By Roxanne Reid
Outside it’s all Namibian desert – sand, wide blue skies, red dunes, black-backed jackals and springbok. Inside are Hollywood touches that would make Zsa Zsa Gabor or Marilyn Monroe feel at home. Think pink ostrich feather ‘trees’, pink neon lights in the bar, and rose quartz lamps. This is The Desert Grace, one of the most stylish Sossusvlei lodges.
Outside it’s all Namibian desert – sand, wide blue skies, red dunes, black-backed jackals and springbok. Inside are Hollywood touches that would make Zsa Zsa Gabor or Marilyn Monroe feel at home. Think pink ostrich feather ‘trees’, pink neon lights in the bar, and rose quartz lamps. This is The Desert Grace, one of the most stylish Sossusvlei lodges.
The lodge
You’ll find the Gondwana Collection’s Desert Grace between Solitaire and Sesriem in south-western Namibia, about 50km from the entrance gate to the famous dunes at Sossusvlei. The outside walls of the lodge are brown to merge with the surrounding sand and dunes, but inside there’s an unexpected riffle of grey and pink. Pink pouffes, a pink hall stand and umbrella in the room, and pink wrought iron chairs on the entrance stoep all give stylish life to grey wallpaper, floor tiles and throws. Pink-shirted staff with broad smiles will welcome you with a delicious pink slushy, a welcome treat in the heat of the day.
You’ll find the Gondwana Collection’s Desert Grace between Solitaire and Sesriem in south-western Namibia, about 50km from the entrance gate to the famous dunes at Sossusvlei. The outside walls of the lodge are brown to merge with the surrounding sand and dunes, but inside there’s an unexpected riffle of grey and pink. Pink pouffes, a pink hall stand and umbrella in the room, and pink wrought iron chairs on the entrance stoep all give stylish life to grey wallpaper, floor tiles and throws. Pink-shirted staff with broad smiles will welcome you with a delicious pink slushy, a welcome treat in the heat of the day.
The rooms hunker down and blend effortlessly into the desert landscape
We'd driven to this Sossusvlei lodge with a fully stocked fridge for camping on our extended Namibia holidays, so we were impressed to discover plug points in the parking area for just such a situation, and a cleverly designed shade-roof made of solar panels. I found these – and the signature pinkness so unusual in African lodges – very cheering.
A large sculpture depicting the four elements dominates the main area, its wooden beams soaring to the sky and returning to earth, place for a fire in the centre. There’s a curio shop with a tasteful collection of clothes and beaded jewellery, a luxuriously pink-curtained changing room that begs you to duck inside and pretend to be a Hollywood diva.
A large sculpture depicting the four elements dominates the main area, its wooden beams soaring to the sky and returning to earth, place for a fire in the centre. There’s a curio shop with a tasteful collection of clothes and beaded jewellery, a luxuriously pink-curtained changing room that begs you to duck inside and pretend to be a Hollywood diva.
A sculpture depicting the four elements frames views of the surrounding desert
Across the deck is the bar with its pink neon ‘One night in Namibia’ sign. Just imagine all the stories people might tell starting with those words. Couches and chairs make it more of a lounge than merely a bar, with a comforting fireplace for cosy evenings in the desert cold of winter nights. From the deck, you can enjoy the wrap-around view of surrounding dunes and desert with their rippling yellow grasses.
Shades of Hollywood glamour in the bar area
Looking from the bar's stoep towards the dining room with its roof that undulates like the dunes
The restaurant is a bright space with pink serviettes and pink-tinged water glasses, but we chose to sit on the deck to enjoy the light of the early morning sun at breakfast, passing wildlife at lunch, and a star-filled sky at dinner. There’s great attention to detail, like the stained glass depictions of zebra, gemsbok and jackal on the central service island, the pink-and-white-striped ice cream stand that encourages you to ‘beat the heat’ and indulge in the flavours of the day.
The dining room and deck at night
The room
Given the hot daytime temperatures in early May, my two favourite things about our room were the aircon and the plunge pool on our front deck. A close second were the outdoor shower and the loo with a view, encouraging us to listen to the shifting sand and the chirp of birds and crickets. The bathroom was a symphony of marble, double antiqued brass basins and aromatic, Africa-inspired Rain toiletries.
Given the hot daytime temperatures in early May, my two favourite things about our room were the aircon and the plunge pool on our front deck. A close second were the outdoor shower and the loo with a view, encouraging us to listen to the shifting sand and the chirp of birds and crickets. The bathroom was a symphony of marble, double antiqued brass basins and aromatic, Africa-inspired Rain toiletries.
The bedroom has floor-to-ceiling views just out of frame on the left
Giant-size photos of local people going about their daily lives grace the bedroom walls – for instance, a woman in a multi-coloured patchwork dress feeding hens, a man on a rise gazing out into the nothingness of the veld. Armchairs, loungers for next to our private pool, kikois and pool towels in a basket, a writing desk/dressing table with tea tray and a well-stocked fridge all made time in the room enjoyable.
Grey with pink accents is a refreshingly different colour palette for an African lodge
Catch the early morning sun on the entrance porch
Floor to ceiling windows with sliding glass doors provide an Imax-like view of the nearby dunes. Even on the cusp of the Namibian winter, they made the rooms hot in the afternoon because they face west. But we quickly learnt to draw the curtains if we weren’t inside, and then open them when the sun neared the horizon so we could enjoy the unhindered dazzle of changing colours.
Enjoy views of golden grasses, red dunes and camel thorn trees from everywhere in the lodge
Staff members Vistorina, Erica, Melania and Janille in the pink
Things to do at The Desert Grace
1. Enjoy an early morning walk before the heat of the day takes hold. Each trail is named after an endemic creature: the 3km Beetle walk after the flightless orange dung beetle, the 5km Gecko walk after one of my favourite little desert creatures, and the 7km Lark walk after the dune lark, which you’re sure to see on your walks around camp. This is a chance to slow down and see the tiny trails of beetles, birds and scorpions in the sand, leaving news from the previous afternoon and evening. You can do these walks at any time because they’re self-guided but for my taste early morning is best, when the air is still crisp. As writer Mary Davis said, ‘To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.’
1. Enjoy an early morning walk before the heat of the day takes hold. Each trail is named after an endemic creature: the 3km Beetle walk after the flightless orange dung beetle, the 5km Gecko walk after one of my favourite little desert creatures, and the 7km Lark walk after the dune lark, which you’re sure to see on your walks around camp. This is a chance to slow down and see the tiny trails of beetles, birds and scorpions in the sand, leaving news from the previous afternoon and evening. You can do these walks at any time because they’re self-guided but for my taste early morning is best, when the air is still crisp. As writer Mary Davis said, ‘To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.’
Red Kalahari sand, yellow grass and a dead tree
2. Join a scorpion night walk after dinner with a guide like Likius Vaendwanawa. As with everything in nature, nothing is guaranteed but an ultraviolet light will help you notice the little creatures if they are around. You might be out for 30 minutes and see lots of them, or it might take you 90 minutes to find one.
Go looking for scorpions with a UV light at night (this pic was taken with a flash)
3. Go on a guided half-day visit to Sossusvlei, taking in famous dunes like Dune 45 and Big Daddy, the white clay pans and dead camel thorn trees of Dead Vlei and Hidden Vlei. This is a bucket list tick in southern Namibia, so if you haven’t been before it’s a must. These dunes in the Namib-Naukluft Park are part of the amazing Namib Sand Sea, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Covering more than 30 000 square kilometres, this is the world’s only coastal desert with widespread dune fields where fog is the main source of water. Here, amazing little plants and animals have adapted to live in the hyper-arid environment.
Dune 45, Sossusvlei
4. Enjoy a sunset drive along the copper dunes of the Namib in the 12 500ha Gondwana Namib Park. You can also do an early morning dune drive, but in my view it’s best in the evening when the day cools down and you can watch sunset paint the sky and surrounding landscape in a kaleidoscope of colours. Drinks and snacks on a sand dune are part of the package. The drive is a chance to learn how sociable weavers live in giant communes and to see some local characters like black-backed jackal, gemsbok, springbok, blue wildebeest, hartebeest and kudu – if you’re lucky perhaps even a giraffe, hyena or cheetah.
Go on a dune drive in the Gondwana Namib Park to enjoy the landscapes and see animals
Drinks on a red dune
5. Go ebiking along the trails on one of The Desert Grace’s fleet of ebikes, which make the task of riding in the sand so much easier and more enjoyable. Instead of concentrating on fighting your way through thick sand, you can sail along with enough energy left over for admiring the scenery, perhaps even spotting a bat-eared fox. Don’t forget sunglasses, sunscreen and some water.
Ebiking out from the lodge is an activity for all ages
6. Cool off in your private plunge pool on the deck of your unit with a view of the surrounding desert. Or simply lounge in the sun or shade with a good book; you might even get a visit from a dune lark or other small creature.
Private splash pool on the deck of your room
7. Admire the landscapes of golden grasses, then layers of red dunes and grey-blue mountains in the distance. Unlike the rest of Namibia which was in the clutches of a terrible drought in 2019, the area around The Desert Grace had had good rains before we visited in May, although average rainfall in the area is just 5-85mm a year.
Golden grasses, red dunes and blue-grey mountains surround you
8. Indulge in some stargazing in the clean, dry desert air where the lack of light or air pollution makes for spectacular night skies, especially when there’s little or no moon.
9. Enjoy a meal in the restaurant or on the deck for a view out over the dunes and camel thorn trees. Listen to the call of the Namaqua sandgrouse at breakfast, keep watch for passing springbok at lunch. At dinner you’ll find everything from pizzas and stirfries to curries and venison steaks, with enough veggie options to keep the non-carnivores happy. Don’t forget to choose your favourite flavour from the ice cream cart after dinner. We had espresso, prickly pear, and papaya sorbet on our first night, with sprinkles and maraschino cherries too. And don’t miss a drink in the bar with its pink neon signs, or on its deck at sunset. Order one of the signature pink cocktails to really get into The Desert Grace vibe.
9. Enjoy a meal in the restaurant or on the deck for a view out over the dunes and camel thorn trees. Listen to the call of the Namaqua sandgrouse at breakfast, keep watch for passing springbok at lunch. At dinner you’ll find everything from pizzas and stirfries to curries and venison steaks, with enough veggie options to keep the non-carnivores happy. Don’t forget to choose your favourite flavour from the ice cream cart after dinner. We had espresso, prickly pear, and papaya sorbet on our first night, with sprinkles and maraschino cherries too. And don’t miss a drink in the bar with its pink neon signs, or on its deck at sunset. Order one of the signature pink cocktails to really get into The Desert Grace vibe.
The airy restaurant with its giant picture windows
10. Take a drive towards Namib Desert Lodge, another Gondwana Collection lodge on the same property. You may see some antelope and birds along the way, and get a change of scenery. Admire the fossilised dunes behind the lodge and enjoy a light lunch.
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Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
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