o ce a ns

[namibia]

56 april 2010 indwe

of sand
ever wondered what it would be like to get
lost in your own private desert sanctuary?
Words and photography by Scott Smi t h
 T
he NamibRand Nature Reserve is
a five-hour drive from the
Namibian capital, Windhoek. As
we pass the sign for it, the road
becomes bumpy and the
landscape wilder. After travelling
for miles through desolate, rocky
terrain, we see the first hints of
sand dunes glittering on the horizon and inch
closer, dry, brown grasslands on either side. We
eventually turn off and snake around the Losberg
peak on our way to the desert safari camps of the
Wolwedans reservation. The talking in the car dials
down from excited chatting to short, whispered
“Wows” or “Oohs” at the expanse and beauty of the
scenery, which overwhelms our senses.
The NamibRand Nature Reserve, created in 1984,
is amazingly well kept. It’s a cliché to say so, but it’s
virtually untouched. It’s a young, private reserve
with limited funds, but the management is superb.
at just less
than 180,000
It shows no sign of its previous life as a series of The mysterious
sheep farms. ‘fairy circles’ are a
special geological
NamibRand is considered to be the largest feature of the area
private conservation area in southern Africa and, I
suspect, the whole of Africa. Measuring at just less
than 180,000 hectares, it’s huge. It shares a
100km-long border with the Namib-Naukluft
National Park to the west, so the majestic landscape
here stretches out until it laps on the shores of the
Atlantic Ocean some 120kms away.
The landscape is diverse: desert, semi-desert,
savannah and dunes all
feature. Most of the dunes,
however, are covered in a
grey-brown grass because of
extensive rain over the past

hectares,
couple of years. Where, one
wonders, are the famed red

namibrand is huge dunes of the NamibRand?

Such ample rainfall brings
58
april 2010 indwe
 wolwedans

come from or how they are formed. Suggestions

range from termites, meteor showers, underground
gas vents and animal dust baths. For a donation of
N$500 to the NamibRand Conservation
Foundation, you can adopt one.
To take all of this sublime nature in, hop in a 4x4,
hit the hiking trails or take a hot-air balloon trip at
dawn and glide over the rising currents. It’s the best
way to take in the scenery and soar with the birds
– there are more than 100 species here. If you visit
The elevated pool at nearby Sossusvlei, to the north, at dawn, you’ll see
Dunes Lodge spectacular yellows, reds, blacks, indigos and
burning orange colours bouncing off the largest
dunes in the world.

A dream in the dunes

NamibRand is made up of 13 former sheep farms,
which ceased to be economically viable after a
drought in the 1980s. In 1984, the founder of the

more animals to graze and

enjoy the leafy trees for shade. there are
There are thousands of
animals in the reserve – oryx, thousands of
zebra, ostrich, giraffe,
gemsbok, African wildcat, animals – zebra,
Cape fox, klipspringer,
baboon – but you won’t find ostrich, gemsbok
the Big Five here. (For that,
head to the Caprivi region in the north of the reserve, Abi Brückner, convinced his neighbours
country.) There’s also been a successful that controlled tourism and wildlife management
introduction of leopards in an attempt to boost their was the way to go. The fences came down, livestock
declining numbers. They tend to keep to the rocks was sold and the NamibRand Nature Reserve was
and rarely venture over the savannah, especially born. All the owners have signed a constitution of
during the summer months, but we did discover a sorts to ensure the protection of the area for now
recent kill on one of our game drives, far away from and into the future. It wasn’t long before Abi’s son,
towering Losberg and the Nubib mountain range. Stephen, gave up a high-flying career as a
A special geological feature of the area are the businessman and set out to create a series of safari
mysterious sand circles, known as fairy circles, that camps in the dunes of Wolwedans, his favourite of
dot the landscape. No one really knows where they the farms.

i n d w e a p r i l 2010 61
 wolwedans
Dune Camp, which sleeps a maximum of 12
guests, was built in 1994. The latest, Boulder Camp,
which accommodates eight people, was completed
in 2007. Each camp is built according to eco-
friendly standards set out by Stephen Brückner.
Most of the chalets – canvas tents encased by a
wooden shell – are built on poles sunk 1.5m into the
ground. All the chalets are designed to be
dismantled easily, so if a camp has to be closed for
any reason, it’ll leave no trace on the dunes.
The spacious rooms have been furnished
elegantly and comfortably, and the bush cuisine in
the camps is of an exceptionally high standard,
with meals featuring succulent game meat, local
vegetables, fine wines from around the world and
fabulous desserts. Much of the food is cooked by
graduates of Wolwedans’ excellent Windhoek-
based cooking school, the Namibian Institute of
Culinary Education, set up in 2007.
There’s no better way of rounding off a day at
62 april 2010 indwe
Wolwedans than to tuck into a fine dinner and sit The mysterious
around the fire at Dunes Lodge and have a guide tell ‘fairy circles’ are a
special geological
you stories of the Namib people before there were feature of the area
planes, offices and light pollution. The stargazing
can be absolutely jaw-dropping, and if you feel
inclined, you can sleep outside on the decks. The
reservation will soon be offering a complete
“sleep-out” experience, with luxurious beds located
in a secluded part of the reserve, where guests can
snooze in the great wide open with nothing between
them and the elements except a duvet. Talk about
being at one with nature…
» flying there:
SA Express flies to Walvis Bay and Windhoek in
Namibia from Johannesburg and Cape Town.
See our flight schedule on page 142.
» contact:
www.wolwedans-namibia.com