Travel reviews by Red Bishops from Pevensey
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
7
Excursions taken
1
A truly beautiful country
Namibia between 15 Aug 2008 and 2 Sep 2008
"The whole trip was excellent. From my initial query all the way through I dealt with Gwynneth, her suggestions were spot on, she was always more than happy to answer my questions. I would normally arrange a holiday myself, but not having travelled in Africa before it was a reassurance to have one company to book everything, and I couldn't have picked a better company than Expert Africa.
It was good to be able to read other people's experiences on the website, I found that one of the most useful tools for selecting lodges, along with Gwynneth's good advice. I wouldn't change a single part of our holiday.
Namibia itself is a wonderful and varied country, the scenery is vast and ever-changing. The people we met were welcoming & seemed genuinely happy that we'd chosen Namibia to visit, their sense of humour, and good nature added to the whole enjoyment of the trip, not to mention the singing, even when doing the most mundane jobs. The birds, animals and night sky were a bonus.
Two of our party were vegetarian & we had no problems whatsoever with food, with notice it didn't seem to be a problem. My father was most impressed that you can buy Marmite in the supermarkets, and two lodges we stayed at even had it on the breakfast table!
I shall return one day, hopefully in the not too distant future & will happily use Expert Africa's services again.
Suggestions for improvement:
Keep doing what you're doing, it works very well."
It was good to be able to read other people's experiences on the website, I found that one of the most useful tools for selecting lodges, along with Gwynneth's good advice. I wouldn't change a single part of our holiday.
Namibia itself is a wonderful and varied country, the scenery is vast and ever-changing. The people we met were welcoming & seemed genuinely happy that we'd chosen Namibia to visit, their sense of humour, and good nature added to the whole enjoyment of the trip, not to mention the singing, even when doing the most mundane jobs. The birds, animals and night sky were a bonus.
Two of our party were vegetarian & we had no problems whatsoever with food, with notice it didn't seem to be a problem. My father was most impressed that you can buy Marmite in the supermarkets, and two lodges we stayed at even had it on the breakfast table!
I shall return one day, hopefully in the not too distant future & will happily use Expert Africa's services again.
Suggestions for improvement:
Keep doing what you're doing, it works very well."
Olive Grove
"A good first night in Namibia"
1 night
Arrived
16 Aug 2008
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Zebra River Lodge
"A beautiful place to unwind"
2 nights
Arrived
17 Aug 2008
"From our initial greeting with Gail & Jana we were assured of a relaxed stay. It was nice to be in this beautiful location for two nights, it gave us time to unwind and get into the Namibian pace of life.
We enjoyed eating with the other guests and hosts, a real eclectic mix making for a pleasant evening of conversation. Marianne & Rob were very helpful giving us ideas of where to visit and routes for our onward journey.
All the staff were happy and nothing was too much trouble for them, I hope to return someday."
We enjoyed eating with the other guests and hosts, a real eclectic mix making for a pleasant evening of conversation. Marianne & Rob were very helpful giving us ideas of where to visit and routes for our onward journey.
All the staff were happy and nothing was too much trouble for them, I hope to return someday."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Kulala Desert Lodge
"Lovely setting, stunning dunes"
2 nights
Arrived
19 Aug 2008
"Being greeted with a welcome drink and a smile set the scene for this beautiful place.
We enjoyed the morning dune drive, JJ our guide was a wealth of knowledge & great fun, unfortunately one of our party was ill and missed the morning drive, but JJ went out of his way to make up for this with our afternoon nature drive when we were all fit and healthy again, this was a real highlight, to see the dunes in different lights was quite spectacular.
The accommodation was excellent, unfortunately too cold at night to want to sleep under the stars (next time) and northing was too much bother, we felt quite pampered. The chocolate tart was the best pud of the trip."
We enjoyed the morning dune drive, JJ our guide was a wealth of knowledge & great fun, unfortunately one of our party was ill and missed the morning drive, but JJ went out of his way to make up for this with our afternoon nature drive when we were all fit and healthy again, this was a real highlight, to see the dunes in different lights was quite spectacular.
The accommodation was excellent, unfortunately too cold at night to want to sleep under the stars (next time) and northing was too much bother, we felt quite pampered. The chocolate tart was the best pud of the trip."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Sam's Giardino
"A unique hotel"
3 nights
Arrived
21 Aug 2008
"Another warm welcome, with Sam's personal attention to all our needs even our smallest question was answered.
We ate in on two of our three nights, Pierre ably hosted our first evening, and both meals were enhanced by Sam's wine suggestions.
The location was great for getting around and seeing the sights. As ever the staff were friendly, happy and efficient."
We ate in on two of our three nights, Pierre ably hosted our first evening, and both meals were enhanced by Sam's wine suggestions.
The location was great for getting around and seeing the sights. As ever the staff were friendly, happy and efficient."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Feedback response
We organised a trip to Sandwich Harbour for these travellers, and they commented about it:
"We had a ball on this trip, Ernst was a most knowledgeable and entertaining host. The civil engineering to get along the beach was great fun, the only shame was we only had a short time at Sandwich Harbour itself, this was because of the tides so even Ernst couldn't change that.
Dinner amongst the dunes with a flypast of pelicans was a bonus. The vast quantity of birds at the salt flats were breathtaking, as was the smell. All in all a great trip."
"We had a ball on this trip, Ernst was a most knowledgeable and entertaining host. The civil engineering to get along the beach was great fun, the only shame was we only had a short time at Sandwich Harbour itself, this was because of the tides so even Ernst couldn't change that.
Dinner amongst the dunes with a flypast of pelicans was a bonus. The vast quantity of birds at the salt flats were breathtaking, as was the smell. All in all a great trip."
Coast and Sandwich Harbour
"Great fun"
22 Aug 2008 • All-day excursion
We had a ball on this trip, Ernst was a most knowledgeable and entertaining host. The civil engineering to get along the beach was great fun, the only shame was we only had a short time at Sandwich Harbour itself, this was because of the tides so even Ernst couldn't change that. Dinner amongst the dunes with a flypast of pelicans was a bonus. The vast quantity of birds at the salt flats were breathtaking, as was the smell. All in all a great trip.
Excellent
Damaraland Camp
"Great location"
3 nights
Arrived
24 Aug 2008
"This was unanimously our favourite place to stay, the staff were great fun and the location was beautiful. The refurbishments done in February were a pleasant surprise, the rooms were very plush.
Staying three nights meant we managed to see desert elephants on our first day and rhino on our second day (amongst many other animals and birds) without feeling rushed. Meals were great fun, especially the bbq, and star gazing and meteors were a nighttime highlight. We would happily have stayed far longer."
Staying three nights meant we managed to see desert elephants on our first day and rhino on our second day (amongst many other animals and birds) without feeling rushed. Meals were great fun, especially the bbq, and star gazing and meteors were a nighttime highlight. We would happily have stayed far longer."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Halali Camp
"Good central base"
4 nights
Arrived
27 Aug 2008
"We were pleasantly surprised with the standard of accommodation, the rooms were clean and more spacious than we'd expected.
The breakfast was fine, but after the first night we decided to self-cater our dinner, we'd already bought some supplies with us, and the shop provided the rest, some foreward planning is needed as the steaks etc are sold frozen, but with a bit of ingenuity and a swiss army knife we managed to eat quite well, after two weeks of cooked breakfasts & 3 to 5 course dinners it was nice to eat a little more frugally.
We did a morning drive and Martin our guide was a wealth of knowledge, giving us tips on where to go and when, we kept in touch with him through the rest of our stay and got information on what was about. All in all a good central base to discover Etosha."
The breakfast was fine, but after the first night we decided to self-cater our dinner, we'd already bought some supplies with us, and the shop provided the rest, some foreward planning is needed as the steaks etc are sold frozen, but with a bit of ingenuity and a swiss army knife we managed to eat quite well, after two weeks of cooked breakfasts & 3 to 5 course dinners it was nice to eat a little more frugally.
We did a morning drive and Martin our guide was a wealth of knowledge, giving us tips on where to go and when, we kept in touch with him through the rest of our stay and got information on what was about. All in all a good central base to discover Etosha."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Facilities
Good
Ondudu Safari Lodge
"A good place to reflect"
2 nights
Arrived
31 Aug 2008
"Our last port of call, a lovely place to get over the frantic, all hours of day & night, animal watching of Etosha and just relax.
The scenery changing with the light through the day was quite enough to stay and watch from around the lodge. We enjoyed the trip to Paula's Cave it was a beautiful setting for our last sundowner in Namibia."
The scenery changing with the light through the day was quite enough to stay and watch from around the lodge. We enjoyed the trip to Paula's Cave it was a beautiful setting for our last sundowner in Namibia."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Nice little touches in the rooms, hot water bottles & chocolates - both essential of course - all in all an effortless start to our trip."