Travel reviews by Mr T & Ms M from W Molesey

"We received the usual warm welcome from the manager on our return and staff who remembered from last year.

Settled in very easily and ready for all the included activities in our. 3 day stay.

The full board is always interesting, too many options, not good for waistlines!"

"Very warm reception as a returning couple for or 3 day stay this time. Great place to relax and just soak up the scenery.
Not the most prolific place for animals apart from baboons but excellent for bird watching and nature walks. Very helpful staff and first class food.

Maureen enjoyed the birthday cake and singing greeting and my 'HOT TODDY' after getting a chill from a rain soaking at our previous lodge. Many thanks to Elaine the Manageress. Sorry to move on from this place."

"Our third stay at Erindi, it does provide everything you would wish from a large lodge, all the animals freely roaming the area and drives twice daily to locate them in their own habitat. great for photos.

Food is served buffet style and there is always plenty of choice.

Accommodation is first class, most rooms have views over smaller waterholes

Overall a really well run place but with so many people coming and going it tends to be a bit souless."

"Our short stopover is always interesting with all the activity and characters around the Farmhouse.
Good food and helpful staff.

Sorry to find The Bakerie opposite has been demolished to make way for bigger premises and a Spa next year."

"Halali seems to be suffering from lack of maintenance these days and feels slightly more run down than our last visit.

Maybe more staff enthusiam might help.

Rooms are OK but the evening meal was not good value or appetising we didn't bother the second night."

"We like the layout at Mushara and the quality of the meru tents among the grounds with the odd DIK-DIK wandering outside as well as other small creatures. It does make for a more 'bush feel'.

The food is of a high quaulity if sometimes there are some odd choices.

The closeness to the Von Lindquist gate is great for the daily visit to ETOSHA (8Km) away. We did see more animals, particularly elephants at this part of Etosha (nearer to Namutoni) than elsewhere in the park.

We also had a few wild storms during our three day stay."

"A lot more people here as its Christmas than any of our previous visits but staff very helpful and everything went well.

The baboons were here in numbers as usual but there seemed to be no problems with them.

We just relaxed here and did not go on any activities or walks."

"Really only a very short stopover so cannot say a lot about this place. Chalet room was a very modern design bright and colourful.

The park seemed mainly to be used as a camping sites for local people with the swimming pool as the main attraction.The Boma restaurant was largely empty but we found the food to be excellent for our evening meal and the breakfast.

The alternative Kraal restaurant advertised in their brochure does seem to be permanently closed and unused for some time.

We did not have time to explore any of the park but there are animals and good hikes apparently. Very attractive landscape but no longer any water in the dams."

"Nothing we can add to our two stays here."

"This stopover close to the airport was just what was needed after the long journey.

Greeted by Mrs Grellman who welcomed us and settled us into a very comfortable room for our brief stay.

Tea and cake in the afternoon was followed by an excellent dinner.

Thoroughly recommended."

"Well what a transformation has taken place here since our last visit (a few years ago) the new tents are very spacious with good outside areas,our tent even had a splash pool complete with shower unit.

The lack of many animals is more than compensated by the surrounding scenery , there are a few visitors to the waterhole other than baboons. Many different birds seen around the restaurant.

The staff here are very friendly from the manager to all of the staff without exception and the birthday greetings and cake for Maureen was much appreciated especially the vegetarian options. The food here was first class, altogether one of best stays, well done ERONGO!"

"This year our visit to Naankuse was for a three day stay, we really enjoyed being involved with all the activities on offer here which included walking with KIKI the cheetah, LEXY the caracal, feeding and visiting the leopard, wild dogs and lion enclosures. We also visited the farm where the volunteers stay and what they do for the conservation of the mainly rescue animals including large numbers of baboons.

Very friendly staff at the main lodge, excellent meals (great variety of choice most days). Again a surprise bottle of sparkling wine for Maureen's birthday.
All sorts of animals seen in the lodge area including a young ostrich who tried to enter the restaurant for lunch!"

"Long drive here from Naankuse so it was nice to relax here especially as the weather has been so hot so far and here its seems slightly cooler.

Few guests staying here so the general service was good and the food options although limited were OK.

Still the strange arrangement with the 500r returnable deposit, why? nobody checks anything!
Shop still has very little stock.

Animals seen around our chalet were mainly baboons, banded mongoose and dik-dik.
We enjoyed our quiet stay."

"Our second visit to this camp for a three day stay, we like the scattered tents with their own space surrounding them.and you get the occasional Dik-Dik passing by.

The closeness of the Von Lindquist gate (8km) means quick entry into Etosha We visited TSUMCORE waterhole many times during our stay, it produced the best sightings of elephants seen this year (40+).Animals in general were scarcer than usual due to some early rains.

The staff here were very helpful and attentive,food excellent too. although vegetarian options were limited.

Good pool.

Good stay!"

"Original chalet offered had been adapted for 'disabled persons' so we asked for a alternative chalet in case it was required for its intended purpose. We were upgraded to a 'honeymoon chalet' for a small extra charge of 180r for our two day stay, and it came with a jacuzzi.

The camp seemed to be packed with campers this year rather than chalet occupants but it was generally busy. Catering was the usual buffet every day OK but not very interesting.

Moringa waterhole was quiet with few animals on both nights we were there."

"Our brief stop here was fine,staff always friendly and helpful.

Good and tasty evening meal,nice breakfast. Recommended as a stopover betwwen Etosha and Windhoek."

"Our second visit on this trip and to enjoy Christmas with this friendly bunch of staff.

Christmas day started with champagne at breakfast followed by excellence lunch and evening dinner ,too much food!.

Later we walked again with three cheetahs, really nice day.

Sorry to leave this place."

"Erindi is a place that provides everything in one place ,magnificent waterhole ,all the animals ,game drives,really good food but there is little personal contact which you generally find in the small lodges.

Accommodation is first class ,we had animals passing our window all daylong. The drives are well organised and guides knowledgeable.

A place to wind down before the long journey home."

"New choice for us and only an hour from the airport via the M53. Very interesting place with good variety of activities mainly around feeding of hand reared orphan animals and are in very large enclosures. Soloman our guide was very knowledgeable about what the Foundation does here.

Excellent food and the unusual house- style of the accommodation was very interesting and comfortable.

We would mention that the receptionist did'nt mention that all activities were included in the price of the booking when we arrived and so missed some opportunities. Having said all of that we could happily stayed another day."

"We have stayed here before and our welcome was as warm as ever from Christine and Jean Paul.

This place is great for a stopover either for a start of your fly-drive or the last stop."

"Lovely ,lively staff made this stop a pleasure.Good clean room but the only entrance to the room was via a fire- type staircase but friendly staff helped us with luggage.

Recommend the really good pizza's and cakes on sale here."

"Unfortunately Jan and Suzie were away at Swakop so missed the chance of reunion but the other guests here were good company especially Johann (resident well-being expert)

Drought conditions meant that animal sightings were limited."

"Inspite of the great location we found you have to be prepared for the effort of getting to and from your room The pathways are fairly narrow and uneven with steep inclines in places,the only other means of getting to the restaurants and bar etc are via the golf buggies that shuttle guests back and forth.

A lot of the waterholes had dried out so local sightings of animals were limited."

"Our one night stay here was enough, although the accommodation was fine the catering was fairly chaotic with so many people the staff had a tough time keeping up with buffet content.

The waterhole had plenty of visiting animals and is always great watching"

"We really liked this place, the tented accommodation was very spacious and attractively furnished.
The staff here were very attentive...

The large open sided boma made an ideal setting for meals, the evening usually ended with the staff singing and dancing to us. As the camp is only 8km from the Von Lindquist gate it was easy to day trip into that part of Etosha."

"Warmly received by Karla and Justus on our second visit,a place to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet of the surrounding area with animals visiting their (floodlit) waterhole on and off ..

Very attractive swimming pool

Karla took us a tour and feed of cattle on their farm nearby which was interesting.
Evening meal, depending on the weather, is braai style together with other guests"

"Another place were you do as much or as little in the way of activity as you wish. Unfortunately I had picked up a 'bug' along the way and spent a lot of time recuperating on our short stay but we did see groups of baboons (and heard them) a few Dik Dik,
a very large group of banded Mongoose

Food was buffet style and pretty bland.

Staff very friendly at a busy time on this visit"

"A long drive off the D2414 and a twisty road from the main entrance of Erindi to the reception area of the lodge itself. We were booked in on the 'all inclusive package' but we were allocated the VIP suite known as the Livingstone Room. This was a completely self- contained unit overlooking the main huge waterhole complete with four poster bed ,window bath ,the largest shower unit we have seen to-date all the drinks etc. a small pool and finally a huge TV (NOT switched on).

The waterhole contained a resident large pod of Hippo,many crocodiles,maribou storks.Visitors included elephant.zebra,kudu.springbok giraffe.Highlight of our time here was the sighting of the pack of wilddogs chasing a warthog.

Having said all of the above we think this place is a very comfortable..

All the animals here are free roaming in the 70,000 hectares of the lodge."

"Not much more we can say about this place and its very friendly owners

Anybody who wants a B&B not too far from or to the airport ,we would thoroughly recommend Auberge Omulonga."

"This was a good first stop after our long flight as it was only a reasonably short journey being just before reaching Okahanja. The road to the Farmstead was pretty rough due to many reconstructions taking place at the moment on the 27.5 Km D2102.

Warm welcome from the manageress, very quiet here, only two other guests. Very nice garden area and pool. Not a lot of wild life seen. Our room was very comfortable and the evening meal was excellent ."

"We like this place, nice and quiet at this time of year. Our bungalow was fine .

There was a welcome breeze which helped to keep the now hot temperatures comfortable. There seemed to far fewer baboons this time but those who were around were no problem. Many birds seen particularly Hoopoe's, groups of banded mongoose and several Dik-Diks.
Food at the restaurant was pretty good and reasoneable priced.

We don't quite understand the deposit system as nobody seems to check anything."

"This place was a real find in our opinion .As we were looking for an alternative to Khorab. Ohanje Lodge was about 20Km after Otavi on the B1 (entrance on the main road).R ough track to the main farmhouse but a very warm welcome from the owners Justus and Karla on arrival.They also have a dairy farm nearby and have a long experiece of the tourist industry and conservation .Very comfortable chalet rooms set in a rocky landscape also a very good pool.

The outlook from the farmhouse is over a large open space with a floodlit waterhole which receives a lot of wildlife including black wilderbest, impala, eland and warthogs. Lots of birdlife including paradise fly catchers.

Very pleasant braai meal in the garden to end the day.

We would happily spent a couple of days here."

"Still find the parking and baggage transfer a little strange but the accommodation is fine. Main disappointment is the restaurant, not much choice on an 'a la carte' arrangement in the evenings.

The ability to drive around this part of Etosha is the big plus, the pan had large numbers of flamingo and although Chudop waterhole was disappointing this time Tsumcore more than made up for it. Several hyena were sitting in the water when a huge herd of elephant appeared (over 50).Prior to this several giraffe and warthogs. Did see a couple of lion in the side track Klein Namatoni just lazing as they do."

"On the drive to Halali we stopped of to take in the Goas waterhole, usually very busy, but there was virtually nothing to be seen. Other waterholes such as Rietfontaine, Salvadore, Suede had very little to offer we think earlier December rains had an effect. The vast open plains also seem to be bereft of wildlife this time.

The Moringa waterhole at Halali did not have many visitors in the evening. a sole elephant on one night, second night did have a group of elephants and two rhino, the third night a spectacular storm hit and everybody left very quickly!

Our best waterole was Kalkheuwel back towards Namatomi, very green area Several visits by all of the antelopes but no predators. Later we did see a lion at Goas eating the remains of an impala.

Chalet was fine but again the 'a la carte' menu in the restaurant did not have many options. Fuel garage helped with tyre change."

"First impressions were of very friendly staff here, the decor is based around a Shebeen theme with lots of old political posters and all sorts of paraphernalia from the past. The room was very comfortable, ours was close to the pool and eating area but others are spaced over the hillside.

The evening meal was buffet style with a good choice of meats and vegetables.Tables are set in a circular area and two musicians entertained us all evening.

We really enjoyed our brief stay."

"Unfortunately as we approached Otjiwarongo the skies darkened as we booked into the guest house then followed thunder and lightening.
The room was fine and has a nice small garden.No evening meal available so we were recommended to try the C'est Si Bon' hotel in Otjiwarongo,the meal was exceptionally good and very reasonable priced.We think this would be a good place to stay another time.

The gardens looked very good as well."

"Chalet room fine, one of a small terrace overlooking the lake, pretty area but a bit hilly you would find it difficult to go down to the restaurant without a vehicle. A very heavy rain storm brewed up in the late afternoon, lots of thunder and lightening made going down to the lakeside restaurant interesting in the evening but the food was pretty good (large portions).

The resort obviously caters for the many watersports and quad biking and it can get noisy at times.

As expected the next morning was warm and sunny."

"We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here.The room we had was very spacious and had a lovely outlook across the bush to the distant dunes. It would have been nice had there been a small fridge to keep drinks cool particularly as it is the hottest time of the year.

Meals are served on an open terrace, candle lit in the evening, a huge choice of dishes available on a 'buffet' style arrangement.The only moan was the meats cooked by the chefs was tough as 'old boots' on both evening meals, suggest you ask for meat to be 'well done' to avoid 'endless chewing'.

We did visit the approach to Dead Vlei one afternoon but really no sign of any wildlife on route.

A good place to relax and thats what we did."

"Short journey to Solitaire on the C19, stopped off to visit Mooses Bakery, now enlarged, he said he remembered us from our many visits in the past. The Guestfarm is very near to Solitaire literally.First impressions were of a lovely layout with a cool garden area and lots of shade around the old farmhouse, it has two pools,one large and a smaller plunge type.

there are many animals around the place, rabbits, peacocks, cats, dogs chickens and a African grey parrot.
The room was very comfortable but no aircon so was pretty hot at night.

Excellent food ,again 'buffet' style ,a 'honesty' bar for drinks.
Other guests were mainly American (relatives of the owner) all made a very friendly atmosphere.

We did visit the Cheetah project run by N/a'an Kuse^ on a enclosure within the guestfarm ,very interesting it was too.
Another place we would recommend and stayed longer."

"Long drive to Windhoek using the Spreeghoote Pass, no problem for the Toyota.

First impressions of Galton House, situated in a quiet area of Windhoek, is of a modern design on a old house after being madeover. No real outside area apart from the pool.O ur room was though, very spacious and comfortable. Our evening meal was adequate but very small portions for the price.

Unfortunately, although the manager was friendly enough, this place does lack any kind of atmosphere. OK for our last stop and a chance to visit Windhoek next morning. Sad to find the Zoo Cafe now gone and also the Old Brewery with its arts and crafts centre."

"Auberge Omulonga(French owners)
Monday 9/11/09

This is a delightful first stop in Namibia at Okahanja.Situated near to the woodcarvers market it is a little oasis with a charming garden and small pool..It is about an hours drive from the airport.

Christine and JeanPaul and family own this B&B.The accommodation is in 4 rooms,very good food ,excellent value for money.You can also arrange for any other meals.

Some road noise early morning."

"As our first visit to a refubished NWR it was a pleasant surprise,the bush chalet (4 bed) was indeed very spacious and comfortable.If you are not fond of baboons perhaps this is not the place for you,they do wander about the lodge area but there is plenty of warnings about keeping doors etc closed.

A great place for birders,other animals included families of banded mongoose.The restaurant and choice of food was fine,staff atttentive and curteous.Would have stayed another day.Did not go on any organised drives."

"We would not recommend the double/twin rooms,the redesign of these rooms needs a rethink especially the toilet/shower area,just about enough room for one small person to use! Considering the recent makeover of this camp things are beginning to look tatty.Missing chair,only one glass,reception say they do not have any replacements.We do not understand the deposit/inventory system as nobody checks anything when you leave.

Anyway the main reason for staying here is the ability to drive around ETOSHA from daybreak to dusk and the animals did not let us down particularly the waterhole at Rietfontein,huge numbers of elephants.The Moringa watehole in the camp 'a bit hit and miss' for night watchers,surprisingly quiet at times."

"Our first stay here for many years so it was interesting to see the changes.We liked the inner fort area where the restaurant is situated but still only one choice (not two as in their brochure).Very strange arrangement with park&ride to your chalet.Our chalet no42 was right beside the camping area which was very noisy at times.The chalet itself was very bright and had all the modern fittings ,large area for the bath/shower ,dimming lights(nice touch).Did not like outside area which consisted of high fencing and gravel!
Pool area OK but then no towels available.

The waterholes outside of the camp were great for viewing particularly Chudop,large numbers of giraffe seen here.

Although booking was described as Full Board and their own flyer states LDB&B, the reception staff says lunch is not included in the price"

"We really liked this stopover,the garden area is particularly attractive but there is some traffic noise due to its proximinity to the main road.

We had our best evening meal here ,excellent cooking,recommended.

Our visit was only spoilt by a very noisy group of locals using the pool area in the afternoon."

"Not our happiest stay .Reception staff did not (we think)give us clear information about what Half Board included as regard to the activities and this did lead to some confusion when bill paying ,as our last visit in 2007 included all activities .We were particularly concerned that the evening visit to the night feed was now chargeable ,on one night the visit lasted for only appx. half hour(the porcupine were still feeding when the member of staff led everybody out) and this was shown on our bill as 316N$ ,this charge was taken off afterwards.

We were told that as previous guests that we would have the chance to see the feeding of the cheetah's which our guide Chris managed to arrange but unfortunately a cheetah had escaped that morning and could not be located so we had to make do with a visit to main camp.However Dave Houghton came and apologised the following morning and we did have the bonus of a long chat on the latest news from Africat.

We did think that the evening meals were not of the same standard of our last visit."

"Wednesday 18/11/09

Second visit to Auberge Omulonga, even more delightful.We did manage meet Jean Paul very briefly on a flying visit ,he had a group visiting the Okahandja market,he is a tour guide for a French company."

"Made a useful stopover on our way to Zebra River Lodge.Very busy place mainly with large groups.

We were lucky in that the pool was back in use after maintenance.It was very hot here.The room was fine and clean.Restaurant served the usual buffet.

The best thing about Solitaire is the bakery now seperate from the general store.Moose is in charge and the apple crumble is just as good as ever,the bakery also has a selection of other delightful cakes and pasteries.A must place to visit!"

"As frequent guests at Zebra River we knew it would be a different place following the departure of Rob & Marianne Field.The new owners Peter& Elke Young intend to change the way ZRL was managed and at the present time a lot of construction is taking place,extra rooms are being added,solar water heating,a new waterhole outside the lodge,new staff quarters and much more landscaping.The plunge pool was a bit neglected at the time of our visit,shame,because it was very hot! We feel that the intention is to cater for larger groups in future?

Highlight of our stay was dinner and sundowner combined up in surrounding mountain,lasted until 11.30pm.
(taking a bowl of soup with nothing but a clingfilm cover,although very tasty,was not the best of ideas!!)"

"We really like staying at the Olive Grove,the manager and staff are welcoming and helpful.

Good comfortable room ,excellent facilities.

Very nice evening meal and hearty breakfast.

OK to leave your luggage with reception until time to go to the airport."

"Although Kate Dunstan is no longer in residence the manager running Eningu was very welcoming and we had a pleasant stay, the only downside, apart from the rain, was the now restricted walks around the lodge due to the neighbouring farmer's hunting consession.

There was nothing to see apart from birds and bushes, shame really."

"We were the only guests and last before closing this lodge,our room although large was in need of refurbishment. Some of the other smaller units had already been updated and looked more attractive. We had the undivided attention of the staff ,very nice but we were rather overfed!

The game drive was fine ,the 'rehabillitation of the Kalahari Lion' programme was somewhat misleading as the lions have been sterilised and will never be released to fend for themselves, there was also a leopard in a small enclosure. Good boma area."

"Bright decor everywhere .Good room more akin to motel , good choice of very reasonably priced food if a little like 'Macdonalds'."

"The best feature here now is the new pool area with great views across to the mountains, also there is a fridge full of cold drinks in the small shady section (honesty list for this).

It was particularly hot on this visit and the room has fans which were a godsend at night. Friendly and helpful staff especially for luggage as we were in room 23 ,the furthest from reception."

"This time we had Mountain View as our accommodation, not quite the outlook that Desert Vista had but it did have one advantage, two doors that we could open to the outside and get a airflow through the premises.

Daytime activities limited due to the very hot weather. Good food and friendly staff.P ieter Sweigers always on hand if you wanted to know about activities."

"The room was not particularly bright and cheerful but ok for the one night.No contact with the owners this time although they were around.

The evening meal was fine but we did have to wait over half hour for main course. Staff not in the best of moods next morning, little disappointed with the place on this visit."

"There is'nt much more we can say about Zebra Lodge, we had room no.9 for our longer stay this year and christmas was a delight, all Mariannes family were over from SA, how she managed the rooms and other guests was remarkable!

Rob has made big improvements to the pool area so that it is now possible eat around a very large table there. We were very happy to welcome the spectackled doormice to no.9 during our stay!"

"This is the downside of our otherwise great holiday. Tracy had booked a superior room for us what we got was a tatty 'apartment' no 3. On complaining to the disinterested receptionist that our room was nowhere near the standard of that shown in ..the brochure,she initially denied that the one shown was in fact at the Villa Verdi .

The room itself had grubby floors,torn curtains, very old towels, broken kettle probably dangerous, peeling ceiling and walls. Next morning we found that the hot water shower knob would not turn on, we approached the 'manageress 'about this and it was fixed in time for our departure!

I can only compare the standard of this 'apartment' to that of Halali before its revamp but at more expensive price! Not recommended. However the food was good and the outside areas were ok."

"Excellent accommodation , very good food including vegetarian options,knowledgeable and friendly guides."

"Refurbishment of bush chalets is a vast improvement .

Outside eating area still needs to be improved.

Food in the restaurant variable from poor to reasonable seemingly dependent on number of guests."

"Trips to see desert adapted elephants was first class.

Very warm welcome.

Outside veranda now has canopy which provides welcome shade but perhaps spoils the appearance."

"First time visit to this lodge and it was a good choice for a one night stay.

Very friendly and helpful staff."

"Welcoming owners and staff although contact was minimal.

Lagoon front position would have been more enjoyable without the continual noise of salt lorries passing the
premises all day long.

Incidently the weather was the pits!"

"Another good choice for a one night stop.

Very welcoming owners.

Sundowner drive by willem was an enjoyable plus.

WE loved the resident meerkats.

The view from our chalet was brilliant."

"The chalets were well designed and furnished but the views from them somewhat spoilt by the design of the windows
surrounds and as you could not open the lower sections this prevented cool air circulation.

The pool area needs to have a sunshade as it is in full sun all day.

Staff were very friendly and welcoming and this place deserves to be successful, woefully short of guests at the time of our visit.

Recommend the excursion to the dunes be made in the afternoon, better light and less people."

"We have nothing but praise for this lodge and its owners as you might guess from our frequent visits!"

"Pleasant place to adjust to traffic and crowds.

The manager was able to let us keep our room until noon which meant we could do some last minute shopping in Windhoek."