We followed Eric and Carol's 2005 Bots, SA and Zambia trip in 06, and this year we went to 4 Wilderness camps in Namibia over a 2 week period. Had a good time - it is a very dry country in many places.

Wow, Edward, you can't get away with that!!!!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Mad.gif" alt="" /> More info, and PICTURES!!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/impatient.gif" alt="" />

to post pix must I have a URL?

Yes, you have to have them online somewhere. Although there are lots of free services out there..

We also have the general photo section on the main index, but you would need to reduce your picture size to under 250K --- normally you could resize to say 600 pixels wide with the automatic adjustment, then do a save as in jpep format and compress the file a little bit. Depends on the size of the original picture. Also reduce the dpi to say 100 as anything more than that on the web is not seen anyway.

Thanks to you both- I am in the jet lag mode and was hoping for a direct upload from the camera method , like some sites allow. So I will pass on the pix for now. But am open for questions - we went to Desert Rhino Camp, Skeleton Coast camp , Ongava Lodge and Kulala Deset lodge in that order.

Ok, so what is the comparision between Botswania and Nambia first and second about the resorts that you stayed at.

I know that is a huge question, but one thing at a time maybe! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Namib has less animals and sometimes they are farther away from you than in the Bots Okavango Delta area, but the Ongava/Etosha area in Namibia seemed to have the most animals , and seemed a little more like Botswana than the rest of Namibia.

Some of the people we met at Skeleton Coast invited us to evening meals at two of the more upscale lodges, (Little Ongava and Little Kulala) so we got to see those- we were staying at the slightly less expensive Ongava Lodge and Kulala Desert lodges. Little Ongava in the public areas seemed a lot like Ongava lodge and was only 200 feet away (we walked with a guide) and had a higher but farther away view of the same watering hole.
Little Kulala was a lot like Vumbura Plains in Botswana- Pros- large elegant rooms with huge stone baths with really high design public areas - looked like a New York City Penthouse . Cons- some of the paint seemed peeling on the decks of the private unit, private pool was a little murky and there were large grasshopper bugs , about 1 every square meter- none of those at Little kulala- vegetation difference I think.
Sefofane air transfers were great.
Red dunes were beautiful at Sossalivile (sp) as was the balloon ride. we liked Kulala desert lodge a lot. we liked Namibia. Saw More self drive people. Few Americans - Brits French, Italians, S Africans Swiss etc

Edward--thanks. How much was the balloon ride?? I heard they are very pricy. Did you stay at Vumbura Plains?? We stayed at Little Vumbura and while we enjoyed our time there, there really were not that many animals that we saw, compared to Savuti and Mombo. Mombo was very high class, but I have heard that VP is really over the top silly for being in the bush. I surely hope that we will get back to Africa some day! Did you ever get any pictures uploaded online somewhere???

Balloon ride was like US$400 a person.

Not this trip but in In 2006 we were at Vumbura Plains- lots of animals,
V Plains public areas are very elegant in a good African theme. Good staff.
V P Rooms, with private pool and private fenced patio area are very high design and very large maybe 39 ft x 39 ft and 15- 20 ft high. One draw back is that the architech never stayed there, as 3 sides are screened with only pull down loose shades which the wind blows right through- we about froze to death- wished we were back at Savuti in the warm tent. No pix yet of Namibia

Sorry, I guess my note wasn't clear, as I knew you had stayed at VP before, not this trip. Being cold in Africa just seemed a non sequitor, huh?? Couldn't believe how cold it gets at night!! Would appreciate seeing the pictures if you ever get the chance.

I put a pic of the balloon on the general photo section/
Can you post more than one pic in one message? every time I added one it deleted the first one

Yes, you can post more than one picture in a single note. I am 'techie challenged' in that respect, so you should ask Eric about that.

Overall we really liked the Namibia trip. We used the same agent we had used for Botswana / Zambia / South Africa in 2006 (kinda sorta following Eric and Carol's trip route in 05) and we were again with Wilderness Safaris who took care of us very well and managed their camps very well. Our agent, Roualeyn de Haas (not a TTOL sponsor but I want to mention him) owns the PioneerAfrica.net company originally located in Charleston SC but now is in Santa Fe New Mexico. Roualeyn did an excellent and detailed job in planning our 2 week trip, as he is a Wildernss Rep, and he originally lived in South Africa and was involved in Safari Camp Management so he knew the answers to our pre trip questions.