Travel reviews by Ms JL from W London

"We thought Olive Grove was lovely - a very relaxing place to stay, staff were very helpful and went out of their way to assist us. Nothing was too much trouble - including getting us to the airport when our transfer driver forgot to pick us up!

The rooms are spacious and well equipped, and there were very nice touches such as a personal welcome note and small bottle of wine (as it was our anniversary).

We would definately stay here again if we returned to Windhoek."

"Setting was tranquil and the lodge never felt full, even when all the rooms were occupied.

Our activities were very well organised and we felt cared for right throughout. We enjoyed a night under the stars and our sundowner from a nearby hilltop where we got some beautiful photos of the area. The pool was nice for a midday dip.

Two days was just the right time to spend here to visit Sossusvlei, Dune 45 and Dead Vlei, as well as the local canyons and having a private entrance to the park was a real plus because we didn't have to drive as far."

"Chalets were extremely good - huge, well appointed and you could roll your bed out onto the terrace to sleep under the stars. Your private terrace has an amazing view out over the plains, with the nice touch of a outdoor shower. It's a splendid, extremely private spot to sit and contemplate the vista and wandering animals. The lodge itself we really liked - a bit like a Moorish Castle and well suited to the mountains behind. Again, from the terraces you get a spectacular view out over the peaceful plains, with wonderful sunsets.

The pool while lovely, was just too small for the number of guests. Although we had a nice few hours on the loungers, most people were left to sit on the deck. I'd recommend they invest in more than 5 loungers!

There were plenty of activities on offer, but you did have to fit in with their planned schedule - this wasn't a problem for us as we were self-drive, so we drove ourselves to Twyfelfontein and the Organ Pipes as they didn't have this on offer the afternoon we wanted to do it. We're glad we did, because it was very easy to do this yourself, it cost us nothing (apart from a little petrol!) and we had the Organ Pipes to ourselves - a real highlight.

If you're self-drive I'd recommend doing the local attractions yourself because they are easy to find and self-guide. In terms of the Doro Nawas activities, we did a guided desert elephant safari with the Doro Nawas guide one morning, and found the Oscar group up into the river, after a 2 hour mission where we'd nearly given up hope! It was amazing to get so close to them. We really enjoyed this activity and would recommed it.

Staff were variable. Our first night they were great - kind, attentive and very cheerful. On the second night service was patchy at best, and we waited over an hour for our dinner. When busy they look like they might struggle to maintain good service. The food was average - it was edible and well presented, but not of a high standard.

We would go back to Doro Nawas, because we thought the setting and our beautiful room really made this a special place to stay."

"It was wonderful to be able to stay inside Etosha National Park at Okaukuejo - the proximity to the waterholes, the ability to stay longer in the park, and the game that wander down to the camps waterhole at night make this a fabulous place to stay. We loved being able to drive ourselves around all day, and although they say you should just park up at a waterhole and wait for the game to come to you, we tried both tactics (driving from place to place and parking up for a few hours), and had success with both.

We drove just about everywhere you could go in the western part of the park and saw prides of lions, had a lioness with her cubs cross the road in front of us, saw black rhino at the waterhole at night, spotted hyena, and many many elephants, zebra, giraffes, and of course all sorts of lovely smaller animals and birds. It is a great place to just explore.

The restcamp itself was a variable experience. Our first night we stayed at a waterhole chalet. The room was tiny and you didn't get a view of the waterhole (you were just close to it) so I wouldn't recommend paying extra - the four-bed bush chalets looked bigger and better. The second night we stayed at a two-storey premier waterhole chalet which was amazing!! Our large balcony had a daybed with a great view over the waterhole and the chalet was well equipped and very spacious.

The food is either average or poor. There's nothing wrong with it being a buffet, but apart from nice soup and many cakes for dessert, what is on offer is very limited - two types of meat and/or soggy vegetables. A few small exceptions - the omlette chef was great, as was the snack bar. It's a bit of a zoo with the number of people that stay, so the earlier you can get to dinner (7pm is best) the better. You must reserve to get a table - they are very disorganised and struggle to take your drinks order or clear the tables, so it's not just first in first served, more like first in, only-ones served!

We'd go back though, because you just can't beat being inside the park here. After all, dinner only lasts half an hour and you have a whole day to enjoy the animals!"

"We stayed here for one night on our way from the Okakuejo Restcamp to Naumtomi Restcamp. Although the drives in and out were good for spotting game, we didn't see much while we were here close to the camp, as the vast majority of the roads and waterholes are currently closed for road maintenance. If we'd known that, we probably wouldn't have chosen to stay here.

However, the camp itself was a bit more chilled out than Okakuejo, the pool more quiet and the staff a lot more friendly and attentive (again the food was poor). Our two bedroom bush chalet was huge. All in all, not a bad place to put our heads for the night before setting off east the next day."

"We loved this place, it was pure luxury in the bush. There was only one other small group staying when we were there, so we had a marvellous day hanging out by the infinity pool reading our books and watching the animals wander down to the waterhole.

The rooms are pure luxury - and contain everything you could need. Somehow the 'design' features in the safari tent just work and the overall aesthetic is beautiful. We loved the bathtub and outdoor shower.

We did one sundowner drive with a private guide and saw lions, although the game is much more timid here and not used to people or cars.

This is a really nice place to spend a few nights after doing self-drive in the park - the staff really look after you, always anticipating what you might need. The food was extremely good.

We'd go back and would highly recommend it."

"Nhoma Camp was fabulous, this was a trip favourite. Estelle and Arno are great hosts and really try to make your stay special.

It was great fun getting to join the bushmen in activities and really made the holiday for us. We loved going out on the hunt, and were really chuffed when they made an arrow and gifted this to us. We also really enjoyed the evening dance - incredible music and a very intense experience.

The location of the camp itself is spectacular - a very peaceful spot with beautiful bush and plains all around and wide open skies with epic starscapes. We did a day trip to Khadum National Park which was amazing - a proper wild experience with skittish animals and we were fortunate enough to see a wild dog while there.

Estelle is an excellent cook and we thought the food was imaginative and of a very high quality. Arno is the consumate host.

The tents were spacious with a comfortable double bed and single, and the bath was a nice touch.

We would highly recommend staying at Nhoma Camp with Estelle and Arno."

"Okonjima was a great place to stay at the end of our trip, before driving back to Windhoek and flying home.

The camp was completely full, but they upgraded our second night to stay at the Bush Camp (we were down to stay at the Main Camp on night 2) which was a lovely touch. There were a few staff who really made us feel especially cared for, despite the fact it was a full house. The lodge itself is in a lovely setting with waterhole out the front, and the park is nestled in between small mountains on the plateau making for wonderful views on the drives.

The rooms were big with nice secluded views out into the bush - we had lots of birds and small springbok and warthog visit us throughout the day. The pool is very big and wonderfully cold, and there was no one where when we visited!

The meals were very good at Okonjima, amongst the best we had on our trip. They were particularly good at catering for me, given that I am vegetarian.

The activities are great fun and they guides completely mould the activities to suit the length of time you stay and what you would like to do - we did the Cheetah game drive, Leopard Game Drive and Hyena spotting on foot. With this last one, although we saw the hyena we were unable to get out of the truck because not only did a spectacular lightning and thunder storm roll in, but a mother leopard and cub were nearby. So we instead sat and watched them sitting in the tree - what a bonus! It was marvellous to see the efforts Africat are going to to preserve these amazing animals.

We really liked Okonjima and would recommend it as a lovely place to stay at the end of a holiday."