Travel reviews by Simon&Carmelo from Italy

"We have rated the overall trip excellent as we really enjoyed it but obviously there were highs and lows.

We chose this small group 'safari' as a means of seeing experiencing Namibia without self driving and I am glad we did the drives are long and the roads not great. Our Ultimate guide driver was excellent.(Nesta) I personally wouldnt have wanted to have driven as it would be too tiring and you would miss too much.We had a good group of (7)people who all got on so that was good. But even if you didnt between stops the noise of the road prevented you talking but it would have detracted from the overall enjoyment I think.If you decide to do this road trip take an extra inflatable cushion to sit on. You will need it.

The accommodation in Windhoek (Galton House) was adequate the staff and owners friendly. We were only there for one night on arrival and departure.

Our next stop was the Namib Naukluft Park and the Sossusvlei Dune lodge.( On the way we stopped at Solitaire for lunch the apple pie is not to be missed). We saw giraffe and Zebra on the way.The Namib park was great the Dunes and Dead Vlei spectacular....we walked up one of the dunes and then slid down the side. So many photos The Dune lodge was nice and great due to the fact that it is the only hotel in the park. Maybe they rest on their laurels a bit and the staff were a bit ambivalent but we still enjoyed our stay here. The only negative was that we could only pay by cash every night as the credit card processing was not working for some reason.The food was ok

The morning before departure we did a balloon drive over the dune organised by Namib Sky adventures. This experience couldnt have been better and well worth the expense.Unforgettable

We transferred after this to Swakopmund. The journey was a little long and seemed longer due to the scenery particlualry towards the end being a little boring. Then you arrive in Swakopmund and it is cold such a change! The modern hotel where we stayed The Delight couldnt have been more friendly, The rooms were very clean and comfortable. The breakfast exceptional. We had an excellent dinner in the Tug restaurant. The following day we spent seal and pelican watching which was fun and then we went to see the flamingoes and the afternoon was free to walk around the town and relax.

On the Saturday we departed up the coast through the desert and then in land to Damaraland . Here we fell in love with the landscape and our hotel for the next couple of nights... Camp Kipwe a magical place. The staff we so welcoming and the place itself part of the landscape. Magical and what stars! We did a couple of nature drives and saw some of the desert elephants and gazelle,We also saw a Civet. Camp Kipwe was definately one of our favourites and we could have stayed longer here! The ancient engraving were also good.

Monday we departed on our journey to Etosha more striking landscapes and a climb through the Grootberg pass (a possible visit on another occasion i think) and the Himba settlement was a high point. I have to say I was bowled over by this visit. I am a little reticent about visiting native tribes but was glad we did as it was quite exceptional and very hot! Our final stop on this long day was Etosha Heights.This was a new and strikingly modern lodge. It should have been exceptional but was disappointing. It seemed a little corporate the staff were a little robotic and not as welcoming as the other places we had stayed in. ( A note to the lodge..if you tell guests not to drink the water from the taps it is better not to charge for bottled water. Just increase the daily rate to cover the cost we then dont know we are paying for it.)

The following day we departed for Etosha national park and our home for two nights Onguma Private game reserve Tree Top camp just outside the park. This was another exceptional camp. Our little group took this over for two nights. This was another great experience sleeping so close to a water hole which was frequented by many animals at night as we found out as two lionesses and cubs arrived 60 meters from where we were sitting. Experiences not to be forgotten.We also saw a cheetah and cubs whilst we were here. The staff at the lodge couldnt have been more friendly or helpful.

We did some great game viewing also in Etosha park itself over two days.Elephants,rhino,lions,zebra,wildebeast,jackal,cheetah,giraffe a lion kill.

On our last day we had a long drive back to Windhoek. We stopped for a visit and lunch at the Africat foundation which was interesting and allowed us to get very close to 4 Cheetah brothers...a lot closer than in the parks. We arrived in Windhoek and had a last dinner as a group at Galton House which was a nice end to the trip.

All in all a great vacation. If money was no object you could fly between various destinations which would be less tiring but the experience would have been very different."

"Overall here we enjoyed our stay here. It is a comfortable and conveniently situated lodge close to the falls. This was great as we were able to walk to visit the falls before breakfast (6am)on the morning of our departure as our planned stay originally 3 nights was curtailed to 2 nights due to an incoming flight cancellation. Our ground agents managed to rearrange all our planned activities whilst we were there but the hotel reception did not have the message which was left for me regarding this nor did they have a record of a message I personally left with reservations/reception at the hotel when i heard that our flight was cancelled and I rang to call to say we hoped to arrive the following day. In fact I would advise if you have trips planned/booked but not with the hotel to make yourself known at reception or with the concierge that you are waiting to be picked up otherwise you can be missed sometimes in the confusion of reception.

At the Palm restuarant we enjoyed two good evening meals. The Raikane sunset cruise was great and staff on this very nice.
Activities we had arranged prior to our arrival were a helicopter trip over the falls.(the shorter of the two) which was a great way to get to see the whole falls and a trip into Zambia to Devils pool.Here you swim to a pool on the edge of the falls and then have a good lunch. The whole experience was great. Great pictures taken by the guide on our camera(he has a head for heights) and we enjoyed a really good lunch after on Livingstone island.I would recommend this to really experience the falls up close. Also visiting the falls by foot early meant we had them to ourselves great for photos."

"This was a traditional lodge in a lovely location on an escarpment looking down to Namibia just outside the Chobe park. It was very relaxing and the staff here were lovely and friendly. I think the the rooms could do with some updating but his did not distract from our stay. We did a great day drive in the park which encompassed a river cruise and lunch. This was quite unforgettable. So many elephants buffalo and hippo and on the drive back a lion, a lion and kill a pride of lioness and five cubs as well as zebra,giraffe,baboon and kudu,lechwe etc and so many photos."

"This was for me a return trip to the delta to a relatively new camp after a gap of many years and the first time for my partner. Botswana was beautiful as i remembered and the camp (3 nights)was everything we could have wanted and more. Such a warm welcome from the lovely staff who were so helpful and smiling all the time. The warm welcome on arrival from the airstrip motiivated my partner to comment...just like Hawaii but no garland. This was not a criticism but on our last morning after returning from the Mokoro trip on the lagoon we were presented with two garlands of water lily made by the guides. A lovely thought and great attention to detail.

This camp is great for those who like us who wanted to be in touch with the game...from lions who walked past our tent in the night and elephants who remained outside in the morning and an elephant who tried to join us for dinner one evening!
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The barbeque dinner in the bush was magical and a great touch and you cannot beat an African sky at night.
The game in the area is great though on this occasion we didnt mange to see Rhino or Leopard we saw a lot of other game including two lions and two smaller wild cats a Genet and Serval both beautiful as well as pair of Eagle owls as well as lots of elephant ,giraffe,bufalo,zebra all in the same camera shot on all three days.

The evening boat trip into the canal (water levels permitting we just made it! 12 October) was beautiful for an up and close experience to elephant,buffalo and hippo. 22 hippo in one pool who were not to keen on letting us pass. In addition the birfdlife was exceptional together with a herd of lechwe who passed in front of the boat jumping in and out of the water. Also my partner who is mad for a good sunset was in heaven.

All the guides and staff were great just lovely people.

This place was a highlight of our trip and just a great note to finish on."