Damara Mopane Lodge's edible gardens, Namibia

29/9/2015

By Roxanne Reid
Damaraland (now renamed Kunene) in northwest Namibia is a land of dry red stones and natural wonders. But the parched landscape can produce unexpected richness, as we discovered just east of Khorixas in when we visited Damara Mopane Lodge's edible gardens.

The lodge had about 60 rooms but it didn’t seem overwhelming because they were laid out in concentric semi-circles of interlinking pathways, with the swimming pool at the centre. This, and the fact that each separate chalet had its own tiny walled garden, made it seem more like an African village than the big lodge it was.

Twyfelfontein (pictured), Brandberg and the Organ Pipes are some of the highlights to see in the area

Damara Mopane Lodge is in easy reach of numerous attractions such as the 280 million-year-old trees of the Petrified Forest and the blackened limestone Burnt Mountain. You can also visit the eroded dolerite known as the Organ Pipes and the Twyfelfontein UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has one of the largest collections of Stone Age rock engravings in Africa.

With all this on its doorstep, the lodge offers little in the way of organised activities. You can go on a self-guided one- to three-hour hike in the surrounding veld, cool off in the free-form pool, watch animals at the waterhole or take a walk to the sundowner deck built into the hillside above the lodge. From the deck you’ll get a broad view of the circular layout of the lodge and of the mopane woodland around it. And of course, you’ll get another of those matchless sunsets Namibia is famous for.

The swimming pool forms the centrepiece between the dining/bar area and the individual rooms

The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with funky prints on the walls

I found a different, ‘unscheduled’ activity. Intrigued by the small walled veggie gardens, I asked to meet head gardener Erro Pandeni-Ilonga, one of eight people who tend these gardens. He told me he’d worked for the Gondwana Collection for 14 years, first at Canyon Lodge and then at the group’s self-sufficiency centre at Stampriet. ‘I learnt a lot there,’ he said. ‘They also sent me to Swakopmund for a week-long intensive course, and I’ve been here for nearly two years.’

Each room is a separate unit with its own walled garden and a verandah that's perfect for reading and relaxing

Nervous at first, he relaxed once we started walking among the plants he’s obviously proud of. Everywhere was a profusion of lettuce, beetroot, carrot, brinjal, broccoli, cabbage, onions, leeks, sweet potato, kohlrabi, spinach, green pepper and tomato. When he heard I’d never tasted kohlrabi he yanked out three big ones and said he’d ask the chef to cook them for me that night.

Head gardener Erro Pandeni-Ilonga with freshly picked kohlrabi from the garden

If I was thinking he’d run out of varieties to show me, I was wrong. There were fruit trees like lemon, avo, banana, paw-paw, grapefruit and fig, as well as climbing vines of granadilla, some of which stretched as high as the roofs of the chalets. Lemongrass, basil, coriander, parsley and chilli provided herbs for the kitchen, and there were vivid sunflowers and zinnias for decoration. Although they were out of season during our visit, Erro told me they also grow butternut, watermelon and spanspek. With this almost ridiculous variety I asked if there was anything he didn’t grow. ‘Well,’ he scratched his cheek with a sandy finger, ‘we’ve never tried potatoes or garlic – but maybe one day.’

Everything is fertilised organically with manure. The water for the lodge comes from an underground borehole, and it’s recycled for use on the garden. It makes sense to recycle such a precious commodity in a water-poor environment.

Chef Maria Nangolo at the buffet table (left) and one of the creative iron scarecrows that guard the gardens

A small army of scarecrows, made from scraps of rusted metal and dressed with a jaunty flair, guarded all these riches from the birds. But birds aren’t the worst of Erro’s troubles. Baboons ransack the gardens from time to time and kudu used to as well. Now there’s an electric fence along the back wall to keep the kudus out. To compensate, Erro grows lucerne that’s cut and taken to the waterhole for the kudus when there’s little else for them to eat.

In the evening the pool area was lit by green floodlights to guide us to the main building for our meal. Dinner was served on the long verandah, with a big fire raging for atmosphere, just far enough away not to warm us on an already hot evening.

It was such a thrill to know that the mixed veg (cauliflower, broccoli and carrots), the lettuce and tomato salad, the beetroot salad had all come from the lodge’s own gardens, probably freshly picked that day. Chef Maria Nangolo brought me a huge plate of kohlrabi cut like chips, with a little butter and a sprinkling of herbs. With the extra effort she’d gone to on my behalf, I was relieved that I liked it. How embarrassing it would have been if I’d gagged on it!

Dinner is served on the long verandah, with a fire burning in the grate for a touch of theatre

After a long and tiring day on corrugated gravel roads, we stared empty-headed into the fire. We ate our fill from the buffet table, enjoyed a glass of wine and dreamed of restarting our own tiny veggie garden at home, snails be damned. If only we had Erro’s green fingers.

Note: I was a guest of Damara Mopane Lodge for one night, but I had free rein to write what I chose. I paid for meals, drinks and all travel costs.

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