Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs L from Northants
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
8
Excursions taken
0
Our Namibia experience
Namibia and 1 other country between 23 Sep 2009 and 15 Oct 2009
"This was not a trip, certainly not a holiday (we returned exhausted !) it was a mind-and-soul-enhancing experience. We saw the hoped-for range of exotic plants and beasts, which alone was impressive. For two people who have only ever experienced elephant, ostrich and zebra in miserable enclosures at zoos, to see them roaming at liberty and (zebras) in such numbers was a privilege. The experience of such huge open spaces (coming from the land of the M6 and M1) was awe-inspiring - we feasted on the landscapes and wildernesses and dunes and beaches and rocks that we visited. This visit to Namibia, and the series of places we visited & stayed, refreshed our minds and souls, and affected us more strongly than any other foreign visit we have made, all assisted with nothing stronger than the occasional glass of wine !
We also had the luck and privilege to spend time with some extraordinary people, who enriched our lives incredibly: Wayne (Sandwich Bay), Petrus (Kulala), Lister (Doro Nawas).
Thank you for making this possible !
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
- Insist that the default vehicle for car hire will be a beefier vehicle than a Toyota Corolla, whenever significant stretches of gravel roads are to be used
- Don't use Air Namibia !
- Don't release unsuspecting Brits into Frankfurt airport !
- Inform clients what the 'toilet' arrangements are in each accommodation !!"
We also had the luck and privilege to spend time with some extraordinary people, who enriched our lives incredibly: Wayne (Sandwich Bay), Petrus (Kulala), Lister (Doro Nawas).
Thank you for making this possible !
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
- Insist that the default vehicle for car hire will be a beefier vehicle than a Toyota Corolla, whenever significant stretches of gravel roads are to be used
- Don't use Air Namibia !
- Don't release unsuspecting Brits into Frankfurt airport !
- Inform clients what the 'toilet' arrangements are in each accommodation !!"
Arranged By Tracy Lederer
Ocean Eleven
"Ocean Eleven review"
2 nights
Arrived
26 Sep 2009
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Hilltop House, Namibia (this camp has since closed)
"Hilltop House review"
1 night
Arrived
28 Sep 2009
"Was it us, or are the maps of Windhoek really upside down ?? Anyway, we found the house and thoroughly enjoyed our brief stay there.
The room was spacious, beautifully decorated, and with a dramatic view over the hills beyond. Breakfast on the balcony overlooking the town, flowering jacaranda trees & hills was lovely. The owner was extremely helpful and informative.
Conveniently placed for shops just down the hill, but advised not to walk there!"
The room was spacious, beautifully decorated, and with a dramatic view over the hills beyond. Breakfast on the balcony overlooking the town, flowering jacaranda trees & hills was lovely. The owner was extremely helpful and informative.
Conveniently placed for shops just down the hill, but advised not to walk there!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Kulala Desert Lodge
"Kulala Desert Lodge review"
3 nights
Arrived
1 Oct 2009
"After Zebra River Lodge, this was an absolute paradise. The central facility (restaurant & reception) has a spectacular view out across the desert to the Dunes. Our accommodation was wonderful. It looked onto the distant dunes and (from the roof) the waterhole, and from the balcony we could imagine we were alone in the desert.
The staff here are just out of this world. They are permanently cheerful, enthusiastic to help and to know that you're having a good time. They engage continually with the guests and provide excellent service. They have been very well trained and create an ethos of quality and warmth. Twenty out of ten for them, they are marvellous.
Our guide, Petrus, gets thirty out of ten. His local knowledge, the wonderful things he showed and explained to us, his conversation during our adventures with him, made our stay here one of the finest moments in Namibia. He was not just a guide, he was an encyclopedia, a great person and our guru while we were with him."
The staff here are just out of this world. They are permanently cheerful, enthusiastic to help and to know that you're having a good time. They engage continually with the guests and provide excellent service. They have been very well trained and create an ethos of quality and warmth. Twenty out of ten for them, they are marvellous.
Our guide, Petrus, gets thirty out of ten. His local knowledge, the wonderful things he showed and explained to us, his conversation during our adventures with him, made our stay here one of the finest moments in Namibia. He was not just a guide, he was an encyclopedia, a great person and our guru while we were with him."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Brigadoon
"Brigadoon review"
3 nights
Arrived
4 Oct 2009
"An extremely stylish place. The room was beautifully furnished and decorated, a lovely place to return to after a hard day on the dunes / waves ! The breakfast was nicely presented and quite comprehensive. Margaret, the manager, is a national treasure. She deserves a platinum award for hospitality, kindness and efficiency. She did everything she could to make our stay here run smoothly. She is wonderful. XXXXXXXXX
However hard she tried with her natural warmth and keenness to help, Margaret could not make the outside temperature any warmer in the morning, when eating breakfast outside was just a bit chilly ! Brrrrr !
Brigadoon is quite conveniently placed for shops restaurants and seaside.
The one thing we emphatically loathed at Brigadoon was the toilet. It was positioned behind the fridge in the living area, sharing the same air as the living room, with a waist high partition behind the fridge, no door! The shower was similarly 'open plan' but we could manage that one, no problem. An open plan toilet is a different matter ! There are many good features at Brigadoon, but this single feature is enough to make it unsatisfactory accommodation for us."
However hard she tried with her natural warmth and keenness to help, Margaret could not make the outside temperature any warmer in the morning, when eating breakfast outside was just a bit chilly ! Brrrrr !
Brigadoon is quite conveniently placed for shops restaurants and seaside.
The one thing we emphatically loathed at Brigadoon was the toilet. It was positioned behind the fridge in the living area, sharing the same air as the living room, with a waist high partition behind the fridge, no door! The shower was similarly 'open plan' but we could manage that one, no problem. An open plan toilet is a different matter ! There are many good features at Brigadoon, but this single feature is enough to make it unsatisfactory accommodation for us."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Rooms
Poor
Food
Good
Doro Nawas
"Doro Nawas review"
2 nights
Arrived
7 Oct 2009
"There is a sense of drama about the approach to Doro Nawas which is continued when you stand on the terrace of the hut, taking in the infinite desert-wide view. Breathtaking ! This was just such a beautiful place to be: all you need to do is open your eyes and they feed themselves on the empty spaces that stretch in all directions. The chalet was built in dramatic style, with thatch, stone, wood that gave the feeling of a desert palace. Watching the sun set, watching the sun rise from the terrace !
The restaurant facility (and the house style) is rather more formal than at Kulala, but the food is ample and good.
We were sceptical about doing the elephant tracking activity but when our guide, Lister, promised we would definitely find elephants, we did it and had another wonderful Namibian experience. He had already walked us around the wilderness, giving names to so many plants, insects, tracks, birds. He really came up trumps with the elephants: two groups and two solitary bulls. Plus two cheetahs. Not bad ! This was an extraordinary experience, topped by a fine sunset."
The restaurant facility (and the house style) is rather more formal than at Kulala, but the food is ample and good.
We were sceptical about doing the elephant tracking activity but when our guide, Lister, promised we would definitely find elephants, we did it and had another wonderful Namibian experience. He had already walked us around the wilderness, giving names to so many plants, insects, tracks, birds. He really came up trumps with the elephants: two groups and two solitary bulls. Plus two cheetahs. Not bad ! This was an extraordinary experience, topped by a fine sunset."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Okaukuejo Camp
"Okaukuejo Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
9 Oct 2009
"As expected, the camp was busy, and with a 'holiday camp' feel to it, so it was quite a contrast to the desert lodges we'd been staying at. It gave us easy access to an amazing number of sightings of all those animals that soon became as common as garden sparrows ! The waterhole was superb: giraffe, zebra, lions, rhinoceros, elephants, plus all the 'usual' game !
The restaurant was fine: food was good and staff were helpful and efficient.
Our premier waterhole lodge was out of this world, with a balcony view straight down onto the waterhole. It was an extra expense but wow, it was wonderful.
Checking in was a bit tedious - fortunately Expert Africa's advice had prepared us for this, and the staff were generally cheerful and helpful."
The restaurant was fine: food was good and staff were helpful and efficient.
Our premier waterhole lodge was out of this world, with a balcony view straight down onto the waterhole. It was an extra expense but wow, it was wonderful.
Checking in was a bit tedious - fortunately Expert Africa's advice had prepared us for this, and the staff were generally cheerful and helpful."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Facilities
Average
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Halali Camp
"Halali Camp review"
1 night
Arrived
12 Oct 2009
"Our chalet was very pleasant: roomy, backing onto woodland and with a fine view of the sunset throught the trees. The staff at reception were pleasant and efficient.
The waterhole, quite a way from the chalets, is insignificant compared to Okaukuejo. The approach at night is dark and when you get there the ground is rocky and uneven.
The restaurant was awful. The cook was a jolly individual and his food was adequate but we had the impression that all the other staff there were either asleep or deliberately avoiding us. It felt like you could have sat down, died of starvation and been eaten by jackals without anyone taking any notice. Noone offered to serve us a drink, the table was dirty and was not cleared or set. No member of staff engaged with us at any time, until we paid.
A place to avoid - they really do not deserve being paid for the (non-existent) service we received"
The waterhole, quite a way from the chalets, is insignificant compared to Okaukuejo. The approach at night is dark and when you get there the ground is rocky and uneven.
The restaurant was awful. The cook was a jolly individual and his food was adequate but we had the impression that all the other staff there were either asleep or deliberately avoiding us. It felt like you could have sat down, died of starvation and been eaten by jackals without anyone taking any notice. Noone offered to serve us a drink, the table was dirty and was not cleared or set. No member of staff engaged with us at any time, until we paid.
A place to avoid - they really do not deserve being paid for the (non-existent) service we received"
Poor
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor
Location
Average
Service
Terrible
Rooms
Good
Food
Poor
Ondudu Safari Lodge
"Erongo Wilderness Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
13 Oct 2009
"The wonderful hosts, Mike & Carol, are working hard to give guests an outstanding experience. Their efforts paid off with us - we spent an enchanted two days here, a wonderful finale to our Namibia experience. The staff at Erongo are in the same mould as Kulala and Doro Nawas. They are obviously well trained and highly motivated. They engage with guests, do everything they can to meet guests' needs, are cheerful and positive and, when you get talking to them they are such interesting people. We learned a lot from them about the immediate area, Namibia and their own experiences and families.
The food is exceptional - it was original, tasty .... and very very filling ! The restaurant, with big open windows looking out onto the landscape, the waterhole and the resident porcupine, was a very atmospheric place. Carol and Mike were always there, greeting guests and checking that everything was meeting the quality thay expected.
Walks from the tent took us into and onto the local rocks: the views, the textures of the rocks and the sense of space are wondrous.
Our tent was an event in itself: built into the rock, marvellous views, and the fridge contained that all-important bottle of wine we needed to toast the sun as it set on our final evening in Namibia."
The food is exceptional - it was original, tasty .... and very very filling ! The restaurant, with big open windows looking out onto the landscape, the waterhole and the resident porcupine, was a very atmospheric place. Carol and Mike were always there, greeting guests and checking that everything was meeting the quality thay expected.
Walks from the tent took us into and onto the local rocks: the views, the textures of the rocks and the sense of space are wondrous.
Our tent was an event in itself: built into the rock, marvellous views, and the fridge contained that all-important bottle of wine we needed to toast the sun as it set on our final evening in Namibia."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
The room was elegant, spacious and comfortable. Owing to heavy rain on our arrival day, we were cold and wet and didn't appreciate the shower facility out in the entrance hall where the wind was whistling .... but the complementary decanter of sherry made up for this !
Boat for whale watching cancelled owing to poor weather !"