If you’re already planning post-Covid adventures, the new Kwessi Dunes safari camp in Namibia should top your bucket list.
While very few of us are travelling at the moment, that won’t last forever and if there’s one thing that’s almost as good as exploring new horizons, it’s planning for those adventures. Operated by Natural Selection and located in the heart of the vast 215,000-hectare NamibRand Nature Reserve, one of Southern Africa’s largest sanctuaries, Kwessi Dunes offers intrepid travellers close proximity to Sossusvlei’s rusty red sand dunes, as well as photogenic Deadvlei.
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The group’s sixth property in Namibia, Kwessi Dunes has been designed with the lightest footprint possible, with solar panels to provide power to 12 thatch and canvas rooms designed by an all-Namibian team. Each features a vintage four-poster bed, striped canvas walls, and a beautiful map mural feature wall, as well as an ensuite bathroom with both indoor and outdoor showers, a shaded, outdoor veranda and a special ‘star gazer’ room. High thatched roofs and solar-powered air-conditioning keeps guests cool during the hot desert days.
For a truly unique experience, spend one of your nights outside; the NamibRand Nature Reserve has been selected by the International Dark Sky Association as an official dark sky reserve on account of its low light pollution and cloudless night skies, making it one of the world’s top spots for starry nights, and the camp’s guides are experts at identifying the many southern constellations.
The heart of the camp is the main lodge building with its spectacular views and collection of works by Namibian photographic artist Paul van Schalkwyk whose life was dedicated to capturing the beauty of hos country’s extraordinary landscape.
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However, you’re here to explore the region’s dramatic landscapes – including the famed “fairy circles” – which you’ll do on guided nature drives, nature walks, and quad bike and horseback adventures. There are also options for helicopter flights and early morning hot air balloon journeys high above the desert.
Although the semi-arid desert may seem inhospitable, it is still home to an extraordinary variety of species who have found a way to survive and thrive, from the gemsbok with their white bellies that reflect the heat of the sand and their sophisticated vascular system that cools the blood around the brain, to the bat-eared fox whose giant ears help to amplify the sound of their predators approaching. You’ll also spy springbok, kudu and steenbok, while elusive leopard and spotted hyena are occasionally seen.
Sometimes the planning can be almost as good as the traveling.
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