Travel reviews by M&A from San Diego
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
9
Excursions taken
2
Oct 2022 Africa trip
Namibia and 1 other country between 3 Oct 2022 and 10 Nov 2022
"We spent 5 weeks in Africa this time around, in Namibia for 2 weeks and South Africa for 3 weeks. This was our 2nd trip with Expert Africa, and it definitely lived up to expectations. (Our previous trip was 5 years ago to Tanzania, Rwanda, Botswana and Zimbabwe.)
Having Tracy assist us in planning the Namibia portion of the trip for 6 of us (3 couples), and then making all of the detailed arrangements was simply wonderful. Her knowledge and expertise gave us the confidence to do a 2-week self driving trip in Namibia. She thought of every detail, including having people meet us at airports to help with the car rental process or to simply guide us through JoBurg Airport to make a tight connection. All of the lodges or camps she selected for us were top-notch, and the activities perfectly suited to our interests.
Following Namibia, we did a 2-week birding and wildlife trip in South Africa with another company--Rockjumper--that we arranged on our own. Even then, Tracy helped us to coordinate with Rockjumper tour dates and arranged our flight to from Windhoek to Durban for the start of the tour. At the end of that tour, she arranged our flight to Capetown, our stay at the lovely Vineyard Hotel for 5 nights, and the delivery of a van for the 6 of us to use while there.
Everything that Tracy could control went smoothly, and even things that she had no control over she helped us fix! Specifically, we had a disasterous flight from the US, with several missed connections due to weather that caused an extra day of travelling. As soon as we contacted her, she rearranged our rental car and notified our first lodge in Windhoek of our late arrival.
Overall, a wonderful and certainly memorable trip!"
Having Tracy assist us in planning the Namibia portion of the trip for 6 of us (3 couples), and then making all of the detailed arrangements was simply wonderful. Her knowledge and expertise gave us the confidence to do a 2-week self driving trip in Namibia. She thought of every detail, including having people meet us at airports to help with the car rental process or to simply guide us through JoBurg Airport to make a tight connection. All of the lodges or camps she selected for us were top-notch, and the activities perfectly suited to our interests.
Following Namibia, we did a 2-week birding and wildlife trip in South Africa with another company--Rockjumper--that we arranged on our own. Even then, Tracy helped us to coordinate with Rockjumper tour dates and arranged our flight to from Windhoek to Durban for the start of the tour. At the end of that tour, she arranged our flight to Capetown, our stay at the lovely Vineyard Hotel for 5 nights, and the delivery of a van for the 6 of us to use while there.
Everything that Tracy could control went smoothly, and even things that she had no control over she helped us fix! Specifically, we had a disasterous flight from the US, with several missed connections due to weather that caused an extra day of travelling. As soon as we contacted her, she rearranged our rental car and notified our first lodge in Windhoek of our late arrival.
Overall, a wonderful and certainly memorable trip!"
Arranged By Tracy Lederer
Omaanda
"Omaanda review"
1 night
Arrived
6 Oct 2022
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Giraffe
1 sighting
Lion
1 sighting
Meerkat
2 sightings
White Rhino
2 sightings
Dead Valley Lodge
"Dead Valley Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
7 Oct 2022
"Good location, just outside the park gate, but still limited as to when you can access the park in the morning. Open air and normally windy in the restaurant and bar area.
Rooms are on a single raised platform but the sleeping quarters and toilets are separated by an outside patio, making for an awkward and sometimes dark visit to the facilities in the middle of the night. Plus the bedroom has AC but not the toilet area.
Lodge staff was very friendly and did go out of their way to arrange a private guided tour for our group of six into the park on Day 2."
Rooms are on a single raised platform but the sleeping quarters and toilets are separated by an outside patio, making for an awkward and sometimes dark visit to the facilities in the middle of the night. Plus the bedroom has AC but not the toilet area.
Lodge staff was very friendly and did go out of their way to arrange a private guided tour for our group of six into the park on Day 2."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Average
Food
Average
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Oryx
2 sightings
The Stiltz
"The Stiltz review"
3 nights
Arrived
9 Oct 2022
"Unique little hotel with incredible staff! Location at the river mouth, and within walking distance to local eateries in town along the waterfront.
Staff helped us with recommendations and reservations at local restaurants."
Staff helped us with recommendations and reservations at local restaurants."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Coast and Sandwich Harbour
"Coast and Sandwich Harbour review"
10 Oct 2022 • All-day excursion
Leon was a great guide, fun-loving and informative about the local flora/fauna. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip.
Leon did comment that he doesn't understand why people stay in Swakopmund instead of Walvis Bay, considering they have to drive 45 minutes to/from the north to go back south for Sandwich Harbor and Walvis Bay activities. We wondered the same thing, but assume maybe it is because there are not suitable lodgings/restaurants in Walvis Bay for a 2-night stay?
Leon did comment that he doesn't understand why people stay in Swakopmund instead of Walvis Bay, considering they have to drive 45 minutes to/from the north to go back south for Sandwich Harbor and Walvis Bay activities. We wondered the same thing, but assume maybe it is because there are not suitable lodgings/restaurants in Walvis Bay for a 2-night stay?
Good
Feedback response
Good point about staying in Swakop vs. Walvis Bay. There's always a choice! We do cross-compare both towns here, and every year a handful of our travellers choose to stay in Walvis Bay. However, most opt for Swakopmund, where there’s a great range of hotels, guest houses, and things of interest to visitors. See here for our Google map showing places to stay in both Swakop and Walvis Bay.
Kayaking with seals
"Kayaking with seals review"
11 Oct 2022 • Morning excursion
Another nice day trip with young enthusiastic guides that know their area of expertise!
Easy for us to recommend this day trip if in the area.
Easy for us to recommend this day trip if in the area.
Mowani Mountain Camp
"Mowani Mountain Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
12 Oct 2022
"Unique camp with huts spread out amongst the large picturesque rock formations. Very nice dining room, pool area and sunset viewing area atop a large rock outcrop. An area much like Joshua Tree National Park in California USA. Very nice dinners.
Activity-wise, few animals in the area other than elephants. On the plus side, there were a large number of elephants and nice opportunities to get close and observe for long periods of time. The petroglyphs are worth the visit, but other nearby points of interest (Organ pipes, Burnt Mountain) were disappointing to anyone who has traveled a bit and seen columnar basalt. And you can't hike in the Burnt Mountain area.
Our activities guide Bennie was friendly, knowledgeable, and from the nearby town of Khorixas. Having guides from the local area was a real plus, as we ere able to learn more about local culture and politics."
Activity-wise, few animals in the area other than elephants. On the plus side, there were a large number of elephants and nice opportunities to get close and observe for long periods of time. The petroglyphs are worth the visit, but other nearby points of interest (Organ pipes, Burnt Mountain) were disappointing to anyone who has traveled a bit and seen columnar basalt. And you can't hike in the Burnt Mountain area.
Our activities guide Bennie was friendly, knowledgeable, and from the nearby town of Khorixas. Having guides from the local area was a real plus, as we ere able to learn more about local culture and politics."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Elephant
2 sightings
Giraffe
1 sighting
Andersson's at Ongava
"Andersson's at Ongava review"
2 nights
Arrived
14 Oct 2022
"Exquisite lodge, recently updated, with a convenient location near the southern entrance to Etosha.
Spacious modern rooms that spread out along the waterhole area. Our group of 6 had our own guide for the 2 days while we were there, exploring different areas of the large Ongava preserve and adjacent Etosha NP."
Spacious modern rooms that spread out along the waterhole area. Our group of 6 had our own guide for the 2 days while we were there, exploring different areas of the large Ongava preserve and adjacent Etosha NP."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Black Rhino
2 sightings
Elephant
3 sightings
Giraffe
3 sightings
Lion
4 sightings
Oryx
1 sighting
White Rhino
2 sightings
Zebra
1 sighting
Onguma Tented Camp
"Onguma Tented Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
16 Oct 2022
"A well-situated lodge around a waterhole just outside the east entrance to Etosha NP.
Nicely appointed glamping tent/huts. Close enough to Etosha to allow day trips into the park.
The guide offered a walking safari one morning, which is not offered in most lodges.
A worthwhile experience to observe different aspects of the landscape and wildlife."
Nicely appointed glamping tent/huts. Close enough to Etosha to allow day trips into the park.
The guide offered a walking safari one morning, which is not offered in most lodges.
A worthwhile experience to observe different aspects of the landscape and wildlife."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sightings report
Cheetah
1 sighting
Elephant
3 sightings
Giraffe
3 sightings
Oryx
1 sighting
Wildebeest
3 sightings
Zebra
3 sightings
Okonjima Bush Camp
"Okonjima Bush Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
18 Oct 2022
"The mission at Okonjima has changed from rescuing/relocating big cats to educational efforts, but it still offers opportunities to see big cats up close and personal.
Large separate areas are set up for the lions and cheetahs on the reserve, while leopards roam the entire property. In addition, we saw a larger variety of animals here than on any other reserve on our Namibia trip.
But the highlight of our visit was in the AfriCat research center, where a tranquilized cheetah was brought in for a check-up. The new director invited other Okonjima staff and lucky visitors there at the time to crowd into the examination room and observe the process, then help staff groom the cheetah's matted fur coat. That experience will be remembered for a long time."
Large separate areas are set up for the lions and cheetahs on the reserve, while leopards roam the entire property. In addition, we saw a larger variety of animals here than on any other reserve on our Namibia trip.
But the highlight of our visit was in the AfriCat research center, where a tranquilized cheetah was brought in for a check-up. The new director invited other Okonjima staff and lucky visitors there at the time to crowd into the examination room and observe the process, then help staff groom the cheetah's matted fur coat. That experience will be remembered for a long time."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Sightings report
Brown Hyena
3 sightings
Giraffe
4 sightings
Leopard
3 sightings
Oryx
4 sightings
Sable antelope
3 sightings
White Rhino
1 sighting
Wildebeest
4 sightings
Zebra
4 sightings
Olive Grove
"Olive Grove review"
1 night
Arrived
20 Oct 2022
"A quick, pleasant overnight stay.
The upscale Olive Restaurant is conveniently next door for dinner."
The upscale Olive Restaurant is conveniently next door for dinner."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Food
Good
Rooms
Good
Vineyard Hotel
"Vineyard Hotel review"
5 nights
Arrived
4 Nov 2022
"A wonderful place to stay while enjoying the sights in Cape Town and the surrounding Wine Country. A nice neighborhood for walking, with a large shopping mall nearby. The only drawback (if it is one), is that you are 20 minutes from the center city area.
The hotel grounds are large, with beautiful landscaping and a river flowing east from Table Mountain. There are lots of walkways to explore and large tortoises roaming around!
Staff and concierge were very helpful during our stay."
The hotel grounds are large, with beautiful landscaping and a river flowing east from Table Mountain. There are lots of walkways to explore and large tortoises roaming around!
Staff and concierge were very helpful during our stay."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
As our first stop on a month-long trip, interesting to learn many of the animals at this lodge/preserve were rescued from other locations. With large electric fences keeping the animals in and poachers out. And that this is the case at many reserves throughout the country."