Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs S from T Wells
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
10
Excursions taken
0
Wonderful experience; will it last?
Namibia between 14 May 2009 and 2 Jun 2009
"An excellent experience, well planned.
The distances were OK but with not much to see from the road took up an undue proportion of the holiday time - maybe travelling between locations by light aircraft would be better. The lodges etc. were all very different, which was good, but on a lot of the game drives we tended to see the same animals. We were pleased not to have stayed at any of the camps inside Etosha as they lacked atmosphere but they did look very clean and Okaukuejo's water hole, not to be missed and with good viewing facilities, had an amazing number of wildlife visitors.
There had been a lot of rain this year so the grass was tall and hid e.g. cheetahs which might have been there. The reserves did not have the 'wildness' of e.g. the Masai Mara. We had no problems at all with our bookings and ExpertAfrica are to be congratluated on this and all other aspects."
The distances were OK but with not much to see from the road took up an undue proportion of the holiday time - maybe travelling between locations by light aircraft would be better. The lodges etc. were all very different, which was good, but on a lot of the game drives we tended to see the same animals. We were pleased not to have stayed at any of the camps inside Etosha as they lacked atmosphere but they did look very clean and Okaukuejo's water hole, not to be missed and with good viewing facilities, had an amazing number of wildlife visitors.
There had been a lot of rain this year so the grass was tall and hid e.g. cheetahs which might have been there. The reserves did not have the 'wildness' of e.g. the Masai Mara. We had no problems at all with our bookings and ExpertAfrica are to be congratluated on this and all other aspects."
Arranged By Maruska AdyeRowe
Terra Africa, Namibia (this camp has since closed)
"Safari tour first night stopover"
1 night
Arrived
15 May 2009
Poor
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor
Location
Good
Service
Poor
Facilities
Poor
Rooms
Poor
Activities
Average
Feedback response
The co-owner and manager of Terra Africa, Rolf, was keen to respond to this feedback, and wrote to us:
“Thanks for this feedback; critiques like this are always useful as we aim to constantly improve our service.
We always offer tea and coffee, in the lounge or garden, to guests who arrive very early (as was the case with these guests, who arrived at about 8:30). Thus our visitors can relax in comfort until their room is ready, which is usually well in advance of a ‘normal’ hotel check-in time of 2pm. We regret that they felt we were not attentive during this time.
Their room was a well-light north facing room; the stone dressing tables form part of the room lay-out and design – we do however understand that they aren’t to everybody’s taste.
Terra Africa is proud to offer 23 satellite TV channels and 15 satellite radio channels. This is a much larger choice than the normal 4-5 channels generally available in Namibia – although obviously I’m sorry that these travellers still felt that the choice was poor. There are clear instructions on how to operate the satellite decoder and TV-guides in each room; and our team will always be happy to help guests with this if they ask.
These travellers commented to me about the toilet paper in the guest bathroom after I had collected them from their guest room, en-route to their departure at 9AM. At that point the staff hadn’t yet done their morning check on the public-area toilets, so I apologised and double-checked that the staff visited this specific toilet in question.
I greatly regret that their stay was not up to their expectations, and have noted this feedback and investigated matters. We do need travellers to realise that Terra Africa is a guesthouse; not a hotel – and this gives us a few disadvantages as well as many advantages.
Kind regards, Rolf”
“Thanks for this feedback; critiques like this are always useful as we aim to constantly improve our service.
We always offer tea and coffee, in the lounge or garden, to guests who arrive very early (as was the case with these guests, who arrived at about 8:30). Thus our visitors can relax in comfort until their room is ready, which is usually well in advance of a ‘normal’ hotel check-in time of 2pm. We regret that they felt we were not attentive during this time.
Their room was a well-light north facing room; the stone dressing tables form part of the room lay-out and design – we do however understand that they aren’t to everybody’s taste.
Terra Africa is proud to offer 23 satellite TV channels and 15 satellite radio channels. This is a much larger choice than the normal 4-5 channels generally available in Namibia – although obviously I’m sorry that these travellers still felt that the choice was poor. There are clear instructions on how to operate the satellite decoder and TV-guides in each room; and our team will always be happy to help guests with this if they ask.
These travellers commented to me about the toilet paper in the guest bathroom after I had collected them from their guest room, en-route to their departure at 9AM. At that point the staff hadn’t yet done their morning check on the public-area toilets, so I apologised and double-checked that the staff visited this specific toilet in question.
I greatly regret that their stay was not up to their expectations, and have noted this feedback and investigated matters. We do need travellers to realise that Terra Africa is a guesthouse; not a hotel – and this gives us a few disadvantages as well as many advantages.
Kind regards, Rolf”
Manager
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch
"Relaxed tourist ranch with fair safari drive."
1 night
Arrived
16 May 2009
"Clearly just a ranch. Pleasant and interesting amenities inc. a resident free-roaming oryx. Suitable for families with young children.
Game drive was well done but animals were limited and if we had gone the other way round and had seen Etosha etc. first would have been disappointing. As an example of a ranch, a good opener to our tour."
Game drive was well done but animals were limited and if we had gone the other way round and had seen Etosha etc. first would have been disappointing. As an example of a ranch, a good opener to our tour."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Average
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sossus Dune Lodge
"Dramatic desert plain scenery"
3 nights
Arrived
17 May 2009
"Memorable location and good early morning trip right into the largest sandunes area (discussions with other tourists later revealed that, being in minibuses etc. as opposed to our 4-wd, they had only travelled half way in, stopping at a 'model' large dune).
Rustic accommodation and amenities excellent and characterful. Fantastic view across a 15km desert plain to the distant dunes. Plenty of springbok all around but not much else. Not to be missed but two nights enough as activity opportunities very limited in number.
Staff polite but not very knowledgeable."
Rustic accommodation and amenities excellent and characterful. Fantastic view across a 15km desert plain to the distant dunes. Plenty of springbok all around but not much else. Not to be missed but two nights enough as activity opportunities very limited in number.
Staff polite but not very knowledgeable."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Sam's Giardino
"Unusual stay in drab coastal town"
2 nights
Arrived
20 May 2009
"Expatriate Swiss provides high class facilities, cuisine and large homeland mountain dog on quiet, concentrated edge of town rectangular plot.
Slightly out-of-place and eccentric but perhaps this is good in a rather drab coastal town often covered in sea mist. Because of the long road distances to and from Swakopmund on our tour we had only the single day between our two nights and missed out on the sea trip/s which might have proved worth doing (seals jumping into the boats for snack) etc.
Being one of the few places we might have used the internet to catch up on emails etc. it was disappointing that it was not working (probably from misuse)."
Slightly out-of-place and eccentric but perhaps this is good in a rather drab coastal town often covered in sea mist. Because of the long road distances to and from Swakopmund on our tour we had only the single day between our two nights and missed out on the sea trip/s which might have proved worth doing (seals jumping into the boats for snack) etc.
Being one of the few places we might have used the internet to catch up on emails etc. it was disappointing that it was not working (probably from misuse)."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Average
Service
Excellent
Activities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Mowani Mountain Camp
"'Out of Africa' views"
2 nights
Arrived
22 May 2009
"Set in an area with unusual smooth-edged red rocks camp is in a high point with stunning views across the rocky plains below and into the distance - fully taken advantage of each evening with their sundowner activity with on-the-spot service, bar and small eats . The buildings and high class tented accommodation are brilliant in character.
The abundant hyraxes around the rocky camp pathways were amusing. After a good search we found and spent some time with a troupe of desert-adapted elephants. Despite its attraction two nights is enough as having done the elephant trip and taken in the amazing scenery there's not a great deal else to do. Safari walk from the camp interesting but not as dramatic as one imagined these things to be.
Morning drive - With the drive needing to be stretched out to fill its allotted time I had the slight suspicion that we could have found the elephants rather more quickly than we did. With plenty of trees around the area was not particularly desert-like but the elephant herd, about a dozen, was worth tracking down and included Oscar, a young male which has given trouble in the past though we were not told what actually happened. We spent a pleasant half hour with them whilst they browsed on a few clumps of the trees. Our guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining."
The abundant hyraxes around the rocky camp pathways were amusing. After a good search we found and spent some time with a troupe of desert-adapted elephants. Despite its attraction two nights is enough as having done the elephant trip and taken in the amazing scenery there's not a great deal else to do. Safari walk from the camp interesting but not as dramatic as one imagined these things to be.
Morning drive - With the drive needing to be stretched out to fill its allotted time I had the slight suspicion that we could have found the elephants rather more quickly than we did. With plenty of trees around the area was not particularly desert-like but the elephant herd, about a dozen, was worth tracking down and included Oscar, a young male which has given trouble in the past though we were not told what actually happened. We spent a pleasant half hour with them whilst they browsed on a few clumps of the trees. Our guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Hobatere Lodge
"Out-of-the-way lodge in interesting reserve."
2 nights
Arrived
24 May 2009
"Took us well off our route but just about worth it. Very pleasant atmosphere in and around the lodge inc. two lovely tame rescued genets they had reared (but about to be released into wild). Did not see very much wild life on the daytime game drive, perhaps unluckily, but the night time drive was a good initiative (inc. spotter sitting on front of vehicle with powerful torch) on which we saw a number of different smaller animals including several bat-eared foxes.
The 'water hole' viewing building was good but the hole - seemingly natural and possibly a cut-off section of a river - was far too distant from it with animals disappearing from view when going down to the water. The bill we had to pay at the end was rather high when in many places it was fairly nominal."
The 'water hole' viewing building was good but the hole - seemingly natural and possibly a cut-off section of a river - was far too distant from it with animals disappearing from view when going down to the water. The bill we had to pay at the end was rather high when in many places it was fairly nominal."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Ongava Tented Camp
"Best in our trip for wild life."
1 night
Arrived
26 May 2009
"We were disappointed to have been able to book only one night here as, apart from no grand vistas, it was the most interesting, even exciting, of our tour. The reserve is large with plenty of game and several good waterholes including one right in front of the camp.
We did one drive which included early night in the reserve itself and one in Etosha which is adjacent. On the Ongava drive we saw at night black and white rhinos and a lioness at a waterhole and more rhinos at the camp hole. The camp atmosphere was emphasised with meals at a single long table with the energetic manager taking part and telling tales such as a lion being found on the couch one morning when the directors happened to be visiting!
Each evening a porcupine wanders in and around looking for titbits - strange animals that don't look up at you, seeming to obtain all their information from the ground or one's feet (keep them still!). The tents were large and luxurious with good verandahs but during darkness one had to be escorted to and from by a member of staff with rifle. Strange that a lot of the loos in game lodge bedroom suites, inc. here, do not have doors."
We did one drive which included early night in the reserve itself and one in Etosha which is adjacent. On the Ongava drive we saw at night black and white rhinos and a lioness at a waterhole and more rhinos at the camp hole. The camp atmosphere was emphasised with meals at a single long table with the energetic manager taking part and telling tales such as a lion being found on the couch one morning when the directors happened to be visiting!
Each evening a porcupine wanders in and around looking for titbits - strange animals that don't look up at you, seeming to obtain all their information from the ground or one's feet (keep them still!). The tents were large and luxurious with good verandahs but during darkness one had to be escorted to and from by a member of staff with rifle. Strange that a lot of the loos in game lodge bedroom suites, inc. here, do not have doors."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Ongava Lodge
"High class lodge in good game area"
1 night
Arrived
27 May 2009
"A sister lodge to the Tented Camp, this one built on the side of a hill giving nice views into the distance; the water hole is further down the the hill and a little distant but in full view of the lodge inc. dining platform. The bedrooms were large and well appointed (loo had a door!) with a good verandah - kudu passed close by this on their way to the water hole.
A lion was roaring in the night, perhaps no more than 100 meters away and three were sitting beside the track we went along on the morning game drive; this was into Etosha particularly looking for elephant which we did not see (but did come across a herd at a water hole the next day when self-driving through the park).
Again an escort with rifle was required to reach the bedroom at night. Upmarket lodge with good game drive possibilities, slightly impersonal."
A lion was roaring in the night, perhaps no more than 100 meters away and three were sitting beside the track we went along on the morning game drive; this was into Etosha particularly looking for elephant which we did not see (but did come across a herd at a water hole the next day when self-driving through the park).
Again an escort with rifle was required to reach the bedroom at night. Upmarket lodge with good game drive possibilities, slightly impersonal."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Mushara Lodge
"Lovely quiet relaxing place."
2 nights
Arrived
28 May 2009
"Just outside the east of Etosha, we were here for two nights. We just relaxed having had our fill of game drives by now inc. having self-driven through Etosha. A lovely place in the woods really, well into its own reserve, attractive semi-wild gardens and good sized swimming pool.
Surprised to find a mother and two young warthogs cropping the lawn for an hour or more just next to the main verandah where we ate. An abundance of small squirrels consider the grounds are as much for them as for the guests. Friendly staff who performed some local songs at the end of dinner. Large ensuite bedrooms."
Surprised to find a mother and two young warthogs cropping the lawn for an hour or more just next to the main verandah where we ate. An abundance of small squirrels consider the grounds are as much for them as for the guests. Friendly staff who performed some local songs at the end of dinner. Large ensuite bedrooms."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Okonjima Plains Camp
"Conservation view of big game"
2 nights
Arrived
30 May 2009
"Our last stay. By this time we were needing something different and this was to an extent. Nice grounds and buildings. This time a (wild) male warthog was in the 'yard', sleeping off a good meal from the lawn; he later moved to the small lawn round the raised pool where my wife was surprised, unlike the warthog, to confront him at the top of the steps.
The game drives were into controlled areas. We apparently came within some 10 meters of the tagged leopard but he was hidden in the scrub out of view but others saw him in the open later in a different part. The 5 man-reared cheetahs were good to see at nil range, especially Portia jumping for the meat thrown to her. The rescue and release programmes for wild animals were interesting to learn about and the staff clearly highly caring for the animals' welfare.
We were encouraged to take unaccompanied safari walks but I chickened out and later was glad to have done so, learning that a cheetah had escaped that day (seen by some guests on a drive catching a young warthog but driven off it by its mother) and that a leopard was one of the visitors to the after dinner viewing at the water hole where the day's leftovers are put out."
The game drives were into controlled areas. We apparently came within some 10 meters of the tagged leopard but he was hidden in the scrub out of view but others saw him in the open later in a different part. The 5 man-reared cheetahs were good to see at nil range, especially Portia jumping for the meat thrown to her. The rescue and release programmes for wild animals were interesting to learn about and the staff clearly highly caring for the animals' welfare.
We were encouraged to take unaccompanied safari walks but I chickened out and later was glad to have done so, learning that a cheetah had escaped that day (seen by some guests on a drive catching a young warthog but driven off it by its mother) and that a leopard was one of the visitors to the after dinner viewing at the water hole where the day's leftovers are put out."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
TV programme choice poor.
Public area downstairs loo had run out of paper by around 9 am to which the manager 's comment and reaction was only that the staff had not been round yet."