Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs G. from Egham

"Lagoon Camp was the first camp on our visit to Botswana. By the second day we had seen examples of almost all of the wildlife we expected to see on the entire trip! The camp itself is older than some, but the rooms are large and appointed with everything required. The outdoor deck at the entrance to the room overlooked the river and this was a great place to sit in the 'free' afternoons. A variety of animals and birds visited each day, including at one lunch time a lion dragging a kill away from the river in full view of the camp.

We joined our guide on a drive straight off the plane having flown from London overnight so we didn't see the camp until after dark but the welcome was still very special. Service was excellent and we were looked after really well by the staff. The manager realised early on that I have a disability and moved us to a room close to the main area of the camp and also arranged for this to happen at the next camp we visited. Food was good and served with many songs!

The guides and trackers are keen to find what you would like to see and this led to many off track experiences. More than at the other two camps we visited. A highlight was seeing the Sable Antelope, which I requested from our guide on day 1! Almost overtaken by seeing three Civet's during the night drives. Overall a very enjoyable stay"

"Splash camp was more modern than our previous one. The rooms are further apart from each other and are small buildings rather than tents.

The welcome and staff service were excellent throughout and everything worked well. Although the camp was newer I felt the maintenance of the rooms could have been better.

Unfortunately, a week or so before our arrival, a fire had destroyed much of the surrounding vegetation and had also damaged one of the rooms. This had closed the camp for a week but whilst it didn't impact what we did, the view from the rooms was impacted and there was a smell of smoke in the air.

The rooms surround a large open area which normally would contain a fairly large water hole, but water levels were very low and there was only a small pool a long way from the camp. This meant wildlife sightings at the camp here were much lower than the others we visited. Viewing otherwise on the drives was good. Despite the low water levels we were able to go on a short mokoro trip as well as an evening boat ride.

Food and service were excellent. Wildlife highlights included Sable and Roan antelopes as well as night viewings of Serval and Wild Cat"

"Gomoti Plains was different in some respects to Lagoon and Splash which we had visited earlier on our trip. It was owned by a different company and just recently had changed manager. Overall it was our favourite and whilst service at all of the camps was excellent this one just slightly went above and I think this was in no small part to the new managers who are clearly trying hard to excel.

Evening meals were different in location and nature every night and the bush dinner (on Saturdays) was special with a male lion roaming around. The rooms are in large tents which were very well maintained and quite well spread along the river away from the main building. Wildlife was close by and lions leopards and elephants all came close to our tent.

The game drives were all good, although no trackers here so not quite as adventurous. Having said that, the boat trip and mokoro trips were really excellent. Wildlife highlights included a leopard and cheetah fighting over a kill, seeing a goliath heron on a nest and zebra attacking a pack of wild dogs.

The rhino that were here have been relocated however due to disease concerns"

"The Olive Grove was a very convenient place for us to stay on our first night in Namibia as we picked our car up in Windhoek rather than the airport.

The room was large and comfortable and had everything we required, although the decor is a little tired. We chose to eat in and the food in their restaurant was excellent. I think for a short stay in Windhoek the Olive Grove works well.

The only problem is that the car parking is quite cramped so if you wish to leave and come back a few times during your stay it may be difficult."

"We arrived relatively late on our first day, but the personal greeting at reception was very welcome after 500km of driving.

The location of the lodge is incredible and the views and colours have to be seen to be truly appreciated. Everything was as described and the guide we had was excellent. The service and the food was all good and it is difficult to fault any part of our stay.

The evening drive through the southern part of the Namib Rand nature reserve was a real highlight, finished by a spectacular sunset. The lodge is expensive, and you don't get fantastic facilities but the location is what you are paying for here and in our view it was worth it.

It does get cold at night so if you want the sides of the unit rolled up at night so you can watch the sun rise, be prepared!"

"Hoodia has a great location and is fairly modern.

We received an extensive welcome by the owner and he clearly takes great pride in his lodge. He spent time with every guest, greeted people back from their excursions and made sure service was to his standards.

The views are extensive and just sitting by our room looking over the dry river valley was enjoyable in itself. The lodge is well laid out and the food was good.

A small point, but being able to drive your vehicle right up to your room made everything very easy."

"The Guesthouse works well for a short stay. The rooms are clean and set out around a very well tended garden. Breakfast is taken in the main house.

You can walk into the town in a few minutes, which is useful because the off street parking is tight and depending upon which slot you get may take a while to manoeuvre out of the gate. It is just a shame that this and the other properties nearby all look like they are defending against attack with high walls and large gates. We had only pulled up outside the gate for 10 seconds before one of the staff told us it was not safe to leave our car there. I personally didn't feel unsafe but the local tendency to act as though there is a problem is strange.

Swakopmund itself is OK but not a place I would return. We were probably not encouraged by the sandstorm that greeted us on arrival and the generally poor weather throughout our stay. You also have to be prepared for a few hours of very uninteresting driving getting there and leaving. Our excursion with Turnstone was fine, but the weather curtailed our being able to reach Sandwich Harbour which seems to be a common occurrence."

"We really like Mowani.

Our room had a fantastic view and these do vary depending upon which room you get. The lodge itself was good and had a nice area to sit by a small water feature which attracted a number of birds. The setting is what makes it special though and because of that the access to some of the rooms requires walking up steep gravel paths. I am disabled but managed OK but only by applying some care!

Some previous reviews mention lack of wifi and what a draw back this was. Personally I would have been very happy not to have any, but we found it worked OK. The tour to find the elephants was excellent and well worthwhile. We saw many elephants, as well as giraffes and ostriches.

Be warned however that you drive quite a distance in an open vehicle quite early in the morning at usual road speeds. More warning of just how cold this can be would be useful as every visitor we spoke to said the same. Blankets are provided, but our fellow travellers from Switzerland had woollen hats, scarves, thermal coats and gloves and were still cold! We didn't do the other tour to the Cave Paintings, partly on the guidance of the lodge as you can visit this just as easily yourself."

"Ongava has a great location, just outside the South gate to access Etosha. The Lodge is on a hillside overlooking a small waterhole with the rooms spread out in a semi circle from the main building. The location is excellent and the elevated view of the waterhole means you can see a number of animals from the main lodge and your room, depending upon where you are located. The rooms are fine but in need of a little up-dating.

The waterhole has a hide which enables you to get up close to the animals and is a real highlight of Ongava Lodge. We went out on one tour in Ongava's own reserve. This was quite good and included the opportunity to walk close to a White Rhino. Each evening both Black and White Rhino came to the waterhole and we understand it is unique to Ongava to see this. We also visited Etosha on our own which is very easy to do.

The only downside was the service. Our welcome was not very useful and told us very little and apart from one or two exceptions at dinner the staff didn't seem as though they wanted to provide much help. However, I wouldn't let this put you off as the other aspects made up for it. (They also provide wine free with the evening meal)"

"Onguma Tented Camp consists of some nicely appointed tented rooms located around a waterhole. The room was very good and the view equally so.

Upon arrival we were asked what activities we would like to undertake, only to be told that the trip to the photographic hide was already fully booked. I only mention this because the trip we booked into Etosha didn't start well as the guide failed to show up and after some tracking down by reception it was established we had been forgotten.

The two points are linked because although the Tented Camp only has 7 rooms the overall Onguma Reserve includes many other locations, some of which are larger and the activities are shared between them. This influences what is available and also the efficiency. This aspect needs attention because we had been booked onto a trip with four people in the Aoba lodge located some 20 minutes away. Therefore there was no chance of us all leaving at the time advertised even if we had been remembered. We suggested our trip be cancelled, because bringing the vehicle back would impact the other guests but this didn't seem to be understood. We eventually joined the tour some 45 minutes late and it turned out to be excellent.

The guide was very professional but clearly annoyed at the lack of organisation within Onguma. Whilst the price of our tour was met by the Lodge I am not sure the other guests who were disrupted had the same experience. We also weren't given the true story by the Lodge management which is unprofessional. Blaming the problem on a broken down vehicle, which we knew not to be the case. Whilst this didn't really disrupt our enjoyment of the place I mention it because it clearly requires attention.

Otherwise the location is excellent and a very relaxing place to view animals at the waterhole. The service at meal times was very good and the tour we experienced on their own reserve was also good"

"A very relaxing place in a great location. It had originally been a mission station and evidence of some of the history is still present. The rooms are in separate buildings and date from this time with very high ceilings.

Previous reviews had mentioned a helpful manager, but the ownership changed around 18 months ago and the Farm is now part of a larger organisation and this may be impacting the service a bit. We received a very brief greeting and no information about activities etc.

The local staff all tried very hard, especially in the restaurant but organisation was lacking. The food in the restaurant is good but there is a lot of it and it can be quite heavy. I don't think many people managed to finish what they were given!

We found a brochure in the office so realised there were Rhino drives and mentioned booking one the next morning. However had we not looked for it I don't think anything would have been mentioned. The guide was quite inexperienced but we saw Rhino and a number of other animals.

Overall our stay was fine and it is a nice place to relax"

"We stayed here at the end of our journey so spent less time on activities than we might have done if it had been the start. The rooms are very well appointed and although we stayed in what is termed a Standard room it is perfectly adequate and I couldn't really see that there was that much difference compared to a more expensive View room. Meals at the main lodge were very good and the service there was excellent. It is a different experience to some of the smaller lodges we visited and you have to be prepared for a slightly more formula driven experience. However the two tours we undertook were good and we got to see leopard and a cheetah using their tracking process. In each case our tour group was quite small, but some groups were up to 12 in number. It may come as a surprise to some that there are only 4 cheetahs in the whole of the main reserve bearing in mind their advertising, but they are clearly doing more work to encourage an improved habitat for them. Overall a good place to start or end your journey and close enough to Windhoek to leave comfortably in the morning to catch an early afternoon flight."