Wilderness Namibia camp newsletters – June 2025

Weather & landscapes in June

Here at Damaraland Camp, our June temperatures ranged from 10° C starts to very comfortable 24° C during the day. The north wind that comes up in the early morning hours is blowing away the drying flowers and grasses, and adding a true winter feel – though the early morning fog has helped keep some of the vegetation fresh and alive.

Wildlife sightings

Thanks to the amazing rains earlier in the year, every herd of elephants is now sighted with a baby, and at every spring there’s water, and many springbok enjoying the long-waited grazing freedom. 

There are newborn young everywhere, including baby springbok, as well as ostrich and guineafowl chicks, the latter seen around camp with their new offspring.

Very surprisingly we come across an elephant shrew

A unique sighting, as was a giant water bug (Lethocerus). 

But it’s not only the animals that are happy and alive, the welwitschias are looking amazing and fresh, and noticeably thriving and growing.

Staff news

Everyone is full of energy, thanks to Herold Basson, our Staff Chef, and Andreas Hidishange, our F&B Manager. These two are quite fitness-minded and Andreas is helping the staff with some wellness training, and has created a mini gym, which, believe me, is really helping. Herold is all about football. On the quiet days the team plays soccer, which is vital for our morale as we often don’t get much free time, or a break from our isolated environment. This is a team-building challenge staff have embraced, and find quite exciting actually, while others are looking at it as a journey to healthier living.

Guest comments

• Everything! The outdoor breakfast and Boma dinner were very memorable.
• Accommodation excellent friendly & helpful staff.
• Delicious food, Nature drive & Nature walk, Cleanliness & comfortable rooms.
• Staff made us feel at home, very engaging toward the guest, shared their passion with their guest (us) and all in a very sincere way. We love being here.

Staff in camp

General Manager Collin Ananias Netope, Assistant General Manager Monika Edward, Food and Beverage Andreas Hidishange. Mechanic Sem Alweendo Kitchen with Mr Pinehas Head Chef, Sophia, & Herold Basson Staff Chef, Veterans Josephine & Emelia, Housekeeping Hansina-Anna Supervisor, Annalise, Virginia, Martha, Elizabeth & Riana

Our Guiding Team: Brian, & Lukas. 
Front Of House: Donovan, Emmy, Leonie, Roux-Che, Dios & Cassius (Casual)
Men in Overalls: Oupa Wellem, Ricardo Williams & Casual Winstone (Team No Sleep) Hygiene Team Aron & Lucrisia
Applause to George Muvuma for being Solid Relief Managers

We wish Nicolene Gewers the best of luck on her new journey as a Trainee Chef at Doro Nawas. We also bid a fond farewell to Enos Handjaba who is leaving us to join another company.

Compiled by: Monika N Edward 
Pictures by: Brian Kahengombe

Weather  

June was dry, with a lot of sunshine and the coolest temperatures of the year. Afternoons averaged 26°C, starting at around 11°C. On some days it actually fell below freezing in the mornings though.

Landscape on the Desert Rhino Camp concession 

The dry winter season brought clear, sunny days with warm temperatures, ideal for hiking and wildlife viewing around the water sources. The nights, however, can be cold, especially in the early mornings, so pack warm clothes for your early starts, and ladies, a firm-support sports garment for the unforgiving roads!

The clear skies and dry air made for excellent stargazing conditions in the evenings.  

Rhino tracking

Rhino tracking involves a long day, but the reward of walking to within 250 metres/yards of these Critically Endangered prehistoric-looking animals is priceless. And every guest’s stay contributes directly to Save the Rhino Trust Namibia.

Birdlife of Palmwag

There is a great variety of birds to be seen right around the camp, and bird lovers don’t even have to leave their rooms or main area for rewarding sightings. Look out for Rüppell’s korhaan, Benguela long-billed lark, and Verreaux’s eagles in the rocky hillsides.

Black-headed heron, known to be quite uncommon for the area but another surprise visitor thanks to the summer rains this year

Communities, Culture, and Conservation  

We continue to support and empower our local community by procuring fresh veggies such as fresh spinach, lemon and wood. 

Guest comments 

Desert Rhino was in one sense the most 'local' as staff were drawn from neighbouring villages, and the nephew, Water, of our guide Bons, was also working as part of the serving staff, hoping to work his way up to be coming a guide. 

 
The programme was fully explained on arrival as was our accommodation, including the possibility of having the outside stargazing bed made up.  

Thank you to everyone for such an amazing opportunity to visit DRC. It was truly unforgettable!  

Everyone in camp was amazing, very attentive, helpful and clearly seems to love what they are doing!  

Fanus & Geraldo you guys were super stars! Fanus has got a good handle on running the camp, and Geraldo went out of his way to make our stay even more special! He gets to know his clients very quickly and picked up right away what our interests were and his knowledge is brilliant! Got to see 2 beautiful rhinos, caught up on some bird watching (I do need a new bird book as mine is very outdated according to Geraldo 😊) and had amazing food! The scenery… well that is home area for me ❤️ 

The cocktail menu…wish I had more 😊  

Wish we had more time there, but we enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you very much xxx

Newsletter by Fanus 

Winter has arrived in Damaraland

Temperatures ranged from 3.9° C right up to 35° C by mid- to late afternoon, and no rainfall. Some mornings were foggy, which is a blessing for the remaining vegetation, and the fog-basking beetles, as well as the other creatures that harvest this life-giving moisture. 

A south-westerly wind came up every afternoon. 

Landscape around Doro Nawas

The grasses that flourished after the heavy rains are now a beautiful golden colour, and the landscape is dotted with trees like the Boscia albitrunca and Salvadora persica. The desert edelweiss is still seen all around too. 

Sightings

Besides the desert-adapted elephants, and giraffe feeding on the acacia trees, special sightings included a beautiful male steenbok, a troop of chacma baboons hunting insects, and most thrillingly, a barking gecko. These special lizards are heard regularly in the evenings, but it’s a rare sighting indeed to spot one above ground.

Our favourite little fowl, the Namaqua sandgrouse, was also spotted – pictured is the female. 

Guests watched the mesmerising antics of an elephant calf testing his strength with a dead stick, while ostriches were also spotted.

Community, Culture and Conservation 

We support the local community of the Vrede post through the procurement of vegetables for our menus (mainly spinach, egg plant and a variety of peppers). 

Guest comments 

• The sleep-out!
• The kindness of all staff, the activities offered, the rooms and decoration of the hotel (the fact that each lunch has a different bread). 
• Hospitality, friendliness and passion of the staff.
• Welcome, dinner + we were sitting outside, inside by the fire. The lodge is so beautiful.
• Guide Silvester great guide, great food, staff very friendly.
• Staff in camp
  Managers - Agnes Bezuidenhout & Theodora Adams 
• Guides – Silvester Cloete, Ronaldo Awarab, Stephanus Katanga and Veondjovi Kasaona 

News by Theodora, Agnes & Silvester 
Pictures by Silvester Cloete & Stephanus Katanga 

Winter weather at Sossusvlei

Being winter, our minimum temperatures have been very cold, which many guests remarked on. 

The only rainfall we have is the fog coming in from the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km away. We call it our desert rain. The fog makes the mornings very cold, but it's really beautiful to see it coming in over the dunes while the sun rises through it. 

Every winter we experience strong easterly winds and so far, this year we have experienced it only a couple of times. Luckily, we have not had much damage, and the winds help shape the Namib Dunes – which, at the moment (from observation) seem to be getting higher.

Landscape on the Kulala Wilderness Reserve

The condition of the veld has quickly gone to dry high grass, which in turn has become excellent forage for the many desert grazers. However, up in the mountains, the grass is still green from the overnight fog and minimal wind. 

Most of the trees found here are Acacia, which have taproots. Their pods provide more food for many of the animals.

The ostriches love to feed on the evergreen shrubs.

This year we were spoiled with lots of rain, which has meant the animals don’t need to come into camp to our waterhole to drink. 

Wildlife and birds

Seen during the month were sandgrouse and ostrich, as well as Ludwig’s bustard with chicks, which was lovely to see. 

One very unusual sighting was of skinks mating. 

Camp news

Our staff put on an amazing choir performance that guests thoroughly enjoyed. 

This month we hosted a memorable bush dinner, in conjunction with a Namibian travel agent, at the Hyena Spot. Several staff from the Windhoek office came through to help out, and it was a great success. 

At the moment the casuals in camp are installing drainage pipes on the outskirts of the property. 

Our Kulala choir sang for our departing guests and this beautiful moment moved many guests to make quite emotional goodbyes.  

 
Staff news

We are happy to welcome back Guide Joas from Damaraland Camp, and we hope he is happy to be back in the Kulala Wilderness Reserve. 

We are also delighted to welcome our new Training team members, Johnny and Willie, to our Wilderness Family.

Sossusvlei weather in June

We had unusual and heavy winter rain, which was followed by the temperatures dropping, and it got very cold.

Landscape

The long grass is changing colour slowly from green to brown since the amazing transformation we had, thanks to the summer rains. 

Wildlife and birds

An ostrich has been seen around with cute chicks, while our ‘resident’ black-backed jackals are seen regularly around the Little Kulala. 

Culture evening 

The guests thoroughly enjoyed our staff singing and dancing after dinner. 

Camp activities

We had a fairly circle dinner for a party of 3; they enjoyed it very much and had a great time.

Another bush dinner was set up for a party of 7 celebrating a fiftieth birthday. The guests were very impressed with the beautiful setup and lighting, and they enjoyed the food very much. 

Guest comments

• Food, help when needed, going the extra mile to bring sandwiches late night, thanks!
• Everything! You are all amazing here at Little Kulala. Everyone from the bar, waiting tables, food, short presentation, room cleanliness was so beautiful. 
• The service staff were very friendly and helpful. Kitchen did a good job working with dietary restrictions. Sundowner experience was great. 
• Personal service, warmth of the staff was the highlight, appreciate you making food that we like (vegetables and papaya fruit platter).

 
Staff News 

 
Management Team

James Muzamai – Camp GM, Wilson Paulus – F& B Manager, Peneyambeko Paulus (Penny) – Assistant Manager, and Treandy Muyunda – Assistant Manager. 

Nine questions with James

• Name – James Muzamai, General Manager – Little Kulala  
  • Nickname at work – Malume, meaning Uncle in Silozi, my home language.
• What would you like to be known/remembered for? 
  • To be remembered as a peacemaker, a true leader, someone who brings joy to the people around.
• What was your favourite game as a child? 
  • My favorite game was soccer.
• What is your favourite memory? 
  • The first time I left home – on a school tour in 1997, we visited different towns in Namibia, including the capital city Windhoek; it was amazing and I learnt a lot.
• If you could be any age for the rest of your life, which would you choose? And why? 
  • I would say I go with flow and happy to be at any age; life itself is a teacher, the longer you live the more you learn.
• Describe yourself in three words.
  • Humble, caring and focused
• Describe your perfect day. 
  • As long as the sun shines for me it is a perfect day.
• What's your favourite Wilderness memory? 
  • My favorite wilderness memory was after Covid, when the team came back together to reopen camp. It was emotional and at the same time joyful, staff embraced each other.
• What’s your dream road trip destination?
  • Travelling back home, always special. 

Newsletter by James Muzamai 

Each moment, from the stillness of the early morning to the adrenaline of the dunes, captured what we aim to share with every guest: authentic, immersive, and awe-inspiring experiences that stay with them long after they leave. 

Wildlife on the Kunene River and surrounds

We observed a fascinating moment in the insect world — beetles mating right in the sand! Plus, we watched a beautifully camouflaged chameleon calmly navigating its sandy surroundings. These unexpected encounters always add a touch of wonder to the guests’ day, and remind us all of the life that thrives all around us. 

Guest activities at Serra Cafema

As part of our Serra Cafema activities, guests geared up and took to the dunes on quad bikes, navigating the wave-like sandscape that stretches as far as the eye can see. It’s always such a thrill to watch our visitors light up as they experience the vastness and silence of the desert from this unique perspective.  

This past week, we had the pleasure of setting up a Sunrise Breakfast on the riverbank — and what a magical morning it was. Our guests enjoyed a freshly prepared meal right in the middle of nowhere. Think beautifully toasted bread, golden sunny-side-up eggs, flame-grilled boerewors, and fluffy omelettes… all served with a view you simply can’t capture in words.  

Guest comments  

• Moses, Liz, Michael, Vee, Mathew & rest of the team, you guys are a credit to wilderness, Mona, thanks for the extra 5kg we have gained. 
• Everything!! Excellent service in every area. Especially the warmth and kindness of the staff, the food was absolutely fantastic -STAR STANDARD. 
• EVERYTHING… Food, staff, service, guide, property were all top notch. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. But staff are lovely people.  
• Fabulous customer service. Ricardo is a hero! Ghandy, Michael and Mathew are great, also Jason is a talent. 

Staff news

We welcomed a new guide from Doro Nawas, Stephanus Mutjoviri. Stephanus has settled in really well and is already part of our big family. 

A special thank you, and a big congratulations, to our June staff who are ‘Wilderness Warrior’ nominees! This is an internal Wilderness initiative where we celebrate our colleagues who inspire us by being exceptional examples of our company values. 
Lizelle Opperman - Pioneering Leaders category
Matheus Shanyenge - Pioneering Leader & Purpose Driven 
Uavatera Uararavi - Passionate about Hospitality 
Antonjo Laulindu - Pioneering Leader

 
Newsletter by Lizelle Opperman 
Photos by Moses Sheehama