Travel reviews by S & S from Alaska

"As was the case with almost every place we stayed, this was a much fancier hotel than we normally stay at.

Our room was huge and beautiful, the restaurant food was very good, and everyone was very helpful.

We didn't stay long, but we did eat in the restaurant and make use of the small exercise room. That room was fine, but not excellent, which was the reason I didn't give the hotel full marks for facilities."

"We really enjoyed our time at Ondudu Safari lodge. Out of all the places we stayed, I think we liked our actual room here, a tent-cabin amid rocky mountains, the best.

We also enjoyed the general "vibe" of the place, very friendly, not too fussy. Another plus for us was the availability of walking excursions. There were more available here than anywhere else that we stayed. We did two of those with a guide and also a walk by ourselves on a marked trail.

In retrospect, compared to some other places, we didn't see a lot of wildlife here, but it was our first stop, and we were thrilled to see oryx and kudu from a distance, to see rock hyrax and to get to really observe baboon interactions. Our guide at Ondudu Safari lodge was very nice, funny, friendly, and we really liked him and learned a lot from him. He was not quite as knowledgeable as some of the guides we had at other places though, particularly in the field of geology.

Mammals and reptiles we saw here included:

Male and female rock agama, oryx, damara dikdik, cape crested porcupines, klipspringers, kudus, chacma baboons, steenboks and rock hyraxes."

"The descriptions of Doro !Nawas mention it being dark and forbidding looking, but this is only true from the outside. I believe they were trying to make the building appear to be a part of the rock outcropping upon which it sits. From within it seems fairly light and airy, and there is a nice deck from which one can observe comings and goings at the water hole below. Our thatched chalet was huge.

We did a walking tour and an afternoon wildlife drive with a guide named Mamie. She was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and good at explaining information. We learned a lot from her about the desert environment which makes this place so unique. We saw elephants, giraffes, quite a variety of birds, and the tracks of other animals. Among the plants we saw was the famous welwetschia mirabilis.

When we arrived at Doro !Nawas, the staff gathered to sing us a welcome song, which felt a little embarrassing. They sang to people as they checked out as well, although we were lucky enough to avoid this. In general, we found the staff a little too helpful, too subservient, too attentive. They would come in our room multiple times each day, to make up the beds with different blankets or something? We really weren't quite clear about why they'd come change the bed coverings more than once a day, when not at all would have been sufficient. One could not even fill a water bottle without someone hovering, wanting to take that task off your hands. It made us uncomfortable. When there was an issue that I might have wanted to mention, such as when I was served undercooked chicken, I didn't mention it because it seemed that it would have been such a big deal, when really it was just a small thing, and could have been easily remedied.

One other thing that seemed strange about Doro !Nawas was the presence of feral cats around the buildings. For a place where one comes to see wildlife this was surprising, and almost certainly reduced the variety of birds in the immediate vicinity of the lodge.

While in the area of Doro !Nawas we went to Twyfelfontein, the Damara Living Museum, the Organ Pipe Rocks and the petrified forest. All of these were interesting excursions and we'd recommend them. If I had to miss any of them I'd probably skip either the petrified forest of the Organ Pipe Rocks.

Mammals we saw at Doro !Nawas included:
Springboks, desert elephants, desert giraffe, red hartebeest and baboons."

"The best thing about Hobatere was its closeness to the west side of Etosha National Park. We spent a day driving around Etosha and then drove through Etosha to our next accommodation, and it was AMAZING! We did also participate in a night drive at Hobatere.

The guide and his spotter were able to point out animals and birds that we otherwise certainly would have missed, and we saw things then that we saw no where else, including two chameleons, a spring hare, and a brown jackal. The guide did not seem as interested in teaching us things as other guides we had seen, primarily pointing out animals but not elaborating much. Still, it was a good experience. We also really liked the pool and the wildlife viewing area at Hobatere.

We were surprised that we had to buy drinking water at Hobatere and that it was not included in our stay. We were told not to drink the water in the rooms, but that we could purchase water and other drinks at the bar, which we did. At most other places where we stayed we were either able to drink the tap water or water was provided, or both.

Mammals and reptiles we saw at Hobatere included:
black faced impalas, chipmunks, scrub hares, bring hare, brown hyena, black baked jackal, lion, spotted genet, chameleon, kudius, springboks, baboons, giraffes, and steenboks."

"We had an amazing stay at Ongava lodge.

We didn't find the part of Etosha we could access from Ongava as interesting as what we were able to see from Hobatere, although it was certainly still an amazing place to visit. At Ongava we went on a morning nature walk with a guide aptly named Teacher, from whom we learned a lot, and also on an afternoon wildlife drive with another excellent guide, this one named Salalthiel.

We enjoyed the general feeling and ambience of Ongava, and the pool, and the deck with the view of the watering hole. However, perhaps the very best thing about Ongava was the viewing hide. We went down our first evening and were able to watch black rhinoceroses interacting around the hole. Another day we just hung out in the hide from 7 until about 12:30. I made a list of all the animals we saw, not including birds (and we saw about 8 new species of those). Here's that list:
1 Duiker
Jackal
Another duiker
10? kudu - no very mature males
4 zebras
24 impala
10 zebras
11 kudus
3 male impalas
7 impalas
1 springbok +3 more
Mature male kudu
3 male impala
5 male impala + 1 more
3 springbok + 1 more
6 Female kudu
2 springbok
1 male springbok
4 male impala, 1 very mature
1 male impala
1 male springbok
3 springboks
1 male African elephant + another
Mom and 2 young warthogs
7 male impalas including young ones
1 male and 2 female impalas

It was amazing to be able to just sit in the shade, so close to the hole and watch all these animals come and go. It is such a dry and barren-looking place, but obviously teeming with life. Later, as we watched from the deck over lunch, we saw the parade continue, and the elephants return.

Mammals and reptiles we saw at Ongava included:
Black rhino, Duiker, Ovambo Tree Skink, Cape skink, warthogs, Terrapin, kudus, springboks, steenboks, jackals, impalas, elephants, rock hyrax, klipspringers, giraffes, plains zebras, red hartebests and wildebeests."

"We really packed in the activities while we were an Okonjima. We went on a walk by ourselves on one of the very well-marked foot paths, which was enjoyable, although very hot.

We did an afternoon leopard tracking drive. The leopard was radio-collared and our guide drove through bushes and up dry river beds to find her. It felt a little harassing, as she was hiding and obviously not super excited to see us, and we caused her to move a couple of times.

That night we went on a drive to see a pangolin. The pangolin was also tagged and two researchers had been out to find her, so we were led right to her. Because many of the leopards at Okonjima are radio-collared, the guide we were with was aware that there was a large male leopard near by. We waited in the vehicle until it appeared that he was moving away. We used red lights to see the pangolin, and were very quiet. Unlike the leopard, she did not seem to be disturbed by our presence, often walking toward us as she snuffled about for ants. Seeing this strange and rare animal in the wild was really pretty thrilling, and we felt very lucky to have the opportunity.

The next day we did another nature drive with a guide. Because it was just the two of us, the guide as able to focus on our interests. We spent some time looking for a hyena, but did not find any. We did see a pair of bat-eared foxes. We spent more time looking at birds, and we saw quite a few that we hadn't seen anywhere else. While birding near a water hole, we heard kudus barking in alarm, and our guide told us that a leopard was likely near. And then there she was, walking up to the water hole to get a drink. This leopard sighting felt more satisfying than the first, since it came unbidden.

Our final activity at Okonjima was a tour of the Africats facility. We saw the rescued cheetahs who are living in captivity there. They had tried releasing cheetahs back into the park main area at Okonjima, but because they did not know much about hunting, because they'd been living in captivity, and because the leopard population is so high, and it really is better leopard than cheetah habitat, the cheetahs were being killed off. They were returned to this somewhat zoo-like setting (although with a great deal more space than any zoo could provide) to live out their days. It was a bit sad, although of course also wonderful to get to see these animals, and much better than their being shot, which would likely have been there fate had they not been rescued and brought to Okonjima. We also got a tour of the veterinary facilities and a small museum, and learned about the history of Okonjima and about the various uses of land in Namibia and how they are regulated, which was interesting.

Okonjima was the only place we visited where the herbivores were being fed. Our guide said that this was due to the drought, but it may also keep the population of herbivores artificially high, supporting an artificially high population of leopards as well. Okonjima was also the only place we visited that talked about doing research on their animal populations (although we did see radio collars on lions at Hobatere and on a hyena in Etosha). It seems like the main thing they do is keep track of where they find the animals (leopards and pangolins are two of the animals being researched) and what they see them doing. In the case of pangolins in particular this research seems to have led to new insights into the behavior patterns and territoriality of the animals.

Mammals we saw at Okonjima included:
black mongoose, leopard, elephant shrew, eland, bat-eared fox, pangolin, kudu, springboks, jackals, impalas, steenboks, damara dik diks, duikers, giraffes, plains zebras, red hartebeets, scrub hares, baboons and wildebeests."

"It really isn't fair to compare River Crossing to any of the lodges we stayed at, or even the very fancy Weinberg hotel.

It was a comfortable room and a nice breakfast and conveniently located close to the airport."