxed atmosphere around the waterholes of Etosha it came as a surprise to be led down a track and into a hut to peer out at a dimly lit manky tank in the ground. Our guide then emptied a bucket of kitchen waste beside the hole & proceeded to tell us all to 'Be quiet - be quiet' whilst he went on talking loudly to a friend. Whilst we waited he clearly knew something we didn't - that regardless of any noise the Porcupine would turn up for the evening meal they knew he would bring them!!!!

It was a very sad end to a wonderful trip."