Travel reviews by Dr & Dr A from Cleveland

"We stayed just for one night after landing at Windhoek airport.

The location is nice, with a view out of the suburb - and a nice first African sunset. It was too far from the city centre for us to venture out during the afternoon we had there; we were recommended to take a taxi for any trips outside.

Restaurants are available nearby for an evening meal (short taxi ride).

The room was spacious and very comfortable. There is a reasonable sized swimming pool (which we didn't sample) and nice deck area for relaxing"

"What a beautiful location, in the middle of the stunning scenery of the Namib Rand. Lovely comfortable tents with a view out to the mountains in the distance - with Oryx wandering past the front of the tent. Food was good and plentiful (5-course dinner introduced in English and the local 'click' language by staff), with dinner eaten together giving good conversation.

Sunset 'sundowners' overlooking the plain from the top of some dunes were out of this world, and our all day drive took us through an amazing range of scenery such as we had never seen before. Getting up early to see sunrise from the dune tops is also well worthwhile.

Our guide, Joseph, was excellent. The only minor quibble is that our planned 'Bushman Walk' on the final morning was unexpectedly cancel because the Bushman had gone to another client - Joseph was mortified."

"We stayed here for 3 nights in early September. The main lodge rooms are very spacious, with a nice dining area with views out to the dunes. The individual rooms are also comfortable and spacious, with the same views. There is the option to sleep on the roof - which a number of people seemed to do. We didn't, but regretted it on our last night as it was very hot in the room!

There is a small pool, with lounging area around it - it was very cold when we were there!

The main activity is of course a trip into the dunes - it is well organised and the private gate saves a considerable drive and also means you are ahead of the main rush. Other than this we also went on a trip to Sessriem canyon (interesting, worth the drive) and around the reserve (not many animals, but interesting scenery). Our guide Obbie found us some lovely spots for the obligatory sundowners.

Because this is one of the larger camps we stayed in dining is at individual tables rather than communal, so there is less chance for chatting with other guests"

"From the minute we arrived to a sung welcome by the staff to the minute we left (to another song) this was a wonderful 3-night stay. The tents here are 'classic' safari, with all the comforts you need and well separated it's a bit of a walk from 1 or 7 back t the lounge area. Dining is at a 'family' table in the large lounge area and there is a welcoming boma in front in the evenings. Food was excellent throughout.

The main draw here is the rhino tracking activity - we went out on two drives, following the trackers and found rhino on both occasions (amazingly 4 on the first day, being able to approach reasonably close on foot). The second day gave a more fleeting view of a single rhino, but the experience of joining the trackers in an extended pursuit was itself fascinating. Of course we saw many other animals (including desert-adapted elephants and mating lions!) during the drives, as well as the stunning scenery reminiscent of Utah/Arizona. Our guide Bons was one of the best I've encountered.

A couple of points worth noting - for a couple of days that we were there it was very cold on the drives, partly due to the wind, so layers of clothing are needed. Also, the day on the van can be long - we were out from 7 until 3 - and bumpy. But worth every minute of it!"

"We only stayed at Doro Nawas for one night, in passing between Desert Rhino Lodge and Etosha, in order to pick up a hire car for the last part of out trip, and didn't take part in any of the activities.

The room was large and comfortable with an outside shower and a view out over the bush - though we did have people from the camp walking past the front of the room (and shower!). There is a nice, if small, pool for relaxing, and the terrace area in front of the dining room was comfortable.

Food was very good, served at individual tables"

"Hobatere is is ideally situated for exploring the western end of Etosha - about a 20 minute drive from the Galton Gate. The main camp dining / lounge area is lovely - looks recently renovated. Spacious with comfortable seating and a large deck area looking out to a view of the distant waterhole and lots of animals in view. There is a smaller waterhole close to the deck, and a nicely designed sheltered hide-like walkway/seating overlooking this (just 30 secs from the bar!). We watched elephants and a range of antelope close up from here.

We were in one of the 'bungalows' - a terrace of rather tired rooms that clearly haven't been renovated yet. The room was spacious, but the bathroom was rather cramped. The chalets may be better.

As we were self-driving we didn't take part in the main activities here. We did though take the (free) 90minute visit to their nearby hide overlooking the waterhole. This was great - lots of animals came and went while we sat watching.

Overall a lovely lodge in a great location let down slightly by the quality of the accommodation.

Self driving around western Etosha from Hobatere was easy and a very rewarding experience - though be warned that there is a stretch of road between Dolomite and Olifantstrus that is really bad, heavily rutted and rock hard. Also another stretch between Olifanstrus and central Etosha. That aside, the drive was very quiet and we had waterholes largely to ourselves. We were astounded by the amount of wildlife we saw, including close-up encounters with lion and rhino."

"We had a great three nights at Ongava. Situated just outside the Anderson gate, within its own reserve, we were treated to game drives both within Etosha (mornings) and on their own ground (afternoons).

We saw a huge number of animals - the radio contact between drivers within Etosha meant that we saw more than we would have on our own, including a fascinating encounter between lioness and jackels over a zebra carcass.

The camp is very comfortable, with the communal area looking out over a waterhole - we saw a beautiful giraffe drinking here at sunset. Food is excellent too."

"Another camp located just outside Etosha. Décor in the main area is luxurious with canopied roof and dining tables looking out over the large natural waterhole.

The tents too are lovely, each of them also looking out over the waterhole. We woke one morning to the sound of a herd of zebra crunching the gravel on their way to drink!

Food and service were excellent.

We self-drove, so didn't take part in camp activities. Driving round eastern Etosha / Fisher's Pan was easy from here, and gave us a chance to see a variety of animals and birds."

"We stopped here for a single night to break the journey from Etosha to Windhoek - and wished that we had stayed for two!

We were fortunate to be upgrade to a 'View Room' - which was delightful with a panoramic window view out onto the reserve, and huge bathroom with walk-in shower.

The activities here focus on tracking the collared cheetahs and leopards. We had just one drive, and got to walk up to within feet of two cheetahs relaxing after a feed - a really magical moment. We had to leave to early the next morning to didn't have the chance to look for leopards - but did see lots of other animals on the drive back out of the reserve. It would certainly not have been difficult to fill two days!"

"Very convenient hotel, easily reached from the airport. Comfortable rooms, and good breakfast.

Only slight quibble - there were no luggage trolleys when we came out in the morning, for the walk back into the airport. I imagine they would have found one for us though, if we had asked."

"A wonderful experience here. The camp facilities were excellent, and the staff and management very friendly and helpful.

Game viewing was top class - we saw leopard nearly every drive, and much more. As well as drives we had a mokoro trip and boat on the waterways.

Evenings around the camp fire were very friendly! Food was excellent and constant!"

"Another excellent camp, with a beautiful position overlooking the Savuti Channel. Staff and facilities were top class, and guiding and wildlife viewing brilliant. We saw a wide range of animals, including leopard, buffalo and wild dog.

Mornings were very cold, but we were well provided for with hot water bottles and ponchos

First class safari experience"

"The third and final camp of our visit, but as with the others we visited the experience was wonderful.

Another superb location, with lovely 'tents'.

Wildlife viewing, and guiding by Mo, was terrific - lots of variety in both landscape and animals. Lots of leopard, close encounters with elephants and much much more."

"A beautiful setting and an amazing room - we stayed in the Tree House.

Service here was absolutely top class, starting with our 'personal valet'. Sunsets over the Zambesi form our room were a truly memorable experience, as was dining on the river and island

Victoria Falls were, of course, an amazing sight"