Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

For me there are so many - sunrise at Sossusvlei, Rock Paintings at Twyfelfontein or seeing group Cheetahs cross the road in Etosha. On a trip like this it really is impossible to pick one great moment as each experience is a highlight in its own right.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Shane, Freddie and Happy were an amazing crew - working tirelessly to make the trip a success. These guys made us feel so welcome and comfortable from day one.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Travelling in November is very hot during the day (30-35C) and can be quite cold at night (4-8C) a three season bag is ideal; however as you head north it can warm up a lot over night and you may find yourself sleeping in just your liner. Plugs are large 3 pin ones - if you don't have one you can get one on arrival (the China Shop in Rehoboth does the best ones!). We had a couple of days where it was quite windy so be prepared to deal with some blown dust (if you are a photographer make sure you have suitable protection for your kit). Rand is accepted everywhere and can be bought in advance and changed when you return home (whereas N$ cannot).

Most Inspirational Moment

All of it, but there was one that will remain with us always………a cheetah with her kill in Etosha N.P. Sossusvlei a unique and unforgettable experience.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ronnie and Jonas were excellent in every sense of the word, knowledgeable and fantastic travel companions. Needless to say the food that was prepared was delightful, we even suggested that they could put their recipes in a book which could be purchased as a souvenir.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It can become very cold at night, so come well prepared. SA Rand is accepted everywhere and it can be obtained in the UK, so need to worry!

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing 2 rhino bringing there young to the waterhole one was still suckling. Watching & listening to a lion lap water whilst a rhino slurped at the other side of a waterhole - then getting a full blown lion roaring session. The cessna flight back over the areas just visited is well worth the cost - it puts the vastness of everything in perspective and shows just how little is not sand!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Washing can be done for you at the lodge in Swakopmond - fixed price for a basket load. All the toilets were good with paper - but it is single ply and rough...keep all your N$1 coins as you need these for the service station loos. Take a water bottle as the water is drinkable everywhere - although a bit yucky at Brandberg. Good binoculars make a huge difference to seeing all the extra creatures at the waterholes. Camping mats provided are good thick ones - nothing extra needed. It is VERY cold after dark in July so take lots of layers. The Cessna flight from Swakopmond is brilliant but you will need to book it asap as they only take out 5 people at a go. Also the restaurants need booking - we were lucky and got tables but it was only for 2 people.

Most Inspirational Moment

As with all good trips, there are so many. Dawn on Dune 45, visiting Dead Vlei - a personal ambition - the optional Cheetah safari at sunset (much better than the included Cheetah Conservation centre), the animals, seeing rhino at night, hearing lions roaring during the night, seeing "millions of zebras" and how they manage their time at the waterhole and not forgetting the mating lions..

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ronney is right up there as one of the best guides I have ever travelled with. He works incredibly hard, takes great care of the clients, anticipates needs, is a great spotter, has a sense of humour and is a delight. Also, he makes sure that the locals are benefitting from the trip, by ensuring that absolutely nothing is wasted. He is a credit both to Exodus and Namibia.

Advice for Potential Travellers

1. There are two laundry opportunities - in Swakop and in Etosha, plus some of the campsites offer handwashing facilities 2. The trip notes don´t mention that nearly every campsite has access to a swimming pool! 3. The local team don´t have DEET. Share yours with them and leave the leftovers behind. They are very grateful! 4. If, like me, you want to be sure of contact with home through the trip, you can buy a local mobile phone, SIM card and voucher at the airport - I paid 239 Namibian dollars for mine and donated it at the end of the trip 5. We had the opportunity to donate anything we didn´t want to take back at the end of the trip - do it. 6. You will get dirty. Dont take anything smart or find a way to pack it separately as everything will be covered in sand. 7. Consider the single supplement for the tent as it is a small space to share with someone you don´t know!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Sunrise from the top of Dune 45 and the rapid descent afterwards (straight down the side of the dune is the most fun way!). The wealth of animals on the trip - seeing our first desert elephant, our first gemsbok, our first zebra, giraffe, lion, rhino etc. We were also lucky enough to see meerkats and rock hyrax, as well as getting up close and personal with a horned viper!! This was balanced with the relaxed atmosphere of Swakopmund, which was a great contrast to the other elements of the trip.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ronney was truly outstanding and was the factor that turned a good trip into a very good one. His wealth of knowledge of his country, landscape and wildlife was truly impressive and his enthusiasm was always unwavering, even when he has been driving the safari truck for many hours! Ronney was ably supported on this trip by Hapi and Reuben, who both worked incredibly hard to ensure the camps were set up each night and that we were well-fed and watered at all times. We've never seen tents go up or come down so fast!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

When climbing Dune 45 - pace yourself - it is MUCH harder than it looks!! Travel with South African Rand as it is not always easy to get to bank on this trip to change money (and Rand and Namibian Dollars are interchangeable throughout the country). If possible try to take smaller denominations of Rand as some of the larger notes can be hard to change due to cheap prices in the country! Many of the campsites are in remote locations and although very well appointed, be prepared to share your shower with large insects (crickets, moths, locusts etc.) and lizards!

Most Inspirational Moment

Although not included in the itinerary, I took the advice of an Exodus member of staff and booked on a flight over the Namib desert from Swakopmund. To say it took my breath away is an understatement, I haven't seen as much sand since the last time I sat through "Lawrence of Arabia"! Also, flying up the coast and seeing Swakopmund almost clinging onto Africa by its fingertips was pretty amazing. The best thing of all was that it only cost about £160 for two and a half hours which was very good value.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Steven's command of english wasn't bad but he did sometimes seem to be struggling to find the right words so it helped if you'd read the trip notes so you could help him along. He did, however, really know his job and he was very helpful in arranging the flight above, even to the extent of walking down to the travel agency with me.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Contrary to the impression given in the Trip Info, some of the driving days were very long and on at least one occasion we were erecting tents in darkness. Added to which the dirt roads become pretty punishing after a while so there were days which I endured rather than enjoyed. With regard to the camping, the tents were good and the food even better but be warned that it can still be very cold at night in August / September so pack accordingly.

Most Inspirational Moment

The first night at the water hole at Etosha was just incredible.  5 minutes after sitting down over 30 elephants came down to drink and the next few hours flew by as a succession of animals came & went. Unforgettable.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ronnie was great.  Friendly, funny, knowledgeable and with a great eye for wildlife!

Advice for Potential Travellers

We followed the advice of others on here and took South African rand with us.  It's accepted everywhere and saved the hassle of changing money on arrival.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you plan to quadbike then bring gloves and a sports bra!

Most Inspirational Moment

For me, it was the visit to Sossusvlei, where we saw the sunset and sand change colour as the sun rose from the top of 'Dune 45' and then the trip to Dead Vlei. You get a choice of going to either Hidden or Dead Vlei but definitely choose the latter.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ronney was superb! I had read most of the reviews on the website before and saw his name kept cropping up, and I was delighted that the very complimentary comments were not misplaced. He was amazingly knowledgeable, had eyes like a proverbial hawk, so could pick out the tiniest animal or bird and identify it for us. He (and his team of Jonas and 'Happy') were absolutely amazing - incredibly hard-working, the fastest tent constructors I have ever seen and the food was absolutely stunning every night, ranging from fish and chips, chicken curry, springbok stew and cottage pie. Everyone on my trip was amazed with the food!

Advice for Potential Travellers

To be honest, there's nothing here that's not either been said before or fairly obvious, but here are my comments:1. Get South African currency before you go. The Namibian dollar is pegged to the SA rand and is accepted everywhere. Saves finding ATMs (though to be fair, this wasn't difficult).2. Bring a spare battery for your camera. Charging facilities are available (both on the bus and at every campsite), but it's good to be cautious!3. I found a pillow case was handy to stuff my fleece and other clothes items in to make up a pillow. Hardened campers might not need one, but it helped me sleep!4. The adapter you need is the 3 round pins that are marketed for South Africa.5. The water at every camp site was fine. Many people did buy bottled water (and there were plenty of supermarket stops to stock up on supplies) but I didn't. I reckon that at most campsites it taster better than my water back in the UK. 6. A notebook can be a good way of keeping track of all the species you see, if that's your thing.7. Don't bother booking an additional game drive. We saw well over 100+ species from the van and the waterhole at the first Etosha campsite is floodlit; we saw 26 elephant at the waterhole simultaneously one night and then 6 rhino the next.8. I didn't think the books that exodus 'recommended' were all that great. The van has 7 or 8 reference books (birds, mammals, insects, flowers, geology etc etc) so personally, I wouldn't buy any of the books they list and just get a general guide instead, such as the 'Insight Guide' of Namibia (10.99 on amazon), which was very very good. Highly recommended for general information on the areas you visit.9. The flight via Frankfurt is a bit of a pain, but that's all part of the experience! Just check that your hold luggage is being checked in all the way to Windhoek on the way out, or Heathrow on the way back.10. I travelled in July/Aug 2013 and we had great weather (about 7-12C at night and 24-28C by day), bar two very windy days at the start at Sesriem and Solitaire. For the most part it was a dry heat, so all you need are plenty of t-shirts, one or two long-sleeved tops and a fleece. I took a down jacket as so many other reviewers said how cold it was but never used it; maybe we were lucky? Anyway, it helped make a good pillow. Zip off trousers were good as it meant it was easy to keep warm in the cooler evenings and mornings. I took walking boots but they really weren't necessary. Sandals were best most of the time. 11. I can wholeheartedly recommend the quad biking whilst in Swakopmund. Great fun! Brad Pitt's been there 13 times, apparently. 12. Ear plugs are good to muffle the sound of any snorers in the group!!!  

Most Inspirational Moment

A group of 20 elephants socialising around the waterhole at Halali. We saw maternal and sisterly love, burgeoning male adult naughtiness to a young female and the selfish fun of young elephants chasing impala away from a drink. All life was there! Cheetah conservation talks were fascinating in terms of the scientific advances being made in the care and protection of these magnificent animals. African sunsets, dawns and starry skies take some beating of course. Return to Africa is imperative for me.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ronney was good fun, an excellent driver and brilliant at animal and bird spotting out of the corner of his eye whilst keeping both hands on the wheel. His zoological knowledge was impressive.Jonas joined in the fun and was a great camp-fire cook.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We had flight problems with checking in people and luggage for a through flight via two airlines: Heathrow to Frankfurt [BA] and Frankfurt to Windhoek [Air Namibia] . People and luggage got left behind. Check with your Exodus contact before you go to find current advice.It really was cold at certain stages: fleece and head-covering much appreciated.