Travel reviews by Inyanga from Comberton

"A really nice hotel with all mod-cons, including swimming pool, well presented and ultra clean.

We had ordered an evening dinner having just arrived via Airlink from Johannesburg. It was delicious and a glass of wine went down well.

Breakfast was cooked to order and set us up for a drive up towards Etosha.

TIP: There is a Pick and Pay convenience store to stock up on consumables, water and drinks before your trip just down the road.

A great place to set you off on your Namibia holiday, or to wind down before you fly home."

"We had stayed at Onguma a couple of years before and specifically chose to include this alongside the new camps on our trip. It is just south of Etosha and 'on the way' to the Caprivi Strip - well sort of.

We were not disappointed - met at the covered parking area with cold damp refreshment towels and cold teas and a familiar face or two - the same manager and assistant as on our previous visit. A welcome pot of tea over our re-introduction chat.

It must have been a co-incidence that we were given our previous chalet!

Our first supper was taken overlooking the waterhole - three courses of stunning food.

Early the next day was one of the best experiences of our trip - nearly three hours watching wildlife from elephant toenail height - yes, we did see those toe nails almost within touching distance!

Keeping to the right-hand side of the sunken hide meant we could see a lot of birdlife in the trees and bushes - something another guest advised the night before. The elephant antics as they tried to 'mudify' their rear ends were a sight to behold.

The next day was an early morning drive to Etosha. We did see a rare black rhino (well its rear), a honeymooning pair of lions before a clan hyenas and vultures were scavenging an elephant who had died overnight (not a kill per se). The smell was somewhat obnoxious.

Our only criticism was the guide was chasing sightings whilst we were in the park - at speed meant no chance of seeing other (two legged) creatures. He should have asked us what we wanted to see if at all possible. It needed a chill out session at the lounge to wind down and watch the waterhole - a trio of Oryx !

That evening we saw black-backed jackal and a troop of banded mongoose and other larger four legged animals at the waterhole. The meal again was superb.

We drove ourselves around the east of Etosha on the morning we left as we had the time. Our pace was more sedate than the game drive and we could try and see what we came to see. The waterhole just south of the park entrance provided interaction between giraffe, elephants and oryx.

Food and accompanying service at Onguma is excellent and the staff very friendly - well worth our coming up there again."

"“Quirky” rather than “Rustic” describes Roy's Camp.

The only modern bits seemed to be the electric light switches, everything else appeared to be hand made using leftover bits of machinery – that really wasn’t an issue at all. They have taken re-purposing to a really new level.

Never seen anything like it but it was a useful stopping place.

There is a nice roomy hide overlooking a small waterhole on the adjoining game park (owned by Roys) . Mostly woodland birds and small antelope as far as we saw…..

Breakfast was of the good homecooked variety but our dinner was a choice from chicken stew or 'game cordon bleu' - the latter was oryx 'steak' which could have done with casseroling for another hour but the chicken stew was really nice.

A convenient stopover going north to Caprivi Strip making an break in the drive."

"The unwelcoming “No Food or Drinks beyond this point” at the car park was literally a sign of things to come.

The 'welcome' was almost non-existent. Only when reception staff realised we didn’t know our way around did they take us to our room, which was shabby and tired. Definitely in need of TLC and/or a refurb.

There were no plugs in the bathroom hand basins, so trying to conserve water was a waste of time, despite the signs to do so! One plug did eventually turn up. Storage space was somewhat sparse.

The tea/coffee station had no fresh milk provided despite a big fridge. Crème in tea is horrible. We did get some milk from the helpful lady in the cake and tea lounge however. When speaking to management at the end, they said that for some time they hadn’t been able to get any milk in sachets so they resorted to powdered stuff. Some sort of explanation in the room was all that was needed.

We were charged for all drinking water at 20N$ for 500ml (you cannot drink the tap water apparently).

The food, wines and restaurant service were however very good.

The evening river cruise was pleasant enough and well organised but the falls were very busy

The region around the Poppa Falls is billed as one of the top places for birding. It was very disappointing to find that there was no list of local birds available for guests to us. You were left to your own devices. In fact there were no obvious local fact books or even a hotel directory/information guide – just a menu of food and drink to order and to pay for."

"Super camp from beginning to end of our stay there. Well done to all the staff

The collection from park gate was seamless and punctual. After leaving the car in the park’s HQ we were taken by Cameron (our guide) back to camp.

However, the journey took much longer because our guide discovered that we were interested in birds. 😊

Consequently, we stopped numerous times as many birds were new to us. He saw a racquet-tailed roller (an early visitor) - a first for him in 2022 - and a 'lifer' for us. 😊

Cameron went beyond his role simply as a guide to satisfy our wishes. (This would not have been possible if other guests were present).

We suspect that he enjoyed looking for anything other than the usual requests for four-legged animals.

The welcome at camp, when we eventually arrived, was excellent, as was the accommodation.

An evening drive proved fruitful for us, in fact all the river cruises and drives delivered stunning sightings and for us, birds that we hadn’t ever seen 😊

We had an early morning drive, investigating areas seen on the evening drive. Cameron asked whether we would like to track an hyena.. !!!!

YES !!!

So for 90 minutes we / Cameron followed this Hyena’s tracks across the plains. Then they disappeared. ☹

Ever the optimist I suggested that it had left the deep sand trail up onto the bank. and a few hundreds of metres later it re-joined the track 😊

Just a couple of minutes later a (female) hyena bounded across the track. Cameron was over the moon having tracked it for 90 minutes 😊

Success for guests and guide 😊

The meals were simply outstanding. The service throughout was first class and very friendly.

Thank you to every one at Nambwa, especially Cameron for listening to our wishes and accommodating them.

This is a camp that we strongly recommend to Caprivi visitors. It was simply superb for staff, guides, accommodation, meals and activities. Undoubtedly great !"

"The instructions for meeting our lift to the camp were less clear once you arrived in Sangwali village. No obvious meeting point. It was only by chance that we spotted a safari vehicle for another camp within the park and asked them where any meeting place was.

Our guide, Westy, arrived promptly. We had to leave our vehicle at a civic centre – something obviously agreed with the Sangwali authorities.

The camp is in one of the most remote corners of the region. It was more rustic than we expected which another guest had warned us about. Our tent on stilts was basic.

It was a pity that the light bulbs hadn’t been checked. Water conservation obviously isn’t an issue there – no plugs again!

An average welcome included the formality of the passing of the wifi voucher, restricting your use 200MB for the stay, please don’t drink the water and everyone must sit down to dinner at 7pm at one long table.

One flask of filtered water was provided in your tent each day. Any extra had to be purchased.

When sitting down for dinner, we discovered most of the guests were German (no problem with that) who were only interested in conversing in German amongst them selves. Not a very enjoyable evening.

The big complaint for us was that staff were clearing plates away before other diners had even finished that course. We objected strongly at the time as one of us was still eating a course when the next was about to be served to the other one !

We spoke to the manager who eventually agreed to allow us to sit at separate tables after that. As it turned out, we weren’t the only ones who disliked the arrangements.

There was an honeymoon couple who also had to request a separate table. Obviously for groups, of which there were several, these arrangements weren’t an issue. Breakfast was served at separate tables fortunately.

The staff themselves were very friendly and courteous. Most of the time service was good. The meals were somewhat average / mediocre.

We went on a sunrise drive and did the combi drive the next day. That takes you down to the wetlands as well as a normal morning drive. You’re out for more than 4 hours. We enjoyed the quiet as we listened to the sound of the lapping water when on the water. Westy was a very good guide and did his best to find as much as possible to see but the animals weren’t playing ball! However, a dash to find a leopard was somewhat scary!!

So, we felt the camp might have needed a bit of tlc/refurbishment and less obtrusive ‘management’ of the guests.

We’re pleased to have been there if only to see the wetlands up close.

However, it’s not one we would necessarily return to until is has been improved and made more multination ally welcome"

"We were picked up by our guide from Kasane airport, where we left our hire vehicle.

Cheka explained the area as we drove the few minutes to the lodge, where we were welcomed in the traditional manner.

Everything was explained over tea, and we took up the offer of a sundowner cruise on the Chobe River that afternoon. It was a super cruise - many birds for us and Cheka explained things to our fellow cruisers.

The following day, after a scrummy breakfast, we went on a morning drive which turned out to be simply amazing. We saw a few animals and then (I/we) spotted a couple of cars loitering by a thicket and Cheka was encouraged to investigate.

So, we saw a pride of lions in the shade; a female looked up and saw the herd of buffalo was moving down the riverside towards us/them. Now things got really exciting as we saw the pride of lionesses, lions and even teenager cubs encircle and eventually charge the buffalo. They lost out as the buffalo herd sought refuge in the elephant herd nearby. A one in a lifetime experience for all the party.

We should explain that the other couple in our group, from the US, had never been to Africa before – they learnt from our guide, and as we spotted birds (i.e. not the Big 5) even after a couple of days they could ID birds. They therefore had a belated wedding anniversary that they said that could never forget.

Another river cruise with Cheka was another great sundowner – we could relax and watch the riverside activities and wildlife up REALLY close and admire stunning sunsets.

The lodge staff were incredibly friendly but also very attentive to our needs. Meal service standards were top notch

Chobe Chilwero was the best lodge of our memories on this trip."