Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs W from California

"The Olive Grove was a charming hotel. We had a very nice upstairs room and a delicious dinner served on a warm evening on the patio.

Since we had been up all night on the flight, we were a little jet lagged but we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

We did not do any activities at the hotel (or that were arranged by the hotel) so I have put "no comment" in that category below."

"The Kulala Tented Camp really brought home to us the vastness and desolation of the Sossusvlei area. We could look out from our “front porch” and see miles of desert-like landscape, covered with brush that looked a little like wheat and rimmed, in the distance, by mountains. Calling it a "tented camp" is really a misnomer since the only thing tent-like about it was the canvas walls. Otherwise, any creature-comforts we could have wanted were there.

Probably the best part of our "tent" was the second floor platform, which you reached from an outdoor staircase. The first morning we got up at at 4:30 a.m. to see the sun rise over the dunes. I stepped outside of our tent to see how cold it was and was stunned to see the sky literally covered with stars. Eric and I went up onto the platform and felt like we were in an observatory – the milky way was clearly visible as was the Southern Cross and what seemed like a zillion other stars. I saw my first ever shooting star, which seemed to stream across the entire southern half of the sky. It was truly magical and something I will always remember.

I might add that there was another couple staying at the Kuala Tented Camp who had a four year old son. The staff and the guides were wonderful to their little boy and went to great lengths to take care of all of his needs."

"When I was considering the various accomodation options in Swakopmund, I almost didn't choose the Stiltz because it was described as being rather far away from downtown. As it turned out it was probably less than one-half mile to the center of Swatkopmund and, rather than having the rather boring, Germanic look of the rest of the town, it was quite imaginatively designed.

Our “room” at the Stiltz turned out to be an individual, wooden bungalow, built on stilts (hence the name), overlooking the ocean and a picturesque lagoon with a number of water birds. The Stiltz also had a bird feeder which drew a number of other colorful birds. In addition, there was a neighborhood pelican who was always roosting on top of a light pole just down the block from the hotel.

I might add that the proprietress at The Stiltz was very helpful in booking our fabulous kayaking tour where we were literally surrounded with hundreds of cape fur seals. She also was able to get us reservations at the best restaurant in Swakopmund, called the Tug, not once but twice. The second time she was also able to get us seated at the best table in the house with views on three sides of the turbulent Atlantic Ocean.

One other thing -- the flight from Soussesvlei to Swakopmund was otherworldly. The photos I took look like mosaics. I have done a fair amount of flying in beautiful places in small planes and this was far and away the most beautiful flight I have ever been on. Obviously, you can't guarantee gorgeous weather in foggy Swakopmund but if you luck out like we did, you are in for a once in a lifetime treat!

We also arranged for this couple a day-trip along coast south of Swakopmund:

It was a great trip. Ernest, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable and also an enjoyable person to spend the day with. He is an expert driver and took us to a very remote, almost inaccessible area, where we saw all kinds of incredible birds. He also lead us up the side of a huge sand dune to an incredible view over the multi-colored dunes and the ocean below. We then drove up and down the dunes which was great fun -- a little like being on a desert roller coaster.

He also amazed us by serving a delicious lunch, pulling china and a table and chairs out of the back of his truck. Finally, he showed us the flocks of flamingoes (and got them all to fly above us for a great photo) before returning to Swakopmund. A great day!!"

"Once again, "camp" is a misnomer. Our accomodation was more like a small house with canvas sides than a tent. We overlooked an open field, rimmed by mountains, which turned a reddish purple when the sun set. We also really enjoyed the nightly campfire, overlooking beautiful desert scenery. Probably the most fun, however, was at the communal dinner where we were joined by an Italian film crew making a National Geographic movie for television. The food was great but the company was fascinating.

I also loved going out for a full day tracking the rhinos with a picnic lunch which we ate in the bush. Since we were the only guests tracking rhinos that day, all four of the trackers rode in our landrover and we found it fascinating to watch them try to follow the rhino tracks. Although we didn't see any rhinos that day, we did see about seven cheetahs, which was pretty amazing. The next morning, when we did see not one, but two, rhinos we felt like we had earned the right to see them!"

"Ongava was also wonderful! We were first put in a room away from the waterhole but, fortunately, someone we had met at the Desert Rhino Camp, had told us to ask for a room overlooking the waterhole. We did and, although we weren't able to move to the new room until our second night, once we did, it was fabulous. We loved just looking out our window and seeing the animals right there drinking and using the salt licks. We even saw a rhino there (and a leopard was around while we were out). The dining room also overlooked the waterhole and we had several of our meals at tables set up on the patio right next to the waterhole. We probably could have just stayed there and seen a lot of animals.

Each of the game drives was terrific. In contrast to the other places in Namibia that we had been, Ongava and Etosha were both teeming with animals. We spent half of the first day in Etosha, which was about an hour from Ongava, meaning that we spent quite a bit of time just getting there. We also weren't aware that the "game viewing" there was all around waterholes. It was a great way to see a lot of animals (and to take some wonderful photos) but it didn't seem quite as "fun" as finding the animals elsewhere in the bush. This is not in any way a complaint -- just an observation. My guess is that if it was someones first trip to Africa, they would be thrilled to see so many animals in one place. Since this was our fourth trip to Africa, we may have wanted more of a challenge in finding the animals. For that reason, we liked the game viewing in Ongava a little better than Etosha.."

"Okonjima was my favorite place that we stayed. The accomodations were absolutely lovely and it was wonderful to have so many birds right out our window. There was also a large supply of birdfood so we could be sure that the birds kept coming. The big cats were also beyond belief. We saw leopards fighting over a kill the first night and that was just the start.

During our two full days there, we successfully tracked a hyena on foot and saw numerous leopards and cheetahs (including one cheetah that accomodated us by posing for a photo on top of a termite mound). Really an amazing place!"