The Wolwedans Dunes Lodge sits on a dune plateau. The panoramic view over the rolling hills and the red dirt of the dunes is breathtaking! And, as for our hosts, they are out of this world…
When Walter and I were planning our Namibia trip, my work colleague Marco gave me this tip: “You absolutely must make it to Wolwedans!“. Since I knew Marco’s taste, we took him up on his suggestion in a heartbeat.
Wolwedans – Paradise in the NamibRand Nature Reserve
The NamibRand Nature Reserve covers 500,000 acres, making it one of the largest private reserves in southern Africa.
On its western side, it borders the Namib Naukluft Park and about 40 miles to the north rise the famous Sossusvlei sand dunes with their dead trees (Link to our travel tips for Sossusvlei).
From Wolwedans Dunes Lodge, guests revel endlessly in the magical, vast landscape of mountains, red dunes, yellow grass steppe, and scattered green desert bushes.
Especially at sunrise and sunset, the surroundings light up in an incredible show of colors. Add to it that we had the full moon during our stay to work its nighttime magic with this scene…
About Wolwedans Dunes Lodge
The Dunes Lodge boasts nine luxury tented chalets, all built on raised wooden platforms to minimize their environmental impact.
Wolwedans Mountain View Suite – exquisite privacy
Since we booked the trip originally for my 50th birthday, we opted for the exclusive Mountain View Suite. After all, it’s not every day that wife turns 50!
What I didn’t realize at the time, however, was that the suite would be situated slightly away from the lodge, thus offering total privacy.
Because the spacious (actually: huge!) suite is composed of living room, kitchen with dining area, bedroom with bathroom, an expansive veranda with fire pit and plunge pool (or watering hole – more about this later) and room service just for its lucky occupants!
Guide Jakez and Chef John act as our hosts throughout our stay: Jakez drives the safari jeep in which he takes guests on rambling excursions through this enchanted land, while John back at the lodge whips up one of those tasty meals that punctuate our days here.
The pair know just how to spoil their guests: With unending cordiality and a delightful pinch of humor they take care of us and when we leave, it will be with a treasure of unforgettably beautiful and funny moments.
Breakfast in paradise
When we come out of our room on the second day, we are blown away! Look at this breakfast table!
When Walter asks John if he could also prepare some poached eggs, John smiles and goes, literally,
With some sauce?
Yes, «some sauce» would be great!
What he actually comes up with is an artfully piled Egg Benedict with Hollandaise sauce. And kudu sausage. Or was it oryx?
Anyway, John’s creation impresses Walter – a lot!
Game safaris and nature drives in Wolwedans
Afternoons, Jakez takes us on a “scenic drive” into the picturesque, endlessly captivating landscape.
We feast our eyes on the stunning panorama of the red dunes under a blue sky that seems to go on forever. We keep pinching ourselves: how can we possibly be this lucky?
He meanwhile deftly integrates into the tour the obligatory “sundowner” – the sunset drive with aperitif, “historically” a gin & tonic (it supposedly dispels malaria, never mind that it doesn’t occur here).
The game safari drive the next day is also magnificent! The wildlife in the nature reserve is rich in species that range from the countless oryx antelopes to springboks, kudus as well as ostriches, vultures, and over 100 bird species.
Hartmann’s mountain zebras (the ones with the stripes down to their hooves, unlike the plains zebras) mesmerize us when we catch sight of a herd. All those hypnotic stripes…
But it’s the oryx that we fall for most of all – the antelope that graces Namibia’s coat of arms. Its pointed horns grow up to 1.5 meters long!
These otherwise shy animals amuse us greatly by how they keep turning to look at us – as soon as we pull out the camera. Posers!
We have other cool encounters with oryx on the veranda of our suite where they come (day and night) to slake their thirst from our little pool, aka the watering hole.
Luckily, John and Jakez had given us a heads up. Otherwise, I think I would have stood upright in bed, awakened by the hellish racket their hooves made on our wooden deck!
Wolwedans promotes conservation and sustainability
After the game spotting drive, Jakez shows us around the lodge’s base camp: at Wolwedans, all environmental aspects are managed according to ecological principles – including wastewater treatment and waste disposal.
Jakez gives us a tour of the base camps’ carpentry, saddlery, welding shop, laundry, garage with the gas station – and, just in time for lunch, the large garden.
Fifty percent of the food served to guests comes from their own farm. And, fittingly, this time Chef John cooks for us not in our Mountain View suite, but in his garden. It couldn’t have been otherwise…
What a unique experience!
More pictures
Our thanks go to…
… first to my colleague Marco, who tipped us off to this great lodge in the first place.
And then of course to John & Jakez. Our stay in Wolwedans would have been a special highlight on its own – but with your warm hospitality and especially with your humor added in, you made these two days an unforgettable experience! Thank you, guys!
How to get to Wolwedans
Wolwedans Dunes Lodge is located about 250 miles southwest of Windhoek in the south of Namibia. It takes a 5-6 hour drive from Windhoek on what are mainly gravel roads.
On the advice of the travel agency, Rhino Africa, through which we booked our trip (thanks Tom Hanan for the excellent tip!), we take a small plane to Wolwedans. We highly recommend the flight, because seen at altitude from the plane it’s a fine introduction to this fascinating and varied desert landscape. It’s a travel highlight of its own!
The luggage belongs to a total of 6 passengers ;-)
For our aviation friends: K5-KDK from Scenic Air is a Quest Kodiak 100 aircraft.
