Gondwana Hakusembe River Lodge

I give it 5 stars because with it being out in the middle of nowhere, it was great. Wonderful staff, very clean room and good buffet style food. Lodge is situated right on the Chobe River with Angola across the river. Separate shower and toilet area in each cassita. Coffee is left on your porch each morning at 5:30 so you can enjoy the view.

An ideal spot for a night to split up the journey between Etosha and the Caprivi Strip. We stayed there as a family of 4 including 2 teenage boys. The food was tasty and most of the staff were friendly and nice. We stayed in a large cabin overlooking the river and it slept 7 so we had ample space. I don’t think I’d stay there more than one night, but for that one night, it’s great.

Below expectations, the lodge is very noisy from the chickens and cows from the local communities, also had dogs running around the campsite in the evening. Campsite had neat private ablutions with hot and cold water. Outside was also a washing up area available with a single plug box available. Sunset cruise was enjoyable with drinks and a small platter included, after the cruise was met with staff singing and drums playing adding to the experience. Staff can be more helpful with buying wood. Wifi was supplied at the restaurant and reception but quality was not good.

Hakusembe is mostly used as a night-stop by tour groups going from Etosha to Divundu. It‘s an adequate place for this purpose, although neither the lodge nor the area would justify an extended stay. We were told that there is no wifi in the rooms. Surprisingly, there was a strong signal, so all the way back to the lobby to get the password. Pity that the password is not stated in the room directory. The heating function of the air conditioner is not evident either, it took us several attempts before it was properly running. Sitting on the main deck over the Okavango with a sundowner was a lovely experience, unfortunately followed by a crowded dinner, overrun by tour groups. There were lines at the buffet section - not for the food, but for dinner plates. It‘s a complete mystery to me how a place like this can repeatedly run out of tableware.

Our room had been painted with creosote recently so we couldn’t sleep there the smell was so bad… they found us another one probably a guides room but was perfectly fine! A very good spread for dinner and breakfast… after all it’s just a stopover en route to better places.

We arrived on New Year’s Eve. No efforts were made in making it special. The food was cold and there was no atmosphere or ambience. No music at all during dinner. Each couple were given a small bottles of sparkling wine to share and plastic champagne glasses.