Travel reviews by K+R, J+P from Stirling
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
8
Excursions taken
3
Our Namibia trip October 2018
Namibia between 28 Sep 2018 and 16 Oct 2018
"We had an amazing trip! Everything went really well. The information provided was totally reliable and our annotated map was a terrific help. Having Wilderness Safaris lounge and support from their team at the airport was great.
The accommodation was a good distance apart so no driving day was too difficult and we felt safe and confident driving ourselves around the country despite some very bumpy roads. This also gave us the opportunity to find small cafes (with excellent cakes) and helpful garages (we'll fix your slow puncture while you have coffee and cake!).
Everyone we met was friendly helpful and welcoming giving us a very positive impression of the country. People were especially helpful and supportive as we had older people travelling with us. They were also very responsive to our requests for including birdwathcing in all trips (114 species seen).
There was much greater variety than a traditional safari holiday. The game viewing was better than we had expected as we didn't include Etosha in our itinerary. However we also loved the varied landscapes such as Fish River Canyon, the dunes at Sossusvlei and Sandwich Harbour, and the bush in Damarland and Waterberg. Our tours were always in smaller groups which gave us more flexibility.
We will be recommending Namibia and Expert Africa to all our friends!"
The accommodation was a good distance apart so no driving day was too difficult and we felt safe and confident driving ourselves around the country despite some very bumpy roads. This also gave us the opportunity to find small cafes (with excellent cakes) and helpful garages (we'll fix your slow puncture while you have coffee and cake!).
Everyone we met was friendly helpful and welcoming giving us a very positive impression of the country. People were especially helpful and supportive as we had older people travelling with us. They were also very responsive to our requests for including birdwathcing in all trips (114 species seen).
There was much greater variety than a traditional safari holiday. The game viewing was better than we had expected as we didn't include Etosha in our itinerary. However we also loved the varied landscapes such as Fish River Canyon, the dunes at Sossusvlei and Sandwich Harbour, and the bush in Damarland and Waterberg. Our tours were always in smaller groups which gave us more flexibility.
We will be recommending Namibia and Expert Africa to all our friends!"
Arranged By Tracy Lederer
Villa Violet
"Easy to find from the airport"
1 night
Arrived
29 Sep 2018
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch
"Night Drive at Bagatelle was amazing"
1 night
Arrived
30 Sep 2018
"We had great game drives at Bagatelle. We saw all the wildlife we had hoped to see and on the night drive we saw 5 aardvarks!!
Also lots of other unusual wildlife such as spring hares, aardwolf, bat-eared fox and zorillas."
Also lots of other unusual wildlife such as spring hares, aardwolf, bat-eared fox and zorillas."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Aardvark
5 sightings
Eland
2 sightings
Giraffe
2 sightings
Meerkat
1 sighting
Oryx
10+ sightings
Wildebeest
2 sightings
Zebra
2 sightings
Fish River Lodge
"Amazing location"
2 nights
Arrived
1 Oct 2018
"Fish Liver Lodge is an amazing location. The staff were particularly friendly and relaxed, and we thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiastic singing after dinner.
The drive to the bottom of the canyon was spectacular and swimming in the river at the bottom was a highlight of our trip. The guide, Bob, was clearly very interested in the geology, plants and animals and gave really clear informative talks along the way. All the guides were helpful especially with an older walker using sticks, ensuring she was able to join the group in the walk right to the bottom of the canyon. We also enjoyed the sightings of kudu and the klipspringers perched on the top of the mountains.
It was very windy and noisy in the rooms, so the earplugs provided were appreciated!"
The drive to the bottom of the canyon was spectacular and swimming in the river at the bottom was a highlight of our trip. The guide, Bob, was clearly very interested in the geology, plants and animals and gave really clear informative talks along the way. All the guides were helpful especially with an older walker using sticks, ensuring she was able to join the group in the walk right to the bottom of the canyon. We also enjoyed the sightings of kudu and the klipspringers perched on the top of the mountains.
It was very windy and noisy in the rooms, so the earplugs provided were appreciated!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Hotel Helmeringhausen
"An oasis of calm"
1 night
Arrived
3 Oct 2018
"Hotel Helmeringhausen was a stop on the way for us, but a surprisingly lovely stay.
It has a beautiful garden to sit outside the rooms, with really interesting birds to watch.
A short walk up the little hill behind the hotel brings you to a sitting area to watch the sun go down over a wide view, before returning for some nice food."
It has a beautiful garden to sit outside the rooms, with really interesting birds to watch.
A short walk up the little hill behind the hotel brings you to a sitting area to watch the sun go down over a wide view, before returning for some nice food."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Hoodia Desert Lodge
"Beautiful location"
2 nights
Arrived
4 Oct 2018
"A luxurious lodge in a beautiful location.
The staff were friendly and helpful.
The rooms were beautifully designed, and the outside shower was a delight."
The staff were friendly and helpful.
The rooms were beautifully designed, and the outside shower was a delight."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Giraffe
1 sighting
Oryx
10+ sightings
Wildebeest
1 sighting
Zebra
1 sighting
Hoodia Sossusvlei excursion
"Lovely individualised visit to Sossusvlei"
5 Oct 2018 • All-day excursion
Fascinating guide (Lucas) who gave us so much information about how the dune formation comes about and is maintained. He also gave us good insight into the different animals in the area thorough tracking them as we walked. We were a little uncomfortable with what appeared to be the apparently standard practice of digging up scorpion and spider burrows. These were interesting but likely to have an impact on the animals chance of survival.
Our guide was very helpful with our elderly walker using sticks and ensuring she was able to fully enjoy the dune walking experiences. We liked that we took an individual route into Deadvlei rather than walking the tourist 'highway'.
We had a lovely lunch in the desert in the company of oryx. The lunch set up was a bit OTT although the iced drinks were appreciated.
Our guide was very helpful with our elderly walker using sticks and ensuring she was able to fully enjoy the dune walking experiences. We liked that we took an individual route into Deadvlei rather than walking the tourist 'highway'.
We had a lovely lunch in the desert in the company of oryx. The lunch set up was a bit OTT although the iced drinks were appreciated.
Excellent
Cornerstone Guesthouse
"Good central location"
3 nights
Arrived
6 Oct 2018
"Staying in the apartment in Swakopmund made a great break in the middle of the holiday, giving us space to do some laundry and re-pack while having excellent breakfasts provided at Cornerstone.
The apartment was ideally placed within the town, we enjoyed being able to wander on the shore and into town as well as enjoying choosing restaurants to visit - The Fish Deli was a particular favourite."
The apartment was ideally placed within the town, we enjoyed being able to wander on the shore and into town as well as enjoying choosing restaurants to visit - The Fish Deli was a particular favourite."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Coast and Sandwich Harbour
"Driving on the edge!"
7 Oct 2018 • All-day excursion
Sandwich Harbour was a beautiful location and we were lucky to get there as it is tide dependent. It was tight for time but we got to climb the sand dunes to see the views. The time factor made for an exhilarating return trip along the shoreline waiting for each wave to go back so we could move on.
It was great having Bruno as our guide giving us insight into the ecology and threats to this from the changing industrial activities in the area.
Enjoyed the bird-watching along the way.
It was great having Bruno as our guide giving us insight into the ecology and threats to this from the changing industrial activities in the area.
Enjoyed the bird-watching along the way.
Excellent
Kayaking with seals
"A Unique Experience"
8 Oct 2018 • Morning excursion
Unique and awesome experience. The seals were all around us, nibbling on the paddles and even taking a ride on our kayak!
It was nice to be in a small group for this and Jeanne gave excellent guidance and kept an eye on us all while we looked at seals. We had no / limited kayaking experience but this was not a problem.
One member of our group was not kayaking but was welcomed on the trip to the seal beach. The bird-watching along the way to the kayaking beach was great and Jeanne was very knowledgeable about all the birds.
Jeanne sent us all photos and videos of our trip afterwards which was brilliant.
It was nice to be in a small group for this and Jeanne gave excellent guidance and kept an eye on us all while we looked at seals. We had no / limited kayaking experience but this was not a problem.
One member of our group was not kayaking but was welcomed on the trip to the seal beach. The bird-watching along the way to the kayaking beach was great and Jeanne was very knowledgeable about all the birds.
Jeanne sent us all photos and videos of our trip afterwards which was brilliant.
Doro Nawas
"Amazing location"
2 nights
Arrived
9 Oct 2018
"The friendly and enthusiastic staff welcomed us in with singing. The food was excellent and the bush dinner was a lovely addition.
Our activities were great, and our guide adapted our itinerary to suit our interests in birds and smaller animals along the way to Twlfelfontein.
We also loved the stargazing from the roof of the lodge."
Our activities were great, and our guide adapted our itinerary to suit our interests in birds and smaller animals along the way to Twlfelfontein.
We also loved the stargazing from the roof of the lodge."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Mundulea Reserve
"Highlight of our trip"
3 nights
Arrived
11 Oct 2018
"Bruno was an excellent host, extraordinarily well informed about every aspect of the reserve so we really got to understand the ecology and ecosystem.
It was refreshing to get out of Toyota landcruisers and connect to the land through the walking trips. Each walk took us in a different direction, looking at a different aspect of the place. The hide a few paces from our tents provided excellent viewing of all the game and birds coming to the waterhole. This included some animals that we didn't see elsewhere including dik-dik, duiker, honey badger, banded mongoose and scrub hare
The camp was very different from anywhere else we stayed with nearly every item made from the natural resources of the place, or from recycled materials, without compromising comfort. The meals all cooked on the open fire were excellent and we all enjoyed the wide ranging conversation over mealtimes and round the fire with Bruno and the other 2 guests.
These days of our trip were so memorable as they were so different to the rest of the trip - we would not have missed it and would love to return."
It was refreshing to get out of Toyota landcruisers and connect to the land through the walking trips. Each walk took us in a different direction, looking at a different aspect of the place. The hide a few paces from our tents provided excellent viewing of all the game and birds coming to the waterhole. This included some animals that we didn't see elsewhere including dik-dik, duiker, honey badger, banded mongoose and scrub hare
The camp was very different from anywhere else we stayed with nearly every item made from the natural resources of the place, or from recycled materials, without compromising comfort. The meals all cooked on the open fire were excellent and we all enjoyed the wide ranging conversation over mealtimes and round the fire with Bruno and the other 2 guests.
These days of our trip were so memorable as they were so different to the rest of the trip - we would not have missed it and would love to return."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Black Rhino
1 sighting
Eland
6 sightings
Giraffe
4 sightings
Oryx
3 sightings
Wildebeest
3 sightings
Comfortable accommodation and good breakfast.
Easy to find from the airport"