Travel reviews by Mikel from USA

"Our "standard room" was a really nice building with a great bathroom and huge view window in front of the two beds with a fantastic view over the plain. The main lodge is a really nice place to sit, relax and eat. The food was good, the service a bit quirky (due to language and inexperience, but not effort) though certainly acceptable. Our Safari guide was amazing. Lots of energy, excellent communication, he worked very hard for about an hour to track down a leopard with a radio collar. He drove through parts of the bush that I didn't think he could get in and out of but he did so expertly. We saw many leopards and cheetahs, some baboons and then also the usual game that is on your plate later in the evening. This is a very well managed camp and with regard to game the most viewing we had of the four we stayed at. Granted, having radio collars on helps them find the animals and it's not quite the same "wild" experience you get in a national park or some of the other reserves but we were very happy to see the animals non the less."

"Of the four camps we stayed this was the least memorable. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but also nothing really stands out. The accommodations were good. The food was good. The service was mostly acceptable but at times painfully slow. It didn't feel as well run or managed as the others. I would certainly stay there again but would simply adjust my expectations accordingly.
A few giraffes came to the watering hole at sunset, but not much else (it wasn't the season). Also note that the camp is about a 15 minute drive on a fairly bumpy road from the park gate. It doesn't seem like much but when you spend all day driving in the park on bumpy roads were you're not even supposed to get out of the car to stretch your legs it really adds up."

"Excellent service, fantastic view, really good hide at the watering hole that you can walk to in 3 minutes and really, really nice rooms. Ongava Lodge really impressed us with their service and the view. So many places you can just sit and enjoy the view. The lodge has such a good location. The hide is an excellent place to sit and wait for wildlife to come in the evening (we saw two Rhinos, one with a baby, and a lion). The hide has a well protected walkway to the lodge making it possible to run down when you see wildlife show up. Many people do this but it's a missed opportunity. Wait in the quiet for the animals to show up. The hide even has camera mounts on balls. I got some good photos. On the guided drive we saw only the bum of a lion going away from us through the bush, some giraffes and the standard dinner fare game. We tracked fresh Elephant markings for over an hour but were unable to see any. Still the reserve is nice to see from their vehicle and is a nice change of place from driving through the national park yourself (we did see a lot more game there on our own)."

"After spending most of the week at reserves closer to Etosha and the park itself, we were really happy to be able to go for walks and hikes on our own (we could not in the others due to the carnivores). There are some hills you can climb and good hiking trails. The service and food is excellent. The tent cabins are really nice and the bathrooms quite interesting. The tents do get really hot during the day while the sun is out, way too hot to rest in, even with the fans at full blast. However, the lodge has a nice setting on top of a rock and having a straw roof is much much cooler. The pool is small but very refreshing. This was a great place to recuperate on our feet after spending way too much time in the car around Etosha."