The Namushasha River Villa

We arrived yesterday and were greeted with a cold drink and directions to our room which was a lovely upgrade to a 2 bedroom villa on a really nice setting. Today we had a heart stopping moment when we couldn’t find our wallet containing our passports, cards and cash. We contacted our fantastic agent (Blue Crane Safaris) who go right onto it and liaised with Shenda, one of the managers here who did a great job in keeping us updated and letting us speak to our agent. The good news is our wallet was left in the safe at our last accommodation. Thanks to Blue Crane, one of their guides is heading this way and we will be reunited with our passports. The relief is immense!
Namushasha is a gorgeous lodge over looking the river, staff are very friendly and helpful, food is good, what’s not to like. It definitely holds up to the Gondwana standards and we definitely recommend it.

Very spacious campsite with a private ablution.
We did an afternoon game drive which was absolutely amazing. Our guide Rector had an incredible vision and was super friendly. We saw lots of elephants, monkeys and even a leopard!

We spent a night at the Namushasha camping2go tent. The tent was equipped like all others from Gondwana, but the zip fasteners were a bit stiff and everything is little aged. Otherwise, everything was okay and we had a nice view of the river. However, the neighboring tents were very close, so we could hear everything from our neighbors.
For dinner, we went to the lodge. The dinner cost 545 Namibian dollars, which was too expensive for what you can eat. The sunset and the restaurant were very nice, though. The staff was very unemotional and didn't provide any information, we had to drag everything out of them. For one night it’s okay but the food was overpriced for us. And we had better camping2go of Gondwana.

Generally nice lodge, however feels a bit like mass tourism. The other lodges I stayed in all had more personality and were less touristy. The guides for the game drives weren’t very good unfortunately as the information they provided was basic and some times inaccurate. Food was OK, and rooms were fine. Staff was friendly and welcoming.

We stayed at the lodge's campsite on two separate occasions. It was so good the first time round that we made a repeat visit.
Both times we stayed at the last campsite in the line of them (nr 6 I think) and also it was the furthest one away. So it was a fairly lengthy walk to get to the main lodge but we did not mind that at all. One time we walked along the River to the main lodge too, it was a bit scary for me (due to crocs and hippos in the water).
Overall our stay was lovely. The pitch of the campsite was very spacious with nice views. The pitch had his own ablutions and they were clean and in good condition. We had monkeys jumping about in the trees in the morning.
The staff were friendly, welcoming and professional. Particularly one of the receptionists — she absolutely went out of her way to assist us and made us feel very good. She even found out information about our next stay in another Gondwana campsite since there were floods at the time and the road was closed — in April 2025).
The buffet was nice and with plenty of choice which is great when travelling with young children. The restaurant staff were helpful and service was good.
We also went on the game drive (a small boat ride to get to the trucks on the other side, enjoying the sights of a bunch of hippos as we travelled and then a 3 hr game drive) and it was a good experience. The guide was knowledgeable enough and it was a good day out. And the drive back in the sunset was just out of this world.

We decided to stay at the Namushasha river lodge after reading all the nice reviews. However we have been quite disappointed. We did the sunset cruise which basically was a loop of less than 1km in which we just stopped to look at hippos. For dinner we both went for the vegetarian option which wasn't what was promised on the menu but rather overcooked pasta with frozen vegetables. Dinner isn't included in the price of the room and it is overpriced. The next day when we complained about the food we were told it was our fault. For the price of the room one would expect more in terms of customer service.

Generally a very pleasant experience. Excellent food, delightful rooms, nice small secluded pool, plenty of activities. The only downside was the very dim lighting throughout the property and especially in the accommodations. Also at the evening meal there was some extremely repetitive and annoying ‘music’ being played on a xylophone.

I stayed in a Camping2Go tent, each tent is secluded so you have privacy, and each tent looks over the river into the park. Day and night you see and hear wildlife. In addition the staff are fantastic and the access to the Bwabwata Park is great. It's a fantastic location.

Slightly surprised and disappointed by this lodge.
The rooms were amazing and beautiful, minus the roaming cockroaches. Would have been nice to provide dooms or peaceful sleep in the rooms.
The food was a let down, for the price of the buffet, not worth it.
The staff very friendly and professional.
Would recommend going on a nature walk, but would be nice if they made them more interesting, we were rushed through the forest and the guide was quite fast, did not get to slow down and just enjoy nature sounds.
Overall, would recommend, but they need to improve on food quality.

It was a wonderful experience. The rooms were superb and beautifully decorated.
We saw hippos from our terrace down at the river, and saw elephants and buffalo's at the other side. Truly amazing!
The food was superb and delicious and the boats tour was adventurous! We saw the hippos super up close :)
Absolutely recommendable, will come here again.

My dad and I had such an incredible stay at namushasha — our rooms were the most aesthetically-pleasing😍, the staff (Nila, Marco and Junior! ) blew us away with their generosity and hospitality, and we wished we were staying more than the one night we did. Would absolutely recommend this property!

It would be wrong to complain about a lodge with such friendly staff in a wonderful location but it could be so much better, especially for the high price. The food is pretty poor — stuff out of a bottle and nothing seems to be grown locally (staff should ask Tambuti lodge in Rundu for advice on how to grow salad). It’s not worth what they change. It’s also a shame that the frosted glass walls of the rooms allow in a neon glare from outside lights all night, with no curtains. A small issue but with better care this place could be really special.

A quick one night stop at the 3rd of our 3 Gondwana lodges over 9 days.
The view deck at the main lodge was absolutely stunning and needs a whole day. Seemed like lots of activities available. Staff felt more impersonal and not as friendly as the other 2 lodges we stayed at in the group, but we had less interaction with 1 night as apposed to 3/4.
Again a well appointed tent, well laid out with neighbours fairly close but with thick vegetation between units, they were not visible, so you felt very private. We were lucky to have a woodpecker in our garden. Lovely view with super sunset. Woke up to see hippo footprints all around our tent!
Need to spend more time here.

Stopped off here for lunch, Game Salad followed by ice cream, absolutely delicious. To drink I had a Rock Shandy very refreshing. Set in stunning grounds and amazing scenery. Very clean toilets. Staff friendly and helpful. On a hot dry and dusty drive a great place to stop.

Spent one night here. Was super expensive but worth it. Especially the tour is very expensive, but at least we saw some lions etc. House was super luxurious, clean and nice. Breakfast extremely slow but good. Dinner expensive but superb. Ok for one night. Did not see any elephants unfortunately. Beautiful views. Animals everywhere including monkeys, hippos and crocs. Bit difficult to reach.

Beautiful location, on the river. The lodge is well laid out and easy to navigate. There are a couple of cats that roam the property and are a delight to interact with. The staff is very cooperative and happy to assist.
Casius, our boat driver, deserves a special mention. He has a great level of bird knowledge and was an excellent navigator. He took us fishing, and on a sunset cruise.
There is a well stocked curio shop, the bar is very well stocked with very good wine and spirits.
There is no fridge in the room, our room was also missing umbrellas and it is the rainy season (other rooms did have umbrellas).

It is a very nice lodge with very good campsite with private bathroom and shower. Located directly at the river where you have a beautiful view.
They do offer some amazing activities like game drive and river cruise. I can recommend you to do both. We had an amazing time there with very friendly staff and the food is delicious as well.
They do offer vegetarian options and do have a buffet with vegetarian food.
Go there and enjoy your time.