Travel reviews by Mrs C from Berkshire

"nice friendly ranch with good food.

The sofa bed in our 'family' room was ok for a one night stay but really only suitable for two small children or one 12yr old - my two twelve yr olds found it uncomfortable and I don't think it would be suitable for an adult.

Paul, our guide was a lovely chap from South Africa and made us very welcome at our first stop"

"We loved this camp - everybody was so friendly and helpful. Patries (sp?) was a relief manager from Zambia and his professionalism and enthusisam was shared by everybody we met. Our guide, Johann, was also excellent - knowledgeable, enthusiastic about his country and good company.

On reflection the game drive was a little pricey, but we would do it again as it was a good introduction to our surroundings as it was the beginning of our trip. It probably wouldn't have been as good if we'd done it after Damaraland for example.

The staff were very accommodating to our requests - for example one lunch time we didn't really fancy what was on the menu and asked if we could have a sandwhich. They happily made this for us with freshly baked bread.

We would love to return to this camp."

"This camp was a little disappointing for all of us. We arrived on xmas afternoon (after a wonderful xmas send off from Kulala Wilderness camp) and not one person said 'merry xmas' to us unless we said it first! The rooms were certainly not as good as they look in the brochure (although the views are simply stunning) and we found the staff a little indifferent.

We had had an early start the morning of our arrival (up at 4.30am to go to Soussosvlei) and asked what time dinner would be. It was explained to us that dinner wouldn't be served until all guests were present. We asked if perhaps our main courses could be served a little earlier as our children were beginning to tire but when we hadn't had the main course by 10.20pm we gave up waiting and went to bed!

Of the courses we did eat the asparagus soup was inedible - extremely thick and very salty! Our guide either lacked the knowledge or enthusiasm to make our 'game drive' the following morning interesting. Whilst we weren't expecting tons of game we werent expecting to feel bored by the experience either! The sundowner drive was better, as we were taken to Chateau Plains which was simply stunning and the guide did make a wicked G&T.

We requested packed lunches on our day of departure but when we opened them I noticed that the yogurts they had provided were past the sell by date - 2 were dated 'use by 26th Dec' and 2 'use by 7th Dec' - we left the camp on the 27th December!!!! I think this is unacceptable service from any camp let alone one advertising itself as one of the best in Namibia.

I think this camp is in need of an overhaul. Our experience indicated that it perhaps relies on its reputation but didn't deliver the goods or live up to expectations on this occassion."

"great family room, with separate bedroom for the girls.

Rosi on reception was quite simply a star and managed to sort us out reservations at various restaurants, activities etc, and generally offer good advice.

I would highly recommend the 'Living Desert' safari tour searching for the 'little five' with a chap called Chris Nel. He is a knowleable and entertaining conservationist who appears to be taking on the problems of quad biking single-handed! A good morning activity and very informative (we did see all the animals listed too!)"

"We loved this camp - the location, the rooms, the staff - it was all perfect. Florentia, Johann & Jefta were all very helpful and friendly.

Jefta gave us a memorable day with the desert-adapted elephants and Florentia never stopped smiling - my daughters fell in love with her! On New Years Eve Florentia and the other female camp workers gave us an impromptu concert of African music which was a lovely way to celebrate.

n my opinion this camp has the best rooms out of all the ones we stayed at."

"A true wilderness experience. We loved the tents and the way they where situated amongst the trees and so close to the water-hole. We were lucky enough to see two lions come to the waterhole one evening as we sipped our G&T's before dinner. The waterhole was a highlight of the camp and during the day we sat and watched blue wildebeest, kudu, waterbuck, warthog and zebra amble back and forth.

Although sitauted at the Anderson Gate entrance into Etosha the drive into Etosha proper takes well over an hour so is quite tiring to do for a morning drive. We were not offered a night drive at Ongava despite our information stating that they did undertake night drives. Whilst the food at camp was fine, I'm not sure they provided enough of it - when we came back from our Etosha game drive everybody else was already eating and there was only a few scraps left for us!

We mentioned it to the staff but were merely informed that lunch was finished. They did however offer quite nice vegatarian alternatives to the ubiquitous meat main course and the porridge in the morning was very good.

Hein (I think he was the manager) was very good but some of the other staff appeared a little surly. All in all, very enjoyable though."

"A nice clean and efficient camp which offered a relaxing one night stay between other places.

We didn't do the game drive as we thought it would be a bit 'tame' after Etosha and it was nice sitting watching the waterhole instead.

The lodge is 15mins from a Cape Griffin conservation project which offered a very enjoyable and informative couple of hours (although we were informed that the project is moving to another farm which will mean it will be about an hrs. drive from the lodge - not so convenient)."

"Okonjima is an amazing place and well worth including in anybody's itinerary if interested in leopard & cheetah.

Tracking the leopard with our wonderful guide, Arnold, was great fun and getting up close to the cheetahs the following morning equally amazing. It was also nice to see wild dog, even if they were in captivity. The venture is a little bit commercial, but then you could say that about most private reserves and Donna and her team do it better than most.

The night time viewing of honey badger and porcupine also produced a brown hyena sighting - magic.

We'll be back. Top quality service and very good food."