Travel reviews by Mr and Mrs B from Chiswick

"A pleasant and convenient place in Windhoek to spend a night after an overnight flight from England."

"We stayed three nights in Damaraland Camp. It is a remote camp in an area of staggeringly beautiful mountains.

Our main reason for going there was to track black rhinos on foot. We had a wonderful rhino encounter in a valley about an hour’s drive from the camp where we saw a mother and calf on the valley floor and three adult rhinos up on a ridge above. We approached the rhinos on foot. One of the adults came down from the ridge to the valley floor and came to within about 50 yards of us.

We were also lucky to see a herd of about 30 desert adapted elephants in a dry river bed on our last day. They had left the area for about two weeks so we were lucky to catch them. Apart from the rhinos and elephants, the only animals we saw over three days of game drives were three scrub hares and two black-backed jackals (and 11 ostriches on the drive back to Doro Nawas air strip). However, our visit was in April which we were told is not a peak game viewing month.

Many of the bush roads we travelled along were covered in rocks and were very bumpy. You need to be prepared for an “African massage”!

The camp was very comfortable and we enjoyed our room.. The food was outstanding. It was varied, imaginative and delicious. It was some of the best we had eaten over many years of safaris.

We were particularly impressed by the staff. They were cheerful, friendly and helpful and seemed to take delight in their work and in each others’ company.


Our guide, Joas, was very experienced, knowledgeable and personable. He was a pleasure to be with."

"The camp was very luxurious without being ostentatious. Our large room had been designed to cater for every need, including masses of re-charging points. It was extremely comfortable and well-furnished and we could see animals coming to a waterhole from our bed!

The game viewing took place in the nearby dry bed of the Hoanib River. We had excellent views of two lionesses and a male lion feeding on a giraffe carcass. We saw large numbers of giraffe and springbok, and also baboons, several steenbok, one oryx, one African wild cat and one Cape fox (on a hopeful visit to the camp’s restaurant!). However, our visit was in April which we were told is not a peak game viewing month.

On one of our days in the camp we flew to, and back from, the Skeleton Coast in a small plane. Ordinarily the trip to the Coast would have been a game drive along the dry river bed but it had rained recently and there was a danger of getting bogged down. This probably deprived us of a chance to see elephants. (We did in fact see some elephants on a game drive the next day but so far away that even through binoculars they were indistinguishable from grey rocks).

We enjoyed visiting the small museum at Mowe Bay and the colony of 40,000 Cape fur seals was very impressive. We visited the wreck of a ship called the Suiderkus but it now consists of no more than some heaps of mangled metal. We brought one of the camp’s cooks with us on the trip and she cooked us an amazing paella at the beach.

The food at the camp was good, we had an excellent guide in Vincent (who worked very hard to try to find us some elephants) and the staff were very attentive and helpful."

"A pleasant and convenient place to spend a night at the end of our trip.

We enjoyed the evening meal we had there."

"Perfect start to the trip. The rooms were modern and extremely comfortable, the pool was lovely and the staff could not have been more helpful. We did not have dinner but we had a delicious light lunch and a lovely breakfast."

"The rooms are spacious and comfortable and there is a lovely pool.

The big advantage of staying here was to get to Big Daddy dune at dawn ahead of people staying outside the park. The guide who took us was very knowledgeable and set out a delicious breakfast afterwards.

We were in one of the rooms furthest from the central bar/dining area. This had the advantage of privacy but it was over 5 minutes brisk walk to the bar which would not suit everyone.

The staff was friendly and helpful. The car park was a little way away from the reception but we were very impressed by the way that the staff looked out for guests arriving back and rushed down to the car park to collect them in the lodge van."

"The Delight is very new and we were impressed by the design and attention to detail throughout. For instance every room has a fridge and extras such as a large umbrella. The rooms were large and comfortable with fun decor. The buffet breakfast was particularly good and even included oysters and bubbly! There were few negatives but we did arrive shortly before a large coach trip which meant that no-one seemed to be available to help us with our luggage or to find our rooms."

"This camp is at a fantastic location with lovely spacious rooms and being able to push your bed out onto the patio to sleep under the stars is a memorable experience. The bar/dining area has a great view.

Our guide found us the desert adapted elephants which was wonderful and we spent as long as we wanted with them. However we did feel that he was perhaps a bit less energised than some of the guides we had in Namibia.

Of special note was our guide at Twyfelfontein, Dion, who was extraordinarily well informed. (He also had an extensive knowledge of Britain that he had obtained from books!)"

"There did not seem to be a systematic procedure to replace lightbulbs/repair fittings but they did respond promptly when defects were pointed out. The food on the second night was a bit of a disaster as it ran out!

The swimming pool was very nice.

Because of the time of year that we went, there was so much water in the park that there were almost no sightings of animals at the waterhole. However we did see plenty of animals and birds in the park including 3 good sightings of lions and good sightings of bustards, plovers, lapwings and thick knees"

"This was one of our favourite places. The lodge area was lovely and the permanent tents were very well designed. It could not have been a more family friendly place. The staff were exceptionally obliging and went out of their way to entertain our 8 year old niece who was charmed. The food was some of the best we had.

Our guide, Imelda, was exceptional. We said that we wanted to see a black rhino and she worked extremely hard to find one and spotted one at a great distance while driving the car! Although it was far away it was easy to see with binos and a real treat. She also found a pride of lions who had recently feasted. She was extremely knowledgeable on birds as well as mammals, it was a privileged to be out with her."

"The rooms were lovely. It was great to wake up and see springbok and warthogs.

After the wonderful wildlife experiences we had had elsewhere in Namibia we were rather sceptical about the game drive involving radio tracked leopards, however the area involved is large and beautiful and it was very exciting tracking the leopard. We got a good view of her but even more exciting was getting a good view of a brown hyena which wandered past our vehicle.

We had booked half board but arrived in time for lunch. Unfortunately there was not an option to have a light lunch and we were all charged N$120 for a lunch that was not much more that a wrap plus pudding.

The dining area is large and rather impersonal. The system for recording food and drinks ordered was chaotic. Our bills at the end of our meals were incorrect then our bill at check out did not reflect what we had signed after each meal. Although the lady on reception knew that we were keen to check out promptly, she said that she did not have the authority to change the bill and seemed reluctant to contact the manageress. Fortunately when she arrived she did sort it out however it meant that there was a considerable delay and left a bad feeling to finish with."

"This camp is in an excellent location with a wonderful outlook over an animal rich wetland (including lions and elephants). The proximity to the Kafue River and the opportunity to take daily game-viewing boat trip was a real plus as is the lack of other camps nearby which means that you get a real wilderness feeling. Phil and Tyrone were excellent guides who have detailed scientific knowledge as well as a great knowledge of the bush which we very much appreciated. They are charming, young and energetic and nothing was too much trouble.

They are very keen to give their guests a high quality experience and they achieve this very effectively. The game viewing was excellent including large numbers of lions and a herd of elephants crossing the Kafue River. It is also a very good place to walk. The food was very good as overseen by Jamie who was also very well informed about the bush and extremely helpful.

The only reason we have marked the rooms and facilities as good rather than excellent is that this is a comfortable camp rather than a luxurious one. Personally we prefer the former approach because it makes for a more authentic safari experience while still giving you plenty of comfort."

"(I think that the name you have given the camp is its name before it moved to Musanza.) Good setting for the camp. It is a comfortable but basic camp. Wonderful game viewing on the Busanga Plains including large herds of red lechwe, buffalo, puku, roan and sable.

We saw about 10 oribi and even saw a blue duiker on the drive to the camp!"

"See previous entry. [Ed: See below]"

"Game viewing was excellent.

There were a fair number of other vehicles around compared to the other places we visited but not so many that the experience was spoiled. We did a very good walk which included seeing a leopard on foot which was thrilling.

A feature of our trip to Zambia which we particularly enjoyed was the ability to go out on night drives in the National Park and we were able to see a lot of nocturnal creatures. Yvonne, the camp manager, was particularly charming and helpful."

"Wonderful location overlooking the Luangwa River. The rooms were comfortable but reasonably small. However, we enjoyed the historical significance of them.

It didn't bother us particularly, but the rooms are very close to each other and the windows very much look into your neighbours' room so privacy is a bit limited! Fantastic game viewing including 16 lions eating a puku, a male lion driving a leopard from its kill, a Pel's fishing owl, a pack of wild dogs and a wonderful colony of carmine bee-eaters. Stephanie was an excellent hostess.

We were amused to find our Expert Africa agent at the camp with his family!"