Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK – Natural Selection Safaris has opened two new camps, the Hoanib Valley Camp and Shipwreck Lodge. Although luxurious, and at N$8,000 per person is not cheap for average Namibian traveller, the Hoanib Valley Camp give visitors an amazing view of the Kaokoland landscape and its wildlife of lions, elephants and giraffe. The camp is a joint venture between the local communities and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the world’s only Africa-wide giraffe conservation organisation.
Likewise, the Shipwreck Lodge gives visitors an intimate session with the Skeleton Coast, where one can immerse into what the company said is “a raw, rugged and impossibly remote slice of African wilderness, where towering dunes and wind-swept plains roll as far as the eye can see, buffeted by the icy Atlantic seas”. The price starts at N$10,200 per person. At the Shipwreck Lodge, there are also game drive amongst desert-dwelling elephant and track elusive desert lion; discover the enchanting desert flora. Both camps opened in June 2018. The Shipwreck Lodge is the camp that had the Internet rumour mill in overdrive, about the possibility of England’s Prince Harry and his new bride Megan Markle staying for their honeymoon (the royal couple elected not to immediately go on a honeymoon after they wed). “We are excited to launch Hoanib and Shipwreck. As a combination, guests will get the highlights of wildlife, landscape and culture in these remote areas. This is probably the best and most exciting combination of lodges in the Namib Desert,” said Dave van Smeerdijk, co-founder of Natural Selection.
The Hoanib Valley Camp is designed by Cate Simpson of Reflecting Africa, best known for her work on North Island in Seychelles. It features earthy colour palette inspired by the landscape and bespoke cushions and furniture are unique and sophisticated. The wildlife is perfectly at home and game drives encounter herds of desert-adapted elephant, giraffe and desert lion existing alongside solitary oryx, springbok and wily jackal.
Shipwreck Lodge is a joint venture with Natural Selection and local Namibian companies Trip Travel and Journeys Namibia, as well as the local communities that border the park. Designed to resemble the shipwrecks that line Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, the lodge is both dramatic and architecturally interesting. It is designed by a Namibian team of architect Nina Maritz and interior designer Melanie van der Merwe.– Additional reporting by Bizcommunity