Getaway Kalahari Desert

I arrived in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, with a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt. I was picked up from Hosea Kutako airport and drove to "Zebra Kalahari Lodge". 

The road is wonderful. It is a relatively comfortable and very wide unpaved track. The environment is flat and dry. One of the first things that caught my attention was the nests of giant birds that were bigger than the trees themselves. Throughout the route and very close to the road you can see the national animal: the oryx. It's a lovely antelope that I decided it is my favorite animal in the country. Before I got out of the car I already fell in love with Namibia. The roasted color captivated me.

The entrance of the "Zebra Kalahari Lodge" is lovely. An atypical and authentic little house gives access to another sand road where I asked to stop the car to be able to see the giant anthills that are taller than me! Around the path there are beautiful two colors deers. The truth is that I would have stayed in the lodge for a whole month.

We ate quickly and left with a safari jeep. The lodge is one of three lodges that are located in the private reserve "Intu Afrika". The reserve is full of wild animals. There are many antelopes, ostriches, giraffes, wildebeests, oryx, foxes; but it took us almost two hours to find the lion. Luckily I saw him calm, because the open-top SUV didn't give me any peace of mind. It is impressive to see it so close.

There was only one other car from another lodge driving around. I loved feeling part of that wild and virgin environment at the same time.

As the sun began to go down, we were taken to a deep red dune. They stopped the car at the highest point and set up a table with nuts, champagne (sparkling wine from South Africa), beer and gin tonic. I thought it was a wonderful moment. Seeing the sunset in that setting is probably one of the most special moments I have ever experienced. There alone, in that environment and with that silence... I would have stopped the clock. I had always read that the light of Africa is special. I confirm it. It is unique.

About twenty minutes later, at night and after the champagne, they took us as a surprise to another dune where they had prepared a barbecue for us (in fact, the surprise had been prepared by one of us because it was her birthday!). Three tables. The first one with a tablecloth and ceramic cutlery, the second with different salads and the meat cooked and the third was the same barbecue. Marvelous. I ate my first antelope, the oryx... the one I liked so much walking around the reserve. Really tender and tasty. I loved it and I felt sorry at the same time! Dinner was amazing. Full of emotions. It was also my first time seeing the moon rise. Coming back at night through the reserve illuminated only by the light of the moon and the lights of the car, it was awesome!

I slept so happily that night at the "Zebra Kalahari Lodge"!

In the morning we hire a walk with the Bushmen, the tribe considered to be the oldest in Africa. Honestly, I was disappointed. I thought that it would be about going into a Bushman village to be able to see, in first person, the life of this nomadic hunter and, in reality, it was a theatrical reproduction of the life of her ancestors.

After breakfast, we leave the lodge to go to the Namib Desert. On the way we stop at the "Bagatelle Lodge" to see the funny meerkats. They are small mammals that live in the Kalahari Desert. They are so funny when they stand up! It was great to be able to see them up so close!

After two and a half hours driving, B1 to Mariental and then C19 to Maltahohe, we stopped at "The Lily Dely" bar at the petrol station in Maltahohe. They forced me in and, once inside, I loved it. It is a very clean place where they sell food and drinks. They are very kind. We ate a mixed plate.

Two more hours by car are necessary to reach the Namib Desert area.

Here ended the first part of the trip. I loved the Kalahari Desert for its authenticity and virginity. I hardly saw tourists and that is already significant and captivating for me.

If you need and/or want help in organizing the getaway, do not hesitate to send me a mail!

If you want to go to Namibia with the SIM card already bought, you can ask it at Holafly and you will get a 5% discount coming from Raconets!

It can be as long as you want.

No problem.