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.
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
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 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 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.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly, responsive, knowledgeable, and very helpful!
Highly recommend doing a tour with Zanzi Tours. They were very transparent with the pricing and process and we got exactly what we wanted. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and our tour operator was able to accommodate a last minute schedule change.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The tour operator should be given kudos for hiring our tour guide, Elvis. He was the best.
I would and have described this trip as rugged. A major portion of the trip was spent in our vehicle on rough roads, which are typical for viewing the sites in Namibia. Thank goodness for Elvis, our guide who kept it entertaining and made regular stops. I'm not sure that on a couple of those days, flying in a bush plane wouldn't have been a better option. Obviously, adding to the cost. The only real complaint that I have is the vehicle which was rented for our trip. They often say, know your audience. We were 4 women, 2 in their mid-60's and 2 in their mid-70's and short. We all were challenged getting into the vehicle whose first step was sitting at least 3 feet off of the ground. Eventually, Elvis bought a stool which made it much easier to get into the vehicle. Having been on safaris in the past, I know that there are All Terrain Vehicles that have easier boarding methods. Communications with CO was great. They responded timely and thoroughly. I can't say enough great things about our guide, Elvis. And, everything ran smoothly both due to CO and Elvis. We never had to wonder what was going on. If I were to rate this tour on a scale of 10, I would rate it an 8 out of 10.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Embodies customer service
Great working with Risper and her team! Very reliable and responds to any concerns the customer has. You are guaranteed a great experience with Tekko tours.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Of Kenya's 7 days Safari
Our 7 days safari in Kenya was nothing short of an awesome experience filled with adventure and lots of wildlife spotting. After a short phone conversation with David that we found while searching online we agreed on a mid-range budget safari. David sent us few proposed itineraries and with our budget he was able to craft an itinerary that well fitted within our budget without pushing us to get expensive accommodations that other agencies were doing and also with minimal deposits to affirm the safari. We were met at the airport upon arrival, and they transferred us to our Nairobi hotel where we stayed for a night getting ready to begin our safari the following day. Alex was our guide, and he was always very accommodative, professional and attentive to everything. He made sure we saw most of the wild animals including the very rare wild dogs while at Samburu Park.
The choice of hotels surpassed our expectations with friendly staff and good African, Asian and English cuisines.
the whole tour was just incredible, and I cannot hesitate to recommend it.
Thank you to David and Alex for making our tour such an incredible and unforgettable experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A excellent and unforgettable Safari trip！
A excellent Safari trip！Ben is a great guide！He is very very knowledgeable ，not noly animals but also Kenya history , culture etc.
He is also a strict “professor” who supervises us to take a lots of great photos. I even started planning to come here for Christmas on the third day of the trip，thanks to Ben！
