65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Skeleton Coast National Park by Phil Atkinson
Again, something that I have only ever seen on TV or cinema, amazing t9 be there and so surreal.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Namib-Naukluft National Park by Phil Atkinson
Just so different from anywhere I have been before. Seeing it from the air was a great experience too.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Etosha National Park by Phil Atkinson
Just an amazing place teeming with wildlife but you had to make the effort too which added to the fun. Plenty of people but it was so big you never really noticed. Reasonable food, drink and accommodation to be had there too within the park itself.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Damaraland by Phil Atkinson
Fantastic scenery and plenty of animals hidden away in the scenery.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A wonderful few weeks in an extraordinary country. We will be back as much more to see
We booked very late really, early August but our tour organiser, Lilly of Great Explorations Namibia, pulled out all the stops to ensure we had our agreed car and accommodation which was great. Time is always an issue with trips as there is way too much to see so compromise has to be part of the trip. I have written this in the order that we drove around Namibia rather than by favourites.
The weather we experienced was varied, it was still winter so cold at night and in the morning inland but temperatures hitting 30C+ by mid morning. We felt safe everywhere although you need to be sensible and follow the same precautions you would at home or any other European City that I have been to.
We started with a quick overnight stay on the edge of the Kalahari, a great introduction. Even from that first night, we had sightings of assorted antelope, baboon, huge numbers of birds which was great.
We then drove across to Sesriem in the Namib desert. An interesting introduction to Namibia’s roads but great fun too. During our stay at Sesriem we had a early morning hot air balloon flight over the mountains and dunes, it was absolutely amazing, well worth the cost. We also walked on the dunes and visited Deadvlei, an unreal and almost spiritual location, early morning is best as it gets very hot later.
Our next stopover was Swakopmund, much cooler as it’s by the Atlantic. Great town, lots to see, very good restaurants and opportunities for many experiences. We did a 4x4 trip across the dunes to Sandwich Harbour, it was a combination of history, eco awareness and some amazing driving between the dunes and the sea as well as hurtling up and down them too. Surprised at the extent of the wildlife we saw on the trip too. A kayak trip around Pelican Point was ace, mobbed by curious Cape Fur seals and overseen by flamingoes and pelicans.
After a few days we drove up to Twyfelfontein through some eerily awesome scenery. We started by driving north along the Skeleton Coast with its shipwrecks and dunes then up into the high mountains through an area a bit like Monument Valley in my mind. Again, despite the barren nature of the countryside we saw lots of antelope, Oryx in particular, elephants, giraffe and birds aplenty. We had time to chill here, do some walking and exercise as well as go on a game drive along the Huab river to find desert adapted giraffe and elephants, which we did. There is a lot of art and history in this area along with odd geological features.
We then had a few days south of Etosha which were great. Plenty of game, great food, friendly locals and great views to enjoy. The bird life, especially birds of prey, was almost overwhelming and we saw zebra, elephant and giraffe regularly plus all of the local antelope including kudu, springbok, oryx to name but a few.
Etosha National Park was the highlight though. Self driving whilst viewing lion, giraffe, elephant, white and black rhino, and a multitude of plains game was amazing. We saw, at close quarters, a herd of 25 elephant walking across the road just metres from our car bonnet, two black rhino, a cheetah and her cubs as well as lions feeding on baby rhino. The bird life was prolific, many that I had never seen in my life. This whole experience was further boosted by night time visits to the floodlit waterholes at Okaukuejo and Halali, both within the Etosha NP. Staying in the park was fantastic as you could be on the road by around 7:00am until 7:00pm if you so desired. We spent four days in and around the park, amazing and relatively inexpensive.
On the way back to Windhoek we spent a few days at Okonjima Plains Camp, home of the Africat Foundation. We learnt about the problems of the overlaps between man and wildlife and also about the educational work being done with local people, fascinating. Also saw some more cheetah and had a very close encounter with a leopard, magnificent, before going for some self guided walks in the bush.
On top of all of that it was fascinating to learn about the history and customs of the different tribes in Namibia, the ecology of the place and last but not least, spend time in some of the most amazing and varied countryside that I have ever seen. One of the best trips of my life during which we drove over 3,000km in 17 days over dirt and gravel roads but it was a fantastic experience, capped by nice people, good food, beer and wine and just a great feeling.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent!
Best safari ever ! We had Kennedy as our guide.. omg he is the best !!!! Splendide accommodation. Everything was perfect. Planning to go back for sure
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very good profesional, they make me perfect trip and my exige and
I close a economic tour and the service Was better i hoped. Our guide Was very profesional and he Was worry for us all trip
Respeta again
PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect and fully professional organization, definitely to be recommended
Our 5-day tour was very well planned and executed. All the lodges and the tour were in accordance with the offer, and we actually got a complimentary upgrade of one of camps which was a great surprise. Everything was greatly taken care of, from the process of the reservation until the last moment of safari. Alex has been super responsive via whatsapp and we were amazed that during our trip he has been contacting lodges himself to check all the details of our stay, our lunch packages etc. But the greatest part of safari was our guide Ellie who took the best care of us. He was very communicative, spoke perfect English, spotted all the animals instantly, made us feel safe and taken care of. And he also explained to us the complicated life on savanna. It was a great experience the whole safari and we are thankful to Mama Savana to make it so special.
SK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experienced guides
We did both our 4-day safari and Mt Meru hike with Meijo safari's. We enjoyed both activities a lot. Guides are very experienced.
For the safari we saw many animals. Our guide knew exactly how to see the animals from close by and had good knowledge.
The Mt Meru hike was good. Sleeping huts are used by all tour operators. Basic but good. Guide and cook were good. Ate very good food! Porters support well, especially during summit day.