Namibia Reservations has compiled a Bucket List

We here at Namibia Reservations have compiled a Bucket List for all travelers wanting to miss nothing spectacular of Namibia.  In our Bucket List, there are the highlights, but you can never see enough of our beautiful country Namibia.  Enjoy!

1.  Houseboat Safari on the Zambezi

Traveling on a houseboat is a rare experience.   Sleeping among the hippos and crocodiles will be a number one for most of our team.

2. Swakopmund Sky dive

Skydiving is something that actually can be done anywhere, however in Swakopmund you have a unique setting.  The thrill of jumping out of a plane curls my toes as I think about it, having the dunes on your right and the ocean on your left.  The mental picture you make of that can never be captured onto a photo.  

3. Walvis Bay / Swakopmund Catamaran

Experiencing the Namibian coast in-depth on a Dolphin or Seal cruise has to be on any tourists Namibian Bucket List.  Not only will you see different types of sea animals, you will also have the chance to taste one of our delicacies the oyster.  On a cruise they serve raw oysters from the shell, sprinkled with a bit of roughly ground black pepper and splashed with a dash of Tabasco sauce.   This is one of my favorite things of a cruise, other than seeing dolphins and whales.  It does not matter how many times I see a dolphin, I can never get enough of these gorgeous animals.

4. Damaraland Camping

Damaraland is the most scenic areas in Namibia, that offers the traveler a most adventurous challenge.  From open plains and grasslands to sandy wastes.  Here you will see Desert animals and the Damara people who inhabit this land.  Camping here, you will experience the open starry skies of Namibia.  No lights objecting your view, this is where dreams come true.  

5. Ballooning over the Sossusvlei

This one is on my own Bucket List, this is a once in a life time opportunity. The Sossusvlei has been rated one of the most spectacular sites of Namibia.  Taking this safari at dusk or just before sunrise you will experience strong colors that are constantly changing.  On this safari don't forget to take your camera along, as this is a great photographic opportunity.

6. Etosha National Park

This might be an old destination but most common.  I have been to Etosha, but I will go back as many times as I can.  Seeing so many animals in one place is remarkable and only in Namibia.  This is absolutely an animal lovers haven.  Seeing how the lions lie around waterholes, how the elephant stand around or walking across the road right in front of you.  How the giraffes stretch to get to the highest leaves on the trees.  What I love most about Etosha is the fact that these animals are not bewildered at all.  Elephants come as close a 5 feet or even closer.  Etosha will stay on my list and no matter how many times I have been there I will always want to go back.

7. Where the Namib meets the ocean

The cold waters of the sea brushing against the dunes of the Namib desert is one of the most surreal sights.  This is a personal favorite of Magret Mtleni, one of our top achieving consultants.  With the most spectacular dunes in the world, raging from pink to vivid orange this scene has Magret's heart sobbing over this beauty.

8. Waterberg climb
Reaching high over the plains of Namibia is the Waterberg Plateau, a 20-kilometer by 50-kilometer table mountain massif made of porous sandstone that soaks up moisture. Rainwater that drips through the stone top collects on a solid layer of clay beneath, and the water that runs off creates springs on the southeast side of the plateau. I encourage travelers to climb to the top of Waterberg to experience the entire area.  Soak it all in!

9. The Caprivi

After I asked our team the hardest question you could ask "Where would you travel if you could and what would you like to see in Namibia?"  After taking into consideration ALL of Namibia, they feel they would like travelers to definitely see the Caprivi.  Staying one night is not enough.  For me, Top 3 most beautiful landscapes of Namibia is the Caprivi.  The nature, the bush, the animals, the river, the...beauty!  Experience true Africa with the abundance of hippos, elephants and buffalo.  The wetlands are a must on the Bucket List.

10. Erindi Private Game Reserve

Here, the home of the Big 5!  I cannot recommend Erindi enough to anyone who has a passion for wild life and wild life photography you will leave as inspired as I was.

Well there it is! The Top 10.  If I don't stop now, I'm afraid I will never stop as Namibia will never get old and you will never see enough of this remarkable place.

Realizing now I think I missed to mention an ultimate for me:  At Nr. 11, I have the sunset of Namibia.  Nowhere else have I experienced a sunset as spectacular as a truly Namibian sunset. Whether it is standing on the Waterberg, sunset over the dunes, or sunset in Swakopmund.  I advise you leave your camera in it's bag till you have soaked it all in.  Drink in the beauty before capturing the memory forever.  

Windhoek Country Club Resort Refurbishment

Windhoek Country Club resort wish to advise that they will embark on a room refurbishment programme, commencing 1 April 2016.

 

The hotel will be fully operational with minimal inconvenience to your guests during the refurbishment. We also assure our guests that during the disruption which will be managed efficiently, they will continue to enjoy our hospitality with a full complement of staff to meet their comfort and expectations during their visit.

News from Naankuse!!

As gentle as the grey giants of Namibia seem to be, conflict between elephant and farmer is a gloomy reality that Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) is facing head on with the collaboration of the N/a’an ku sê Foundation.
Namibia Breweries Limited, who share our passion for conservation, eagerly sponsored three GPS collars for our gentle giants, with three further collars provided by MET making it possible to collar six tusked titans.

The morning of 20 February saw a helicopter take to the skies over the Kunene region of north western Namibia. This region is not only home to a significant number of free-roaming elephants – but also provides a livelihood for many commercial farmers. A livelihood that some feel may be threatened by an elephant’s monolithic movements.
Spotting the grey giants was not an easy task, with the vast Kunene region stretching seemingly endlessly into the distance. But undaunted the team continued its efforts, with Rudie van Vuuren adding to the eyes in the sky with his Cessna.  And ultimately elephants were spotted, allowing the collaring to begin.  

With female elephants being darted from the air, Marlice van Vuuren was forced to engage in some challenging off-road driving, needing to follow the helicopter into impossibly remote areas as fast as possible in order to assist MET staff with the collaring efforts on the ground. Two days of extreme temperatures, endless searching and constant vigilance resulted in four elephants being collared, providing us with valuable insight into their movement patterns and behavior. This intimate knowledge gives us the tools with which to advise farmers on how best to live side by side with their mammoth neighbors, and ultimately we hope to abet a peaceful and tolerant relationship between landowners and the giants of Namibia.

 

Extraordinary Namibia

Sleeping Under The Stars in Namibia

A night out sleeping under the stars in a Namibian desert.

 The view is extraordinary.

With vast empty space surrounding the area for miles, the sky explodes with stars. Whether you know what Orion’s Belt is or not, astrologers and laymen could appreciate this.

The deep silence matches the expansive black canvas behind the stars.

 Ah the serenity.

Kulala Desert Lodge

Dune Star Camp

Wolwedans

Namib Desert Lodge

Mowani Mountain Camp

Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

Little Kulala 

Have you any idea how beautiful Namibian Sable are??

The sable (Hippotragus niger) are less robustly built and lighter in mass than their close relatives the roan. It is a horse-like antelope with a long mane and easily identified by their distinctive swept-back horns. They are a savannah woodland species, dependent on cover and the availability of water. They prefer open woodland or grassland with medium to high stands of grass and avoid woodland with a high density of trees or where the grass is short. 

Sable are gregarious and herds of 20 to 30 are common, with larger temporary aggregations of up to about 200. They may fall prey to lion, but most predators attack with caution.

Sable occur in the north-eastern parts of Namibia, mainly the Zambezi Region (formerly the Caprivi Strip) and they have also been introduced into Waterberg Plateau Park and can be found around the newly opened Dolomite Camp in Etosha National Park

The majestic Sossusvlei...

The Sossusvlei is perhaps the highest sand dunes in the world. Situated in Namibia, these dunes are as high as 300 meters. The Sossusvlei cover a great expanse of almost 500 square kilometres of the mighty Namib Desert, which is considered to be one of the oldest deserts by many geologists. Literally meaning 'the gathering place of water', the Sossusvlei is actually a clay pan which holds rain water to form a lake. This pan retains water for a long time due to the high clay content and this attracts a large crowd from people all over since it is a rare sight. 

 

Specifically speaking, Sossusvlei is only a circular shaped depression filled with water in the heart of the Namib Desert. Also known as the ‘Vlei’ the Afrikaans word for pan, it is the place where the dunes come together, causing the Tsauchab River to stop its course. Most often, the river does not flow this far because it is dry. But a surprise bout of rainfall could turn this dead Vlei into a spectacular lake flanked by ruddy and sparkling dunes. But now, the gigantic dunes are also considered to be a part of the Sossusvlei and the dunes as well as the Vlei come under the area of the Sossusvlei.

 

The dunes surrounding the pan have an impressive history of formation. It has been said that the residue or sand from the Orange River were carried all the way to the western coast of Africa and deposited into the mighty Atlantic Ocean. The strong currents of the ocean moved this material towards the north and replaced them back on to the land. 

By this constant re-deposition, dunes began forming on the coast and were shifted further inland by winds. The sand deposited on the windward side makes the dune flat, while the leeward side is considerably steeper. However, the patterns on the dune vary according to the direction and speed of the wind and these dunes have taken a million years to be developed. The Sossusvlei today is ever changing and evolving.

The Sossusvlei may be known for its vast expanse of giant dunes, but what makes them even more impressive is their colour composition. The presence of iron oxides in the sand coupled with innumerable particles of garnet gives the dune its brilliant hue. The shades vary according to the age of the dunes, and the older the dune the brighter the sand’s colour. These varying shades of red are the highlight of the Sossusvlei and they define the stark beauty of the Namib Desert. The dunes do not look the same at different times during the day, as the sun plays on the colour of sand. The Sossusvlei is a hub for several die hard photographers who have captured and immortalised the timeless beauty of the dunes and the Vlei. 

 

 

The Sossusvlei is a formidable, enormous and stunning region of deposited sand causing the particles to form dunes for thousands of centuries. The dunes that surround the clay pan and the pan itself are the pride of the Namib Desert and are a major tourist attraction.

Midgard Country Estate

Midgard Country Estate

 

Midgard Country Estate is an ideal family hide-away, a first or last stop for international visitors, the perfect venue for intimate meetings, team-building events or weddings. Acquired in 1937, Carl Werner List originally farmed the 12.000 hectare estate, developing this private and intimate world into a household name in Namibia. Midgard Country Estate was born.

Today we invite our guests to enjoy the tranquillity, while marveling at the pioneering German Settler spirit which gave birth to it all. “Midgard”, a word found in Old Norse, Middle English and High German languages, has varying meanings, but is popularly thought to mean “A paradise where the earth rises again, fertile and green, creating a protected world and a safe empire for the people”.

It’s an intimate world. One which offers 46 newly decorated and fully equipped rooms, Carl’s Dining Room & Bar, the African Boma, two swimming pools, the Pool Bar & BBQ Terrace, gym and sauna, and a private skittle alley (Kegelbahn). These are all spaciously situated in a sprawling country garden, bordering the banks of the Swakop River, as it meanders through the estate on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.

Guests are free to soak up the ambience and enjoy doing absolutely nothing; or they can explore our activities such as hiking and mountain trails, drive along 4x4 tracks, play volley ball, tennis, table tennis, pool or outdoor chess and view our vintage car collection. 

One of the estate’s major attractions is a sundowner drive to Hilltop, where guests can enjoy a stunning 360° view over the Otjihavero Mountains and watch the sun set with sundowners in hand. They can also experience what life was like on a traditional Namibian Farming and Game Estate in years gone by, with a morning or afternoon nature-game drive through the separate 2.000 hectare nature reserve, along the Swakop River.

Wildlife found at Midgard Country Estate includes giraffe, blue and black wildebeest, oryx, kudu, hartebeest, eland, warthog, baboons and smaller antelope species such as the steenbok. The riverfront is a birder’s dream.

For school groups, church, scout or other groups of we have opened the historic Midgard Train Station, just 2 walking minutes from the main lodge.