Nature Travel Namibia

NTN were total professionals. Their suggestions for lodges in Kalahari and Okavango were exactly what we wanted and the small flights around the area went off like clockwork.

The whole trip will stay in our memory forever. Deception Valley Lodge is stunning. Guides Wynand and Coco gave us a real insight into their beautiful reserve and to see two young lions on the airstrip, just feet away from the jeep, was the highlight of the trip. The food at the lodge is amazing and the service second to none.

Delta Camp in Okavango was different but you must go!! With hippos and crocodiles on the banks, the mokoro trips are simply a totally unique was of seeing Africa. Our guide, Knowledge, was a total star and the whole team at Delta looked after us so well.

We can recommend NTN for your next safari with hesitation!!

Countries visited:

11People gave this
a kudu

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 succesful 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 wonderful. 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 excellent boat trips on Zambezi, Chobe, Okavango and Kwando Rivers. Sunsets were stunning!
We stayed in very comfortable and peaceful 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 specialties 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 occurred this year. Actually forests were very quiet, and Nick had to work hard to find us some difficult birds in that conditions. On the other hand, and certainly because of the drought, this trip was very successful for small raptors as African Cuckoo-hawk, Lizard Buzzard, Western Banded Snake Eagle, African Goshawk, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Little Sparrowhawk, Eurasian Hobby, Dickinson's Kestrel... We had excellent sightings of a Lanner hunting a Cape Turtle Dove, a Dickinson's Kestrel drinking at a water hole and a pair of Little Sparrowhawks breeding.

Mammals sightings were also great, with 45 species.

The best was the day spent with a pack 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 running 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 qualities as a guide, his professionalism, his excellent 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 successful trip with him.

Countries visited:

7People gave this
a kudu

Three of us spent two weeks traveling over Namibia, Botswana and ending in Vic Falls. Esmari put together a tailored-made programme with stays in the most iconic places from the Namib Desert, Naukluft Park, Swakopmund to Etosha, the Caprivi strip, the Okavango Delta and Chobe and ending in Victoria Falls. We loved her readiness to address our specific requests.

The combination of landscapes, colors, wildlife and people was simply stunning. We had a great guide, Lucky Gaoeb who drove us around and helped us discover nature and the countries. Super professional and passionate about his country. He knows every animal and plant! Namib Desert is a must do, keep enough time to discover it and walk around. For wildlife, Etosha Park is a must but if you have time also visit Mahangu reserve were you will have a closeness to wildlife. You cannot miss the Okavango delta, and if you can do a helicopter ride to get an aerial view of this immensity of water. All lodges selected by Nature Travel were excellent. Particularly nice were the Gondwana Namib Desert Resort in Sesriem and Musharra Lodge in Etosha.

All and all, highly recommendable! Do visit Namibia ????

Countries visited:

12People gave this
a kudu

Our private tour took us through astounding desert scenery, to the tops of unimaginable dunes and to sightings of incredible wildlife at fabulous watering holes. We started with a visit to the incredible dunes of Sossusvlei. Our guide, Charl, ensured we got to them in time to photograph them in the best morning light possible. Climbing to the top was a wonderful experience as was wandering among the 900 year old trees on the salt flat. From there it was off to Swakopmund and a safari to look for the little five in the adjacent Namibia Desert. Our local guide, Chantal, was amazing with her knowledge and ability to track the tiny creatures - from the Sidewinder snake to the Palmetto lizard.

Our flight, arranged for by Nick, over the Namib Desert was truly amazing. To see the dunes from the air reinforced our great decision to have seen and climbed them. The final part of our experience with Charl and Nature Travel Namibia was the safari in Etosha Park. We saw an amazing array of animals - from lions and elephants at a watering hole to an impala staring down and challenging a leopard to chase him. The leopard didn’t! We enjoyed mostly excellent accommodation throughout the trip along with very good meals. Charl was an incredible wealth of knowledge and willingly shared that knowledge. We all felt very comfortable and safe while he was driving - which was quite a lot. The distances we had to travel over gravel roads was the only downside, although unavoidable, of the trip. Thanks again for a terrific trip.

We can’t recommend Nick, Charl and Nature Travel Namibia enough.

Countries visited:

5People gave this
a kudu

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.

Deborah Jaffe and David Drake

Countries visited:

7People gave this
a kudu

We just game back to Finland from our two weeks Namibia-tour. This has been our dream for a long time and now: wow... just wow-wow-wow. We could tell so much about everything we have experienced and enjoyed and how wonderful everything was. But... we say: perfect in every way. We do not know how something could have been better.

We can not thank enough Nicolette, who was so helpful and kind in advance and made all reservations and listened our changes and wishes and made every of them possible! Such a perfect personalised service, and how in earth she can be so fast!

And Marc, our guide. Ten points in expertise about nature, animals, history etc. Ten points in making our holiday so easy and relaxing. Ten points in taking care of us and our needs. Ten points in exceeding our hopes and dreams. Ten points in beeing just a wonderful person and part of our holiday, not just a guide. And ten points in listening to finnish sense of humour...

Nicolette and Marc really made our dream come true, and even more. Now we are not dreaming of a white christmas, but we are dreaming of a new trip/holiday with help of Nicolette, Marc and Nature Travel Namibia.

Countries visited:

4People gave this
a kudu

Me and my boyfriend had never gone to Namibia or any other country in the southern part of Africa. We were a little bit worried, especially about hiring an agency we had never used before (not even heard about, as Brazil people don't usually go to African countries other than South Africa).

However, since the beginning of our contact with Nature Travel (many thanks here to San-Mari, who was always kind and helpful), we were very well supported in every single thing we asked: general overview of the places we would visit, details about other options, how much time to spend, price targets, etc. One of the most amazing things about Nature Travel was that, even though the trip was being planned for us, when we had an idea that didn't seem very well for them (for example: too much time in a place, too many distant places, etc.), they would tell us the truth and argue with us (in a nice manner, obviously) why we shouldn't do that. They really cared about what would be best for us!

With all that being said, we cannot say another thing than that we had a wonderful time in Namibia: it was certainly a trip that we’ll never forget. We would like to thank the whole Nature Travel team for their assistance, especially San Mari and Marius. The latter was our guide throughout our trip and we REALLY had a wonderful time with him. All his knowledge, kindness, professionalism and good humor contributed a lot to make our trip as incredibly unforgettable as it was. He was always trying to read what would be best for us. We could see that the thing he wanted the most was to give us the best experience possible. We will definitely continue planning trips with Nature Travel and recommend them to all our friend and family!!

Countries visited:

5People gave this
a kudu

NTN are the best - Nicks attention to detail / knowledge whilst booking a tailor-made itinerary for friends meeting up from different sides of the globe was superb, answering many silly questions before finally booking!

We were lucky enough to have Kit as our guide, he is great company and a friend, he knew exactly where to find animals, and has a great knowledge and taste in wine - ALWAYS let him choose the tipple at dinner..!!

Very efficient at checking us into all of our accommodation too - NTN use superior lodges and bases, all of whom deserve a 5 star review (and will be getting)
Wish I could give a 10 star review!!
Can't wait for the next trip!!

Countries visited:

11People gave this
a kudu

I contacted Nick Buys, the founder of Nature Travel Namibia. I told him exactly what I hoped to do and see in Namibia and he created an itinerary specifically designed to my desires that far exceeded my expectations. Nick and his entire team were so professional and easy to work with, and they gave me the adventure of a lifetime camping in the Caprivi Strip. Traveling with Nick was like getting shown around a new part of the world with an old friend who knows everything about the place. I could have spent months in the Caprivi and never found some of the off-the-beaten-track places Nick took us straight to. Nick is so knowledgeable about African wildlife, and he is an especially talented ornithologist. I will never forget the eight days I spent with Nick in the Caprivi Strip for as long as I live. You will not regret choosing Nature Travel Namibia for your next safari. I couldn't recommend them more.

Countries visited:

9People gave this
a kudu

Three friends and I went on the Conservation Tour in May and June. It was a wonderful experience. The guide, Previous, was excellent: knowledgeable, easy-going, great sense of humor, helpful, and a skilled driver. The vehicle was roomy, with large windows. The accommodations were excellent, as were the included tours. I highly recommend this journey through a fascinating country.

Countries visited:

6People gave this
a kudu