Otjitotongwe Cheetah Farm - read reviews & avoid

EXPLORING NAMIBIA TV
47 reviews

1 out of 5
Avoid as far as you can and be warned: extremely rude owner! We made a booking for a clients and paid for them. But they were still charged on arrival, hefty business. In e-mail correspondence wife of the owner or female manageress who answered is rude.

vitalij gaziitshuk
2 reviews

1 out of 5
Cheetah is just a business and owners are not friendly at all. We came to the farm for a visit. Emailed them in the morning asking to come, they replied to come after 4pm. Our hotel phoned them as well. We drove 30 to the farm only to see the lady who told us her husband was not there as we did not confirm our arrival. After calling and emailing...Then  she mentioned 3 times that we can't take photos even though we were still outside the gate with no phone or camera in sight. She suggested to just sit there in front of the gate and wait for her husband in case he comes back, but she does not know when. Overall very unpleasant experience and their attitude towards the visitors is nasty.

Hannah Schuhmacher
81 reviews

1 out of 5
Too little space for cheetahs. Dont support it! If you want to see cheetahs the right and animal friendly way go to the Cheetah Conservation Fund near Otjiwarongo.

Ana sousa
7 reviews

1 out of 5
The experience didn't happen, and in a way, that's a good thing!

The website is very poor and lacks a lot of information. In several places it mentions the mandatory prior booking/reservation, but there is no email and the telephone contact (which was also not easy to find) and when contacted, no one answers on the other end. Anyway, we went looking for the place. We found it! At the gate, it again mentions the need for booking, but there are no contacts. We went to Himba Village, which is very close by. There, the person in charge contacted us and said that we could go, that they were waiting for us. We went and opened the gate. We opened two gates until we reached the place. It was a lady who came to us. Not very friendly, contradictory information, she said that they were closed on Sundays (this is not mentioned anywhere) and "they were operating". The approach was strange. It's a good thing that it was like that because only afterwards did I see all the less positive reports of the experience!!!!

Luca Criaco
8 reviews

1 out of 5
Avoid - worst experience in Africa

The worst experience we've had in Africa. The owner of the campsite is a former hunter who domesticated three cheetahs for the sole purpose of attracting tourists. These cheetahs are now as degraded as cats: they live in a small garden and are petted all day by tourists interested only in taking the perfect selfie. Furthermore, the owner has confined other animals in a several-hectare enclosure where he has created a second tourist attraction: every evening he throws pieces of meat at the animals. These animals are far from wild; they simply live in a larger enclosure and will never be released back into the wild. Don't believe what they say on their website; it's simply a large zoo dedicated to cheetahs. If you're looking for a place like this, you'll find much better ones in your own country; it's not worth coming all the way to Africa. One last note about the owner: let's go to the bar/restaurant and order a drink. Very coldly, she tells us to leave the restaurant because we're disturbing the other customers (what are we?) who are eating. Once outside, we notice that the Cokes we were served are expired three years ago and therefore completely empty. We point this out to the lady, who then comes out of the restaurant and starts yelling at us: "Italians, do you know why so many of you have died from COVID compared to Africans? Because Africans don't check the expiration date and don't pay attention to these things." She continues with a 10-minute monologue that is absolutely delusional and racist. In conclusion, these are terrible people who have created a terrible business. Don't make the same mistake we did: don't give your money to these people!!!

Lotti
59 reviews

1 out of 5
It's a strange place. The campsites and bungalow area seemed as if they hadn't been used for a long time. We were there spontaneously and were the only guests. We felt uncomfortable and very lonely. Everything was run-down and deserted. The hosts were aloof and extremely reserved. We didn't feel welcome. In our opinion, the cheetah viewing is unpleasant because these are captive animals, either kept in an enclosure or tamed in the owners' gardens. In retrospect, we would have preferred to avoid this encounter.

Tomasz Polczyk
37 reviews

1 out of 5
We don't recommend it – it's too risky. We were here with two children. After visiting the property, where we could see three tame cheetahs, we were bundled into a pickup truck (into an open trunk, or "box") and taken, without warning, to the habitat of wild cheetahs. We sat in the back of the car without any protection, while the driver stopped and fed the animals. As parents, we felt terrified and would never go there again. There was no information about what awaited us, no question about whether we were sure we wanted to go there, and no reassurance whatsoever. It would have been fun if we had just sat in the cab of the car. Visiting this place was a mistake.

Lisa N.
16 reviews

1 out of 5
The cheetahs live in the surrounding garden. They're far too small for the big cats. We were very shocked by the conditions...

Muktinath8

1 out of 5
The most unfriendly encounter in 15 African countries!!! I wouldn't give it a single star. The rabid owner is best avoided. We drove a long way and only saw the tiny sign on the main road on our way back, which said visitors were only welcome in the afternoon. The two large signs were very inviting. Then, the entrance fee would have been 1500 Namibian dollars per person (!!!!!), which we refused to pay on principle. The woman forbade us from taking a picture of the cheetah and stood in front of the animal, which had a wound, until we left. Then, she had the nerve to demand money because we had damaged her gravel road!!!! There are other cheetah farms.

S BS
50 reviews

1 out of 5

I thought it was a cheetah recovery project, but in reality, he's a former hunter who keeps three cheetahs as pets and another 15-16 caged cheetahs that he feeds every evening for the delight of tourists. Cheetahs that are clearly becoming less free and more domesticated. It's a shame and I absolutely regret having participated in this. The information on their website is confusing, and they don't sell what they really are.

Alexey Filichkin
2 reviews

1 out of 5
You can't see the cheetahs unless you've booked accommodation. They could have made it publicly accessible, considering there are almost no tourists.

raphid2016

1 out of 5
There's no word for the owner's dismissive attitude! |And the only cheetah we saw had bleeding scratches! |Please stay away from there! |Absolutely the lowest of the low!!||I've rarely experienced anything more dismissive!||

#Otjitotongwe #Cheetahs #Avoid #BadService #Namibia #Africa #WorstExperience #Rude #Otjiwarongo

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Namibia: 2019 tour that went wrong | Страховка на туре в Намибии не покрыла травму

A CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT PUBLIC INDEMNITY INSURANCE and Tour Operators Duty of Care

My friend and I booked a package holiday through Nature Travel Namibia to visit Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Nature Travel Namibia were responsible for organising all transport, accommodation and activities during this tour and operated as Tour Operator accepting a duty of care.

The tour began in Windhoek on the 3^rd of September 2019.  On September 10^th I checked into the accommodation organised by Nature Travel Namibia at the Chobe Bakwena Eco Lodge, we were allocated a tree top chalet. We were due to leave the lodge on the 12^th of September with the van coming to collect us at 11am. Around 9:30am I decided to walk to the main lodge to access the Wi-Fi to update my family in New Zealand before leaving. I was on the deck of our tree top unit talking to my friend and took a step to the right.

Suddenly I was falling over and experiencing immediate excruciating pain in my right thigh.  I could feel my lower leg dangling below the level of the deck and was now lying on my back on the deck.  I was fearful that the deck may completely give way and I felt at risk of falling the 3.5 metres to the ground.  The photos show the decking, the screws that were there are clearly appear to not have been adequately affixed to the joist and therefore unlikely to support the timber.  Looking at the photo it would appear this is also noticeable for other timbers which appear not to be adequately sitting on the joist presenting further risk for future failures.

 

An ambulance was called.  I was assisted to the bed in the lodge and my leg elevated with a wet towel placed on it to reduce the pain and attempt to minimise any swelling. Immediately my right leg was noticeably larger than my left as the swelling began.

I was taken to the 24hour Emergency Medical Care in Kasane and assessed. I was struggling to mobilise but there were no crutches available for purchase so the ambulance personnel took me to another pharmacy in town but they also had no crutches to assist me (I had to wait until I arrived in Zimbabwe to be able to purchase crutches to assist mobilising).  A representative from Nature Travel Namibia has only every made one contact to check in on how I was doing, they had been made aware of the incident by their supplier.

On the 15^th of September my friend and I had to travel back to New Zealand. This would take 24 hours of travel and three flights.  This part of the trip was significantly difficult, the pain was severe for the 11 hours of flying, I was unable to get relief from it and mobilising on the plane was difficult.

On arrival back in New Zealand I was able to make my way to my home and visited our emergency clinic on the 17^th of September to register my injury with our health system and get medical assessment and treatment.

INJURIES AND TREATMENT

On return to New Zealand I attended the A and E clinic. I was initially diagnosed with:

·       crush injury of the right lower leg, (this should have read upper leg and required correction)

·       significant haematoma (contusion) on the right thigh

·       sprain to the right hip/thigh

I was prescribed paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain.  The x-ray evidenced no fractures but a large haematoma measuring 10cm on the lateral aspect of the right thigh.  The radiologist recommended ultrasound for further assessment.   The ultrasound was completed on the 18^th of September.  The radiologist reported a crush injury to the right thigh with a large lateral thigh haematoma.  The findings found no evidence for a DVT.  However it did identify the presence of a heterogeneous fluid collection consistent with a degloving injury or Morel-Lavallee Lesion.  This is a serious injury that has caused severe pain and disability.

As the main swelling reduces I am left with a noticeable disfigurement in the form of an indentation in the inner aspect of my right thigh.  This was reviewed with the ultrasound scan is a permanent disfigurement.

NATURE TRAVEL NAMIBIA’S RESPONSE

Nature Travel Namibia accepted a duty of care when they organised the tour, arranged all excursions and accommodation and took the money paid.  They advertised on their website that they held Public Liability Insurance, providing a false impression that should anything happened they would be in a position to assist. The lodge where the incident occurred have met their obligation.

I have only had one contact from Nature Travel Namibia when the incident happened.  There has been no other enquiry as to how their client was doing.  When I contacted them regarding their insurance they have been elusive, and instead of acting in a professional manner, have chosen to ignore their responsibilities and instead tie the situation up with lawyers.

MY WARNING: Be careful of who you book through, you are trusting your wellbeing to the tour operator, they may allege that they are ethical and carry public liability insurance, but this does not mean that they will honour their professional, moral and ethical obligation.

CURRENT STATUS

It has been 7 months now since the accident. I am still only working part-time but ironically with the Covid lockdown my leg is finally getting time to heal and is improving. I am more mobile but not able to do what I did prior to the accident.

I still haven’t been contacted by NATURE TRAVEL NAMIBIA.  They have shown no good faith, duty of care or any professionalism in this situation.  While I accept that I am trying to get some recognition by a company that chooses to forgo any duty of care for its clients, my focus now is just to warn others to be careful, we researched and took them at their word, lesson learnt!

www.traveltonamibia.com
YouTube: Exploring Namibia TV

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