Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs B from Colorado

"Cheetah View Lodge was a nice stopover on our way up to Etosha.

It was nice for our son to see the rescue cheetahs up close. The room was surprisingly large and nice and the staff very welcoming. The food was good but you don't have options and are given whatever is being served that meal.

Great for a one time visit to learn about the organization and their work but probably wouldn't need to return again."

"This was a return visit to Onguma for us and we have a very pleasant stay. The property is absolutely beautiful, and the rooms and property very clean. My one complaint about the rooms is that the beds are quite hard and uncomfortable. The staff was very kind and it was a nice, easy stay for us with our almost-three-year old.

The food was a bit all over the place–breakfasts were excellent, lunch offerings poor, dinner ranged from a very good night to some adequate meals. They do, however, offer a very pleasant multi-course dinner in the evening overlooking the waterhole, so even though the food was not always the best, the experience is always very pleasant.

The waterhole by the lodge is very nice and we had quite a lot of visitors this time, including elephant, kudu, springbok, impala, jackal, and a nightly eagle owl.

Onguma's photography hide is the absolute star here–we had several nice sessions watching the animals visit from that great, eye-level vantage point. I did learn that they had stopped doing true game drives in the Onguma reserve, and only do quick sun-downer drives, despite having a large reserve with a lot of wildlife. That being said, the great thing about Onguma is the location right next to the Etosha entry gate and all that the park offers. We spent most of our time self-driving from Onguma into the park."

"Okaukuejo is a necessary stopping point simply because the waterhole at camp is fantastic. The waterhole was generally very busy with antelope species, giraffe and elephant, and a standout moment when six black rhino visited at night. The outdoor area around the waterhole is a beautiful place to spend time and have a break from all the driving around the park to just appreciate the animals up close.

The lodge itself is something that has to simply be tolerated in order to spend time at their waterhole. The dinner served is barely edible and the dining area very depressing–fluorescent lighting in a dark and dingy dining hall. The rooms are very small to the point of being uncomfortable (our son injured himself on the end table while we stayed there) and the amenities are minimal.

Beware of relying on the gas station at camp for fuel -- they were out of diesel during our stay and we had a bit of a scare that we wouldn't make it."

"The positives:

Safarihoek Lodge is absolutely beautiful. The lounge and dining area are very comfortable, clean, well designed and contemporary. There is always a little snack and drink station set up with cookies, dried fruit, marshmallows. The staff in the lodge itself were outstanding–they were so welcoming to us and our son, always available to make a coffee or help with questions. The food was very good at every meal and the chef was especially wonderful–coming out to chat with me to plan meals for my vegetarian son and myself and offering to make custom options. This was very special to us. They even had a beautiful high chair with animals painted on it for our son set up at our table. We very much enjoyed our meals and all of our time spent hanging out in the lodge area.

The family chalet was enormous and well appointed. The beds were very comfortable and balcony was amazing with a sweeping view of Etosha Heights. The only things I would ask the lodge to improve on is better toiletries for guests (shampoo, conditioner, etc) as well as a shelf to put things in the shower. Also, for having these enormous balconies, the furniture on the balcony from which to enjoy the view was very limited- only two very basic chairs. But again, we were very happy with our chalet and these are just areas of opportunity. They also had a wonderful set up for our son, and put a beautiful crib next to our bed with mosquito netting going around it, and a soft little children's blanket.

The photography hide was outstanding–the nicest, best-appointed one I have been to. It has two stories- one with higher up view where you could enjoy the fresh air and scope out what wildlife might be approaching, and the lower level perfect for those ground-level perspective shots for photography. It even had two bathrooms and charging areas/plugs, and bed-type lounge areas. Really a very comfortable place to spend time. We had some nice Hartebeest sightings from the hide.

The very large negative: I will caveat this by saying I think we would have had a very different experience if we were assigned any of the other guides at Safarihoek - the others came up and introduced themselves in the lodge, joked around with our toddler, and were so engaging and eager to converse with us. What we experienced with our guide, however, was probably our worst guiding experience ever. I have never been on any drive in which I had so few opportunities to take photographs, despite his introductory speech that stressed that he knew we were photographers and would be happy to take requests and adjust to our views and help us get great photos. We spent our entire first night's drive going very fast around the property, with little care taken for extreme bumpy roads with our 2 year old son in the vehicle.

He finally had a call from a different vehicle and we had an incredible lion sighting with cubs–we sat and watched them for a long while and got some great shots. That was our only quality opportunity for photographs despite going on three drives with him. After that first experience, I made sure to be very specific in the morning that we would like him to stop anytime he sees running animals of any species as we would like to photograph them. We passed by multiple antelope species and wildebeest in what would have been gorgeous shots, but he still did not stop. Once, hartebeest were running right in front of our vehicle in this incredible scene and he was not going to stop on his own. My husband had to say "can you stop" loudly about 4-5 times before he finally stopped completely and we missed the shots.

The other several times I had to ask him to please stop for us, he did not do some basic things guides everywhere else would do–he never turned off the vehicle to eliminate shake. He would be very slow to respond to requests to stop. He also left several times while I was still shooting and would never ask if we were ready or done. He also completely missed any opportunity to try to engage with our toddler. We gave several opportunities that most good guides would have capitalized on–telling him that our son was curious about which animal's poop that was, and he answered the question once for him, but despite us talking about it and enanging our son in that vein, the guide never again mentioned it or told our son what it was. (For comparison sake–at the Frans Indongo lodge, immediately upon hearing us make this comment- the guide jumped out of the vehicle, grabbed a rhino poop and brought it to show my son and explain how he could tell it was white rhino poop). He also skipped doing sundowner drinks with us both drives and never commented on it or explained why. Again-the other guides we met in the lodge seemed so friendly and engaging,

I think we just had truly terrible luck which left us with a very bad experience. I was so sad to leave this beautiful place with hardly any photos from our drives."

"This was a very nice little surprise on our way back to the airport. The property is just beautiful, with lush landscaping and water features flowing throughout the property. The restaurant and lounge area was gorgeous and comfortable–decorated in the classic, vintage safari lodge style that we love.

It was a wonderful place for children – they had a large bin of toys available in the lounge for kids. At meals they had kids placemats and cups (Spiderman) which I thought was thoughtful. The food was good overall. The deck area is a nice place to watch the antelope visit the waterhole at sunset. The room was very comfortable and they had a nice setup for our son, with a pullout sofa bed with mosquito netting for our son. The staff was very nice and welcoming.

We did one game drive – it is a different feel after Etosha as the land is much smaller than the other reserves we visited, but we still had fun tracking rhinos and were able to get out of the vehicle for a bush walk in which we got very close on foot to three white rhino. This was really incredible and a very pleasant surprise. The guide was not the most knowledgable in that he couldn't answer any history questions about the property but he was very nice and did a great job finding rhino for us and sharing the knowledge he had.

We would definitely recommend Frans Indongo as a wonderful stopping point on the way to or from Etosha."

"We had the most incredible experience at the Luangwa River Camp during the beautiful Emerald Season in Zambia. Our host, Daudi, could not have given us a warmer welcome and our guide, Jonah provided us with expert guiding. Yumba was our nighttime spotter and he was also fantastic. We were the only guests staying at the lodge, which was a real treat, and we enjoyed the most amazing adventure. We loved having to take a boat to and from each game drive, often in the rain, and braving the puddles of flooded safari roads with Jonah.

As I said, the guiding was phenomenal, and we were treated to multiple lion and leopard sightings along with a bounty of information about the land and wildlife. Once, a pride of lions decided to nap in the shade of our open safari vehicle, and we were able to enjoy the thrill of their closeness. We also had a spectacular sighting of a leopard and her one year old, as well as seeing a leopard in a tree at night (thanks, Yumba!).

While at the lodge, we enjoyed the luxury of beautifully appointed, comfortable chalets with mosquito netting and big, beautiful bathrooms with standalone tubs and lovely showers. The pool was a welcome respite from the heat of the day. The lodge area was a comfortable place to relax and admire the beauty of the Luangwa River at its fullest. The food was top notch, and they accommodated my vegetarian needs beautifully. The variety of delicious lunchtime salads were my favorite!

The best part though, was the company of our host and guide, with whom we enjoyed numerous laughs and wonderful conversation over meals. We truly couldn't have had a better time, and when we were flooded out of our last night's stay and had to move to N'Kwali, we were truly sad to say goodbye to this beautiful lodge and its people."

"Nsefu in the rainy season is a very different experience from the dry season, as we heard from the staff and the few other guests we met. A long boatride from Luangwa River Camp led us to this beautiful and remote location. We were given a very warm welcome by our hostess, Katherine, with whom we enjoyed great conversation throughout our stay.

Most of our excursions were done by boat, and while the wildlife watching wasn't great in this season for photography (most animals are scared off by the boat) there was beautiful scenery to enjoy and lots of great birding. The best parts were our visits to the stork colony, where the birds were building their nests by the hundred and the night when our boat broke down after dark, and we had an adventurous float to try to get back to camp! Our guide, Willie, was a true expert and we had a wonderful time talking with him on our boat drives and at mealtimes. We very much enjoyed the one walking safari we were able to do and were able to see many animals on foot, including elephants and giraffes, while also enjoying the little sightings of insects and footprints.

The rooms at Nsefu are beautifully appointed, although they are set too close together for my liking (if there are other guests staying, you can easily hear their conversations from your room. We enjoyed sitting on the deck and enjoying the river views in this remote location while listening to the pleasant sound of hippos. We enjoyed the surprising luxury of the air conditioning built into the mosquito netting for warmer nights. We also loved the lodge area, which had a relaxed, inviting environment and lots of vintage books to enjoy. We saw elephant and hyena walk right by the lodge on several nights. Like all Robin Pope lodges, the food was excellent, and they catered to my vegetarian needs beautifully. Curry night was a particular treat! The mango chutney served with breakfast is something I'm already missing.

My only suggestion for guests is that if you are visiting during the rainy season, you don't need more than two nights here as there are limited places and wildlife you can see by boat."

"We had not planned on staying at Nkwali, but after being flooded out of Luangwa River Camp, we had an unexpected visit here. Robin Pope safari handled our transition and we felt well looked after. After having the other two camps completely to ourselves, being in a fully booked Nkwali Camp was a disappointment, and it was a shock to the system to be around so many people after such a wonderfully quiet week.

We loved the rooms at Nkwali, which are very open to the outdoors and beautifully appointed. Several other guests had visitors to their rooms including monkeys, bats, and lizards, but this is all part of the fun! The bathrooms are stunning, and ours had a tree growing through it. The pool area is very nice, overlooking Humphrey the hippo's territory.

Our guide at Nkwali was every bit as knowledgable as the other Robin Pope guides, and we enjoyed his expertise. Our host, Sorrel, was extremely personable and we thoroughly enjoyed our conversations. Like the other Robin Pope lodges, the food was delicious. The only thing that took away from our experience slightly was that the camp was so crowded that they did not have enough boats to bring us to our game drive vehicles at the same time, and on both excursions we were left behind to wait while the other groups got to go out earlier."

"This was our second time staying at Okonjima and I think we enjoyed it even more this time. It is run like a well oiled machine, with the very best service imaginable.

The leopard tracking was once again excellent, and our guide did his very best to find not only one, but two leopards for us! They upgraded our room to a view room, which was a lovely treat and the room was beautiful. Okonjima has an abundance of wildlife and we saw not only leopards, but cheetahs, kudu, mountain zebra, warthogs, jackals, oryx, elephant shrew, steenbok, and baboons.

The food in the restaurant is outstanding and the dinner service is beautifully done. I believe this is a place we will stop at again and again."

"We spent 2 nights at the Onguma Bush Camp. The property is the closest to Etosha on the Eastern side. Be aware that the road into the Bush Camp is quite long and it can take 15 minutes from the entrance of Onguma to get to the actual camp, even though it is immediately next to the Etosha gate. The rooms are very nice and also air conditioned, which is unusual to find! If you get a waterhole view room, you will be outside the gate in the open/unfenced area. We were a bit disappointed that the 1st night they neglected to light the walkway lanterns in this area and we had to use our cell phones for light to find our room, when you are exposed to potential predators at night.The 2nd night they did remember to light these. We were able to wake up and enjoy the view of springbok and impala at the waterhole. The food was good and they were able to accommodate my vegetarian needs.

The negatives– compared to every other lodge we stayed at in Namibia, the service was just not very friendly or welcoming. I was first to say hello or good morning to most of the staff, unlike other lodges which overwhelm you with their friendliness and smiles. They did their jobs well and were attentive and efficient (for example, one waiter noticed that our table was wobbling and quickly came over and fixed it) but the "feel" was just not the best. The lodge/dinner area is beautiful but there is the sense that you are not really welcome to hang out there. At 9pm, it seemed the staff was eager to put out the candles and get everyone to bed. Guests should be encouraged to enjoy the bar and beautiful lodge!

The highlight of the lodge, which is the one reason Onguma gets 4 stars instead of 3, is their hide. As a photographer, the hide by the waterhole is an incredible experience. It is amazing to spend time there waiting to see which animals will approach the waterhole–we had a couple of incredible surprises! Getting those low-angle shots is a very special experience and a real asset."

"I really didn't know what to expect from Taleni Etosha Village but what a wonderful surprise! The feel of the property is just very happy. I love the fun, camp-like atmosphere and the communal areas to eat and play.

The dinner buffet was outstanding, with so many different options.

The rooms/chalet tents are simple but clean and comfortable. The balcony is a nice, peaceful place to relax after a long day in the park.. We found the staff to be very warm and friendly, and everyone greeted us with smiles.

The only reason for not giving 5 stars is just that the rooms are simple and not as stylish or cozy as other places we stayed but we would definitely return for the great food, clean lodging, convenience to Etosha, and wonderful staff!"

"We were initially hoping to stay at Camp Kimpwe, which we had heard so much about and were disappointed when it was not available, but could not have been happier that we ended up at Doro Nawas instead! It is such an incredible place! The desert of Namibia is stark and harsh and strikingly beautiful and as you drive up to this unique property you will be blown away. It is like a fortress on a hill giving stunning views of the distant mountains and the desert landscape.

You are welcomed by the most wonderful staff in the world–I believe Doro Nawas provided the best service of any hotel I have every stayed at. The lovely team welcomes you with beautiful singing that had me grinning from ear to ear! Every single person is so talented. You will get to enjoy their beautiful, local music during dinners as well and I cannot tell you how special it was. It was one of the highlights of our trip!

The rooms are absolutely beautiful, with comfortable beds and huge balconies which you can roll your bed out onto. We slept underneath the star-filled sky both nights. There were no bugs at all and it was the most magical experience. The pool area is lovely and you have such a nice view to enjoy. The chef does an incredible job and every meal prepared was wonderful. They do bush dinners several nights a week and this was a truly special experience! They were able to cater to my vegetarian needs and every dish was wonderful. We were able to see the desert elephants on our excursion and got to spend quite a lot of time enjoying them and our guide was wonderful about giving us photographers different angles.

I cannot recommend this lodge highly enough. Every staff member seems to truly enjoy their job and care about the guests and this creates the warmest, most welcoming environment for anyone lucky enough to stay here!"

"I don't think there is any way to prepare you for just how special Erongo Wilderness Lodge is. The scenery is simply stunning and unlike anything else I've seen. You will find yourself perched on a hill of enormous boulders and mountains formed by long-ago volcanic activity. The luxury tents are not just tents but have extensive outdoor space for you to enjoy. Ours had an outdoor shower, outdoor lounge-bed, small dining table, and another set of comfortable lounge chairs on a deck. I could happily live in that tent! The views are unbeatable.

The manager was incredibly welcoming and funny and made us feel right at home. We loved his unexpected bush-dog, Alaska the Pomeranian, and really enjoyed having a pet around the property! The pool area is small but cute and the pool was very refreshing. The food was wonderful–probably the best we had in Namibia. My husband raved about the game meat and how it was cooked and they catered well to my vegetarian needs.

We went on a guided sundowner hike in the evening to enjoy a stunning sunset view and also a morning hike to the top of one of the mountains. Both guides were very kind and knowledgable. We also did the nature drive to see the beautiful rock art in a cave and enjoyed all of these activities very much. We did not see much wildlife apart from rock dassies and baboons but did enjoy the lovebirds that visit the feeder by the restaurant in the morning, and the abundance of stunning scenery on the property will make any photographer very happy!

I was very sad to leave this lodge as it was such a special place to stay. I don't think there is anywhere like it in the world and I very much hope to return again."

"Naankuse Lodge was a wonderful experience. The rooms are absolutely beautiful and the pool area overlooking the canyon is wonderful. We saw lots of wildlife right at the hotel–baboons, warthogs, springboks, and rock dassies. The welcome we received wasn't particularly warm, but the guide we had for activities was fantastic. Dinner was good and they were accommodating to my vegetarian needs. The carnivore feeding and cheetah walk activities were incredible! A photographer's dream."

"Sossus Dune Lodge is amazing because you get to stay within the actual park and are able to visit the Dunes by sunrise and until sunset before having to leave. This was one of the highlights of our trip.

The service was pretty poor at this lodge. For example, we stayed in the Honeymoon Chalet which is a very very long walk from the main lodge/the exit and were told someone was coming to help us with our luggage upon check out. This person never came until we had already made the 10 minute walk and were steps from the end of the walk. You also park away from the lodge and a shuttle takes you up to the main area, otherwise it is a hot walk uphill. This service was very slow several times and we had to walk halfway up the hill before the vehicle arriving then driving us back to where we started to turn around and go back up.

The rooms are lovely and the view gorgeous. We loved spending time on our balcony. The pool was very refreshing. The rooms do let in quite a few moths and bugs as the windows don't seal well, but with the mosquito netting around our bed it wasn't an issue. In my opinion, it is essential to stay at Sossus Dune Lodge if visiting Sossusvlei!"

"We loved Villa Margherita!

The service staff were vert warm and welcoming and we felt right at home. The courtyard area is beautiful and lush. The Adam&Eve room that we stayed in was huge! We would have liked to have more than 1 pillow per person though.

It is a nice, safe area to walk to town from and is very close to several good restaurants and bars."

"We would not recommend staying at Okaukuejo Camp during the rainy season unless you are bringing food to grill yourself The waterhole would be lovely in the dry season, but we sat there for 6 hours without seeing a single animal apart from the large beetles that are everywhere in this camp. The rooms themselves were nice enough, although with tile floors did not feel cozy or welcoming. They also have a terribly strong chemical smell from whatever cleaner/ insect repellent the staff sprays inside.

The staff could not care less about guests and were not helpful with even basic questions. One example was during the dinner buffet, the food was not labeled so I asked if there was meat in any of the the 3 salads. She left and came back to tell me she doesn't know. We asked another server who also told us they don't know if there is meat in the salads. The dinner buffet (only option) is also as expensive as the nice, upscale dinner we had in Johannesburg but very bad. The baby potatoes, which looked edible tasted of dirt so strongly that I couldn't even eat them and felt sick the next day.

The location within Etosha is fantastic but I think I would prefer staying just outside of the park rather than this camp."

"We absolutely loved Mushara Lodge. The setting is gorgeous and serene. The lodge was beautifully decorated and the staff warm & welcoming.

The pool area is such a nice place to relax and quite a bit of wildlife visited us, including warthogs, mongooses, many interesting birds, and dik diks. The room was lovely and romantic. We were very happy with the food and they were kind enough to prepare very nice vegetarian options for me that I greatly enjoyed.

We mostly did self-driving through the park but the one game drive we did was excellent and we finally got to see our elephants!"

"We left Okonjima absolutely loving it! The property is stunning and you feel like you're entering Jurassic Park as you drive through all the gates.

The lodge itself had us very worried because the decor is very industrial and has an unwelcoming feeling after leaving lodges with beautiful African decor. Thankfully, the staff, the activities, and the rooms completely changed our initial impression. The service was impeccable here and every single staff member made us feel welcome. The guides even sit down with you during breakfast to chat, which was so nice to get to talk to them outside of a tour setting.

The rooms are lovely. We stayed in a standard room and were happy we did not upgrade because these are so beautiful! I couldn't imagine needing or wanting more! The tours were so much fun. We were worried that leopard & cheetah tracking would be boring/artificial feeling after our wonderful self-drive through Etosha, but were pleasantly surprised at what an adventure this was! The meals were also outstanding- the best we had on this trip.

Okonjima is a wonderful place to round out your journey!"