Wilderness Namibia camp newsletters – February 2025

February weather and landscapes around Desert Rhino Camp
February brought what seemed to be a mix of all four seasons in single day – the true Rhino Camp way! Temperatures ranged from 15° C to 32° C, with both chilly and hot days. Our primary water sources are the natural springs, which are diminishing due to the lack of rain.

That said, no matter the conditions, our dedicated team ensured that our guests experienced the best of our unforgettable rhino tracking and nature drives.

The beauty of the landscapes around Desert Rhino Camp is endlessly rewarding – truly breathaking!  Our guests remained in awe of the vast, rugged terrain here where these desert-adapted black rhino roam freely. The geological wonders of the area sparked curiosity and conversation among our visitors, and were definitely a highlight of their stay. 

Wildlife and birds seen around Desert Rhino Camp

Here the rhinos take centre stage! We maintained a 100% success rate in rhino tracking, thanks to the incredible team of Save the Rhino Trust Namibia trackers. 

Although the region remains dry, general game species have migrated to area thanks to the few rain showers we’ve had. Besides our resilient rhino, guests enjoying sightings of springbok and oryx (gemsbok), which are unique arid-adapted specialists.

Other wildlife seen during the month included a beautiful desert-adapted lioness, giraffe, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, as well as black-backed jackals and Cape foxes. Highlights were a striped polecat (also known as an African skunk or zorilla) and an aardwolf.

Camp news

We introduced a new Bush Dinner Experience! The location is just a 12-minute walk from the main area, and its special setting offers guest an intimate and immersive outdoor meal under the stars. We are proud to say the first dinner at the new site was a huge success, with warm welcomes, delicious food and fantastic interactions between guest and staff, who created memories to last a lifetime.

Other notable activities include our Rhino River Lunch and, of course, our boma dinners. 

Communities, Culture & Conservation

We continue to support and empower our local community through the procurement of their produce for the camp. The new school year started in January, and our staff and the community alike were excited and a little stressed as the prepared their children for school.  

Guest comments

“Staff friendly and kind, the place, food and service on point, and staff on top of their game”.

Staff news

Wilson Paulus joined us as our new F&B Manager, with Geraldo joining the guiding team and Timotheus appointed as our new Head Chef. We had chef training for a new menu and service. 

Sossusvlei and surrounds weather and landscapes in February
We have had some good rain on the Kulala Wilderness Reserve, recording 7 mm, and for the first time in four years the dry river bed behind the lodge flowed.

The wind that brought the rain also brought a huge sand storm at one point.

Thanks to the rains, we are expecting to see some flowers and vegetation flourishing on the Reserve this year, which we are very excited about and looking forward to. 

Kulala’s wildlife and birds

The oryx (gemsbok) and springboks were nowhere to be seen around Little Kulala or our waterhole, having moved into the mountains where is now a lot of water. However, ostriches and black-backed jackals were seen around the lodge as usual.

Community, Culture and Conservation

Our teams took advantage of a quiet day to do a deep-clean ‘chicken parade’ around the staff village and the lodge.

Camp news

Our traditional Braai Night is always special for the guests, and they all said how much they loved the set up and the food.

Guest comments

“All staff were excellent, could not have been more helpful. Food was great”.  

The staff was always really helpful, they were also nice and kind. We really enjoyed the knowledge of everyone”. 

“The overall experience was great, the people were very friendly and welcoming. The stay felt unique and the guide was lovely and personal”. 

Staff news

Hospitality Trainer Munya was in camp to provide training on the Wilderness Way.

Weather and landscape

Our Damaraland mornings started at around 26° Celsius – we even had rain showers some days – and headed up to a maximum of 33° C. It’s been very humid, with partly cloudy skies and it was extremely hot around midday. The seasonal rivers flowed briefly, as heavy rain has fallen in the catchment areas, though none of this affected any of our activities. 

Wildlife seen in February

As usual, elephants, and giraffe were seen in the dry river and surrounding stream beds, attracted by the natural water springs in the vicinity. We felt lucky when the river flowed this month, and it brought relief for the animals. 

Our guides had good sightings of other wildlife, like springbok, Cape foxes, and ostriches while out on their nature drives. Being breeding season, some of the birds have been busy building nests and laying too – very interesting to see. 

Camp news

It was a quiet month guest-wise, and this created the opportunity to deep clean our camp, from the rooms to the walkways, the roads and other areas in our surroundings that needed attention.  

Other than that, several Namibian guides went on a training workshop in Botswana, and Enos came back very hyped and energetic, eager to transform what he picked up from the others that side. We are happy to have a motivated team and wish him all the best in translating his lessons to our other guides.

We are pleased to welcome Brian Kahengombe, who has joined DMC from Wilderness Doro Nawas. Brian is a calm and humble guide, thoughtful and understanding. His experience in the industry is polished and his way of communication is well observed. We are proud to have him and we hope to grow with him.

Guest comments

“100/10. Simply can’t express my gratitude. Thank you, team DMC”. 

“Superb experience right from the beginning to the end! I am absolutely thrilled”.  

“Everything! Staff, camp, food were top class”.

Team in camp

General Manager Collin Ananias Netope

Assistant General Manager Monika Edward

Mechanic Sem Alweendo 

Kitchen Mr Pinehas, Head Chef, Pauline, and veterans Josephine and Emelia

Housekeeping Hansina-Anna, Annalise, Virginia, Martha, Elizabeth and Roux-Che

Our guiding team Enos, Joas Nicky, Brian & Sylvester (Trainee Guide)
Front of House Donavan, Emmy, Leonie, Riana and Dios

Men in Overalls Oupa Wellem, Sylvester, Ricardo Williams (Team No Sleep)

Hygiene team Aron, Nicolene & Lucrisia

Applause to Christelle Jansen & George Muvuma for being solid Relief Managers

We are looking forward to our peak season, and delivering our best service with focus and commitment. We strive for growth! 

Compiled by: Monika N. Edward | Nicklaus Rungondo & Brian Kahengombe 

February weather at Doro Nawas

We enjoyed typical summer weather, with our days starting at around 17° Celsius, and heading up to 35° C. The cool mornings transformed into windy afternoons most days. 

The usually dry Huab River flowed with water after rains in the catchment area around Otjiwarongo. It lasted a few days, and is dry again now. 

Wildlife

The Desert Lion Conservation Project’s Dr Philip Stander alerted us to a lioness moving up the Huab River in our area of Damaraland. We didn’t see her, but our colleagues at Desert Rhino Camp did manage to get some photos of her near their camp. 

What we did have was a group of elephants in camp while our guests were enjoying their sundowners on the rooftop. Naturally it created quite a bit of excitement, being able to see them from this interesting vantage point. 

Community engagement

Guests visited with local communities at the Damara Living Museum near Twyfelfontein, and at De Riet School.

Camp news

One set of guests spent their first night under the stars. We have a system where the beds can be rolled out on the deck for a sleep-out, and we created a beautiful set-up with drinks on ice in the room. We were pleased to note how very impressed they were. 

Our Braai Night out in the garden circle is also always very well received.  

Guest Comments:

"The sunset views were breathtaking!"
"Absolutely loved our dune dinner experience”.
"The wildlife sightings were the highlight of our trip”.
"The staff made our stay unforgettable – thank you!"

Staff News

Our Head Chefs attended a training workshop at Damaraland Camp, and we also held a very successful team-building activity.

It focused on wilderness skills and community-building among staff members – which we are proud to call The Wilderness Way. It is based on our 7 pillars of guest experiences, viz. iconic wild destinations; best wildlife experiences; industry-leading guides; immersive design; seamless, trusted travel; cultural exploration; and shared impact.

Our Maintenance Team was busy this month fixing our conservancy roads.

Newsletter compiled by George and Stephanus 
Photos by Fritz Naobeb, Assistant Manager; Viaan Goseb and Bongani Brandt, Guides