Sunset views in the Namib Desert

By Roxanne Reid
Sesriem is the gateway to the wondrous red dunes of Sossusvlei in southwestern Namibia. From there it’s just 60km to Namib Desert Lodge, a drive that’s a scenic fusion of dusty road and pinkish mountains, with a desert oasis at the end. But the sunset views in the Namib Desert were the unrivalled champions of our stay. 

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Namib Desert Lodge used to be a small guest farm with only a few rooms. Bought by the Gondwana Collection in the mid-2000s, it now has 76 rooms but the old-fashioned desert style has been maintained. Our room in the garden looked out on to fossilised red dunes some 25 million years old. There were two swimming pools for cooling off during the hot days and a patio overlooking a waterhole where we saw springbok come to drink.

Environmental measures like solar energy and water treatment make sense here in this arid environment far from anywhere. Lodge manager Udo Kübli told me they produce 170% of their energy needs by using solar panels during the day. For now – not least because it’ll cost millions to set up batteries to store that power – they upload the excess to NamPower’s grid and get it back at a rebate for use during the night.

There’s a waste water treatment plant too, and filtered waste water is used for irrigating the gardens and lawns. Exotic plant species have largely been replaced at the lodge by water-wise indigenous plants. Eventually the only aliens left will be the lawns and palm trees at the swimming pools – and of course the plants in the small kitchen garden. A nice touch for curious types like me was that many of the indigenous trees were labeled, like wild ebony, wild olive, sweet thorn and camel thorn.

I’ll remember Namib Desert Lodge for three things: that feeling of arriving at a green oasis in the desert; the best toasted cheese-and-tomato sarmie in Namibia, thanks to a Swiss-type cheese with a bit of bite; and the stunning views along our sundowner drive in the surrounding Gondwana Namib Park.

Bottom left are reception staff Dorotea Nakatana and Caroline Coeingos

I have to admit that at first I was disappointed that our guide seemed to be on a mission to get us to the sundowner spot without time to appreciate the creatures of the 12 000-hectare nature reserve around the lodge. He told me that animals like porcupine, bat-eared fox, giraffe, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, brown hyena lived here, as well as Ruppell’s korhaan, kori bustard and dune lark, but we saw only gemsbok, springbok and ostrich.

Once the safari vehicle began to climb the dunes towards the sundowner spot, all frustration vanished. At the top we stood on soft red sand dunes looking out over golden plains of short bushman grass. We watched the crinkled mountains in the east slowly turn pink and mauve as the sun set. 

With us on the drive were a mom from Windhoek with her three children and her daughter’s friend from Germany. The small boys enjoyed tumbling in the biggest sand pit of their lives, the teenage girls took photos of themselves and each other, holding the setting sun in their cupped hands – in the way of teenagers everywhere.

I tried to detach from the group and enjoy the unmatched peace of the setting, imprinting the view in my mind so I could return to it whenever I wanted. This is one of the biggest joys of Namibia – countless inspiring panoramas you can use time and again to lift your spirits even when you’re far, far away.

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

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