SAFARIHOEK LODGE – ETOSHA HEIGHTS PRIVATE RESERVE

Safarihoek Lodge is perched on top of a hill overlooking the plains in the Etosha Heights Private Game Reserve which borders the Etosha National Park in northern Namibia.

The lodge has just 11 stylish and well equipped thatched chalets all with private decks where you can watch wildlife from the comfort of your room, a double-storey photography hide and a swimming pool with 180-degree views of the savannah and waterhole. Eight of the chalets have outdoor showers-with-a-view.

The Etosha area is famous for rhino sightings and the reserve is home to both white and black rhino. Activities include day and night game drives, tracking black and white rhino and bush meals, picnics and sundowners.

LOCATION

The lodge is set in the Etosha Heights Private Reserve and shares a 65km border with southwest Etosha National Park in northern Namibia.

Access is via a light aircraft flight from Windhoek or self-drive – the lodge is 470km from Windhoek, 150km from Outjo and 97km from Kamanjab.

LODGE

Safarihoek Lodge has 11 chalets, all with stunning views – 8 luxury, 2 classic and 1 family suite. The chalets have ensuite bathrooms with indoor showers and the 8 luxury chalets have outdoor showers.

Standard rooms are ensuite with a lovely wooden veranda to enjoy a morning coffee as the sun rises over the eastern horizon. These rooms are wheelchair friendly.

Luxury rooms are ensuite, spacious and modern and have an inside and outside shower. These rooms also feature a small wooden veranda where you can enjoy wildlife interactions and the stunning panoramic landscape.

The Luxury Family unit – has a main ensuite bedroom and an ensuite children’s room separated by a small living room. The unit boasts a lovely wooden veranda which can be enjoyed with the whole family while watching the wildlife on the plains below.

The rooms are furnished with a writing desk, minibar and tea and coffee stations. All are air-conditioned and have electronic safes, hair dryers and mosquito nets.

The elevated main area catches the breeze and is a wonderful place watch wildlife. There is an indoor glass-windowed restaurant, a bar, fireplace and seating area, a swimming pool, a wine cellar and curio shop.

The double-level photography hide is a one-of-a-kind in Namibia overlooking a large, natural waterhole.

ACTIVITIES AND WILDLIFE

Founded in 1999 Etosha Heights is one of the largest private reserves in Namibia sharing a 65 kilometre border with the famous Etosha National Park. The reserve offers a robust 600 square-kilometres of unspoiled wildlife, landscapes and tranquillity – a place to reconnect with nature and escape the modern stresses of life. The savannah is punctuated by pods of mopane woodland, thick riverine forest and iconic waterholes attracting animals from far and wide including elephant, rhino, kudu and springbok and small herds of antelope, lion, cheetah and leopard.

Scenic Game Drives – morning and afternoon game drives on the reserve are offered. A 2-3-hour drive that gives you the opportunity to see a wide variety of plains game and the occasional predator. Refreshments are included.

Night Drives – after an early dinner and depending on the weather night drives are also offered on the reserve. Different from day game drives by that you stand a chance to see some of the nocturnal species that roam the reserve.

Walking Safaris – guided walks are offered to the more adventurous. A short drive out from camp you can experience a whole new way of finding and viewing animals.

Photographic Hides – enjoy the opportunity to spend some time in the hide especially built for photography enthusiasts

Vulture Feeding – the plains below Safarihoek Lodge are the man-made feeding grounds for the surrounding area’s array of vultures. This is one of Safarihoek’s conservation contributions as the area forms a buffer zone between Etosha National Park and the surrounding farmers.

GIVING BACK

At Natural Selection, conservation is at the heart of everything we do. The loss of any natural habitat, in Africa or other, is a sobering loss for us all, and we want to do something about it. We want to make a difference. To start with, we ensure that 1.5% of your stay in our lodges goes to wildlife conservation. The donations are built into our business model and based on your stay with us. We are wholeheartedly embracing our commitment to Africa’s wildlife.

In addition to this, we partner with the local communities, governments and conservation organisations in the areas where we operate to help protect (and sometimes even expand) these important conservation areas, and to create long-term benefits. We build camps that best suit the area, working with the environments and habitats that we find there. Camps and lodges shouldn’t be obvious; they should blend perfectly into their surroundings.

Lastly, we intend to keep our guests abreast of Africa’s triumphs, losses and continued challenges, with the hope that we will inspire other wildlife-lovers to make a change. While it’s perhaps only a drop in the bucket of what is required, it’s a drop that we hope will make a difference.

An example of conservation at work in Etosha Heights is the anti-poaching camp and team who are dedicated to protecting the rhinos and preventing any illegal hunting from happening along the boundaries of the reserve. The rangers are on the ground 24 hours a day and have completed an intensive training programme to ensure that they’re the best of the best. Combined with new state of the art anti-poaching surveillance technology, this team is a force to be reckoned with.

SAFARIHOEK LODGE IS OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND

THE LODGE WELCOMES FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN OF ALL AGES