Description
Run in conjunction with the Save the Rhino Trust, Desert Rhino Camp offers its guests a unique insight into the ecology and conservation efforts centred on this breathtaking corner of Namibia. Few places on earth offer such a remote and private wilderness experience.
The camp is located in the Palmwag Reserve, a one million-acre private reserve in rugged Damaraland, between Etosha and the Skeleton Coast. Profits contribute directly to the Rhino Trust and, ultimately, the long-term sustainability of this vulnerable habitat and its wildlife.
16 guests can be accommodated at any one time in eight large East African-styled "Meru" tents fitted with dark-wood furniture and featuring crisp white linen. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom with classic bucket shower (which can be filled with hot water whenever necessary). The tented dining room offers superb views of the desert and mountains. Activities include rhino tracking on foot or by vehicle, as well as day and night game drives.
The reserve is home to a number of freshwater springs that support healthy populations of animals, including desert-adapted black rhino and elephant, as well as large populations of giraffe, oryx, springbok, kudu and rare Hartmann’s mountain zebra. The predator population is the largest outside the Etosha National Park with more than 100 lions, cheetahs, leopards, and brown and spotted hyenas.
Accommodation
Desert Rhino Camp is in the form of 8 Meru-style canvas tents that sleep up to 16 guests. Raised from the ground on a wooden deck, each tent features an en-suite bathroom with a hand basin, flush toilet and shower. Beds are made up with crisp, white linen and have two dark wood bedside tables with wicker reading lamps. An extension of the deck functions as a front veranda where guests can relax in director's chairs to take in the magnificent vistas of the surrounding desert and Etendeka Mountains. Extra duvets are available for the sometimes frosty nights.
Childcare
There are no specific child care facilities and the camp has a minimum age of 8 years. Food and meal times can easily be adjusted to suit younger guests and baybsitting can be arranged if needed.
Facilities
The tented dining and lounge area of Desert Rhino Camp is also raised on a wooden deck in a single tent which is open plan and has partially open sides offering panoramic views. To one side there are couches and to the other a large, simple dining table. Evening meals are taken around the fire pit, in front of the lapa, where guests can relax and socialise.
Activities
Activities at Desert Rhino Camp obviously include rhino tracking on foot or by vehicle. Other 4x4 outings are geared at exploring this vast, miraculous ecosystem with some of the most knowledgeable guides in Namibia.
When to travel
All year round destination, although the best time to visit Damaraland is from May to September as the temperature is tolerably cool, especially at night. The optimum game viewing times are between June and November. The land will have dried out meaning animals must again come to waterholes to drink. Summer (November to April) also known as the rainy season is best time to travel to Damaraland for bird watching as migratory birds (both intra-African and Palaearctic) flock into the park's many habitats after the summer rains.
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Location and directions
Damaraland, Namibia
The Desert Rhino Camp is situated in the Palmwag Concession area (also known as the Palmwag Reserve), which covers about 5,000km² between Etosha and the Skeleton Coast, Northwest Namibia.
How to get there
Eleven hour international flight to Johannesburg, followed by a two hour international flight Windhoek. Desert Rhino Camp is approximately a one hour and forty minute flight from Windhoek. The air Strip is located 15 minutes from the Camp.
