Kalahari Anib Lodge: 12 things to do in Namibia’s Kalahari

By Roxanne Reid
Kalahari. The word conjures scenes of long-horned oryx striding across terracotta-coloured sand dunes, huge sociable weaver nests in camel thorn trees, tiny meerkats digging through flying sand for beetles and scorpions. Experience all this and more at Kalahari Anib Lodge some 25km east of Mariental and enjoy these 12 things to do in Namibia’s Kalahari.

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The Kalahari Desert stretches across some 900 000 square kilometres of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. Technically, it’s not a desert but a semi-arid area that gets 100-250mm of rain a year. Despite these tough conditions, more than 400 plant species survive here, as well as wildebeest and antelope like springbok, red hartebeest and the massive eland, which can weigh up to 900kg.

Spend time outdoors at Kalahari Anib Lodge and listen to the wind, hear the booming call of ostriches, enjoy the feel of Kalahari sand between your toes, lose yourself in a night sky exploding with stars.

Firepit near the dining area

You’ll love the lodge too because it’s designed in a way that welcomes the outdoors in. Huge windows and fold-back glass doors tempt you to forget you’re inside. The reception areas were remodelled in 2017 and the effect is triumphant.

The bar - exterior

The bar - interior

Whether you sit on the deck under a shady carob tree, in the airy wood-and-glass dining room with its striking wall hangings of recycled paper discs with natural dyes, or the bar area (my personal favourite if only for its two large Kalahari sand conversation pods around a fireplace), you’re never far from enjoying the essence of the Kalahari. What a fabulous place to choose if you're looking for lodges near Mariental.

Dining room

Conversation corner in the dining room

Each room is a separate unit, like a tiny house. About 30 are arranged in a U-shape facing the reception areas and looking out over the grassy pool area, but we loved that ours was further back and had a view of red sand, thornveld and a waterhole where marabou storks came to drink. 

​​All finishes have been chosen with care, from wood-grain floors and copper towel racks to white bed linen with natural shades of green and brown on the cover. We could lie in bed and look up at the inside of the mosquito net with its hazy impression of a weaver’s nest in a thorn tree. This pattern is also etched into the hall and bathroom windows, not letting you forget for a moment how extraordinary the environment around you is.

Although I usually love light excluder curtains, it was pretty dark at night anyway so we didn’t use them, preferring to wake to the sight of pink and lilac in the sky at dawn – Kalahari magic.

Our room, with a desk just out of frame to the right

​From our bedroom, floor-to-ceiling windows and a glass door led to a small private stoep with a hanging chair and bricked couch with cushions. It was my favourite place to sit and listen to chattering white-browed sparrow-weavers, strident crimson-breasted shrikes, and the alarm call of the black korhaan in the distance. The word ‘anib’ in the lodge’s name means bird in the Nama language, so it seemed right to spend time enjoying these creatures.

The stoep with its hanging chair and view of the waterhole

12 things to do at Kalahari Anib Lodge
1. Get a walking trails map from reception and stride out into the wilderness at your own pace. Choose from 5km to 16km self-guided trails, where you may spot tracks in the sand, antelope and birds, and enjoy the environment of camel thorn trees and three-thorn bushes.

2. If you prefer, do a guided walk along a red dune to see the small wonders of the area, from plants and tracks to insects and animals. Hear the bird calls and smell the air while your guide interprets it all to enrich your experience.
​3. Go on an early morning drive in an open 4x4. Feel the cool of the early morning (cold in winter) before sunrise colours deepen across the landscape and the sun warms you through. You may see antelope, zebra, blue wildebeest (gnu), giraffe and birds like kori bustard and black korhaan, and you’ll certainly enjoy the views of Kalahari thornveld and red sand dunes that stretch across the landscape.
4. In the late afternoon, go for a sunset drive and learn about the amazing sociable weaver colonies in the camel thorn trees, listen to the sound of the Namaqua sandgrouse as they fly overhead, feel the breeze as it ripples the silky grasses. End your drive with sundowners on a burnt-orange sand dune, the Kalahari laid out below you as the sunset paints neon colours across the sky. Read more about our sunset drive here. 

​5. Don’t miss a chance to grab one of the lodge’s ebikes with fat tyres for a cycle through the sand, perhaps along one of the walking trails around the lodge. Your pedalling powers an electric motor so you glide along with little effort. Just don’t make the mistake we did. We stopped for a while to looks at tracks and when we got back in the saddle, cycling through the thick sand was so hard! We hadn’t realised that the power automatically switches off when not in use. Once we turned the key again, we flew across the sand like a dream once more. 

Staff members Lafrenz Mouton (left) and Ricardo Roman demonstrate the ebikes for us

​6. Admire the fat quiver trees near the pool. They’re particularly healthy specimens of these hardy succulents, the Aloe dichotoma. The San used the trunks as quivers for their arrows, while large branches were turned into coffins or fridges to keep food cool in the old days.

Quiver trees

​7. Swim in one of the lodge’s two pools. The larger one in the central grassed courtyard in front of the reception areas is for dedicated sun- or shade loungers, but I preferred the smaller, wilder one to the side which overlooks a waterhole. It’s a great place to kill two birds with one stone – to read a book while waiting to see what wildlife comes to drink.

The main pool

The smaller pool with the waterhole in the background

​8. Enjoy a relaxed à la carte lunch in the shade of a giant tree on the deck that looks out over the veld, thorn trees and termite mounds. Order a cold beer or glass of wine and soak up the Kalahari ambience.

The shady deck adjoining the dining room

9. ​Don’t miss sundowners in the bar, which is beautifully decorated and has fireplaces in the centre of two large Kalahari sand pits for a special close-to-nature feel. Feel the warmth on a cold winter’s night, hear the crackle and spit of the fire, and stare into your drink as you remember the day’s highlights.

One of the fire pits in the bar

10. Enjoy the food. Indulge in an enormous buffet dinner in the spacious dining room, with more choices of food than you can possibly eat. Much of the produce comes from the Sustainability Centre at Gondwana Collection’s Kalahari Farmhouse lodge in Stampriet about 25km east of the lodge. This means all the veggies and salads are super-fresh. The centre also processes its own meat and it’s all treated with farm-to-table respect by Kalahari Anib’s chefs.
​Get up the next morning for a buffet breakfast – everything from porridge, cereals, fresh fruit, cheese and cold meats, to kick-ass croissants (so good you’ll think you’re in France) and a profusion of bacon, sausages and eggs. If you’re lucky, Doreen Fransman will be on duty during breakfast – she’s like an irresistibly happy ray of sunshine first thing in the morning (though I have to admit that all staff are warm and friendly). 

Friendly staff members Doreen Fransman (left) and Gersoline Snyders

11. Once night falls, don’t forget to look up to enjoy the throng of stars in the Kalahari sky. The air is clean and dry here, making it great for stargazing. If you can move a little away from the lodge’s main lights – for instance at the campsite – you’ll see even more.

Even with a half moon lighting the sky, the Milky Way was impressive

12. Try to stay more than one night to revel in the peace of the morning after most overnight guests have left and before others arrive. An early morning activity leaves plenty time to enjoy the quiet, have a light lunch or sit around the pool.

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