Travel reviews by Mrs C. from Dubai

"Lovely place for our first night, nice and easy from the airport. Food was pleasant and service excellent."

"It was our third time here, the leopards at Okonjima were amazing as ever. Our guide was knowledgeable and ensured we saw different leopards on our second drive.

The food is always splendid and didn't disappoint. We only had time for one night but two would be preferable then you have time to see a wider range of animals.

We were treated to Warthog, Impala, Jackal, Kudo and Slender Mongoose in addition to the animals listed."

"This was our second time at Mushara, and we really couldn't fault anything on our second morning we went to the car to find we had a flat tyre, a lovely man changed the tyre for us and one of the managers, lent us a tyre so we could do our morning drive into Etosha. The lodge is a stones throw from the Etosha gate.

We were also privileged to see a Small Spotted Genet make an appearance going out to hunt both evenings at dinner and a Honey Badger strolled across the parking area the morning we left.

The food was lovely and the coffee very good!

We mainly went into Etosha by ourselves but we did one game drive with the lodge and it was excellent, we saw a huge herd of elephants and two black rhino as well as antelope and spotted Hyena. Our driver was knowledgeable and she gave me plenty of time to photograph. We saw so many elephants and giraffe and just needed to sit a few minutes at a waterhole and wait for the animals to arrive.

The rooms are large, calm spaces with everything you need."

"We had a 7 hour drive to this lodge, so decided to simply have a sun downer and watch the river rather than go out on the river on an excursion. We were treated to Spotted Necked Otters catching fish both in the evening and at sunrise. The staff were friendly and the environment calm, my husband had a massage which he enjoyed.

Dinner was lovely with a wide range of food to choose from. The cottage was located beautifully, while not the most stylish, it was very clean and had everything you needed."

"We anticipated a bit of stress finding where to park but it wasn't difficult and we had sent a text saying when we would arrive and found our diver waiting for us.

We knew that the tents were on the small side, but that was fine, we only had a short walk to the seating and coffee area. Initially I was a little disappointed as the waterhole was small, however on both evenings we were treated to families of elephants coming to drink, for the entire meal we were entertained by the visitors. During lunch times we also saw a variety of animals popping along. We opted for the combined packages of safari drive and boat. The area was really dry so we didn't see so much during the game drives, but the second part went beyond expectations, we were treated to elephants bathing and eating in the river, hippos, great bird life and even saw a fish eagle carrying a cat fish. Our guide really knew his stuff and could talk about animals big and small. The sightings of the elephants in the water was wonderful along with levee, zebra and baboons.

They only downside is I made it clear I was on a restricted diet but they didn't seem to get it and would bring me the food with the carbs and try and serve me pudding when I had said no to it. The omelettes however were amazing!

The hot water bottles were lovely at night."

"Having been to the Chobe area before I knew we would love the animals.

We saw two different leopards, with one being with amazing morning light and up a tree, what more can you ask for? Up until this point we had not seen lions, but here we saw a family group of 15 and a courting couple on more than one occasion. The elephants were out of this world and we we even witnessed them swimming from Botswana to Namibia. We saw extensive bird life and and lots of crocodiles. The morning game drives are cold at this time of year, but the big blankets and hot water bottle made it fine.

Our guide/ driver was lovely and really knew his stuff even stopping to help others stuck in the sand. He showed us the little things as well as the big five.

This camp was extremely friendly, the food while served a little on the fast side was delicious, they really got my dietary needs and went out of their way to substitute food I didn't eat. Nothing is too much trouble here. We will definitely return. We were constantly being welcomed to eat and drink!"

"Well what can I say, we had traveled to the Delta in 2015 and didn't know if we had built it up so we would be disappointed. No, it was amazing! Just the landscape and light, never mind the animals! The lodge was lovely and we could hear, the lions, elephants and hippos at night while feeling 100% safe.

The tents are huge, and beautifully appointed and beautifully done. The food was great/ very fresh and super tasty. They ensured on two occasions that we dined outside at lunch time. We sat with other guests on a large table but that made it pleasant as you chatted to others at dinner. We were sang to by the staff on two occasions which was a really nice touch.

Our guide/ tracker and guide driver were brilliant. Ensuring we always got the camera shot, as this is a private reserve you never saw more that two other cars and they waited to show each other where the game was. We saw literally everything, two female lions hunting wading through water, a leopard and her cub, drinking and sitting up a tree. The most amazing groups of elephants constantly crossed our path and a fantastic male cheetah seen on two separate occasions. Three male lions resting near the airstrip and last but certainly not least, on the last morning we got to spend time with two wild dogs! We stayed three nights and enjoyed every minute.

They don't yet have license to use a boat on the river, however we did wade through in our vehicle, which was cool. We also could see elephants crossing the river from our deck area."

"The room was very clean and tidy, the meals lovely and staff very friendly."

"While the actual camp was lovely, and our stay was great, the personal were just not as friendly as some of the other lodges.

Our game drive to Etosha was a little lackluster, perhaps it was the wet weather and we got the impression the driver didn't want to travel very far.

However our Sun-downer drive within the grounds was very pleasant. We had some beautiful sightings of giraffe."

"This was a beautiful lodge with extremely friendly staff. The lodge is pretty new and had beautiful rooms, with lovely views.

A swimming pool you could swim which was chilly but not too cold. The location to the park meant it was easy to self drive into Etosha. We had a lovely sighting at the waterhole which was great for this time of year. We were able to watch Impala out of our bedroom window.

The food was 5 star!"

"We loved our stay here the staff were SOOOO friendly. The rooms are a little tired, but the atmosphere made up for it, everyone talks to everyone in this lodge. The food was lovely.

The road from the entrance to exit is long and bumpy our two wheel drive did get stuck in a river bed and we had to be towed out, to be fair had it not been raining in the night this probably would have been okay. I would recommend 4 wheel drive cars or someone from the lodge following you, which they did after our incident.

We did a night game drive and saw an owl, hares and a wonderful chameleon, the stars were amazing as well as different deer.

The sunsets are amazing here!

On our way back in to the lodge in the evening we also had a wonderful sighting of 4 elephants playing in the dust.

Once you get onto the road it is easy to reach Galton Gate."

"Again another special place with very friendly staff. The views are to die for! We loved our little room and the food was brilliant. We did a sunset drive which was a little bumpy but and excellent way to spend our first evening.

While we did not see a huge amount of game we saw lions, vultures, herds of zebra and an African wild cat on the drive to the lodge, we went through Etosha.

I went Rhino tracking it was too bumpy for my husbands bad back, it was a fantastic day and I was rewarded with a Black Rhino sighting, the scenery was stunning too.

My husband stayed and relaxed by the pool and had a massage."

"This lodge was probably our favourite, the team were lovely. They sing to welcome you, they sing at dinner and when you leave! They called us by our first names from the get go!

The views here are stunning! The sunsets and sunrises amazing! We went on a game drive to find the desert adapted elephants and when we found them we spent over an hour watching a herd of 14 elephants. Our driver was very knowledgeable, not just about the elephants but all the wildlife.

The food was lovely!"

"Okonjima does not disappoint, stunning location and wildlife, we saw loads just driving to the inner gate from the outer gate.

The rooms are beautiful and the staff are really friendly.

The game driver who took us for our Leopard tracking, then took us to the information centre and cheetah the next day followed by a night drive which was fabulous and ending in a morning game drive. He was full of information and had a real passion for the foundation. It is good to know that some of the money spent goes to help the foundation in the future. Things cost a little more here but the sightings are wonderful and nothing is rushed.

It also has a wonderful gift shop."

"A lovely place for the last night. Very friendly staff nothing is too much trouble. Had a lazy afternoon by the pool."