Travel reviews by Louise & David from UK

"Lovely little guest house for a first night’s stay and rest after the long haul flight from the UK. Good-sized bedroom with en-suite, plug sockets for charging phone etc, free WiFi, quiet area of Windhoek but close (walking distance).

Owners were away when we stayed but all the staff were helpful and welcoming. Excellent early breakfast, fresh fruits and juices, cereals, cooked breakfast. Complimentary tea, coffee and biscuits available all day in the lounge area. Our hire car was delivered to the Villa where there was ample secure parking. Within walking distance of two good restaurants, taxied back when it was dark.

Would stay here again."

"EWL took our breath away! Comfy tented chalets set apart from each other on different levels along attractive walkways and surrounded by the Erongo mountains. Lots of steps up to very attractive main lounge, dining area and pool so need to be reasonably mobile.

With a Guide we did a late afternoon walk, which we found a bit of a challenge but thoroughly enjoyed, to see the cave paintings followed by sundowners which were very welcome as it was still quite hot. On our second day we did an easy early morning 2 hr walk, again with a Guide, to explore the beautiful mountain area and learn about the plants and trees.

Food and service was excellent, great choices, lots of fresh produce and a camp fire to sit by after our evening meal whilst we watched the stars.

We saw lots of birds at Erongo which was an area of particular interest for me."

"A lovely first wildlife sighting as on our first night at midnight I woke to hear rustling noises and saw the shape of a giraffe just the other side of our balcony, 5m from our bed - I watched it browse on the leaves of a tree for some while, magical! I had to wake my partner as he would never have believed me the next morning!

We loved this lodge for the amount of wildlife sightings and the stunning, beautifully laid-out communal area with perfectly positioned seating areas overlooking a well-frequented waterhole. The large and comfy Hide was a bonus and we were lucky enough to have it to ourself on each occasion we spent time there photographing the animals, particularly various antelopes and oryx, zebra and giraffe coming down to drink. Whilst we couldn’t fault the service, the food and game drives we found the staff were efficient and polite but more formal and not as friendly or as engaged as other places we stayed, possibly because it is larger, although not full when we were there. Having said that we had a really great stay here and thoroughly enjoyed the game drives with the very well-informed Guides."

"Pleasant one-night stop after we’d spend the day in Etosha. Quick and easy to find near the Von Linquist Gate, had a feel of an old American ranch-style hotel, with lots of trees and surrounded by green well-watered lawns, very different from Etosha!

A delicious evening buffet-style bbq was served outdoors in a pretty clearing at the end of a lantern-lit walkway, very unusual and fun.

Staff were attentive and very friendly and we saw lots of different and colourful birds as well as squirrels and mongoose when enjoying our outdoor breakfast.

Could have stayed longer and would be a good base for Etosha for anyone not wanting to stay in the park itself. A recent addition here is a new waterhole a short flat walk from the main area."

"A long 30 mins drive from the main road, however it’s an ideal halfway stopover between Etosha and Windhoek. But more than that, Okonjima is a fantastic place, wonderful people who are truly dedicated to conservation and have a love and understanding of the leopards and cheetahs and all the creatures we saw during our 2 night stay.

The accommodation is fabulous, the communal areas and surroundings superb, food varied and delicious - we can’t rate it highly enough! And as if that isn’t enough to recommend it, all the staff were so engaging and fun to be with and our Guide was very knowledgeable, interesting and a delight to spend time with and learn from. Yes the leopard sightings are somewhat contrived as they are collared and radio-tracked but this in no way detracted from the experience as we were able to spend half an hour or more watching them and learning a little of their habits and behaviour. The rescued cheetahs are in a large compound, not so interesting for us.

We came away with huge respect for the Africat Foundation and it’s work and dedication to helping to improve the lives of the local people and their relationship with the animals, big cats in particular. The wildlife centre was fascinating, not only educational but fun.

A wonderful couple of days, a delightful experience!"

"Small, well-appointed and well-run guest house in a safe area with very attentive and helpful owners who gave us lots of advice as to restaurants, day trips, best walking routes etc.

The location is excellent - a 10 mins walk to the stop for the hop-on-hop-off bus which we used for 2 days of our 3 day Cape Town visit, within a 10 minute walk of Kloof St. for restaurants, and a short taxi ride from The Waterfront.

Breakfast was plentiful, lots of choices, fresh fruit, local breads and pastries, plus cooked breakfast if required.

Would certainly base ourselves here if we visit Cape Town again."

"Our first trip to Botswana and the Okavango Delta and we fell in love with this place! Everything was absolutely first-class, from the immaculate accommodation to the attentive service and from the delicious food to the exceptional guiding but above all to the beauty of Shinde and the people who work here.

On our first morning our wake-up call at 5.30am was a ‘Hello Good Morning’ before a woman in African dress came into our room balancing a tray on her head carrying a tea pot, cups and saucers, milk, biscuits!

In spite of the heat (36 to 40 degrees!) we joined in every activity: mokoro, motorboat, fishing, guided walk, game drives - we made the most of every moment at Shinde and enjoyed the company of other guests as well as many of the guides and managers who joined us for meals when we exchanged tales and experiences. On return from our mokoro trip two elephants had wandered into camp and were barring our way. The Guides assured us all was fine and that they would browse on the Amarillo tree fruits for a while and move on, we were more than happy to wait and enjoy their company!

The birdlife here is incredible, we noted down more than 60 different birds but there were many many more we didn’t have time to record. The lion sightings were remarkable, lions in trees, a lioness with cubs, elephants and hippos happily crossing the water in front of our little boat and so much more.

A paradise! It was very hard to leave!"