Wilderness Namibia camp newsletters – March/April 2025

Weather conditions on the Kunene

April brought very hot days to Wilderness Serra Cafema, though it became noticeably cooler in the evenings, with a westerly wind most afternoons. Temperatures ranged between 30° and 40° Celsius. 

We have not received any of the amazing rains that the rest of the country has experienced, but the Kunene River burst its banks after heavy rains in the catchment areas, and the floodplain around Serra Cafema is under water.   

Wildlife and birds 

As you can see from the images, our guests on nature drives, nature walks and Himba visits had great sightings of the wildlife and birds around Serra Cafema.  Wildlife included Nile crocodiles, oryx, brown hyena, tok-tokkie beetles and thrilling scorpions. 

Sightings of our feathered friends included beautiful weavers and woodland kingfishers, as well as ostriches.  

Camp activities 

From honeymooners to birthday celebrations, we set up sunrise breakfast surprises in the dunes, boma nights and sundowners to take advantage of the spectacular views around Serra Cafema. 

In camp we were pleased to have our new solar plant batteries installed by E.Power off-grid solutions, who came through from Windhoek. 

Guest comments

Homely friendly atmosphere, great massages, camp activities and guide experiences, and competencies. 

Staff News 

Petra Rooi our Head Chef has moved to Wilderness Kulala Desert Lodge at Sossusvlei. 

Sossusvlei weather and landscape

Wilderness Little Kulala was blessed with yet more good rainfall during the month, peaking at 20mm one day. Other than that, the weather has been quite unpredictable, heading from hot daytime temperatures to cold, windy evenings, and dust storms every second or third day.  

Thanks to all the rain, our Kulala Wilderness Reserve is in full bloom and showing off a carpet of magnificent flowers and green grass. 

Wildlife and birds of the Kulala Wilderness Reserve

With the recent rainfall, many of the animals have dispersed, and we haven’t seen much in the way of wildlife in the immediate vicinity of Little Kulala.

That said, the opportunistic little black-backed jackals are always around; they are so familiar they feel like pets for the camp staff who see them daily all around the camp.

Also, a thrilling spotted eagle-owl was seen a few times at the waterhole in the evenings. 

Guest comments

Our room is spotless, and stunning! People greet us with real smiles and we felt very welcome. Thank you so much. Baie dankie! 

Everything went really well and would highly recommend this place to everyone we meet. Loved everyone including the staff. 

The food was amazing, compliments to chef. The staff were very friendly and made us feel like family. They took care of all our needs. 

Newsletter by Wellen (Little Kulala F&B Manager) 

Acres of golden yellow flowers in the Namib Desert

 
This month the Kulala Wilderness Reserve had good rainfall again, and the desert is in full bloom with small yellow devil’s thorn flowers. They are beautiful to see, and are treating our guests to some breathtaking sights.

A walk down the dry riverbed right in front of camp quickly reveals the wonderful flora we are witnessing in the desert right now.

We had a busy month, with groups from all around the world, including Mexico, Thailand, Luxembourg and Hong Kong to name but a few – all of whom expressed their enjoyment of the beauty in the surrounding Namib Desert.

Staff news

We were delighted to welcome our new General Manager Christelle Jansen, as well as Petra Rooi, who joins our Kitchen team from Sera Cafema in order to further enhance our food offerings with her advanced knowledge and experience. 

Guest comments

We had a wonderful stay at the lodge everyone was welcoming and friendly. All our dietary requirements were met and singing by the staff was a true reflection of Namibia’s diversity.

KDL team

The whole team, plus management, is a true reflection of Wilderness Namibia’s diversity, bringing together individuals from different cultural backgrounds, all united by our passion to serve and make sure our guests have memorable moments.

Newsletter complied by Edward Liwela

The phenomenal Namib rains of 2025 continue

We received the highest rainfall the Hoanib has had in the last 25 years – 29 mm on 11 March 2025!

The prevailing westerly wind is still blowing, while the highest the temperature reached in the afternoons was 35° Celsius, after which it obviously cooled down nicely from sunset. 

The rainfall caused some major changes in and around the lodge, exposing the underlying layer of powdery soil. This created a lot of dust when the wind picked up in the afternoons, but nevertheless, our Hoanib area is now enjoying amazing green surroundings, with the springbok greatly enjoying the soft, fresh grass. 

Wildlife of the Hoanib

The Hoanib River came down in spate in March, causing the elephants to move more towards the Ohima Mountains. 

The lions have also now moved onto the southern bank towards Ohima – adding a challenge for the guides to reach them sometimes. 

However, our guests were delighted to see the cheetahs in the area as well. 

Guest comments 

To my HSC family- These two days have been some of the best in my life. Not only is the area beautiful and surprisingly abundant, but the way you all, as a team, have made me feel so incredibly welcome is difficult to surpass. I have thoroughly enjoyed each interaction I have had with all of you. A few of you made my stay extra special, so I want to mention them individually… Ties: Your sweet nature and attention to detail was amazing, you are truly wonderful. Klaudia: Ok, funny girl, I see you! I loved our conversations and never lose that natural curiosity of yours. You are a born host. Bernhard: Where do I begin? Thank you for your endless patience with my questions, your superb knowledge and incredible personality. I will miss you! 

Special thanks to Marianne for making sure we were well fed, delicious food. Most incredible, thoughtful, kind team working here, we loved our stay. Thank you! 

Meals were perfect, Jenga with kids, Sopia and Phiroza made their week. Awesome guide Bernhard who was smart and thoughtful. Ties and Klaudia were so attentive and funny. Rooms were beautifully decorated, and cleaning was perfect. Joe was always fun and a pleasure to be around. Loved all staff.   

Newsletter by Bradwin G Wilhelm

Rain in the desert

In March, Wilderness Desert Rhino Camp experienced as much rain as we can ever remember – from as long ago as 2011! With warm temperatures and occasional afternoon showers, it has been a great time for photography and wildlife viewing.

Our temperatures ranged between 22° and 28° Celsius, and while the wet season is clearly winding down, occasional short afternoon downpours still made their appearances.

Desert photography: The dramatic skies and vibrant landscapes of the Palmwag area offer excellent opportunities for photography.  

Baby animals: Following the summer birthing season (January and February), we are now seeing plenty of young animals, which can make for exciting predator-prey interactions.  

The landscape is out of this world – so green everywhere, and allowing our guests to enjoy this very different landscape from our usual rugged, rocky area. 

Rhino tracking in Damaraland

Now that it has rained so nicely, our rhinos have moved further north – a fair distance from camp – making it a little more difficult for our trackers to spot rhinos close to camp. Most of the time the rhinos are spotted between the hours of 11h00 and 14h00.

More good news is we are enjoying wonderful sightings of animals like zebras, giraffes and springbok all over our area.

Communities, Culture, and Conservation

We continue to support and empower our local community by procuring fresh veggies such as eggplant, as well as lemons and wood, from our neighbours.
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Damaraland’s autumn weather and landscapes

March and April’s weather brought a lot of changes to the scenery at Wilderness Damaraland Camp and surrounding areas. We received tremendous rainfall, and the greening of the landscape brought a fresh enthusiasm, and smiles all around.

Even in early April, the rain was still looking promising for more to come, and we recorded highs and lows from 33° to 35° Celsius, and 17° to 19° C.

Sightings at Damaraland Camp

The flip side of the good rains in the area meant it was that much harder to spot the desert-adapted elephants in our area, especially in Aba-Huab River, as they have moved to the north-east where there is excellent grass cover, and plenty of ground water.

That said, the fresh, green grass that is now covering the landscape around camp has brought in herds of springbok to the open areas. 

Guest news

We’ve had a fairly quiet time for the past few months, but bookings are on the up, and our staff are very excited, and looking forward to offering the best service to our guests. 

 
We are proud to consistently receive very good feedback from our guests, and we hope to continue to impress them.

Staff news

With staff members moving forward to new responsibilities, our team is growing, and we are pleased to welcome Mr Gowaseb Alberto Cassius from the Torra Conservancy to our Damaraland Camp team. Cassius has joined us as a waiter, and we are already impressed by his very calm and humble attitude, as well as his efforts to learn. There is huge potential for young men’s futures here, and we are looking forward to Cassius growing from strength to strength. 

Community news

There is quite a lot of excitement in our neighbouring communities of De Riet and Fonteine, thanks to the support of a TOSCO (Tourism Supporting Conservation) team that has implemented a sustainable gardening and conservation project. We have already started to harvest our menu vegetables from this local project.

Newsletter by Collin A. Netope (Damaraland Camp Manager)

Doro Nawas weather, and the landscape after the rains

Our area truly looks like paradise – it is green, with a huge variety of grasses flourishing, including short bushman grass, silk grass and Fingerhuthia grass. There are devil's thorn and butterfly leaf flowers all over as well.

The purple commiphora, mopane trees and mustard bush are looking fresh and healthy.

There are pools of water along the river and next to the roads – all full to capacity!

We’ve been recording lows and highs between 25° and 39° Celsius, with our daytime average sitting at 37° C. 

The wind has been moderate south-westerly most days, and there was no rain at the beginning of April, though we are still expecting more to fall from mid-month.

Wildlife and birds seen around Doro Nawas

From desert-elephants to kori bustards to blister beetles, every sighting was a treat in the amazing green landscape.

We haven’t actually seen kori bustard in the area for a long time, so this was an extra thrill while out on one of our nature drives! 

We also heard the Rüppell’s korhaans advertising their territory at sunset – a classic desert soundtrack at the end of the day.

With the rains, many of the elephants have moved from their usual area around De Riet to Blou Mouth Farm in the east.

Community, Culture and Conservation 

At the Damara Living Museum, the cultural performances are always stunning, and a huge hit with guests.

Guest news and comments 

Guest love to sleep outside under the stars, and the always ask for us to roll out their beds onto their room decks. 

Staff are so wonderful they make this place special.

The hospitality and singing.

Service, singing delicious food.

Newsletter by Theodora & Stephanus