Travel reviews by Meerkats party x 7 from UK

"We were so pleased to have been able to stay here on our first night, rather than staying in Windhoek.

We were very impressed with the welcome we were given and the hospitality throughout our one night stay here. The food was excellent and it was great to be able to get so close to the cheetahs on the morning drive we had with a very knowledgable and friendly guide in the enclosure."

"We were given an exceptional welcome and greeting on our arrival at this camp which is superbly located with a real feeling of "wilderness" and uniqueness.

We participated in the morning drive to Sossusvlei and the dunes and had a superb guide who had a perfect balance of enthusiasm, expertise and humour, which kept our 13 year-old enthused throughout the trip, despite the very early start (including dung-spitting)!
There was a really good and friendly atmosphere at this camp from everybody there (including singing for another guest's birthday)."

"Very good location, convenient for the town and the sea, and with interesting design features.

It was good to have a time at the sea and to see the architecture of a Namibian town.

The receptionist was very helpful in organising our evening meals, in booking our quadbiking/sandboarding and in trying to sort our problems with the car.

The morning we spent in the dunes quadbiking etc was brilliant fun for the whole family (13-60!)"

"This is an amazing place. When you first set eyes on it, its somewhat foreboding appearance makes you wonder what you are going to but, again, the welcome we were given and the standard of the facilities immediately dispels any doubts.

The highlight of our stay here was the whole morning drive spent tracking the desert elephants - the excitement and anticipation built up until we were very fortunate and found so many of these wonderful animals. Our guide was brilliant and impressive in his knowledge and passion for the area and its nature. We benefitted further from this when we went on the evening walk with him and the day was rounded off superbly with the night-time spent star gazing and having the stars etc. explained to us.Some of our party took this further, rolling their beds out and sleeping under the stars.

The location's proximity to Twyfelfontein and the length of the tour to see the rock art was confirmed to us, making it an easy trip prior to going on to Etosha (We found the Bradt guide's comment about Twyfelfontein a little inaccurate as it gave the impression that it took a long time to see the art - "several hours"- and also gave the wrong D road number - stated that you take the D3254 off the C39 whereas it is actually the D2612)

All the staff here were excellent and we, again, enjoyed the singing by everyone at the end of our evening meal."

"We were bowled over by the reception from so many people when we arrived and by the view of the landscape and waterhole when we first entered up into the dining and reception area. This continued when we were told to be ready in half an hour for the evening drive which lasted into the darkness and in which we saw black and white rhino, giraffe and lions to name but a few!

The small waterhole was our first experience of "waterhole animal watching" and this was enhanced by the ability to watch while eating. We were impressed that newcomers were given the best view on their first night.

The staff were always very attentive and solicitous and we especially appreciated having the same guide for our two evening drives and the morning spent in Etosha - we felt we really got to know him!.

We felt that, we benefitted greatly from what we learnt from the guide when we continued our journey into Etosha to stay at Halali.
It was worth the money!"

"Our experience at Halali was much better than we had anticipated. Despite its size compared with other locations it was peaceful, the accommodation was simple and stylish and the big plus is the waterhole. Even the communal dining was less canteen-like than we feared (we were particulalrly fortunate to coincide with the Bank Holiday celebrations as the evening meal was an outdoor barbecue accompanied by singing and dancing. The standard of the food again exceeded our expectations.

The location of Halali, both in terms of its centrality within the park and its waterhole is what makes it so good (the large swimming pool was also a big hit with the family).

The sights and sounds of all of the wildlife at the waterhole at night (elephant, rhino, lion etc etc) will stay with us for ever and fulfilled our dream when we set out on this trip - this was why we came!

One practicality that we had misunderstood was that we had to pay the Park entrance fees whereas we had thought this charge to be included as we were staying in Halali."

"This was an excellent final night's stay in Namibia. The location within the rocks and the walk up the kopje for sundowners, accompanied in the distance by the baboons more than compensated for our feelings of regret at our imminent departure.

The dining was first class and the most restaurant-like of all the places we stayed in. There was a superb ambience and, even though the big game was now behind us, there were unexpected treats in the wildlife (porcupine, rock hyrax, amazingly coloured birds etc) which were enhanced by the manager's personal enthusiasm and attention to all of his guests.

Indeed, special mention should be made of the manager and his wife who were very attentive to everybody's needs and we spent a brilliant time relaxing after dinner, listening to his experiences.

Noises of animals were heard at night, which could be unnerving for some!"