kimburu

Patty..I haven't contacted Elena yet. I'm on hold at the moment waiting to get my wife's vacation and the flights confirmed. Yes, I'm just booking accommodations and car hire - but in any case Cardboard Box doesn't operate any of what it sells, so far as I know... even the car hire.

I guess my point of view is that by booking everything through a reputable agent like Cardboard Box you have someone to turn to for advice and even help once you are there. Whether that cover is a safety blanket or a fig leaf, it's better than nothing. PLUS since they have a good reputation they probably don't deal with the sharks. And, as I said before, I feel that there really is a lot of knowledge and experience there if they have the time and inclination to share it. Maybe it'll be better once I get my deposit down.

Gaynor, I'm pretty sure there are no tour operators posting here and even if there were it would be a good question for them, which I'm sure they'd be pleased to answer.

kimburu

Patty..I haven't contacted Elena yet. I'm on hold at the moment waiting to get my wife's vacation and the flights confirmed. Yes, I'm just booking accommodations and car hire - but in any case Cardboard Box doesn't operate any of what it sells, so far as I know... even the car hire.

I guess my point of view is that by booking everything through a reputable agent like Cardboard Box you have someone to turn to for advice and even help once you are there. Whether that cover is a safety blanket or a fig leaf, it's better than nothing. PLUS since they have a good reputation they probably don't deal with the sharks. And, as I said before, I feel that there really is a lot of knowledge and experience there if they have the time and inclination to share it.
Sounds like everything's okay for you so far Gaynor. By the way, I'm pretty sure there are no tour operators posting on this thread yet and even if there were it would be a good question for them, which I'm sure they'd be pleased to answer.

520

It sounds as if you're pretty set for the Sossusvlei part of your Namibian trip--but should you decide to make some changes, as I have constantly while planning our SA trip, we're staying at Little Kulala on Dec. 2-3, for 5270 ND--that's for two people for two nights, which makes me wonder about the rates quoted here for 2007. That's quite an increase if accurate!

Patty

520,
Are you saying you're paying 1317.50 per person per night for Little Kulala? Is that a FI or DBB rate? If that's a FI rate, it's about 50% off the low season rack rate for 2006. Who did you book through?

520

Patty,

It's 5270 ND per person per night--sorry, I was writing that very late last night--but the rate is FI...and, of course, there's the hefty plane transfer, but if Gaynor is driving,it's moot. We're using Siyabona Africa, who've been terrific.

gaynor

Ive just heard back from Cardboard Box - they say that self drive guests cannot use the Kulala private entrance to the park. I'm not sure what to do now as we'd decided on Kulala Desert Lodge, but accessing the park as a self drive means a long route round to the normal gate (I think!). Maybe we should just pay the extra and go in using their vehicle.

Gaynor

kimburu

Then you'd have a bigger price differential. Depends on how flexible cost is, doesn;t it?

Kavey

I just read an article on Namibia in a travel magazine and it happened to list the Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge under it's accommodation panel at the end of the article - the web link it gave for the lodge was ccafrica.com - I had a look and the Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge CCAfrica offer is not the one I stayed in. It's a whole heap more sophisticated, exclusive and gorgeous!

That now seems to be called Movenpick Sossusvlei Lodge (though my somewhat hazy recollection is that it used to be called Movenpick Mountain Lodge, chances are I'm just misremembering).

Clematis1

Kav, a friend of mine just stayed at the Soss Mt. Lodge you just mentioned and loved it. Heating, for one thing.

Kimb- saw your question on the other thread and am not ignoring you, just waiting for a better time to post about that.

kimburu

I understand that one Clem! It might not even have got noticed yesterday.

bellhouse

We stayed at Little Kulala this past summer and had a great time. We had booked before the fire and before they became an even more upscale lodge, so didn't pay the current prices. It probably wouldn't be in our budget range now. That said, fully inclusive was fully inclusive: a sundowner drive the first night to watch the sun go down over the dunes, a guided drive into the park after our balloon ride with stops for dune climbing and lunch, excellent food, attentive staff, and - our favorite - sleeping on the roof of our kulala. We used Cardboard Box and had a very good experience - not sure with what's going on for you. I had a good idea of where we wanted to go and for how long, then followed Rachael's advice as to where to stay (after I did double-checking on my own). The day we were in Windhoek we stopped by the office to say hello and get last minute advice and a good map. Have fun! Where else are you going?

dalboths

Hello Gaynor - for a completely different type of accomodation being generally recommended here, I can recommend for self-drive visitors, the Neuras Guest Farm which is located about 20-30 minutes drive from the national park. We stayed there in September 2004. This was a lovely alternative, run by a local couple, it is a vinyard - you get a vinyard tour and see how the wine is made - before sitting down for dinner with them and enjoying fantastic barbequed fish and their own wine. Its very personal and authentically Namibian, and the couple who run the place are full of great stories - he used to run Shell Africa, so they've got some interesting experiences to talk about. They packed us a packed breakfast and lunch to take out with us on our day's expedition into the dunes. The only drawback is that because its not in the park itself there's a bit of a race in the morning in the dark to get to the bigger dunes for sunrise while the early light is still on them, and driving over potholed roads in the dark was 'interesting' but we didn't feel we missed out on anything, and definitely had a lovely 'alternative' Sossusvlei experience as a result. Its not your typical 'lodge' trip, but I'd still highly recommend it for a slice of authentic Namibian experience - and great food, wine and company!