Travel reviews by Miss T & Mr B from London
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
13
Excursions taken
3
My Oct 2010 trip
Namibia between 1 Oct 2010 and 24 Oct 2010
"Overall our trip was marred by the fact that we had an ordinary car. This was totally unsuitable. You have already received comments on the especially bad roads. This made travelling stressful, uncomfortable and tiring. We would often only reach our destination at dusk as we had to travel so slowly.We could not enjoy the journey or stop because of the stress of the hours of daylight left to get to our destination. Once at our destinations we were exhausted and shaken which marred our enjoyment of the lodge, location, wildlife.
Etosha, one of our planned highlights was especially disappoiting due to the fact we only had a car (see earlier comments).
We saw almost no other 2WD vehicles throughout the trip and everyone we spoke to, either locals or in the tourism business could not believe we had been advised that a car would be ok for the journey we were undertaking.
We advise that under no circumstances future guests are infomred that a 2WD vechilce is acceptable.
One final recommnendation....provide some advice on tipping and especailly advise on the car park security attendants. The first time we parked the car and saw someone coming towards us with a cosh we thought we were going to be attacked and not that he was coming to offer to look after the car.!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
see comments throughout questionnaire.
I reiterate again DO NOT recommend 2WD vehicles... the stress, discomfort, seeemingly endless punctures/tyre problems overroad any real enjoyment of the holiday."
Etosha, one of our planned highlights was especially disappoiting due to the fact we only had a car (see earlier comments).
We saw almost no other 2WD vehicles throughout the trip and everyone we spoke to, either locals or in the tourism business could not believe we had been advised that a car would be ok for the journey we were undertaking.
We advise that under no circumstances future guests are infomred that a 2WD vechilce is acceptable.
One final recommnendation....provide some advice on tipping and especailly advise on the car park security attendants. The first time we parked the car and saw someone coming towards us with a cosh we thought we were going to be attacked and not that he was coming to offer to look after the car.!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
see comments throughout questionnaire.
I reiterate again DO NOT recommend 2WD vehicles... the stress, discomfort, seeemingly endless punctures/tyre problems overroad any real enjoyment of the holiday."
Feedback response
We’re sorry that these travellers were disappointed to have a 2WD. From our own experience, we know that the vast majority of Namibia’s gravel roads can be driven in a 2WD vehicle. Having said that, some visitors, especially this year, have returned from their trips wishing that they had taken a high-clearance vehicle or a 4WD.
We always offer the upgrade to our travellers when we send them a quote, but the cost upgrade to these vehicles is substantial. We’ve never pushed our travellers to pay extra for these larger cars. However, perhaps we should have been clearer about these options – and listening to these comments, we’ve resolved to be clearer for future travellers.
Dolphin and seal cruise
"good commentary and wildlife knowledge"
12 Sep 2010 • All-day excursion
Kayaking with seals
"an experience!"
13 Sep 2010 • Morning excursion
Great experience, though very short due to strong winds...again just luck of the draw.
Advanced information on what to wear/bring, not to wear etc would have been helpful.
Very knowledgeable guide.
Please see earlier comment re correct meeting point.
Advanced information on what to wear/bring, not to wear etc would have been helpful.
Very knowledgeable guide.
Please see earlier comment re correct meeting point.
Haus Sonneneck
"very pleasant"
1 night
Arrived
2 Oct 2010
"no further comments"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Kalahari Anib Lodge
"lovely area"
1 night
Arrived
3 Oct 2010
"Very good afrenoon safari, knowledgable guide"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Canyon Lodge
"perfect customer service"
2 nights
Arrived
4 Oct 2010
"Everything you could wish for if you were running the lodge yourself, service was spot on.
Could do with some better sign posting on the access roads to the lodge"
Could do with some better sign posting on the access roads to the lodge"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Eagle's Nest
"fabulous sunset views"
2 nights
Arrived
6 Oct 2010
"Receptionist was very aloof and surly on check in but seemed to warm by the next day.
She told us that the Sedina had stopped running and so we couldn't book it !! However she did book us on the catamaran which was fine but not our preferred option.
We could not book our own boat as the phone number provided by Expert Africa was incorrect.
We had some problems with our food, eg they gave us a breakfast platter full of meat and the starter at dinner had chicken in it. This was despite us reiterating that we are vegetarians. They rectified this on day 2 with both a veggie breakfast and dinner."
She told us that the Sedina had stopped running and so we couldn't book it !! However she did book us on the catamaran which was fine but not our preferred option.
We could not book our own boat as the phone number provided by Expert Africa was incorrect.
We had some problems with our food, eg they gave us a breakfast platter full of meat and the starter at dinner had chicken in it. This was despite us reiterating that we are vegetarians. They rectified this on day 2 with both a veggie breakfast and dinner."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Average
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Average
Sinclair Guest Farm, Namibia (this camp has since closed)
"very pleasant"
1 night
Arrived
8 Oct 2010
"This farm can not be faulted for its service BUT as it is a small lodge they expect all guests to sit and eat together for meals. This was very uncomfortable especially as the other clients were non English speaking. Thus the whole time the manager was translating from German or English to make conversation.
It would be much better to allow the clients to sit on ther own if they wish especially if they speak different languages."
It would be much better to allow the clients to sit on ther own if they wish especially if they speak different languages."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Sossusvlei Lodge
"Hotel style"
2 nights
Arrived
9 Oct 2010
"Service here was varialbe as you would expect from a large hotel style operation with large numbers of staff on rotas but on the whole was good.
Morning balloon flight - This was a lovely experience though disappointing in the sense that there was heavy fog so we could not reach the dunes..no one's fault of course, just luck on the day.
However becuase of this we took an early morning cesna flight over the dunes which was fabulous, highly recommneded for future guests."
Morning balloon flight - This was a lovely experience though disappointing in the sense that there was heavy fog so we could not reach the dunes..no one's fault of course, just luck on the day.
However becuase of this we took an early morning cesna flight over the dunes which was fabulous, highly recommneded for future guests."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Central Guest House, Namibia (this camp has since closed)
"excellent serivce and location"
3 nights
Arrived
11 Oct 2010
"Extremely knowledgable manager, very helpful, nothing ever too much trouble.
Dolphin cruise - Lovely trip,great skipper, good views of wildlife and information sharing.
Wonderful lunch !!
Sea kayaking - Great experience, though very short due to strong winds...again just luck of the draw.
Advanced information on what to wear/bring, not to wear etc would have been helpful.
Very knowledgeable guide.
NOTE: the meeting place for the kayak trip is at the Dolphin coffee shop not the Mola Mola as given in our instructions"
Dolphin cruise - Lovely trip,great skipper, good views of wildlife and information sharing.
Wonderful lunch !!
Sea kayaking - Great experience, though very short due to strong winds...again just luck of the draw.
Advanced information on what to wear/bring, not to wear etc would have been helpful.
Very knowledgeable guide.
NOTE: the meeting place for the kayak trip is at the Dolphin coffee shop not the Mola Mola as given in our instructions"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Ballooning in the Namib Desert
"lovely experience"
11 Oct 2010 • Morning excursion
This was a lovely experience though disappointing in the sense that there was heavy fog so we could not reach the dunes..no one's fault of course, just luck on the day.
However becuase of this we took an early morning cesna flight over the dunes which was fabulous, highly recommneded for future guests.
However becuase of this we took an early morning cesna flight over the dunes which was fabulous, highly recommneded for future guests.
Terrace Bay
"lovely place, terrible journey"
1 night
Arrived
14 Oct 2010
"Under no circumstances should this trip (after the park entrance) be attempted in a car as even 4WD vehicles get in to difficulties frequently.
Make sure any future gusts are aware the the Ugab river checkpoint closes at 15.00. After that you will simply be turned away and we just made it in with minutes to spare as we were expecting the gate to be open until 17.00. This info is in the guidebook but as it is such an early closure it should be on the client information sent out by EA.
The lodge itself was great, very friendly and no need to worry about inventories or key deposits."
Make sure any future gusts are aware the the Ugab river checkpoint closes at 15.00. After that you will simply be turned away and we just made it in with minutes to spare as we were expecting the gate to be open until 17.00. This info is in the guidebook but as it is such an early closure it should be on the client information sent out by EA.
The lodge itself was great, very friendly and no need to worry about inventories or key deposits."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Feedback response
The drive from Swakopmund to Terrace Bay is very long: about 340km. We advise that it’s a good six-hour drive. We usually advise a 4WD during the rainy season and like these travellers, some will prefer one during the dry season. We’ve driven this trip ourselves, several times in recent years, in 2WD saloon cars.
This comment on timings is a very pertinent one; we’d always advise our travellers to start off early in the morning, and reach the Ugab River well before the gate there closes at 15:00. This is included in the guide book, but from now on we’ll further highlight this in a letter that we send out before such a trip.
This comment on timings is a very pertinent one; we’d always advise our travellers to start off early in the morning, and reach the Ugab River well before the gate there closes at 15:00. This is included in the guide book, but from now on we’ll further highlight this in a letter that we send out before such a trip.
Doro Nawas
"Vastly overpriced"
2 nights
Arrived
15 Oct 2010
"This accommodation was ridiculous eg 2 sinks and 2 showers in the room and a verandah that could accommodate about 50!
The game drives were twice the price of any where else and they certainly weren't twice as good. In fact the 2nd drive was more or less a repeat of the first such was the limited knowledge of the guide. We were fortunate in the fact that the guide trainer from WS happened to be there so we were able to gleen some wildlife and environmental information from him.
We also had to pay for lunch if we were doing the morning drive, yet this was just back at the lodge and was nothing to do with the drive and we didn't need or want it yet we had no option but to pay for it.
The whole experence was very food orietated and not wildlife orientated so they have their priorities all wrong.
The staff however were very friendly and helpful.
Note the reason I have indicated that the location was poor is due to the state of the road to it."
The game drives were twice the price of any where else and they certainly weren't twice as good. In fact the 2nd drive was more or less a repeat of the first such was the limited knowledge of the guide. We were fortunate in the fact that the guide trainer from WS happened to be there so we were able to gleen some wildlife and environmental information from him.
We also had to pay for lunch if we were doing the morning drive, yet this was just back at the lodge and was nothing to do with the drive and we didn't need or want it yet we had no option but to pay for it.
The whole experence was very food orietated and not wildlife orientated so they have their priorities all wrong.
The staff however were very friendly and helpful.
Note the reason I have indicated that the location was poor is due to the state of the road to it."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Poor
Service
Good
Activities
Average
Rooms
Average
Food
Good
Facilities
Average
Hobatere Lodge
"excelllent in all areas"
2 nights
Arrived
17 Oct 2010
"Excellent lodge and staff, couldn't be faultled.
Extremely knowledeable wildlife guides, excellent safaris.
Only one complaint, we were booked by EA to stay here full board. This was unneccessay as we did not want lunch anyway even though we had paid for it. Most guests were staying half board so EA were wrong here to book us full board when we specifically said we didn't want to have full board but EA erroneoulsy told us that it was compulsory at Hobatere."
Extremely knowledeable wildlife guides, excellent safaris.
Only one complaint, we were booked by EA to stay here full board. This was unneccessay as we did not want lunch anyway even though we had paid for it. Most guests were staying half board so EA were wrong here to book us full board when we specifically said we didn't want to have full board but EA erroneoulsy told us that it was compulsory at Hobatere."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Feedback response
The board basis at Hobatere is flexible; we can organize as “full board & activity”, “full board” or “half board”. We quoted “full board” for their stay here. We’re sorry if there’s been a miscommunication which meant that we got it wrong for these travellers, and that they weren’t aware that there was a choice.
Halali Camp
"Haphazard"
2 nights
Arrived
19 Oct 2010
"This camp can be described as haphazard in all areas. We had problems with getting vegetarian food even though we spoke to several people about it. However ultimatley the chef did his best to conjure up something in the end. We did not bother with breakfast as what there was of it looked dreadful.
On the plus side there were no isses with the inventory list and credit card payemtents could not have been simpler.
The overall experience in Etosha was extremely disappointing. A car is totally unsuitable here. On the main roads through the park you can not see much due to the high grasses and low car. We could not go to hardly any of the waterholes as the roads were much too rough for a car thus saw very little wildlife.
We booked a game drive as a result of the car problem but this was also extremely diasppointing. The vehicle, though high, was not maintained and thus incredibly uncomfortable on the rutted roads, worse even than our car. The guide had llittle wildlife knowledge such that at one stage he pointed out a tawny eagle as a duck !!!!"
On the plus side there were no isses with the inventory list and credit card payemtents could not have been simpler.
The overall experience in Etosha was extremely disappointing. A car is totally unsuitable here. On the main roads through the park you can not see much due to the high grasses and low car. We could not go to hardly any of the waterholes as the roads were much too rough for a car thus saw very little wildlife.
We booked a game drive as a result of the car problem but this was also extremely diasppointing. The vehicle, though high, was not maintained and thus incredibly uncomfortable on the rutted roads, worse even than our car. The guide had llittle wildlife knowledge such that at one stage he pointed out a tawny eagle as a duck !!!!"
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Good
Service
Poor
Activities
Terrible
Rooms
Good
Food
Poor
Facilities
Average
Feedback response
We are sorry that these clients felt that their vehicle was not suitable for Etosha. Our colleague, Angela, drove herself all around Etosha in a 2WD saloon car in September 2010. She didn’t have similar feelings, and this supported our experience that Etosha’s roads are fine for a 2WD vehicle. However, clearly these travellers would have been happier and more comfortable driving a sturdier and higher vehicle – and higher vehicles do improve the view. So in future we aim to explain the vehicle options for Namibia even more clearly to any potential travellers.
As for the game drives organized by the guides within Etosha, which are booked locally, we’re sad to hear that the guide had little wildlife knowledge, but not completely surprised. We don’t usually recommend these trips to our travellers.
As for the game drives organized by the guides within Etosha, which are booked locally, we’re sad to hear that the guide had little wildlife knowledge, but not completely surprised. We don’t usually recommend these trips to our travellers.
Waterberg Camp
"very pretty and worht a visit."
1 night
Arrived
21 Oct 2010
"Once again there were no issues about the inventory and the staff were more than happy to take a passport as key deposit. Guests do not have to worry about having to keep N$500 in cash on them if near the end of their holiday. Credit card payments are straightforward.
The game drive was again disappointing. The vehicle was fine but the wildlife guide seemed more interested in talking about the political situiation in Namibia than the wildlife !
The lodge staff were very pleasant and helpful ."
The game drive was again disappointing. The vehicle was fine but the wildlife guide seemed more interested in talking about the political situiation in Namibia than the wildlife !
The lodge staff were very pleasant and helpful ."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
The Elegant Farmstead (Not currently featured by Expert Africa)
"Olive Grove guest house"
1 night
Arrived
22 Oct 2010
"Excellent venue to finish the trip. Easy access not far from the airport, so no stress about timings or road conditions.
Excelelnt staff and facilites , can't be faulted."
Excelelnt staff and facilites , can't be faulted."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Wonderful lunch !!