Travel reviews by Miss A from Okehampton

"A delightful, stylish 'oasis' in a quiet part of Nairobi.

Lovely gardens and characterful house, full of wonderful and interesting artworks by Tonio Trezebinski.

Good food and very pleasant staff."

"Absolutely wonderful in every way- the location, tents, staff, things to see and do, food... all terrific. The infinity pool a delight- overlooking two water holes which were regularly visited by elephant, buffalo, warthogs, giraffe, zebra and impala.

The 'singing wells' hugely interesting- a unique experience - we only hope it will not be affected by too many tourists.... (A ban on photography such a good thing..). The new Namunyuk Elephant Sanctuary - about an hour away - is beautifully run, with excellent facilities - in a natural setting.

A visit to a local Samburu nomad's village was fascinating- how nice of them to allow us to pay a visit... Andrew amazed them by being able to milk a goat. (They were obviously ready to have a good laugh!)

We loved this place- the resident echidna under the main house, semi-tame Grevys zebras visiting the swimming pool, a friendly, rescued giraffe, beautiful birds, magnificently dressed Samburu men- all adding to its unique charm."

"While Saruni Mara is in a lovely position on a hill overlooking a valley, it did not suit us particularly well.

To start with, our allotted cabin room - though very attractive - was located up a slope a long walk from the main house, despite our briefing that Andrew had difficulty in walking.

The staff very kindly did a special supper for us in our room- and the manager, Cecilia, moved us the next day into the owner's very luxurious 'villa'. We were looked after beautifully by the villa team - including meals delivered each day by dedicated cook! Buffalo, impala and giraffe regularly wandered along the track just below us, which was a bonus...

Despite the lovely villa, and being spoilt by the delightful staff, three days here were too many for us. To get to the Northern Mara Conservancy, one must drive down a very rough track and through an over-grazed farming area. (Half an hour plus - then back again of course...) The plains area is oversubsrcibed with tourist 4WD's - though our v good guide, Tinka, managed to avoid the worst over-crowding. The safari drives are the only activity within reasonable driving distance- though one day we visited Saruni Wild Camp for tea, which made a change. (Unfortunately, it was full so we could not move to there from Saruni Mara).

Saruni Mara is trying very hard and has certain advantages (cooler than the plains, for one) - but suffers probably from too much competition from better-placed sites.
We loved the bush lunch by the river on arrival!"

"Absolutely the perfect place to relax and unwind after hot safari days... One can be as lazy or a busy as one wants- with a choice of activities involving sailing, fishing, visits to Lamu and islands- though just walking along the unspolit beach and swimming in the sea is the perfect way to spend a morning. An evening dhow trip through the mangroves worth doing....

Wonderful service- excellent food. Our room was lovely- with view directly onto the beach/sea.

Thoroughly recommended!"

"Very convenient for an early flight from main airport- only five minutes away, with courtesy taxi service. Restaurant expensive- slow service.

Here, one could be anywhere in the world!"

"Fine for an overnight stop. Helpful staff. Swimming pool out of action - limited swimming pool area.

Dining 'deck' overlooking car parking area not especially appealing. Luckily, the lovely Olive Exclusive next door has a wonderful restaurant - worth walking around to! (We'd have paid the extra $$$'s to have stayed there!)"

"Everything perfect from the start - even coming across a cheetah and cub confronting a group of oryx on the short drive from airstrip to camp! (We were lucky). Delightful staff and an excellent guide in the very nice Pappa G...

The Skeleton Coast day out was totally wonderful - they made it all as varied and interesting as possible, with the 'roaring' dune slide, an amazing lunch set up on the beach and great flight back! Just one negative comment: we would have liked a longer walk at the mouth of the Hoanib River - or anywhere else in the area - especially as we waited at the airstrip for over an hour for the Wilderness Safari pilot to arrive.... ( it seems he was rather over-booked that afternoon) BUT the flight itself was spectacular!

We saw the desert elephants, (and sadly a dead baby one week old baby who seems to have died from exhaustion) giraffe, oryx, springbok with lively young ones, and three 3 month-old lion cubs whose future is uncertain as their mother was killed by a leopard... the big question being should they be kept alive artificially, or allow nature to follow its course...We were all for intervention, but don't know what subsequently happened.

Food was excellent - as was service. In the bar, Limbo makes a superb cocktail. An amazing place simply to 'be' - a very impressive achievement so far from anywhere....it's a very special place."

"We had a very interesting time- starting with a thunderstorm that flooded the lodge! It was all hands to get the furniture off the floor- most of it ended up on the bar. Everyone was thrilled by the rain after years of drought, and the 'instant' waterfall on the river behind the camp provided quite a spectacle. We liked the simplicity of the camp, providing a nice contrast to the luxury of Hoanib. We had two great walks - especially the extraordinary 'crystal' walk up on the plateau with the excellent guide,Bobby, which I gather not everyone is allowed to do!?
(WHY?) A real paradise for geologists... something to look at with every step!

The evening drives were a tad long- a bit repetitive.

Dennis a very interesting person- we enjoyed talking to him. Relief manager, Shireen, was very competent and paid a lot of attention to visitors requirements with some very thoughtful touches.. such as a beautifully illustrated recipe for Elias's excellent goulash, which we requested! The chef, Elias, obviously a treasure, provided impressive dinners every night complete with irresistible puddings.

We loved it, but perhaps two days would have been preferable..."

"Fine for a short stop-over - a bit short on character, but very helpful people.

Take a sleep mask, as bright street lights shone into our room all night ( a bit of a shock after Etendenka).

Nice big room and bathroom, with terrace for sitting outside.

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Whilst staying here these travellers did the kayaking with seals excursion and commented:

Great fun - especially as the baby seals were just learning to swim.!

Jean was terrific and provided us with all the gear we needed. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole morning - and were amazed to receive her videos of us the same afternoon.

Thoroughly recommend it - though to some seeing quite a few dead baby seals around us on the beach was upsetting: Maybe a bit more of an explanation about how/why etc might be helpful?"

"Great excitment on our last night when the Tsauchab River suddenly started flowing after years of drought! There had been 30mm of rain in the Naukluft hills the previous night- cutting off the D854 road for some. We were up at Neuras winery during the day - they were worried me might not have got back to Hoodia.. but all was well - we got in through the back entrance. (4WD only).

Neuras wine- the Shiraz- was surprisingly good. High price goes to help care for relocated cheetahs there....Tours of vineyard are available.

Apart from the Dunes day out, we were rather disappointed that there was no advice on other things to do from Hoodia - our very interesting day out to Neuras etc was our own idea (thanks to the Bradt Guide) - wonderful scenery etc and very worthwhile doing....

Maybe overall we were a little disappointed in Hoodia.

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During their stay here these travellers also took the Hoodia Sossusvlei excursion and commented:

TOO MANY PEOPLE!! And we were there in the low season! We would avoid it in the high season- or stay at a camp with private access....But, having said that, it was obviously not to be missed and our excellent guide made every effort to take us to the less crowded spots. Beautifully served, proper sit - down lunch under a huge old acacia - with only an oryx for company!

Some of our group made the top of the Big Daddy dune- we got half way- but it was still fun coming down."

"A great place for a night's stop- and a memorable, candlelit dinner with delightful hosts.

A small bar area up in a rocky outcrop is perfect for a sundowner... very relaxing."

"Fantastic position - what a view from one's room! And what amazing rooms.... Just being there is really what it's all about. Walks are limited - albeit with superb views at the end of each.( More information about the still evident old farm site would make Walk 1 more interesting...)

Food delicious- with the best breakfast we had anywhere... Wonderful cocktails. Charming staff.

The sky at night is incredibly clear... star- gazing definitely another area of potential interest. And we would have loved to have had a film/ video of the geology etc of the canyon- something interesting to do after dinner. ( Apart from Hoanib, none of the other camps offered any such thing- a pity)

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Whilst staying here these travellers took part in the day drive in to the canyon and commented:

The rugged drive to the canyon is fairly hair raising and fun- the driver/guide impressively intrepid! BUT once at the canyon, with the river in full flood, it was very limited... it was simply a look at the water, a snack out of a paper bag, then the same very rocky route back. We were back by 1.30.

I think they could have made much more of the whole thing- with a bit of an effort at a more special lunch- perhaps set up at the hiking camp base where there was some shade.... overall I think they get a C for effort!

Rather disappointing."

"Great place to unwind- very nice people, pleasant manager and lovely place. Very comfortable and characterful rooms.

Wildebeest immediately outside our room in the early morning!"

"We had some difficulty finding Galton House - more detailed instruction would have been useful!

A very nicely designed, relaxed place- but our room ( No 6 ) was very small and noisy. (A generator all night next door- and power showers at 6am in next room!)

Super swimming pool for a small place- much appreciated.

Very helpful manager. Nice sitting-around area...

Good for one night."