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NamibRand Nature Reserve: put it on your life list

2/3/2016

9 Comments

 
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
By Roxanne Reid
I fell in love when I first saw a photograph of the endless vista that is the NamibRand Nature Reserve in southern Namibia, and I’ve wanted to experience it ever since. Now that I have, I recommend that you put it on your life list if you’re the sort of person who gets joy from beauty and wilderness.

​Photographs of the NamibRand show red sand dunes, grey-mauve mountains and golden grass plains. Being surrounded by them in real life certainly made me catch my breath, but even more magnificent and unexpected was the stirring in my soul, the sense of peace, the conviction that I’d felt the heartbeat of Africa.
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
​Spectacular. Serene. Spiritual. These are words to describe the NamibRand. At more than 200 000 hectares, it’s one of the largest private nature reserves in southern Africa and shares a 100km border with the Namib Naukluft National Park. Since the mid-1980s land that was once livestock farms has been left to grow wild again after fences, old buildings, reservoirs and alien vegetation were removed.

Despite some corrugations in the gravel road, our drive through the Tirasberg range (along the D707 and C27) to get to the NamibRand was hauntingly beautiful as only desert mountain landscapes can be. From the turn-off to the nature reserve, our path became lined with green valleys, red dunes and layers of mountains behind them, mauve and then grey in the distance. (Technically, they’re inselbergs, or isolated mountains rising abruptly from a plain. And that’s perhaps part of their beauty; you can see the whole of them because there’s little to interrupt your view.)
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
Orion campsite
Scaly feathered finches, just one of about 150 bird species in this reserve, welcomed us to our campsite at the NamibRand Family Hideout. Our site was called Orion, and we had private ablutions and a dish-wash area. It was one of only two camp sites and they were about a kilometre apart and not within sight of each other so it was like having the entire world to ourselves. [Update March 2019: a third site, Jupiter, has just been built.] We weren’t too keen on the flies that latched on to us when we arrived hot and sweaty, but by dusk they were gone and the world was perfect. 
NamibRand Family Hideout, Namibia
​After a gentle pink-tinged sky at sunset, we spent the evening enjoying the wonder of the night skies with their multitude of stars. The NamibRand was declared a Dark Sky Reserve in 2012 and the lack of light pollution here makes for magnificent star gazing. We tried to capture the beauty with the camera, but it’s harder than you think, lighting and its sheer vastness being the major challenges.
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
Given that this is the desert, it wasn’t surprising that it got cold overnight. But as soon as the sun came up the temperature rose quickly and it was already hot by 8am, even in early winter.

4x4 route
After breakfast we ventured out along the 4x4 route starting at a dune behind our campsite. We’d expected a drive of dune landscapes but very little game. We were wrong. The track swept down on to Oryx Plain where lots of gemsbok were grazing, two of them having a bit of a horn-tossing contest. On Bat-eared Fox Plain we were unlucky, too late to find any of these sweet little animals in search of a breakfast of termites, dung beetles, scorpions or spiders. 
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
​At Horseshoe Water Scenic View we found a waterhole surrounded by zebra and gemsbok. Red hartebeest looked at home among the red sand and there were lots of springbok, some of them impressing with their high-leaping pronking, others youngsters just starting to grow their horns. Other antelope on the reserve include kudu, klipspringer and steenbok, with predators like leopard, cheetah, spotted and brown hyena keeping their numbers in check.
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
​The 4x4 trail ended with a steep dune that our Ford Ranger climbed with ease, and the last stretch back to camp gave us a wonderful sighting of five giraffe walking across a plain with the red dunes behind them and the mountains beyond, just like a watercolour painting.

The 4x4 route would probably take about 40 minutes if you didn’t stop to ogle the view, enjoy the wildlife or take photos, but we made the most of it and it took us three hours.
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
​After just two short days, NamibRand was my new favourite place, the scenery powerfully beautiful. It had a Kalahari feel with its red dunes and camel thorn trees, but in the background there was always that special touch in the view of mountains that took our breath away. 
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
Other things to do
Apart from game viewing, star-gazing and the 4x4 route, other things to do here include dune-boarding, bird watching, wildlife photography and hot air ballooning (which you should arrange beforehand). If you don’t have a 4x4 you can go for a dune drive with a guide in the Family Hideout’s vehicle. Someone will come to check you’re ok at some point during your first afternoon at camp, so just talk to him and he’ll make a plan for you. Alternatively, you can just chill at your campsite, drink in the views and appreciate how lucky you are to be here.
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
Where to stay
We stayed at the NamibRand’s Family Hideout which offers three campsites and a self-catering cottage. For us a private campsite was a perfect way to experience the area on a budget.

A luxury alternative is to stay at one of the Wolwedans lodges. Or for a really special adventure, book a three-day, two-night walking trail with Toktokkie Trails to get close to the environment on foot and discover some of the small creatures that live here.

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Why to visit NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia #Namibia #NamibRand
Why to visit NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia #Namibia #NamibRand
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Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
9 Comments
Sakkie Schabort
13/3/2016 06:22:37 am

Wow this is soul country. Even the photos do it some justice. In my imagination I can feel my soul soaring out there. The Namib stirs you deeply, the stars and geckoes talk to you at night.

Reply
Roxanne Reid
14/3/2016 12:17:43 pm

Soul country is such a perfect description, Sakkie.

Reply
Frans Jordaan
22/9/2017 04:21:07 pm

This may not be the right forum, but since Sakkie and I worked for the same government department many moons ago it would be really nice to make contact with him again. Last I have heard Sakkie emigrated to New Zealand. If it is the same Sakkie it seems as if he hasn't succeeded in getting Africa out of his system.

Reply
Aurelia Teslaru link
19/11/2017 12:11:27 pm

The photos are amazing! Definitely putting this place on my travel list!

Reply
Roxanne
19/11/2017 02:55:54 pm

Thanks for the compliment, Aurelia. The whole of Namibia should be on your travel list if you haven't been there before; this reserve is definitely one of the most photogenic places in a very photogenic country.

Reply
Hennie Botha
21/5/2019 10:58:10 pm

Where can I book for camping at Namib Rand Nature Reserve

Reply
Roxanne
22/5/2019 03:46:16 pm

You need to click the link to the Family Hideout, Hennie. You'll find it near the end under the where to stay heading in the blog post above.
There are 3 sites. Failing that, just Google the Family Hideout .

Reply
Michel Rademaker
23/6/2020 05:01:30 pm

Hi Roxanne,

Always a pleasure reading all your blogs, tips and advice and I'm looking at planning our 2nd Namibia trip, probably in August 2021. Our first trip was in June 2014. But this time we will have 2 kids with us (almost 3 and 5 years old) and plan to get a Hilux Double Cab with 2 rooftop tents and would like to camp most of the time.

The campsites at Namibrand Family Hideout are very high on my bucketlist. It looks truly amazing to spend a night or 2/3 and relax and just enjoy the scenery and family time. But 1 thing that puts me off are the flies you mention... We've experienced those same flies I think at Kubu Island in Botswana and Mowani Mountain Camp and Hoada Campsite in Namibia and they are really, really anoying. They get in your ears, nose etc. and indeed they are gone when the sun goes down. So with 2 small kids staying at a campsite all day with those flies around you doesn't sound very relaxed. Are they really that bad? You think they will be there in August when it is likely to be colder? PLease let me know what you think.

Best regards,

Michel Rademaker

Reply
Roxanne
23/6/2020 06:32:40 pm

We were there in May, Michel. I really couldn't say whether this was an aberration or a common occurrence. I can only suggest you contact them directly and ask. As for the rest, you won't regret it!

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    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
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