Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Climbing Dune 45. Seeing Deadvlei. Flying over the desert. Spotting leopard, lions, rhino (both black and white)...., including 4 cubs playing. waterhole in Etosha outstanding. The vastness of the landscape, the huge red skies.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Shane was wonderful: funny, organised, gave all the correct information, has a great knowledge and love for his country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take warm clothes for early mornings. Scarf or buff for the dust. Some of the extra costs are out of date so check before booking (extra game drive at Etosha was double quoted price). Take Rand, they are accepted everywhere. Tap Water not safe at White Lady lodge and we were advised not to drink tap water in Etosha. Malaria prophylaxis advice is variable: we were all told different things. Felt very safe. Advice is not to go into Windhoek at night and only catch hotel shuttle. Food and drink costs very cheap. Lovely people. Full on trip but you will love it.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many to choose from. One highlight was seeing rare mountain zebra at the waterhole outside our room at Weltevrede Guest Farm. Another was seeing multiple humpback whales during the optional scenic flight. Overall though just the vast amount of animals we saw throughout the entire trip.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Shane Katjirua was fantastic. He was very organised, patient, helpful and funny. He was a mine of imformation. His driving was exceptional and he was able to spot wildlife whilst on game drives that we missed. He really made the holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do take advantage of the optional trips. Especially the optional game drive in Etosha National Park. We also did the Sossusvlei Scenic Flight by Eagle Eye Aviation, depending on group size the plane can be very small and hot, but it was definitely worth doing. Also highly reccomend the Ocean Adventures seal and dolphin trip from Swakopmund.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many highlights on this particular holiday.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I cannot rate our Group Leader Shane Katjirua more highly. He was extremely knowledgeable and shared so much of his expertise with us all. He was highly efficient in all his planning and organisation and was extremely helpful to all members of the group with any particular queries/questions they might have had. He was simply amazing in his ability to spot things of interest from afar, be it animals or birds and without his ‘eagle eye’ we would have missed so many things. During our time at Etosha he always seemed to have our vehicle at the right waterhole at the right time, thus enabling us to get the most enjoyment from our game drives and see so much varied wildlife. His driving, on the lengthy journeys and varying Namibian road surfaces was superb. He was always smiling and cheerful and he was particularly helpful to us with his efforts in trying to get to the root of a problem that occurred towards the end of the holiday. This involved our onward transportation, which we had paid for, in advance of the trip but which the company in Namibia, with whom we were taking the onward travel had, it seemed, not received payment for. Our guide spent some considerable time on our behalf trying to sort all this out.

Advice for Potential Travellers

On looking into various options for holidays in Namibia, I received advice from various holiday companies. Many suggested that the option to fly from camp to camp was advisable since, because of the huge distances to cover, more time could be usefully spent in the camps rather than long days travelling. I had initially thought that this sounded good advice. However, we ultimately chose Exodus and this Lodge holiday because, we have enjoyed excellent holidays with Exodus before and the timing of this trip suited us absolutely perfectly, tying in with another commitment we had in Namibia and which followed on from the ‘Discover Namibia’ group trip. I would say, that although some of the driving days were lengthy, had we opted to fly from lodge to lodge as suggested by other companies, we would have missed so much of this wonderful country. We would not have seen so much wildlife as we travelled along the road, along with scenes of local African life in general and our experience of the country would certainly have been the poorer for that. There was just so much to see as we travelled along the road. The varying contrasts and impressive scenery would have been lost to us.

Most Inspirational Moment

That's a tough one as there were many. I'm not generally a big animal fan but here when you see a herd of giraffes in full gallop or a bull elephant about to attack the truck you are sitting in or a pride of lions making a complete blunder of attacking a large herd of zebras and wildebeast around a water hole, you cannot fail to be amazed!

Thoughts on Group Leader

We had a great tour guide in Ronney Kavari. I don't know how he managed to drive as well as be our guide. He an excellent game spotter and also knew his stuff on every aspect of Namibia.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Firstly regarding currency just buy South African Rand they don't tell you this but you can easily get it here in the UK and it works out as 1 Rand to 1 Namibian Dollar accepted throughout Namibia. Credit and debit cards are widely accepted but you will need some cash for some activities and some eateries. In the main though the card is good in most places. Secondly there are early starts, the distances are huge and a lot of roads are rough which makes it rather tiring but worth it. Thirdly we went on 24th March and didn't encounter any mosquitoes. I imagine that's a different story when it gets wetter.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many highlights made this trip an adventure . I enjoyed treking to the White Lady rock paintings through Valley 45 , climbing the sand dunes in the Namib Desert, stargazing and viewing herds of zebra and giraffes move gracefully across the Etosha pan.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ronney Kavari was fabulous. He looked after us throughout the trip , safely drove our overlander and informed us in depth about his beautiful country and people.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you want to experience a stunningly beautiful remote region then go to Namibia. The accommodation and food is very good and in great locations. Yes there are long driving days but regular stops and incredible views make up for it and the overlander was fun.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many amazing moments including: climbing Dune 45 in the early morning before seeing the otherworldly views of Deadvlei, watching for wildlife and spotting Zebra and Spring Boks at the small watering hole just behind our lodges near Solitaire, seeing the milky way and shooting stars on several clear evenings and of course seeing so much amazing wildlife on the game drives and around the watering holes in Etosha National Park. The amount of wildlife we saw really exceeded our expectations.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide Omumborombonga (Sam) was fantastic. He really went above and beyond, sorting out any small issues, driving the truck and giving us a real insight into the country. In particular, in Etosha National Park he did extra games drives when he had heard that Lions were close by and ensured we had every opportunity to see as much as we could. This was to the point where we did not need to pay for any additional game drives as we saw so much. He was also relaxed and flexible in his approach.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We were there in July and you defo needed some warm clothes with you. Also be aware that in some places it took a while for the food to arrive once you had ordered, so maybe have a pre-dinner snack if you get hangry!!

Most Inspirational Moment

The sand dunes on the ocean edge were awesome.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very professional , funny and ensured we had a great trip

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make the most of each day, as it’s a fast paced trip through different environments.

Most Inspirational Moment

The waterhole at Okaukuejo Resort was amazing for sightings of the wild animals especially in the evening. The 4 x4 trip to Sandwich harbour across the dunes to the coast was absolutely brilliant.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Absolutely brilliant. Very experienced, excellent level of knowledge, great sense of humour and thoroughly professional, he made this trip for me.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We had to ring before hand to check about the budget and the exodus person was spot on his recommendation. But it would have been useful to have in the trip notes that you can’t get Namibian dollars in the UK but South African ran is accepted on a one for one basis. Also you use to include in the trip notes recommended reading prior to the visit - both fiction and non fiction and this was always useful. I would recommend to others to have a brief read of the history of the country before you go as it helps to understand what they are trying to achieve and progress to date.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing Namibia was a great experience, dunes, landscape,game drive, everything was amazing.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader was amazing, a lot of knowledged, funny and very professional. Hakuna matata!!

Most Inspirational Moment

The vastness and beauty of the Namib desert sand dunes, both seen from the ground and the air. I took a pleasure flight from Swakopmund over the desert and coast. At the lodge in Etosha I wandered down to the viewing area beside the waterhole to the sight of twenty elephants of all sizes and age that just called in for a drink, a couple of Giraffes in the background waiting their turn. You don’t experience that in front of the television.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Shane was our guide and host for the trip and he looked after us so well. Very knowledgeable and proud of his country, and knowledgeable of the wild life that he keenly shared with us. Nothing was too much trouble for him, professional and a joy to be with.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t be put off by joining a group of strangers, they are there for the same reason that you are, to explore, experience and enjoy, so will be like minded. Desert roads and passing vehicles kick up a lot of dust , With the windows and roof open it can get a bit dusty , take a snood or a scarf to pop over the face. Although there is not so much traffic so not a big deal. Most places took cards but a few didn’t so have a few $$ in cash Some early starts and long days, so go to bed early with a book and relax for the next days adventure. If you get a chance take the pleasure flight from Swakopmund, may be a bit expensive but worth it.