Okapuka Game Drive

Hi Noks, Thank you for your review. We are glad you enjoyed the experience and saw even more wildlife than expected, especially considering the heat when animals can sometimes be harder to spot. It is also wonderful to hear that your guide's knowledge went beyond the animals and included the trees and surrounding environment. We will gladly pass your appreciation on to the guiding team. Thank you for travelling with Chameleon Safaris. Kind regards, Gavin

Hi Maria, Thank you for your review. We are glad the Okapuka game drive was such a good experience, and that the animals and the guiding stayed with you. We will pass your thanks to the guide. It means a great deal that you learned so much along the way, and that the surprise at the end of the tour rounded the afternoon off well. Thank you for travelling with Chameleon Safaris. Kind regards, Gavin

Hi Tami, Thank you for your review. We are glad the Okapuka game drive was a great experience, and that it felt easy to reach from Windhoek. It is always good to hear that the guide was knowledgeable and that you would recommend the tour. Thank you for travelling with Chameleon Safaris. Kind regards, Gavin

Warm greetings from Chameleon Safaris, Thank you for your review. We are glad the Okapuka game drive felt like an easy outing from Windhoek, with a safe transfer and a good wait at the lodge before the safari. JP will be happy to hear this. A safe driver and a straightforward afternoon are exactly what we want guests to remember from this day trip. Thank you for choosing Chameleon Safaris. Kind regards, Gavin

Hi Mieke, Thank you so much for your lovely review. We are delighted you had such a fantastic half-day at Okapuka. A special thank you for your kind words about Shaka and Presley. They will be very happy to hear that the pickup, the game drive, and the snacks and drinks at the end made the afternoon so enjoyable. We are glad you saw rhino, giraffe, and plenty of antelope, and that you would recommend this as a half-day outing from Windhoek. Thank you again for choosing Chameleon Safaris. Kind regards, Gavin

Hi Alex, Thank you for taking the time to write this, and for separating what worked from what did not. We are glad the animals, the picnic in the reserve, and the on-time pickup with a friendly driver made for a strong afternoon. That is the outing we want guests to have at Okapuka. You are right that the advertised 4 hours is the full activity window, including hotel pickup, transfer, lodge time, the game drive, the picnic, and the return. Time actually out on the reserve is shorter, usually around 1.5 to 2 hours. That distinction was not clear enough, and we understand why your group felt the safari itself had been sold as twice as long. We will tighten the wording so future guests know exactly how the afternoon is split. Thank you also for the note about guiding. A reserve drive should still feel attentive: animals pointed out, stops made without guests having to ask, and more than the basics. We will take that back to the team. We are sorry the timing and guiding fell short of what you expected. Thank you for saying you still enjoyed what you saw, and for giving us the chance to make the description and the guiding clearer. Kind regards, Gavin

Hi Susanne, Thank you for your lovely review. We are delighted the Okapuka afternoon was worthwhile, from Lucy the ostrich at the lodge through to the jeep drive and the picnic. Alpha will be very happy to hear this. It is wonderful that the rhinos and the calf were the highlight, and that the animals, the information, and the snacks and drinks made it such a good outing from Windhoek. Thank you for travelling with Chameleon Safaris. Kind regards, Gavin

Dear Traveler Warm Greetings from Chameleon Safaris, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are pleased to read that you found the actual Okapuka game drive delightful, and that Presley was professional and knowledgeable. Okapuka is a wonderful wildlife experience close to Windhoek, and we are glad that the game drive itself was enjoyable. We are sorry that the day’s logistics left you frustrated, and we would like to respond to the points you raised for both clarity and future travellers. Regarding the timing, Okapuka Game Reserve is located outside Windhoek, roughly a 30–45 minute drive from the city's central area. The listed duration of around four hours refers to the full excursion, including collection in Windhoek, the transfer to and from the reserve, and the game drive itself. In practice, the afternoon runs approximately as follows: the pickup routing usually starts at 12:30, with guests collected from their hotels, guesthouses, or confirmed pickup points between approximately 12:30 and 13:00. We do our best to complete this routing within about 30 minutes, although exact collection times can vary slightly depending on traffic, the number of pickup stops, and other practical circumstances on the day. Once all guests have been collected, the transfer continues to Okapuka Game Reserve outside Windhoek, with the game viewing experience beginning after arrival at the reserve. We can see how the booking platform ticket note, when read alongside a single listed start time, could have suggested being ready from 11:30 rather than from 12:30. This is, however, the first time this interpretation has been brought to our attention, and guests have generally boarded expecting the 12:30–13:00 collection window. That said, even a single instance of confusion is reason enough for us to review the wording again. We are therefore grateful that you brought your experience to our attention, as it gives us the opportunity to strengthen the clarity where needed and ensure future guests understand the pickup window, transfer time, and game drive portion as clearly as possible. We are reviewing the listing with the booking platform to make sure the pickup window, transfer, and game drive are each presented clearly without any ambiguity, regardless of how a traveller comes across the information. Regarding your remark that only one of the four guests appeared to be expected by the game park. To give some context, reservations with Okapuka are often held administratively under one booking reference per operator for a specific date. That reference is opened under the name of the first guest received for that specific date, while the full number and names of guests is recorded under the same booking. This does not mean the remaining guests were unaccounted for. All four guests were booked and provided for, including transfer seats, and places on the open game viewer. On the wait at the end of the drive: our driver was in fact waiting at the vehicle for your return, but we understand there was a breakdown in communication around where guests should meet the driver after the drive. This should have been clearer. We have addressed this with our team so that drivers confirm the return meeting point with guests before the game drive begins and, where needed, align this with lodge staff as well. That said, we do take your feedback seriously. Clear communication and reliable follow-through are very important to us. We have welcomed travellers across Namibia for more than 30 years, and it is exactly this kind of feedback that helps us keep refining both the experience and how we describe it. Thank you again for acknowledging the quality of the actual Okapuka game drive and Presley’s guiding. We regret that the surrounding logistics did not meet your expectations, and we appreciate the opportunity to clarify our side respectfully. Feedback like yours is genuinely useful to us in that respect, and we'd welcome the chance to hear from you directly should you wish to discuss anything further. Kind regards, Chameleon Safaris Management