A Signature Namibian Flying Safari

Overview

Housed in a turreted castle built by Count Schwerin for his fiancee and with fabulous views over Windhoek, this Relais & Chateaux property is hands down the most luxurious place to stay in the capital city.

The sixteen rooms are contemporary and chic with a traditional twist, very well-equipped and highly comfortable. A quiet sanctuary in the midst of the city, the hotel’s gardens and pool are a joy to relax in and a nearby golf course means getting in a couple of holes before your flight home or a good way to begin your trip, is pleasingly straightforward.

A fantastic restaurant and with tables set up on the wonderful terrace outside, means very few guests choose to dine out.

Overview

Your home before you venture off into the barren and beautiful Namibian Desert, this stylish boutique hotel is hidden away in the Eastern corner of Namibia’s capital and only proclaimed city, Windhoek.

The city itself is the seat of the country’s cultural and administrative powers but despite this, it remains one of the smallest capitals in the world with just 250,000 residents. The Olive reflects Windhoek’s small size, providing a cosy but luxurious bolt-hole with great access to the surrounding wilderness.

Reminders of the prevalent Namibian culture are spread throughout the hotel as the modern is combined with the traditional. Rough-hewn wooden benches sit on plush carpets around sculpted granite coffee tables, animal-skin rugs lay beneath large beds covered in crisp white cotton and wide glass doors lead out onto your personal terrace for a view across the small city.

Overview

You’ll find this luxurious lodge set in the Zannier Reserve. Omaanda, which is located near the N/a’an ku sê private conservancy, looks out over the expansive savannah. There are 10 spacious round thatch huts to choose from, each of them a warm, welcoming sanctuary inspired by the traditional architecture of Owambo. The design is simple but elegant and the colours reflect the surrounding earth and sand. The huts have their own private terraces which boast magnificent views of the small lake and hills of the Khomas Hochland plateau in the distance. There is a walk-in rain shower, separate WC and a large bath tub.

At Ambo Delights restaurant you’ll be treated to refined cuisine, from wholesome breakfasts to delicious dishes to share, as well as game meat prepared on the spit. Set beside the heated outdoor infinity pool, the bar is the perfect place to enjoy a refreshing drink at the end of a day enjoying memorable excursions and safaris. Gather with your fellow guests around an open fire in the boma and relive the best moments of your day.

Take time to refresh your body and mind at the spa which offers a variety of massages and treatments inspired by local Namibian beliefs.

Overview

Set high on a hill overlooking Ongava Private Reserve’s plains along the south-west border of Etosha National Park, Little Ongava comprises just three luxury villas, offering privacy and the utmost comfort.

Each of the thatched villas feels like a home, with a king sized bed, beautiful open bathroom, fireplace, private plunge pool and veranda making the most of the surrounding panorama.

A board walk snakes through the rocks connecting the villas to a main lounge and dining area that looks down onto a watering hole below, a real draw to wildlife throughout the night.

Activities in the reserve include game drives, rhino tracking, nature walks, birding and use of a wildlife hide. There are also excursions into the neighbouring Etosha National Park.

Overview

Ongava Lodge is situated on the slopes of a rocky outcrop within Ongava Reserve and its surrounding scenery is astoundingly attractive with large open plains blending into Mopane tree woodlands and granite ridges.

14 rock-and-thatch en-suite chalets, one of which is a family suite with two bedrooms. The main lounge, dining and pool area is situated on the foothills of the Ondundozonanandana Range, overlooking a floodlit waterhole and a vast beautiful plain. You’ll be accommodated in luxury air-conditioned thatched chalets with private veranda, all with en-suite bathrooms.

This lovely property offers you the full Etosha experience whilst providing superb accommodation and service, as well as night drives and nature walks on the reserve.

Overview

At the foot of one of Ongava Game Reserve’s dolomite hills, the Tented Camp sits immersed in mopane woodland that is rife with game and birdlife.

There are seven large, classic safari tents sat on decks with shaded verandas from which you can watch wandering antelope. Inside, you’ll find a large bed leading around to an en suite bathroom and an open-air shower. There is also a family suite consisting of two tents linked by a walkway that can sleep four people.

The main area, built of stone, canvas and thatch, fronts onto a busy waterhole where much of the reserves wildlife can be viewed while floating in the swimming pool.

Enjoy game drives and guided walks within the expansive reserve itself, a great place to spot both black and white rhino, or take excursions into the adjacent Etosha National Park to see it’s stunning salt pan.

Overview

The Onguma Fort is built in the perfect spot to give guests arguably one of the best sunset views in the whole of Namibia overlooking the beautiful scarceness of the Etosha Pans, bedecked with its wild animals and hundreds of camel thorn trees.

Upon arriving at The Fort, you will be received by a very friendly team of staff, and the massive raw walls, stunning stone cladded features and a huge tower with the views toward Etosha and Fisher’s Pan from within the private Onguma Game Reserve. Combining a tangibly ethnic African feel with a touch of Moroccan and Indian, plus a selection of the most beautiful antique windows and doors, the Fort’s decoration is both surreal and authentic.

Twelve mini suites, all situated adjacent to the Main Fort extending on both sides to the south and the north, each is completely private and about 50 metres apart from one another. They are equipped with a bar fridge, telephone and an air cooling system for those warmer days. The spacious bathroom has both an inside shower as well as an outside shower area. From every area of the room, wooden decks lead you towards the outside seating area and sun loungers for just relaxing and enjoying the extraordinary view.

The one and only Sultan Suite is situated inside the Main Tower of the main complex. It has a large, beautifully designed bedroom that leads into a lounge area and out onto a private viewing deck. The lounge is equipped with a satellite television system, a bar fridge and telephone facilities. And for those warm evenings, you have an air cooling system as well. The large bathroom has a wonderful open shower area, as well as a bath in which to relax and reflect upon your day’s experiences.

Overview

A particularly remote corner of one of the wildest countries in Africa, Kaokoland is a mix of mountains, sand dunes and desert, home to unique wildlife, a scattering of nomadic Himba settlements and the Hoanib Valley Camp. A joint venture between local communities and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, this intimate luxury camp is an excellent spot from which to explore the great wilderness that surrounds it.

There are six elegant tents that blend into the rugged environment. Design elements are inspired by the surroundings, with furniture created by local Rundu carpenters and Himba carvers. Intended to leave virtually no footprint on this fragile eco-system, tents sit on decks made of wood and are entirely solar powered.

Days here are spent tracking endangered rhinos, desert-adapted elephants, giraffes and, with luck, roving prides of desert lions. It’s a great spot for birders and you can also explore on nature walks, visit the Giraffe Conservation Foundation field-base and meet the people that call the desert home.

Overview

One of the most striking things about the Okahirongo Elephant Lodge are the views you get from every angle that you sit, stand or lie. Even from your bathtub you get scenes of the Hoarusib River below, the jagged outlines of the Purros Valley mountains in the distance sometimes accompanied by the remote roar of desert lion.

Ethnically-styled, its terracotta buildings blend in well with the valley’s copper backdrop and the refreshing turquoise infinity pool is the only obvious sign of civilisation in a large radius. The feeling of being completely in the wild is tangible to say the least. Each of the rooms fall into line with the earthy décor of the entire lodge, with very comfortable beds, an en suite bathroom with a bath tub and indoor and outdoor showers.

Based in then Purros Conservancy you are in for a truly unique safari experience that only Namibia can offer in the form of desert Elephants, giraffe, lion and black rhino. Spend your days on game drives or perhaps take a flying safari over the Skeleton Coast.

Dine all the atmospheric delight that a lodge as remote this can deliver, whilst feasting on Italian-Namibian cuisine and under the light of the stars.

Overview

This is a collection of four camps in the NamibRand Nature Reserve (200,000–hectares) in the Namib Desert and south of Sossuavlei. The camps have a strong emphasis on protecting the environment, rebuilding the eco-system and uplifting local communities. The group is also part of The Long Run organisation.

Wolwedans boasts both an assortment of luxury tented accommodation all powered by solar energy but each has a different backdrop for a distinctive experience, and some of the best ‘bush-cuisine’ on the Namibian Safari Circuit.

The experience here is one of desolate, copper-tinged beauty, tapestry landscapes, extreme geology, kaleidoscope colours, fantastic yet down-to-earth service, scenic drives, hot-air balloon flights and rewarding nature walks. Plus all the modern creature comforts and old world charm.

Overview

Perched on a dune plateau for phenomenal panoramas, Dune Lodge is the largest camp at Wolwedans with nine private chalets but is also the best appointed with a well-equipped main complex and swimming pool.

This is a better option for those that like the company of a few other guests amongst such a secluded expanse as the NamibRand reserve. With panoramic views over the plateau, the building’s large canvas blinds offer a unique connection to the wild surroundings, all while staying in unparalleled luxury.

Each of the spacious rooms comes with en-suite bathroom, a private verandah and canvas blinds which form the wall panels and can be rolled up for what feels like a night under the stars.

Sandy pathways lead to the central hub of the camp where you can sample wine from the cellar, unwind in one of two exquisite lounges, recline on the sundowner decks or relax in the library.

Overview

The newest and most exclusive addition to Wolwedans, Boulders Camp only has four tents surrounded by enormous granite rocks after which it was named.

The camp is positioned forty five kilometres south of the main Wolwedans camp allowing for a deeper exploration of the NamibRand’s south with scenic drives and walks. Staying here you certainly feel as if civilisation seems a million miles away, yet the traditional comfort and luxury of the tents pleasantly contradicts this.

There is a main tent with a dining area, breakfast deck, lounge and open fireplace to enjoy, eat and swap stories.