Nature Travel Namibia
Nature Travel Namibia
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- TASA & Namibia Tourism Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $81 to $650 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
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for a custom tour
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Reviews
FR
Email Sebastien | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
wonderfull Birding Safari in Zambia, Caprivi and Chobe with Nick Buys
This 2 weeks birds and mammals trip in Southern Africa was our second trip with Nick Buys. We have been already with him in Namibia 4 years ago in a very succesfull trip.
We visited South of Zambia (Nkanga River Conservation Area, South Kafue and Livingstone surroundings), the Caprivi Strip (Kwando River and Mahango Game Reserve) and Northern Botswana (Okavango Panhandle and northern Chobe).
The places we visited were wonderfull. We felt the privilege to be the only ones in the middle of the bush and his fauna in the very preserved Nanzhila Plains-Kafue National Park. We had excelent boat trips on Zambezi, Chobe, Okavango and Kwando Rivers. Sunsets were stuning !
We stayed in very confortable and peacefull lodgings were we could appreciate the magic of wild Africa.
This trip was focused on a list of possible life's firsts, for both birds and mammals. The lists was not so long, as we have been already in various trips in eastern and southern Africa. It consisted most of all in specialities and endemics, as Black-cheeked Lovebird, Schalow's Turaco, Pel's Fishing-owl, Bradfield's Hornbill, Chaplin's Barbet, African Broadbill, Miombo Tit, Copper Sunbird, Black-eared Seed-eater...
We managed to see more than 300 bird species, and almost all the possible species on our list that occurs in the area.
We only failed for 3 species of Miombo forest, certainly because of the severe drought that occured this year. Actually forests were very quite, and Nick had to work hard to find us some dificult birds in that conditions. On the other hand, and certainly because of the drought, this trip was very succesfull for small raptors as African Cuckoo-hawk, Lizard Buzzard, Western Banded Snake Eagle, African Goshawk, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Little Sparrohawk, Eurasian Hobby, Dickinson's Kestrel... We had excellent sightings of a Lanner hunting a Cape Turtle Dove, a Dickinson's Kestrel drinking at a watter hole and a pair of Little Sparrohawks breeding.
Mammals sightings were also great, with 45 species.
The best was the day spent with a troup of 21 Wild Dogs in Kafue (10 adults and 11 puppies) : they spent the day resting and playing at the side of a water hole in the company of many herbivores (surprisingly very relaxed) and birds who came to drink, including Black-cheeked Lovebirds. At the end of the afternoon, we could follow them one hour hunting in the bush. At the end, we didn't see them catching anything, but a pair of breeding leopards managed to catch an impala that was runing away from the Wild Dogs !
Thanks to some night drives and night walks, we also had a good selection of nocturnal mammals, with 2 species of Galago, Common Genet, African Civet, Bush Pig, South African Porcupine...
We want to thank Nick warmly for this trip. Again we really appreciated his cualities as a guide, his profesionalism, his excelent knowings in the species and the habitats, his sens of respect of nature, his organisation, his patience and his excellent sense of humor.
We hope to come back soon in Africa for another such succesfull trip with him.
US
Email David Drake & Deborah Jaffe | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review of Fantastic NBZ Private Nature/Birding Tour Led by Cronje of Nature Birding Travel
This is a belated review of a private 14 day nature trip of Northern Namibia in December 2018 that was led by Marc Cronje of Nature Birding Travel, who served as our superlative and indefatigable host, guide, driver, fixer and companion throughout.
Beginning with an airport pick-up at Livingstone in Southern Zambia, the tour encompassed a brief stop in Zimbabwe to visit Victoria Falls; two days in Zambia to bird the Zambezi River; two days in Botswana to bird the Zambezi floodplains and Okavango River, and the remainder of the time in Namibia, with a route that took us through the Okavango to Etosha for 4 days; a day in the spectacular, other-worldly Damaraland region; two days in the Erongo Mountains, where we stayed at the amazing Erongo Widerness Lodge; and a final morning of coastal birding in Walvis Bay.
We are experienced, well-travelled birders with an equally strong interest in all other forms of wildlife, as well as in natural landscapes and ecosystems, so our hope for this tour — which was fully realized — was to experience a wide range of Southern African flora, fauna and avian life at an unhurried pace that would allow for full immersion. As this is a review rather than a trip report, we do not provide here a detailed account of species sighted, but the birding and wildlife experience was richly rewarding and exceeded expectations, with nearly 350 species of birds sighted, 40 species of mammals (including no fewer than ten separate encounters with lions), and one exciting sighting of a Black Mamba on the first morning of the trip.
The itinerary of the trip was exceptionally well designed, with consideration given to keeping daily travel distances manageable in order to allow time for leisurely enjoyment of all wildlife. The well-chosen lodges were (other than in Etosha NP) small, privately run establishments with individual character and charm, allowing for varied experiences while delivering a uniformly high standard of service.
Marc Cronje proved to be a world-class guide, whose deep knowledge and appreciation of wildlife, landscape, and birds is matched by his superb wildlife spotting and identification skills and by his infectious enthusiasm and passion for his job. He worked tirelessly on our behalf, from first light until night fall, and even then he was always eager to go owling.
Beyond his skills as a nature guide, Marc is a great communicator with a robust sense of humor. His patience, politeness and respect for others was a pleasure to behold and a real asset when dealing with border officials, a necessity on a trip that encompassed four countries.
We could not recommend Marc and Nature Birding Travel more highly and look forward to arranging our next nature safari adventure with him.
David Drake and Deborah Jaffe
SE
Email Annsofie and Lena | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding and way over our high expectations!!
We never ever, during our over 20 years of travelling around the world, have experienced such excellent service and communication with a tour agent before! Thank you so much Nicolette for answering our 100 e-mails so fast!
We went for a 8-day Namibia Classic Safari in our own vehicle and with our superfantasic driver and guide, mr Marius Siemens.
Nicolette and Marius made all our wishes and dreams come true way over our high expectations! Those 8 days seems to us as a lot longer cause of everything we got to see: The amazing different landscape that changed from day to day like the wonderful colors of the big dunes in the Namibdesert "floating" out to the coast and the wonderful city of Swakopmund.
And the wildlife we got to see!!! Totaly amazing! Marius knew exactly where and when to go where to get to see the most. And we sure did!
One of our days in Etosha we saw lions, leopard and cheeta - all before lunchtime!! Above that w also got to see desertelefhants and the African elephants as well! Marius always made sure we got the best possible angle for a photo and he also has a great knowledge about the wildlife that made all our questions answered.
The lodges and food was also great and we really don´t know how to express ourselves to be able to say just how perfect this safari has been.
You have to experience it, feel it, live it. And we promise: You will not regret it!
Once more: Thank You so much Nicolette at Nature Travel Namibia and mr Marius Siemens - you are simply the best! We will be back!
Email Fi Isaacs | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Drive through Namibia into northern Botswana
Great organisation, everything went like clockwork, excellent range of accommodation. Nature travel Namibia were flexible about our needs, responsive, friendly and helpful. Would definitely recommend them without hesitation.
NZ
Email LLongmann | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Be careful if you sustain an injury during one of their tours
Despite advertising that they carry comprehensive insurance, this company will deny any responsibility if during one of their tours you sustain and life changing injury as I did. They arrange all activities and accomodation and therefore it is reasonable to expect that they will accept a duty of care. They do not. Do your research before selecting your tour operator, make sure you are covered.
Email Sarah | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic trip
Planning and support from San-Mari prior to the trip was outstanding. The plan included everything we wanted but the actual trip exceeded our expectations. Our guide Marius was brilliant; knowledgeable, fun, worked hard to find some amazing animal sightings and drove like a pro. The Living Desert Tour with Chantelle was oustanding. Lodges were very good and food plentiful!
We would always use Nature Travel Namibia for any future visits and recommend them highly.
VN
Email George Kung | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amassing journal. the classical tour in Namibia is very good. i have a lot of fun with my parents.
it is accessible for old people as well. my parents are 70+. they also enjoy the tour.
Email Bob Palmer | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Knowlegible Professional caring Company
We were introduced to Namibia Nature Travel through a friend, best days work we ever did. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Windhoek until we returned 16 days later after a round trip that made a holiday for us that we will never forget . Our tour package was handed to us at the airport which contained everything we needed, our itinerary , phone numbers of every lodge, contact numbers , maps etc. which were all invaluable.
Namibia is a stunning country, the scenery people, hospitality, lodges, tour guides all second to none, can't wait to go back.
Email Gillian Ainslie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic & well-organised birding & wildlife tour of Namibia & Botswana
I heard about Nature Travel Namibia and Nature Travel Birding through a presentation at the African Bird Fair organised by Birdlife South Africa in August 2020 by Zoom. As I had some funds available from a cancelled international trip in 2020, and no likelihood of other international travel in 2021, I took the opportunity to use the money to indulge my recent passion for birding. Birding friends recommended Namibia as a great birding destination and, after sending an inquiring email to Nick Buys of Nature Travel Namibia, I got immediate information about all the options available and suggestions for the best itinerary. The trip was organised by Nick via multiple emails and one phone call. All my queries were answered fully & promptly, allowing me to make all the decisions necessary to plan a dream trip, despite the nightmare logistics of international travel in the Covid-19 era. Marc Cronje was my guide and he looked after me wonderfully, from meeting me at the airport in Windhoek and travelling onwards for 12 days. We drove to Rundu in the Caprivi Strip, then through Mahangu, across the border to the Okavango Panhandle in Botswana (including fabulous birding boat trip), back into Namibia for a further couple of days at wonderful Mahangu National Park (and yet another great boat trip), then 2-3 days in Etosha National Park, and then a day each at the Brandberg in Damaraland, the Erongo Mountains, Swakopmund & Walvis Bay and then back to Windhoek. Namibia is fabulous with great scenery, people, game and, most importantly for me, birds. Marc was an excellent guide: very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all birds, wildlife and photography. He knew exactly which spots to go to find all the various bird species, allowing me to see almost all the targets we were looking for. I saw 270 different bird species over the trip (including many many “lifers”) and over 30 other animal species, with plenty of time to get good observations and photos. He was a careful driver and liaised very well with lodge staff, park staff and border officials. In addition, he was really great company and also very patient and helpful with a relative novice both as regards birding and photography. He even managed to fix my camera after I damaged it early on, and thus salvaged an important component of the trip for me. The lodges and food were good, particularly the Erongo Wild and the Mahangu Safari Lodge. I have recommended Nature Travel Namibia & Nature Travel Birding highly to many friends and hope to use them again myself for any future visits to Namibia or other parts of Africa. I have been well & truly bitten by the birding travel bug!
US
Email Mike Sylvia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What a Great Trip! 380 Bird species, and 50 species of Mammal
This was my first trip to Africa let alone Namibia. My main focus for the trip was to see as many bird species in Namibia as possible. After researching for a good guide that I thought would be a good fit, I chose Nature Travel Namibia (NTN) mainly due to my talks with owner Nick Buys. His attentiveness and quick thorough responses to my many questions made the decision easy. I never use guides or tour companies for my travels so this was going to be new for me. I am usually the guide or part of a team that is showing clients the places I go, which means I know what to look for in a good guide. With Africa being a new continent and with the Covid landscape I decided this would be the best way to be safe, healthy, and see the most on my trip. Nick made it happen on all points. Never was I worried that he did not have my best interests in mind and did all he could to make them happen. It was just him and me for 14 days on the road.
During the time I learned a lot about him and his passion for Namibia, wildlife, and touring. He is dedicated on all fronts. Initially I set a lofty goal of 350 species as a goal for the trip. He planned out a route that would bring us across many of the unique habitats in Namibia from the City of Windhoek to the North and Northeast of the country. This area covered the various scrubland, acacia, grassland, desert, mountain, riparian, marshland, flood plain, coastal, and dune habitats of the area. This gave us the best chance to focus on the near-endemic and endemic species as well as have good chances to pick up the Southern Africa species as well. Obviously, this plan worked and was exceeded. Having both of us totally motivated 24 hours a day helped as well. We worked very well together. After a couple days we had definitely gotten to understand each other and communication was easy.
Nick has been involved in the landscapes of Namibia since a young age and his family took part in many camping trips to many of the game parks growing up giving a lot of field knowledge. He is a veterinarian as well working with various agencies on tagging, relocation, and other operations with big game. It was apparent that he knows the animals well and how they will respond and what to look for when around them. Mainly to make sure they are not nervous or feel threatened and when we should be quiet or move on even if the scene is breathtaking. Animals first. I appreciated that as I have the same values.
